Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Louis Leterrier
Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine, Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Common
RunTime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/NowYouSeeMeMovie
Opening Day: 6 June 2013
Synopsis: The Four Horsemen, a magic super-group led by the charismatic Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), perform a pair of high-tech magic shows, first astonishing audiences by robbing a bank on another continent, and then exposing a white-collar criminal and funneling his millions into the audience members' bank accounts. FBI Special Agent Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) is determined to make the magicians pay for their crimes-and to stop them before they pull off what promises to be an even more audacious heist. But he's forced to partner with Alma (Melanie Laurent), an Interpol detective about whom he is instantly suspicious. Out of desperation he turns to Thaddeus (Morgan Freeman), a famed magic debunker, who claims the bank heist was accomplished using disguises and video trickery. One thing Dylan and Alma agree on is that the Horsemen must have an outside point person, and that finding him (or her) is key to ending the magicians' crime spree. Could it be Thaddeus? Or Alma? Or could it really be...magic? As pressure mounts and the world awaits the Horsemen's spectacular final trick, Dylan and Alma race to find an answer. But it soon becomes painfully clear that staying one step ahead of these masters of illusion is beyond the skills of any one man-or woman.
Movie Review:
Magic is a tricky thing: it holds your interest as long as it remains inexplicable, inevitably going south when the smoke subsides, the mirrors are dismantled or when you finally see past the distraction.
Some of the most striking scenes from this fast-paced caper Now You See Me involve Jesse Eisenberg’s illusionist J. Daniel Atlas, a fast-speaking ‘control freak’ with extraordinarily deft fingers. Flipping through a deck of cards and asking a volunteer to randomly pick and remember one, it’s momentarily impressive when the card she picks out is not only reflected on the exterior of a building behind Atlas, but is the exact same one that we, the audience, had in mind. Abracadabra, guys! Granted, this is more or less just sneaky cinematography, but this time it's used to great effect.
Isla Fisher is Atlas’ ex-assistant, flirty redhead Henley Reeves, whose main number involves being dropped into a water-filled container, handcuffed and chained, with a minute to escape before a horde of piranhas are unleashed upon her. Meanwhile, street hustlers Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) practice the useful arts of mind-reading and pickpocketing/lockbreaking respectively, both experts in their respective areas.
These four chosen ones receive Tarot cards with a marking that is supposedly an emblem of an ancient Egyptian sect of magicians known as The Eye. A year later they emerge as the Four Horsemen, a polished team of magicians performing at glitzy hotels in Las Vegas backed by a millionaire benefactor Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine). The trick that catches the authorities’ attention, namely that of Dylan Rhodes’ (Mark Ruffalo), involves robbing a bank in France by teleporting an audience member from Vegas directly into a Parisian bank vault in a matter of seconds. Is it magic or is it crime? Could it be both?
So begins a cat-and-mouse chase, with Rhodes and his Interpol partner Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent) perpetually several steps behind the four prestidigitators. The investigators can't seem to help being ridiculed despite breathing down the magicians' necks. Rounding up the starstudded ensemble is Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley, who has made a career of debunking magic shows and seems to have his finger on the modus operandi of the Horsemen.
Even when they’re caught for questioning, the four remain unruffled, even arrogant. There are a few “how did they do that” moments in the movie: one of which is probably when Atlas transfers his handcuffs over to Rhodes in a blink of an eye, while gloating about how the first rule of magic is that you need to be the smartest guy in the room.
This same rule probably applies to a film like this, in order for it to succeed. Well, either that, or move fast enough and succeed at distracting the audience. Now You See Me seems to have been directed with the aim of mimicking a sleight of hand: keep the camera moving constantly, and you may just be able to sneak something from under the audience’s noses. Having previously helmed the Transporter movies and Clash of the Titans, French director Louis Leterrier is no stranger to action films, and it shows. That said, the script would have used a boost in wit. Some lines, even when delivered by notable veterans like Freeman and Caine, fall flat.
On its exterior, Now You See Me may remind you of Ocean’s Eleven/ Twelve/ Thirteen, but it loses out on character development by not leveraging on the respective skill sets of the four magicians, rendering them more or less forgettable. While there was no heist in Ocean’s that would have succeeded without the contributions of each member, the Four Horsemen are easily substitutable.
