QUICK REVIEW: THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (2017)

From IMDB:

Storyline

There are big changes brewing in Gotham City, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker's hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

75 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 137 user | 272 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

In the irreverent spirit of fun that made "The LEGO (R) Movie" a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble - LEGO Batman - stars in his own big-screen adventure: "The LEGO (R) Batman Movie." But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker's hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

Rating: PG (for rude humor and some action)

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Kids & Family

Directed By: Chris McKay

Written By: Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, John Whittington

In Theaters: Feb 10, 2017 Wide

Box Office: $133,214,675.00

Runtime: 90 minutes

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

TOMATOMETER 91%

Average Rating: 7.5/10

Reviews Counted: 212

Fresh: 193

Rotten: 19

Critics Consensus: The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise's winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny -- and beautifully animated -- family-friendly mayhem.

AUDIENCE SCORE 84% liked it

Average Rating: 4/5

User Ratings: 29,283

This is the first Batman movie that has bothered to explain why Robin is dressed the way he is... ©Warner Bros. Pictures

It's a LEGO movie, it's a BATMAN movie...

I know this movie came out a long time ago and the truth is I saw it a long time ago too, saw it the week it opened actually but I'm only getting to blog about it now. By now you've probably already seen it, know what it's all about and also know that it went over really well, so now I'll share with you my two cents about it. 

And finally we know why Batman is always on his own... ©Warner Bros. Pictures

• The story, I like it. Struck a nice balance between what a LEGO movie should be and what a Batman movie should be. 
• The animation. It's not bad. It doesn't seem as polished as the first LEGO movie but it isn't noticeable.
• The cast. On this one, Will Arnett really does steal the show but he's beautifully supported by the rest.
• The pace. Directed by Chris McKay who also worked on Robot Chicken it is relentless just like the TV show that he worked on.
• Loved all the cameos, easter eggs and references to other Batman movies, etc. 

All in all, I enjoyed it just like a lot of people out there. I'm giving it a solid 3.7 out of 5.

Here's the final trailer just for fun.

MOVIE REVIEW: LA LA LAND (2016)

From IMDB:

Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

93 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 518 user | 431 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

Written and directed by Academy Award (R) nominee Damien Chazelle, LA LA LAND tells the story of Mia [Emma Stone], an aspiring actress, and Sebastian [Ryan Gosling], a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams.

Rating: PG-13 (for some language)

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical & Performing Arts

Directed By: Damien Chazelle

Written By: Damien Chazelle

In Theatres: Dec 9, 2016 Limited

Box Office: $89,758,080.00

Runtime: 128 minutes

Studio: Liongate Films

TOMATOMETER 93%

Average Rating: 8.7/10

Reviews Counted: 305

Fresh: 283

Rotten: 22

Critics Consensus: La La Land breathes new life into a bygone genre with thrillingly assured direction, powerful performances, and an irresistible excess of heart.

AUDIENCE SCORE 87% liked it

Average Rating: 4.3/5

User Ratings: 43,401

Didn't I see this same scene in The Nice Guys? Nope, I guess not. ©Summit Entertainment

From the man who brought you the intense story of a young man trying to become a jazz drummer...

So, La La Land. This movie was just announced to have received no less than 14 Oscar nominations but it has already gotten 182 nominations for other awards and won a total of 134 of them. That's pretty impressive when you consider that for most of the world we just found out and saw this movie starting from a little over a month ago. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle who also wrote and directed the 2014 surprise hit that was Whiplash. The surprising thing is that La La Land was supposed to be made first before Whiplash but as the Chazelle was relatively unknown then and the script proved a little too difficult to bring to life, Whiplash was made instead.

How often do you do a swishy dance when you get dragged to a party? ©Summit Entertainment

Whiplash was a simple story but was so intense and brilliantly told and the music heightened that intensity. La La Land is at the other end of the spectrum. It's a Rom-Com coated in a quirky musical that pays homage to all of the musicals from the 40's and 50's, those movies with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Ginger Rogers and the ones by made by Busby Berkeley. But they aren't as elaborate or as grand, except of course for that last one. But they are just as entertaining to watch. And underneath all that colourful choreography is a solid soundtrack that is heavily influenced by jazz.

