SYNOPSIS: In an arsenal during the warlord era in China, a girl, accused of stealing bullets, is shot to death by the Boss. Six months later, a series of murders occur. Policemen Bao and Guo investigate the case. But all the clues point to the dead girl! They then discover that “stealing bullets” is a cover-up for a conspiracy between the Boss and the Police Chief. The latter tries to have Bao and Guo killed, but that increases their determination to solve the mystery. Finally, they find the real murderer…

MOVIE REVIEW:

One of Hong Kong’s most underrated actors, Lau Ching Wan pairs up with Nicholas Tse in this whodunit thriller set in 1920s Shanghai.

Beautifully executed by writer and director, Lo Chi-Leung (“Double Tap”, “Inner Senses”), “The Bullet Vanishes” is a multi-layered detective drama that stars Lau as a police officer, Song who is transfer to Tiancheng province to assume a new post. Pairing him is Guo (Tse), an impulsive young cop dubbed the fastest gun in Tiancheng. Together they are ordered by the head of police to solve a series of murders which all began with a factory worker who is wrongly accused of theft by her wicked boss, Ding (Liu Kai-Chi). The suspect is ruthlessly executed by Ding and from then on, murder sprees which involve phantom bullets meaning the bullet casings are never found on the bodies or the scenes of the crime starts appearing. Song and Guo must race against time to unravel the mystery that is far deeper than anything they have seen.

It’s not surprising when one tends to compare “The Bullet Vanishes” to the Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes flicks. Even though both the Eastern and their Western counterpart had their similarities, both actually offer much more than mere crime solving. While Ritchie offers plenty of elaborate staged action sequences and humor, Lo takes viewers on a journey consisting of scientific experiments, forensic tests and intellectual puzzles with the exception of a few intensely choreographed shootouts by Nicky Li. Lo even resort to taking a stab at supernatural beliefs when the workers at the ammunition factory suspect it’s the ghost of the victim that is coming back to haunt them. Throw in a funny silent film segment which serves as a flashback (Chin Ka-Lok cameos by the way), the narrative on the whole is engaging and the handsome film-noir production design is top-notch.

Lau always a delight to watch is once again at ease playing another eccentric, quirky character. The man who made his mark in the TVB stock market drama, “The Greed of Man” and other oddball police characters such as “Mad Detective” and “Running Out Of Time” is perfect as the forensic trained Song. Tse ever the hardworking actor delivers a heart-wrenching performance opposite Lau. Veteran Liu Kai Chi is over-the-top as the villain while the little-known Yumiko Cheng is great as the local coroner. The prolific Mini Yang and Jing Boran are forgettable as Guo’s love interest and a rookie cop respectively.

“The Bullet Vanishes” trends on familiar ground but Lo’s treatment is rich and clever despite the many twist endings which gets a bit lethargic towards the end. After a few missteps such as “Curse of the Deserted” and “Kidnap”, Lo is in fine form if not his finest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

A Trailer and Photo Gallery are all the features you get. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

“The Bullet Vanishes” looks wonderful on DVD, no visible blemishes or artefacts unfortunately sequences that involve bullets whizzing across the soundstage is hampered by the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao stands as the last pillar of power preventing the collapse of the Han throne. Emperor Xian, who sits on that throne, cares more about music and poems than his own power. But behind the Emperor’s disinterest, rumours that Cao Cao wants the throne for himself have driven Emperor Xian to plot Cao Cao’s assassination, a plan that’s been years in the making. An ancient prophecy states that when the four elemental starts align, a new dynasty will arise, and in 221 A.D., they do. With the weakened government and impending omen, Cao Cao has enemies everywhere, and they all want him dead. Someone has been abducting the children of Cao Cao’s dead enemies and training them to be assassins. In 221, they are grown, and sent to infiltrate Bronze Sparrow Tower. When the four stars align over Bronze Sparrow Tower, the struggle for Cao Cao’s life begins…

MOVIE REVIEW:

Movies and serials about the Three Kingdoms period are a favourite topic for Chinese filmmakers. Countless productions have been made over the years consider the material is rich enough for endless cinematic war sequences, soaring war speeches and filled with colourful historical characters. Notably, you might still recall John Woo’s two-part “Red Cliff” four years ago.   