When you wade past the red herrings and reach the grand unveil near the end of the film, you may be surprised at the twist, but more likely unimpressed. Yet for all its disappointments, the cast put in such committed performances that you can’t help but get pulled into the vortex of frenetic energy and flashy deceptions. Eisenberg is unexpectedly credible as an illusionist, applying a healthy layer of charm and confidence over his earlier outings in The Social Network and Zombieland. Caine’s turn in the film is impressive but brief, and inadvertently reminds you of 2006’s The Prestige, a superior film about magic that delves much deeper into technicalities of a well-orchestrated magic trick at the expense of unraveling its characters.
Movie Rating:
(Now You See Me is a fast-paced heist flick that manages to entrance and entertain in spite of its obvious flaws, keeping you eager enough to uncover the secret behind the con. Remember: “The closer you think you are, the less you’ll see.”)
Review by Wong Keng Hui
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MARVEL STUDIOS BEGINS PRODUCTION ON 2nd INSTALLMENT OF THE ICONIC FRANCHISE "CAPTAIN AMERICA"Posted on 10 Apr 2013 |
Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, Gemma Ward, Callan McAuliffe, Amitabh Bachchan
RunTime: 2 hrs 22 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://thegreatgatsbymovie.com/
Opening Day: 16 May 2013
Synopsis: "The Great Gatsby" follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
Movie Review:
To the reviewers who have criticised Baz Luhrmann of being disrespectful, or worse, sacrilegious to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, we have this to say – this is not your grandfather’s ‘Great Gatsby’. Rather, this is through and through a Baz Luhrmann interpretation of the novel, which by his previous works – most notably, William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo + Juliet’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’ – suggests that this will be a visually pompous post-modern pop-rock makeover of high art. Now if that sounds disturbing to any of you purists, then our warning to you is to steer clear of this.
For everyone else open to a less book-bound adaptation, we can reassure you that despite claiming the artistic freedom to interpret the material according to his sensibilities, Luhrmann remains very much in reverence for his source material. Together with his regular collaborator Drew Pearce, he has stuck close to the details of the story, lifting lines of dialogue from the novel’s pages even if they come very close to sounding unwieldy. And perhaps most tellingly, he retains the outside-in perspective through a certain Nick Carraway’s running first-person narration, which in the novel was a thin veil for Fitzgerald’s own voice.
So as with the book, the story kicks off with Nick (Tobey Maguire) moving into a small house he rents next to the lavish mansion of the enigmatic Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a millionaire known for the flamboyant parties he throws for the who’s who of society. Before Nick makes Gatsby’s acquaintance, we are introduced to other key players – his distant cousin Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), her husband and Nick’s college buddy Tom (Joel Edgerton), and Daisy’s good friend Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki). At first, Gatsby remains but a mystery to Nick, but a surprise invitation he gets from Gatsby opens his mind to the wholly different world that goes on behind Gatsby’s doors every weekend.
There, Luhrmann spares no expense in portraying every manner of Gatsby’s extravagance, a kaleidoscopic circus – as Nick describes – of glitz and glitter set to an anachronistic musical score that includes the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lana Del Rey. With some able assistance from his producer/wife Catherine Martin’s lush costume and production design, Luhrmann aims to wow his audience in the same way Nick would have been stepping into this entirely different world of gaudy excess, the endless movement and music photographed with the same sense of restlessness by cinematographer Simon Duggan’s swopping and swirling camera movements.
There’s no mistaking Luhrmann’s indulgence in filming the big party scenes, nowhere more evident than in Gatsby’s first full entrance almost a half-hour into the movie complete with a burst of fireworks in the sky and the climax of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ on the soundtrack. And yet, contrary to the impression you might have gotten from many other reviews, Luhrmann doesn’t simply embrace the very hedonism that Fitzgerald’s book casts a critical eye to; instead, he uses that to add heft to both Gatsby and Nick’s characters, or more specifically to explain how two individuals not from such a world of wealth and pomp would ultimately be deceived by its promise of gratification.
Like the book, that becomes plainly evident in the second half of the movie where Gatsby’s true identity and motivations are laid bare in a tragic love story. Similar to Luhrmann’s previous works, this is at its core a tale of impossible love; and more so than in the novel, Luhrmann romanticises the proceedings through painting Gatsby as the hopeless romantic who will meet his ruin because of his obsession for a love once lost and his false optimism of reliving an unforgettable past. It is a more sympathetic portrayal of Gatsby than in the novel, but also a more fully formed one that goes beyond mere artifice.