How often do first meetings go so well that you end up doing a dance together? I know it happens a lot in Bollywood films too. ©Summit Entertainment

The story is pretty simple, a struggling actress meets and equally struggling jazz musician who dreams of buying an old jazz club and turning it into his own dream jazz club. They meet much like in any other Rom-Com, bumping into each other in unlikely places until that one moment where they finally get to talk and though they may at first rub each other the wrong way something does click and soon they fall in love. As with any other Rom-Com, there is, of course, that moment of conflict where they question their relationship and decide to go their separate ways in the case of La La Land the wedge between them is their respective dreams. But unlike most Rom-Coms, they don't end up together but they do have a sort of reunion near the end of the film. Their story is told not only through dialogue but through song and dance too.

Oh, look it's J.K. Simmons being mean to another jazz musician. ©Summit Entertainment

So, on to the likes.

• The story. Nothing special about it but very well told and towards the end, not exactly the ending you were expecting but good nonetheless. Loved the little "what if" musical segment.
• The music. Loved it.
• The visuals. Loved it too. Beautifully shot and there were moments where Chazelle would use certain visual/camera compositions and lighting that was used back in those old movies.
• The choreography. What's not to like? If you didn't like it, why did you go watch it, to begin with? You did see the trailers before going, right?
• The cast. Brilliant performance by both Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone didn't know they could dance let alone sing.

The not so likes.

• As good as the music is I sort of felt that the singing could have been a lot better.

The grandest and most colourful dance scene happens not when these two find happiness together... ©Summit Entertainment

All in all, La La Land is a beautiful tribute to those great dance musicals from the early days of Hollywood and not only is the music and dancing entertaining but it has a lovely little story brought to life by two very talented actors whom you can tell are really enjoying themselves. If they weren't we as the audience probably wouldn't have enjoyed watching it as much. Case in point, Toni Colette in xXx.

As with quite a few good love stories this one too has a scene in a cinema. ©Summit Entertainment

If you're looking for something different, something fresh, a story told very well but in a different way than pretty much every movie in the past year then go watch this. Or just go watch it to see why everyone's talking about it and why it's been nominated for so many awards and won quite a few. La La Land deserves a solid 4 out of 5.

Check out the trailer.

MOVIE REVIEW: WHY HIM? (2016)

From IMDB:

Over the holidays, Ned (Bryan Cranston), an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The rivalry develops, and Ned's panic level goes through the roof when he finds himself lost in this glamorous high-tech world and learns that Laird is about to pop the question.Written by 20th Century Fox

38 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 17 user | 61 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

Over the holidays, Ned (Bryan Cranston), an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The straight-laced Ned thinks Laird, who has absolutely no filter, is a wildly inappropriate match for his daughter. The one-sided rivalry-and Ned's panic level-escalate when he finds himself increasingly out of step in the glamorous high-tech hub, and learns that Laird is about to pop the question.

Rating: R (for strong language and sexual material throughout)

Genre: Comedy

Directed By: John Hamburg

Written By: John Hamburg, Ian Helfer

In Theaters: Dec 23, 2016 Wide

Box Office: $11,002,986.00

Runtime: 111 minutes

Studio: 20th Century Fox

TOMATOMETER 40%

Average Rating: 4.9/10

Reviews Counted: 102

Fresh: 41

Rotten: 61

Critics Consensus: Solidly cast but overall misconceived, Why Him? offers the odd chuckle, but ultimately adds disappointingly little to its tired father-vs.-fiancé formula.

AUDIENCE SCORE 63% liked it

Average Rating: 3.6/5

User Ratings: 9,962

If the first time you meet someone and he doesn't have a shirt and has a foul mouth what goes through your mind? ©20th Century Fox

Directed by the man who also wrote for all the Meet the Fockers franchise and the Zoolander franchise...

