Genre: Crime/Drama
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Cast: Beat Takeshi, Toshiyuki Nishida, Tomokazu Miura, Ryo Kase, Hideo Nakano, Yutaka Matsushige, Fumiyo Kohinata
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Lighthouse Pictures & Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/outrage2/
Opening Day: 14 March 2013
Synopsis: The huge Sanno crime family has grown into a huge organization, expanding its power into politics and legitimate big business. The Sanno’s upper ranks are now dominated by young executives who promote black-marketeering rather than the traditional underground income sources. The old-guard members are penting up resentment as they see themselves being pushed to the sidelines.
This vulnerable spot in the Sanno hierachy is exactly what anti-gang detective Kataoka has been looking for, as the police force prepares a full-scale crackdown. With secret plots and dirty tricks, the ambitious Kataoko will open up a whole new game of yakuza power struggle.
Detective Kataoka intends to instigate conflict between the Sanno and the Hanabishi, their long-time neighboring ally, in the hopes that they ultimately destroy each other. To help weaken the Sanno, the underhanded cop also provokes their grumbling old-guard executives to consider usurping Chairman Kato from top position. And Kataoka’s trump card is the arranged release from prison of Otomo, the rumored-dead boss of a family once crushed by the Sanno.
The news of Otomo’s release creates tension in the Sanno family. Especially nervous is underboss Ishihara, whose betrayal put Otomo in jail. Fear drives Ishihara to start up a frenzied manhunt to shoot Otomo on sight. But Otomo has no plans on seeking revenge nor does he even intend to be yakuza anymore. Crafty cop Kataoka, however, insists and pushes Otomo to help the police bring down the Sanno family. He forges an unlikely pact between Otomo and Kimura, a former underboss of another family now defunct due to Sanno reign. Kimura also happens to be the guy who stabbed Otomo in prison, making their eventual “sake pact” all the more delicate to maneuver.
With the sense of approaching yakuza warfare, deception and betrayal smolder among the families as everyone watches out for the other’s next move. It’s impossible to guess who will come out on top in this fierce power game. It’s not over until it’s over.
Movie Review:
After a two year long wait, Takeshi Kitano (also known as Beat Kitano) is finally back with the sequel of Outrage. Outrage Beyond is a continuation of the narrative from Outrage, with a slightly different focus this time. Fret not! Even if you are not acquainted with the first movie, the first half of the movie goes at lengths to explore the relationship and tensions between the Yakuza families as well as the joint evil ‘business’ with the police. It would be a good introductory and refresher to all the crucial characters.
Outrage Beyond sustains the mood from Outrage, having a very bleak and dark undertone from the very beginning. At times, it serves to poke fun and ridicule at the bureaucracy’s plain ignorance which led to how blatant and extensive the Yakuza power simply grew. All these worked together to bring focus on the main theme of the movie, which is about achieving selfish ambitions. Just like how it was asked in the movie trailer, ‘Who is the most evil of the lot?’
The movie could be potentially confusing to some, as the main power struggle was a three-way one: Police vs. Kansai Yakuza Family (Hanabishi) vs. Kanto Yakuza Family (Sanno). And as Otomo (leader of a fallen Yakuza family) gets into the picture, he makes the relationship web an even more complicated one. But to dissect and to understand it simply, all we have to know is that everyone is self-serving and are acting the way they are to outwit the rest. Be it betraying, making alliances or even subordinating to others, it was part and parcel of building towards the conclusion.
The sophistication of the movie comes in here, where there is a lot more brewing beneath the surface of the relationships and power struggles. Needless to say, the mind-playing was intelligent and more engaging than Outrage. Apart from having an interesting narrative, the actors are equally important to bring out the best of the film. In this aspect, Fumiyo Kohinata stood out in his role of the corrupted police. Kitano himself also hit the spot by controlling his character very well throughout. In comparison, Kase Ryo was not as outstanding as he was in Outrage.
Making more comparisons to its predecessor Outrage, Outrage Beyond is a lot tamer and mild, with respect to the violence and torture. Sure, Kitano does not lack any creativity in those torture methods, but many of those were brought off-screen. The sound effect was fantastic though. You get to hear it raw and although it was not explicitly showed onscreen, you have those images stuck in your mind already. Also to mention, the sound track may sound a little outlandish at first, but were definitely crucial in creating the characteristically Yakuza mood.
