Genre: Comedy
Director: Ong Kuo Sin
Cast: Henry Thia, Chua En Lai, Rebecca Lim, Guo Liang, Edwin Goh, Julie Tan, Sebestian “Broadway Beng” Tan, Wang Yuqing, John Cheng, Mark Lee, Tender Huang, Alice Ko
RunTime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 April 2013
Synopsis: JUDGEMENT DAY centers around several characters, from all works of life, as they decide to share their deepest secrets when it is believed that doomsday will happen in 72 hours. A corrupted cop confesses to his subordinate that he had accepted a bribe before. A married man tells his family his greatest wish is to become a woman. A wife reveals to her husband that she is actually secretly in love with her superior at work. A distraught young lady decides to run away from Singapore and heads for Cambodia, in the process; she breaks up with her finance. But miraculously, everyone survives judgement day. While the whole world rejoices; for those who made irreversible decisions, it is the end of their previous world…
Movie Review:
Do too many cooks spoil the broth? Apparently it does. But as any true blue Singaporean would tell you, it’s always good to have more bang for your buck. On that level, this directorial debut by Ong Kuo Sin delivers. Which other local production do you remember seeing an ensemble cast this strong? Get ready for this: Henry Thia, Richard Low, Chua En Lai, Rebecca Lim, Guo Liang, Edwin Goh, Julie Tan, Sebastian “Broadway Beng” Tan, Wang Yuqing, John Cheng, Mark Lee, Tender Huang and Alice Ko.
And we haven’t even mentioned Adrian Pang’s hilarious cameo as Singapore’s prime minister.
We give credit to the filmmakers for gathering these actors (both veterans and newbies) to tell this story of how common everyday folks will react when doomsday is expected to arrive in 72 hours. But to properly develop the stories of these numerous characters in a 104 minute movie will surely take some skill. The director, whose career began in television, handles this mammoth task adequately, but not to the best effects. Having directed variety shows and sitcoms on TV, Ong Kuo Sin delivers an acceptable movie, but eventually feels diluted because of the many tales and messages involved.
Fortunately for him then, that the cast does a fine job of engaging the viewers. There’s Mark Lee and Wang Yuqing’s pairing of two cops with personal problems. Their screen presence is evidently felt, and the conversation scenes between them are a joy to watch. Then there’s Henry Thia’s character who wishes to be a woman, and Richard Low’s suicidal patient. The quietly affecting exchanges between the two characters are the highlight of the film, and for once, you may actually be touched by Thia’s performance.
Chua Enlai and Rebecca Lim get to travel to Cambodiato tell the story of how we should follow our dreams. Although somewhat contrived, the picturesque landscape and the surprisingly lovely chemistry between the two makes up for the flaws of this segment. There is also a story starring the late John Cheng as a medium who begins to question his own beliefs. Seeing the deceased actor on screen brings about a nostalgic throwback. Elsewhere, there are other stories ranging from corporate world concerns to family problems.
Like other movies of such nature, there are some story threads you’d pay more attention to. Here, the ones you’d enjoy would be those with credible acting. With that said, the segments with Tender Huang feels more like a business decision than anything else, and Sebastian Tan’s involvement as a car salesman seems like a feeler to connect stories together.
The production values aren’t too shoddy, thankfully. The meteorite scenes are nicely executed, and while the movie may feel like countless other digital films in the festival circuit, the cinematography is commendable. It is of considerable effort to break out of the comedy and horror mould that local productions have fallen into, and the filmmakers of this recommended film should be given credit for that. With the production of more such genres, there may come a day when we may actually pay more attention to local movies.
Movie Rating:
(Though not perfect, this thoughtful production is worth your time)
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Fabrice Luchini, Ernst Umhauer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner, Denis Ménochet, Bastien Ughetto, Jean-François Balmer, Yolande Moreau
RunTime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene)
Released By: Festive Films & Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/DansLaMaison.lefilm
Opening Day: 4 April 2013
Synopsis: A sixteen-year-old boy insinuates himself into the house of a fellow student from his literature class and writes about it in essays for his French teacher. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, the teacher rediscovers his enthusiasm for his work, but the boy's intrusion will unleash a series of uncontrollable events.
Movie Review:
Truth be told, we weren’t terribly excited when we read the synopsis of French director Francois Ozon’s latest work, which bagged the main prize at the 2012 San Sebastian International Film Festival, the Golden Shell, as well as the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay. Adapted from Juan Mayorga’s play The Boy in the Last Row, the story’s protagonist is a 16 year old boy who finds himself delving deep into a family’s home matters, after what started out as a literature assignment from his teacher to chronicle a day in his life. The somewhat failed educator becomes obsessed with the essay and what follows is a series of unexpected happenings.