Why Him? was actually released in the US on December 23rd but is only coming to Malaysia on the 29th. I saw it yesterday, the 27th. Why is it taking this comedy so long? Who knows? Anyway, Why Him? was written in part by the director John Hamburg along with Jonah Hill and Ian Helfer. John Hamburg also wrote for Meet the Parents (2000), Zoolander (2001), Along Came Polly (2004), Meet the Fockers (2004), I Love You, Man (2009), Little Fockers (2010) and Zoolander 2 (2016). Now with the exception of maybe Little Fockers and Zoolander 2 pretty much all the rest were pretty good and funny and a little better than average. By the time of Little Fockers and Zoolander 2 you've basically seen and heard everything and it's just not as fresh, right? 

On the menu today is smoked bear wrapped in yesterday's newspaper. ©20th Century Fox

So let's get on to Why Him?, which stars Bryan Cranston as Ned Fleming the man who's asking the question, "Why him?". He has a daughter named Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) who is currently in college and to his surprise is dating a man whom he finds out about quite accidentally and hilariously on his birthday while on a video call with his daughter. After this accidental introduction Stephanie decides it would be good for the family to get to know the "new" boyfriend and tells her dad to bring down the family to California over the Christmas holidays. So off Ned goes to California with his lovely wife Barb (Megan Mullally) and son Scotty (Griffin Gluck).

Pinkie swears are very important to Silicon Valley millionaires. That's how they finalize all their contracts. ©20th Century Fox

On arriving in California Steph tries to tell Ned a little about her boyfriend but can't quite figure out how and things get a little harder to explain when they arrive at his home and enter through a hidden entrance. Things get weirder still as they see chickens and llamas on the estate and meet with Gustav (Keegan-Michael Key) the estate manager who previously managed a chain of famous 5-star hotels because he was tired of all the trappings associated with that career and lifestyle.

Anyway, the story pretty much unravels the same way that Meet the Parents does albeit this time it's the father in law to be who is the focus of things and have funny things happen around him and occasionally to him. That's one difference, the other difference is is the future son in law is one of those silicon valley millionaire guys with an unusual personality. So that's the thing that's been updated. And oh yeah, the cussing, lots of cussing. What did you expect from a movie that's also written by Jonah Hill who also helped write for Sausage Party (2016) and stars James Franco? We're just short of Seth Rogen and it would've been complete. If you know what I mean. 

What is the correct reaction for when a wet and clearly-naked-under-his-kaftan dress man sits on your bed and then tells you that there's a computer always listening to what you're doing? ©20th Century Fox

So here's a few things I enjoyed.

• Like Ned and the Flemings. Fun to watch Bryan Cranston in a comedic role again. Megan Mullally was adorable. Scotty was ok. Steph was ok too. 
• The story was average. Not bad. Not super good or super funny either. It has its moments.
• Like Gustav. 

Why is a dead moose trapped in it's own urine considered art? ©20th Century Fox

A few things that didn't impress.

• Not impressed with James Franco's character. That whole Silicon Valley millionaire start-up weirdo just isn't all that interesting. Doesn't really bring anything new to the story. Well not much anyway. And the cussing. Really? It stopped being funny after the first f*$k. 

 So Ned goes to Laird's office to talk about hacking into his network. I guess he forgot about the fact that someone is always listening. ©20th Century Fox

Why Him? is, to be honest nothing special. It has its moments for sure and you'll laugh but you won't remember it a half hour after you've walked out the cinema. If people ask you about it, you might say it's funny and you might recommend it but you probably won't go into much detail. Unless you're a fan of the comedy that James Franco and friends are known for. You'll enjoy Bryan Cranston if you're a fan of his and it's a nice throwback to the days when he did comedy. But nothing in this movie will make you rant and rave about it to your friends and family. Also, this may not be suitable for the whole family. 