If you were to view this movie as a chess game, it started out slow but the checkmate was a definitive one. The pacing of the movie is as it is to bring up the game and intensify the power struggles, which eventually led to the final showdown. The movie did live up to what it promised: 完結(a perfect finish). Again, ‘Who is the most evil of the lot?’ You can only watch to find that out.
Movie Rating:
(It takes some acquired taste to appreciate this film. "Outrage Beyond" is a little more contained than "Outrage", but it will still leave you with a tingling sensation wanting for more)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Ed Gass-Donnelly
Cast: Ashley Bell, Spencer Treat Clark, Andrew Sensenig, Julia Garner, David Jensen
RunTime: 1 hr 29 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:
Opening Day: 4 April 2013
Synopsis: Continuing where the first film left off, Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) is found terrified and alone in rural Louisiana. Back in the relative safety of New Orleans, Nell realizes that she can't remember entire portions of the previous months—only that she is the last surviving member of her family. Just as Nell begins the difficult process of starting a new life, the evil force that once possessed her is back with other, unimaginably horrific plans that mean her last exorcism was just the beginning.
Movie Review:
The demon Alabam might not have left the 17-year-old Louisana farm-girl Nell, but what originality the filmmakers of ‘The Last Exorcist’ once brought to both the found-footage format and the exorcism horor subgenre has certainly departed with this utterly redundant sequel. Except for producers Eli Roth and Marc Abraham, the creative team of the 2010 modest hit have not returned for a second outing, leaving the task instead to sophomore feature filmmaker Ed Gass-Donnelly to pen and direct a wholly inept film devoid of any real scares or thrills.
A brief recap establishes the preceding events to which this sequel follows – after confounding both a preacher and his filming crew’s belief that all exorcisms are just hoaxes, Nell becomes not only the subject of a failed exorcism by that very preacher but also a vessel for a demonic coven ritual by some cult members in the neighbourhood. Believed to be the only survivor to escape the ensuing big fire, Nell is sent in a near-catatonic state to a New Orleans foster home for wayward girls, where she starts to rebuild her life with the support of a sympathetic guardian Frank (Muse Watson) and some new friends.
As they are oft to do, things get better before they get worse, and in the first two months at least, Nell seems to be getting her life back on track working as a hotel housekeeper and finding a possible romantic interest in her co-worker Chris (Spencer Treat Clarke). But as we’d all expect, Alabam isn’t quite done with Nell just yet – though he certainly seems to have gotten much tamer than the last time round, no thanks to an ill-advised judgment call by the filmmakers to keep this affair entirely PG13 that pretty much drains the blood out of the whole proceedings.
Don’t get us wrong – we’re not suggesting that Donnelly should have gone the way of ‘Saw’ or ‘Hostel’ in featuring gratuitous gore, but a certain level of intensity is to be expected in order to convey the extent of the danger facing our female protagonist. Instead, Donnelly opts for hoary clichés – like some mysterious phone call in the middle of the night, flies buzzing around Nell’s bedroom, night time levitations and not forgetting of course the incessant nightmares from figures once thought dead – that have been executed with greater flair and imagination in some other exorcism movie.
Whereas the first movie had a messier energy that combined with the found-footage technique gave it a tense edge, this sequel seems content just to stay meek and kid-friendly – and nowhere is this more evident than in a key moment where a character slashes his own throat which both the cinematography and the editing conspire to pretty much take away what visceral impact such a sequence should bring to the movie. Not even the exorcism that the neutered mayhem culminates in offers much genuine excitement, the rite administered by a local occult group who call themselves the ‘Order of the Right Hand Path’ less compelling than the Roman Catholic rite of exorcism in the first movie.
There is but one bright spot in the overall dreariness and that belongs to lead actress Ashley Bell. Convincingly portraying a naïve teenager forced to deal with events far beyond her age, Bell projects an unsettling presence that lends the movie as much bite as she can. Though she isn’t quite called to display the same dexterity as before by physically contorting her body, there is a strong physicality to her acting here as well, which makes her character much more interesting than the standard damsel-in-distress. Because the movie is built around Nell’s predicament, Bell is called upon to provide an anchor performance, and thankfully she does not disappoint.
