Coming to Cinemas: July 2013, Week 4

It's been two weeks since Pacific Rim was released and still I haven't made myself go and see it. I think I'm just putting it too high on a pedestal but I want to savour every brainnumbing second of robot bashing monster that I have to be mentally prepared for that dumb down. But there's going to be a public holiday this Friday in Selangor, so I think that would be rectified shortly.

In the meantime, here are the movies that the last week of July 2013 has installed for me.

Imaginaerum

Director: Stobe Harju
Cast: Tuomas Holopainen, Anette Olzon, Marco Hietala, Emppu Vuorinen, Jukka Nevalainen, Marianne Farley, Quinn Lord
Running Time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
Language:: English
Classification: P13
Synopsis: Featuring music from Finnish metal band Nightwish's seventh studio album, "Imaginaerum" tells the story of an elderly composer, Tom, who suffers from severe dementia. All he has left is the imagination of a ten year old boy. As he drifts away into coma, it seems impossible to get back what he has lost. The film is a journey between two different dimensions. Tom travels through his imaginary world seeking answers and finding memories, while his daughter, Gem, tries to recover the bond she had once shared with her father in the real world.

Trailer Impressions: A movie from 2012 that had completely slipped my radar. It doesn't even seem to have a Rotten Tomatoes rating, which means that it hasn't receive much attention either. While I certainly don't need RT to tell me if the movie is good or not but after watching the trailer, I am quite impressed. I don't know what to make off its source material that would affect its plot but from what I've seen, it doesn't feel like it's taking a rather plain route into 'adapting' the album. While it's certainly no Inception by any stretch of the imagination, I do get the same sort of vibe from Sucker Punch or Upside Down, but it does seem to have greater potential to be an extended but creative music video. I would want to check this one if I get the chance.

The Wolverine

Director: James Mangold
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Will Yun Lee, Brian Tee, Svetlana Khodchenkova
Running Time: 1 Hour 57 Minutes
Language:: English
Classification: P13
Synopsis: Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine, the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before.

Trailer Impressions: Ironically, after much despair for the superhero movies that came out in this year's summer releases, this one which had been the furthest from my watchlist, might just be the most promising of them all. Looking at the trailer and barring no disappointing surprises like Man of Steel, this one seems to have a straight forward story to tell and would therefore be the most consistent in delivering what it says it will deliver. Is it going to be good? Not nearly as far as early reviews have shown, but it's better than the last outing for The Wolverine, and Superman has already taken the title for not living up to its expectations at all for this year. So what could go wrong, right? While this one looks like it shares a similar narrative DNA with Iron Man 3, I think Marvel wasn't doing this intentionally to set off some kind of trend. Besides I'd prefer this because ninjas are way more cooler than dozens of mechanical suits any day for me. That's how I roll.

FilmBah's Pick of the Week

Until my eyes have been hammered by Pacific Rim, I might go and see The Wolverine with friends once I walked out of the cinema. Still if time is permitting, I would take a bet with Imagenarium, I'd hate to be disappointed but it is a rare thing to see in our cinemas for sure.

Releases according to CinemaOnline and check your nearest screenings at Showtimes.