Genre: Thriller
Director: Brad Anderson
Cast: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Michael Imperioli, Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, Justina Machado, Ella Rae Peck, Roma Maffia
RunTime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.call-movie.com/site/
Opening Day: 2 May 2013
Synopsis: When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Halle Berry), takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life.
Movie Review:
Emergency call operators have it tough: it’s a tremendously stressful job, demanding calmness and quick thinking that could make the difference between life and death. In The Call, Halle Berry stars as Jordan Turner, a 911 call operator with the Los Angeles Police Department traumatised by an SOS from a kidnapped girl that ended on a grisly note due to a mistake on Jordan’s part. Deeply rattled by the loss, she keeps a picture the victim in her locker, a silent reminder of what keeps her away from the frontline as she falls back on a more logistical role of coaching new staff. Jordan clinically dishes out advice on how to handle the job: never get too personal, never make promises you can’t keep. Whenever anyone in a brittle state makes absolute statements in this vein, it’s just a matter of time before they do precisely what they preach against.
The day comes when Jordan makes the decision to step in for an inexperienced colleague struggling with a particularly challenging call for help. The dread mounts, like a recurrent nightmare, when she realises it’s yet another young girl screaming for her life in the middle of an abduction, but this time Jordan’s determined to get the victim Casey (Abigail Breslin) out alive. She keeps Casey on the line for as long as possible, drawing clues on the girl’s location through Q&A while advising her on resourceful ways to get help, despite being locked in the trunk of an unidentified car. They’re on the move, she’s using a phone that can’t be tracked via GPS, and everyone’s trying their darned hardest to pin down the location of the kidnapper. Both women are caught in tight spaces, trying to reach beyond their enclosures.
Up to this point, The Call’s level of suspense is still high, its tension taut. Brad Anderson’s expertise in crafting tense thrillers such as his best-known work The Machinist (a cult favourite which starred an emaciated Christian Bale) is evident until the moment Casey and her kidnapper (Michael Eklund) get off the highway and into the woods. To minimise spoilers, let’s just say that it moves into territory that could possibly be described as ‘soft torture porn’ with a storyline that is mired in quicksand. If you find yourself asking seemingly obvious questions about why certain characters act the way they do, don't expect any adequate answers. As the show progresses, its pacing and logic quickly unravel and the ending unfortunately feels like a cut-and-paste job.
The two female leads, one an Academy Award winner and the other a nominee, are easy to root for. As a dedicated and empathetic 911 call operator, Berry does a fair job as a tough cookie who keeps it together amidst overwhelming odds. Breslin, on the other hand, doesn’t need to stretch her acting chops much as a frightened teenager caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Movie Rating:
(Despite its promising premise, The Call is best left as a missed one)
Review by Wong Keng Hui
Genre: Crime/Drama
Director: Harmony Korine
Cast: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Korine, Heather Morris
RunTime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: R21 (Mature Theme, Sexual Scenes And Drug Use)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:
Opening Day: 2 May 2013
Synopsis: Four sexy college girls plan to fund their spring break getaway by burglarizing a fast food shack. But that’s only the beginning... At a motel room rager, fun reaches its legal limit and the girls are arrested and taken to jail. Hungover and clad only in bikinis, the girls appear before a judge but are bailed out unexpectedly by Alien (James Franco), an infamous local thug who takes them under his wing and leads them on the wildest Spring Break trip in history. Rough on the outside but with a soft spot inside, Alien wins over the hearts of the young Spring Breakers, and leads them on a Spring Break they never could have imagined.
Movie Review:
It’s tempting to try to read more into Harmony Korine’s candy-coloured teenage movie, and indeed many have already praised it for being a savage social commentary on the younger generation’s pursuit of hedonistic pleasures. But there is a thin line between adulation and satire, and unfortunately Korine’s exercise of style over substance means that it’s not easy to recognise whether he is in fact embracing or criticising the very hedonism his movie portrays.
No matter though – if there’s one thing we’re sure you will agree on, it is that there is something hypnotic about it, an oddly engaging quality that draws you in right from the get-go. That isn’t just about, as the poster promises, the ample display of bikinis, breasts and booze; aside from these superficial pleasures that are surely to please the male gender, Korine uses several stylistic flourishes to lend his movie a certain hallucinatory feel, giving you a heady high as if you were there engaging in the same pleasure-seeking rituals as the four female protagonists.
With able assistance from Benoit Debie’s vivid cinematography, Korine ensures that every shot of the movie is alluring – whether the daytime sun-soaked exteriors or the neon-bright splashes in the night – and perhaps even more so with the handheld camerawork. Instead of sticking with a usual linear narrative, Korine adds brief flash-forwards and flashbacks to keep you guessing how the shots piece together. That intrigue is complemented by a bravado electronic score by Cliff Martinez and dubstep musician Skrillex, the effect of which is no less mesmerising than that of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ work on ‘The Social Network’.