Sounds like a rather mundane plot which probably won’t pull any surprises? Trust the 45 year old filmmaker to come up with a highly engaging screenplay to keep your eyes glued to the screen for the film’s entire 105 minute runtime. From the catchy opening credits to the impacting last scene, you’d be, for a lack of a better description, obsessed with how things will turn out in the boy’s essay.
The critically acclaimed director who also helmed the very entertaining 8 Femmes (2000), the gripping Swimming Pool (2003) and the pensive 5 x 2 (2004), doesn’t resort to gimmicky Hollywoodtactics like high budgeted gun fights, car chases and loud explosions to engage his viewers. Instead, he has a rock solid story and a very capable cast to unfold his tale of obsession, fact and fiction. What stands out is Phillipe Rombi’s score which brings out the tension, humour and drama with the accompanying dialogue, which may seem monotonously drab when left on its own. Jerome Elmaras’ cinematography may not be fanciful like his Hollywoodcounterparts’, but it serves the story well with its grounded approach. The one hour and forty five minute runtime feels just right, thanks to Laure Gardette’s well paced editing.
Ernst Umhauer plays the teenager who discovers his talent for writing through his teacher, and the young actor delivers a memorable performance under Ozon’s masterful direction. His co star Fabrice Luchini has you emphathising with his situation – a failed writer who chose to go into teacher, but never giving up his dream to create stories. The 61 actor plays the role confidently, and has his audiences believing every justification he comes up with for his rather unusual behaviour. Perhaps the most familiar name in the cast list, Kristin Scott Thomas has screen presence as the teacher’s wife who simply wants her unorthodox art gallery to do well. Watch out also for Emmanuelle Seigner, better known as French Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski’s wife, who plays the “most bored woman in the world”. Her performance as the woman holding the household together is almost heart breaking.
This is a must watch for all film lovers, and one must admit films like this do not appear very often in local cinemas. When the credits roll, you’d be highly impressed by how a clever screenplay can keep you entertained and actually feeling intelligent, without going in the direction of what Hollywooddefines as “blockbuster”.
Movie Rating:
(An entertaining piece of art which will have you redefining the concepts of obsession, fact and fiction)
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama
Director: Choo Chang-min
Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Ryu Seung-ryong, Han Hyo-joo, Jang Gwang, Kim In-kwon, Shim Eun-kyung, Kim Myung-gon
RunTime: 2 hrs 11 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Festive Films & Scorpio East Pictures
Official Website: http://newking2012.interest.me/
Opening Day: 11 April 2013
Synopsis: MASQUERADE (Gwang-hae: The Man Who Became King) is a South Korean historical film starring Lee Byung-hun in dual roles as the bizarre King Gwang-hae and the humble acrobat Ha-sun, who stands in for the monarch when he faces the threat of being poisoned.
The paranoid 15th ruler of Korea's Joseon Dynasty, King Gwanghae (LEE Byung-hun), orders his chief secretary Heo Gyun (RYOO Seung-ryong) to find him a double in order to evade the constant threat of assassination. Heo Gyun finds Ha-seon, a performer of satirical farces who bears a remarkable resemblance to the king. Just as feared, Gwanghae is poisoned shortly thereafter. The chief secretary proposes Ha-seon fill the role of the king until the bed-ridden monarch recovers fully, and grooms Ha-seon to act every bit the part.
While assuming the role of ruler at his first official appearance, Ha-seon begins to ponder the intricacies of the problems debated in his court. Being fundamentally more humanitarian than Gwanghae, Ha-seon’s affection and appreciation of even the most minor servants slowly changes morale in the palace for the better. Over time he finds his voice and takes control of governing the country with real insight and fair judgments. Even the chief secretary is moved by Ha-seon’s genuine concern for the people, and realizes he is an infinitely better ruler than Gwanghae.
However, the king's chief opposition, Park Chung-seo (KIM Myung-gon), notices the sudden shift in the king’s behavior and starts to ask questions. The queen (HAN Hyo-joo) is also conflicted between the real king and the fake king’s secret.
