The Viral Factor (2012) Movie Review

The Viral Factor is a movie which I'm not sure what's it about before I went to watch it. The only details that I knew about is that it stars Jay Chou and Nicholas Tse hence it must be a Chinese movie.



Well, the show actually talks of a team of International Security Affairs who were on a mission to protect a scientist and his family to another country for safety. With the scientist is a mutated smallpox virus which can prove deadly.
The team was led by Jon Man (played by Jay Chou) but it was a failed mission due to a member of the team betraying them in order to obtain the virus for a devious master plan to for insane profits.



After the incident, with a bullet still stuck to his head with no way of getting it out and 2 weeks left to live before dying or being completely paralyzed, he decided to return to his mother in China to spend the rest of his time with her. But doing so has uncovered a secret that his mother has kept from him for so many years, that he has an older brother which his mother left in a hurry to escape from his father who's a hardcore gambler fearing that he's returning soon.

Knowing this truth has prompted Jon to seek his long lost brother who's still in Malaysia with his dad. During the journey back to Malaysia, he met Dr. Rachel Kan (played by Lin Peng) who learned about his condition due to the agony he was in while on the plane and had promise to help him out with some well known neurosurgeon. Upon arrival at the airport, Dr. Kan was quietly kidnapped which later Jon manages to rescue her.



While in Malaysia, he managed to locate his father (who's still a hardcore gambler) and get to know that his brother was a wanted felon with a young daughter to take care of. Jon urges his brother to give himself up but pretty soon found out that the corruption of some police force has even force him to defy the law and take matters in his own hand.

With his family & Dr. Kan in danger, Jon works together with his brother in order to foil the plans of the one who orchestrated it which is also the very person who betrayed Jon's team, Sean (played by Andy On).

This movie is action packed from start till finish. Although some of the effects were not really realistic, yet a word of caution that it's still not for some people who are faint of heart due to some goriness in it. It's a pleasant watch after considering the few almost bored to death shows that I've seen previously. And watching the movie is like a walk around my home country since I'm from Malaysia too. LOL. All in all, I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

The Descendants (2011) Movie Review

The movie tells of the tale of a sole heir where the family has a trust that owns lots of land in Hawaii. They usually sold lands to big entrepreneurs where it will be developed to house vacation resorts, golf courses and the likes of it.



The tale also tells of the harsh reality of life where despite living in a vacation spot where most people call it paradise, the people that live in the land are not immune to pain and heartache and the need to earn a living. And so that's where the movie begins.

The sole heir of the trust is called Matt King (whom George Clooney plays) where his wife is in a coma due to a boating accident. The wife's condition was not getting better and the decision to pull the plug was imminent. Matt, not knowing on how to take care much of his youngest daughter, he brought back home his eldest daughter to help who was at boarding school. Soon afterwards, when resolving why his eldest daughter, Alexandra (played by Shailene Woodley), was not in good terms with his mother, he discovered that the reason for the argument was actually because his wife was cheating on him.

Out of partial rage and feeling a need of obligation, he was determined to find out who the person was and decides to confront him. In addition to having the urge of finding out what kind of guy that is, he also wanted to give him the chance to say goodbye to his wife while she's still hook to the machine that's keeping her alive.



And that's it! That's the story in brief.

The show to me was kind of dry and although there were few interesting bits, the only best thing about the movie to me was that it starred George Clooney. I would rate this movie a mere 2.5 stars out of 5.

Contraband (2012) Movie Review

Recently went for the preview screening of Contraband where it stars Mark Wahlberg. To me, Mark Wahlberg is a bland actor but in this movie, he's portrayed as a very dashing, macho, heroic person.



The movie takes viewers into the dark world of smuggling, the underground scene of ferrying drugs, counterfeit cash and many other unmentionables across countries and borders in a subtle manner rampant within the corruption of authorities and insiders.



Mark Wahlberg plays a former smuggler named Chris Farraday, best at the trade, who has led a clean life and is now merely installing security systems. Unfortunately, he was forced back into the trade when his brother-in-law, Andy (played by Caleb Landry Jones), failed to deliver the goods Andy was smuggling and was in trouble with his life since now he's in debt with the person he's owing.