It’s a pretty neat technical package to say the least, but more discerning viewers won’t take long to recognise that all the visual trickery might be to disguise a paper-thin story that borders on narcissism. True to its title, Korine’s own screenplay follows Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine, or Harmony’s real-life wife) as the four Southern college girls take off for spring break in Florida. Like a ‘Girls Gone Wild’ short padded to feature-length, there are countless sorts of titillation with drugs, drinks and all other sorts of debauchery.
Adopting the girls’ own hazy, hyped-up viewpoints at this stage, Korine continuously repeats certain lines of dialogue to emphasise the ecstasy his characters are feeling – and though meant as an artistic technique, it is also likely to reinforce criticism that his movie is in fact running on empty. Things start to get serious – or not – when the four co-eds are arrested for narcotics and made to spend a night in lockup wearing just their bikinis. Hauled before a judge who serves them another night in jail unless they make bail, they are unexpectedly sprung by a local gangsta rappa named Alien (James Franco).
Alien wants them for his own criminal enterprise, so he brings them back to his beachfront crib where he promptly proceeds to brandish wads of cash, bricks of dope and high-power weaponry. Faith is the first to get cold feet, her Christian upbringing hinted at only the start at odds with Alien’s sleazy lifestyle; next to bail is Cotty, after being wounded by Alien’s best friend turned business rival Archie (Gucci Mane); and that leaves Brit and Candy for the inevitable showdown between Alien and Archie where they boldly don pink ski masks and wield AK-47s while in their bikinis.
It’s cartoonish to say the least, even more so for the fact that the dozen or so bodyguards Brit and Candy gun down without compunction seem to be too distracted by bouncing white flesh to shoot straight, so much so that Brit and Candy survive with nary a wound on their bodies. Not a single bit of it ultimately rings true, undermining the assumption – which might perhaps be its ambition after all – of being more than a portrayal of youthful excess that suffers from its own excessive self-indulgence.
Yet to give credit where it’s due, Korine does manage to exhibit some flashes of brilliance. Early on, Brit, Candy and Cotty’s daring robbery of a Chicken Delight to get them enough money for their trip is shot in a beautiful glide-by tracking sequence. Even more memorable is a peculiarly poignant shot of Brit and Candy standing in their bikinis next to Alien crooning a heartfelt cover of Britney Spears’ ‘Everytime’ while playing the piano. And then of course, there is Alien himself, a white caricature of a creation sporting cornrows, gold teeth and a dollar-sign neck tattoo who is nevertheless difficult to take your eyes off.
Thanks to a wonderfully eccentric performance by Franco, Alien is quite something altogether, both funny and disturbing in equal measure and delightfully loopy. Not even in his previous collaborations with foul-mouthed comedians (e.g. Jason Segel and Seth Rogen) have we seen him this energised, and even with less flesh on display, he steals the show from the young nubile actresses. Of the four, none particularly stands out on her own, and when the novelty of watching former Disney girls Gomez and Hudgens break out of their goody-two-shoes mould expires, you’ll realise that whether actor or character each is just as vapid as the next.
And perhaps you’ll also be inclined to say the same about the movie, which we warn you, you’re likely to either love or hate. Those familiar with Korine’s method however will know that he makes no apologies for it, so if you’re a fan, then you’re likely to think it edgy and subversive. Still, there will be those who see it as a very product of hedonism that it aims to depict, especially in how Korine’s camera slowly lingers over gyrating flesh as if he were a sleaze monger. Being polarising is not a bad thing in itself, but our suspicion is that Korine wanted to have his cake and eat it, i.e. to offer the same pleasures that it decries. We’ll leave you to your opinion of that; but if you’re keen to check this out, then at least on the promise of parading skin, Korine delivers on that count.
Movie Rating:
(If a skin parade is what you’re looking for, a skin parade is what you’ll get; everyone else looking for more ought to be warned – whether you find some deeper meaning to it is highly subjective)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort, Julianne Moore
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website: http://www.facebook.com/CarrieMovie
Opening Day: 24 October 2013
Synopsis: A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother (Julianne Moore), who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.
Movie Review:
If there’s one way to get ignorant youngsters these days to know how things were done in the good old day, it’d be through movie remakes. Some may call these productions re imagining projects, but regardless of which snazzy term you choose, such movies help to raise interest in younger audiences. Problem is, they may piss off traditionalists. Look at the general consensus for movies like Psycho (1998), Godzilla (1998) and The Planet of the Apes (2001).
We remember the original tagline for the 1976 version of this movie. With blood soaked Sissy Spacek on the promotional poster, the copy read “If You’ve Got A Taste For Terror, Take Carrie To The Prom”. This may not sound far from original or clever, but it still manages to send shudders down our spines. The movie directed by Brian De Palma also told us how cruel the world can be, in particular how proms are but superficial events reeking of alcohol and sex for the more popular kids.
