Movie Title: 鬼域 (Re-Cycle)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/10)
Year: 2006
Re-cycle official site: http://www.re-cyclethemovie.com/

If I could write a short summary before anything, the summary would contain 6 words. “It is not a ghost story”. Okay there you go the spoiler intro (well not that the movie is bad).

The Chinese word “ghost” in the title got me thinking it was a ghost story. I keep thinking it would be scary and all. But well, I would say I am kind of amazed with the moral of the movie.

Ting Yin (Angelica Lee Sin Je) is a novel writer. With the right combination of being lovely and intelligent. She just has it all. Her first novel sell like hot cakes when she writes a beautiful love novel. Which actually writes a lot about her previous love relationship. The media and readers got so connected to novel. To ride on her success, she decided to write a totally new genre. She decided to write about Ghost Land. Yup… of all the genre.. horror! So yes, we are going to Ghost land for a ride.

Right after she decides to write about Ghost Land, many weird scenarios started to come up. She started to scribble different different stories. Many rejected stories were crumpled and thrown away. She starts to notice weird things happening like seeing strands of very long hair in her house, weird voice coming from the telephone machine and not to mention overflowing waters from the bathroom and shadows coming from here and there.

Unaware about the truth that the things that happen to her was exactly what she scribble on the papers. One night, after meeting his ex-boyfriend. She was walking home and she was almost carried away by this strong wind. She quickly return home and continues her story. She then notices the movements from the recycle bin. She picks up the piece of moving paper and uncrumple it only to find out what has been happening to her for the past few days were exactly what she wrote on the piece of paper. She then runs out of the house trying to find out what is going on.

As she steps out of her apartment, weird things starts to happen. She reached a weird place where dead bodies fly down. There she saw a woman similar to the fictional character she wrote for the book. A tall, slender, long-haired women is chasing after her and she running deeper in to the unknown land.

There she came to talk to this old man (Lau Siu Ming) where she finally knows a little bit about where she is at now. It’s a place where things we discarded, throw away or forgotten go. Right… the interesting part comes when Ting Yin will have to run when everything in that dimension starts to break apart. If she stays in, she will be gone forever.

From the Playground of the Damned, she jumps in to this new dimension called the Forest of Death. Where loads of dead people were seen hanging on the tree. Ting Yin nearly got killed by the zombies if it weren’t for this little girl who saved her riding on this gigantic wooden horse.

She brought her to this Toy Ruin dimension and told Ting Yin more about the Ghost Land. She told her everything that she has abandon or forget, she can find it back there. From there they venture more deeply in to the place as Ting Yin needs to get through a lot of places only to get to The Transit (a place where she can return to reality).

The little girl helped Ting Yin to get to the destination. They been through a lot of bad and good stuff. After going through thick and thin, Ting Yin was being told of the cruel truth. The little girl she wanted to bring with her back to the real world is actually the baby she has aborted.

The ending was rather scary and stunning and many does not understand what it means. Right… Ting yin wakes up in bed gasping for air. She then walks out to notice another her talking on the phone. I think it was brilliant how she was put to a position where she is too in to writing about the story that she forgets her own self which she ended up in the Ghost Land. Another way of looking at it, she is so attached to the character and she seems to make herself as the character in the novel where she created her own fictional character in the Ghost Land.

Well, I just think it is a great story where the Pang brother idea came from just looking at the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop. They actually wonder where the stuffs in the recycle bin goes when we click delete. I think it was totally meaningful but the fact that the execution was kind of bad. Not to mention the 3D were sorta fake and the actors and actress were sorta wooden. Not to even mention the obvious lipsync (I hope I get the spelling right) problem.

I think it would be a great movie if they could carry in a bigger production and better casts and well better 3D.

Movie Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7/10)
Year: 2006
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest official site: http://pirates.movies.com/

The pirates made is awesomely big in the box office. I guess everyone is happy. Right.. they just got to be that good to grab so much money from the audiences who pays to watch it.

There were almost the same amount of people who loved it and hated it at the same time. In every 10 people you may ask 5 says it was as good as hell… perhaps even better than hell. The other 5 would say it sinks a little compare to the first one. Some thinks it stinks big time. Whatever it is, they made a record $132 Million opening weekend.

As for me, I was totally blown away with the original pirates and was totally captivated by Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). And as far as I am concerned, I have been spelling Caribbean wrongly my whole life. I always thought it was Caribbean.

