caseymoviemania

Prior to the release of NOTA on August 13th, I have little knowledge about this movie. It is not until I discovered a series of overwhelming responses that finally piqued my interest to check out the movie in the cinema. There were only four audiences (including me and my friend) for the NOTA showing -- a shockingly low attendance if you ask me. But after watching the movie, it's easy to see why. Despite familiar faces (Hans Isaac and Maya Karin) and a psychological thriller-drama element, NOTA is hardly the kind of movie that would easily attract the mainstream audiences. Still, that doesn't bother me at all because NOTA is a rare local gem worth checking out for, especially for those who often complain about the lack of quality movies in Malaysia.

FULL REVIEW: http://goo.gl/Z6kqJu

From TRAINING DAY (2001), DARK BLUE (2002), HARSH TIMES (2005), STREET KINGS (2008) and END OF WATCH (2012) at which he either writes, directs or doing both duties, David Ayer has crafted quite a career for himself as the go-to guy when comes to movie that explores the dark side of a law enforcement. This year is no different as Ayer explores the same territory again with SABOTAGE. But what's really interesting about his latest effort is his first-time collaboration with the former '80s and '90s king of big action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the kind of role unlike anything fans have seen him before... well, at least not since 1984's THE TERMINATOR or to certain extent, 1997's BATMAN AND ROBIN.

WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

Following a successful drug raid to steal US$10 million from the cartel's money, John "Breacher" Wharton (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his rugged team of undercover DEA task force -- James "Monster" Murray (Sam Worthington) and wife Lizzy (Mireille Enos), Joe "Grinder" Phillips (Joe Manganiello), Julius "Sugar" Edmonds (Terrence Howard), Eddie "Neck" Jordan (Josh Holloway), Tom "Pyro" Roberts (Max Martini), and Bryce "Tripod" McNeely (Kevin Vance) -- are happy to collect it later where they hide it in the sewer pipes. However, they return to discover that the drug money has gone missing. They are eventually held for investigation and everyone ends up suspended from duty. But after the authorities fail to land hard evidence against them, their superior (Martin Donovan) put them back into action. Then, one by one from Breacher's team members ends up dead in gory fashion. While trying to find out the culprit, Breacher is subsequently working with homicide investigator Caroline Brentwood (Olivia Williams) and realizes that the murders as well as the stolen drug money is actually involving one of them.

THE GOOD STUFF

As with other Ayer's movies, the action is brutal and gripping enough to capture your attention. Together with cinematographer Bruce McCleery, Ayer also manages to create some creative shots including the one where he utilizes small digital cameras from the tip of a gun barrel's point-of-view during a shootout.

The overall cast here is engaging, with Schwarzenegger gives a daring performance as the cigar-chomping John "Breacher" Wharton with a dark past. It's certainly nice to see him willing enough to change his usual larger-than-life action image for something radically different. As the emotionally-confused and relentless Caroline Brentwood, Olivia Williams plays her role with enough gravitas to stand out on her own. The rest of the supporting actors, including Sam Worthington (sporting a shaved head and braided goatee) and Joe Manganiello (looking good with a cornrow hairstyle), are equally adequate with their respective roles but it was Mireille Enos who steals the show in SABOTAGE. Here, Enos brings an uncompromisingly fearless performance as the tortured Lizzy who is addicted to drugs.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT(S)

For all the blood, sex and profanities that showcased throughout the movie, I can't singled out a moment worth placing here.

THE BAD STUFF

It's a pity that the story here is major disappointment. Written by David Ayer and Skip Woods, SABOTAGE does look promising with a nifty concept that mixes Ayer's trademark gritty cop thriller with Agatha Christie-like whodunit structure (particularly her famous novel of And Then There Were None). However, the execution is rather poor or should I say, lazily constructed, as the whodunit doesn't look interesting at all. And worst, the story drags a lot throughout the movie.

As exceptionally good as Schwarzenegger has put into his character, there's a nagging feeling that he looks wooden when he is required to deliver more stilted dialogues than usual. As the soft-spoken Sugar, Terrence Howard does little to make his performance worthwhile in the movie.

