Horror movies of 2010

Top Horror movies of 2010

Horror themes are one of the most popular genres in movie making as it is likely to make the audience grip their seats with anticipating and suspense. There are many horror movies released each year but not all of them are of good quality. Actually there are bound to be more bad tasting horror movies than good ones because the horror movie genre is so difficult to get right. However, if done properly horror movies can be extremely successful and entertaining.

Although there have been a few classics like Saw, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream, the past decade have not been kind to the horror movie genre. Most of the movies have been substandard at the very best and does not compare with the classics of old. In 2010, the genre did not produce many memorable movies but here is a list of the better ones.

The Crazies

This is by far one of the top horror movies of 2010. A remake of the 1973 movie of the same name, it is both horror and science fiction movie. The plot revolves around the people of Odgen Marsh in Iowa show has been infected by a virus. The virus will turn people into zombies within 48 hours ultimately destroying most of the people in the town.

The Last Exorcism

This amazing movie is about a Reverend who is thinking about quitting the exorcism game. He allows himself one last exorcism to be captured on film. Unfortunately this last exercise turns out to be his most difficult one.

Piranha 3D

Another remake of an old movie, Piranha 3D updates the tale of the carnivorous creatures who are released into a river after an earthquake. The fishes end up in a town famous as a spring break destination and wreak havoc among the tourist.

Saw 3D

This horror genre classic is given the 3D treatment and focuses on a man claiming to have survived the Jigsaw. He writes a memoir regarding his experiences but is embroiled in a true Jigsaw came where he has to save his own wife. Besides being in 3D, the plot and beautifully shot scenes make it one of the top horror movies in 2010.

Let Me In

This is a Swedish movie about a 12 year old boy and his vampire girlfriend. The vampire finally falls in love with the boy but cannot resist the temptation of real human blood. Even though she has been warned of the consequences, the girl tempts fate by getting closer to the boy and harming every one they come in contact with.

DayBreakers

This movie is about the alternate reality were vampires ruled the world and human are being hunted or farmed for their blood. As the number of human diminishes the blood thirsty vampires turn on themselves to devastating effect. The only release for the human is finding a cure of to vampirism. Ethan Hawke stars as the hero in the movie.

There are many movies of the horror genre which came out in 2010 but many did not make it to the cinemas as they were found not worthy of the screen time. Many of these went straight to DVD so you might want search through the racks for one that you might have missed.

A Collection of the Top War Movies

A Collection of the Top War Movies

War movies have always been a favourite of cinema-goers as they flock to the movies for the latest release. There have been many classics in this genre but here is a list of the top war movies of all time.

Platoon.

Directed and written by Oliver Stone, this is the first of 3 war movies by the director. It is set during the Vietnam War about a US army soldier and his experiences during the war. This movie is famous for its realistic portrayal of the hardship and horror of fighting in Vietnam

Full Metal Jacket

This 1987 war themed movie by director Stanley Kubrick is based on the Gustav Hasford novel The Short Timers. The movie title takes its name from the full metal jacket bullet utilized by the infantry. The film follows a two Marines through their training and actual warfare during Vietnam War.

Das Boot

Das Boot or the Boat is a German war movie directed by acclaim German director Wolgang Petersen. The movie is about the lives of the crew about the German U-boat, U96. It shows both the tedious hunt aboard a submarine and the excitement of going to war. This movie is based on the true story of Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, a captain in the German army and commander of the U-96.

L’Armée des Ombres

The title is translated as Army of Shadows and it is a French Moie about the experiences of a French Resistance soldiers who fought against the Nazi in German occupied France. Army of Shadows follows the small group as they work with Allied forces and move quietly trying to evade German forces. While it does portray the group as heroes, it does not paint a romantic view of the French Resistance.

The Pianist.

This Roman Polanski directed movie is an adaptation from the biography of Jewish Polish musician Władysław Szpilman. It is a production which combines the best of British, German, French and Polish film companies and stars Adrien Brody in the leading role.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

This old classic is about the construction of the Burma Railway and the fictional Bridge on River Kwai. Besides being revered as one of the best war movies, the theme song The Longest Day is a favourite of many.