I always thought the movie didn’t needed any sequel to it. I think it was a perfect movie but well… since they have one installed for us, I thought it would be cool to watch it. Yes, I didn’t have high expectations as seriously, not much sequel movies make it to the top. Right.. lower the expectations hence I get lesser disappointments.

The slow starting opening was really slow and got me wondering. It opens with Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightly) wearing a wedding gown kneeling under the rain in an empty land. The scene looks so sad and scary as if she is mourning for someone’s death. Then you can see Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) comes in to the scene with Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander). Both Will and Elizabeth is being caught and shall be hanged as they were accused of setting free Captain Jack Sparrow.

Cutler made a deal with Will. If Will manages to find Jack and get his magic compass, all three of them will be forgiven and no punishment shall fall on them. In a desperate need to save his love, he agreed and on the quest to find Jack.

On the other hand, Jack has problems of his own. He is a marked man. He owe Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) his life. Yes, he was given an offer by Davy Jones where he will raise the Black Pearl from the ocean and Jack Sparrow can be the captain of the ship for 13 years. When the time is up, he will have to join Davy Jones and be one of his seafood crewmate. Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) is sent by Davy Jones to convey such a misfortune news to Jack.

Jack who is so terrified that he no longer travel in the deep water and landed himself at a cannibal island. Will soon find himself in the island together with the other Black Pearl crew only to find out that Jack will be sacrificed and eaten. Well, like all movies, they surely do manage to get out of the island safe and sound. But the scene there was totally hilarious and exciting. I think it was totally cool and awesome.

They all soon travel in to the dark to find Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) to find out more about the key and about what is in the chest. Will is then being cheated by Jack to go look for the Flying Dutchman (Davy Jones ship) and get the key. Right.. everyone is looking for the key as it unlocks the Deadman’s Chest.

On the boat, Will found out that Bootstrap Bill is his father and lots of emotional things happen. Like how he tries so hard to save his son that he even bet his eternal slavery to Davy Jones in a dice game because he couldn’t bear to see his son lost the game and stay on the ship forever.

Will then manages to steal the key from Davy Jones and head back to find Jack. On the other side, Elizabeth was in search of Jack. Finally at Tortuga, Elizabeth manages to find Jack and where Norrington (a lord that was suppose to capture Jack Sparrow in the 1st movie) decides to follow and sail with Jack.

They all soon group together and headed to the island where the Dead Man’s Chest is being buried. Upon locating the chest, the three men fight as Will wanted to stab the heart in the chest to save his father, Jack disagrees and wanted to keep the heart as Davy Jones is the only person who can controls the Kraken (the big octopus like monster that all boatman is afraid of), Norrington wants it to exchange for his freedom and regain back what he has lost.

Just as Jack thought he have the heart (which was actually being stolen by Norrington without him noticing). Davy Jones was angry when he found out that Will has stolen the keys and Jack has stolen the chest.

He then summon the Kraken and destroy the Black Pearl, sending it back in to the ocean. the Kraken takes Jack Sparrow with him this time.

Right, everything seems just so perfect and exciting. There weren’t many soft and slow moments. The jokes were totally funny and having Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow is the perfect choice. He totally carries out the character well and I totally root for him.

The CGI for Davy Jones and his seafood crewmates were incredible. It totally looked so real. It’s as if they stuck a real octopus at his chin. Totally loved it!

Yeah… however I find that Orlando and Kiera’s performance this time was rather bad compare to the first one. Orlando was rather wooden and doesn’t shine well even with all the attention and all. Kiera was plain pain in the ass. I don’t know… from the first time I saw her in this movie… I just felt like she has been so irritating. Don’t get me wrong, I think she was fine in Pride and Prejudice but… I don’t know, just so disappointing.

The story was a little jumpy. Jumpy as in they leave big gaps around for us to fill. It’s like there were still lots of untold. The bad part is, they have mysteries I cannot unsolved.

1. Where is that place that Jack went to get that map of the key?
2. How come they landed on the Cannibal Island? By accident or they were so afraid of the waters?
3. Davy Jones know that lots of people is looking for the Dead Man’s Chest and yet he buried it on an island where he knows he can only set food on land every 10 years. Why put it at place where you know you cannot do anything to save it when something went wrong? Why not put it at the bottom of the sea. Everyone knows sea is the only place man have problem exploring.

I hate to say it.. but the first one was by far the best however I am still looking forward to the third instalment as I wanted to see Chow Yuen Fat!