Chris' plan was to smuggle large amount of counterfeit cash from Panama into US borders to pay off Andy's debts. Little does he know, it was all a preplanned mastermind scheme to get back him into the trade. But the plan was actually to have him transport back drugs which Chris is totally against smuggling drugs. So in order to get him to do so, the mastermind will do anything he can (including sabotaging his scheme of smuggling in the counterfeit money) while time remains short which puts his family in danger.

How does he get out of such a sticky situation? Watch the movie to find out!

This show is a little too dry for me. I'm not sure whether my expectation for movies has gone up or it's just a lot of movies recently that doesn't suit me. Anyway, you can't expect much action in a drama movie like this. I rate this movie 2.5 stars out of 5.

P.S.: By the way, this movie is actually a remake of an Icelandic film back in 2009.

Jack & Jill (2011) Movie Review

Everyone is more familiar with the title Jack and Jill as a nursery rhyme but this one, is actually a movie where it stars Adam Sandler.

I'm a fan of Adam Sandler's work. I find his comedy in films are great and will be a classic. His style in movies are always although being in extreme duress, he'll still throw in comedic lines to lighten up the mood. And in the end, there's always a lesson to be learned.

Jack and Jill tells of a tale where Jack and Jill Sadelstein (both are Adam Sandler) are twins.
As they grew, Jack became a successful advertising agency executive with a lovely family while Jill is the ever single loser.



Like every year, Jill went over to Jack's family for Thanksgiving but this time, with the departure of the mother who was living with Jill back in their hometown at the Bronx, Jill didn't wanna leave Jack's place and Jack always could not stand her neediness and her lack of sensitivity in her speech which is rude to others although truthful.



In addition to his stressful situation with his twin sister, he also faces pressure at work where his company's biggest client wants them to recruit Al Pacino to do the commercial (which is next to impossible) or they'll start finding other agencies.



Having to juggle to settle these two major issues, will Jack be able to successfully make everything right, or will he have to put work/family ahead of the other if it conflicts? Watch the movie to find out how it ends!

This show, in my opinion, lacks really good comedy element. The funny liners that are in the movie are not memorable enough to even make this a movie to be remembered. I've seen so many of these in many comedy TV shows which fizzled out. And to top it up, there were so many parts that were censored. If the preview already contain so many cuts, I shudder to think of the actual movie release. I'm disappointed in this movie and rate this movie 2 stars out of 5. I hope the next Adam Sandler movie will be as good as 50 First Dates which in my opinion, is his best yet.

OverTime @ Wisma Fiamma, Kepong

A while back, January 6, 2012 to be exact, I went over to OverTime, the Wisma Fiamma, Kepong branch to have a look at how the environment was like.

It was a nice, quiet little place tucked opposite of Tesco, Kepong Village Mall in an quaint looking atmosphere.



Somehow my picture looked bright as day even though it was night time. LOL.
Anyway, upon arrival, there were already a few stuff set out for us to eat:



I, of course, loved the siew yok the most:



Since Chinese New Year is around the corner, OverTime will be having a special promotion should you decide to lou sang at their outlet.
For RM333 nett, besides 3 barrels of 2L Starker beer (named FOK, LOK and SAU for the Chinese new year) there will be Yu Sang for you to lou sang and some Ang Pow for your usage.
The 3 barrels given will be of course, a barrel of Lager, a barrel of Aromatic and a barrel of Dunkel:



The Aromatic and Dunkel Starker beer:



A quick look around the area. I find that the place is spacious and being in an area where not many people know the location, I'd say you don't need to worry about overcrowding (unless you bring your whole gang for a big party. haha)



There's also a small stage for live performance:



With the arrival of our Yu Sang, we gathered round ready to lou sang:



A final group picture before dispersing or staying some more for some beer time:



If you're looking to lou sang with friends at somewhere different instead of the usual packed Chinese restaurants, this could be a good alternative location with a very casual setting.

So for the upcoming Chinese New Year, I wish everyone a prosperous always with full of happiness Chinese New Year! Enjoy the festivity with people who are close to your heart, make some new friends and have fun!