Indeed, Luhrmann’s adaptation succeeds because he enhances the emotional core at Fitzgerald’s story and makes it deeply heartfelt. That isn’t limited to just Gatsby - you’ll feel, more than you would reading the book, for the wide-eyed Nick who is powerless to stop a terrible chain of events he eventually feels responsible for as well as for the debutante Daisy who is too afraid to lose the kind of life she has grown up with to love in the way her heart calls her to. Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism is also retained and enriched here, in particular the green beacon at the end of Tom and Daisy’s dock that signifies how near and yet so far Gatsby is to his object of affection.
And really, who better to play such a Gatsby than DiCaprio, whose reteaming with Luhrmann 17 years after ‘Romeo + Juliet’ harks back to the kind of swoon-worthy roles the heartthrob was known for. DiCaprio makes what could easily have been a melodramatic love story credible and poignant, perfectly embodying his character’s romantic idealism as well as his insecurities, his natural movie-star good looks lending Gatsby both charisma and magnetism. In case you think that DiCaprio need only look good in the role, a particularly startling and yet effective scene where he loses his cool while confronting Tom demonstrates the depth of his acting.
Next to DiCaprio, Mulligan is utterly bewitching, exuding the sort of sass and vulnerability that needs no further explanation why Gatsby, or any other man for that matter, would fall so hopelessly in love with. The rest of the supporting performances are equally stellar, including Edgerton as Daisy’s philandering husband Tom, Isla Fisher as Tom’s working-class mistress Myrtle, and Jason Clarke as Myrtle’s auto mechanic husband George. Even Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan pops up for a cameo as the slimy gangster Meyer Wolfsheim, in a bold piece of casting that just about reflects the tenure of the rest of the movie.
You might also wish to take note that Luhrmann doesn’t aim for historical accuracy in portraying New York in the Roaring Twenties, yet another one of the creative liberties he takes. Yet it’s hard to fault the creative license he adopts, his treatment a curious but always refreshing mix of straight-up reverence and postmodern art. But there is ingenuity in his unorthodox method, and – much as other reviews might try to convince you otherwise – he doesn’t lose the heart and soul of Fitzgerald’s novel, so we urge you to keep an open mind and appreciate what we think is a visually bold and original vision of a contemporary American classic literature.
Movie Rating:
(As visually extravagant as the titular character’s hedonistic parties and yet more moving and poignant than the classic novel, this is a bold and impressively original interpretation that is both reverent and refreshing)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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ROGER EBERT (1943 - 2013)Posted on 05 Apr 2013 |
Genre: Comedy
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, Max Minghella, Dylan O'Brien, Joanna Garcia, Jessica Szohr, John Goodman, Will Ferrell, Aasif Mandvi, Tiya Sircar, Josh Brener, Josh Gad, Eric Andre, Tobit Raphael
RunTime: 2 hrs
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Sexual References)
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Official Website: http://www.theinternshipmovie.com/
Opening Day: 22 August 2013
Synopsis: Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, who last teamed in “The Wedding Crashers,” are analog fish-out-of-water in a digital world, in THE INTERNSHIP. They portray out of work -- and out of luck –salesmen who after finagling internships at Google, must compete with candidates half as old and twice as smart, for highly-coveted positions at the internet giant. It’s a brave new world for this old school duo, whose time-tested skills are pitted against their opponents’ high-tech savvy.
Movie Review:
Why it has taken close to a decade to reunite Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson after their comedy smash ‘Wedding Crashers’ is beyond us; but ‘The Internship’ shows that neither Vaughn nor Wilson has lost any chemistry after all those years. As two ace but out-of-work middle-aged salesmen who video-conference their way to a coveted summer internship at Google, the two A-list comedians are the very reasons why the loosely-scripted and perhaps entirely formulaic underdog tale still proves enjoyable.
As with ‘Crashers’, this Shawn Levy-directed film coasts along by the sheer easy interplay between the actors – Vaughn with his glib-but desperate patter and Wilson with his earnest sweetness. Indeed, Vaughn’s screenplay – which he co-wrote with Jared Stern based upon his own story - specifically plays in both dialogue and character to the natural rapport and personality of the two stars, so much so that even their banter over some triviality – like the merits of including Alanis Morissette’s ‘Ironic’ on their ‘Get Psyched’ mix – is so effortlessly engaging.