Who isn't turned on by a cartoony portrait of humping capybaras? ©20th Century Fox

What this movie is is a quick laugh after a long day or a long week. A movie to watch when you just don't want to think about anything. Sort of like every comedy that James Franco has been in or Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill. It's very little substance but lots of juvenile type humour to appeal to the frat boy or sorority girl in you. If you consider yourself an adult then maybe don't watch this movie. And since I sort of guessed that this was going to be the case I set my expectations pretty low. So that's why I'm giving this movie a 3 out of 5. 

Check out the red band trailer below. 

A GREAT BIG THANKS TO KLIPS.MY AND 20th CENTURY FOX MALAYSIA FOR THE PREMIERE PASSES TO WHY HIM?

MOVIE REVIEW: TROLLS (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

From the creators of Shrek comes the most smart, funny, irreverent animated comedy of the year, DreamWorks' Trolls. This holiday season, enter a colorful, wondrous world populated by hilariously unforgettable characters and discover the story of the overly optimistic Trolls, with a constant song on their lips, and the comically pessimistic Bergens, who are only happy when they have trolls in their stomach. Featuring original music from Justin Timberlake, and soon-to-be classic mash-ups of songs from other popular artists, the film stars the voice talents of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Russell Brand, James Corden, Kunal Nayyar, Ron Funches, Icona Pop, Gwen Stefani, and many more. DreamWorks' TROLLS is a fresh, broad comedy filled with music, heart and hair-raising adventures. In November of 2016, nothing can prepare you for our new Troll world.

48 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 11 user | 41 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

DreamWorks Animation's TROLLS is an irreverent comedy extravaganza with incredible music! From the genius creators of SHREK, TROLLS stars Anna Kendrick as Poppy, the optimistic leader of the Trolls, and her polar opposite, Branch, played by Justin Timberlake. Together, this unlikely pair of Trolls must embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond the only world they've ever known.

Rating: PG (for some mild rude humor)

Genre: Animation , Kids & Family

Directed By: Mike Mitchell , Walt Dohrn

Written By: Jonathan Aibel , Glenn Berger

In Theaters: Nov 3, 2016 Wide

Runtime: 100 minutes

Studio: DreamWorks Animation

TOMATOMETER 88%

Average Rating: 6.5/10

Reviews Counted: 32

Fresh: 28

Rotten: 4

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

WANT TO SEE 90% want to see

User Ratings: 17,884

TROLLS OPENS IN THE U.S. ON THE 4th OF NOVEMBER AND IN MALAYSIA ON THE 3rd OF NOVEMBER. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS NEAR YOU. 

This is Princess Poppy. Her hobbies include singing, dancing, hugging and scrapbooking. ©20th Century Fox

From a toy born in the 60's to a film about trolls who are eaten because they are believed to make you feel happy... 

So Trolls, born from the mind of a Danish man named Thomas Dam who in 1959 because he couldn't afford to buy a christmas gift for his daughter decided to carve her a little doll. I guess he was a little different even for then because the doll turned out to be a troll. When his daughter's friends in the Danish town of Gjøl saw the little troll all of them wanted it. Soon Mr Dam started a company called Dam Things and the little trolls became a fad all over the world. In the 50 odd years of the little trolls existence they've been plagiarized, copyrighted, turned into action figures, made into fashion dolls, they were made into TV shows, videogames and now even a film. It would be quite surprising if anyone were to say that they've never seen them before.

That grey dude there is Branch. His hobbies include telling the other trolls that Bergens are coming and preparing for their eventual coming. ©20th Century Fox

Let's do a quick background about this little movie. A little over six years ago DreamWorks Animation announced plans to create a film based on the toys, two years later they then announced that Chloë Grace Moretz and Jason Schwartzman  would be voicing the main characters but no mention about it being a musical. A year later they acquired the intellectual property for the Trolls franchise from Mr Thomas Dam's family and Dam Things. After that there was a few changes to who would direct, who would write, what it was going to be about and when it would actually show up on the big screen. In May of 2013 they finally confirmed that it would be a musical comedy but at the time Anna Kendrick was the only one confirmed to be part of the project as the cast. Then in January 2016, on twitter, the full cast was revealed. I had no idea this film even existed until about a month ago or so. I think.