Lawrence of Arabia

This movie is widely considered as one of the top war movies of all time. It stars Peter O’Toole in the leading role and depicts the story of Lawrence in Arabia during World War 1. Its themes revolves around Lawrence’s personal identity, his divided allegiance between Britain and the Arabian desert tribes and his struggles with war violence,

Casablanca

Essentially a romantic movie, it is placed here because of the setting. Its background of World War 2 gives the movie the atmosphere of romance and desperation. With Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman as its leading stars, the movie is a classic tale of love and virtue in a time of war. There classic line “Here’s looking at you kid” is etched in the annals of movie making history.

Top Animated Movies of 2010

One of the most endearing movie genres to captivate audience is the animated movie. They deliver and guarantee top quality entertainment and fun for the whole family. Watching an animated movie is the escapism into fantasy that you have always dreamt about. The special effects and vibrant colors are a delightful spectacle, with movies like Fantasia, Tom and Jerry, Aladdin among the more popular favourites. You almost never get tired of watching animated movies. It used to be only Disney that produce the best animated movies but now with more independent studios like Dreamworks and Pixar, we are blessed with the best animated movies all year through.


2010 was great for animated movies especially with the opening of the much anticipated final chapter of the Shrek saga. Among the more successful animated movies of 2010 are:


Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs Evil
This is the sequel of the first movie which was released way back in 2005. It is a story about Red Riding Hood investigating the disappearance of the children storybook favourite Hansel and Gretel. Featuring the voice talents of Martin Short, Hayden Panettiere, Joan Cusack and Glen Close, the movie was just as successful as its predecessor at the box office.


Toy Story 3
In what could possibly be the last movie in the franchise, Woody and Buzz Lightyear are back for this third instalment. In this movie, Woody and the rest of the gang are left in a day care centre fending for themselves against other more antagonistic characters including Ken or Barbie and Ken fame. This is the most successful animated movie of 2010 and was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.


Shrek Forever After
The much anticipated Shrek 4 or better known as Shrek Forever After brings back the gang for another adventure. This time, Shrek is tricked into spending his life in an alternate reality where Donkey does not know him and Fiona is no longer his bride. This movie again features the talents Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy as Donkey

Beauty and the Beast
Actually this is not a new release as it is one of the oldest Disney movies. However it was re-released in 2010 after major upgrading of the computer graphics and sound effects. The tale of classic love and sacrifice still managed to capture the hearts of the audiences who turn out in droves to support this movie.

Despicable Me
Billed as Steve Carrell last animation movie so the expectations were very high. He was widely acclaimed for this voice performance in Horton Hears a Who! And this time he plays a lovable super villain who is willing to literally capture the moon to upstage his opponent. As he unveils his devilish plot, he mistaken becomes attached to a group of orphans which makes him reconsider his actions. It is an interesting mix of emotions and comic relief that made this movie as box-office hit and one of the best animated movies of 2010.

Movie Review - The Girl Who Played with Fire

Synopsis: Based on the second book in the Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson, The Girl who Played with Fire continues the story of Mikael Blomkvist, publisher of the magazine Millennium and fresh from exposing a corporate conspiracy in the last movie. Blomkvist is approached by a young journalist with a thoroughly research these about slave trafficking in Sweden and the cover by a section of the government service. After the journalist is murdered, Blomkvist goes all out to rescue his protégé from the firs movie Lisbeth Salander who has been framed with the murder. Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace reprise their roles as Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander respectively.

Toning down, though not entirely ditching the swatches or rough S&M sex that was featured in The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo (the first film from The Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson), this sequel, The Girl who Played with Fire nonetheless drags us back into a world of breadknife feminism where sexual violence seldom goes without punishment. And again it is worth the price of admission alone to spend time in the company of Sweden’s premiere bisexual sleuth, Lisbeth Salander, as she get tangled up in a hackneyed and unlikely plot where she must work out who has framed her for the murder of a journalist on the cusp of exposing a government conspiracy and a sex trafficking ring.

