I’m reviewing a comedy ‘ride along’ about impressing your future in-law who happens to be the big brother-tough cop dude, ‘philomena’ a charming drama based on a true story of searching for long-lost son; another comedy ‘baggage claim’ about searching for love in all the wrong places; and ‘all is lost’ an engaging one-man show about surviving against all odds while being lost at sea.
* * *
‘ride along’ is entertaining, fun and hilarious. kevin hart himself is quite a trip – with his high-pitched voice in his short frame spewing funny lines each time he speaks. and if it’s not his lines, it’s his expression.
in order to marry his girlfriend, a cop-wannabe needs the blessing of her big brother, a tough cop who speaks like he’s in a rap music video. wants to prove he’s a man? his brother took the guy on a ride along (‘ride along’ is a term used when civilian sits in the passenger seat of a police car, observing the work day of a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic).
I don’t have a big brother that mr. khairul needs to impress; but my youngest uncle cu (my mak’s lil bro) did have a man-to-man’s talk with mr. khairul when I first introduced him, so I consider that as my life’s version of ‘the ride along’ haha. now they both can simply hang out for cendol, without ME! huhu.
in ‘ride along’, as expected, many humorous incident ensue as the guy tries to impress his girlfriend’s brother, leaving us literally laughing out loud, not the internet version of LOL. huhu. kevin hart and ice cube have great chemistry together which is ironic since in the movie, the characters can’t get along! ‘ride along’ is an enjoyable movie on a lazy sunday.
* * *
bright sunny background color, a smiley judi dench, and steeve coogan smirking back at her – all spells comedy even though ‘philomena’ is a story about a woman who was forced to give up her son a long time ago, and is now searching for a closure. both judi dench and steeve coogan are sweet and charming, and their relationship is touching and meaningful.
inspired by a true story, ‘philomena’ is the name of the woman whose son was forcefully taken from her for adoption – in one of the most heartbreaking scenes I’ve seen in a movie. years passed and a journalist wants to write a story about her journey to find this son – and so begins and unlikely friendship through empathy, understanding, and mutual respect.
one by one clues were found and stories unearthed, taking her closer to finding her lost son. and in those steps we viewers too feel the same anxiety, excitement, happy and sorrow as more truth is made known. philomena reminds us to rejoice in the simple smile of our child, or the fact that he can’t say not to pasta, or pronounce ‘tiger’ as ‘tigger’, or simply knowing that he had said ‘hi’.
a heartfelt story for all who had lost and found; no matter what it is that you found in the end – as long as you found closure.
* * *
we know how this movie is gonna end in the first 10 minutes of the movie. ‘of course she’s gonna end up with the one right in front of her eyes all these while’ plot! oh, please I’m not giving spoilers here – ‘baggage claim’ is THAT predictable!
I’m not saying it’s not funny nor entertaining though – paula patton is sweet and funny, and I did enjoy myself seeing her character meet her many handsome exes, trying to fish the right one to bring her to her sister’s big engagement party OR simply to be THE ONE.
though ‘baggage claim’ is so predictable, it’s just fun to just sit back and wonder what’s in store for the character. what silly incident will happen next? what quirky, unacceptable behaviour will her next ex have? what ridiculous scene will make her wish she hadn’t met this ex for a second time?
it’s a simple, fun movie that ends to easily when she finally ends up with THE ONE – but still entertaining if you have nothing else to watch.
for mr. khairul, thanks for taking the job as co-pilot, and not letting me fly solo no more! love ya!
* * *
I thought I can stay through the awesome one-man show ‘cast away’ just because my beloved tom hanks is the one it it. I thought if it were some other actor, ‘cast away’ would be boring. it turns out, even the senior actor robert redford can pull it off with his one-man show, ‘all is lost’.
unlike ‘cast away’ which starts off showing tom hanks’ life with other characters before he was cast ashore, and again when he’s rescued, ‘all is lost’ is literally a one-man show because robert redford is THE ONLY person we see throughout the movie. from start to finish.
and can still be engaging.
that shows how incredible the movie is. no wonder robert redford was nominated for best actor at the golden globes awards – he was amazing in this. especially since he’s so old. so old! yet his character and actions show us the meaning of calm under duress, courage under pressure, determination, and the will to go on. all without saying a word.
after his boat crashed into a container at sea, a sailor begins his adventure of survival at sea, engaging viewers with a thousand and one things he could do to keep afloat; literally and figuratively. while getting closer and closer to losing all hope, he keeps fighting. ‘all is lost’ may well teach us, that this, in fact, is not always true.
hope. hope will never get you lost. a highly-recommended movie!
No comments:
Post a Comment