Kimberly Peirce takes on this re imagining of the classic horror story by Stephen King, and tells the tale of the titular Carrie, a girl who is socially outcast by her peers in school. It doesn’t help that her religious mother is some sort of a freak, and the over protection will only drive her nuts. After being pushed too far at her senior prom, Carrie makes sure all hell breaks loose in the small town she lives in.
Horror buffs should know this story inside out, and will only watch this to see how bloodily fun this contemporary version can go. With box office earnings as one of its main concerns, things will not get out of hand in this 100 minute movie. The filmmakers still have a duty to carry out – to ensure that they capture as large a pool of viewers as they can. The plot builds up slowly, and things get a little more exciting after Carrie is humiliated at prom. Even then, the blood and gore doesn’t come fast and furious at you. Just to disclaim that we aren’t sick in the mind here – the horror is delivered in a competent manner that does its job of shocking viewers.
The up and coming Chloe Grace Moretz does a good job at portraying the socially awkward Carrie, and one can’t help but imagine her crushing limbs and breaking necks as her Hit Girl (Kick Ass) persona. Her co star Julianne Moore effortlessly plays the freaky Margaret White, a holier than thou woman who obviously has issues with her mental stability. This is another reason we are convinced why
Other characters played by Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday and Gabriella Wilde give acceptable but forgettable performances in this modern take of the classic horror movie peppered with a radio friendly soundtrack and references to social media. The movie moves along at a comfortable but predictable pace, and although it doesn’t do anything groundbreaking that will leave you freaked out after leaving the theatre, it is a recommended movie if you are looking for a quick fix to stir your senses in the cinema.
Movie Rating:
(Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore deliver competent performances in an otherwise forgettable re imagining of a classic horror movie)
Review by John Li
Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror/Thriller
Director: Scott Charles Stewart
Cast: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Annie Thurman, Michael Patrick McGill, Trevor St. John, Ariana Guido, Josh Wingate
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: PG (Some Coarse Language and Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://darkskiesfilm.com/
Opening Day: 18 April 2013
Synopsis: From the producer of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery of what is after their family.
Movie Review:
How many ways can a house be haunted? Just ask Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, the company behind as many haunted house movies in recent years – think ‘Paranormal Activity’, ‘Insidious’ and the most recent ‘Sinister’. Well, writer/ director Scott Stewart’s ‘Dark Skies’ marks yet another addition to the list, but an interesting addition at that, for it takes the oft-done subgenre into extra-terrestrial territory. Yes, you read that right, there are aliens in this one. Intrigued yet?
Stewart sets the stage by quoting sci-fi novelist Arthur C. Clarke – ‘Two possibilities exist. Either we are alone in this world or we are not. Both are terrifying.’ For the purpose of this movie, Stewart takes the latter interpretation, spinning a rather straightforward but surprisingly gripping story of a suburban family coming to terms with a malevolent presence stalking them at night from within their house. The youngest, Sam (Kadan Rockett), refers to the nocturnal visitor as ‘The Sandman’, but as we are well aware, this isn’t some fairy tale character from his imagination.
Starting off rather innocuously with a mysterious raid on the fridge and some artwork-like rearrangement of the family possessions, the disturbances get serious quite quickly when hundreds of birds from three different flocks commit suicide by flying straight towards the windows of the house. Then each family member takes turns experiencing blackouts or seizure-like episodes, leaving them with injuries they cannot explain. While Sam’s mother Lucy (Keri Russell) links this to a tall pitch-dark stranger she glimpsed in his room, his dad Daniel (Josh Hamilton) takes a little more time to buy into the idea that his family has been ‘chosen’ by aliens.
To the seasoned horror viewer, Stewart’s bag of tricks will seem awfully familiar. There is the child – i.e. Sam – who speaks to invisible friends at night and then depicts them on crude colour drawings. There is the eccentric expert Daniel and Lucy talk to in order to make sense of the strange occurences, played here by J.K. Simmons. And finally, there’s a red herring inserted into the climax, in this case the one family member first contacted and therefore targeted for abduction by the aliens. Even the aliens with their oval-shaped heads and long thin bodies look awfully similar to that in previous Hollywood movies and TV dramas (e.g. The X-Files), the added name tag of ‘the greys’ adding little novelty to their depiction here.
And yet, these familiar elements come together unexpectedly well under Stewart’s assured hand. Opting for atmosphere over easy scares, Stewart builds a looming sense of dread over the family with each unfolding incident, reeling in his audience slowly but surely until the startling climax. It also helps that Stewart takes care in shaping his characters – the anxious mother Lucy, the strong father figure Daniel, the reticent older brother Jesse (Dakota Goya) and the terrified younger one Sam – and painting the family as an ordinary middle-class household facing the everyday real-life pressures of employment and mortgages, allowing his audience to identify with their despair, anxiety and ultimately quiet resolve in such a situation.
