INTERSTELLAR

One of the most hush-hush sci-fi movies kept under wraps for so long, this recently released movie built up too much hype and I don't always think that is a good move. Directed by Christopher Nolan of "The Dark Knight" series of movies fame, I had high expectations when I caught it at the movies.

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, Wes Bentley with a cameo by Matt Damon and Topher Grace, the movie almost put me to sleep at times. Set in the future on a dying Earth, the space travel did not happen until at least an hour into the 2 hrs 50 mins long movie. The movie makers took their time to explore the special relationship between Cooper, Matthew's character who was a former NASA test pilot turned farmer, and his 10 years old daughter Murphy, played by MacKenzie Foy, before they whisked him off on a spacecraft Endurance with Dr Amelia Brand, played by Anne Hathaway, daughter of Professor Brand, Michael Caine's character, and some others into outer space through a wormhole to explore the livability of 3 potentially habitable planets Miller, Edmunds and Mann named after the astronauts who went on the initial mission to seek out these planets, in another galaxy in a bid to relocate mankind. The young Murphy was so heartbroken that although she pined for her father and unlike her elder brother, she refused to record messages for her dad, for the many years to come, which were sent to those on the mission.

Of course, the space travel wasn't as simple or straightforward and was fraught with lots of potential dangers and challenges. Planet Miller was too close to a black hole Gargantua which exerted a strong gravitational pull on the planet that it resulted in time dilation and one hour spent on the planet was the equivalent of seven earth years. Naturally, disaster happened to the team who explored this planet first. By the time the survivors returned to the Endurance, 23 earth years passed. That was also when Murphy, who was now a NASA scientist, sent her first recorded message to her dad on her birthday to remind him of his promise that he would be back before she reached the same age as him when he left her behind. This was the part that Matthew McConaughey broke down with grief when he finally saw his daughter after two decades apart.

They next went to Planet Mann, where Dr Mann was awakened from his space slumber, which showed a lot of potential for humans to inhabit. However, it turned out that Dr Mann falsified all the data for his own selfish reasons because he couldn't stand the loneliness in outer space and plotted to get a spacecraft to get there to rescue him from his plight. Another astronaut was killed as Dr Mann tried to take control of the spacecraft but didn't succeed, leaving behind Cooper and Amelias as the two remaining survivors of the voyage. This commotion caused significant damage to the spacecraft and barely left behind enough resources to sustain both of them for the final mission to the third planet.

Cooper sacrificed himself and instead of being destroyed upon entry into the atmosphere of the third planet, he was thrust into a 5th dimension across a time continuum behind a series of bookshelves where Murphy's bedroom was. He had to find the one that the adult Murphy was in at the specific moment to communicate with her the data that would enable her to solve the mystery of sending mankind to outer space. He eventually lapsed into unconsciousness before waking up at a hospital, which he later learnt was part of a larger life sustaining facility on another planet and the place was founded and named after Murphy. By then, Murphy was already in her 80s and surrounded by her children and grandchildren and she sent him away looking for Amelia, who was still somewhere stranded in outer space.

The ending was very typical of Christopher Nolan's movies where there was a lot of narration to provide a closing chapter to the movie. Strangely, this is one movie that I caught of outer space where aliens were not involved.

Cooper broke down on watching Murphy's first recorded message.

Prof Amelia Brand

Cooper and his children Tom and Murphy

the adult Murphy

WORLD WAR Z

To be honest, I have watched lots of zombie movies. I love some and I loathe some. This movie directed by Marc Forster and starring Brad Pitt, who also owns the movie production company Plan B Entertainment, is one that I happened to love very much because of the fantastic original storyline and pacing. By the way, Matthew Fox had only a split second cameo as the pilot of a helicopter, if I didn't see wrongly.

Compared to the "Man of Steel" which is almost of the same length in terms of duration, this movie has a very good pace and sets the tone for the audience to grip their seats in suspense. There were quiet moments and there were high-strung ones. It was a good mix of both so the audience have time to feel the highs and lows. On the other hand, the former superhero movie was kind of slow in the first hour before plunging full length into a series of action packed sequences involving the complete decimation of the city. It was a blurry mess that made me insensitized to the fight and wondered when the battle would end.