The title of the movie refers to an incident from Lisbeth’s childhood where she doused her father in petrol and set him ablaze – an event whose consequences she must now face. Offering less of a cut and dried storyline than the first instalment, this film spend its running time carefully arranging the narrative dominoes in order to have them topple in the third and final part of this excellent trilogy. The only advantage of seeing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo first is that it gives depth and meaning to Lisbeth’s relationship with the protagonist, ruddy faced reporter, Mikael Blomkvist, who works tireless to clear the name of his erstwhile paramour.

Filmed in murky, grainy tones which chime nicely with the squalid demi-monde that Lisbeth is forced to frequent, the film is more sharply focused on fleshing out the mood and character than it is supplying rudimentary twist at cosy junctures. Certainly much of the story is Google powered, but is that not to be expected from an ace computer hacker? And the debate regarding the film’s credentials is rendered moot at the point where Lisbeth takes down a leering Hell’s Angel with an electric taser to the groin.

Review of Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse

Wireless mice are a becoming commonplace these days but Microsoft’s Arc Touch mouse stands heads and shoulders above the rest.

Designed by the famous French designer, Philippe Starck, the mouse comes with its unique "collapsable" design. With this design, the mouse can be flattened for storage when not in use. That’s not all for this sophisticated device. The mouse powers up when it is snapped into a curved position and automatically powers down when it’s flattened to save battery. The mouse is covered with a thin black rubber and this includes the articulated frame of the device. It has a very minimalistic design with only two physical buttons and a touch-sensitive scroll wheel for scrolling located in between the two buttons

The Arc Touch also has a few other cool features such as a magnetic strip below the mouse that holds the nano wireless receiver in place so that you don’t lose it. The mouse runs on 2 AAA batteries hidden on the underside of the device.

Installing the Arc Touch mouse is a quick and simple process. Just slot in the wireless receiver and it will automatically start up the program installation. This will only take a few seconds, after which the mouse is ready for use.

Practical Test

The curved design of the mouse makes it comfortable to use but we still prefer a standard mouse for day-to-day use. It works fine for simple tasks like web surfing or editing a document. However, it isn’t accurate or comfortable enough when making fine adjustments or quick movements. This was evident when we used it to edit an image in Photoshop and played a few games. The touch-sensitive scroll wheel is remarkably effective for quickly scrolling through a long document. It is able to distinguish between short controlled flicks and longer flicks that quickly scrolls a page to the end.

Interestingly, the touch-sensitive scroll wheel offers tactile feedback - it vibrates gently as you drag your finger over it. Another feature of the Arc Touch is that it uses Microsoft’s proprietary BlueTrack sensor which allows the mouse to work on almost any type of surface, in theory. I tried using the mouse on a variety of surfaces and it worked fine on most but not all. On a glass table top, for instance, the mouse’s tracking capability suffered quite a bit. The mouse also doesn’t function well on most highly reflective surfaces.

Conclusion


The Microsoft Arc Touch mouse is without a doubt a very cool looking and practical wireless mouse. The collapsible design and how the mouse automatically powers up when unflattened are two of its best features..As cool as it is, the Arc Touch still feels like a novelty item and can’t really compare to a regular mouse in some areas. It is not ideal for playing games or doing rigorous video/graphic editing.

TV Series Review - Nikita

Is “Nikita” good? It depends on your definition of the word. On one hand, it will remind you of cheesy action programs complete with over-the-top dialogue, two-dimensional characters, and ridiculous plot twists that defy all logic. On the other hand, not everything needs to be intellectually challenging to be entertaining. “Nikita” is ridiculous in all the ways that we want a show about a super-sexy trained assassin to be ridiculous. Luc Besson and fans of the original-and-far-superior “La Femme Nikita” may not be too happy that their source has been turned into a B-show but this character has grown much bigger than the original film.

The ridiculously sexy Maggie Q steps into the stiletto heels of Anne Parillaud, Bridget Fonda, and Peta Wilson as the title character now reimagined as someone who was burned by the agency for which she worked as a hired killer and now has the solitary goal of bringing them down. In the pilot, Nikita resurfaces after being assumed dead and makes clear her intention to bring down the company that killed her only love.

