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Movie Review: Unstoppable (2010)

November 18, 2010 in Movie Reviews

I had no idea what Unstoppable was about when I went to see it.  My mother told me it had Denzel Washington and the guy from Star Trek (Chris Pine) and that it was good — and I took her word for it.

Well, my mother told me the truth, because Unstoppable was awesome.

When I heard that it was called Unstoppable and that it had Denzel in it, I imagined a sequel to Man on Fire and that Denzel would be, um, “unstoppable” in it.  But when the film started and I saw that it was about trains, I almost yawned, fearing that I would get something closer to The Taking of Pelham 123 (please, no more!).

Fortunately, Unstoppable was nothing like either film.  “Unstoppable” is a reference to a runaway train, and Denzel and Chris Pine are the two ordinary railway workers who are caught up in the mayhem.  It also has a very “regular” looking Rosario Dawson and a dickish Kevin Dunn (the dad from the Transformers movies), and is directed by Tony Scott, who, coincidentally, directed both Man on Fire and The Taking of Pelham 123.

I don’t want to give away too much, but what I will say is that Unstoppable is probably the best Tony Scott film since Enemy of the State.  It’s extremely solid from a technical perspective, with a strong plot anchored by its two likable stars, seamless special effects and an unlikely sense of realism for a popcorn movie.

But what I loved most about it was the the pace, which is absolutely frenetic.  After an initial build-up, the film races along at break-neck speed right down to the very end, with one nerve-wracking event after another.  Just when you thought things would be okay, another incident comes and “derails” (pardon the pun) everything.

Of course, not everything will make perfect sense because otherwise the film won’t be quite as exciting — but I can live with that.  As far as action movies go, Unstoppable is definitely one of the better ones you can see this year.

4 stars out of 5!

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Movie Review: Skyline (2010)

November 15, 2010 in Movie Reviews

Contrary to popular opinion, Skyline is NOT the worst film of the year.  It certainly isn’t great, or even good, but in its defence, there have definitely been worse films this year.

This may sound slack, but to me, Skyline felt like a half-decent TV movie.  If I switched on the television one night and saw it, I would would probably keep watching.

I like aliens, and Skyline is a kind of cross between War of the Worlds, Independence Day and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It’s got scary mechanical monsters, explosions and eye-popping special effects.  It’s got Eric Balfour, who been in just about everything over the years (though usually as a minor character), and Donald Faison, that is, Dr Turk from Scrubs.  What’s there not to like?

But unfortunately, Skyline is not a TV movie.  It’s a medium-sized sci-fi blockbuster produced and directed by the Brothers Strause, a special effects duo probably best known for Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (which is not a good sign).

As a big screen feature, Skyline suddenly looks and feels pretty ordinary.  It doesn’t exactly have the most original premise — aliens arrive from out of nowhere and start sucking humans into their spaceships with a hypnotic blue light, while  a bunch of normal humans fight for survival in a nice LA apartment complex.  The Brothers Strause hope that Skyline will be the first of a series of films, but it’s hard to imagine the series going much further unless the plot (and box office numbers) takes a drastic turn.

The main problem with Skyline is that it’s simply not as engaging as it should have been.  I’m not sure if it’s appalling dialogue (truly cringeworthy in some parts), the boring, cliched characters, the trite human interactions, the general cheesiness, or the fact that I never felt a true sense of danger or urgency (or perhaps I just didn’t care).  There were a few blistering action sequences, especially towards the end, but it was clear that something was missing.

That said, as unoriginal and uninspiring Skyline was, I didn’t hate it.  It was occasionally interesting and exciting.  It still had scary mechanical monsters, explosions and eye-popping special effects.  I made it through to the end without moaning or falling asleep.  That has to count for something, right?

2.5 stars out of 5

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Pacquiao punishes Margarito over 12 rounds

November 14, 2010 in Boxing

13/11/2010

I’ll expand on this when I get a chance to rewatch the fight, but Manny Pacquiao just shredded Antonio Margarito’s face for 12 rounds, winning a clear cut unanimous decision, 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110.