Movie Review:
This much is history – in the eighth year of King Gwang-hae’s reign during the 17th century Joseon dynasty, there was a sudden reversal of policies that had favoured the aristocracy. Suddenly, the wealthy were made to pay more taxes and the same burden lightened on both the peasants as well as the middle-class. The noble were also ordered not to exploit the poor as slaves, lest they face the wrath of the King. Strangely enough, it is during this period that the Annals contain fifteen missing days, preceded by an intriguing entry that reads ‘one must not record that which he wishes to hide’.
Inspired by this fascinating set of events, director and co-screenwriter Choo Chang-min imagine a fantastical scenario along the lines of Mark Twain’s seminal novel ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ and Ivan Reitman’s political satire ‘Dave’ where a look-alike commoner swaps places with the King and thereby institutes badly needed ground-up reforms. The excuse for such a body swap? The threat of assassination, which in the opening minutes is shown leaving King Gwanghae spooked and doubting the trust of even those closest to him – the Queen and her brother Yoo Jong-ho.
Under his orders, his loyal Chief Secretary Heo Gyun (Ryoo Seung-yong) finds a doppelganger in Ha-seon, a jester at a courtesan’s place who impersonates the King for popular amusement. Barely after his audition, Ha-seon is thrust onto the throne when the King is poisoned and falls unconscious, leading the Chief Secretary to activate the former so that the country does not descend into chaos. What ensues is an enthralling mix of comedy and drama done with a lot of heart, all three elements combining to render this one of the very best Korean films we have seen in a long while.
Indeed, the experience that Chang-min invites his audience to partake is similar to Ha-seon’s own transformation. Not used to the life of royalty, Ha-seon initially struggles with its customary practices – most notably the lack of privacy – and like the awkward adjustments he has to make, the first half of the film goes for a light-hearted tone with generous but genuine laughs. A particular laugh-out-loud sequence has him failing to understand the inordinate amount of attention paid to the daily movement of his bowels, but most of the humour is more subtle but no less amusing – especially a running gag where his regular closed-door meetings with the Chief Secretary are interrupted by the need to perform an abrupt switch of positions when his night snack is delivered.
Even in these early moments, it is clear that Ha-seon has more empathy than the real King ever had. This is portrayed in both the smaller moments – after learning that his leftovers go towards feeding the Royal servants, Ha-seon specially eats only a basic bowl of bean gruel to leave the rest of the dishes to those who prepared it – as well as a more fully fleshed arc that sees him try to restore the rightful presence of the Queen (Han Hyo-joo) in relation to the throne. It is also a perfect precursor for Ha-seon’s subsequent transformation, as he grows increasingly unwilling to be just a puppet for the Chief Secretary.
Instead, Ha-seon begins to rule by common sense, putting in place badly needed reforms so swiftly that they stun the rest of his political circle. More importantly, he ends up antagonising the very traitors who had masterminded the King’s poisoning, setting the stage for a gripping showdown where not just his identity but his very life is on the line. And yet even in the face of clear and present danger, Ha-seon shows unexpected mettle, choosing instead to stand firm for his beliefs and decisions rather than scuttle away to safety, earning the admiration of the Chief Secretary and the Chief Eunuch (Jang Gwang) who realise that Ha-seon was an even better ruler of the people than the King himself.
Though Chang-min provides a steady directorial hand to the compelling tale, what truly knocks it out of the park is Lee Byung Hun’s bravura acting, holding the screen with poise and charisma. As King Gwanghae, he is arrogant, petulant and utterly contemptible; but as Ha-seon, he is lively and charming at the beginning and affectionate and empathetic later on. One of the best – and most touching – scenes in the whole film has Ha-seon agreeing out of resignation to his advisers’ proposal for 20,000 men to be essentially sent to their death to help the Ming dynasty and then retracting it with a most forceful proclamation of his duties as a King of the people; that very sequence a perfect illustration of Byung Hun’s regal performance.
Outstanding in their own right too are the various supporting acts, including Seung-yong’s righteous Chief Secretary who eventually finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place and Jang Gwang’s Chief Eunuch who begins to have a change of heart about the masquerade when he sees the goodness in Ha-seon’s rule. Worthy of mention as well is rising teen star Shim Eun-kyung as one of the Royal servants to whom Ha-seon develops a personal connection with when he vows to right the injustice to her poor family by reuniting her with her mother and sister taken as slaves. Rare is the film that is wonderfully acted by every single cast, and one supposes that this is testament to the power of Byung Hun’s own leading anchor.
The top-notch quality of the production is also evident in the sumptuous sets and lavish costumes, which add class and pomp to a wonderfully acted, cleverly scripted and confidently directed film. All the jokes and intrigue isn’t just for entertainment; indeed, its message of justice, benevolence and fairness is as true to the rule of governance today as it is four hundred years ago. That relevance gives it real heft, and whether you are a fan of period dramas, we urge you to see what we think is one of the finest Korean movies we have seen, brilliant and beautiful in its humour, poignancy and most of all, heart.
Movie Rating:
(Buoyed by Lee Byung Hun’s finest performance to date, this period drama that is one of the best Korean movies in a long while is engaging, entertaining, poignant and surprisingly inspirational)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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HASBRO'S NEW IRON MAN 3 'ASSEMBLERS' LINE FEATURES INTERCHANGEABLE ARMOUR SYSTEM FOR GREATER CUSTOMISATIONPosted on 08 Mar 2013 |
SYNOPSIS: STOLEN follows Will Montgomery (Nicolas Cage), a master thief who has been sent to prison for eight years after being double-crossed in a heist gone awry. Upon his release, he s ready to leave his criminal past behind and rebuild his relationship with estranged daughter, Alison Loeb (Sami Gayle). Montgomery's former criminal cohorts and FBI agent Tim Harlend (Danny Huston), are all convinced that the $10 Million dollars was hidden away by Montgomery before he was sentenced. In order to get his hands on it, former partner in crime, Vincent (Josh Lucas), kidnaps Alison and demands the missing loot as ransom; giving Montgomery one day to deliver. Montgomery is left with only one choice: To trust his instincts and join forces again with another old partner in crime, the beautiful, sexy and smart Riley Jeffers (Malin Akerman). Together they must pull off one more heist so he can get his daughter back... before it's too late.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Nicolas Cage is a name that is associated with bad productions in recent years. A check with imdb shows that the prolific actor has taken on roles such as a sorcerer, bad lieutenant, a ghost rider, a vengeful father from hell and many more since 2009 but none impressing the audience and the critics.
Sad to say, “Stolen” his only screen presence in 2012 is not going to break the trend.
Cage plays Will Montgomery, a master thief who just came out from prison after being caught in a bank heist that gone awry eight years ago. His only wish now is to rekindle his relationship with his estranged teenage daughter, Alison. However his ex-partner Vincent (Josh Lucas) who believed Will has stashed away their $10 million loot decide to kidnap Alison and demand that Will return his share to him. Desperate to rescue his daughter, Will has to turn to another ex-partner, Riley (Malin Akerman) for help to raise the ransom while risk being caught by FBI agents who have been trailing him.
The aptly titled “Stolen” promptly stole the gist of the story from “Taken” minus all the bells and whistles that make the Liam Neeson’s action thriller so attractive. The script penned by David Guggenheim (Safe House) is overall illogical and lost. It’s ok to dismiss the loopholes if the movie is ridiculous enough to entertain but “Stolen” has none of the wits and thrills to pull things off. Will Montgomery has to burn all his loot before he gets caught by the Feds. And you thought a master thief liked Will has a better Plan B. Secondly, Will has to drive a burning taxi to a river knowing his daughter is still trapped in the trunk of the vehicle. Even the gold vault of a bank can be easily accessible through some sewer pipes below. How absurd is that?
Simon West who directed Cage in “Con Air” and earned back some street credit with “The Expendables 2” apparently is at a loss with the material. Aside from a decent car chase and a shootout, there’s nothing impressive from West who is an old hand in the action genre. In fact it reeks of boredom. As if influenced by his co-star, the over-the-top Cage, the usually handsome Josh Lucas (Poseidon) puts on a sadistic performance as the villainous Vincent for some need be entertainment with Swedish-Canadian actress Malin Akerman (Rock of Ages) providing the eye candy and Danny Huston (Hitchcock) doing an embarrassing turn in sleuthing.
This is Cage’s third movie shot in New Orleans after “Bad Lieutenant” and “Seeking Justice” (both skipping the theatrical releases here) and while it offers the famous Mardi Gras which provides the lacklustre action piece some desperate colours, it’s still a B-movie that never truly satisfies on the whole.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
“Stolen” fares well in the visual department with its strong display of colours and crisp images. The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track features the occasional atmospheric sound effects nothing fanciful or overwhelming to the ears.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Welcome to Hotel Transylvania Dracula's lavish five-stake resort where monsters and their families can live it up and no humans are allowed. One special weekend Dracula (Adam Sandler) has invited all his best friends Frankenstein and his wife the Mummy the Invisible Man the Werewolf family and more to celebrate his beloved daughter Mavis's (Selena Gomez) 118th birthday. For Dracula catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem but the party really starts when one ordinary guy stumbles into the hotel and changes everything!