While Nikita is causing problems on the outside, we’re also introduced to a new recruit played by Lyndsy Fonseca and several of the other young future “Nikitas” (including the great Ashton Holmes of “A History of Violence”). The show cross-cuts between the “training” of a new assassin and the revenge planned by their most notorious one. Will Nikita bring down the company? Will the new girl be a hero or villain?

Of course, the plot is mostly an excuse to watch Maggie Q kick some ass.The most important element of the first episode — the action scenes — are well-done and entertaining. The program features film-caliber production values and, unlike most of the boring junk in theaters this year, never takes itself too seriously. Having said that, it’s strikingly easy to see this program falling apart shortly after its premiere by trying to become something more like “Alias” instead of focusing on its B-movie charms.

I’m hoping for the best, because NIKITA is hands down one of the freshest and better looking new series this fall. It’s unapologetic in its approach, Maggie Q is phenomenal to watch and there’s so many cool characters, you’re foaming at the mouth anticipating what’s coming next

iPhone App Review: Game Development Story

If you have ever dreamt of building a computer games empire (not just an empire within a computer game), then this title is for you.

Game Development Story is a mobile game for the iOS platform and puts you as the boss of a game development studio. Your job is to develop games and market them wisely. This includes management of staff, advertising, contracts, and much more. Although it is a simplified model of the real world out there, it still contains little quirks and details that make it as realistic as it can be.

This however is a management game, so you don’t actually do the game design or programming. The game involves you making the decision in choosing the attributes that affect the quality of work games. The four main attributes are: Creativity, Fun, Sound, and Graphics.

You influence these attributes by employing and delegating the right people for the job, balancing in-house designers with suppliers who can also do the job for you.

Once the game is completed, it needs to be produced, and production comes with headaches of its owns. As in real-life, production is never trouble free so you get problems such blackouts and other natural disasters, being tripped up by a competitor who releases a similar game ahead of you, or having the game console you were developing for taken off the shelves due to poor sales.

If you manage to clear all the development and production issues and your game is completed, it will be rated by a magazine. This magazine has four reviewers who will score your item from 1 to 10. The ratings will determine your sales performance which is the ultimate aim of the title, and will lead you to making as much money as possible. The money can then be used to further your progress in the game such as expanding your company, advertising, acquiring better licenses, and so on.

What make this game interesting and cool is the many throwbacks to what we are familiar in our current game world. Over the course of the game, you will come across company like "Senga," consoles like "Sonny Playstatus" and "Intendro IES," and games like “Space Barrier."

Although the game sounds simple, it does take a huge amount of strategy to be successful. And, it is very addictive. I started playing the game thinking I would give it about 10-20 minutes but ended playing through the night.

It is just one of those games which you find it difficult to give up in the middle of a session, so please be aware and make sure you have the time before starting.

Movie Review - The Expendables

If you are not a 80’s B-action movie fan, then this movie is not for you. But if you are a fan like me, then you are in luck. I just came out from watching this movie, and boy was I entertained. Almost 2 hours of none stop action from the action stars I grew up with. It’s pure heaven.

By my count, every prominent action movie star from the 80’s and 90’s is in this show bar one, Jean Claude van Damme. There was the original three, Sly, Arnold and Bruce, Mickey Rourke, Eric "Best of the Best" Roberts and Dolph "He-Man" Lundgren from the 80’s and Jason Statham, Jet Li, S

tone Cold Steve Austin. It would have been good to complete the ensemble with the Muscles from Brussels and the Rock…maybe the sequel (I have no doubt there would be one).

The plot is similar to what you have accustomed to from Stallone. Basically, it is about a damsel in distress and at the end the hero saves the day. Stallone plays Barney Ross, the leader of a group of mercenaries that is tasked to take down a corrupted dictator and his American partner in the make believe Island of Vilena. On a recon trip, he meets Sandra, the daughter of the dictator and a leader of the rebel group trying to overthrown the dictator. In an altercation with the army, he manages to escape but Sandra refuses to leave with him. She is then tortured by the American, played by Eric Roberts who wants to find out who sent Stallone to get him.

