Movies : Pitch Perfect, The Words, Cloud Atlas & Possession

syigim is BACK with her first movie review for the new year 2013! will start off with a musical comedy ‘pitch perfect’, a stirring drama ‘the words’, a thought-provoking sci-fi ‘cloud atlas’, and a terribly creepy movie ‘the possession’.

enjoy.

 

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been awhile since i’ve seen a really good fun movie about college-goin youngsters. this is could be the best yet. ‘pitch perfect’ is not exactly a musical like the legendary ‘grease’ with actors suddenly breaking into songs in the middle of a scene, but it IS about music. and people do sing in this movie. oh, i LOVE every single singing scenes in ‘pitch perfect’!

the genre is : a capella. singing without the help of any musical instruments; and the sounds, the beats and singing are all from the mouth. the trebelmakers and the barden bellas are two rivalry teams competing to be the best in singing a capella, while spouting insults towards each other.

and in the middle of it all, the new girl beca gets thrown into the mix. i love how her relationship with ‘the enemy’ jesse, another newbie in the college, develops through the movie – not too fast, not too lovey-dovey, and not too obvious. just nice and sweet, just a couple of friends hanging out, and later finding themselves enjoying each other’s company to finally falling in love at the end.

aussie funny gal rebel wilson as ‘fat amy’ is absolutely hillarious in this movie. sometimes it’s as if she’s without a script and just goin on and on being herself. it’s fun to watch!

so if you love college movies that are NOT just centered on sicky puppy love, if you love singing, if you enjoy a good comedy with a dash of romance – this movie is a must-see. i absolutely LOVE it, especially the scene with the riff-off.

what the heck is a riff-off? go find out, and enjoy!

 

 

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‘the words’ is my new favorite movie. i just LOVE it. i can watch it again and again. it’s a suspense-drama about a writer, talking about his book about a writer, who met a writer talking about how he starts writing. write? rite? right on!

now when i say ‘suspense’, don’t expect action-packed, or complicated mystery – suspense here means i find myself always eager to find out what happens next, and of course, how will the story end.

and it stars the awesome jeremy irons with that signature deep, mellow voice (he voiced ‘scar’ of disney’s lion king), dennis quaid who is still hot for an old dude; and of course the dashing bradley cooper. all 3 gave great, passionate performances. what’s NOT to like?

now i won’t spoil you with the storyline, because you really need to just sit back and enjoy the story of ‘the words’ as it unfolds, without bothering to find out about the plot. just know that it starts off with a narration from the author of a book during a book-reading, and you can just follow his voice.

it would be quite a trip. a highly-recommended movie.

 

 

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there’s no right word to describe this amazing movie ‘cloud atlas’.

i would say that this movie has a few different storylines set in different timeline, different culture and race, different environment.

…a dying lawyer on a ship rescuing a black slave in the 17th century; love-letters from a classical song composer to his ‘friend’; a feisty journalist racing to uncover conspiracy within a nuclear power plant; an elderly man wrongly-put in a nursing home plotting to escape; a pretty clone rescued by a dashing army officer in futuristic Korea; and an african-like tribe with occasional visits from humans living on another planet in the future.

the only thing that’s constant in ‘cloud atlas’ is the message – that our lives are connected somehow; past, present and future – that our actions affect others, perhaps even in a thousand years ahead. it sounds like a lot of adventures to take in one sitting, but you still try to be in the moment because the stories that were told are so engaging – you want to know how each story ends.

..and THAT’s not the amazing part.

the amazing thing is, the main actors in ‘cloud atlas’ play many parts (most up to 8 roles!). tom hanks, for example, play many different characters in each of the story – be it the hero, or the villain, or just a 2-minute-scene hotel manager. it’s a joy watching such an incredibly talented actor showcase his versatility in the many diverse roles he played in this movie.

some actors even played a different race, or even gender! halle berry played a white jewish woman in one plotline, hugh grant was at one time an evil tribal warrior, and ‘the matrix’ bad guy hugo weaving even played a female nurse in one of the plots.

caution : the movie moves from plot to plot set in different timeline and different characters so you either get lost in the movement of the storyline, or get even more engrossed. i was definitely engrossed. if you’re a tom hanks fan, this is a must-see.

 

 

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this is one scary movie.

what makes the movie ‘the possession’ even more scary to me is how closely i can relate to it – having a lot of ‘dirasuk’ stories exposed in our malay society.

the plot is very simple – a girl found a mysterious box that can’t be opened. and of course, she managed to open it. she hears voices. she begins to eat a lot. too much. always hungry. her voice sometimes changes. she acts weird. and people beginning to die around her.

classic case of being possessed. dirasuk.

it’s no ‘exorcist’, but not bad for scaring people. go see it if you enjoy a nice horror movie with an ending that will leave you with a vision of that rustic box, whispering your name – one syllable at a time.

 

 

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more movies coming up!