Thanks to their camaraderie, what is otherwise a two-hour commercial for GoogleWorld comes off much less ingratiating. To be fair, ‘the world’s number one company’ can’t quite be held responsible for this longest example of product placement; it was Vaughn after all who pitched this movie to the company, which then saw no reason not to reject his offer of free publicity. Nonetheless, the ‘Google is great’ subtext is too blatant to be ignored –whether in terms of endless free food or access to ‘nap-pods’ - and your tolerance for ‘Googliness’ will still affect how much you enjoy this buddy comedy.
Acknowledging the digital divide that exists between the tech-savvy and the tech-goondos in today’s world, Vaughn and Wilson start off as mid-40-somethings that are hopelessly old-school analog idiots. As such narrative trajectories demand, they are ostracised among the other interns who are mostly half their age. But teamed with a bunch of misfit geek kids in a Hunger Games-like competition where the winners gets the chance at full-time jobs, the seemingly clueless Nick (Wilson) and Billy (Vaughn) get their chance to demonstrate that it isn’t all about tech-speak and tech-knowhow; rather, some old-fashioned teamwork and salesmanship might just make all the difference.
These are interesting observations about the new corporate America, but earnest as the film may be about imparting such wisdom, its approach is as corny as can be, complete with a cringe-inducing climax that sees the band of outcasts triumph the arrogant smarty-pants led by an appropriately cocky Max Minghella. Instead, the film truly comes alive when it simply lets Vaughn and Wilson do what they do best – and that is, play street smart and party-hearty. Easily the film’s funniest sequence has Nick and Billy showing their troupe how to have a wild night out at a strip club, unleashing the inner animal in a clammy high-IQ Asian boy Yo-Yo (Tobit Raphael) with low social skills, a glum cynic Stuart (Dylan O’Brien) whose head is constantly buried in his smartphone, a sexually curious South Asian Neha (Tiya Sircar) and even their socially awkward 23-year-old Google team leader Lyle (Josh Brener).
Outside the club though, Vaughn and Wilson get recurrent amusing gags haggling the intimidating head of their intern programme Mr Chetty (Aasif Mandvi) and a Google staffer Dana (Rose Bryne) respectively. They also gently riff on ‘X-Men’ and ‘Flashdance’, though the use of the latter does wear out its welcome especially to those who have no inkling of that 80s cultural benchmark. Still, the better moments belong to the ones where Vaughn and Wilson are simply allowed to hang loose and be funny, a last-ditch effort to inject some dramatic tension with Vaughn’s departure from the team prior to their crucial last task resolved in a deus-ex-machina that rings hollow.
Like we said earlier, this is a film that runs entirely on the exceedingly affable, good-natured charm of its two leads. To his credit, Levy does a fair job keeping the film light-hearted yet pacey, while giving Vaughn and Wilson the space to exercise their considerable improvisational comedy gifts. Put aside the Google-oogling, and what you have is an opportunity to simply chill with two funny old pals, who Crash-ed their way out of a Wedding eight years earlier and are back for a reunion that feels every bit as delightful.
Movie Rating:
(Coasting on Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson's effortless chemistry, this extended Google ad is still extremely affable, good-natured fun)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Chris Wedge
Cast: Beyoncé Knowles, Colin Farrell, Steven Tyler, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Jason Sudeikis, Pitbull
RunTime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Official Website: http://www.epicthemovie.com/
Opening Day: 30 May 2013
Synopsis: EPIC is a 3D animated fantasy adventure that reveals a hidden world unlike any other. From the creators of ICE AGE and RIO, EPIC tells the story of an ongoing battle deep in the forest between the forces of good who keep the natural world alive and the forces of evil who wish to destroy it. When a teen age girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and whimsical characters in order to save their world…and ours.
Movie Review:
Lush flora and fauna set the picturesque backdrop for most of Blue Sky Studios' 3D CG adventure Epic, which follows the ongoing war between the miniature Leaf Men, an elf-like race that thrives on nature’s life-giving force, and their grey-skinned nemeses the Boggans. Imagine Lilliput set in the forest, with a good dose of fantasy. Led by the stoic General Ronin (Colin Farrell), the Leaf Men travel by hummingbird, leap like fleas, don bright green uniforms, and follow a code of honour to always have each other’s backs. They protect and maintain the balance of the natural world, in part by ensuring that their queen (Beyoncé Knowles) appoints her heir by transferring her powers via a special flower bud that blooms under the light of a full moon at its peak. The handover process is unceremoniously disrupted when the Boggans, under the charge of Mandrake (Christoph Waltz, doing what he does best), kill the queen and jeopardise the Leaf Men's future by threatening to infect everything that photosynthesises with toxic rot and decay.
