Eastern Promises (2007)

I'm glad I got to watch this film. I saw it on DVD and I'm usually not fond of watching anything on DVD unless it's a film that I really wanted to watch and I missed it in theatres or it wasn't shown theatrically. What I liked about it was the tight storyline, the strong acting and all the ways the film engaged me. One could view it as a love story. Or a drama thriller about the Russian mafia. While I wasn't 100% blown away by this film because I thought some plot points seem too convenient to service the plot, but I was nevertheless pretty much strongly impressed. Acting and directing is top notch.

WALL.E (2008)

Some minor inconsiderate cinematic behavior from fellow patrons spoiled the viewing experience for me. Nevertheless, WALL.E, which is filled with lots of cute moments failed to entertain me enough. In fact, I was actually bored during the quiet front bits, and when things got exciting towards the end, those felt pretty generic to me. That said, WALL.E does follow the Pixar mould of strong character development and quality story-telling. And the backdrop of how humans have made Earth so uninhabitable makes for a good subtle way to teach the kids about the bad, bad things that mankind does to the Earth.

12 Lotus (2008)

Thought it was a slightly stronger film than 881, though less appealing as a mainstream crowd pleaser. Really impressed by the visuals, the cast and especially the very talented Li Bao En - who played the young Liu Lian Hua. 

The marketing harps on the film's ties to 881, but the moment the film begins - it sets itself apart. It's the same cast, but these are absolutely different characters. Mindee and Qi Yu Wu look good on the silver screen. Liu Ling Ling's performance did not seem to match what was established about the character earlier in the film - though I'm torn over whether that's a good or bad thing - cos if it did match - the scenes may not be half as entertaining. 

Royston definitely has a lot more to learn as a cinematic storyteller, but with 12 Lotus, he's probably proven himself to be Singapore's brightest spark when it comes to a local film talent.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)

Since when did Terracotta Warriors become mummies? Well, I was prepared for my imagination to be stretched... but 5 minutes into this film and I'm thinking they're spending a lot of time to introduce the story and the setup. This isn't good. I was starting to get bored.  Plus I couldn't make out a word of Chinese that Jet Li's character was speaking. And Michelle Yeoh speaks Chinese like she's not totally comfy with the language.

I remember being entertained by the last 2 Mummy movies. Not so on this third outing. When the actual story finally begins, I was so bored by the pedestrial storytelling and characters that I was constantly thinking of walking out. I came to watch a Hollywood action adventure flick. But everything was just an excuse to mask a weak story with special effects, with the hope that no one notices this is just a movie version of a roller coaster ride that offers no real thrills. The romance angle, the drama and all the setup all come across half-baked and half hearted.

Lots more to nitpick about this movie. But like the way the filmmakers approach this film, I'm too lazy to elaborate.