Pity then that the rest of the movie isn’t worthy of her committed act, offering little raison d’etre to overcome the semantic peculiarities of its predecessor’s title that suggest just how unnecessary it really is. Indeed, there is little particularly imaginative or scary in this sequel to justify its existence – worse still with an open-ended climax that suggests yet another cash-grab excursion to come. Even if you are in need of a horror movie fix, that’s still a poor excuse to be part of ‘The Last Exorcism Part II’, a sequel that deserves to be exorcised itself.
Movie Rating:
(As unnecessary as its title suggests, this unimaginative and scare-less sequel is no more than a cash-grab attempt at milking some audience dollars from a recognizable brand)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 Viral Music VideoPosted on 01 Mar 2013 |
SYNOPSIS: Former collegeiate wrestler Scott Voss is a 42 year old, apathetic high school teacher. When budget cutbacks threaten to cancel some of the school's program and lay off its music teacher, Scott creates a scheme to raise money by moonlighting as a mixed martial arts fighter. Everyone thinks Scott is crazy - most of all the school nurse, Bella. In his quest, Scott gains something he never expected as he inspires his students and becomes a sensation that rallies the entire school.
MOVIE REVIEW:
In the little seen movie, “Warrior”, Australian actor Joel Edgerton plays a high school teacher who decides to become an UFC fighter just to meet ends meets. This part of the story unwittingly found its way into this latest comedy starring Kevin James.
James plays Scott Voss, a biology teacher who has lost his passion in teaching and the only highlight of his day is trying his best to date the school’s nurse, Bella (Salma Hayek). That is until the principal announced that he is cutting some school programs notably the music class headed by Marty (Henry Wrinkler). To prevent his colleague from getting the axe, Scott on an impulse volunteers to raise the required sum of money and the only solution to earn the cash fast as he learnt is to participate in UFC matches.
Since shifting his career to the big screen, Kevin James has been dabbling in atrocious comedies such as “Zookeeper”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “Grown Ups”. None particularly interesting or funny. In fact, most of the material mentioned are just plain silly and downright lazy. Happy Madison bears part of the blame since they are behind all those. Thus it comes as a surprise; “Here Comes the Boom” is so likeable that it is much better than expected.
For once, Kevin James delivers a character that is endearing to the audience without being forcefully funny. He is a bit of a jerk in the beginning but the events that follow slowly morph him into a hero, an unlikely one no less thanks to the charming script written by James and Allan Loeb. Although cage fighting is serious business, Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer) brought along a message of motivation and inspiration through Scott Voss’ determination.
Surrounding James’ characters are a bunch of actors with priceless comic timing and that includes Henry Winkler from “Happy Days” playing the passionate music teacher, Charice from “Glee” as a student of Voss and world renowned mixed martial artist Bas Rutten as Voss’ trainer. The beautiful Salam Hayek once again settles for the simplistic role of a love interest which doesn’t stretch the talented actress a bit.
For all the predictability and gags, “Here Comes The Boom” comes across as a much coherent comedy than the usual crop of Madison Productions. It makes you laugh, makes you cry and have you rooting for the underdog. When a movie connects with you, I guess it has accomplished its job.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There are 16 minutes of Deleted Scenes (some omitted one-liner and extended scenes), a 2 minutes Gag Reel and a brief Cast Featurette that consists of the usual interviews with the cast members.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
“Here Comes The Boom” arrives in an excellent DVD transfer, images look stunning and detailed even for the darker scenes. For a comedy, the ambient sound effects are perfectly mastered and the UFC sequences boast a thunderous surround sound mix.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: The crocs are back... and they're bigger, badder and more brutal than ever. After the deadly predators' last vicious attack, the government prevented their extermination. Sealed away in a nature preserve, they've been growing to record size, awaiting their next chance to feast on human flesh. Now, when a high school swim team takes a wrong turn directly into the crocs hunting grounds... dinner is served. As the teens race to avoid the hungry reptiles, they become caught in a showdown between a rogue game warden (Yancy Butler, Witchblade) and a demented poacher (Robert Englund, A Nightmare on Elm Street). It's the last serving of hysterical horror in a finale that shows terror is best served raw.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Like “Anacondas”, the original 1999 “Lake Placid” has found a new life at the direct-to-video market. Time will tell if this entitled “The Final Chapter” is indeed the last in the monster croc franchise.
