WEEKEND PIC - May 29 - 31, 2009

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK:

Moon Bloodgood and Sam Worthington in Terminator Salvation

a) TERMINATOR SALVATION (sci-fi thriller with Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood and Common) Rated * * * (3stars): This mix of Transformers and Mad Max will please action fans but Terminator dudes may feel shortchanged, especially when it comes to the plot about John Connor. (Reviewed below)

b) MONSTERS Vs ALIENS (animated thriller with voices of Reese Witherspoon, Will Arnett, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Rainn Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland, and Stephen Colbert) Rated * * * (3 stars): It's action-packed fun for the family even if it does not quite match up to The Incredibles and WALL-E. (Reviewed below)

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. STAR TREK (sci-fi adventure with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, and Zoë Saldana) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars out of 4): It's a new beginning for Start Trek franchise - just like it was for Batman Begins - and a must for every Trekkie and sci-fi fan. (Reviewed below)

2. ANGELS & DEMONS (mystery thriller with Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Armin Mueller-Stahl) Rated: * * * (3 out of 4 stars): Director Ron Howard has learned from his mistakes in The Da Vinci Code and has made a much better 'sequel'. He has also made a few changes from Dan Brown's book, resulting in a tighter movie. (Reviewed below)

3. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2 (fantasy comedy with Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Luke Wilson, Jonah Hill and Christopher Guest) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars out of 4): We get more of the same CGI stuff in this sequel that has the action shifted to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. The plot and the dialogue are pedestrian and lame. (Reviewed below)

4. MONGOL (historical adventure with Tadanobu Asano, Sun Hong-lei, Khulan Chuluun and Aliya) Rating * * * (3 stars): An old-fashioned historical epic about the early life of Temudjin (Genghiz Khan) with fantastic scenery and realistic action. (Reviewed below)

5. I CORRUPT ALL COPS (cop drama with Eason Chan, Wong Jing, Tony Leung Ka-Fai (pic), Anthony Wong, Alex Fong, Bowie Lam, Wong Jing, Liu Yang and Kate Tsui) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Titled with the acronym ICAC (HK's anti-corruption commission), many would regard this one as the most ambitious of Wong Jing's works. At last, Wong Jing has come out with an entertaining movie that does not insult our intelligence. (Reviewed below)

6. PUSH (sci-fi thriller with Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou, Joel Gretsch, Neil Jackson, Maggie Siff, Scott Michael Campbell, Colin Ford and Nate Mooney) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Catch Evans and Fanning being chased by Govt goons all over Hong Kong if you can't get enough of Heroes and X-Men action. However, Push is rather mess and confusing, though. (Reviewed below)