Enter Mary Katherine, better known as M.K. (Amanda Seyfried), at the Leaf Men's time of greatest need, magically shrinking to their size presumably to serve an important role in saving their world. In addition to realizing that her father’s lifelong work in trying to prove the existence of a superior miniature race is true, M.K. bonds with the talented but immature young Leaf soldier Nod (Josh Hutcherson), and the comedic slug-and-snail pair Mub (Aziz Ansari) and Grub (Chris O'Dowd). This motley crew fights the impending army of Boggans who are bent on corrupting the bud and bringing a dark Boggan offspring into the world by ensuring it doesn’t get the requisite moonlight at the time of birth. Making a cameo is Aerosmith’s lead singer Steven Tyler as Nim Galuu, lending his well-weathered voice to a glowworm in charge of a knowledge database, portrayed in way rather reminiscent of the chain-smoking caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland.
Speaking of other animated films, it’s not easy to produce one that appeals to children, let alone to adults. It must hold the viewer's attention and be fuelled by creativity, lovable characters, witty or heartfelt exchanges, rapidfire action and of course, humour (the less canned, the better). Pixar’s Toy Story series, Wall-E and most notably Finding Nemo had most of these elements. Filmmakers like Hayao Miyazaki fascinate to no end with never-seen-before stories crafted from dreamscapes.
Burdened with a hyperbolic title, Epic lacks originality despite being based loosely on William Joyce’s imaginative children’s picture book The Leaf Men. The author serves as a writer and producer on the film, alongside four other scriptwriters in addition to director Chris Wedge. Perhaps this is a classic example of too many cooks spoiling the broth: the plot feels unnecessarily convoluted, considering how at its core the story isn’t much different from a film like Avatar. It’s a pity when you look back at the promise Epic displayed in the first glimpse proffered by its preview trailer in mid-2012, which was played out against Snow Patrol’s dramatically elaborate The Lightning Strike (What if the Storm Ends?) and featured minimal dialogue.
What this shows is that while the film is a cacophony of colour and successfully creates a few laugh-out-loud moments, it falls flat in other aspects. The characters are typical, some even boring: M.K. barely has a personality; Mandrake is the evil villain you can substitute with, well, most other evil villains; Mub and Grub are deliberate comic relief. Even the handsome Nod looks like the identical twin of Flynn Rider from Disney’s 2010 Rapunzel remake Tangled, and is therefore indistinctive. The voice acting by Farrell, Waltz and Hutcherson are satisfactory, but their characters are not memorable enough to leave an impression after you’ve returned your 3D glasses. Perhaps the human story of a rekindled bond between father and daughter warranted more focus; if there was a beating heart in Epic, it laid within that subplot.
Movie Rating:
(Epic may not live up to its title, but it should be satisfactory for viewers with a soft spot for animation, light entertainment and copious amounts of green)
Review by Wong Keng Hui
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Character Posters for CHRISTMAS ROSEPosted on 22 Apr 2013 |
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Taweewat Wantha
Cast: Acharanat Ariyaritwikol, Butsarin Yokpraipan, Chinawut Indracusin, Sheranut Yusananda, Sean Jindachot, Natpassara Adulyamethasiri, Kitlapat Korasudraiwon
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Horror and Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 April 2013
Synopsis: A group of friends sets off for a weekend getaway on Friday the 13th to challenge a supernatural belief only to realise that some things are not to be messed with...
Movie Review:
Essentially a Thai-style reworking of ‘Friday the 13th’, ‘Long Weekend’ is a decently made horror that uses humour to enliven an otherwise standard bag of thrills. Like its Hollywood predecessor, it is built around a similar premise where a group of teenagers visit a supposedly haunted place and run into some bad company from a long time ago. The date of that ill-fated day? Yes, no prizes for getting that right.