At times, Margarito seemed as though he might impose his formidable size on Pacquiao, but the smaller man continued to pepper him with rapid combinations and getting out of the way in time.  Pacquiao looked a little gassed in the latter stages of the fight (remember, Pacquiao had a 17 pound disadvantage), but Margarito just kept coming forward no matter how hopeless things had become.

By the end, Margarito’s face was a complete mess, his right eye gruesomely swollen and bruised, and his left eye not that much better.  Pacquiao looked relatively unmarked in comparison, but I’m sure the swelling and bruises will emerge over the next couple of hours.  Margarito did land some big body shots and upper cuts, but the punch numbers were staggeringly one sided.  I don’t have the exact numbers at hand at the moment, but I’m sure Pacquiao landed more than 400 punches, and probably more than 400 power shots.  Pacquiao probably could have killed a bear with those punches, but to Margarito’s credit, he lasted until the end.

Pacquaio was no doubt impressive against a much bigger opponent, but he wasn’t as insanely dominant as he was against his last few opponents.  Though they said Margarito was slow, Pacquiao did get tagged several times, and even admitted in the post-fight interview that he was hurt to the head and body when Margarito pinned him against the ropes.

Does this mean Pacquiao is slowing down?  Or should Margarito be given more credit?  And will Mayweather now have the balls to fight Pacquiao if he stays out of jail?

Update: 14/11/2010

Having watched the fight for the second time, I must say Pacquiao was even more dominant than I initially thought.  Even with a 17 pound weight and 4.5 inch height disadvantage, Pacquiao’s blinding hand speed, accurate combinations and tremendous footwork was more than enough to overcome the game but outclassed Margarito.

I think the way Pacquiao has beaten the likes of De la Hoya, Hatton, Cotto and Clottey make people forget that Pacquiao is still human and has his vulnerabilities — this is what makes him such an exciting boxer to watch because he’s not afraid to take risks to, as he says, give fans an exciting fight.  People forget that Pacquiao had a bit of trouble with Cotto in the first few rounds, and that Clottey hit him with a few good ones as well.  The same can be said for Margarito, a world class fighter in his own right.  Margarito landed some bombs on Pacquiao in the fifth and eighth rounds, for me the only rounds you could say he could have won, but it’s just that he came up short against a much better opponent.

For those who don’t know, Pacquiao’s camp vehemently protested Margarito’s use of a supposed weight-loss supplement before the fight, but the fight went ahead anyway.  If Margarito did use something banned we will find out after the post fight drug test.

Also, after the fight Margarito went straight to the hospital for a check-up.  Turns out Pacquiao fractured Margarito’s eye socket and he had to undergo surgery immediately.  Not surprising considering Pacquiao landed a whopping 474 punches (compared to 229 for Margarito), including an insane 411 power shots.

Fight recap

I think you could make a good argument that Pacquiao won every single round of the 12 round fight.  The first round pretty much went according to plan, with Margarito using a stiff jab and Pacquiao going in and out with solid combinations.  The punch numbers were pretty close, but since most of Margarito’s punches were jabs while Pacquiao’s were power shots, the round easily went to Pacquiao.

The second round, Pacquiao went toe-to-toe a little more, and Margarito landed a few decent shots.  However, while the punch stats were close again for the round, but for a short period when Margarito had Pacquiao on the ropes, Pacquiao had the better command of the round and landed the more telling punches.

Freddie Roach told Pacquiao that it was too early to exchange, so Pacquiao went back to what he does best in the third round, which is using his phenomenal footwork to pepper Margarito all over the ring.  More of the same in the fourth, except Pacquiao really started unloading some bombs that rocked and hurt Margarito, causing him to bend over with body shots and opening up a cut and a nasty welt under the bigger man’s eye.  A furious rally in the fifth by Margarito might have been enough to steal the round for people watching ringside, but on the replay it was clear that it was Pacquiao again that landed the bigger, better shots.

In the middle part of the fight, from about rounds 6 to 8, Pacquiao took his foot off the gas pedal a bit.  I’m not sure if he was really gassed or he was just taking a breather because he knew he didn’t have to take any big risks to win the fight.  Round Eight saw Margarito land his best shots, a few sold hooks and uppercuts when Pacquiao was against the ropes, but even then Pacquiao landed the better punches.