MOVIE REVIEW:
Genndy Tartkovsky’s involvement is the only bright spot in this release by Sony Pictures Animation or so it seems. The ex-Cartoon Network animator of “Samurai Jack” and “Star Wars: Clone Wars” fame managed to revive the long-troubled project within a year but failed to breathe much soul to “Hotel Transylvania”.
It’s not entirely Tartkovsky’s fault though given the animation has already been through dozens of rewrites thus for better or worse, “Hotel Transylvania” turned out nothing liked Tartkovsky’s previous works that consist of abstracted flat drawings. In fact, the storytelling on the whole reeks so much liked a Happy Madison production - insipid and strictly for the kids and the animation design hardly surpassed another of Sony title, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”.
The name, Adam Sandler isn’t exactly reassuring nowadays. He and his gang of Happy Madison cohorts voiced Count Dracula, Frankenstein (Kevin James), Invisible Man (David Spade), Werewolf (Steve Buscemi) and Mummy (Cee Lo Green) respectively as they join the rest of the monsters and creatures at Hotel Transylvania to celebrate the 118th birthday of Dracula’s teenage daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez). But the over-protective Dracula’s plan is thwarted by a human, Jonathan (Andy Samberg) who accidentally stumbled into the hotel. Chaos arises as Dracula try to passes Jonathan off as a fellow monster but what he least unexpected is his baby Mavis falling in love with a human.
There’s an abundant amount of silly humour (fart and poop jokes aplenty), non-stop dazzling action and a variety of old-school cinematic monsters to keep everyone glue to the screen. It’s an animation tailored for the iPad generation, it doesn’t matter if the gags are funny or not and honestly once the characters are established in the first act, nothing else seems interesting anymore. Despite Sandler and gang putting in their best effort hamming up with their comedic voice performances, the sole clever gag is one targeted at “Twilight” while the rest is so predictable and bursting with repetitive family messages about father and daughter relationship that the filmmakers need to throw in a couple of musical numbers to cover up the glaring emptiness.
Without the playfulness of “Monsters Inc” and inventiveness of “ParaNorman”, “Hotel Transylvania” looks set to be another mediocre animation title that is aimed to entertain the younger crowd. For a moment, we thought Tartkovsky can boast up the quality of Sony animation slate, looks like we still need to wait a little longer.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Goodnight Mr Foot is a cute mini movie directed by Tartakovsky himself.
There’s 3 unfinished Deleted Scenes one involving Dracula’s love story with his wife.
Obviously not a segment targeted at the younger audience, director Genndy Tartakovsky, Producer Michelle Murdocca, and Visual Effects Supervisor Daniel Kramer participate in the Audio Commentary which discussed in detail the technical side of making the animation.
Also on the DVD is a Music Video and Behind The Scenes of Becky G’s “Problem (Monster Remix)”
Lastly, if you put this DVD onto the computer, there’s a link to Fun Games. Additional bonuses for the kids of course.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Although the movie features a huge amount of dark scenes, the visual transfer on the whole offers a striking and detailed presentation. Audio is immersive with several instances of surround sound effects and the rocking musical numbers will keep the children jumping with joy.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Horror
Director: Adam Wingard, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, David Bruckner, Joe Swanberg, Ti West
Cast: Joe Swanberg, Adam Wingard, Sophia Takal, Kate Lyn Sheil, Calvin Reeder, Lane Hughes
RunTime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language, Nudity and Gore)
Released By: Jalan Distributors Asia
Official Website:
Opening Day: 21 March 2013
Synopsis: When a group of petty criminals is hired by a mysterious party to retrieve a rare piece of found footage from a rundown house in the middle of nowhere, they soon realize that the job isn't going to be as easy as they thought. In the living room, a lifeless body holds court before a hub of old television sets, surrounded by stacks upon stacks of VHS tapes. As they search for the right one, they are treated to a seemingly endless number of horrifying videos, each stranger than the last.
Movie Review:
Your appetite for ‘sick shit’ will ultimately determine how much you enjoy ‘V/H/S’, the latest found footage movie that tries to be different by being an anthology. Essentially a collection of five other shorts connected by a single wrapper that unfolds in between, it makes no apologies for going the whole ten years to shock and terrify you, so take that as fair warning that it is not for the faint-hearted or for the squeamish.