No one actually bother to recap what happened in the last instalment as everyone concerned seems eager to setup the story for another round of monster rampage. To begin with, the notorious crocs are now being kept within a secure perimeter by an electric fence built by the engineer crops of the army. Well to no one surprise, shit happened when a busload of high school students took the wrong route and ended up at the croc-infested lake when the fence is left open.
Logic and common sense is apparently missing in this low budget affair. Why don’t they just drive the bus out of the lake instead of searching for another exit on foot? Obviously this is no “Jurassic Park” or “Jaws”, it’s best not to probe further and see what else it offers.
The various characters are predictable disposable high school students (read: food for the hungry crocs), the good guys that consist of the local Sheriff Theresa Giove (Elisabeth Rohm), Ryan Loflin (Paul Nicholls), the lead engineer and a game warden Reba Butler (Yancy Butler) and the bad guys notably Freddy Krueger aka Robert Englund. The adults’ cast did their best spouting the clichéd dialogue and playing stock characters. Englund of course is an old hand playing baddies and the other familiar face Yancy Butler behaves as if she is reflecting at her less than stellar acting career.
Even the supposedly thrills and suspense went AWOL when the terrible looking CG crocs appear randomly out of no reason. The attacks are swift and bloody and you are lucky if you are able to spot the actual outlook of the crocodiles at the end of the day. The iffy effects have no depth; perspective or whatsoever and it look like an intern had rendered them overnight. Seriously, there’s nothing left to salvage in this creature movie unless you count the few shots of nudity. And look, I’m trying to be nice and not lusty.
It’s Lake Flaccid ladies and gentlemen. And do prepare yourselves for another round of carnage because the ending seems to hint towards another sequel.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The only extra is Previews of Sony upcoming titles.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The video transfer looks good except the awful looking CG and yes it looks even worse on a bigger television. All that bone crunching and roaring sounds fantastic through the Dolby Digital 5.1 channel including the scream and dialogue.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Adapted from the novel Rembering 1942 by Liu Zhen Yun, "Back to 1942" is a historical piece that revolves around the drought that took place in Henan Province, China in 1942 which led to a severe famine that forced 10 million people to flee from Henan to the Shannxi Province in order to survive. The film chronicles the perilous journey the refugees make as they walk all the way to Shannxi. Along the way, some died of starvation while others are killed by the bombs from Japanese airplanes. Reliefs from the government come too late as high ruling officials are not aware of the actual situation in Hennan back then. As a result, this leads to the death of about 3 million refugees.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Renowned mainland filmmaker Feng Xiaogang always has a penchant for historical stories probably to remind the younger audiences about their country’s tragic past and sufferings. Be it the civil war movie, “Assembly” or “Aftershock” that depicts the aftermath of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.
“Back to 1942” detailed the atrocious sufferings of the people of Henan during World War II. Brought on by a severe drought, corruptive officials, lack of support from the government and the imminent war by the Japanese, the people trekked miles and miles looking for food without success. Feng’s treatment of the material is heavy-handed and tiresome but you can’t deny its overall a handsome production.
Our story begins with our once rich landlord (Zhang Guoli) who joins the refugees in search of a better homeland after refugees ravage his house. Together with his teenage daughter, a farmhand, his pregnant daughter-in-law and wife, they travel on foot from one province to another in the cold winter looking for grain. Encountering hunger and the Japanese army along the way, Feng show the world the cruelty and desperations of the Henan people faced. Tree barks, donkey and a cat are just some of the makeshift food supplies. But that’s not all as Feng has a far more complex side to tell including the religious and political aspects of it.
As if to counteract Zhang Yimou working with Christian Bale on “The Flowers of War”, Feng Xiaogang manages to snag not one but two Hollywood actors for “Back to 1942”. Academy Award winner Adrien Brody stars as Theodore white, a Time reporter who is concerned over the plight of the Henan people while Tim Robbins plays a priest in a local church. Feng’s regular cast member Zhang Hanyu appears as an unintentionally funny preacher who is fast losing his faith. Zhang Guoli turned in a stoic performance as Landlord Fan, the tragic central character of the story and Chen Daoming is remarkable as General Chiang Kai-Shek.