Unlike Woo’s movies whose focus is more on the good guys, the central character in this Zhao Lin Shan’s helmed epic is none other than the villainous, notorious Cao Cao. And when you have a charismatic superstar liked Chow Yun Fat as the leading man, even a mediocre movie liked “The Assassins” seems impressive after the first viewing.

“The Assassins” opens with a captivating prologue whereby scores of young orphans are being kidnapped and trained under harsh conditions to be future assassins. Among them is a pair of childhood lovers, Ling Ju (Liu Yifei) and Mu Shun (Hiroshi Tamaki) whose romance is tore further when they are sent to infiltrate Cao’s palace as maid and eunuch. Ling Ju is chosen to be Cao’s personal maid after his recent return from a failed war conquest. With a deadly mission on hand, will the two star-crossed lovers unite?

The bulk of the story doesn’t lie in how the killing of Cao Cao is going to be carried out. In fact, for most of the time you wonder if there’s any in the end despite the promising prologue. Zhao instead focus much of the screentime detailing the agony of Cao Cao in his twilight years. The man who is feared by many (including his own son, Cao Pi) has constant dreams of being assassinated. He is powerful yet lonely. He respects the enemies he killed liked Guan Yu. And he trusts no one except his physician (the excellent Yao Lu) and Ling Ju, two persons in his kingdom he is most at ease with.  

Chow of course has the acting muscle to perform his version of one of the most famous historical villains of all time. Watch out for two heart-pounding scenes, one whereby he asks the petrified Cao Pi (Qiu Xin Zhi) to hug him when he learnt that his son has betrayed his father and the other involving an Oriental delicacy, the raw bear’s paw. The Imperial power struggles are hampered by the performance of Su You Peng whose role of the puppet Emperor Xian goes from cheesy to hammy, none of it convincing and Taiwanese singer Annie Yi once again has a forgettable role as the Queen who has an affair with Cao Pi. Liu Yifei who caught our attention with “The Forbidden Kingdom” has the looks and talents, too bad it’s yet another flawed role opposite the underused Hiroshi Tamaki that makes their characters and motive underachieving.

“The Assassins” boasts spectacular cinematography by the renowned Zhao Xiaoding and impressive set and costumes design. It’s an interesting study on the character of Cao Cao. However for those hoping for a rousing, exciting war piece based on the title will be sorely disappointed. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Only a Trailer and Photo Gallery is attached.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The sole Mandarin dialogue is clear and concise while the Dolby Digital 2.0 did a fair job stirring some activity for the movie’s occasional action scenes.

MOVIE RATING:

 

DVD RATING :  

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: He Jianhao is released from the Boys’ Home and his mother, Huifang, is worried that he would be led astray again. Thus, she wants him to look after her stall in Bugis under her stepsister’s, Yiyi, supervision. Nuoge, who is a effeminate fellow stall owner at Bugis village, has a crush over Huifang for many years. Because of his work, Jianhao becomes good friends with Fang Dafang, the nephew of Nuoge. He also gets to know a girl, Shanshan, and has a crush on her. Out of curiosity, Shanshan secretly hangs out with Jianhao and his friends despite her parents opposition. Jianhao’s another good fren, Zach, joined a gang of to get protection as he is always bullied by Alex. Wang Guodong is a gang leader and also the father of Alex. Jianhao joined the gang after much incitation from Zach. Zhang Tianlong, who is the ex-husband of Huifang, owes the loanshark a huge amount of debts and they look for Huifang to settle them. Nuoge stood up for her and the secret that Nuoge was once a triad member was known. After knowing Jianhao join the gang, Nuoge always advise Jianhao to leave the gang. Zach and Jianhao have a fight with Alex in a Disco to protect Izzy, Zach’s love interest. Jianhao and Zach injure Alex accidentally and cause him to be paralysed. Guodong vows to revenge for his son. Zach and Jianhao go on a run to escape from his clutches. At the same time, Nuoge and Huifang seek Jianhao’s gang leader for help. To Huifang’s horror, Hong Zhihua, who is Jianhao’s biological father, is the leader.

