Shamalayan is at it again! And Josh Hartnett is as great as ever.

The tagline speaks of a sinister event at a concert, and thus I was expecting some kind of mass hypnosis or other morbid and disturbing event but... this wasn't that at all. It's more like Dexter. It's the story of a serial killer, but without killing, and ultimately... you can't help root for the guy can't you?

There's a Shamalayan on stage too. I wonder what her relation is to the director. She gets a more central role than you expect, as the main characters slowly but surely creep closer and closer to the action...

It's an interesting twist on a typical tale. It's elaborate, and captivating, but until it nears the end not particularly intense. It's like a modern take on the classic Psycho - that story of Edra Cobb, and his unhealthy ties to his mother. It all goes back to the mother doesn't it?

I'm not totally blown away by this movie but... I like it. I like how differently it does a typical thing. I like how you're just at every moment waiting for everyone to start dying violently - like when the Butcher had the drop on a whole squad of cops - and yet he just walks right through them to the coffee machine...

Unconventional, is why it's so good, though the concert music is disappointingly bland until they're in a more intimate space instead, playing on the Butcher's piano. The more I think about how unconventional everything is the more it all grows on me. It's fascinating...

Solid movie all in all. Maybe deserves more than a...

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome

In the old days they never let the bad guys win in a movie - even when you rooted for 'em.

These days... sometimes they let too bad guys win instead! Like this guy.

He shouldn't have.

But it is a damn good movie! A thriller. About a killer.

A killer thriller.

Samuel L Jackson's always great, but I'm impressed with the Irish police too. They're all professional. The police lady to - whose rank or title I never truly do come to terms with - though she seems a superior officer of some sort. And the cooperation between US and UK is cool to witness too. Hope they do more of that.

The scenes are good - skies clouded in authentic UK manner, the characters serious and troubled, the intrigue ongoing, and building, and certain character cues may clue you in early if you look for those clues. Looking back I could've caught on earlier. Maybe. Maybe you're not meant to though...

But it ends... in a way I shan't reveal, but a way that makes you feel. And possibly remember this movie, with a strange kind of appeal. Cause the guy who gets away... he really shouldn't have.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

I remember this movie from back in the day... I remember it being mediocre, but cool. Like something I liked, but didn't think I'd really remember. And I didn't - until I watched it again!

Chris Evan's is young here. Before he blew up? And there are plenty of A-list actors who maybe weren't A-list back then included here... it's cool to see origins like this. I wonder if this is the movie that made them famous. Or maybe this movie really was a big thing back when it was made....

Dakota Fanning's great too. And everyone else really. I don't recognize most of 'em.

The concept's great, the execution... so so.

It gets darker than you maybe except though, and more intricate than you expect... yet it's still not quite there. Like a lot of movies from the Nineties. Though this wasn't the Nineties. Also feels a bit like an HK action movie. Like Hollywood and HK collide. Both cast and locations seem too small sometimes, yet the theme is grand. It encompasses the whole world. It feels like the red thread ought reflect that better. With everything at stake, you'd think there was more than the one villain. And yet it does get easier to connect to the characters when there aren't that many of them... and every single one is plenty rich in personality.

I think I'll remember this one now though. And maybe I'll stumble upon it again In another life, another time...

Would be cool if they decide to make a remake some day. And really make do of it's full potential.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

The animation quality's... surprisingly good!!! Especially in the intro.

The story though? Bureaucracy? Adventure? Where's this going...?

It goes further than you may think! It goes into war, it goes from youth to old age, it tells a tale of adventure and purpose, as seen through the eyes of two poets. One outgoing and wild, the other held back, but disciplined, and all the fiercer of heart.

It feels bleak for a while, but though it deals with death more than it does life... it's beautiful too. The visuals are beautiful, the words honorable and exotic, the plan a simple one, but deceiving in the best possible way.

I must say, this was friggin' great.

This was way better than I thought it would be.

It wasn't just an animated film. It feels like I've lived... a lifetime. I've experienced everything, even if the life I lived never led me that far away.

It's not the kind of story to make you teary-eyed. Not on the outside at least. But in my soul... maybe. It feels... greatly. The way things are phrased. The way their told. The decisions this old man takes.

You truly grow wise, with age.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

Read on...

Once every ten years or so a movie comes out that totally blows you away, that does it like nobody's done it before, that reminds you how most movies you watch are just total bullshit... this was always one of those movies!

They do the breakdancing slam-into-ground bit one time too many though, and the drone shots one time too much, and the camera work's sloppy sometimes, and the close-up's veil the fights, and the Boy doesn't move fast enough to authentically ward off the bullets...

And yet it is amazing. The CGI they do right. The creativity's there always. The twist comes when you least expect it - though maybe I should have. Femke's still beautiful but fatal, and the good guys are awesome, and the brother with the longer hair reminds me of Shoot Em All, and the outro of Scott Pilgrim, and the final showdown a bit of the final fight in The Raid - and not just because one of the same guys is in it.

I love it. I heard great things about this before I saw it, and it didn't disappoint, but I do feel it could've done some things even better. The fights. Sometimes it's just not clear enough. Sometimes they're not fast enough. Sometimes it's just too much CGI.

But it delivers. It's a rare gem, it reminds me a little of Everything All At Once too, and Equilibrium, a dystopian flick with a flare for the unconventional, and the sentimental. It's complex... it's killer.

The Van Der Koy's? They really are one crazy dysfunctional family, and I don't think I saw the grandma go...

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

Read on...

Ancient Taoists travel through time and space in an effort to obtain a divine sword.

Korean Sci-Fi!

It's like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon met The Returner with aliens. Kinda.

Comedy, lots of it. Epic fight scenes two. Two worlds, and times, that collide. Though there is some lens flare amidst the most epic battles, and shaky cam, and swords that keep swinging more so than legit fight choreography.

I hear this is a bit like a watered down version of the first. A rerun on the same theme. Same thing all over again. But if it is... I need to watch the first, cause this was great.

It's a bit messy initially though. You follow a great deal of characters through a great deal of twists and turns and chase and cheesiness before it all starts connecting and making sense. When it finally does though! Oh my. It was worth the build-up.

Can't say it's a perfect movie but I did thoroughly enjoy it. The clash between times too, between old and new, oldskool adventure and martial artistry; high tech wizardry on a cosmic scale. Even if the alien race is but a sliver of what it once used to be.

I gotta watch the first though. Alienoid 1 up next. Despite initial confusion - considering which one of these the reviews rave most of, hopefully this is the right way...

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle