City Under Siege (2010) @ 全城戒备

Superslut and superhero.

At a glance:

American X-Men are crossed with Chinese Future X-Cops in uneasy yet fairly entertainin Hong Kong actioner that certainly contains more drama than what poster or title might suggest. In a modification of the usual themes we find in movies about post-war Nazi experiments, this Benny Chan picture uses the prologue of fictional Japanese experiments in Malaysia durin WWII occupation and spins a mutant story with heroes and villains, mostly in fat suits, clown suits or any other futuristic-lookin PVC apparel, as long as they look more advanced than Streetfighter characters. In City Under Siege (2010), we follow a bumblin simpleton named Sunny (Aaron Kwok) who goes from circus clown to national hero in a bizarre turn of events that we’ll omit as spoilers. Colin Chou (Forbidden Kingdom) plays the arch nemesis, while Shu Qi (Gorgeous) gets a decent role as a beautiful TV news anchor. Meanwhile there are also Mr and Mrs Smith super agent roles for Zhang Jing Chu (Aftershock) and Wu Jing (SPL).

"Wow, I can see his ego from here."

Bad news on the doorstep:

The balance between CGI and traditional FX isn’t very comfortable, especially comin from such an established filmmaker who gave us the Police Story movies with Jackie Chan. As mentioned earlier, it’s rather unusual that the movie does have a useful healthy dose of emotional downtime and humorous interjections (Aaron Kwok’s obsession with bein “slim”) - this helps lift the mood for the otherwise very overdone plot. More importantly, it’s possible that many of the understated action scenes in this movie are actually quite explosive but can’t find a comfortable place to engage the audience who are bein visually bamboozled with various CGI oddities.

Aaron Kwok shouldn't have had that last murtabak.

Perennial wonderment:

We must however single out Aaron Kwok as being a much improved, very competent and professional actor despite the flak he gets all these years. In related observations, Shu Qi’s Cantonese has improved fivefold since the Sex And Zen years while Mainlanders Zhang Jing Chu and Wu Jing need better projects if they’re gonna break out of the B-movie mould.
I can't remember if I cried:
This movie had Malaysian indie distributor NEF havin a go at organisin a big event with the HK stars in town. It was a circus.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Feels more Ultraman than Rumble In The Bronx but you're likely not to feel shortchanged if you’re looking for an action movie with Chinese stars. ★★1/2

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

At a glance:
Another recent Hulk addition, followin Ang Lee's 2002 effort, starrin Edward Norton, Tim Roth and my lovely Liv Tyler. A glarin green blemish on their wonderful actin CVs if you ask me.
Bad news on the doorstep:

A cartoon! What am I? Twelve?

Hate both the recent Hulk projects, can't decide which is worse. Problem lies with my fond memories of the TV classic. I can't accept Hulk bein made into a superhero movie. It's a much more human story than that. CGI Hulk is just too easy. The TV series with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno was more captivatin and endurin. The appeal is similar to that other series I loved as a kid, Beauty And The Beast with Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton. Quality family time watchin that.
Perennial wonderment:
Liv Tyler, starrin in yet another instantly forgettable movie.
I can't remember if I cried:
When I saw Tim Roth turn into an evil Hulk-like nemesis. Is that part of the story in any of the comic timelines? It felt so contrived. Really lost interest at that point.
Reminds me of:
The good old days when superhero movies aren't about the most awesome SFX. Also, I guess this will forever remind me of my first SG journey the Odyssey bus, on which I watched it.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Two? Really not my kinda thing.

"Is the movie over yet?"