MOVIE REVIEW:

If you have not heard of Edwin Goh, Ian Fang and Kimberly Chia, then you probably belong to the age of 40 and above group or simply have not watched enough local television. These three young actors have been storming the entertainment circuit for the past year since their blockbuster Mediacorp drama “On The Fridge” about rebellious teens aired. “Imperfect” is more or less an unofficial theatrical version of the drama serial which once again touches on triad and errr…rebellious teens.

Edwin Goh plays Jianhao, a teenager who has just been released from the boy’s home after a ferocious gang fight. Her single parent mum Huifang (Chiang Chu Ping) runs a stall at Bugis and is constantly worried about her son’s well-being and future. Determined to change his ways and encouraged by the girl he loved, Shanshan (Kimberly Chia), Jianhao decides to retake his ‘O’ levels. His best pals, Zach (Ian Fang) and Square (Phua Yida) on the other hand constantly got themselves in trouble with Alex, a troublemaker son of a renowned triad member, Jianhao finds himself torn between friendship and kinship as a fight with Alex went terribly wrong.

“Imperfect” surprisingly is a well-shot movie and in terms of production values, it truly stands out among the local releases though much of the scenes are shot and tinted in bleached colors, a tad overkill in this aspect. There’s even a rain-soaked finale that is beautifully execute in stylish slow-mo. The script by credited writer YY however has its fair share of ups and downs. Notably, the first 30 minutes is clunky and hurried as it tries to setup the various characters such as Jianhao and Zach. It’s hard to buy the fact that the guys are actually buddies except for the few scenes that show them skateboarding and hanging out and what trigger the initial fight that got Jianhao into trouble is a blur. Throw in Jianhao’s mum, his younger stepsister and a hyper friend of Huifang, Nuo-ge (Li Pei Hsu), the whole script becomes a busy, uninvolving affair.

Fortunately, the movie has Taiwanese Chiang and Li to thank for. Chiang is simply incredible, for a few minutes appearance, we are totally moved by her affection for her wayward son and also Li who provides much of the movie’s comic relief. Not forgetting HK veteran Liu Kai Chi’s role as Wong Guodong who shakes up the entire movie with his terrifying presence. Li Nanxing who also produced this under his Cornerstone outfit also appeared in a small role as a mafia with conscience but he is by far and large upstaged by his overseas co-stars. No prizes for those who managed to guess his relation to Jianhao and Huifang.

With a far more violent theme than television standards, “Imperfect” promptly deserved the NC-16 rating. Edwin Goh has the charismatic factor to carry the movie and of course the help of his veteran co-stars also brighten a few sparks yet the movie reeks of uneven storytelling that mars the whole watching experience. It’s truly Imperfect.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Presented in Cantonese, the Making Of consists of 4 parts and run an estimated 40 minutes. Covering everything from interview with the main cast members and cameo stars, behind-the-scenes footages to discussion on the ageing society, this feature is comprehensive enough for the award-winning Chinese language drama. It comes with a Trailer as well.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There’s a Making Of segment that features mainly interviews with the main cast members. A Trailer, Photo Gallery and MTV round up the extras.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD visual is overly dark at times probably due to the over-tinting on the original film. The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack provided is passable.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :  

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Fifteen years ago, drug cartel mistress Madame Rose had a billion-dollar deal that was busted by Interpol. In revenge, she kills the entire family of chief investigator CK Long. Long himself survives, and believes his young daughter is still alive. In fact, for these fifteen years, the girl has been kidnapped by Madame Rose, brainwashed and trained into beautiful, sexy killer Phoenix. Phoenix has now become the top-ranked killer in Madame Rose’s organization. She is skilled in combat, and always completes her missions. Thanks to her band of killers, Madame Rose has expanded her criminal organization, and now assigns missions in many parts of the world. CK Long has never imagined that he would one day become the target of his own daughter’s mission.

MOVIE REVIEW:

“Naked Soldier” actually has a long history starting with “Naked Killer” that stars Chingmy Yau in 1992. Written and produced by Wong Jing, it has since becomes a cult hit with its madcap action sequences and heavy sexual overtones. In 2002, Wong Jing teamed up with famed action choreographer Tony Ching for “Naked Weapon” and launched the career of now international superstar Maggie Q.

