CinemaShafiq

A haunting and intense recount of the Chernobyl incident in 1986. Craig Mazin successfully made a grim, haunting, suspenseful recollection of the incident based on the actual facts and persons involved. Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgaard and Emily Watson's acting were excellent in portraying conflicted important personas in the 80s Soviet. There were comments criticising that the one bothering thing about the series was that the fact that all the casts were using English, and not Russian, but to me, that didn't even matter as biopics not using the original language is pretty common and the series actings, story and other technical aspects was too damn good to consider such small issue. The music, composed by the brilliant Hildur Gudnadottir and the costume department, covering makeups and attires of the casts add to the haunting elements of Chernobyl, and Craig Mazin got the environment of the 80s Soviets perfectly, even to the tiniest details such as the color of th

As expected of a 90s comicbook movie, way before Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and Bryan Singer's X-Men paved the way to the golden age of superhero movies; Spawn was cheesy and campy as hell, with all it's 90s campy elements - leather attires, crappy punk rock music etc. However, the movie got the titular character, Spawn, right. His origin story, and his badass costume design were totally cool, unique and remarkable. Despite the poorly animated third act, I like this film for it's good old 90s films campiness and for our badass Spawn, the first antihero on big screen before Blade, Deadpool or Venom.  I can't wait to see how the upcoming Todd McFarlane's  Spawn  reboot gonna look like. 5/10

Not the better Michael Mann movie, too bad because I really enjoyed Heat and The Last of the Mohicans . Gong Li and Colin Farrell's chemistry felt really forced. Mann was making their relationship the typical "law guy meets hot crook girl and fall in love" but it did not worked for me. There are no chemistry whatever between them at all.  I still like the whole "undercover cop dealing with drug dealers" vibe though, it feels like a GTA movie. Hmm.. about time we got a live action GTA movie. Still, to be honest, I never planned to watch this movie. I know that it exists and it was a remake of a 80s TV series but I was on Netflix one day, and the thing that got me into watching is Linkin Park's "Numb" Encore version in the beginning though, and that's the best outtake of this movie. 6/10

Well.. it's just that, I guess? I give credit to the film and Namewee for being so brave and I would consider this is the first local film that went all out for political satire - jokes about Najib, Rosmah, GE13 jokes, IC to immigrants jokes, Lynas etc. This film also had Namewee-style handprints all over it, and this film also was set in a fictional Malaysia, as Malaysia is being invaded by the Luk Luk army, and Atikah Suhaimie is running around in skimpy nurse outfit , which definitely is not the type that Malaysian nurses wear. But I'm not complaining.  Nurse mode Atikah Suhaime Banglasia was interesting as it was set in a fictional Malaysia and packed with political satire with a Bangladeshi worker as the protagonist, so we see the struggles and what the immigrants went through everyday, so that's interesting. But that was all Banglasia had to offer. It doesn't go any deeper than that, exploring carefully or in detail about the hardships and oppre

As a movie lover as well as someone who is really invested in Malaysia's political scene, I think the existence of this film itself is an accomplishment. The story of 9 May 2018 indeed, should be made into a film. With that being said, this film was good, but it could've been better. The six-story narrative may need to be revised or cut to less than six, and it can be felt that this film was rushed as the script itself felt like assemble of events happening in Malaysia, before and during the GE14.  I am a lover of historical and biography films, but it irks me a bit when a film that had a potential to be great turnt out to be only subpar, especially coming from Nik Amir Mustapha (whom directed KIL , a local film that I really love) and Saw Teong Hin (who directed Puteri Gunung Ledang ).  The story(ies?) were messy and the overall production of this film just felt rushed. They should've take their time to develop and produce this movie, Pakatan Harapan is going to

This whole movie is basically just Jared Leto enjoying his weird affection to the Japanese culture, this time; a white yakuza. Maybe he didn't had enough satisfaction playing with Japanese elements in Blade Runner 2049.  There was nothing much about this film, it was about Jared Leto being a former US military, stranded in Japan, and for some weird reason in the universe that this film was taking in - the Yakuza seems to be very welcoming in accepting a gaijin , a white one especially, being accepted into the family. Sure, to be honest, the promise of a white guy being a part of the Yakuza is actually interesting, and there were plenty of materials already made on this premise.  However, what we got is one long movie, which drags and didn't really deliver a good story about that and what was more annoying is that there seems to be illogical "white saviour" moments sprinkled in this movie. It felt like Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai . That fi

Truly a brilliant, disturbing, surreal film. One of the weirdest or most disturbing film I ever watched. No spoiler - It's a story about a family, in which it seems like a bit suspicious in the beginning, and as the story flows into 40 mins of the film, the truth about the family unravels and you would not expect it. It falls into the "surreal" or "disturbing" genre for me, and there were also slices of satire or dark comedy that can be felt in the film. Good cinematography, good casts and definitely goes into my "disturbing movies" list. 6/10