There’s simply too much left unsaid in the plotting department. You can’t deny he is trying to tell a tale from various perspectives yet Feng chooses to repetitively focus on the sufferings of the people just to tug at your heartstrings. That said, Feng continues to impress with major action set pieces. The man pulled in a couple of breath taking, convincing bombing sequences with the clever mix of CG and physical effects. Technically, “Back to 1942” is a strong piece however the jarring inclusion of numerous historical events, characters and motives makes the storytelling a tad hard to swallow and the abrupt ending after a long 142 minutes didn’t make it any easier.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
A Trailer is all you get.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Most of the darker scenes appear to be murky and minor grain is detected. What supposedly to be an intense experience is restrained by the 2.0 soundtrack. Dialogue is clear and English subtitles are a must given the heavy accents.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Deepa Mehta
Cast: Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami, Rajat Kapoor, Seema Biswas, Shriya Saran, Siddharth, Ronit Roy, Rahul Bose, Charles Dance, Kulbushan Kharbanda, Anupam Kher, Darsheel Safary, Soha Ali Khan, Anita Majumdar, Zaib Shaikh, Samrat Chakrabarti, Shabana Azmi, Sarita Choudhury, Shikha Talsania
RunTime: 2 hrs 28 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Nudity & Violence)
Released By: MVP & Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: www.facebook.com/MVP.com.sg
Opening Day: 28 March 2013
Synopsis: Midnight’s Children is an epic film from Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Salman Rushdie. At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, as India declares independence from Great Britain, two newborn babies are switched by a nurse in a Bombay hospital. Saleem Sinai, the illegitimate son of a poor woman, and Shiva, the offspring of a wealthy couple, are fated to live the destiny meant for each other. Their lives become mysteriously intertwined and are inextricably linked to India’s whirlwind journey of triumphs and disasters. From the unlikely romance of Saleem’s grandparents to the birth of his own son, Midnight’s Children is a journey at once sweeping in scope and yet intimate in tone. Hopeful, comic and magical – the film conjures images and characters as rich and unforgettable as India herself.
Movie Review:
So this reviewer isn’t the perfect academic, hence the ignorance about India’s prolific history. He has zero knowledge about India’s transition from British colonialism to independence, much less the partition of British India. And when this Canadian American production along, many factual events in the film surprised him for the first time. Nope, he does not know anything about the Indira Gandhi proclaimed Emergency, neither does he know anything about her son Sanjay’s cleansing of the Jama Masjid slum. Of course, there’s Google who will feed you details about these historical events, but if there’s the Deepa Mehta directed film, why not watch it and be entertained at the same time?
Based on acclaimed writer Salman Rushdie’s novel of the same name, the protagonist and narrator of the story is a boy who’s born at the exact moment Indiabecame an independent country. Adding magic realism is the fact that he possesses telepathic powers, which allows him to assemble a Midnight Children’s Conference, a group of geographically disparate children born close to midnightto dwell on issues Indiafaced, ranging from culture and language, to religion and politics. Meanwhile, there is another child switched at birth who is experiencing a different life. Both their lives will be intertwined and linked to India’s illustrious history.
The film starts off with numerous whimsical moments, with an imaginative tale of coming of age unfolding before audience’s eyes. The second half takes on a very different tone as it shifts focus to the trials and tribulations faced by the protagonist, and on a larger extent, the historical changes experienced by India. Running at almost two and a half hours, the duration of the film may be too trying for the less patient viewer. Granted there is indeed some masterful direction by Mehta, the Indo Canadian filmmaker who helmed the Elements Trilogy (1996’s Fire, 1998’s Earth and 2005’s Water), there are some inevitably sluggish moments which may not appeal to the average movie goer.
For literature enthusiasts who are familiar with Rushdie’s works, this is the best opportunity to see how words are translated to visuals by the power of cinema, even more effectively with Rushdie penning the screenplay himself. The 1981 novel is a winner of the Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and also the “Booker of Bookers” Prize and the best all-time prize winners in 1993 and 2008 to celebrate the Booker Prize 25th and 40th anniversary. The themes of the novel are appropriately brought through the use of magical realism in the film, and should connect nicely with viewers. The heavier handed themes of post colonial independence are told through stunning imageries, courtesy of Giles Nuttgen’s commendable cinematography, which makes the film accessible to digest.
The cast delivers engaging performances, with main lead Satya Bhabha as the protagonist and Siddarth Narayan as the other baby switched as birth. The two men’s charismatic presence helps viewers to feel their emotions as Indiagoes through unimaginable changes. The child actors are a joy to watch, especially when they come together for the abovementioned Midnight Children’s Conference. It is most unfortunate then, that the film sometimes drags on for quite a bit, making these charming moments almost forgettable in the bigger scheme of things.