Conceived by Brad Miska – better known as the founder of the website ‘Bloody Disgusting’ – it approaches the horror genre with a certain reverence to the grunginess that it was associated with in the past, and we’re not just referring to the aesthetics associated with ‘found footages’. All the shorts here – as the title suggests – are meant to evoke an era when horror was a little rawer because of the very nature of VHS footage, so expect the same graininess and other concomitant interferences to be associated with the format.
But more than just a gimmick, it is a plot device neatly worked into director Adam Wingard’s bridging short ‘Tape 56’, where a group of hoodlums get more than what they bargain for after they invade a private home to retrieve a videotape. A seemingly dead old man sitting in an armchair in an upstairs room isn’t the only weird thing they find; in that same house, they find a whole stash of video cassettes, five of which become the shorts that this compilation is made up of.
Other than the fact that each is no less twisted than the other, there is no connection between these shorts. Still, each one of the five directors - Ti West, Joe Swanberg, Glenn McQuaid, David Bruckner and Radio Silence – seem to have made an unspoken pact with one another to go for maximum shock value, such that every death happens with plenty of onscreen gore purposely designed to make you revolt in disgust, exacerbated by the matter-of-fact manner in which most occur.
That’s especially true for the middle two shorts – McQuaid’s ‘Tuesday the 17th’ and Swanberg’s ‘The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger’ – which are probably the most potentially disturbing among the lot. The former has a virtual killer which only shows up as static on tape going after four college kids who are misled by one of them to take a journey into the woods, his modus operandi not excluding dismemberment; while the latter unfolds over web-cam between a pair of lovers as they attempt to uncover just what is going bump in the night in the girl’s apartment, the latter literally digging under her skin to uncover the source of a persistent irritation.
Compared to McQuaid’s cabin-in-the-woods tale and Swanberg’s extreme ‘Paranormal Activity’, the other three appear tame by comparison. Bruckner’s cautionary tale on picking up strange girls at a bar – ‘Amateur Night’ – remains pretty safe until the last bit where said mysterious girl turns into a literal maneater; and Radio Silence’s ‘10/31/98’ where another such group of guys on a disorderly rampage apparently interrupt a Satanic cult’s sacrifice of a girl is pretty much standard ‘Exorcist’ stuff. Finally, West’s ‘Second Honeymoon’ leaves the horror right till the end, is over before you know it, and is easily the most disappointing one of the lot.
Still, there is plenty to unnerve perhaps even the most seasoned horror viewer in this decidedly low-budget faux-found footage anthology. There are no cheap scares like the typical Hollywood polished horror; instead, this is as raw and visceral as it gets, with scenes that matter going for the jugular (and yes, we do mean it literally) for extreme audience impact. By that attribute, it won’t endear the casual viewer, but anyone looking for no-holds-barred horror will appreciate what Miska and his assembly of six filmmakers have accomplished.
Movie Rating:
(Plenty of shock and terrify scenes that will please those looking for raw visceral horror; everyone else has been warned to stay away)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Prepare for adventure when 'the most original film in years' (Bryan Erdy, CBS-TV) that thrilled audiences of all ages drops on Blu-ray! From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping journey in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph. For decades, Ralph has played the bad guy in his popular video game. In a bold move, he embarks on an action-packed adventure and sets out to prove to everyone that he is a true hero with a big heart. As he explores exciting new worlds, he teams up with some unlikely new friends including feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz. Then, when an evil enemy threatens their world, Ralph realizes he holds the fate of the entire arcade in his massive hands.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Overshadowed by his younger brother, Pixar and Jeff Katzenberg’s DreamWorks Animation for the past decade or so, the once glorious Disney Animation finally score a home run with “Wreck-It-Ralph”.
The various elements including the story, character and visual designs of “Wreck-It-Ralph” are destined to capture the imagination of both the young and old. However, the flow of it tends to be slightly uneven especially in the mid act. Still, it’s not entirely a train wreck. The screenplay by Jennifer Lee and Phil Johnston started off strongly and we are introduced to our two protagonists, goodie-two shoes Fix-It Felix, Jr (Jack McBrayer) and villain, Wreck-It-Ralph (John C Reilly), two video game characters that are featured in the arcade game, Fix-It Felix, Jr. Tired of being the undesirable villain, Ralph decides to leave his own game and travel to other games in search of being a hero.
For the adults, you will definitely go ga-ga over the inside jokes and video game references especially for those who grow up with 8 bit arcade games. Try spotting a parade of official licensed characters from Sega, Capcom and Atari even cream-puff mascot Beard Papa makes a cameo as a security guard. When Ralph heads over to a first-person shooter game for a shot at a medal, the movie turned into a massive exhilrating war zone that will make fans of Call of Duty squeal in delight. Kudos also to Jane Lynch (From “Glee”) who plays her animated self, Sergeant Calhoun with much zest.
Unfortunately, things turn a little too sweet when Ralph ended up in a candy-themed kart racing game, “Sugar Rush” and met a glitchy character, Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman). This is the part of the delightful movie that nearly lost me with all the cute racers and colourful game world but you can’t deny the ultra-impressive technical wizardry and dazzling backdrops of “Sugar Rush” that will charm the socks of the young ones.
Every animated movie out there comes with a loveable, tireless message for the whole family and so is “Wreck-It-Ralph”. You can be sure Ralph, Vanellope and Felix is going to have a happy ending and the villain (Oh yes there is one bad guy indeed and it’s not Ralph) will get his comeuppance. For first-time feature movie director Rich Moore (“The Simpsons”, “Futurama”), it is a triumph for sure. Original, wacky and clever, I take it as this is Disney’s version of “Toy Story”. It’s never too late for the House of the Mouse to make a long-delayed comeback.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Paperman: Theatrical Short, the black-and-white, loving story of a man chasing after the woman he loves is included in the DVD .
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Eye-popping colors and nicely detailed images filled this DVD while dialogue is clear and the sound effects are immersive and strong.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: In order to let things cool down from their latest heist, Popeye and his group of thieves go to Macao on a job. But the mastermind behind this job is none other than Popeye’s old partner Macao Park, who escaped with 68kg of gold several years ago on their last job together. Macao Park brought Chinese thieves as well but little did they know what Macao Park planned for each one of them. But his plan takes an unexpected turn when Popeye brings Pepsi, an old flame of Macao Park, to settle the old score. The thieves’ target is a $20 million diamond known as ‘Tear of the Sun’, kept safely away in a casino, brought there to be sold by a notorious Chinese fence. While working together to steal this fabled diamond, they all have their own agenda to keep the diamond for themselves. But who will succeed and live to see another day?
MOVIE REVIEW:
At first glance, “The Thieves” is like the Korean version of the immensely popular “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise. Boasting fancy locations, an ensemble cast and a intriguing plot. But the similarities stop here. The script by director Choi Dong-Hun is filled with plenty of twists and turns that it’s hard for audiences to predict the outcome till the very end.
Taking his time to tell his story, Choi set up an amusing prologue establishing his bunch of merry men and women in this case, a group of small-time crooks including a middle-age alcoholic, Gum (Kim Hae-Sook), hot babe Yenicall (Gianna Jun), a young man Jampano (Kim Soo-Hyun) and led by their fake-mustached leader, Popeye (Lee Jung-Jae). When their last gig gets a bit heated, the gang decides to travel to Macau when Popeye’s ex-partner, Macau Park (Kim Yoon-Seok) invites them to join in a heist to steal the $20 million worth Tear of the Sun diamond. Old wounds are reopened and dangerous men are hot on their trail. Will the diamond successfully fall into their hands?
“The Thieves” retained the playful tone of Soderbergh’s trilogy in general but Choi has something else up his sleeves as the narrative starts to get busier and far more serious during the last 45 minutes. Much of the fun is seeing the various members doing what they do best for example Yenicall doing her usual rappelling business, Jampano getting awkward with a gay security head and Gum pretending to be a rich Japanese tai-tai. And did I mention the Korean members are paired up with their Hong Kong counterparts led by Chen (Simon Yam) and Julie (Angelica Lee) just to spice up the chemistry. The caper itself doesn’t involve any fanciful machinery or big-scale action sets yet it is all slickly executed under the watchful eyes of Choi.
The finale which took place in a single building pulled off more exhilarating surprises as Macau Park battles off his opponents while hanging on wires and Yenicall and Popeye getting stuck in an elevator shaft amid the gunfire. What’s more there’s an entangled romance affair involving Macau Park, Popeye and safe cracker Pepsi (Kim Hye-Soo) that is revealed and the real reason behind Park’s motive in getting his hands on the diamond. It’s crazy how Choi manages to juggle so many elements at one go yet still has the time to showcase a sexy moment of Gianna Jun just to please the male audience.