The ever prolific Wong Jing never let his old ideas go away and he is one infamous filmmaker who is known for searching hot new babes for his movies. And here he is attempting to launch “Naked Soldier” as a starring vehicle for up-and-coming actress Jennifer Tse (sister of Nicholas) and model actress Ankie Beilke.

Despite the numerous new faces, the storyline from Wong fares like a recycled movie from the eighties and nineties. Tse plays Phoenix, a young girl who was brainwashed by a drug cartel led by Madam Rose (Ellen Chen) to become a deadly assassin. Phoenix in fact is the long-lost daughter of detective Long (Sammo Hung) whose family was killed by Rose after Long has busted her lucrative drug deal. Years later, the Interpol is hot on the trail of Rose and Long is engaged by Interpol agent, Sam (Jennifer’s real-life beau, Andy On) to assist them in the mission. Of course, you can sniff out a tale of revenge and reunion yards away without me delving any further.

Whereas the original has lots of exploitative content and “Naked Weapon” has a steamy scene with Maggie Q and Daniel Wu, “Naked Soldier” merely capitalised on the use of non-stop cheesy CG carnage which kind of defeat the purpose of having the word Naked in the title. Without the inclusion of Wong’s expert usage of eroticism, the end product becomes a run-out-of-mill action movie filled with unimaginative fighting scenes that laughingly features a remarkably amount of CG glass shattering. It’s kind of disappointing to see veteran action choreographers Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak sleeping on the job. I guess old age has certainly caught up with them.  

Editor turned director Marco Mak probably cut and watched too many movies in his long-spanning career that he tried to mimic some John Woo’s style slow-mo sequence in addition one dining scene that is directly lifted out of the DreamWorks’ animation “Kung Fu Panda”. Sammo might be oversize but he is not a panda.

The only fun part in this otherwise horrendous production is watching Anthony Wong and his henchmen turning up for the finale with their over-the-top expressions, costumes and hairdos. It’s such a shoddy job that the only actor being all serious is Sammo. Her brother took years to see his movie career take off, Jennifer seriously needs more meaty roles to overcome her stiff performance though to be fair, most of the actresses on the whole did a fair job accomplishing all the deadly moves.  

It’s obvious that the once creative HK filmmakers including Wong Jing have to settle for a safe production in order to receive a general screening in Mainland. With all the funds and box-office potential lying there, we are not getting back the heydays for sure.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Just a Trailer and Photo Gallery

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Visual transfer is good for the relatively new production and the Dolby Digital 2.0 offers lots of loud gunfire just not in a 5.1 mix.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Gore Verbinski
Cast: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter
RunTime: 2 hrs 30 mins
Rating: PG13
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: http://www.facebook.com/TheLoneRanger
 
Opening Day: 4 July 2013 

Synopsis: From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ "The Lone Ranger," a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Movie Review:

If not for Johnny Depp, this big-budget revisionist interpretation of the classic ‘Lone Ranger’ character would probably never have happened. Sure, the baby-boomer generation of the 1950s might remember the popular TV show in which Clayton Moore was the titular character, but there is scarcely any trace left of the masked ex-Texas Ranger in popular culture half a century later. That reality isn’t lost on Depp nor his ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ director Gore Verbinski; rather than keep to the spirit of previous incarnations, their reboot essentially applies the sensibilities of their previous franchise-spawning ‘Pirates’ venture to the story of two outlaws in the Wild West. 

Notwithstanding the title, it is the Lone Ranger’s sidekick Tonto who takes centre-stage here. That’s no surprise really - after all, Depp is playing Tonto and not the Ranger, so it’s only logical who gets top billing. His trademark eccentricity in glorious display, Depp’s Tonto has a face painted white with four vertical black streaks and most distinctively, a dead crow perched atop his forehead which he obsessively feeds. Suffice to say that this is not the Tonto that Jay Silverheels used to play in the TV series; instead, this is a distinctively Depp creation, one that immediately recalls his Jack Sparrow kookiness but is yet more grounded and complex and in our opinion his most intriguing character part yet.

Even though his behaviour and mannerisms are signature Depp, this Tonto retains the reticence of the original character and therefore speaks little and with much brevity. That characteristic isn’t in any way a handicap though (even though Depp’s loquaciousness with Jack Sparrow in ‘Pirates’ might suggest otherwise); instead, the witty script concocted by the ‘Pirates’ team of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio along with Justin Haythe reserve the best punchlines for Tonto, which Depp delivers with sheer aplomb. In particular, Depp’s deadpanning makes for great humour in the middle section of the film, which deliberately lets the action take a back seat in favour of some wry character bonding between Tonto and the Lone Ranger.

Yet for the scene-stealer (or show-stopper even) that Depp is, one would not be able to do the film justice without due mention of the Lone Ranger himself. Setting aside his dramatic chops from ‘The Social Network’ and ‘J. Edgar’, Armie Hammer gives a straight-up performance as the clean-cut prosecutor turned Texas Ranger John Reid whose staunch belief in the code of law is tested by the wonton corruption that he witnesses. Reid’s transformation from a lawman to an outlaw is the origins story that Elliott and Rossio want to tell, which along the way includes how the mask came to be as well as why his “spirit horse” is named Silver.

Though Reid’s quest for justice propels the story, Hammer knows better than to try to steal the thunder from Depp. Aptly therefore, he contends with being Depp’s foil, the ‘yin’ to Depp’s ‘yang’ that is as straight-arrow orthodox as Depp is idiosyncratically unorthodox. By being Depp’s opposite, Hammer finds a sweet spot completing the odd couple-pairing that manifests itself both in their snappy repartee as well as some truly amusing physical moments. In particular, the latter forms a nice segue into the big-action climax, especially since that marks the first time our two heroes work side by side like clockwork to stop what they finally realise is their common enemy.

That enemy is none other than the sadistic criminal Butch Cavendish (played with dastardly menace by William Fitchner), whom fans of the TV series will recognise as the person responsible for killing Reid’s posse of Texas Rangers and leaving him for dead in the desert. Butch isn’t alone as the villain here though; to up the stakes, the writers also throw in a railroad tycoon named Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson) as well as a cavalry leader General Fuller (Barry Pepper) whom Latham enlists in his feigned war against the Red Indians in a bid to control the railroad and the riches to be found deep in Indian territory. That is a fair bit to set up, which explains the seemingly indulgent two-and-half-hour running time that in reality coasts by surprisingly swiftly.

Besides the sheer charisma of Depp’s character as well as to a lesser if no less significant extent Hammer’s, the film manages to be consistently entertaining thanks in no small part to Verbinski. No stranger to the Western genre after successfully directing Depp in voice only in “Rango”, Verbinski makes an effortless transition to live-action with the same derring-do that he amply demonstrated at the helm of the first three ‘Pirates’ movies. As with ‘Pirates’, he shows a deftness in navigating Elliott and Rossio’s intentionally convoluted screenplay, which actually succeeds in giving Depp and Hammer the space for their characters to develop alongside each other while creating the right excuses for major action setpieces.

Verbinski is of course no stranger to the kind of spectacle summer audiences want to see. Trading pirate ships for old-school coal trains, he begins with a literal bang as Tonto and Reid first make their acquaintance on board a hijacked train transporting Butch Cavendish to a New Mexico town to face punishment for his crimes. It is a jaw-dropping setpiece to say the least, even more so for the fact that it was shot for real instead of by CGI. But Verbinski sets aside the bulk of the coin for the climax, which can only be described as a glorious triumph in action choreography that pits good and bad in breathtaking fashion aboard two criss-crossing locomotives. Thrilling doesn’t even begin to describe how exciting it is, given an elegant balletic touch by Hans Zimmer’s rendition of Rossini’s ‘William Tell Overture’.

And on that exuberant note, Verbinski more than convinces that his ‘Pirates’ treatment of the Lone Ranger classic is a resounding success. Not only does it pack the same level of exhilaration, it allows Depp an opportunity to yet again tap on his considerable pool of acting quirks to create a familiar yet wholly refreshing character. His Tonto is like no other Tonto yet seen, nor is it simply just a Jack Sparrow in the desert; therein lies the beauty of Depp’s creation and even if it isn’t Tonto’s name you see on the title, it will be his that you will remember and reminisce fondly long after the credits are over. 