Movie Rating:
(Watch how acclaimed writer Salman Rushdie’s words get effectively translated to visuals in this sometimes sluggish production)
Review by John Li
Genre: Comedy
Director: Michael Hoffman
Cast: Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman, Tom Courtenay, Stanley Tucci, Cloris Leachman, Anna Skellern, Togo Igawa, Sarah Goldberg, Silvia Crastan
RunTime: 1 hr 29 mins
Rating: TBA
Released By: MVP & Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: www.facebook.com/MVP.com.sg
Opening Day: 21 March 2013
Synopsis: Private art curator Harry Deane (Colin Firth) devises a finely-crafted scheme to con England's richest man and avid art collector, Lionel Shabandar, (Alan Rickman) into purchasing a fake Monet painting. In order to bait his buyer, he recruits a Texas rodeo queen (Cameron Diaz) to cross the pond and pose as a woman whose grandfather liberated the painting at the end of WWII.
Movie Review:
Let’s get this out of the way: the opening credits pretty much reveal most of the major plot points. That said, the animated sequence also sets the tone for the quirky humour that ensues in this remake of the 1966 film of the same name.
Putting his stiff upper lip into good use yet again is Colin Firth as Harry Deane, a rather hapless private art curator with higher ambitions than working for his megalomaniac boss, media magnate Lionel Shabandar (Alan Rickman, fully exercising his talent for disdainful superiority). Deane’s impression of Shabandar is decidedly worse than his egotistical, power-hungry image -- after all, the man has an autobiography simply entitled Me -- but undermining his enemy nearly foils his plans of blindsiding his boss. The initial plan is simple: Deane gets his trusty accomplice The Major to forge Monet’s Haystacks (Dusk), a painting that Shabandar has been hunting for since acquiring the accompanying piece Haystacks (Dawn) years ago, then engages Texan rodeo star PJ Puznowski (Cameron Diaz, sporting a toned body and a Mid-Western accent) as the painting’s owner who is willing to negotiate a sale at $12 million pounds, with Deane affirming the artwork’s authenticity to Shabandar.
Bearing in mind that scriptwriters Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men) are experts at unfolding Murphy’s Law on-screen with their storylines, Deane’s plan looks increasingly like the Titanic with more than a few icebergs in its way: PJ’s take-charge brashness and complete lack of decorum (never underestimate a girl who can take down a sprinting goat in double-quick time) prevents Deane from fully calling the shots; his boss’s skepticism of his capabilities and unforeseen enamour of PJ; his own developing feelings for her; and a competitor in the form of German curator Martin Zaidenweber (Stanley Tucci). In the end, the gambit is where Deane sacrifices the replica to prove his talent as a curator and to snub Shabandar, while stealing his boss’s authentic Haystacks (Dawn) and selling it for a hefty profit.
Viewers are likely to either love or hate the film’s humour, which plays up cultural stereotypes and cross-Atlantic differences. Everyone overacts here, and while the chemistry between Firth and Diaz is somewhat lacking, their amusing, rapidfire banter livens up their screen time together. It’s a little better for Rickman and Diaz; the two look like they’re actually having fun in their scenes where both characters are apparently marvelling at the extreme differences between being an upper-class English millionaire and an American blonde from Texas who works for minimum wage plucking chickens.
Movie Rating:
(Entertaining and funny if the humour is up your alley, or if you have a thing for heist movies or their requisite twists, otherwise you may be better off giving this one a miss)
Review by Wong Keng Hui
SYNOPSIS: Jackie Chan’s spectacular new adventure takes him all the way from the chateaux and vineyards of France and the hidden dangers of a jungle on a South Seas island to the terrors of a fight in free-fall above an active volcano! The story is sprung on a quest to track down six bronze sculptures, originally part of a set of twelve representing the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The sculptures were looted from the Summer Palace in Beijing when the city was sacked by European armies in the 19th century, and there’s an international campaign in progress to demand the return of stolen cultural treasures to their countries of origin. But Jackie plays a soldier of fortune, not a high-minded patriot. He’s in it for the money. But as events take unexpected turns and strange alliances take shape, motives begin to change…
MOVIE REVIEW:
Touted as Jackie’s last action blockbuster, “Chinese Zodiac” or “CZ12” for short is more of a miss than hit especially for die-hard Jackie fans.