Stewart’s attention to character is also mirrored in the cast’s attention to their performances. In particular, Russell makes for a truly effective mother, her character’s terror and dread felt more and more keenly during the course of the film. Hamilton’s transformation from doubt to belief is also well-played, and his interplay with Russell creates a warm easy rapport which makes it easy to empathise with their predicament. Indeed, the effort that Stewart spends on his characters is a welcome departure from his earlier glossy but ultimately empty FX-laden works (i.e. ‘Priest’ and ‘Legion’).
So even though it doesn’t feel particularly fresh like the way previous Blumhouse horror thrillers did, ‘Dark Skies’ still is a solid addition to the new wave of ‘haunted house’ pictures. All the genre tropes are here, but Stewart applies them with dexterity and complements it with an effective suspense-filled buildup. If you’re in need of a quick horror fix, this will do just fine.
Movie Rating:
(Substituting aliens for spirits or demons, this latest ‘haunted house’ picture applies familiar genre tricks well enough for a suspenseful experience)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Kim Yong Ha
Cast: Yu sun, Yoo Oh-seong, Nam Bo-ra, Dongho
RunTime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Coarse Language and Some Sexual Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://dontcrymommy.kr/?&t__nil_upper_main=homepage
Opening Day: 11 April 2013
Synopsis: Yoo-lim who recently divorced lives with her only daughter Eun-ah. One day Eun-ah gets raped by three of her fellow students at school, and commits suicide. Since the boys were underage, they were just sent back hope after warning. Yoo-lim complains to the officer OH, who is in charge of this case, but there is nothing he could do. Filled with anger that the law is useless, Yoo-lim decides to kill them herself one by one. She follows the first target, PARK Jun, who raped her daughter, to a dark parking lot and hits him with her car and runs off leaving him to die. Officer OH hears the news and tries to find who the next target would be. Meanwhile, Yoo-lim follows the direction to the second target, HAN Min-gu's house texted to Eun-ah's cell phone and finds out that the boys actually video recorded all the incidents to spread them on the internet. Yoo-lim stabs Min-goo and hurries off. Leaving one last target, Jo-han, who Eun-ah had crush on, Yoo-lim goes to his classroom with a knife. Yoo-lim chase Jo-han who runs away to the roof and officer OH follows her. But she puts all her energy to end everything that made her and her daughter's life a living hell.
Movie Review:
A standard-issue revenge thriller made more compelling by its hot-topic subject matter, ‘Don’t Cry Mommy’ exploits the grief of a teenage girl and her mother to make an emphatic plea for South Korean lawmakers to relook at existing laws that apply to underage sex offenders (i.e. essentially any teenager below the age of 18). To say that these are inadequate at the moment is an understatement, especially when one considers the gravity of the crimes that have been committed in real-life, and it is precisely because of this relevance that first-time feature filmmaker Kim Yong-han’s movie becomes more than just a piece of entertainment.
Beginning quite innocuously by establishing the key relationship between its main characters – the single mother Yoo-lim (Yu Sun) and her sweet demure teenage daughter Eun-ha (Nam Bo-ra) – the film mirrors the unexpected nature by which such sex crimes occur. There’s little to suggest at the start that we should be wary of the coolly handsome Jo-han (Dong-ho); instead, projecting a quiet confidence beyond his age, we can see why adolescent girls like Eun-ha would be attracted to him. Unfolding pretty much from Eun-ha’s perspective from the beginning, we are led to share in her euphoric feelings for him as well as how they eventually lead to a misplaced sense of trust as she accepts his invitation to meet at the school library’s rooftop one evening.
Unfolding in a three-act structure, the end of the first culminates in a pivotal turn, with Joo-han and two loutish friends - Pak Joon (Kwan Hyun-sang) and Min-gu (Lee Sang-min) – taking turns to rape Eun-ha and film their depraved deed. The second act focuses on Yoo-lim’s fight for justice, rejecting the perpetrators’ parents’ pleas for mercy and pressing ahead for legal action against them. Unfortunately, the judgment of the law ends up favouring the three juveniles instead - not only do the Courts spare Jo-han because Eun-ha had willingly gone to meet him, Min-gu’s escapes without a sentence due to insufficient evidence of his culpability while Pak Joon is sentenced to just two weeks of probation.
No thanks to the lax punishment, all three are soon out before Eun-ha can recover from the trauma, setting the stage for a shocking confrontation that will ultimately claim her life. Distraught and despairing, Yoo-lim takes matters into her own hands in the film’s third and probably weakest act, turning into a vigilante to exact justice on Pak Joon, Min-gu and Jo-han. To director Yong-han’s credit, he does take pains to ensure that Yoo-lim’s transformation is as realistic and convincing as it can be, but the manner in which Yoo-lim tracks down each one of the boys proves to be the film's undoing, relying on coincidences and other narrative conveniences to bring the film to what can only be a tragic and bloody end.