Instead of the drowning of Jason Voorhees, the unfortunate event that sets the stage for the later proceedings is a ‘Devouring Spirit’ rite gone wrong. Apparently, on every Friday the 13th, the villagers of a particular island would offer live animals as sacrifices to the evil spirits; but on one such occasion, one of the teenagers involved in that rite accidentally lets slip a candle he is supposed to hold tight, unleashing the spirits which were devouring the animals in the enclosed shrine and thereby dooming the entire island.
Needless to say, our ‘adventurous’ group of five protagonists gamely decide to ignore warnings to the contrary and spend one night in an empty bungalow. Though intended as a party of five – made up of two guys, Boi (Sean Jindachot) and Jack (Acharanat Ariyaritwikol), and three girls, Nam (Cheeranat Yusanon), Beam (Busarin Yokpraipan) and Pui (Gitlapat Garasutraiwan) – they receive an uninvited companion in Thongsuk (Chinnawut Intarakusin), the mildly retarded introvert who has had a crush on Nam since young.
Unbeknownst to them, Thongsuk has a dark secret – he’s easily possessed by ghosts, and the amulet around his neck is meant as protection for him. The opening prologue also establishes the relationship between him and Nam, going back to their primary school days when he went into a seizure after removing the amulet on her request to demonstrate what it would be like to see a ghost. Their ignorance ultimately precipitates their downfall, as an unkind prank Boi and Jack play on Thongsuk goes horribly awry, basically allowing Thongsuk to become a conduit for the evil spirits on the island to return.
But first, Thongsuk’s inexplicable disappearance from where he was locked up causes the quintet to extend their stay, after Nam insists on leaving only after they have managed to locate him. That additional night turns out to be an ominous Friday the 13th, hence the return of every manner of evil the island has known. The same can also be said of director’s Taweewat Wantha’s repertoire of scares, which will certainly be familiar to even casual viewers of the horror genre.
From warnings scribbled on rain-frosted windows to bodies bent over backwards to ‘Dementor-like’ black wraiths, there isn’t anything particularly original that Wantha concocts to keep his audience piqued. Instead, the director of such gleeful B-horror as ‘SARS Wars’ (read – the 4th generation SARS virus causes people to turn into bloodthirsty zombies) and ‘The Sperm’ (read – a horny musician’s frequent masturbation produces offspring with his head and libido) opts for a non-stop rollercoaster ride once the hauntings begin. Not only is the ensuing pace relentless, Wantha also goes for the jugular where it counts, so expect a fair amount of gore and graphic violence along the way.
Scripting with Adirek Watleela, Wantha keeps the energy up with some witty asides courtesy of the designated comic relief character Jack. At first fooling around in front and behind a handheld camcorder, Jack thankfully keeps his sense of humour even when evil descends – though the best moments tend to be quite macabre in nature. Particularly hilarious is Jack’s elaborate death sequence, in which he exclaims with resignation ‘I’m dead enough’ when the long-tail propeller of a motorised boat slices twice into his skull.
And indeed it is these occasional ‘killer’ lines that enable the movie to rise above mediocrity, which is unfortunately all that it offers the seasoned horror viewer. Even then, we can assure you that this is one of the better Thai horrors you will see – at the very least, it is largely coherent and relatively engaging. A long weekend it doesn’t deserve, but at a brisk 96 minutes, it won’t outstay its welcome.
Movie Rating:
(If you’re in need of a horror fix, this brisk engaging affair enlivened with humour should just about do it)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, William Fichtner, Wagner Moura
RunTime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website: http://www.itsbetterupthere.com
Opening Day: 15 August 2013
Synopsis: In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the planet’s crime and poverty, and they critically need the state-of-the-art medical care available on Elysium – but some in Elysium will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their citizens’ luxurious lifestyle. The only man with the chance to bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission – one that pits him against Elysium’s Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces – but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well.
Movie Review:
In ancient Greek mythology, Elysium refers to a place where mortals related to, or who were favoured by, the gods were allowed to enter in afterlife, where they would never grow old and lived there doing whatever they please. Following this idea of a paradise, the Elysium in the movie is a manmade satellite containing the wealthy upper class, where they are free of illness, and lead generally pleasure-seeking lifestyles on the station. In contrast, the working class is forced to toll on the overpopulated and polluted Earth. The government plays god in this futuristic dystopia, as they decide who is qualified to be on Elysium. Within the government, the Secretary of Defence, Jessica Delacourt (Jodie Foster), spearheads the harsh treatment of illegal immigrants from Earth to protect Elysium from running out of resources.