The unofficial third entry to his “Armour of God” series, “CZ12” takes viewers around the world on a globetrotting quest by a team of treasure hunters headed none other than Jackie Chan to track down six bronze sculptures looted from the summer palace in the 19th century.
As per his earlier directorial titles, the plotting of this action adventure is as easy to follow for any national who don’t speak or understand Chinese for that matter. While “Armour of God” and his follow-up, “Operation Condor” was light on story and excellent for its crazy stunts and action, Chan attempts to be slightly more ambitious with this one. That is it comes with a serious-in-your-face-message. The real-life Chan has been closely associated with China politics and it comes as no surprise for him to channel some of that zeal to his movies with a character spouting a prolonged monologue on the evils of treasure looting and frequent lectures on the same subject.
Yet you can’t fault the 59 year old action star for not trying what he does best despite his age. The movie opens with Chan donned in a rollerblade suit speeding down a mountainous hill trying to escape from soldiers hot on his trail. It mimics the insane opening scenes from the earlier instalments but the dazzle is cut short with lackluster editing and camera framing. Later on, our group of treasure hunters even encounters a cheesy gang of pirates on a remote island that is probably shot in a massive studio lot with the help of cheap CGI. The whole sequence meant to be slapstick fun turns out to be plain silly and unnecessary. I don’t even bother counting the number of times I checked my watch to stay awake.
The only highlight of this boring affair comes towards the end when Jackie comes face to face with his opponent, Vulture (French stuntman and actor Alaa Safi) in a warehouse. The confrontation and tight choreography reminds us of Jackie’s heydays unfortunately, the match is quickly dispersed to something else. The finale proceed to have Chan parachuting over a live volcano located in Latvia (again with the mix of CGI) though I’m sure by then, you are already desperate for some funny outtakes instead.
Due to copyright reasons, Chan’s character is no longer referred as Asian Hawk. While he was practically a one-man show in the earlier series, “CZ12” has him operating a la Mission Impossible style with his team mates consisting of Korean drama king Kwon Sang-Woo, Mainland stars Zhang Lanxin (a real-life martial-arts champ who gets to showcase her kick-ass movies in the finale), Liao Fan, Yao Xingtong and French actress Laura Weissbecker. Throw in veteran music composer Jonathan Lee, Taiwanese idol Chen Bolin, Hollywood star Oliver Platt in various forgettable roles with cameos including Shu Qi, Daniel Wu and even Chan’s own wife, the seventies starlet, Lin Fengjiao in a blink-and-miss appearance and audience is going to have a field day spotting the stars.
Jackie Chan being one of my all-time favourite action stars failed to make a lasting impression with his much awaited action epic. It’s a pity considering all the elements of an action blockbuster are right on the table. All those years at Hollywood probably mellow the man known for breaking his bones, I suppose “CZ12” can still find a lot of love elsewhere given its record breaking box office receipts.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The extras consist of Trailers, highlights from the gala premiere at Resort World Sentosa, a Photo Gallery and 3 short Making-Of features which touched on the rollerblade suit, shooting in Paris and the massive set built on a studio lot.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
“CZ12” offers a brimming visual presentation that looks too colourful at times as a result the realism of the jungle sequence is compromised and the background look like a gigantic crayon board. The Dolby Digital 5.1 delivers an overall stunning and immersive audio experience with a heart-pounding score provided by Nathan Wang and gang.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Comedy
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, Gillian Vigman, Sasha Barrese, Jamie Chung, John Goodman
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language And Some Nudity)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: http://www.hangoverpart3.com/
Opening Day: 30 May 2013
Synopsis: It’s been two years. Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Doug (Justin Bartha) are happily living uneventful lives at home. Tattoos have been lasered off, files purged. The last they heard from disaster-magnet Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong), he’d been tossed into a Thai prison and, with him out of the way, the guys have very nearly recovered from their nights prowling the seamy side of Las Vegas in a roofie’d haze, and being kidnapped, shot at, and chased by drug-dealing mobsters in Bangkok. The only member of the Wolfpack who’s not content is Alan (Zach Galifianakis). Still lacking a sense of purpose, the group’s black sheep has ditched his meds and given into his natural impulses in a big way—which, for Alan, means no boundaries, no filters and no judgment—until a personal crisis forces him to finally seek the help he needs. And who better than his three best friends to make sure he takes the first step. This time, there’s no bachelor party. No wedding. What could possibly go wrong? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off. “The Hangover Part III” is the epic conclusion to an incomparable odyssey of mayhem and bad decisions, in which the guys must finish what they started by going back to where it all began: Las Vegas. One way or another…it all ends here.
