We have finally emerged from the doldrums of life to write this long, long, long delayed piece, six months in the making by the print date. But hey, the long lead time just gives us more time to sample the many films 2017 had to offer, and isn't it always better not rush into rash decision-making (noted by non other than... Jay-Z)? To note, one of our top 5 picks got the sweet end of this deal, as curating this year's list was a hard nut to crack! To get things going, honourable mentions for the year have to go to James Mangold's Logan and Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049. 

For Logan, the loose adaptation of the famous 'Old Man Logan' stroyline would never have had the emotional impact it delivered without the long continuing lore of the X-Men film franchise and the virtuoso performance of Hugh Jackman in his ninth and swansong(?) appearance as Wolverine. Meanwhile, it's  been mentioned around here before that we weren't a big fan of Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner, and while Villeneuve sequel is still bogged down by the similar slow-moving story and 163 minutes runtime, 2049 is a superior film than its predecessor in action and spectacle alone, while I can confidently say that it is the most visually stunning film we have ever set eyes on in a cinema screen.

Without further ado, let's get on with the show!

"He's done it again. Edgar Wright's latest is the perfect marriage of choreographed song and action, as it shifts to a high gear right away in its opening scene, and rarely finds the need to ever slow down. Its infectious soundtrack will have your foot thumping and your shoulders strutting, as you'll now associate each of these classic funky beats to Baby Driver's numerous memorable scenes. Heck, Bellbottoms will never be the same again. Baby Driver is a rare original cinematic gem that is bound to be a future cult classic on its own." [REVIEW]

The concept of Get Out, about an African American who visits his Caucasian girlfriend's family, may initially sound like an extended Key & Peele skit on paper, but unlike Keanu, director Jordan Peele was able to take advantage of today's social stigma to deliver a thriller that is equally heavy on the scares and the laughs. The horror is derived from Peele's creative use of imagery and technical prowess, with normal scenes becoming increasingly unsettling as the camera continues rolling.

This is helped by a standout performance from Daniel Kaluuya (Black Panther), who was the perfect foil to bring out humour on the face of some very tense and violent moments. Whether Get Out will be as universally praised as it is now, only time will tell, but it's a darn well-directed and scripted horror masterpiece from a first time director previously known for his sketch comedies.

To paraphrase another sci-fi franchise, the latest mainline Star Wars entry boldly went where no man has gone before. It may be dividing opinion on among die-hards alike, but kudos to Rian Johnson (Looper) for sparsely relying on throwbacks as much as The Force Awakens did, not only further fleshing out the new characters of Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), but also with how he gave a memorable swansong to original trilogy favourites Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and General Leia (Carrie Fisher).

Like our next entry in the list, The Last Jedi is a sequel that dares to stray away from the conventions set by those before it, and the result is a darker Star Wars take than perhaps even The Empire Strikes Back, as the line between good and bad are much less defined than simply the 'Light' or the 'Dark' side. A great story with even greater visuals (you know the one), The Last Jedi is a natural evolution of the 40 year old franchise, and it's all for the better moving forward.

The Trainspotting sequel is a wholly different beast from the 1996 original, albeit the same engine on a different chassis. The longer you digest the movie, the more you'll appreciate why director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) did not just take the easier sequel route by just retreading on old themes, and instead crafted a film that has grown up with its audience, and for fans, Trainspotting 2 is a  great companion piece to the original two decades later.

We see these same characters having changed little in the new age of the 21st century, and the film cleverly changes tone from the glorification and subsequent damnation of heroin which presided over the original, and instead focusing on the joy and harsh realities of overdosing nostalgia. Trainspotting 2 may not offer the same carefree thrills of the original, but it's ultimately a movie about growing up and moving on with the times, even if Scotland's most famous addicts had not done the same.

From remixes of the original's classics such as Born Slippy and Lust for Life, to new tracks from the likes of Wolf Alice and Young Fathers, T2: Trainspotting also has one of the best film soundtracks in a year with Guardians of the Galaxy and Baby Driver.