“The Thieves” is definitely K-cinema at its very best, a sprawling unpretentious entertainment piece worth every minute of its running time.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Just a Photo Gallery and Trailer
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The DVD boasts a sharp transfer and dialogue is clear. Surround sound is confined to a 2.0 mix which dilute the overall audio enjoyment.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Ten years ago, Cheung Sub Sam (Ekin Cheng) and Yo Yo Ma (Charlene Choi) got married to fulfill a promise by their parents, only to fall in love with each other for real regardless of their huge age gap in "My Wife Is 18". Now, Sam is experiencing midlife crisis while Yo Yo begins to think that her husband is dull, not aggressive enough, and lacks planning. Similarly, Yo Yo's wilfulness and shopping habit is deemed as immature by Sam. In a twist of events, the couple finds that the priest who certified their marriage is not recognized officially, rendering their marriage invalid. Working as a University lecture in Psychology, Sam meets a new student from Beijing, Tong Yi (Zhang Xinyi), and subsequently falls for her sweet and intelligent personality. On the other side, Yoyo's life became more boring and aimless, that is, until she runs into her old schoolmate, Lam Shu Ho (Izz Tsui), who has admired her since childhood. But Yo Yo and Sam should find that they long for the past…
MOVIE REVIEW:
Ten years after the modest hit ‘My Wife is 18’, Ekin Cheng and Charlene Choi reunite with co-writer/ director James Yuen for this mildly amusing but ultimately forgettable sequel. To be sure, we’re not sure what prompted Yuen to mount a retread of his previous film – after all, he would be much better off penning more original and inspired material like ‘Lost in Time’ and ‘My Name is Fame’ – and yet if there’s anything that this unnecessary sequel proves, it is that things don’t always get better the second time round.
Respecting the time since its predecessor, Ekin Cheng’s university lecturer Thirteen Cheung and Charlene Choi’s clothing boutique owner Yoyo Ma have been married for ten years – though the years since their marriage have not changed either of them much, except for the fact that what seemed adorable in the past has gradually grown irritating and even annoying. Instead of loving exchanges, Thirteen and Yoyo are constantly on each other’s nerves, and so when Thirteen learns that Yoyo has been hiding the fact for some time that the priest which married them back in 2002 was unlicensed, he decides to take the opportunity to call for a re-assessment of their ‘marriage’.
As formula calls for it, it is precisely in their lowest moment that both Thirteen and Yoyo will be tempted by other potential suitors. Thirteen’s happens to be one of his students, Maggie (Zhang Xinyi), a part-time model and part-time cook who is much more mature and independent than Yoyo ever was; while Yoyo’s turns out to be her childhood friend Potato (Jeremy Xu), whom she had made a silly promise when she was still a kid to marry just before he left for overseas. Is there any doubt Thirteen and Yoyo will eventually reconcile? Not a chance. This is as feel-good as it can get, so don’t go expecting some sort of revelation at the end.
Rather, what happens in between are a series of situational gags, some humorous while it lasts and others which simply fall flat. The best moments come courtesy of the film’s co-stars, Joyce Cheng and Wong Cho-Lam. The former plays Yoyo’s cousin and a scene where she and Yoyo crash Maggie’s home-cooked dinner for Thirteen is as funny as it gets. On the other hand, Cho-Lam plays against type as their dour-faced neighbour who gets away with being bossy and brusque with his wife. In fact, both Joyce and Cho-Lam outshine Xinyi and Potato, lending the somewhat middling proceedings some much-needed comic energy.
The same can be said of Ekin and Charlene, whose reunion here lacks the spark that made the original more delightful. Without the context of the first film, you’ll probably be thinking that the two are better off apart than together, ironically as a result of the two bickering too successfully with each other. There’s little here other than sheer narrative contrivance to suggest why Thirteen and Yoyo are right for each other, and when that happily-ever-after rolls along, you won’t quite feel the same measure of visceral happiness for their characters as you would at the end of the first movie.
If anything, this sequel recalls the romantic comedies of the 1990s which were a dime-a-dozen from the Hong Kong cinema industry. Shallow, predictable, with some good bits scattered here and there, these movies were usually good only for ‘star-gazers’ – and indeed, ‘My Sassy Hubby’ is good only for seeing two born and bred Hong Kong actors/ actresses together on screen. One wishes that there would be more justification for making a sequel ten years after the original, but sadly we can say this offers little gratification.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Besides the Trailer and Photo Gallery, there's a Making-Of featurette which shows the stars having fun getting together a decade after the original.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Thankfully, this DVD comes in both the film's original Cantonese and dubbed Mandarin audio track - no prices for guessing which we recommend to get the best out of the movie's topical jokes. Visuals are clear and sharp.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
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