So the final battle pit Stallone and his men (Statham, Li, Crews) against Roberts, Austin and the army. Plenty of action, gunfights, hand to hand combat to satisfy the male testosterone. It’s been a while since we had these scenes where the heroes are never hurt battling a whole army of men and guns. Definitely a throwback to the days of Rambo and Commando.

The film is fun and entertaining because it doesn’t pretty it is anything else but an action movie. There is no pretext of intellectual stimulation here just plain old ass kicking for the bad guys. The repartee between Statham, Li, Stallone also make for good male humour.

As I said, this movie is more than worth its ticket value for the sheer entertainment it provides. There will definitely be a sequel and I know I will be first in line for it.

PC Game Review - Civilization V

Civilization is the game that made me a PC gamer for life. When I first starting playing it in 1991, I didn’t know what to make of the blocky graphics and turn-based gameplay. But I kept playing and playing. Just one more turn, and I’ll go to bed. I kept telling myself, even though I had a test coming up the next day,

The fifth version of Civ to bear Sid Meier’s name is no different in its addictiveness. Since I’ve been able to play it, I’ve got less sleep than an adult male should. The core game of Civ is intact; you still found cities, build units to explore your surroundings, attack barbarians, research technology, and interact with other civilizations through diplomacy or war. But with this latest incarnation, it all feels more polished and more fun.

It’s also probably the most accessible Civ to date, and that has to do with the excellently presented user interface. Clearly inspired by Revolutions, the UI alerts the player to the most relevant information, but in a very non-intrusive way. There are no annoying popups, events are instead placed in a list on the right of the screen above the "Next Turn" button. The list can get little cluttered when large events happen late in the game, like when a Civ declares war and everyone follows suit, and the time between turns is a bit longer than I’d like, but it’s easy to overlook these small complaints now that I no longer leave my capital building nothing for a few turns.

Like previous Civs, there is a lot of information to grasp, but it’s all safely tucked away behind intuitive buttons. I especially dug the info bar at the top of the screen (Titan panel anyone?) with the most relevant data. Hovering over the happiness display lets me know exactly why my people were so pissed at me. The user interface of Civ V gives me the tools to play the game without pulling too much focus from the game itself. What more could you ask for?

Other familiar game systems have been revamped. Culture still pushes the borders of your cities, but you can buy individual tiles with gold to become part of your civ. Accumulating culture points unlocks social policies, which are like your civilization’s talent trees. The benefits from social policies are big, like Honor’s combat bonus against barbarians or a boost to Happiness from Piety. I found myself carefully deciding what kind of civilization I wanted to play; the system is robust and a lot of fun.

While the diplomacy system is largely unchanged, you meet leaders and can trade with them or enter agreements like Pacts of Secrecy or Cooperation, the city-states are a great addition. These small states are not out to win the game or take anything over, but they add complexity to the world diplomacy. If you are nice to them, and do the tasks they ask or give them gold, they will give you culture, food or military units. If you attack them, they may gang up on you and declare permanent war against your civilization. It was really engaging choosing between attacking the English because they assaulted my ally, the city of Brussels that was giving me an important luxury resource, or if I should hold back and try to liberate the city when I was more prepared. The city-states are a welcome addition.

Some niggling problems were fixed outright. It always bugged me in previous Civs that you were rewarded for building roads in every single tile. In Civ V, roads and some other improvements have a maintenance cost so you need to pick and choose what your workers build wisely. Thankfully, you don’t have to connect each resource with a road anymore, merely building the corresponding improvement within your borders does the trick. Finding strategic resources Iron and Horses is doubly important now because each resource only lets you build a finite number of units. For example, building a mine on an Iron tile might only net you two Irons, from which you can only build two Swordsmen. It’s a brilliant system, because it forces the kind of strategic decisions that Civ is all about.

