If you have read Alice Sebold's novel, you need no introduction on what the movie's about. But lest you haven't, go read it :) Really, do it. I think the novel won some prize which make me pick it up back then. Ok, honestly I wasn't truly impressed back then and fast forward to today and I'm still not impressed now that it has been amde a movie too. In a nutshell, you look at the world through the eyes of Suzie Salmon, 14, who became prey to a serial killer (Stanley Tucci - who got nominated for this role) and how she can't let go and tries to warn her family who the killer is. Throw in the dynamics of how each person in the family deals with Suzie's death and you thought it would be a recipe of tears and sobs. Yes, it was touching but the emotions weren't as powerful as I wished it would be. Peter Jackson's vision of limbo/heaven displayed in technicolour psychedelic rainbow colours seems to jolt out of place in this deep and dark undercurrent theme movie and fails to impress. That said, the strong cast (Rachel Weisz, Mark Walhberg) still manages to keep the story interesting in their search for an answer to their daughter's sudden departure. Overall, a nice movie to spend over a boring weekend afternoon.

The 2010 Alice tries to add a updated twist in the classic story while trying to retain some of its past fairy-tale feel. I didn't think it was too dark or unsuitable for kids. Disney's silver screen version of Alice has her as a teenager, forgetting that she had once, as a kid, visited Wonderland as she sets of in a journey to save Wonderland from the Red Queen and searching out herself and who she really is. However, I felt the story jarring and not cohesive or fluid enough. It may be the editing but some parts seems like you're watching scenes filmed at different points and put together to fill up the slightly over 90 minutes. The australian lead, whose name I do not know how to spell, did a good job as the female heroine in doubt of herself and her capability. Johhny Depp as the mad Hatter has garnered equal comendation and criticisms alike. I'll leave it to you to decide - just ask yourself if without all the make-up, would you still think he gave a performance to shout about? Helena Carter as Red Queen with her bulbous head was a joy to watch in comparison to Anne Hattaway's White Queen who tried so hard to be cutesy and way way too dramatic - almost to a point I felt was more deranged than the Red Queen. Tim Burton's best, I guess not but still a multi-coloured, fantastically well CG-ed, whimiscal piece to look forward to. Loved the sets, esp Red Queen's castle, the scenery, the wonderful creatures - big and small. For me, the movie just did not make me feel on the edge of my seat anticipating like Avatar did. Overall, still a nice movie to look forward to.

Ryan, starring George Clooney, is a hired firing squad as he travels across the country to various companies telling their employees that they have lost the jobs and are being laid off. It is not an easy job, one that requires a personal touch and face to break the news to unassuming, sometimes emotional and sometimes violent workers. That is until a top, fresh, young graduate joins his firm and proposes to cut costs and increase productivity by having the firing done via online. Ryan who enjoys being on constant move is thrown off when his fondness of the lifestyle of airports and hotels is being threatened. What more he met an equally matched female traveller, Alex, after they hit it off during transition one night. The rest of the story has Ryan showing the ropes to the fresh upstart and juggling his almost non-existent family ties and “relationship” with Alex. Through his travels, his values change and evolve as he begin to see other facets of his life in a totally different light. Suddenly, he wants to settle down and be a one-man guy and be there for his family etc. The change is gradual, poignant and refreshing to watch. If you are not into heavy melodrama, Up in the Air may not be your cup of tea. But with a strong showing from the actors and funny, but not laugh-out-loud moments, the Oscar-nominated flick may be able to lift some spirits and touch some.

The Wolfman story is a classic and in this re-make, there ain't too many changes. The male lead in this movie, Benicio Del Toro, gets bitten and transforms into the beast while investigating the death of his younger brother. He soon unearths a can of worms and not to mention a closet of skeletons as well. He gets captured and 25 years later manages to escape and seeks revenge. I read in an interview that they were trying to revive all the classical monster flicks via Wolfman's success. Well, as much as the visuals were not too bad and given that they was sufficient bood and gore, Wolfman will not be the title that brings howling success in doing so. The scares were bite-sized and cliched. As much as a classic it was, the audience have grown and should not be presented with cliche "bump-in-the-night" scenes. The actors were commendable but the story still felt old and no new elements were infused in this remake to make it look fresh. Oh gotta run, full moon's out tonight.

Everybody knows that Dear John is from the same writer, Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote the weepy-hit The Notebook. Everybody prepped the waterworks by bringing hankies & tissues into the cinema hall. The budding 2-week romance between John, a young soldier, and Savannah, a student taking her summer holiday becomes bumpy and difficult when studies and call of duty beckons both of them. However, falling so deeply with each other, they make a promise to stay true to each other and wrote letters to each other for the next 12 months with whatever's happening to them i.e. getting shot in the back during a mission to dreams of opening a school for the autistic. John finally get a 2 day break to visit Savannah but nt before realising his entire section would like to extend their tour of duty. John is torn between his love for Savannah and his country. I have not read the novel but I'm pretty pleased with what I saw on screen. The budding romance was not too cheesy, the build-up was well paced and I like how family ties were thrown in (i.e. John's dad played by Richard Jenkins). Amanda Seyfried, who I thought was not as attractive when I saw the trailer, grew on my with her emotive blue big eyes and surprised me with her acting chops. She has grown out of her Mama Mia days. I was skeptical that Channing Tatum, relying only on his gd looks and physique, could carry such an emotional show looking at his past outings with mainly action flicks (i.e. GI Joe & Fighting) and as expected he took off his shirt a far bit, not that the girls are complaining, but has shown much improvement (some scenes) though I still don't think he would be any casting producers first choice of a lead in a love or drama. If you think this is the same love story between 2 teenagers, you'll be surprised how the movie explores the multitude of love - parents, friends, country etc. A recommended Valentine's day flick.

Percy Jackson did not realise that he is the son of Poseidon, God of the Seas until one day a Fury attacked him during a school excursion. He was the prime suspect of stealing Zeus' thunderbolt as Zeus and Poseidon are brothers and have been fighting to rule the Gods. With some help, Percy learns to fight and discover his potential and destiny as he sets out to prove his innocence, save his mother as well as to prevent a war between the Gods. A fun-filled fantasy right out of the Greek mythology stories comes to live on screen. All you have to do is throw away all reality and immerse yourself into the fanatsy flight of mash up mythology adventure that presents you centaurs, minotaur, hydra, hellhounds and more. An imaginative and creative weave of fairytales to keep you endlessly entertained. The graphics and effects were stunning and superb. The story is predictable and juvenile but so so enjoyable, no less. Suitable for all ages. Hope there would be a sequel - now who says lightning can't strike at the same place twice.