The trolls have a hugging schedule. They hug every hour. Branch isn't a fan of hugs. ©20th Century Fox

Trolls is about a village of trolls who twenty years before escaped from their captive existence in the town of Bergen. Bergen is filled of course with Bergens who are generally an unhappy bunch until one day they discover the trolls who are ultra colorful little creatures who do nothing everyday but sing and dance and be happy. For whatever reason the first Bergens to encounter these happy little creatures believed that for them to be happy just like the trolls they'd have to eat the trolls. So it is that the tradition of Trollstice is born where once a year the Bergens go down to the tree that the trolls live in and pick a few to give to few lucky Bergens to eat. For the purposes of our viewing pleasure this Trollstice will be the first time Prince Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) will be tasting a little bit of happiness. 

Branch would rather spend his time in his secret hideout. ©20th Century Fox

But unfortunately for him twenty years before all the trolls fled under the direction of King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor) and all that's left are wooden troll dolls. Like what Mr Dam made for her daughter. This makes King Gristle (John Cleese) mad and so he banishes the person who was supposed to be in charge of Trollstice, Chef (Christine Baranski) from Bergen forever. Chef of course is unhappy about this development and swears to find the trolls.

And sit around with his mousetraps. ©20th Century Fox

Meanwhile, since it's been twenty years King Peppy isn't so peppy anymore and his daughter Poppy (Anna Kendrick) is next in line to take over. But she's got other things on her mind at the moment, like celebrating the twentieth anniversary of living a Bergen-free existence so she and her friends Biggie (James Corden), Guy Diamond (Kunal Nayyar), DJ Suki (Gwen Stefani), Creek (Russell Brand), Cooper (Ron Funches) and Satin and Chenille (Caroline Hjelt & Aino Jawo) busy themselves with the preparations while Branch (Justin Timberlake) reminds them that all they'll be doing is attracting Bergens to their party.

That big creature is called Chef. She only knows how to cook Trolls. She's not much of a chef. ©20th Century Fox

Of course Poppy doesn't listen to Branch's tale of doom and gloom brought about by Bergens and of course Chef finds them and captures all of Poppy's friends. This of course means that Poppy needs to rescue them and that Branch needs to be the reluctant hero. When they get to Bergen they find some unlikely help in the form of Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), Bergen Castle's only scullery maid who is also hopelessly in love with Prince Gristle.

That cloud guy seems like he would be fun to watch, right? Well, he was for the few minutes that he shows up. ©20th Century Fox

A few things I like. 

• What I saw on the screen. Beautifully colourful and vibrant. Loved how things were textured to look like everything was made out of felt and wool. A really cool look.
• The story was fine. Nothing original but what can you expect from a movie directed mainly at kids. 
• The music wasn't too bad. Mostly snippets but nicely done. If you enjoyed Anna Kendrick's voice in the Pitch Perfect movies then you'll enjoy her voice here too. 
• The main cast were of course good. Wasn't too impressed with Timberlake but no complaints about the others who were of course seasoned actors and voice actors. 

The one with the colourful hair is Bridget, she's secretly in love with Prince Gristle. That's not her hair. ©20th Century Fox

Trolls is a fun little movie for the kids. There's a few laughs and silly gags and puns but they don't make you laugh boisterously or frequently. It's ultra colourful and cutesy that will for sure keep the kids attention focused on the screen for a while at least. The music is fun but it isn't particularly catchy so the kids won't be singing any of the songs for months after watching it. And at the end the kids will get a nice little message about how they can find happiness and joy without having to eat anything small and colourful. Especially when they're being forced on you by an old and ugly woman. 

This movie is like a 90 minute long PSA against substance abuse but there's no way anyone could have come up with what you see here without it, right? ©20th Century Fox

All in all Trolls is a fun little distraction that will only take about 90 minutes of your life. Definitely one for the kids and for parents who could use 90 minutes where their kids aren't driving them crazy. I'm going to give Trolls a solid 3 out of 5. 

Check out the latest trailer for Trolls below.

A GREAT BIG THANKS TO BFM RADIO AND 20th CENTURY FOX MALAYSIA FOR THE PREVIEW PASSES!! 

MOVIE REVIEW: BRIDGET JONES'S BABY (2016)

From IMDB:

Bridget's focus on single life and her career is interrupted when she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch ... she can only be fifty percent sure of the identity of her baby's father.



59 Metascore From metacritic.com
Reviews 49 user | 115 critic


From Rotten Tomatoes:

Oscar (R) winners Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth are joined by Patrick Dempsey for the next chapter of the world's favorite singleton in Bridget Jones's Baby. Directed by Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones's Diary), the new film in the beloved comedy series based on creator Helen Fielding's heroine finds Bridget unexpectedly expecting. After breaking up with Mark Darcy (Firth), Bridget Jones's (Zellweger) "happily ever after" hasn't quite gone according to plan. Fortysomething and single again, she decides to focus on her job as top news producer and surround herself with old friends and new. For once, Bridget has everything completely under control. What could possibly go wrong? Then her love life takes a turn and Bridget meets a dashing American named Jack (Dempsey), the suitor who is everything Mr. Darcy is not. In an unlikely twist she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch...she can only be fifty percent sure of the identity of her baby's father. The much-anticipated third installment of the Bridget Jones's franchise welcomes fellow Academy Award (R) winner Emma Thompson to the cast. Longtime collaborators Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films produce alongside Debra Hayward. Universal Pictures will distribute Bridget Jones's Baby in North America and select international territories.

Rating: R (for language, sex references and some nudity)

Genre: Comedy , Romance

Directed By: Sharon Maguire

Written By: Emma Thompson , Dan Mazer , Helen Fielding

In Theaters: Sep 15, 2016 Wide

Box Office: $16,594,365.00

Runtime: 122 minutes

Studio: Working Title

TOMATOMETER 78%

Average Rating: 6.3/10

Reviews Counted: 160

Fresh: 124

Rotten: 36

Critics Consensus: Bridget Jones's Baby might be late on arrival, but fans of the series should still find its third installment a bouncing bundle of joy.

AUDIENCE SCORE 79% liked it

Average Rating: 3.9/5

User Ratings: 11,471

BRIDGET JONES'S BABY OPENED IN THE US ON THE 16th OF SEPTEMBER AND IN MALAYSIA ON THE 29th OF SEPTEMBER. FOR EVERYWHERE ELSE FIND OUT HERE. 

The movie starts off like this. ©Universal Pictures

15 years after the first and 12 years after the second one Bridget Jones finally gets what she's been looking for...

So Bridget Jones, a character that started its life in a column titled Bridget Jones's Diary in an online British newspaper called The Independent in 1995 which was so successful they turned it into a novel in 1996 and three years later came the sequel titled Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Both books were a hit with readers and when a book is a hit they sometimes spawn movies based on it or adapted from it, in this case the first movie Bridget Jones's Diary came out in 2001 and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason was released in 2004. The first movie did better than the second.

Which later bit later ends up with Bridget doing this. ©Universal Pictures

So now more than a dozen years later we get Bridget Jones still going through life as single woman and still being very much herself. She's also still has a crush on her Mr. Darcy. Why did it take so long for a third installment to get made and hit the screen? Well a third installment was announced back in 2009 and Working Title Films did confirm that it wouldn't be based on Helen Fielding's third Bridget Jones novel but between then and 2015 nothing was confirmed other than Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth being interested in participating in it. There were others interested in joining the project too like Hugh Grant and Paul Feig among others but in the end they decided to not be a part of it due to creative differences or something like that. 

She also meets this bloke but thinks he works at her local Starbucks. ©Universal Pictures

Anyway, as mentioned before this installment picks up several years after the second film, Bridget (Renée Zellweger) is still single and is now working as a segment producer in a news floor of a tv station, Darcy (Colin Firth) is still a lawyer and is now married and Daniel (Hugh Grant) is presumed dead after his plane disappears somewhere in the world (which means Hugh Grant isn't in this movie). Her Dad (Jim Broadbent) is still the affable and understanding block and Mom (Gemma Jones) is running for a position in the local county office or something. 

But that weekend of partying also leads her here. ©Universal Pictures

She has a good friend in her colleague Miranda (Sarah Solemani) who is the reason or the cause for part of her problems in this film. And there's also Jack (Patrick Dempsey) an internet start-up millionaire or billionaire who founded a internet dating/matching app/website with some sort of fancy algorithm that does a brilliant job and putting the right people together except himself.

And here. ©Universal Pictures

So here's a few things I like. 

1. The cast. Everyone who matters is back, except for Hugh Grant of course and it's all very familiar and comfortable. Zellweger is back with her adorable awkwardness and her less than believable accent. Firth looks amazing. 
2. The humour. It's been a while since the first film and I don't remember much of it but from what I can remember it seems like it's still intact. It's a little bit more reserved maybe but still there. Lots of wit and puns for sure and some are a little naughty. It isn't laugh out loud from start to finish but the pace is nice and you're not left bored.
3. The story is fun too. It doesn't put Bridget in too extreme a situation to draw out the laughs or play too much with her spinster status. 
4. Emma Thompson who plays Dr Rawlings is brilliant. She also helped write the screenplay.
5. What I didn't like. 
6. Can't think of any actually. 

With two possible fathers for her baby who like to pretend that they're gay and that she's a surrogate. ©Universal Pictures

Overall this third and long awaited installment for some is a fun trip back in time. A nice revisit with a character that was much loved from a while ago as well the actors that played it. I was amazed at how some have aged compared to others. I'm guessing you know who I'm talking about. Seeing Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth standing on screen together now and then watching a short montage from the previous films really was a remarkable thing to see. 

But she still ends up buying her own christmas tree and lugging it back home herself. ©Universal Pictures

If you loved the previous films you'll probably love this one too. If you've never seen them this is still an entertaining and funny film. It's pure British humour and wit this film. I'm going to give it a solid 3 out of 5.

Check out the trailer below.

A BIG THANK YOU TO TGV CINEMAS AND UIP MALAYSIA FOR LETTING ME WATCH BRIDGET JONES'S BABY AHEAD OF MY FELLOW MALAYSIANS!

MOVIE REVIEW: STORKS (2016)

From IMDB:

Storks deliver babies...or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for global internet giant Cornerstore.com. Junior, the company's top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl. Desperate to deliver this bundle of trouble before the boss gets wise, Junior and his friend Tulip, the only human on Stork Mountain, race to make their first-ever baby drop - in a wild and revealing journey that could make more than one family whole and restore the storks' true mission in the world. Written by Warner Bros.

63 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 2 user | 31 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

In this animated children's fantasy, two storks (voiced by Kelsey Grammer and Andy Samberg) reveal the truth about their job delivering babies to new parents.

Rating: PG (for mild action and some thematic elements)

Genre: Animation , Comedy , Kids & Family

Directed By: Nicholas Stoller , Doug Sweetland

Written By: Nicholas Stoller

In Theaters: Sep 23, 2016 Wide

Runtime: 87 minutes

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

TOMATOMETER 53%

Average Rating: 6/10

Reviews Counted: 45

Fresh: 24

Rotten: 21

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

WANT TO SEE 94% want to see

User Ratings: 12,460

STORKS OPENS ON THE 23rd OF SEPTEMBER WORLDWIDE. IF IT DOESN'T OPEN ON THE 23rd NEAR YOU, CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS.

Guess which one is the odd one out and the orphan here. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

From the studio not the people that gave you the LEGO Movie...

So a few days ago I went to watch Storks but since I am a major procrastinator I'm only writing down my thoughts about it today which is actually the day it opens worldwide. Storks which stars among others Kelsey Grammer as Hunter the current head honcho at Cornerstore.com located on Stork Mountain, Andy Samberg as Junior the up and coming Stork slated to take over from Hunter, Katie Crown as Tulip as the only human working at Cornerstore.com, Jennifer Aniston and Ty Burrell as Sarah and Henry Gardner owners of Gardner Real Estates and parents to Nate voiced by Anton Starkman is a story about how Nate's desire for a baby brother changes everyone's life.

This is Hunter, the boss. He's going to retire soon and spend the rest of his days bullying little bird. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

It starts with Hunter who calls on Junior, Cornerstore's best delivery stork, to his office to inform him that he's chosen Junior to replace him as the CEO at the next Stork-Con event. But there's a catch, Junior needs to fire Tulip the orphan the only human who works at Cornerstore. Tulip became an orphan when the Jasper (Danny Trejo) the stork that was supposed to deliver her to her parents decides to keep her and during the standoff between him and the other storks he drops the homing beacon that shows her home smashing it to pieces.

Guess what Nate is missing here. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

Nate Gardner on the other hand has parents who are too busy to pay him any attention and since he has no one to play with him at home and a chance peek at a pair of brothers gushing about how they love each other in the next car on the way to dinner, Nate decides he'd like a little brother. Not just a brother mind you, a brother with ninja skills. His parents deciding not to take him seriously especially when he begins to talk about how easy it is, because all babies come delivered by storks, tell him they'll talk about it later. Nate while playing/rummaging in the attic some days later discovers quite conveniently a brochure for what the storks used to do and how to get them to deliver a brand new baby. 

Can you tell why Junior has that look on his face? ©Warner Bros. Pictures

So Nate follows the instructions and a baby shows up and the now defunct baby department at Stork Mountain where the only employee there is Tulip who has been assigned by Junior to take charge of the mail room. The appearance of the baby puts a huge wrench in Junior's ascension plans so they both team up to get the baby delivered before Hunter finds out and well before Stork-Con. In their delivery baby adventures they meet a crazy wolf pack with amazing team work lead by an alpha wolf (Keegan-Michael Key) and a wannabe beta wolf (Jordan Peele). Spied on by a somewhat goofy pigeon with lofty dreams named Pigeon Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman) and finds out what truly happened on the day that Jasper dropped Tulips homing beacon.

This is a pigeon and he's a toady. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

That being said here's a list of things I enjoyed.

1. The voice acting. Everyone does a pretty good job. 
2. The animation. It's beautifully done.
3. The wolf pack. They were a surprise and they were silly fun.
4. The babies. They were adorable.
5. The ending. That was a surprising heartfelt moment.

Oh, look. Creepy penguins. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

Things I didn't find so enjoyable.

1. The story. It seemed to be a little unfocused. There's the balance that they strike between telling Junior and Tulip's adventures and what Nate does with his parents but you don't really end up investing much in either. 
2. The humour. There's a few laughs, much too few laughs. For an animation that obviously seems to be targeted at kids there's little fun to be had. There were kids in the cinema that I was watching this in but I didn't hear much gleeful laughter from them. Most of the silly giggles came in the scenes with the wolf pack. 
3. Something feels a little forced. Not too sure whether it's the relationship between the characters or the humour or maybe both. 
4. The end sequence where Hunter gets his comeuppance seemed a little too serious and grim for a movie like this. Not too sure who they were trying to impress with that one, can't be the kids.

Guess what they put in here. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

Overall this was a pretty "Meh" experience. The elements are all there but it just doesn't come together all that well. Shiny and cute visuals and a story that doesn't seem to draw you in and because of that no matter what the capable cast does it sorts of ends up a little as I said, unfocused. Who is this movie for? The kids or the adults? Sitting there watching it I have to say I don't think neither seem too impressed by it. So that being said I'm going to give Storks a fair 2.5 out of 5. Maybe the really young kids who are amused by colourful characters on screen might find it fun. Maybe.

Check out the combined trailer below. 

BIG THANKS TO KLIPS.MY, WARNER BROS MALAYSIA AND TGV CINEMAS FOR THE PREVIEW PASSES!