Movie Rating:

(Bringing their 'Pirates' sensibilities to the Wild West, the triumvirate of director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and star Johnny Depp succeed in fashioning a rollicking action adventure full of eccentric charm, quirky humour, and big-action spectacle)

Review by Gabriel Chong 

Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Sophie Okonedo, Isabelle Fuhrman, David Denman, Lincoln Lewis, Gilbert Soto, Sacha Dhawan, Chris Geere
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence And Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website: http://www.afterearth.com/
 
Opening Day: 6 June 2013 

Synopsis: A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

Movie Review:

Even after the chorus of blistering reviews emerged online, we were still willing to give ‘After Earth’ the benefit of the doubt. After all, we cannot recall any Will Smith movie that wasn’t at least watchable, thanks to the affable presence of one of Hollywood’s most well-liked stars. Alas, this latest addition to the deluge of apocalyptic sci-fi movies is as bad as most other critics have made it out to be - in fact, we might add that this might be Will Smith’s worst movie ever.

That is indeed a surprise, considering the genesis of the project came from the man himself. Yes, though the screenplay is credited to ‘The Book of Eli’s’ Gary Whitta and the now-unwatchable M. Night Shyamalan, Will Smith gets story credit for this father-son bonding tale set in the aftermath of Planet Earth’s collapse and the subsequent migration of its citizens to another planet called Nova Prime. We’re not sure what exactly he pitched to the Sony executives, but we sure as hell don’t think it was this unbridled disaster.

Where do we start with what goes wrong? Well, how about the plotting - or to be more precise, its nonexistence? After briefly sketching out some dull background on just how Earth came to meet its devastation, we are introduced to the central character of the story, Kitai Raige, a cadet in the United Ranger Corps whose mission is to secure the safety of the Earthlings on Nova Prime. Unlike his father Cypher, Kitai is hot-headed and impetuous and by that nature an ill fit for the Corps.

Because mankind’s greatest enemy is a monster race called the Ursa which senses its prey by smelling fear, a premium is placed on the ability for one to remain impassive - hence the film’s tagline ‘fear is a choice’. Never mind that; you know at the end of the day that Kitai will summon the mental willpower to be emotionless in order to defeat his enemy, so what really matters is how he gains that strength and also how he reconciles with his disapproving father - whom he also blames for the death of his sister a few years ago - in the process.

Yet in both regards, Shyamalan’s storytelling fails miserably. Instead of letting father and son go on the journey together, he strands Cypher by rendering him critically injured inside their damaged spacecraft and sends Kitai alone into the wilderness to retrieve a beacon that landed miles away so they can signal for help. How does dad guide his son? By blankly giving directions on what to do as if he were a computer… and oh by stating the plain obvious.

The former means Will Smith trying hard not to act, which in itself is perplexing; while the latter implies that we have to put up with line after line of exposition that lays down every single detail we can otherwise infer or see on our own. It is frustrating to say the least, even more so for the stilted dialogue that revels in its own self-seriousness. “Recognise your power. This will be your creation,” says Cypher to Kitai. Seriously?  Yes, indeed, and your most fears of just how awkward the characters speak are unequivocally confirmed when Will launches into a three-minute monologue emotionlessly recounting how he came to acquire the ability of suppressing his fear (and apparently the power of inducing us  to roll our eyes uncontrollably too).

Given that Dad literally sits out most of the movie, a large section of the part hinges on Kitai’s solo trek across Earth. Certain logic aside (why is the Earth’s surface teeming with flora and fauna when the air is supposed to be toxic?), Kitai’s journey consists only of three high points - a baboon chase through the woods, another one in the air with an oversized bird and the last with the said fearsome Ursa - and plenty of monotonous walking and hiking and doing equipment checks with Dad. It is an utterly lethargic slog, and between the terse orders issued by Cypher and Kitai’s own indistinct reactions, no effort has been made to better sketch the latter’s character development.

Nonetheless, it is also suspect if the movie would be better if Shyamalan bothered to pay more attention to Kitai’s character. Such a silent and stoic role calls for a powerful actor, and unfortunately Will Smith’s son Jaden is no such person. Sure, he was adorable in ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ and lively and engaging in ‘The Karate Kid’; but this is a role which calls for someone with strong dramatic fundamentals and Jaden’s portrayal remains stuck between fear and indignance. Will is on the screen for less than a third of the movie, but even when he is, plays his character so stiffly that you can’t quite help but cringe.