As much as Ayer loves to showcase a lot of grits in his movie, his penchant for shaky camera-work feels rather annoying, particularly when he loves to do a lot of tight close-ups. Another flaw here is Ayer's over-the-top display of gore and violence that somehow works better for a hardcore horror movie than a gritty cop thriller.

FINAL WORDS

While SABOTAGE is far from both Ayer's and Schwarzenegger's best efforts, the movie remains quite a jolting cinematic experience.

Riding on the phenomenally successful adaptations of the first two HUNGER GAMES movies, it's simply a matter of time before Veronica Roth's best-selling novel trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant) is finally riped for big screen adventure. Out of the gate this year is the highly-anticipated first movie in a trilogy, DIVERGENT, which already positioned as the next HUNGER GAMES.

WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

Set in a dystopian Chicago where society is divided into five factions based on five different personalities: Erudite (smart), Candor (honest), Amity (peaceful), Dauntless (brave) and Abnegation (selfless). Those who doesn't fit to any of the five personalities are declared factionless and they are equivalent of homeless peoples.

However, Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Shailene Woodley), who belongs to an Abnegation family with parents Natalie (Ashley Judd) and Andrew (Tony Goldwyn) and brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), discovers that she is a Divergent after being tested by a tester named Tori (Maggie Q). Apparently Divergent is classified as someone who fit into more than one personality, and could not be discovered by anyone or risk terrible consequences.

When the day has arrived for a new group of teens to choose their own factions, Beatrice picks Dauntless. After the choice has been made, she has to undergo an extensive training period to become a qualified brave warrior within given time period. If fail, she will be kicked out of the faction and becomes homeless. As the training takes place, she slowly becomes friends with one of her drill instructors named Four (Theo James) and eventually falls for each other. Then one day she learns about Erudite, led by Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), is planning to overthrow Abnegation, the humble faction which currently rules the government.

THE GOOD STUFF

The cast here is overall solid, with Shailene Woodley being the particular standout. As Tris, she manages to handle her first leading role with her engaging and soulful performance. Equally good is Theo James, who brings an unexpected warmth beneath his cool-looking exterior. In fact, both he and Woodley display believable chemistry together as eventual lovers.

As for the supporting actors, Jai Courtney is perfectly typecast as the no-nonsense Dauntless leader Eric, while Zoe Kravitz is likable as Tris' closest friend, Christina. Maggie Q, who plays compassionate tester Tori, manages to make full use of her limited screen time to give a worthwhile performance. Last but not least is Kate Winslet, in her rare villainous role as the power-hungry Jeanine Matthews. Although her role doesn't flesh out well, she remains plausible enough to pull off her role with her steely-eyed expression.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT(S)

The engaging knife-throwing scene (which is heavily promoted in the internet) where Tris is daring enough to step in front of the knife boards and tries her best not to flinch when Four starts throwing knives at her.

THE BAD STUFF

At 139 minutes, DIVERGENT suffers badly from glacial pacing while the story -- adapted by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor -- feels bland and noticeably lack of sheer urgency needed for this kind of dystopian-thriller genre. Then there's the drab vision of dystopian Chicago which feels like a cheap-looking, B-grade movie. Overall technical credits here are disappointingly mediocre, while all the action sequences here (from fistfights to extended shootouts during the climactic finale) falls flat on the surface. It doesn't help either when the action is mostly ruined by shaky camera-work.

To top that off, it's a surprise that Neil Burger's previous directing credits, such as the magic-themed period drama THE ILLUSIONIST (2006) and mystery thriller LIMITLESS (2011), who has a knack for showing versatility when tackling different genres, seems to be clueless directing DIVERGENT. I was shocked to see his direction here is terribly pedestrian and dare I say, lifeless as well.

FINAL WORDS

Overall, DIVERGENT is a waste of opportunity and a weak start to a potentially exciting new movie franchise. Hopefully, the subsequent two sequels (INSURGENT and ALLEGIANT) will show some improvements in the future.