The zombies in this movie were really scary and it only took about a mere 15 seconds to transform a normal human who was bitten and infected into a zombie. Someone who was a kin could potentially turned into a living dead with nary a recognition of their loved ones, as witnessed by many such scenes in the movie. The zombies attacked the living with a vengeance and ferocity like no other. They studied the behaviour of animals and applied what they learnt into the movie with many zombies possessing incredible speed and lunging towards their prey. When there was no sound, these zombies became inactive. However, any loud enough sounds would trigger their immediate response to attack. Even a solid wall at least 20 m high at a refugee camp in Jerusalem could not stop the zombies as they clamoured and climbed onto each other before scaling over the high wall and created havoc by transforming a safe haven that protected the survivors from the infected into a living hell.

Brad Pitt delivered a credible performance as a former United Nations personnel Gerry Lane who was forced, in order to ensure the safety of his family, to escort a virologist to find the source of the infection in order to develop a vaccine but eventually became the hero who found the "cure" to protect humanity against the infected zombies.

I was definitely entertained throughout the entire movie.

ALEX CROSS

Alex Cross is the title of this action packed movie. Before I watched the movie, I thought Alex is the character played by Matthew Fox but it turned out that it is Tyler Perry, the psychologist cum police detective who together with Tommy and Monica, played by Edward Burns and Rachel Nichols respectively, thwarted one of the attempts by the professional killer Picasso to kill off his target. 

Little did they realize what was coming their way after intercepting Picasso's assassination attempt. Alex, who never failed to anticipate the moves of those he knew or met and accurately map the profile of the criminals, made a grave mistake this time round. Piccaso proved to be someone never to trifle with. He was such a scary killer who enjoyed inflicting his victims with pain before slowly killing them. In fact, I think he was truly the most powerful character because of his brilliance, determination and composure. He was always a step ahead of the others. It is the case of whatever Picasso wants, Picasso gets. He was the central character that made me enjoy this movie. From the way he cut off his first target's 2 thumbs and 8 fingers to how he brutally tortured and killed Monica, and how he shot Dr Cross's wife Maria without batting an eyelid, I was horribly terrified of him. Frankly, when I saw his unfaltering gaze, that was enough to frighten me.

From losing a close team mate to losing his wife, Dr Cross was never more crossed than that (pun intended). If it wasn't for Maria, he would have been the dead one instead. Her death drove him over the edge, to the extent that he was prepared to go all out to get Picasso. His words to his mum "I will meet his soul at the gates of hell than to let him take another person I love away from me." said it all. But like most movies, the bad guys will die at the end while the good guys get to live.

The last time I saw a hunky looking Matthew Fox was in the TV series "Lost". Many years later, he must have lost a tremendous amount of weight to take on this role in the movie. Just take a look at his hollow wide eyes, sunken face and scrawny lean body. It was gruesome and scarily frightening with his skin merely wrapping every sinew of his muscles. He was almost unrecognizable and I must applaud him for his acting professionalism. But I must say his acting was brilliant and convincing and I hope he gets recognized for his extraordinary effort.

MAGIC MIKE

Today's weather - sunny

The movie is based loosely on the life of Channing Tatum and tells the story of 30-year old Mike, with Channing as the lead of course, who works odd jobs in the day and as a stripper at night. Also starring Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez and Cody Horn, the movie did not thrill me at all.

Matthew McConaughey was as usual, a bit crazy in his looks and acting, which kind of scares me. The show was all about Channing and 19-year old Alex, who was the lead in the movie "I Am Number Four", who found the short cut in life to earn big bucks by becoming a male stripper. Matt Bomer, from the TV series "White Collar", and Adam Rodriguez, from the TV series "CSI: Miami", were nothing more than toppings on a cake, whose presence were hardly noticeable or memorable.

I was so bored although I stopped short of falling asleep during the movie.