I love Civilization V and will likely spend hundreds of hours over the next few years taking over the world. I suggest you do the same

iPhone App Review - iBlueSky MindMapping Application

iBlueSky is a mindmapping tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch. A “mindmap” is basically what you would get if your brain could throw up an lightbulb everytime you have an idea.
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If you suddenly have this great idea but you’re not sure of how to translate it to paper or some other visual medium, you mindmap it! Start with a word or a concept, branch off from that concept with lines and circles that hold related ideas, draw more lines, more circles etc and eventually your original idea starts to take shape in a big mess of words and bubbles.

iBlueSky is very similar in operation to Mind Maker, another popular Mind Mapping application for the iPhone. You are able to use landscape mode and the addition of branches is very straightforward and anybody who has used a Mind Mapping application would be able to pick ip up in no time at all.

There is a default map already installed for you to play around with. The map I created got quite big, quite fast and I found it easy to add new branches, sub branches and also to navigate around the map.

Everything you put into your mindmap is editable, and you can even copy, cut, and paste in case you realize that things need to be rearranged. It’s really a pretty sweet app for brainstorming, and when your mindmap is complete you can send it off in an email that will include the map in several different formats including PNG, PDF, and a couple of weird formats (OPML and MM) that are specific to other desktop mindmapping software programs like Freemind.

There are only two areas that I’d like to see improved, the first being the project list. Projects titles are the same as the text in the starting bubble, but I’d like to be able to edit the title in case I want it to be more descriptive. The other improvement would be in the formatting of the bubbles themselves… a return button would be good so that text could be arranged on more than one line, and it would also be nice if I could highlight certain bubbles with a fill color.

Overall, iBlueSky is a great way to map out your brilliant ideas. Inspiration can hit you at some weird times, so having an app like this on the iPhone seems like a perfect fit and a worthy use of $7.99.

Blackberry App Review - Viigo News Reader

There’s a lot of new apps, updates, and news coming out every day for the Blackbery platform. Today, I would like to highlight one of my favourite apps. Viigo. Why Viigo? Because Viigo provides for everything you want to know at your fingertips.
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Viigo (pronounced vee-go) is a fun and useful application for the Blackberry platform. Offering a thorough menu of RSS feeds related to news, entertainment, local interests, sports, weather, politics and finance, this application is often cited at the top of the list of many Blackberry users.

Viigo requires a log-in; creating one takes just moments and can be done right from the handheld (although you’ll need to confirm the account via an e-mail message from your desktop PC). When you launch the app, the home page shows a list of your active channels. Essentially, channels are any dynamic Web content you subscribe to, such as blog posts, stock prices, weather information, or general news feeds. Viigo gives you a default list of starter channels. You can also browse the Channel Library to grab whatever suits your fancy from hundreds of popular channels, and then add each one to your home page with the Add Channel command. The app also imports custom feeds lists from Google Reader, Bloglines, and My Yahoo accounts. I imported my own Google Reader account without a hitch; all of the feeds appeared below the default ones in a separate section, giving me instant access to new CNN, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Slashdot, and other items right away.

In general, reading news in Viigo is a pleasure. Simply put, the app displays everything that interests you in the same UI. That means you don’t have to navigate multiple mobile sites to read all your content, waiting for each one to load along the way. In fact, I didn’t wait much at all during the review period. With a few exceptions that hung up the Curve 8330 for a moment with a spinning hourglass, navigation was virtually instantaneous. I was prepared to do speed tests, but there’s nothing to measure: Content loads in the background and then stays put on the handheld. Note that the same content is also available in Viigo even when there is no cell-phone signal; you can read articles in the subway or on a plane (with your phone set to flight mode, of course).

At the bottom of each article or post, there are six colorful icons that let you send the article via e-mail, send it to yourself, post it to Twitter or del.icio.us, display the full article, or display the actual Web page in your handset’s Web browser. A pop-up menu offers much the same options, plus the ability to save or delete items as well as navigate to the next or previous item. Reading lots of stories in a row is a simple matter of clicking on each one, clicking twice more to pop up the full article, and then moving on to the next. In turn, the app grays out the stories you’ve already read, and you can also mark all stories in a particular category as read if you want. Viigo is ad-supported, but I thought the display ads at the top of each page weren’t particularly intrusive.

For pure news and blog posts reads via RSS, you simply can’t beat Viigo for BlackBerry. Some users are partial to surfing individual Web sites, rather than drinking new content through a fire hose stripped of site context. But that’s an issue with RSS readers in general and has nothing to do with Viigo. Besides, this app is good enough to make me a convert, especially on mobile devices—and that’s saying something.

Movie Review - Skyline

If this movie were to leak out to outer space, we’d practically be inviting alien lifeforms to take over – seeing how easy it is to destroy planet Earth.

The story is hardly original, and the plot was barely there. What made previous alien invasion blockbuster Independence Day, a blockbuster, was that the storyline followed a group of intelligent and influential human beings – the President of United States, genius scientists and a Marine captain. In Skyline instead, the story line follows a bunch of witless idiots hiding out in an apartment as the aliens attack.

The movie starts off with a group of friends, passed out after a late night of partying, awakening to a bright blue light outside their windows. Finding that they cannot drag their eyes away from the beautiful blue lights, one of them gets sucked straight out into the skies, where the source of lights are from. A heroic attempt to find out what is happening outside, friends Jarrod and Terry go up to the roof to see countless alien lifeforms attacking the city.

I’d have to say Skyline is a boy’s movie. Which boy wouldn’t be exhilarated by the fact that you get a first-hand view of a cool alien invasion from your penthouse window? The effects are in fact very impressive. The spaceships were frightfully cool, and the vein popping effects looked disgustingly real. The aliens were so terrifying and realistic – the majestic alien invasion effects can almost give War Of The Worlds a run for their money.

However, the disappointment was in the ridiculous cast. For goodness sakes, I wouldn’t expect more than a B-grade slasher film from comedic actor Donald Faison of Scrubs and Brittany Daniel, a frequent face from the Wayans Brothers movies.

To make matters worse, the main characters were played by newbies Eric Balfour and Scottie Thompson, who must have skipped a whole lot of acting classes. The exaggerated expressions and the over dramatized acting (Yes, too dramatic even for an alien invasion!) actually brought out hysterical giggles from cinema audiences. I don’t think the directors, brothers Colin and Greg Strause intended for Skyline to be comedic, but believe me, you’ll find yourself laughing more than you find yourself worrying about the safety of humankind.

The only savior of the show was seasoned actor David Zayas, known from the TV series Dexter. Ever the action hero, Zayas brought the most charisma on screen. It was a pity they did not choose to cast him as the main lead. If it weren’t for him, I’d be rooting for the aliens to finish them humans off - faster!

Movie Review - I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four is very much the movie equivalent of Smallville: a handsome teenage alien living in middle America while coming terms with his newfound powers. All this while battling other alien life forms and falling for the local sweetie pie. It is not surprising to see that the screenwriters for the movie are the same duo of Alfred Hough and Miles Millar from Smallville.

That overall TV show feel is further perpetuated no small thanks to its casting of familiar TV favorites like Olyphant and Agron. I Am Number Four is also an obvious attempt at cashing in on the Twilight craze, with its teen sci-fi romance instead of pseudo horror-romance of the latter. Unfortunately, the main characters, with the possible exception of McAuliffe and Olyphant are almost as bland as those from Twilight.

Pettyfer who is trying to be a star via adult fantasy films like Stormbreaker and the soon to be released Beastly is the kind of handsome but bland and wooden leading man normally associated with 50’s sword and sandal flicks. His performance here is disappointing as the lead. Although he certainly will attract many teenage female fans to the movie, he needs to show more than being a glorified male model if he wants to strike it big in the movie world.

Glee’s Agron portrays more sweetness here than she is allowed on the TV show but her age is beginning to tell. It seems like she is getting on a little to be cast as a high school girl. Still she does what she can to carry her character with a bit of enthusiasm. In the movie, her Sarah is akin to Mary Jane Watson or Lois Lane, always supporting the main man but never in the thick of the action.

I Am Number Four essentially does what it is meant to be : a middle of the road sci-fi movie aimed at teens. Personally I would just keep the money watch rerun of Smallville on TV for free.

Movie Review - King's Speech

The period drama The Kings Speech is set in the years 1925 to 1939. It chronicles how Albert, the Duke of York, or famously known as Bertie found himself crowned the King of England after the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII to marry an American divorcee. The plot of the story revolves around the King’s inability to speak public because he stammered and how he overcame it with the help of a speech therapist Lionel Legue.

It is a superbly crafted movie with excellent acting by Colin Firth as the King and Geoffrey Rush as the speech therapist. The chemistry between Firth as the stiff leader of the country and Rush as the plainspoken commoner and their friendship is what makes this whole movie more than a watchable one.

Firth who is the favorite for this year’s Best Actor Oscar was also nominated in the same category last year for A Single Man. His portrayal of Bertie is tremendously moving in his frustration, humiliation and fury, choking on his words then gasping for air like a man who is drowning. Rush on the other hand, is his comic foil. His character Logue insists on calling everyone by the first name which drives Bertie mad. He has His Highness sing “Swanee River”, roll on the floor of his apartment and scream profanities as part of the treatment.

The movie is directed by Tom Hopper, who is no stranger to period dramas having directed the TV miniseries John Adams and Elizabeth I. His movie shows much sympathy for the monarch even though he jibes at the monarchy. His experience dealing with period drama adds a different element to the movie. He notes in particular the arrival of mass media and its impact on public personalities well before Princess Diana democratized princess into pop icon. In one scene, he shows His Highness watching Hitler on television rousing the crowd in Nuremberg with his oratory fire. The significance of the scene is reflected in the last part of the movie when Bertie himself would rally his own people by delivering a crucial and inspirational live radio broadcast from Buckingham Palace, declaring war against Germany.

The other cast members in the movie includes Helena Bonham Carter as the King’s wife Elizabeth and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill. However, this movie is all about the performances of Firth and Rush who manages to turn a slow meandering plot into a watchable movie worthy of its Best Picture nomination.

TV Series Review - Fairly Legal

Fairly Legal is a new tv drama series that premiered on the USA network this past January 20th. It is scheduled to be part of the network’s Thursday line-up and comes on at 10pm. The show stars Sarah Shahi (last seen in Life and The L Word) as Kate Reed, a former attorney who made a career switch to become a mediator because she wanted to help both sides in a lawsuit. She does not believe that in any lawsuit, one side has to lose before the other can win. She also does not believe that justice can only be found in the courtroom.

In the series pilot, we are told that Kate is still a lawyer in her father’s firm located in San Francisco. At the start of the show, her father passes away suddenly and she has to deal with her step-mother who happens to run the law firm now. Kate has a complicated relationship with Justin, her ex-husband, who incidentally is also a lawyer with the San Francisco District Attorney’s office. Other characters in the show include Leonard, Kate’s assistant who often comes to her rescue just in the nick of time.

Since the premiere, Fairly Legal has gotten rave reviews with many praising its effort for showing the other part of the legal system which is often ignored by mainstream media. As in any lawsuit, there are two sides to the story. This is the foundation of every episode where Kate tries to do her job as mediator and get the best outcome for both parties.

As a mediator, Kate is pretty unconventional and has her ways to handling stuff. It may not be orthodox but her understanding of the law and human nature together with a dry sense of humour often gets the job done. The sub-plot to the storyline is her complicated relationships with the step-mother and ex-husband. Although she often disagrees with her father, we are shown that she misses him a lot and often calls his phone just to hear his voice.

Fairly Legal is a typical USA network show and fans of the network’s other series like White Collar and Psych should fall in love with it instantly. I am very impressed with Sarah Shahi’s performance as Kate because she really makes the audience endear themselves to the character. All in all the series has the potential of to be a clever, fun and character driven series and become a stable in the USA network of interesting programs.