Putting aside an otherwise over-dramatic transformation from grieving mother to vengeful killer, this is otherwise a gripping film that paints a poignant picture of the inadequacies within the South Korean justice system. Though clearly biased in terms of where its sympathies lie, there is no denying the significance of the social message it intends to convey, especially in the wake of a string of real-life cases cited at the end from which this film draws inspiration. Though clearly set up for melodrama, Yong-han deserves credit for never letting the proceedings get too heavy-handed to alienate his viewers, applying nuance and restraint in portraying the psychological impact of Eun-ha’s gang-rape on both herself and her mother.
Absolutely mesmerising in the role of Yoo-lim is Yu Sun, the TV actress demonstrating her versatility throughout the movie displaying a whole range of emotions from shock to grief to determination and finally to resignation. Just as captivating is Nam Bo-ra, whose 180-degrees turn from cheerful girl to withdrawn victim will tug at your heartstrings. Nevertheless, the film is somewhat marred by pop star Dong-ho’s villainous turn, the singer-turned-actor displaying an utter lack of knowledge of emoting, coming off looking just as spaced out in almost every scene he appears.
Yet these flaws don’t diminish the fact that this is a movie that packs a message which deserves to be seen and heard. At least for the first hour, it reflects with great poignancy the seriousness of rape whether or not it is committed by a juvenile as well as the loopholes within the existing justice system. Pity then that Yong-han eschews the social drama for more straightforward vigilante thrills in the final act, losing what momentum its earlier hour had accomplished in order to provide more conventional movie-going excitement. Still, there is gripping stuff to be found here, and if you’re like movies that leave you with food for thought, this one offers a more than satisfying meal.
Movie Rating:
(Ignore the over-dramatic third act and you'll still find a gripping thriller that packs a powerful social message for its viewers)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Paul Weitz
Cast: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Michael Sheen, Nat Wolff, Gloria Reueben, Wallace Shawn, Sonya Walger
RunTime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: PG13 ( Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://focusfeatures.com/admission/
Opening Day: 25 April 2013
Synopsis: Tina Fey (30 Rock) and Paul Rudd (This is 40) are paired for the first time on-screen in , the new comedy/drama directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Weitz (About a Boy, In Good Company), about the surprising detours we encounter on the road to happiness. Every spring, high school seniors anxiously await letters of college admission that will affirm and encourage their potential. At Princeton University, admissions officer Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is a gatekeeper evaluating thousands of applicants. Year in and year out, Portia has lived her life by the book, at work as well as at the home she shares with Princeton professor Mark (Michael Sheen). When Clarence (Wallace Shawn), the Dean of Admissions, announces his impending retirement, the likeliest candidates to succeed him are Portia and her office rival Corinne (Gloria Reuben). For Portia, however, it‟s business as usual as she hits the road on her annual recruiting trip. On the road, Portia reconnects with her iconoclastic mother, Susannah (Lily Tomlin). On her visit to New Quest, an alternative high school, she then reconnects with her former college classmate, idealistic teacher John Pressman (Paul Rudd) – who has recently surmised that Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), a gifted yet very unconventional New Quest student, might well be the son that Portia secretly gave up for adoption years ago while at school. Jeremiah is about to apply to Princeton. Now Portia must re-evaluate her personal and professional existences, as she finds herself bending the admissions rules for Jeremiah, putting at risk the future she thought she always wanted – and in the process finding her way to a surprising and exhilarating life and romance she never dreamed of having.
Movie Review:
Every overachieving college-bound teenager bent on enrolling into Princeton is desperately seeking the secret formula to getting in, and admissions officer Portia (Tina Fey) has the answer. But trade secrets are not to be shared, for despite her sixteen years of experience, all Portia will reveal to eager youngsters with stellar GPAs is that "there is no secret". It’s a comfortable lie, much like her shortlived relationship with a live-in boyfriend / English teacher Mark (Michael Sheen) and the well-rehearsed spiel she reiterates when pitching Princeton to high-schoolers.
Portia advises a new colleague not to get too personal when evaluating these kids, because it only makes cutting them out that much harder, but things take an ironic turn when an ex-schoolmate John (Paul Rudd), head of a school in New England, rings her up. While kindling the flames of budding romance, he also introduces her to a gifted autodidact Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), whom he believes is the son she gave up for adoption after an unwanted pregnancy in college. She accepts his reasoning based on a copy of the boy’s birth certificate, perhaps also swayed by Jeremiah’s uncanny ability to match her mannerisms and preferences. The boy is highly well-read and clearly brilliant, yet disarmingly down-to-earth. In short, plainly likable.