I have been waiting for the nominations for a while and they're finally here. Joker sets a record for being the first comic book film to get 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Original Scores. As a fellow comic book film and a film fan myelf, I cannot be any more happier. Joker is a very well-made comic book film that deserves such recognitions. Oscar has always been picky with big-budgeted film or sci-fi/superhero  film and it's about time for they to be more considerable. To be honest, a comic book film being nominated as a Best Picture nominee should've happened a long time ago with The Dark Knight. Then, in 2019, obviously due to current political pressure in America, Oscar nominated Black Panther as a nominee for the Best Picture category. Now, I enjoy Black Panther. Killmonger was a very good villain and it definitely one of the good MCU movies. But to consider it as a Best Picture n

James Wan is a creative and brilliant director who managed to balance between adapting comic-accurate elements in  Aquaman  while ensuring it's "cheesiness" was not overboard and that the film would still fits in the DCEU's aesthetics. Aquaman is to me, the best DCEU movie so far (before Joker came into the existence). It was fun, energetic, a campy ride with emotional moments and it served more as a fantasy movie with a sprinkle of superhero elemens on top of it. I can't help but to think that it is a mix of Thor, Black Panther, Star Wars & Lord of The Rings. And the mix worked perfectly.  DCEU, thanks to Zack Snyder, has been this gloomy, brooding, supposedly "realistic" looking-universe, and it was daunting. Such settings might be suitable for a Batman film, but not all DC characters. James understand this and he really did his best in giving the faithful adaptation of Aquaman's comics - known for its campiness (talking wit

This movie definitely was not the best thriller or heist movie out there, but the combined stars of the legendary Sean Connery and the forever beauty Catherine Zeta Jones did this movie justice for me. Plus, I watched this movie without knowing that the second half of it would take place in Kuala Lumpur.  Being a Malaysian myself, I am excited to see Kuala Lumpur being shot in its late 90s glory, especially when they decide to use the Petronas Twin Towers as their main setting of the heist. This is during the supposed time of Malaysia's rise as the Asian Tiger, with massive urban developments and mega projects being done under the administration of Tun Dr. Mahathir. The then-Prime Minister (and ironically also the current one) was actually angered with the production of this film and he disliked it due to the fact that they tried to portray as if Petronas Twin Towers was built in the middle of a slump of poor KL residents. This is as if they're trying to sa

It's probably the dumbest out of all Predator movies yet it's so much fun. Shane Black's effort to change a Predator movie into a dumb, fun and action-packed serving works well for me. I had a good time and I would say this is the best Predator movie since 1987. Unpopular view, I know. But I really had a fun time from the absurdity and campiness that this movie had. It's not as dry as Predator 2 and not as vanilla like Predator (2010). Gotta admit tho, the final "anti-Predator armour" was an unnecessary push that made the movie more campier than it already is. I don't think it would grant a sequel, but if there would be, I hope they would keep the fun and campiness aspect and improvise it by giving a better story and a more realistic touch. 5/10

Paskal was a very good Malaysian film. I think this is the first REAL local action film, like real action. No CGI explosion or any cringy action stuffs. It was also the most accurate local movie in presenting the technicalities and true SOP of our Malaysian military. So no more cringy stuffs like "Tuan, orang jahat kat sana tuan!" or anything resembling like that coming from Gerak Khas or Roda-roda KL. It also has a strong patriotic message and really shows just how cool our military, specifically, our navy, really is. Though I think there are some cons. There were too many expositions and I think it was better if the main lead was not Hairul Azreen. Dude can act but he's just not hardcore enough for the main role. OH and this movie introduced me to Jasmine Suraya who is such a delight so there's that. Hi Jasmine    7/10

Wow Dennis. I watched this just to know about Dennis Villeneuve's earlier works before he became a big name in Hollywood today, so I was not expecting much from Incendies.  From the start, I think the film was shot beautifully and it was a good biography-like story of a strong woman. Little did I realise that actually this film was more intense and disturbing than a mere war survivor's story.  The ending was brilliant but disturbing as hell. Though one can argue that Incendies aim is to show the tragedy that war brings upon men, but Incendies still felt a bit messy, draggy and too melodramatic at times.  A recommended film if you want to watch a beautifully-shot film with a fresh and unexpected narrative. 8/10

I'm a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal and I've been hearing a lot about this film and finally I decided to watch it. Wow I would say I am very impressed.  Richard Kelly managed to make a film made up of different genres in it - thriller, sci-fi, coming-of-age, as well as a bit of satire. The best part of  Donnie Darko  was definitely in it's last act, and this was accomplished by Richard Kelly succeeding in subverting the audience's expectations while opening up to the audiences to make up for what they are watching.  Definitely, I got several theories of what does the ending means, and I can see that I'm going to spend my time googling on the theories of  Donnie Darko 's ending. 8/10

Malay movies are mostly trash in my book.. but this is the ultimate trash, and that's the only good merit of this garbage. Badang also got the honor of being only the second film that gets a 1/10 rating from me.. so pats yourself on your back Razak Mohaideen. 1/10

