Shaolin

Synopsis: Jackie Chan and Andy Lau star in this movie about the betrayal of former general Hou Jie (Andy Lau) by his second in command Cao Man (Nicholas Tse) which causes his wife (Fan Bing Bing) to desert him. He then seeks refuge in a shaolin temple that he recently looked down upon after beating up a few of the monks in the same monastery. Hou Jie befriends a shaolin cook (Jackie Chan) who picks him up and he finds a way to resolve the existing conflict with the fellow monks. He leads the monks in a fiery stand as they try to end the rule of the warlord Cao Man. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

Andy is really the icon of the Chinese movie industry. Not only can he sing, he can also act to bring out his character in the movie, not to mention that he is also handsome as well. Overall, this is quite a good martial arts show to start the year with. The plot is quite good and the pace of the movie isn't draggy at all. Jackie, as usual, is the clown of the show, using his Kung Fu to create some laughter in the audiences. However, age is definitely catching up with him. Gone are the days where he can risk his life for anything, but for now, he is limited to roles that doesn't need him to run around much. A recommended movie to watch to start your year with.

 Rate: 7.5/10

Enjoy the Theme Song, which is quite nice:

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Burlesque

Synopsis: Ali (Christina Aguilera) is a small-town girl with a big voice who follows her dreams all the way to Los Angeles. After stumbling upon The Burlesque Lounge, a majestic but ailing theatre that is home to an inspired musical revue, Ali lands a job as a cocktail waitress from Tess (Cher), the club's proprietor and headliner. Burlesque's outrageous costumes and bold choreography enrapture the young ingenue, who vows to perform there one day. Soon enough, Ali makes friends with a dancer named Georgia (Julianne Hough), finds an enemy in a jealous performer named Nikki (Kristen Bell) and wins the eye of bartender musician Jack (Cam Gigandet). With the help of a sharp-witted stage manager (Stanley Tucci) and gender-bending host named Alexis (Alan Cumming), Ali makes her way from the bar to the stage. Her spectacular voice restores the lounge to its former glory, though not before a charismatic entrepreneur (Eric Dane) arrives with an enticing proposal. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

Not so much of taking a legend to make a star, I feel that both are legends in their own specialities. Too bad that Cher only sang 2 out of the 10 songs (with Christina completing the rest), the musical can be better if she had sang more. Maybe age is catching up with her? After all, she is 64 this year. However, Christina powerful voice really spiced up the entire musical. Not to mentioned that there are quite a handful of handsome guys to act as eye candys for the girls. Though it was reported that critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 37% rotten ratings, however, 75% of the audience polled (based on 37093 ratings) basically gives you an idea how is the movie like. In my opinion, there are great songs, great plot, and great singers that are worth every of your cents paid. A highly recommended musical to start 2011 with.

Rate: 8/10

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Hello Stranger

Synopsis: Just like thousands of Thai couples, during the nine days holiday of Songkran festival, a guy and a girl choose to visit Korea with their own specific reasons. They did not start the trip to go together, but end up returning back home to Thailand together. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

A touching romantic comedy, where 2 wounded souls in Korea find love in each other. That basically sums up the entire movie. Though the theme is simple, the directing more than makes up for any shortfall. I can say that the producers try very hard to relate to the audiences, by making the movie realistic and the storyline simple. A highly recommended film to watch and let the 2 strangers bring you through their 7 days in Korea.

Rate: 8/10

Meet the Parents: Little Fockers

Synopsis: A sequel to "Meet The Parents" and its sequel "Meet The Fockers", "Little Fockers" will revolve around Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) trying to cope with raising their five-year old twins. Robert De Niro and Owen Wilson will reprise their roles in this comedy movie wherein De Niro and Jane Rosenthal are serving as producers. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

I think that the producers must be running out of ideas. The jokes in this latest series are stale, reusing some of the old ones from the previous installment. Most of the jokes made are with reference to some form of mature content, and I am not really sure that the little ones in the movie can handle them. The kids, as usual, are little devils in the making to make sure that Greg does not have a smooth sailing day. Owen Wilson is a joke, he can do better than not appearing in the movie at all. In Summary, watch this movie if you have nothing better to watch.

Rate: 6/10

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Tron Legacy

Synopsis: Following the 1982 original, this reupdate is a 3-D cyber adventure set in a digital world where Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programmes and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidante (Olivia Wilde), both father and son embark on a life-or-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

Average plot to say the most, where the good guy battled to save his father from the world he created. However, the breathtaking digital images more than make it up for the whole movie. Sit back and relax to see the once familiar tron grid race happening in the near 3D screen in front of you. A good movie for both the young and the old. I personally recommend this movie for this holiday season, however, I think just the 2D version is good enough, as I don't think it is worth the extra money to pay for the 3D effect.

Rate: 7/10

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What a start to 2011!

Ended 2010 running a fever, vomiting, muscle aches, sore throat and a runny nose. My computer programmes behaving wierdly didn't help to make my day any better. Well, that is sort of expected since I have not format it for 3 years.

Spent the last 13.5 hours formatting, backing up and restoring everything back to normal. Lets hope my computer can last another 2 years, before retiring. Great start to 2011, ya?