Will is also to be blamed for choosing Shyamalan as director, the once lauded director of such hits like ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Signs’ continuing his creative decline at an alarming pace. What happened to the Shyamalan who used to be able to spin gripping stories with a good shock twist? Granted that he is only a director for hire here, but the fault remains his that the movie is so dull and bland it qualifies as a non-event.

Coming as a long-time fan of Will Smith, it is greatly disappointing to see such a colossal failure. There’s no doubt that ‘After Earth’ was his passion project, in fact his vanity project meant as a launchpad for his teenage son’s solo career in Hollywood. Yet everything that you think can go wrong pretty much does at some point in the movie, which works neither as a sci-fi action adventure nor as a father-son tale of bonding. This is the one Will Smith movie we actually felt like walking out of, which should tell you just how bad it is. 

Movie Rating:

(Lacking in every respect from storytelling to character to acting to direction, this Will Smith vanity project for his teenage son Jaden is bland and boring and the worst film of even Will's career)

Review by Gabriel Chong
  

Genre: Thriller
Director: Randall Cole
Cast: Nick Stahl, Mia Kirshner, Devon Sawa, Aaron Abrams, Charlotte Sullivan, Krista Bridges
RunTime: 1 hr 27 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website:

Opening Day: 20 December 2012

Synopsis:  A mid-sized house in a nice middle-class neighbourhood in Toronto. James and Amy Deakin is a typical married couple, but tensions are present. Whoever is watching them seems to have decided to manipulate those tensions. Odd things start happening. Individually, each mishap is manageable, but together, they create mistrust that turns to tension, then tension turns to anger and then Amy disappears. James is concerned, but assumes this is her idea of payback. Strange occurrences continue. Suspecting people from his past, he fixates on an old acquaintance named Bill. An awkward confrontation does nothing to reassure him, and James now believes Amy is in grave danger. The unexplained incidences become bolder, even macabre. Dread mixes with bewilderment, as James make his move to save Amy, asking the only question he can - "Why"? .

Movie Review:

Be warned – this is a found footage movie, and depending on your affinity for the genre, you’ll either love it or hate it. The format is applied here to the home invasion picture, where a young married couple is terrorised in their suburban home by an unknown intruder. The twist? All that footage you see comes in fact from the point of view of the stalker, or for that matter, the numerous cameras he has secretly installed within the four walls of James and Amy’s house.

It is a nifty conceit we have to say, but not quite enough to turn this into a surprise hit like the first three ‘Paranormal Activity’ films. The reason for that is simple – too little happens in writer/director Randall Cole’s movie, so much so that we end up wondering what all the hysteria is for. Furthermore, all that slow-burn buildup ends in an unsatisfying conclusion which immediately recalls that in another low-budget B-movie ‘ATM’ – and if you’ve seen that and hated how it finishes, you’ll be left feeling the same way here.

Cole adopts a deliberately low-key approach to the material right from the beginning, as said stalker sets up an unknown CD to play on their car stereo, programmes a slideshow of their photographs to play on their computer and then finally removes Amy from the residence leaving a goodbye note. The intention of course is to keep Jason as well as his audience guessing who is responsible for what could either be simply a series of mischievous pranks or more insidious tactics at unnerving our protagonist.

As Jason goes about trying to uncover the truth behind Amy’s disappearance, we learn to grow less sympathetic about his plight. Not only do we find that he has been cheating on her, but also that he was a terrible bully in his younger days to a classmate named Bill (Devon Sawa), whom Jason seeks out thinking that the latter might be his tormentor. Had it been so straightforward, we might be more satisfied; instead, the villain remains faceless, nameless and without motivation - hence the frustrating conclusion.

All the while, Cole tries to build a growing sense of dread, alternating the footage of Jason with that of the intruder dressed in all-black attire standing right in Jason’s house. Nonetheless, given the understated way it unfolds, you never really get to feel Jason’s desperation nor his helplessness; rather, you’re more likely to check your watches thinking when all that empty shots of no one in particular in the house are going to end.