Movie Review:
How do you achieve an “epic finale to the Hangover trilogy”? By veering entirely from formula it seems. After being accused of essentially rehashing the winning format of the first movie for a more outrageous but all-too similar sequel, filmmaker Todd Phillips has taken a complete departure from the first two movies for his three-quel - most significantly, the fact that there isn’t even a hangover here.
Gone with the titular premise is the backward structure too - the events unfolding entirely in chronological order - beginning with what is probably the most memorable scene in the movie. We’re talking about the graphic decapitation of a giraffe while being transported by the deranged man-child Alan (Zach Galifianakis) in a trailer attached to his sports car, causing a massive freeway pileup and, shortly after, the death of his own father Sid (Jeffrey Tambor) due to sheer exasperation.
As a favour to his family, the other members of the Wolfpack - Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Doug (Justin Bartha) - agree to stage an intervention by driving Alan up to a rehab facility in Arizona. That intervention turns out to be the event which precipitates the rest of the action - en route, the quartet are ambushed by thugs working for the gangster Marshall (John Goodman), who kidnap the ever hapless Doug and force the rest to reconnect with their love-hate pal Mr Chow (Ken Jeong) in order to retrieve some stolen gold.
Their journey will take them first to Tijuana where Mr Chow has fled and then - for no other reason than narrative contrivance - back to Vegas where it all began. Unfortunately, whether by the refreshing hilarity of the first movie or the familiar but still uproarious results of its sequel, the gags in this trilogy capper just fall short. The heist which forms the raison d’etre of their Tijuana detour has but one moment of inspiration - Mr Chow’s inability to perceive colour; and the Vegas shenanigans - entering Mr Chow’s penthouse suite at Caesars’ Palace using tied-together bedsheets, Chow’s subsequent escape by parachute, and Stu’s frantic chase in a limousine - feel bland and uninspired compared to their first visit to Sin City.
Not only do the jokes hardly raise a chuckle, the characters feel more disconnected than ever. Sorely missing here is the chemistry among the stars and their characters that made the two earlier movies such a punchy delight. Banking entirely on fan familiarity, neither Phillips nor his co-writer Craig Mazin bother to build any meaningful dynamic between the de facto group leader Phil and the straight-laced worrier Stu, or for that matter among Phil, Stu and the infantile Alan. Instead, they cheaply turn what had been a tender bromance between Phil and Alan into a none-too subtle physical attraction that the latter develops for the former. Yes, it says a lot when the most interesting character here is one with less than ten minutes of screen time - that is, a mean-talking Vegas pawnbroker played by Melissa McCarthy who develops a mutual soft spot for Alan.
Phillips’ apathy for the characters this time round seems to have rubbed off on the actors. Cooper sleepwalks through the role as if pulling in an obligation before moving on to better and more deserving stuff. Helms looks similarly disengaged, while Galifianakis’ shtick offers little more than what he has already done in the last two movies. Only Ken Jeong possesses a modicum of appeal here, though it is doubtful if everyone will take to his whiny sociopathic tendencies.
And so it is with a whimper, rather than a bang, that ‘The Hangover’ trilogy comes to a close. What started as a politically incorrect and cleverly irreverent R-rated comedy built on a novel narrative twist has since ditched such a premise in favour of a cat-and-mouse chase that has lost both its novelty as well as its ingenuity along the way. In no way is this the “epic finale” that it so deludedly bills itself as, with adjectives such as “dull” and “lacklustre” ultimately more befitting of what is hopefully the end of a franchise that has run out of steam. When Helms turns up in an epilogue with boobs, you know that what used to be caustic, comical and subversive has now turned cheap, crass and plain desperate.
Movie Rating:
(Far from the “epic finale” it bills itself as, this trilogy capper is a dull and lacklustre end to a franchise that has lost its titular premise and apparently its sense of humour along the way)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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