Round Nine onwards, the fight was pretty much meaningless because Pacquiao was just torturing Margarito, who just kept coming forward despite taking the beating of his life.  The doctor was called out a few times to make sure Margarito could continue, and even his corner kept asking him if he wanted to go on.  Of course, the Mexican warrior would never give up.  The fight probably should have been stopped but Margarito kept throwing, so it was hard to deny him the chance of finishing on his feet.

Pacquiao, for his part, looked to the referee a few times to see if the fight could be stopped because Margarito’s face was such a mess.  He admitted after the fight that he was taking it easy in the last round because there was no need to inflict permanent injury on his opponent.  “I told the referee, ‘Look at his eyes, look at his cuts,’” Pacquiao said. “I did not want to damage him permanently. That’s not what boxing is about.”

And rewatching that final round, I believe him — I think Pacquiao could have taken Margarito out if he really wanted to, but instead he danced aroud a lot and didn’t go for the kill.

A masterful performance by Pacquiao.  If Mayweather watched this fight, he might start thinking it’s a better option to go to prison than to face Pacquiao in the ring.

PS: the crowd attendance was poor — only 41,734 people attended the fight, much lower than the expected 60,000 that Bob Arum boldly proclaimed was possible.

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Movie Review: Monsters (2010)

November 12, 2010 in Movie Reviews

Monsters commences across Australia on 25 November 2010

Tell me this is not an awesome premise for a film:

To find alien life in the universe, NASA sends a probe into space.  The probe crashes at the US-Mexico border upon its return.  Six years later, the US and Mexican military are still struggling to contain the “creatures” in a sealed off area dubbed the “Infected Zone”.  And now, an American photojournalist is entrusted with escorting his boss’s daughter through Mexico back to US soil as the mayhem continues around them…

If that synopsis got you a little interested, then you might understand why I was super excited to catch a screening of Monsters, the low budget British sci-fi written and directed by special effects master Gareth Edwards.

Unfortunately, Monsters doesn’t come close to living up to its promising premise.  There were some good moments, but the main problem is that Edwards decided to place the focus of the film on the relationship between the two central characters, Andrew (Scoot McNairy), the photojournalist, and Sam (Whitney Able), the boss’s daughter.  While the two actors have chemistry (they were dating at the time and are now married), neither character came across as particularly likable, making it a bit of a stale romance in my opinion.

Consequently, Monsters became a bizarre hybrid between an alien sci-fi and road romance movie — kind of like a mix between District 9 (or Cloverfield) and Before Sunrise — except neither aspect was done very well.  There were moments of genuine tension and excitement whenever the “creatures” were nearby, but they were too often overshadowed by the tedious glances and conversations between the leads as well as the long montages of them travelling through Mexico.  This doesn’t mean those things weren’t done well, but man, I just wish Edwards took a different path with this film.

Having said all of that, Monsters does have a lot of positives.  The visual effects were magnificent (as you would expect from a writer and director who specialises in it), despite the fact that the entire film was made on a budget that would ordinarily only be enough to cover the catering expenses of most Hollywood blockbusters.  The acting was solid, as was the cinematography.  Much of the dialogue was apparently improvised, and I think it shows (in a good way), coming across as natural and unforced, for the most part.

Clever idea, intriguing premise, good performances, wonderful special effects, and when it wanted to be, pretty exciting.  But at the end of the day, Monsters was not what I wanted it to be.  That’s really my problem, but it is what it is.

2.5 stars out fo 5

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Prediction: Pacquiao vs Margarito

November 11, 2010 in Boxing

I know a lot of people are disappointed that the much anticipated Pacquiao-Mayweather fight did not come to fruition, but fortunately on 13 November 2010, we still have an intriguing boxing match to watch between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito.

As with all of Pacquiao’s recent fights, I’ll be throwing in my two cents worth, though this will be a straight up analysis of the two fighters and what they bring to the table. Margarito might not be a deserving opponent because of the hand wrap scandal, but it is what it is, and I’d like to leave it at that.

The fight will take place at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, where Pacquiao last dominated a timid Joshua Clottey in front of 50000+ people. This will be a catch weight bout at 150 pounds, even though Margarito’s junior middleweight title (which usually has a limit of 154 pounds) will be on the line.

Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) is coming off a unanimous victory over Roberto Garcia in May, whereas Pacquiao’s (51-3-2, 38 KOs) unanimous decision over Clottey was in March. Margarito is going into his second fight with new trainer Roberto Garcia [Cortez] (yes, almost the same name as the guy he cast beat!), while Pacquaio has been with Freddie Roach for what seems like forever.

Both fighters had solid training camps, though Pacquiao’s camp supposedly had a few distractions because of his congressional duties in the Philippines and the usual craziness that surrounds the man wherever he goes. Roach went as far as calling it the worst training camp Pacquiao’s ever had, but both trainer and fighter claim that things are back on track and that they are 100% prepared.

On fight night, it is likely that the nearly six foot Margarito will enter the ring at between 160-162 pounds, whereas the under five foot seven Pacquiao will likely be around 148 pounds.

With these factors in mind, I’m still going to predict that Pacquiao will defeat Margarito by TKO within the first eight rounds. I don’t necessarily see Pacquiao knocking him down, but I do see the referee stopping the fight because of the relentless pounding that Pacquiao is known to dish to his opponents.

Despite this bold prediction, I must admit I am not entirely comfortable with it. As with almost every Pacquiao bout since David Diaz, I always feel as though something might go wrong — as in Pacquiao may have finally bitten off more than he can chew — but to date he has continued to prove me wrong.  Perhaps this could be the time?

Source: sportales.com

I don’t really buy into the distracted training camp business for Pacquiao, but what I am concerned about is the massive height and weight disparity. Yes, Pacquiao has fought the equally tall Oscar de la Hoya before, but that was at just 145 pounds, whereas Margarito will not be weight drained and have a good 10-15 pound weight advantage on fight night. Accordingly, with Margarito’s ‘come forward’, attacking style and his reputable chin, I can certainly see a scenario where he might be troubled by Pacquiao’s movement and speed, but he will also end up landing his fair share of punches. And if just one of those punches hurts Pacquiao, the much smaller man, the fight could be over in a hurry.

Speaking of speed, Pacquiao clearly has a massive foot and hand advantage over his opponent, but Margarito is not as slow as some people paint him out to be. He throws a lot of punches in relentless combinations, and it will be foolish to think he doesn’t at least stand a puncher’s chance.

The main reason people have written Margarito off is because he was mauled by a 37 year old Shane Mosley, who was made to look pretty quick, and Pacquiao is even faster, perhaps by a fair margin. Further, his most notable victory against Miguel Cotto is now questionable because of the hand wrap scandal.

However, people tend to forget that the Mosley loss was at welterweight, meaning Margarito was likely weight drained, and more importantly, his mind must have been all over the place after what happened in the dressing room. It’s certainly not an excuse for the brutal loss, but it does leave a question mark over whether Margarito was operating at full capacity. On the other hand, Margarito’s return bout against Garcia was not exactly dominating, so perhaps I’m not giving Mosley or Margarito’s hand wraps enough credit!

Don’t forget, after the De la Hoya fight, when Freddie Roach was asked about a potential fight with Margarito he dismissed it outright, saying the Mexican was too big for Manny and that they knew their limits.  Could this come back to haunt him?

Ultimately, I think if Pacquiao can stick to Roach’s meticulous gameplan (as he usually does), he should be able to win easily.  I presume we will see a slightly more cautious Margarito in the earlier rounds because he’ll be gauging Manny’s speed and try to wear him down so that he can take him out in the later rounds.  As long as Pacquiao uses his trademark speed, stay off the ropes, keeping turning his man and go in and out all night, he should be able to pepper Margarito into a beehive with his rapid-fire combinations.  But if he thinks he can trade blows with Margarito or lay against the ropes like he did at times against Cotto, I think it could prove to be a fatal mistake.

Both boxers are relentless offensively, so it should be a very entertaining fight.  The question is, win or lose, will this be Pacquiao’s last (especially if Mayweather goes to prison for a few years?)?

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