That said, purists of the found footage format will probably praise it for how it manages to be authentic. Eschewing the more dramatic tendencies of other similar movies like ‘Funny Games’ and ‘Straw Dogs’, Cole sticks to a grounded, down-to-earth telling that makes it all the more believable. Yet it is also precisely because of this restraint that those looking for a gripping thriller will find themselves underwhelmed, and then upset over an open and cryptic ending.

Like we said earlier, depending on your love for found footage movies, you should either go see this or just avoid it altogether. Within the context of the genre, Cole fashions an effective paranoia chiller that sacrifices artificial thrills for realism. Yet it is also precisely this reason that the movie will prove dull and tedious for those not so smitten with found footages, and we suspect lead to its slow but sure death that the depreciating box-office results of ‘Paranormal Activity 4’ have clearly hinted at. 

Movie Rating:

(A deliberately low-key and open-ended home invasion movie that will only please fans of the found footage genre)

Review by Gabriel Chong

SYNOPSIS: Umbrella Corporation's deadly T-virus is spreading across the globe transforming ordinary people into legions of zombies. Headed for extinction the human race has just one hope: Alice (Milla Jovovich). She's on a mission fighting her way through cities and across continents all inside Umbrella's prime research facility. Old friends become new enemies as she battles to escape and discovers that everything that she believes may not even be true.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The most unwanted franchise in history has reached an amazing fifth instalment, fast approaching the wizard boy which ended at seventh and a sparkling vampire that ended at a fifth one. Yes, the Mr and Mrs Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Resident Evil” has amassed a total of more than US$1 Billion at the box-office and guess what, Sony has already greenlit the sixth one even before the DVD of “Retribution” is out.

Continuing from the last instalment, “Afterlife”, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is left unconscious after an attack on a freighter. Never mind if you can’t recall what Alice and company did the other time or what the hell is the Umbrella Corporation up to because the accommodating Anderson even spent a few minutes recapping all the events starting from the first one for forgetful audience.

Anyway, for whatever crappy reason, Alice managed to escape once again out of the underwater facility. Wanted and chased by the henchmen of the Red Queen, Alice must relied on a team of operatives sent to rescue her and the 96 minutes movie is all about the group of them escaping from some simulated environments to the surface without being killed by mutated zombies and ex-allies of Alice. Seriously that’s how thin the script by Anderson is although personally, I don’t see the resurrection of past character such as a good and bad Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez) and a new character; Ada Wong (Li Bing Bing from “The Forbidden Kingdom”) helps to mask the hopelessly wafer-thin plotting.

Still credit got to go to stunt coordinator Nick Powell (“The Bourne Identity”) for coming up with more wire-fu, gravity-defying somersaults for Jovovich to kick serious zombies’ asses. Unfortunately that’s about all it is, to see the sexy Jovovich in tight spandex as the rest of the action are just disposable scenes of gun-shooting and a Rolls-Royce chase scene across the Moscow Square by zombies and a gigantic disgusting monster dubbed the Licker.

“Resident Evil: Retribution” no doubt is the weakest of the lot. With plenty of greenscreen effects that match probably the Star Wars prequels and a mindless script, this videogame adaptation seems to be heading towards extinction. Oh sorry even the word extinction has been used for one of the earlier instalments. I’m simply tired of watching the endless zombie plague laying waste to the world and not even some zombiefied flying dragons that teased for a sixth instalment helps to raise any expectations.      

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Paul W.S. Anderson and Actors Mila Jovovich and Boris Kodjoe offers a light listening experience as the trio seems to be having lots of fun discussing the filming experience.

Unless you are a diehard Resident Evil fan, you might be keen on a second Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Paul W.S. Anderson and Producer Jeremy Bolt which offers listeners a more comprehensive, technical view of making the movie.   

4 minutes of somewhat hilarious Outtakes are included and also a 6 minutes worth of Drop (Un) Dead: The Creatures of Retribution, a segment which takes viewers behind-the-scenes of making the prosthetic creature effects.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

DVD visual are stunning and free of artefacts while the Dolby Digital 5.1 offers an immersive, bombastic audio experience that is filled with deafening gunfire and explosives.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee