This is the first part of the series, please read the second and third part, too.
Since I’m really into movies, I’d like to continue blogging about this topic for the time being.
This post is only a list to keep track of what movies I have watched in 2010. I’ll try to keep this list updated, especially with the movies I watch in the theaters. Scoring is from 1 (worst) to 10 (best). It’s spoiler-free too.
History:
- 24-Mar: added How to Train Your Dragon
- 10-Mar: added Alice in Wonderland
- 22-Feb: added the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, My Ex, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Disclaimer: reviews and scores are biased to my preference, your mileage may vary
5. How to Train Your Dragon
Score: 9
This is another surprise. With a lot of animated movies flooding the market recently, this one is way way above my expectation. The dragons in this movie are not typical dragons. DreamWorks really works its magic by creatively bringing a lot of types of dragons which vary in size, color, nature, and skill to life. These flying reptiles are both scary and lovable. They are even lovelier than golden retrievers. I hope I can get one as a pet 
And have I mentioned that you gotta see a lot of them?
How to Train Your Dragon is based on a book with the same title, but the plot was altered to make it more suitable and entertaining for the big screen.
This movie is still in the sneak preview period here in Singapore. Currently it’s only available in 3D but it’s worth the extra premium to see these lovely and wild creatures in 3D. Starting tomorrow (25-Mar), it will be screened in 2D cinemas as well.
Most of DreamWorks animated movies look great, but this one really rocks. The battle scenes are really engaging and you’ll see them quite often, from the beginning to the end. However, I think it’s a bit too dark in some early scenes. The dragons can look scary when they feel threatened, cute when befriended, and beautiful when flying. The voice actors are not the most popular ones — except Gerard Butler which you see practically everywhere lately — but they fill the roles well. Not outstanding, but pretty much okay. The story is a bit typical of children story, nevertheless, the plot is quite well executed.
Overall, this is a fantastic movie. It tells good moral values. Suitable for everyone from kids to adults.
4. Alice in Wonderland
Score: 6
A popular classic story, directed by the unique Tim Burton, backed with a high budget, with the renowned casts like Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and Helena Bonham Carter, and the awesome US$ 116.1 million breaking opening weekend box office records, will prove that this movie is one of this year’s top pick. Or not!
Last night (Mar 9) I came to the Grand Cathay to watch this movie. The Grand Cathay is currently, in my opinion, the best non-premium cinema in Singapore. With the size comparable to the GVmax cinema, it is also THX certified. Since Alice in Wonderland is not a pure 3-D movie — unlike Avatar, it’s filmed in 2-D and later converted to 3-D — I’d rather watch it in a bigger 2-D cinema than the smaller 3-D cinemas.
The movie is visually appealing. Tim Burton managed to build the wonderland wonderfully. The characters were alive and the casts were great. But unfortunately, the pace was quite slow to my taste. It couldn’t keep me excited throughout the whole duration of the movie, not even half. There were not enough surprises, if any. And the battle scene was so typical as other animated movies.
3. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Score: 7
The visual effect displayed on the trailer and the theme (Greek mythology) were the main attraction to me. At first, I thought that it was yet another Harry Potter-wannabe teenage movie (and it seemed that it was), so I didn’t put much expectation other than great visual effect for my viewing pleasure.
After watching the premiere show at GV Plasa Singapura on Feb 11, I found the movie quite enjoyable and entertaining. It was fast-paced and loaded with fresh humors. It turned out to be a fun parody of the Greek mythology. The cast could definitely be better though veterans such as Pierce Brosnan and Uma Thurman were involved as supporting roles.
2. My Ex
Score: 6
Horror is one of my favorite genre when it comes to theatrical movies. The problem is that it can be though to find companions to watch this kind of movies. Companions that won’t scream during the play. At least I got two friends who were interested to watch this movie last Feb 8 at GV Tiong Bahru.
My Ex is a Thai-horror movie. So the cast is not familiar to me. One of the main character, however, was very attractive. She is a fairly known Thai model and actress called Wanida Termthanaporn a.k.a. Giftzy, so it’s not hard to find her pictures if you’d like to know what I meant.
The movie, though pretty predictive, was packed with a nice dosage of surprising and shocking moments. But the make-up was kinda disappointing, it can’t help the acting skill of the actors which was mediocre at best.
1. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Score: 7
Although this movie was released back in 2009, I watched it only recently on Feb 6 at Cathay Cineleisure, Orchard. Partly because my girlfriend told me that the movie was bad. Still I wanted to watch it because of the great list of cast: Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law. And of course because I like fantasy-themed movies.
Well, although it’s not a really really good movie, but it’s not that bad either. The actors also played pretty well to live up to their great names. The effect of Heath Ledger’s death during the making of the film was cleverly covered by the other actors.