The Big Sick

I have a genuine soft spot for romantic comedies that strays away from the cliches and usual conventions, especially ones that makes full use of the naturally funny actors that it casts. Hence, I was pleasantly entranced by this Sundance favourite co-written by husband-wife duo Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) and Emily V. Gordon, which interestingly, is loosely based on the early stages their relationship. In simpler terms, it's a better take on the basic 'Meet the Parents' premise with added cross-cultural themes, as Nanjiani hails from a Pakistani background rooted in arranged marriages, but the film doesn't allow it to be its sole punchline.

Nanjiani is a great leading man playing a version of himself, as is Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks) who plays Emily, but the MVPs of this piece are Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Holly Hunter (The Incredibles) as Emily's parents, who lap up every scene they appear in. Without spoiling the plot, but despite much of the film being set in hospital waiting rooms, the interactions between Nanjiani, Romano and Hunter bounce off each other like a rigged pinball machine. For such a personal and heartfelt film on two star 'culture'-crossed lovers, The Big Sick serves as a piece of great comfort food for when you just want to tune into something wholesome.

The film also follows the trend of unimaginative Eurotrip action archetypes seen recently by the likes of A Good Day to Die Hard, Red 2 as well as director Patrick Hughes' own The Expendables 3. Eastern European dictators? CHECK. Mercenary killcount going by the hundreds? CHECK. Black SUVs? CHECK. Plainly obvious double crosser? CHECK. Sure, one chase scene through the canals of Amsterdam is one commendable action highlight, but it is severely bogged down by everything that came before and after. It does attempt to question one's morality, asking if killing bad guys was as bad as protecting them, but only so via a throwaway line uttered by Jackson that was not revisited later. Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight), who plays the aforementioned dictator from Belarus, must have been paid lots for a nearly non-existent role. No one wastes Gary Oldman like that.

Without the charm of Reynolds and Jackson, The Hitman's Bodyguard would have been fairly bog standard B movie, belonging on the direct-to-DVD shelf. It also failed to live up to The Bodyguard parody that the first trailer implied, with the Whitney Houston-starring film being lampooned via its music and initial posters. As said before, it's definitely serviceable, especially if watching with a laughing crowd, but there's so many better options out there that you'll wished you spent those two hours watching something else, which conveniently segue ways into our next feature: 5 vastly superior buddy action comedies you should catch instead. 

We'll be going for the unconventional's here, so don't expect to see your usual Lethal Weapons, Bad Boys or Blues Brothers propping up this list. Honourable mentions include The Heat (2013), Men in Black (1997) and *probably, but yet to watch* The Nice Guys (2016).

If you want to watch a movie starring Samuel L. Jackson and a Caucasian man take down a European terrorist, watch The Hitman's Bodyguard the third Die Hard movie from 22 years ago. Die Hard with a Vengeance is arguably one of the best in the Bruce Willis-starring franchise (perhaps as good as the first one?), which has John McClane unwillingly partnered up with Jackson's Harlem shop owner to a game of cat-and-mouse around New York City by a mysterious figure through a phone.

Willis' grizzled, down-on-his-luck portrayal of McClane spars well with Jackson's foul-mouthed citizen, which often leads to many hilarious lines and moments, with their very first interaction involving a sandwich board serving up as the first of many heart-pounding scenes in this two-hour long thriller. Can't get enough of the Willis-Jackson combo? They reunited for M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable and soon its sequel Glass in 2019.

Fans of Baby Driver may want to look at director Edgar Wright's previous joint from 10 years ago starring frequent collaborator Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Pegg, playing a hard boiled Metropolitan police, is sent to the quiet village of Sandford after his superiors felt he was outperforming everyone else. There, he discovers that all is not as it seems as he uncovers a secret behind a string of murders in the town. The action sequences are a big riff off John Woo or Michael Bay's repertoire, but combined with Wright's signature cutaways and witty humour from his previous work Spaced or Shaun of the Dead, scenes become more of a tribute than a parody. Besides, how often do you get to see James Bond (Timothy Dalton) play an evil supermarket owner? One of this writer's all-time fave.




