The Full Monty (1997)

To understand the movie, you've got to understand the title. "Full Monty" is a British slang which means everything. The premise of the story is about unemployed steel workers trying to make money by learning to striptease. This premise sets the comedic tone for the movie. I like British humour. Magic Mike goes for the same topic but has a more serious tone.

The characters are well developed as we can understand what their concerns are. They are desperate and need money, yet they are embarrassed to striptease. As a result, the audience would root for the characters. Gaz reminds me of Doctor Who, may be because of his figure and accent.

The plot is a simple formula. The protagonist comes up with a plan and more and more people join. They form a team and have a common goal. Then something goes wrong and the team falls apart. However, they finally manage to pull it together and perform a great show.

What I remember most about the movie is the songs. The selection of the songs are appropriate for the scenes. And the songs, especially You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate, make the scenes alive.

This is a movie recommended to watch when in stress. A good laugh would make your stress away.

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time Trailer

Why do antagonists become who they are? I like stories that dwells into the past of characters. For example, Regina became evil because of the tragedies that happened to her love. Audience may root for her. This is much better than the good-versus-bad cliché. Humans are far more complicated than that. Love the psychological approach and development of the characters in Once Upon A Time.

Happiness is...

"Who among you doesn't depend on someone or something to help you get through the day?", says Linus on Snoopy's roof when his friends are demanding him to throw away his blanket.

I agree that everyone has insecurities. If Linus' happiness is a warm blanket, my happiness is a warm rabbit. I admit it. I need my rabbit. LOL

Happiness Is a Warm Blanket (2011)

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) Trailer

The premise of the movie is excellent as the story is developed with the background of the Wizard of Oz, the good witch and bad witches, the yellow brick road, the munchkins, and so on.

Oz is brought to the Land of Oz by the tornado. I love the fact that the movie starts in Academy ratio and in black-and-white. I correctly guessed that once Oz hits the Land of Oz, the aspect ratio would change to 16:9 and movie would be in color. Some audience was baffled when they see the first scene in black-and-white as the movie trailer has such vivid in color.

The plot is average because it is cliché and there are some plot holes. I am confused with whether Oz has given a music box to Evanora. Why does Evanora give the apple to Theodora? Why does Theodora want to keep her ugly face? Even Oz sees what she becomes, it doesn’t make him feel sorry. I don’t understand the reason for Glinda putting down her wand in the dark forest. Does she put it down to give a reason for Oz to steal? Moreover, the hot air balloon should have burnt once it hits the tornado. Logically, it cannot survive the tornado and land on the river. There are too many coincidences in the story which are too convenient for the writers. And I feel uncomfortable seeing the burning of the hot air balloon because it reminds me of the recent accident in the news.

Oz has apparent character arc but most of the characters are stereotypical. The bad witches are sinister and wear heavy makeup while the good witch wears white and cannot kill. It may be a rule of thumb that no character shall die in a Disney film. I almost thought that Glinda had used her magic to throw Evanora out of the window. But she is saved anyhow.

The dialogue is average in the movie with not many memorable quotes. I like the dialogue between Finley the monkey and Oz most. They are funny and I like the friendship that they develop.

I like the vibrant colors used in the movie. I could tell that most of the backgrounds are done by blue screen and CGI. The costumes and makeup of the village people heavily reminds me of Disneyland.

To conclude, this is not a movie that brings a lot of meaning to the table but a movie that is recommended for families. I watched the 3D version and it was a pleasant 2 hours and 10 minutes in the cinema.