Movie Title: X-Men 3: The Last Stand
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (6/10)
Year: 2006
X-Men 3: The Last Stand official site: http://www.x-menthelaststand.com/

Well well… the great x-men is finally here. Everyone is talking about it, everyone has been waiting for it… everyone is wondering if this is the last instalment of the great x-men. Yes… since it’s call X-men 3: The LAST Stand. So yeah… everyone sit down… puzzle a little… wonder if it is really the last one.

I always think it’s a simple theory, the cast can still act and not demanding for a unreasonable raise due to the previous success… thus it continues. If the budget is not met.. then consider it the last. But well… Hollywood movies.. will they ever be no budget for movies like this that will capture billions of viewers?

This third instalment started off with a heavy bang when we could see the x-men’s fighting and well at the same time trying to save one another’s life. No no no.. surely they all are alright as it was just a practice. Yes, yes…. x-men needs to learn too. Teamwork my friend, team work. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) always being the one who believe he can do anything is pissed of when Cyclops (James Marsden) could not attend to teach classes.

Yes, Cyclops still has gotten over Jean (Famke Janssen) tragic death at the dam from previous episode. Well… he heard voices of Jean trying to reach out for him which leads him back to the dam. There, he got so emotional and soon start lasering up down left right center. Yeah… and men say women are emotional.

Ta da… the story soon starts when a big bubble suddenly pop’s up from the water. Aha….. Jean is not dead. After so long of waiting… cyclops finally manage to see Jean. The two love birds soon ah.. have this big and deadly kiss. Woohoo… apparently, it’s not Jean he is kissing, it’s Jean’s evil twin.. hahaha… not really evil twin… I should say the dark side of Jean (Phoenix). Oh yes… to my fellow cyclops friend… that’s the last time you are gonna see him man. Yes… he died like in the first 10 minutes of the movie and never reappear. Nope… not even a flash back. Well.. but I think they manage to pan through his tombstone with a lovely name “Scott Summers” on it.

Yes, apparently Jean is a very special mutant. One mutant so powerful that everyone is so afraid of. Even Charles Xavier (Patrick Steward) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) is both trying to get her. Charles is trying to tame her which well… causes his life. Yes…. even now he is dead. Magneto however on the other hand try to use her. As a weapon against the government since the government has launched a “cure”. Wooo.. magic potion to cure mutants. Yes, a cure to make them human. Sounds tempting?

Magneto manage to gather a gang of brotherhood to fight against the government. Which introduce us to loads of new character. None of them were formally introduced. Yes… I have not much idea of what their name is, what is their character name is… it’s as if all other viewers have no intention of knowing who they were. How rude of the director.

In a scene, Magneto tries to save Mystique. During the quest to safe her, he manage to find more people to work for him… and one of it, the Juggernaut. Sorry to say but hahaha… he seriously looks like a dick head. And well…. I still dun see his powers. It’s like wearing a big stone on the head and knocking people off. Mystique then accidently got shot with the “cure” when she is trying to save Magneto. Magneto then left her alone when she turns in to a human. Mutants are cruel.

When Magneto has managed to gather a group big enough, they soon head to Alcatez. Which is totally a joke the director made. Magneto moves the bridge to Alcatraz during broad daylight, but when his army invades the base mere minutes later, it’s the dead of night. Which makes me felt this movie has bad planning and definitely in a rush for time to tightly fit themselves in the summer blockbuster hit.

There and there… the last fight… yes… the x-men take their last stand to protect the world, saves the day sorta thing. I have never seen Storm (Halle Berry) that useless before in any of the previous instalment. Being such a highly acclaimed character, I always thought she is so powerful she can just zap you and totally roast you in to nice and crispy bacon. But no.. instead, she was being hit here, there and everywhere. Much to my disappointment.

The battle continues, when finally it’s up to the x-men trying to Magneto down. Well well, Wolverine sure does learn from his previous mistake which causes Magneto to lose his mutant powers. Yes, he was being jabbed with the cure. Not one but at least 4 jabs of it.

Ah.. yes… and not it’s Phoenix turn to show some power. Yeah.. she has been all this while silent. How can she not make a dramatic ending. Yes, she got all angry when the police shot the cure from behind… which the next 8 minutes feature her as a demon rather than a mutant…. breaking up stuffs into atoms. Well.. and obviously only Wolverine can handle her since he can self-heal and yeah… he killed her… for the sake of the country, the audience and ending the movie.

Well… I think it was a pathetic ending. The continuity is off…. there were some mutants which stood further away from phoenix just busted in to pieces while everyone else is still okay. I mean how could that happen? Worst part… before everything goes from bad to worst, they could have just asked the “cure” little boy (god knows what is his name) to just hug Jean and everything is settled. No killing needed, less soap opera.

Oh.. yes… did I forget to mention the Angel? Well, why mention when he is so unforgettable in the movie? He just manage to show in some few scenes. The most dramatic and well I think the longest he has ever appeared in was a 3 minutes scene with him saving his father. Rogue… ah… forget her, she is the only x-men who went for the cure…. not because of herself but for another guy? Sad… just too sad.