"Elysium" is director Neill Blomkamp’s second full-length feature film, after "District 9", which was a critical and commercial success. There are several similarities between both films, such as the long overhead shots showcasing a birds’ eye view of the terrain, the theme of suppression and the character development of the protagonist.
That said, those expecting "Elysium" to be entirely similar to "District 9" would be disappointed. The use of shaky cam, fast cuts and multiple scene changes worked in "District 9", capturing the attention of the audience. "Elysium" tries to use a similar method to engage the audience, with the shaky cam to portray a first-hand experience, while presenting the fight scenes through rapid cuts from different angles. Furthermore, while "District 9" took a long time to build up to the climax, ‘Elysium’ sped things up with faster and more frequent fight sequences. Despite the fast pace, the audience was left feeling more disorientated than engaged. The large amount of time dedicated to the fight sequences also led to a hurried character development of Max Da Costa (Matt Damon).
As expected, the character with the most development is Max. Max Da Costa is a factory worker and an ex-convict who seems to be perpetually under parole. An accidental radiation exposure leaves Max with five days to live, and he becomes hell-bent on getting to Elysium for a cure. This desperation led to Max ignoring Spider (Wagner Moura) and Frey’s (Alice Braga) attempts to convince Max to put others in front of him. It was only until upon reaching Elysium when Max had a sudden change of heart, sacrificing himself for the greater good. However, this change comes off as being abrupt and it seemed as if the director was running out of time.
Of the other characters in the film, Copley stands out in his role as the main villain – a South African mercenary, criminal and Delacourt’s personal hitman, Agent M. C. Kruger. Kruger is vile, capricious and lecherous, and Copley’s portrayal of the role successfully leads the audience to feel repulsed yet fearful of the character.
There is an overwhelming amount of violence and gore throughout the movie, and the director seemed to take every opportunity to insert blood and body parts that were blown apart. The blood and gore confronts the audience and gives a first-hand view of how violence tears apart, literally and figuratively, the society and its people.
Overall, "Elysium" presents a possible, if unoriginal, future dystopia. The large amount of violence and gore, however, forms the bulk of the movie and distracts the audience from the main message – a warning against the continued destruction of our planet.
Movie Rating:
(Fans of "District 9" will find "Elysium" similar but with an added emphasis on fast-paced action sequences and gore)
Review by Goh Yan Hui
So we weren’t particularly stoked about director Lasse Hallstorm’s adaptation of Nicholas Spark’s weep fest, but surely we can count on the soundtrack album for some songs to kill time? True enough, this 41 minute disc features radio friendly tunes which you can’t find fault in, considering the number of hours we’ve been exposed to commercial love songs on the air waves.
The soundtrack stays true to the movie’s genre by opening with Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw’s very accessible duet “We Both Know”. The formula works so well, you can’t bear to blame the tune for sounding like a dozen other romantic duets out there. Tristan Prettyman follows up with the folksy “Say Anything”, a tune which allows you to lay back, relax and let the singer songwriter’s soothing vocals calm your nerves. Another calming tune comes in the form of Ben Howard’s “Keep Your Head Up”, where guitar strings play gently in the background while the English artiste croons the lyrics.
Pop folk performer Dar Williams perk things up a little with “Summer Child”, while The White Buffalo keeps things simple with “Sleepy Little Town”. The country genre influence continues with Gareth Dunlop’s “Wrap Your Arms Around Me”, a tune which all men would want to sing to their partners.
Sara Haze’s “Moonshine” is a pleasant tune too, with the ukulele being strummed while the singer’s husky vocals charm listeners. The vintage “The Journey” performed by FM Radio will please fans of old school simple compositions. Elsewhere, listen out for other songs which can’t go wrong – including Brandi Carlile’s “Heart’s Content”, Amos Lee’s “Violin” and “The Deep Dark Woods’ “My Baby’s Got To Pay The Rent”. The disc concludes with the only score track “Canoeing (Katie and Alex’s Theme)” composed by Deborah Lurie. The agreeably pleasing cue will remind you of how Josh Duhamel and Julliane Hough spent time in a scenic river (if you have caught the movie), or how you wish to canoe down a peaceful stream with your loved one.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (3) Keep Your Head Up
Review by John Li
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