Unfortunately, his goal of entering Princeton pits him against some of the nation’s most elite 18-year-olds. Jeremiah’s poor family background, abysmal early academic records and nonexistent extracurricular accomplishments overshadow his exceptional achievement in near-perfect SAT and Advanced Placement test scores in the absence of any formal classes. Here’s where the major theme of parenthood kicks in. Perhaps to compensate for lost time, or to make up for the misery of a childhood with her opinionated single mother Susannah (Lily Tomlin), Portia’s newly-awakened maternal instinct drives her to cross lines both corporate and personal to get Jeremiah admitted into Princeton.
Early on in the film, it is pointed out that one’s educational pedigree doesn’t necessarily dictate future success in life. Yet the entire endeavour that Portia undertakes to enroll Jeremiah into Princeton undermines that message; the assumption seems to be that he would be headed for failure if he gets admitted into another school that isn’t America’s second-best college.
Yes, director Paul Weitz (About a Boy, American Pie) is handling fairly heavy subjects. It’s serious business being an admissions officer, what with being the gatekeeper to the possible future paths of the next generation. Such a premise would probably be best suited for a drama instead of a light comedy, which this movie clearly sets out to be but fails to draw enough laughs. It’s a pity that Fey’s smart and witty Saturday Night Live persona(s) peek out only very occasionally when the screenplay (adapted from Jean Hanff Korelitz’s book of the same name) allows it. It may even have been intended as a romantic flick, but although Rudd and Fey look like an amicable couple, their chemistry is hardly credible and frankly lacklustre.
It’s a nice surprise that the supporting cast is more than able to hold their own: Tomlin is a scene-stealer as a fiercely independent feminist who happens to also be a distant mother, complete with tattoos and a penchant for not feeding her dogs; and Wolff’s quiet portrayal of Jeremiah makes you want to root for him to get admitted into his dream college.
Movie Rating:
(A comedy that is light on laughs and unexpectedly heavy on drama, Admission is mildly enjoyable, but mostly forgettable)
Review by Wong Keng Hui
Genre: War/Drama
Director: Peter Webber
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Matthew Fox, Eriko Hatsune, Toshiyuki Nishida, Kaori Momoi, Masato Ibu
RunTime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language And Violence)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films & InnoForm Media
Official Website: http://www.emperor-themovie.com
Opening Day: 23 May 2013
Synopsis: A gripping tale of love and honor forged between fierce enemies of war, EMPEROR unfolds the story, inspired by true events, of the bold and secret moves that won the peace in the shadows of post-war Japan. Matthew Fox joins Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones and newcomer Eriko Hatsune to bring to life the American occupation of Japan in the perilous and unpredictable days just after Emperor Hirohito's World War II surrender. As General Douglas MacArthur (Jones) suddenly finds himself the de facto ruler of a foreign nation, he assigns an expert in Japanese culture - General Bonner Fellers (Fox), to covertly investigate the looming question hanging over the country: should the Japanese Emperor, worshiped by his people but accused of war crimes, be punished or saved? Caught between the high-wire political intrigue of his urgent mission and his own impassioned search for the mysterious school teacher (Hatsune) who first drew him to Japan, Fellers can be certain only that the tricky subterfuge about to play out will forever change the history of two nations and his heart.
Movie Review:
Tommy Lee Jones is delightfully wry as General Douglas MacArthur, which in case your history is rusty, was the man tasked with rebuilding Japan after World War II. Aside from that noble mission, he also had another specific purpose – to decide if Emperor Hirohito (Takata rô Kataoka) should stand trial for war crimes, including the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941. Jones does hardass like the back of his hand, so with his signature gruff voice and cornbob pipe, ‘Emperor’ should be a snappy treat.
Unfortunately, as many other commentators have pointed out, Gen MacArthur is but a supporting character in this movie. Instead, the focus is on his military attaché and psychological warfare director General Bonner Fellers (played by ‘Lost’s’ Matthew Fox), whom he assigns to run the assessment. To be sure, Gen Fellers is like Gen MacArthur a real person in history, but in adapting a novel by Seiro Okamoto, screenwriters David Klass and Vera Blasi instead throw in a Madame Butterfly romance story that for the record is completely fictional.
Here, Gen Fellers gets to a second shot at rekindling his college romance with an exchange student named Aya (Eriko Hatsune) whom he met in the 1930s, with the subplot meant in fact to reinforce the central message at the heart of the film about honour and sacrifice. That is what Fellers is meant to learn as well, which director Peter Webber does a fair job in highlighting the cultural understanding imperative in such circumstances – which one can of course draw parallels to America’s recent imperialist moves in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Despite its good intentions, this fictionalised account is melodramatic and problematic on several counts – most notably, how it tries to prove Fellers’ love for Aya by steering Allied attacks away from where she might be. It also seems to have taken the wind out of what should have been an intriguing procedural, now reduced to methodical interviews that Fellers conducts of Hirohito’s inner circle of Cabinet members, each of which – or at least those who have yet to be driven to suicide – taking turns to reinforce their code of honour and obedience to the Emperor.
The same can be said of the movie, which unlike Webber’s also historically-based ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, plays it tame. It lacks as a whole the energy that MacArthur brings to the screen whenever he is on it, or for that matter, the spark that a crucial scene with MacArthur meeting Hirohito possesses. In contrast to the feral edge that he brought to the villain in ‘Alex Cross’, Fox plays Fellers subdued and by extension bland, and unfortunately, the movie is worse off by placing its focus on his character rather than MacArthur.
At best, ‘Emperor’ qualifies as a handsome period drama, using a combination of meticulous production design with modern digital effects to create an impressive backdrop of a devastated post-war Tokyo. Stuart Dryburgh’s widescreen compositions are beautiful, but underserved by a story that mixes an interesting part of history with a dubious romance that doesn’t do the former any justice. A movie of which its conclusion is already written in the history books is ultimately as interesting as the characters in them, and let’s just say there is too little of the one which is more fascinating to make this otherwise well-mounted and well-intentioned movie count.
Movie Rating:
(Too little of Tommy Lee Jones and too much of a fictional romance hampers what could have been an intriguing war drama on an interesting historical chapter)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Comedy
Director: Hideo JoJo
Cast: Yui Tatsumi, Yeo Min-Jeong
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Content)
Released By: Encore Films & Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 25 April 2013
Synopsis: Here comes the brave, hot sexy idol! AV goddess Ryoko, who captivates Asian men’s hearts is getting tired of filming AV. When she hears that her next film is going to be made in Seoul, which is center of Korean wave, she feels somehow ominously. Sure enough,due to the insufficient production cost and inexperienced film crew, they face difficulties just upon arriving at the Incheon Int’l Airport. Whilst they get into all kinds of troubles, Ryoko accidentally meets Yuna, a wannabe idol star. Yuna mistakes Ryoko as a great idol actress. Ryoko lies to Yuna against her will and brings her to the AV film set. Meanwhile, the AV film director who is fascinated by Yuna’s freshness, casts her as the leading actress right away and plans a new ‘AV film’ starring Yuna. Are they going to finish the New Korean wave AV film after all?
Movie Review:
As the title of the movie suggests, AV Idol is a movie about an adult video star Ryoko (Tatsumi Yui). She and her crew embarked on their newest work… in Korea! This is probably not the first movie that attempts to borrow some fame from the Hallyu wave. However, this movie still comes across as quite ‘refreshing’. Although the AV industry is still the most active in Japan, with more and more erotic movies (such as The Scent and Red Vacance Black Wedding) sprouting out of Korea, just how would this collaboration turn out to be?
Veteran AV Idol seemed to have gotten tired of filming AV, but has to hold on just so she could pay off a hefty debt. To add on to her dread, she was even uninformed that the upcoming AV will be filmed in Korea. As their adventure begins, they had a rather rough start from the airport, having to explain to the Korean immigration officer of their ‘special equipment’. As you could only imagine, it evoked a fair bit of laughter.
As the story continues, the crew sets out to pick for an absolute stranger and greenhorn to star as the male lead for their AV. Extending from their previous encounter at the airport, they continue to make a great deal of joke out of their limited Korean language capabilities. Their first candidate surely did not turn out to be what they thought to be… and in turn created a rather unexpected and funny episode. As their filming gets delayed due to these undue happenings, Ryoko becomes even more frustrated and left the crew in the fit of anger. It was then that the idol wannabe, Yuna (Yeo Min-Jeong) chanced upon Ryoko.
What spurred out of another round of misinterpretation got Yuna really excited as she thought that Ryoko was a popular Japanese idol, to the extent of being ranked in the DVD sales! Ryoko, not wanting to spoil Yuna’s dream and imagination, just played along with it. Even until Yuna was brought to the AV filming set, Ryoko was unable to tell her the truth. Looking at a new possibility, the director changed the focus movie, and instead offered Yuna with the female lead role.
As one could already tell, the story of the movie seemed to be really quite unstructured and disorganized. There was a lot of chances and randomness, which actually worked to the benefit of the movie at times. Well, since what is important is the comedy and sex, which was so heavily publicized. So then, it leads one to question, ‘IS THERE REAL SEX?’ The answer is: it is hard not to have, especially when the female lead, Tatsumi Yui is a true AV idol, with at least 49 AV under her belt.
However, you should not pin high hopes on the sex, since this movie was trying very hard to balance between sex, comedy and story. The highlight of the movie is possibly the juxtaposition of the two main sex scenes (yes, the rest are just some tidbits and flashing of boobs). Of these two, one was considered to be professional work, while the other was a genuine and loving expression.
All in all, this movie was quite entertaining and fun, playing around with the culture differences and exposing some of the industrial ‘secrets’. But well, it was not gratifying enough in many senses. Also, the ending was too much of a cliché, as typical of MANY Japanese movies. The last 10 minutes was a forceful attempt fit in a conclusion, with the two heroines saving the day, making a name for themselves and a tad too much of awkwardness.
Movie Rating:
(A humorous take on the story of an AV idol, all fleshed out! Not the most provocative and erotic one that you can find, but it should get you started)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
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Disney.Pixar's "Finding Dory" to Dive into Theaters November 2015Posted on 03 Apr 2013 |
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Dan Mazer
Cast: Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall, Anna Faris, Jason Flemyng, Stephen Merchant, Minnie Driver, Simon Baker
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Reference and Nudity)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://www.igiveitayearmovie.co.uk/
Opening Day: 11 April 2013
Synopsis: Since they met at a party, ambitious high-flyer Nat (Rose Byrne) and struggling novelist Josh (Rafe Spall) have been deliriously happy despite their differences. Josh is a thinker, Nat’s a doer, but the spark between them is undeniable. Their wedding is a dream come true, but no one — family, friends and even the minister who marries them — is convinced that they will last. Josh’s ex-girlfriend, Chloe (Anna Faris), and Nat’s handsome American client Guy (Simon Baker) could offer attractive alternatives. I Give It A Year is written and directed by Dan Mazer (Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Bruno), and is produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner (Love Actually, Atonement), along with Kris Thykier (Stardust). With their first anniversary approaching, neither wants to be the first to give up, but will they make it?
Movie Review:
Notably marketed as a comedy (note: not a romantic one), I Give It a Year is produced by the people who gave us Love Actually and Bridget Jones’ Diary, and the film lives up to its expectations with a fairly snappy script that will leave you in stitches. But since it’s also the directorial debut of frequent Sacha Baron Cohen collaborator Dan Mazer, be prepared for some rough-around-the-edges jokes and explicit smut when you least expect it.
High-flying marketing professional Nat (Rose Byrne) and writer Josh (Rafe Spall) are newlyweds falling headlong into the trials and tribulations of married life after a whirlwind romance, amidst blatantly obvious dark omens during their wedding: their priest bungles their vows, best man Danny (Stephen Merchant as an offensive bachelor who fully deserves his singlehood) gives the most embarrassing speech ever, and barring the discouraging words from jaded married couples around them, even Nat and Josh themselves seem oblivious to each other’s subtle needs and preferences. Nat’s sister Naomi (Minnie Driver) and her husband Hugh (Jason Flemyng) predict the couple wouldn’t last a year.
Beyond the minor annoyances that come with living together in close quarters (who left the toilet seat up, who didn’t clear the rubbish, etc), matters are complicated with the return of Josh’s ex-girlfriend Chloe (Anna Faris) and Nat’s gorgeous new business partner Guy (The Mentalist’s Simon Baker). The terrors of commitment and waking up next to the same man every day are memorably discussed between Nat and Naomi during a get-together, while single girl-next-door Chloe undergoes the humiliating trauma of being unceremoniously booted from a threesome. Come Christmas, a time where relationships are tested amidst family gatherings and festive celebrations, Nat’s and Josh’s feelings for their respective love interests bring their marriage to breaking point. The couple’s squabbles are interspersed with shots of their session with a dysfunctional counsellor (Olivia Coleman), who also happens to have serious marital issues (yes, these people seem to be everywhere). They set a goal to make it to their first-year anniversary, but will this solution work?
The oxymoron “unpredictably predictable” may be a dubious cliché to describe the movie, but there is a certain amount of dissonance produced by a show with all the trappings of a genre archetype -- in this case, a rom-com where all conflict rights itself with the power of love – and turns out to be precisely just that, just not in the way you’d expect it to. The core decision our brave leads face involves choosing between upholding the sanctity of marriage or pursing true love, because in this case the two happen to be mutually exclusive. Still, one cannot help but wonder what their seven-month courtship was like, who they were when they fell in love, and why did they agree to take their vows if they had, as both mention later, always had doubts? There were hints of it in dinner conversations about Josh’s relationship with Chloe before she left four years ago to volunteer in Africa, and shots of how Nat and Josh’s courtship was all sparks and fireworks. But the answers are barely satisfactory.
Bridesmaids star Byrne carries the show as a sophisticated career woman who’s also capable of being ditzy at times, while Spall’s down-to-earth Average Joe author (just barely distinguishable from the side character he played in Life of Pi) never quite manages to meet her halfway. Faris and Baker are disarmingly adorable and effortlessly good-looking, practically infallible, perhaps indicative of how lovelorn couples seem to only be blissfully aware of each other’s assets (while ignoring shortcomings) before the so-called “honeymoon period” dies down.
Movie Rating:
(A comedy about romance that should appeal to both genders, I Give It a Year somehow manages to leave you with an unexpectedly bittersweet aftertaste)
Review by Wong Keng Hui
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