I just felt the script for this movie is badly done. Most of the characters have so little lines which practically have no continuity. Not to even mention new mutants popping up here and there without being introduced. What? You are expecting me to know everything inside out? If I do… do you still think I want to watch this movie? Well, at least that is what I think.

I just think Brett Ratner failed to bring the greatness of x0men out like the previous 2 instalment.

Not to even mention…. the 30 second scene which being placed after the ending credits! (Yes, sit tight and dun move a muscle until they shoo you out of the cinema) ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…. no one told me about it. How can you do such thing to people like me! I hate you… I hate you!

You could check out what’s the scene about at X-Men Spoilers.

Movie Title: The Da Vinci Code
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7/10)
Year: 2006
The Da Vinci Code official site: http://www.sodarktheconofman.com/

Ah… the long await release which claimed by many to be the most controversial movie of the year. One that I have no idea what it’s all about. Yeah… the first time I saw the teaser trailer.. I still wonder what it is all about until Brian told me it is based on some famous book, which at that point of time (3-4 months ago) I don’t give a damn about until they release the second trailer.

Well, as far as I am concerned, many country has banned this movie. Which I sometimes fail to understand why. Maybe they really do believe it will devise the very foundation of mankind. I think if your foundations and believe is strong enough, you just won’t shake that easily. And if a movie like this can really shaken your believes and foundation… I see the “YOU NEED HELP” light blinking.

And guess what, for the first time in my life I saw that “uncensored version” word embedded in to some newspaper ad which says they are showing The Da Vinci Code (where it’s being pronounced as The “da vin-chee” Code instead of “da vin-see” by loads of people including me due to mixing up my Vincci shoes with Vinci.

Based on the popular and famous book, The Da Vinci Code is set in Paris which very much focus on the La Musée du Louvre (the largest and most famous museum in the world) and the Saint-Sulpice Church (the largest church in Paris). As it is so noticeable that 80% of the movie is shot during the night (well, I guess it’s to create the ambience.. which on the other side of the story, they can only shoot the movie in the Lourve after it’s closed).

The movie, starring Tom Hanks as a Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and Audrey Tautou as a cryptographer Sophie Neveu. Everything started when Sophie’s grandfather(Jacques Saunière) is being shot in the Lourve and well, his body is being found naked and posed like Da Vinvi’s famous drawing the Vitruvian Man with a Pentagram drawn on his chest with his own blood and some text on the side.

Robert is being assumed as the prime suspect of Jacques death (believe to be the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion). Together, Robert and Sophie uncover all the codes, secrets and whatever not obstacles only to know they landed themselves in to a war, which has been going on since forever. They found out that Jacques Saunière was the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion and therefore knew the hidden location of the “keystone”, which leads to the Holy Grail and documents which would shake the foundation of Christianity and the church. He was killed by Silas(played by Paul Bettany) in an attempt to extract this information from him and eliminate the top members of the Priory of Sion.

While trying to put things to pieces together, they seek help from Sir Leigh Teabing (played by Ian). He is believed to be a person who know the history of the Priory of Sion very well. However, we finally found out that he is the “teacher”, using a phony French accent to hide his identity, and duped Bishop Aringarosa into financing the plan to find the Grail. Teabing believes that the Priory of Sion has broken its vow to reveal the secret of the Grail to the world during the millennium so he plans to steal the Grail documents and reveal them to the world himself.

As Teabing tries to force Sophie to open the cryptex, which she actually din know of the password, Robert decided to help out. Robert secretly opens the cryptex and removes its contents before destroying it in front of Teabing. Teabing is then arrested… which was a joy and relieve for me. And so I tot the movie ended when suddenly….

Bishop Aringarosa is arrested and Silas died while trying to run away from the police. Bishop Aringarosa knew he was being lied to but have no regrets as he believe what he is doing is to save the church.

And… I tot it’s the ending again when suddenly Robert pass the content of the documents to Sophie and they together went to this place called the Rosslyn Chapel. Yeah, there they discover the secret of the Holy Grail. Yes, the Holy Grail was indeed once buried there but was being shifted to somewhere else. Alongside that, many other documents were found and they finally found out that Sophie’s true identity.

And… I tot it’s going to end…. when suddenly Robert got this idea while he was shaving. Yes.. of all times in the day… the night again… Yes… he finally have a clue which leads to where the Holy Grail has been relocated. Yes… at the very beginning place he ever been. The Grail is buried beneath the small pyramid (the “blade”, a male symbol) directly below the inverted glass pyramid of the Louvre ( the “chalice”, a female symbol).

Well… I personally think it was a brilliant movie despite some boring scenes. But I totally loved it. I don’t know what the critics is all going after and hitting so hard on the movie for. First of all.. it is not a real movie… it fiction.. which means there are more than 50% fake, lies, hallucinations blah blah blah.. whatever you want to call it. I mean.. HELLO!!! It’s such a a good damn lie. Can you write something like this? I doubt so… it’s like… how many years of research and understanding you must have in order to link and put everything together?

I guess if the secret is about “mandy-ism”… it would have a better review and well… for sure it won’t get banned in countries

P/s – ikan… me still waiting for the book to read!