Just another The Rock's movie. With CGI explosions. And The Rock jumping over 30m mid air from a crane into a burning door at level 60+. And China's Hollywood invasion. Perfect materials for 2018 starter pack of "generic action film that mass audience would enjoy". The China invasion into Hollywood was not even hidden with the main plot taking place in China, a Chinese main character, as well as some minor Chinese characters that have more screentime than they should. This is the kind of movie that you would play if you're doing house chores and you feel like wanted to play something on the background. 5/10

It's not bad. I think it's better than Saw 5 or Saw 7 but it feels kind of bland. I think the plot twist this time was something new and brilliant, but there should be more to this movie if Lionsgate really wanted to soft reboot this franchise. I love the Saw franchise. It is on of my favourite horror franchise. The first movie is the best I think, as it was the absolute brainchild coming from James Wan, and the subsequent installments just get progressively worse. I did not expect much from Jigsaw before I watched it but it was not at bad as I think it could get. Still, it was a weak installment and if they want to hard reboot the franchise after this, it would be a wise decision.  5/10 

It was definitely better than Cars 2. It got the fun, light feel yet was able to have it's own "soul" like the first Cars did. Still, it feels kind of plain and not as good as other Pixar's movies. My biggest complain is that the trailers try to sell this movie as if it was a bit grimmer, and about Lightning McQueen try to gain back his glory after getting too comfortable at winning, kind of like Rocky Balboa (2006).  However, the movie had only a bit of that element and focused more about having Lightning McQueen passing down his legacy. Not only that, an element of the story seems to be influenced by forced feminism which is a definite turn off for me. Still, if this is the last installment of Cars, it serves as a good conclusion to McQueen's story. 6/10

It was a light, fun entrance in MCU that was good, especially after we had been served with the momentous Avengers: Infinity War. The first Ant-Man movie is one of my top 10 MCU movies and Scott Lang's addition in the MCU was very well accepted by the fans as he was just a nice and decent guy who just want to did his best for his daughter. Comparing Scott to other big names of MCU like Tony Stark or Steve Rogers; a genius billionaire playboy and a stoic ripped super old war veteran, those are characters too big to be relatable to audience; the everyday's people and this is what makes Scott Lang stands out against them in this regards - relatibility. Ant-Man and The Wasp delivered as well as the first movie. In this one, relationship between Scott and Hope and the Scott-Pym-Hope dynamic were explored further, with the introduction of new characters; Janet van Dyne and the Ghost, Ava. The main plot is basically to rescue Janet from the Quantum Realm as they are against

It just sucks. I wonder how much they pay Tom Cruise to be in this one, most likely with promises that he's gonna be portrayed so macho and alpha af that even a 5000 years old undead prune wanna fuck him.  Cruise's epicness from the Mission Impossible movies was ruined for me by his participation in this film. I think now he is very well aware that he better be focused to be in only those movies. The most hilarious thing about this film was that it was supposed to kickstart a "Universal monster movies cinematic universe" named as the "Dark Universe". Universal was so eager to jump in the Hollywood's cinematic universe race as they eagerly fast-tracked this project and they even released a trailer commemorating the launch of this universe. And this plan failed miserably by its first movie in the supposed universe as The Mummy bombs commercially and critically. Every year Hollywood never fail to deliver a big budget bomb and this is t

It's definitely bigger and more explosive than it's predecessor. But bigger doesn't mean better. A lot of jokes, including the meta ones, feels either out of place, too long or just not funny.  Plus there's too many characters, including new ones, and few story plots that make the movie a bit messy. Loud and explosive, but at the same time annoying and off-putting. It basically suffers from the sequel syndrome, like Iron Man 2, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Guardians of The Galaxy 2. Too bad because I really like the first one and Deadpool 2 actually got potentials, just that it was executed badly.  6/10

Meh. if there were not too much of unnecessary screaming (just to create intense moments/macho moments), I probably can rate it higher. This film is also a tryhard imitation of The Departed, which itself is a remake of Infernal Affairs. 4/10

Expecting the 3rd act would be about The Rock inhaling the gas and becomes a giant but ok. 6/10

Absolute garbage of a movie. Nothing makes sense - the plot, the acting, like what the fuck even? A casino gambler movie without a big final heist? Cringy moments throughout the movie and I rather watch paint dry than this again. This movie also served me a lesson though - Never watch a Russian movie. 2/10

A great film on pop culture, consumer-capitalism, and an appreciation movie for movie & video game geeks. Any geeks. Spielberg showed us that he still had it in the "good popcorn movie master" department. I initially am not expecting much from this movie but I was surprised. The tons of cameos and references from films, video games, animes, and especially from 80s, plus it being a really good film with good hearwamig story and good character, well this is a rarity. I don't wanna spoil anything but the final battle blown me away, and when those two BIG Gs coming out, I feel like screaming like a kid. And the ending would make you sob, especially if you're a gamer or a geek, because you might can relate to what the message given by Mark Rylance. Thank you, Spielberg. 7/10