Most of the films in this list involve a member of law enforcement one way or another, but what happens when our duo are two contract killers? Directed by Martin McDonagh, this dark comedy stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two hitmen who are sent to a medieval town in Belgium after a job gone awry. It's a film of two parts, with the first half exploring the relationship between the two central characters as they explore the weird going-ons within the small European town, with the second half transforming the film into a thriller as their boss descends into the town. It's one of Farrell's better performances in recent times, while Ralph Fiennes, who plays his bad-tempered boss, is an equally comical yet frightening antagonist opposite Farrell and Gleeson.

Adapting TV shows into movies is never a small feat, but throwing everything that made the original show stood out, while only retaining the name and concept, was definitely a bold, ballsy move. In the hands of Phil Lord and Chris Miller though, the new rebooted 21 Jump Street represents a satire of the original Johnny Depp-starring show, 80's action flicks and teen movies in general, while offering up a coherent story and a barrel of laughs.

Starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in reverse archetypes as the two infiltrate a local high school to investigate a drugs ring, plot circumstances meant that both actors played opposite undercover roles for much of the movie, to comedic effect. It was a great change of scenery from our usual undercover films, definitely helped by the good chemistry between the leads, and was a platform for Channing Tatum to really tickle your funny bone. Also, rapper Ice Cube is an absolute scene-stealer.

Its 2014 sequel, aptly named 22 Jump Street, offered the same comedy we loved from the original, and at times the jokes were more outrageous than its predecessor. This is especially evident in its entire end credits sequence, which became a lampooning of the current saturated sequel market in general, will have you laughing all the way back home.

#OscarSoWhite! Scarlett Johanssen in Ghost in the Shell! Women in Ghostbusters! Hollywood can't seem to get a break when the race card rears its unpleasant head around here. Almost every time a controversy regarding casting of an ethnic character gets blown up on the Internet, we're treated to the same myriad of articles proclaiming that Hollywood isn't exactly a diversity-friendly haven for actors of ethnic minority, and for good reason. Other than the whitewashing of ethnic characters in many big budget films, the same minority groups have to endure the brunt of severe stereotyping on screen which can be traced back to the decades.

We get it, Hollywood is a convoluted system, and many decisions are rarely decided by single person. There's also the business element when creating films, where forecasted revenue are brought to the fore in favour of  pleasing the fickle minds of the audience. I certainly believe that while whitewashing is not the worst action condone on screen, the creative liberties taken with it mist be justified in a manner that persuades the audiences that the studios made the right call, and does not spark further outrage. 

In this piece, we're going to be looking at the for and against elements towards Hollywood whitewashing, focusing on the Asian American dilemmas this time around.

Already being billed as an exciting time years before its arrival, the summer of 2015 didn't fail to entertain with a variety of blockbuster heavy hitters, which its usual suspects of superhero films, (Avengers 2, Ant-Man) franchise sequels (Mad Max, Mission Impossible) and overdue reboots (Jurassic World). 

As summer's coming to a cooling end, and the likes of Spectre, Star Wars and a deluge of award winners tumbling down at the end of the year, we boil down the remainder of the goods this hot season had to offer, all of which have yet to be covered around here. There are the likes of Ex Machina, Inside Out, Tomorowland, Minions and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. which have yet to be viewed/reviewed, but these may be on an entry for another day.

Without further ado, let's sort out the agenda here. We have six films going under the reviewing knife, with two original films, two direct sequels, and two reboots, two of which are absolute stinkers. I've never awarded any film a score below 5.0 before, but that sort-of accolade was due to be broken sooner or later, no less by a film which failed to do anything right with its sizable budget.

With Ant-Man rolling out in pretty much around the world already (save for the usual suspects - China and Japan), thus ends another billion dollar era in the short history of Marvel Studios. Unlike Phase 1, the second phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was tasked with not only expanding on the stories of our established heroes after the events of 2012's The Avengers, but at the same time introducing newer characters to the mix, these new entities deriving from more obscure source materials than the likes of Iron Man and Captain America.

As evidenced over the past three years, all films improved greatly over their respective installments, with two billion dollar-spinning entries (Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron), but the biggest surprise was 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, which attained universal acclaim on its way to a $750 million worldwide gross.

On the flip side, criticism soon surfaced over the recycled storylines and forced connections for a wider universe, leading to some quarters to believe that Marvel are getting both lazy or lethargic, though the revenue on-hand speaks for itself entirely. With fan demand at a fever pitch after The Avengers, and with DC Comics' on universe building steam sooner rather than later, how does the six Phase 2 films released stack up against each other?

2014's coming to a close, and the new year will usher in another batch of film offerings, which promises to be bigger than ever (they always say that). With every sequel released, there's bound to be a franchise reboot somewhere along the lines, while an original film may pop up from time to time if movie studios were nice enough. So, with so many films released in the next 12 months, which ones are the most sough after? 

My top 15 (with the top 10 after the jump):

Johnny Depp's been kinda in a ditch for the past couple of years, with a slew of under-performing starring vehicles such as Dark Shadows, The Lone Ranger and 2014's disappointing Transcendence. In January, he's donning yet another  odd-looking makeup in a comedy heist which looks like good fun, as suggested as the very hilarious trailer (Tom Jones' 'It's not Unusual' in the background). Supported by an ensemble cast which includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor and Olivia Munn, this may be the smaller-budgeted movie to help rejuvenate Depp's career.

14) Ted 2

13) The Peanuts Movie / Snoopy & Charlie Brown

Nothing much is known about this, but the teaser trailers shown so far oozes cuteness, and seems true to the original comic strips by Charles Schulz. After many film adaptations of the Dr. Suess materials, the rebooting of several classic literature and cartoons continues with The Peanuts Movie and an animated Popeye film also on the way (also similarly gorgeous).

It's hard to imagine that the first Hunger Games film was released only three years ago, and by year's end we'll be getting the final installment of the "Why does Katniss Care for Peeta?" four part series. Mockingjay Part 1 suffered from the splitting of the final book by showcasing less action and hardly any plot at all, so it's hopeful that the boring predecessor only serves as a massive build-up to the rebellion and an exciting conclusion to the entertaining young adult adaptation.

The Fast & Furious franchise sure is a lucky franchise. After almost seeping into a direct-to-DVD livelihood with Tokyo Drift, the series has gone strength by strength, in terms of quality and box office returns as well.

The seventh installment (!) now introduces even more new characters in the form of Jason Statham as Owen Shaw's evil brother and veteran Kurt Russell in an unknown role, while the director's duty is taken over by fellow Malaysian-born director James Wan, whose credit include the Saw franchise and The Conjuring. This is also the first installment since the unfortunate death of Paul Walker, who couldn't complete his filming of the movie, and has since been replaced with his brothers and some complicated CGI mumbo jumbo.

Summer has gone and dusted, and along with it came a host of blockbuster movies, and while this summer was one of the lowest-grossing in years, it should not deter the fact that many of these films have been nothing short of excellent. Even with a few duds like Transformers and A Million Ways to Die in the West, we have been blessed with amazing sequels and entertaining original films.

For now, here's a list of my top 5 movies of the summer, and are ranked based on current preferences, regardless of the review score I gave when I reviewed them. Also do note that Captain America 2 isn't really a summer movie as it was released in way early in April, hence ineligible for this list.

Back in early 2010 I made this post on the similar movie posters released at the time, well as a 15 year old then I had too much time on my hand to notice this useless detail. 

This weekend sees two sequels arrive at the American box office, and not surprisingly, both movies had the most creative sequel names of all... How to Train Your Dragon 2 and 22 Jump Street.

While 22 Jump Street's name is justified (the original 21 Jump Street office closed and moved across the street), sometimes Hollywood just doesn't seem bothered with providing better names for sequels. We may have seen in recent times sequels given a subtitle instead (Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past come to mind), but there's one sequel name that has not been revisited since the 80's: