Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Kaitlin Olson, Spoken Reasons, Demian Bichir, Tony Hale, Taran Killam, Michael Rapaport, Jessica Chaffin, Bill Burr, Dan Bakkedahl, Jamie Denbo, Michael McDonald, Adam Ray
RunTime: 1 hr 57 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and some violence)
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Official Website: http://www.theheatmovie.com/
 
Opening Day: 27 June 2013 

Synopsis: In the new raucous comedy from Paul Feig (director of "Bridesmaids"), Sandra Bullock plays straight-laced FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn, a methodical investigator with a reputation for excellence - and hyper-arrogance. Melissa McCarthy is Boston Police Officer Shannon Mullins, foul-mouthed with a very short fuse. Neither has ever had a partner, or a friend for that matter. When these two wildly incompatible law officers must join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they find themselves fighting against a powerful crime syndicate, but even worse, against each other.

Movie Review:

The good cop-bad cop routine gets a makeover in Paul Feig’s (Bridesmaids, Freaks and Geeks) latest vehicle The Heat, by playing up the expert comic timing of two funnywomen to rather interesting effect. Straitlaced FBI special agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) has a natural instinct for busting hidden dope and comes armed with high qualifications, overconfidence and a motivation to prove herself. In a bid to win a promotion, she takes on a high-profile assignment in Boston and reluctantly partners Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), an in-your-face local detective whose vocabulary is generously peppered with expletives. Totally “real”, she pulls no punches and plays by her own rules. Neither of them are the most popular officers around, likely a consequence of their raw ambition and overall refusal to abide by gender stereotypes in male-dominated profession.

Their partnership begins with a tumultuous start as Mullins takes offence at Ashburn’s decision to interrogate her witness without permission, and her territorial reaction results in a hilarious confrontation in her boss’s office. Ever the career-minded professional, Ashburn recognizes the importance of the partnership to her potential promotion, and decides to make peace in order to track down a drug cartel boss. The pair storm through the neighbourhoods of Boston, leveraging on each other’s strengths while reconciling their differences.

When opposites are presented to each other, they form a mirror for the each other’s shortcomings, and perhaps part of the attraction comes from the patching of those gaps. In an attempt to bug a cartel member’s mobile phone, Ashburn steps out of her comfort zone and strips down while Mullins provides the distraction in an entertaining scene at the club. Sure, they’re not the hottest girls around, but they’re the ones who’ve got all the attention. The stakes go up when Mullins’ brother’s involvement with the cartel puts her family at risk. The belligerent partnership metamorphoses into warm friendship as both women come to emphathise with each other’s vulnerabilities. Even when the world is against them, both detectives are more than confident of holding their own and solving the case on their own terms.

The story’s direction is completely predictable, but it is the script – down-to-earth, genuine and liberally dowsed in R-rated language – that boosts the movie, alongside the winning appeal of the two leads. As she’s established before in her Miss Congeniality films, Bullock is witty, naturally droll and looks good with a gun. McCarthy combines hard-nosed physicality with dewy-eyed tenderness, creating a character you can empathise with and would want on your side of the ring in a fight.

A respected writer, producer and director, director Feig is perhaps best known for the massive 2011 box-office hit Bridesmaids. The female-led comedy raked in global earnings of US$300 million, established leading star Kristin Wiig as a bonafide comedy film star and introduced McCarthy as a capable comedian with a physicality that’s absent among most Hollywood actresses. The story here tries hard to make you laugh, sometimes too hard (you can tell Bullock knows when to milk it when she’s delivering a particularly amusing line), but also unexpectedly tugs at your heartstrings: Bullock and McCarthy share a good chemistry and their scenes together, in particular the improv-heavy ones in the bar, demonstrate the rapport between the two.

Movie Rating:  

(Although predictable and occasionally too eager to please, The Heat is a heartwarming comedy packed with laughs and a comfortable camaraderie between leading ladies Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy)

Review by Wong Keng Hui
  

Genre: Thriller
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Hideaki Ito, Fumi Nikaido, Shota Sometani, Takayuki Yamada
RunTime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Rating: R21 (Violence & Gore)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 11 July 2013

Synopsis: Seiji Hasumi is an instructor at Shinko Academy, a private high school. He is a model teacher, extremely popular with the students and well respected by the faculty and the PTA. However, one of the students, Reika Katagiri, feels something menacing lurking beneath his shining reputation. Hasumi brilliantly solves one problem after another, from a teacher-student sexual harassment to group cheating to bullying, and starts to take control of the school. Specifically, the boss of the bullies gets expelled because of his violent behavior. A “monster parent” dies at home in a fire started by an arsonist. The problems go away, but Reika is uneasy about the way they are solved. Masanobu Tsurii (55), an unpopular teacher in the school, despises the popular Hasumi. He starts investigating Hasumi’s past and discovers that many people he was involved with have already died. Hasumi, who had hidden listening devices around the school, finds out how Tsurii is looking into his past, so he kills him one day on the train and makes it look like suicide. Hasumi also murders a male student, who was trying to get back at Hasumi for catching him cheat on a test. In his true nature, Hasumi is a psychopath, a man who cannot feel empathy toward other people. Since he was a child, he has killed people who got in his way. He even killed his own parents when they realized what he was doing. Soon, Hasumi becomes physically involved with Miya Yasuhara, a female student who he helped in a sexual harassment incident, and Miya starts to sense his evildoings. Hasumi finds out about Miya’s suspicion and decides that she must be eliminated… 

Movie Review:

In order to prepare yourself for ‘Lesson of the Evil’, you’ll do well to acquaint yourself with its screenwriter cum director Takeshi Miike. Better known as the enfant terrible of Japanese cinema, the 52-year-old highly prolific filmmaker has been defined by controversy with his penchant for extreme violence, epitomised in cultish hits such as ‘Ichi the Killer’ and ‘Audition’. Though his recent works - ‘Sukiyaki Western Django’, ‘Crows Zero’ and ’13 Assassins’ - might suggest that he has toned down his excessively violent sensibilities, ‘Lesson of the Evil’ (adapted from Yusuke Kishi’s best-selling horror thriller) finds the bad boy reverting to his old ways.

To call the movie an exercise in gratuitous violence doesn’t quite cut it, especially since its final 40 mins has graphic scene after graphic scene of high-school children getting their body parts blown apart by a powerful shotgun. At first, one’s reaction of seeing such gore is shocking to say the least; but Miike’s repetition just about reassures that you are inadvertently numbed by the mindless slaughter. Yet anyone with a shred of conscience left in their hearts should also feel increasingly frustrated at Miike’s bloodbath, especially since he finds no convincing reason why such senseless carnage should be exacted on these teenagers, nor any rationale why its protagonist Mr Hasumi (Hideaki Ito) would be driven to orchestrate such mayhem.

Indeed, that indignation is exacerbated when one considers how it had seemed that Miike was sincere in building up some form of social commentary about the state of high-school affairs in Japan. Like the far superior ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘Confessions’, Miike starts out by portraying certain deep-rooted problems in modern-day Japanese school environments, among them cheating, bullying and even sexual abuse. Amidst such a backdrop, Miike paints Hasumi as the unorthodox saviour - not only does he suggest that jamming be used to put a stop to cheating during exams, he voluntarily approaches a particular student, Miya (Erina Mizuno), whom he sees is being sexually harassed by her gym teacher Shibahara (Takayuki Yamada) to offer a way out.

To be fair, we are warned quite early that Hasumi isn’t quite so simple. A fellow Physics teacher Tsurii (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) unearths evidence that there was a wave of suicides which occurred at the former school which Hasumi taught at while he was there. Shibahara mysteriously disappears one day. Ditto for the gay art teacher Kume (Takehiro Hira), whom Hasumi blackmails by threatening to reveal his inappropriate affair with another student Masahiko (Kento Hayashi). And then of course, our worst suspicions are confirmed when Hasumi plots Tsurii’s apparent suicide on board a late empty subway train, and threatens another student whom Tsurii had shared information with using a hot iron.

Yet twisted as it sounds, Miike exercises a surprising amount of restraint during these earlier scenes. In spite of the occasional gory scene, Miike treats the proceedings with dignity and gravity, setting his audience’s expectations for a smart yet bizarre psychological thriller. In particular, Hasumi’s psychosis is also referenced with Norse mythology, which is an intriguing metaphor that we quickly learn goes nowhere. Yes, Miike squanders all the self-respect he has built up over the course of the movie by throwing all manner of reason and legitimacy (along with some of the students) out of the window once the carnage unfolds over the course of one single evening.

Using the preparation for some school festival as an excuse for the after-hours backdrop, Miike conveniently ensures that Hasumi can go about his massacre unfettered by any other adult or, for that matter, authority. The only teacher present, he also uses that aforementioned jamming technology to prevent any of the students from contacting for outside help. But really, that’s no more than an expedient means for Miike to stage the bloody spectacle - which he does so quite gleefully, we might add - without so much as bothering about anyone ruining the party.

At that point is also where the tone of the movie starts to go all over the place. We’re not just talking about the callous humour with which Miike treats some of the deaths; rather, he turns Hasumi into a caricature with every subsequent attempt to lay out a backstory of his previous sociopathy - a flashback to Hasumi in his young adult years teaming up with yet another psychopath, Clay (Jab), is laughably over-the-top. One truly senses Miike’s desperation or misguidedness when even pseudo-supernatural elements start coming into the picture, alternating traumatising and energising Hasumi’s depravity - and to those who think that may be fodder for some interesting psycho-analysis, we might as well tell you not to bother because it is utter hokum.

That’s truly a pity, because Ito is truly magnetic in the role. There is never any doubt from the start why his students would be so enamoured with him, and Ito effortlessly turns that charm into menace when he needs to satisfy his urges for killing. Even when the picture descends into mindless farce, Ito is the only reason we continue watching, maintaining both grace and composure throughout. It is a bold casting against type from straightforward heroes one might recognise from his previous movies like ‘Princess Blade’ and ‘Sukiyaki Western Django’, but ultimately a wasted opportunity considering how much more that the movie could have been.

Even with Miike’s excessive tendencies in mind, there is just something fundamentally wrong about revelling in the senseless deaths of high-school children. Therein lies our deep objection with Miike’s ‘Lesson of the Evil’, which in our opinion feels not only morally wrong, but reprehensibly so. How watching a psychotic teacher brutally murder hordes of teenage school-children can be considered entertainment is inexplicable, so we seriously urge you to examine your own sensibilities before you step into this lesson. 

Movie Rating:

(Unless watching a whole school of teenagers getting blown apart by a psychotic teacher with a shotgun is your idea of entertainment, avoid Takashi Miike’s ‘Lesson of the Evil’ with malevolence)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Sam Leong
Cast: Christy Chung, Liu Yan, Kunimura Jun, Megumi Kagurazaka, Sam Lee, Den Den, Tony Ho, Miao Junjie, Danni Ma
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw & Scorpio East Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 16 May 2013

Synopsis: An artist named Jiajia promised to show her girl friend Wei Ling around in Japan but eventually fails to show up for no reason. After Wei Ling goes and gets accommodated in a family-run hot spring hotel of Shimizu, Jiajia’s Japanese boyfriend, she begins her endless weired experience as if she’s haunted, and the hotel even sinks into a series of horrible homicides, in which the victims are all family members of the Shimizu’s without exception.

Movie Review:

If anyone’s keeping score, it’s been slightly more than a decade since Christy Chung has been at the front and centre of a new movie, so you can be excused if you do a double take when she first appears on screen; that, and the unmistakable fact that she has aged visibly since the last time we saw her act. Yet fans of the former model cum actress anticipating her comeback in this mystery thriller should take note – this isn’t the sort of comeback we can almost certainly say anyone would be satisfied with.

Whereas in younger days Christy would most certainly be cast as the popular celebrity Jiajia, that role has gone to Mainland actress Liu Yan; instead, Christy plays Jiajia’s fashion consultant Wei Ling. The pair also happen to be best friends, and when Jiajia suddenly springs a surprise that she is heading off to Japan to marry her boyfriend Hirota, Wei Ling agrees to follow her all the way into the Okinawan hillside. Yet the day before they are supposed to meet, Jiajia goes missing, leaving Wei Ling to play detective in a hostile environment where everyone seems to be hiding a secret.

The premise for a good cross-continent horror? Well, not quite, even if director Leong Tak Sam – working from his own screenplay – wants to make you think so with plenty of the genre’s stylistics. The ‘boo’ scares, the sudden loud music, the jump-cuts- they are all there, as if Leong just reached into a bag and pulled out the tricks of the trade. One crucial thing he forgot though was technique, and the haphazard way in which he stitches together scenes with these clichés leaves much to be desired.

The same can be said of the mystery at the heart of his tale, which revolves around some dark secrets of Hirota’s family, including his matriarch of a mother Mrs Shimizu (Michiko Kodama), her loyal manservant Hirai (Den Den), and his sister Michiko (Megumi Kagurazaka). Not to worry, we’re not about to reveal any spoilers here; we’re however inclined to reveal that Leong himself spoils the story with one too many superfluous supporting relationships that fail to add much to the central whodunit – most prominently, a three-way relationship between Wei Ling, her lover Zhang Dong (Tony Ho), and his girlfriend Sun Ying.

It doesn’t help that, in addition to the loosely scripted plot, Leong shows his inexperience as a director by letting the pace remain slack for far too long. There’s hardly much tension or build-up as the body count piles up, so much so that the final reveal turns out pretty anticlimactic. We might as well warn you as well that you might feel cheated by the twist at the end, surely to be described as a ‘deus ex machina’ by more cynical viewers just so the movie doesn’t cross supernatural boundaries which would by extension cross the strict Mainland China censorship guidelines.

And amidst it all, Christy simply looks lost. Granted that her character is only supposed to figure out what happened much later on, but the look of perpetual confusion she wears on her face seems to also stem from the somewhat incoherent plot. In fact, the ones who make the movie better than it deserves to be are the veteran Japanese actors – especially Den Den and Michiko Kodama, both of whom are effectively creepy to convey both menace and fear. The rest of the Chinese cast are dull in comparison, but that’s also because their supporting bits are underwritten in the first place.

It’s no secret that by the time the truth comes to light, there is really little incredible about it. Probably the bigger mystery is how Leong Tak Sam, a producer of much better movies (e.g. ‘Dog Bite Dog’ and ‘Shamo’) than the ones he had personally written and directed, had managed to persuade Christy to come out of retirement in the first place. The promise of a free trip to Japan maybe? In any case, this is hardly the homecoming fans will have been waiting for, even if Christy does tease with a brief upper body shot with just a towel wrapped around her. 

Movie Rating:

(Not nearly as exciting nor as scary as it should be, this mystery thriller styled as a horror is not even good enough as a comeback for former model cum actress Christy Chung)

Review by Gabriel Chong

DAREDEVIL Reverts Back to Marvel Posted on 24 Apr 2013 At a press conference this week for Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige was asked if Marvel now had the Daredevil rights back in their possession and he answered simply, "Yes." 20th Century Fox has a go at bringing the Marvel character to screen with the 2003's feature, "Daredevil" starring Ben Affleck which was disasterous by the way. Last year, Fox was in t ... more

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Cast: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Melina Kanakaredes, Brandon T. Jackson, Douglas Smith, Missi Pyle, Yvette Nicole Brown, Mary Birdsong, Nathan Fillion, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Head, Leven Rambin
RunTime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence And Frightening Scenes)
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Official Website: http://www.percyjacksonthemovie.com/us/
 
Opening Day: 29 August 2013 

Synopsis: Based on the best-selling series by Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, continues his epic journey to fulfill his destiny, as he teams with his demigod friends to retrieve the Golden Fleece, which has the power to save their home and training ground, Camp Half-Blood.

Movie Review:

The bestselling ‘Percy Jackson’ novels was essentially Greek mythology for young adults, its main characters made up of teenagers who were half-human and half-god - otherwise known as half-bloods - and receiving training at a special camp of the same name. Based on the second book of the series, ‘Sea of Monsters’ returns Logan Lerman as the titular character now fully aware of his identity as Poseidon’s demigod son, and somewhat of a legend after having saved the world by returning Zeus his lightning bolt.  

Also returning are: Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), the mischievous satyr (half man-half goat) who is Percy’s best friend and protector; Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom; and last but not least Luke, the son of Hermes and Percy’s ostensibly embittered nemesis after having been exposed as the lightning thief in the first movie. They are joined by a shaggy Cyclops named Tyson (Douglas Smith), Percy’s half-brother whose mother was a sea nymph (yes, we know what you’re thinking - Poseidon’s been going around getting some).

Camp Half-Blood is once again threatened - not by any of the wrath of the gods this time, but by an unknown enemy that has poisoned the magical tree responsible for the shield protecting the camp from evil forces. The solution? Retrieve the Golden Fleece in the Sea of Monsters (more commonly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle) to save the tree - and to add a frisson of urgency, Percy and his friends have to do it before Luke uses it to resurrect the dreaded Kronos, the long-dormant leader of the Titans.

In spite of the similarities one may draw between Percy and Harry Potter, the movie is no equivalent; rather, the plotting is no more than standard setup for some effects-heavy sequences and a healthy dose of tween-centric chuckle.  Indeed, this is strictly PG fare from start to finish, with none of that dark stuff which gripped the last few ‘Potter’ movies; but even with a pre-teen template, director Thor Freudenthal (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”) executes CGI and humour with enough panache to make this an entertaining diversion.  

Milking the most out of his mid-sized budget, Thor stages a number of impressive set-pieces, including a voyage through the stomach of a vast sea monster Charybdis that leads up to a climactic battle with the revived Kronos in an abandoned amusement park. But the best of them all turns out to be a high-speed cross-country ride that Percy, Grover, Annabeth and Tyson hitch in a New York City cab driven by the grotesque-looking Gray Sisters trio (Mary Birdsong, Yvette Nicole Brown and Missi Pyle) whose squabbling over a lone eyeball resembles something out of a Tim Burton movie.

It’s a pity the rest of the movie scripted by Marc Guggenheim doesn’t begin to approach the inspired lunacy of this one sequence, even though the banter between the teen stars - including the hyper-competitive Clarisse (Leven Rambin), daughter of war god Ares - as well as the supporting adult characters is affably engaging. In particular, Freudenthal gets considerable mileage out of Nathan Fillon playing Hermes as a UPS worker and Stanley Tucci as Camp Half-Blood’s primary caretaker Dionysus - though both can hardly make up for the loss of Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Catherine Keener, Uma Thurman and Ray Winstone from the first movie.

Yet the brisk pace means it’s easy for an undemanding audience to overlook these flaws and simply be immersed in its teen-friendly imagining of mythology. Like its predecessor, this sequel is a movie that you’ll find reasonably enjoyable if you accept it on its own terms - and to do so, means understanding that this is constructed as an adolescent fantasy and no more. On that basis alone, ‘Sea of Monsters’ is good fun and harmless summer popcorn entertainment. 

Movie Rating:

(Some diverting effects-heavy setpieces and affable chemistry among the stars make for a reasonably engaging teen-centric piece of Greek mythology entertainment)

Review by Gabriel Chong
  

Genre: Action/Fantasy
Director: Robert Schwentke
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary-Louise Parker, Kevin Bacon, Stephanie Szostak, Mike O'Malley, James Hong, Marisa Miller, Robert Knepper
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language And Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.ripd.com
 
Opening Day: 8 August 2013 

Synopsis: An adaptation of the comic book about a spectral police force. Written by Peter M. Lenkov, the 1999 comic centers on the Rest in Peace Department, the dedicated yet dead police officers who patrol the dead beat, made up of the deceased who refuse to go quietly. The story focuses on a cop who joins the department after being murdered and his search for the man who set him up as he does his duty fighting fiendish creatures.

Movie Review:

If you ain’t familiar with Jeff Bridges, you certainly will be by the end of ‘R.I.P.D.’. As the drawlin’, rootin’, tootin’ cranky Wild West marshal Roycephus Pulsife (or Roy for short), Bridges is a hoot, and undoubtedly the best - even perhaps the only - thing that this CGI-bloated, 3D-infused paranormal buddy comedy has going for it. A rehash of his Rooster Cogburn role in ‘True Grit’, Bridges throws himself into the part with such comic abandon that it is hard not to be swept away by his roguish charm.  

The same however cannot be said of Ryan Reynolds, whom Bridges is paired up with in the titular Rest in Peace Department to catch members of the dead masquerading as the living (known as ‘Dead-Os’). Playing a fellow lawman separated by 200 years of history, Reynolds’ Boston cop Nick Walker is bland to the point of boring, lacking even the affable charm that one has come to associate with the actor. Next to Bridges, Reynolds is often seen either speechless or struggling with a poor retort, so much so that what passes between them isn’t as much banter as it is Bridges’ garbled-lilt monologues.

In adapting Peter M. Lenkov’s Dark Horse comic for the big screen, ‘Clash of the Titans’’ Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi recycle the old pro/ young hotshot setup of many of a buddy cop comedy and certainly the most obvious ripoff ‘Men in Black’. From a brief scene where Nick and Roy are chasing an oversized man-monster giant down the streets of Boston, we are catapulted ‘three or four days’ into the past to observe how Nick’s cop with a conscience is betrayed by his partner Bobby (Kevin Bacon) on a meth bust and recruited into the R.I.P.D. by the wise-cracking Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker).

The story unfolds in utterly predictable beats, with Roy showing Nick the ropes of the after-dead police work at the beginning and Nick impressing Roy subsequently with a resourceful thing or two of his own (yes, you can bet Nick eventually earns the handshake Roy denied him at the start). Not to mention that Nick gets to settle his score with Bobby - despite being dead - when it turns out that the latter is involved in some kind of scheme with the Dead-Os to open a portal for the dead to enter the world of the living by reassembling some ancient totem called the Staff of Jericho.

There are some moments of inspiration though. A running gag centres around the guises adopted by the officers of the R.I.P.D. among the living - in particular, Nick and Roy in the form of the mismatched duo of an old Chinese man (veteran actor James Hong) and a blond bombshell (model Melissa Miller). Another has the Dead-Os drawn out of their human disguises by Indian spices. Such flashes of brilliance however are however few and far in between, and one can’t quite help but feel that the film is otherwise underdone and underdeveloped.

If director Robert Schwentke is aware of the script’s deficiencies, he certainly does little to compensate in the action department. In spite of the plentiful car crashes, gun battles and explosions, the film feels frantic rather than exciting. The visual effects also look cheap for what is supposed to be an expensive Hollywood summer production; in fact, the computer-generated deados look silly and cartoonish, even less convincing than that in the ‘MIB’ series done some fifteen years ago. And let’s not even begin with the 3D, which tacked on during post-production, is completely superfluous.

For a film with an acronym as its title, there are unfortunately many others that can be associated with it. D.O.A. would be one such apt descriptor, considering its reception Stateside among both audiences and critics alike. Then there’s R.I.P., which is likely to be its fate given how dull it is.  And while we’re at it, you might as well add an ‘OFF’ there, since it pretty much borrows from every other supernatural action comedy that’s been done, including ‘Ghostbusters’ and of course ‘MIB’. Like we said at the beginning, there is but one redeeming factor here - but even the six-time Academy Award nominee and one-time Academy Award winning Best Actor can’t quite rescue this comic book movie from the second-rate bargain basement it belongs. 

Movie Rating:

(Jeff Bridges’ Old West lawman act never gets old, but every other bit of this second-rate comic book movie from plot to action to character feels recycled and dull)

Review by Gabriel Chong
  

SYNOPSIS: It starts as the story of Ip Man. He was born and raised in Foshan. From the time of his youth he took part in contest after contest of skill in and around the Gold Pavilion. Then, one day, Master Gong arrived from the Northeast to hold a retirement ceremony at the Gold Pavilion. One retires, one steps forward. But who is entitled to be called a grandmaster? Ip Man? Master Gong’s daughter, Gong Er? The self-described ‘rascal’ of the Northeast? Or is it Master Gong, who took the Northern martial arts to the South? Some are looking to recover what belongs to them. Others want to achieve enlightenment. Then there are those who are only ever able to start fires and light lamps, and those who observe the currents of a chaotic and war-torn world from the sidelines. Kungfu, a horizontal and a vertical, falling, rising, charging forward, carrying on. An era, rising and falling, scattering, regrouping, counter-attacking, advancing. It starts in Foshan. Its heart is in Dongbei. Its feet are on the ground in Hong Kong. This can no longer just the story of Ip Man. It is the path of the grandmaster: Being. Knowing. Doing. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

"Kung fu: two words. One horizontal, one vertical"

You might already be familiar with Donnie Yen’s Ip Man to care about “The Grandmaster”. But this is Wong Kar Wai we are talking about and this mark the fruition of the international acclaimed filmmaker’s pet project after in limbo for several decades.

Known more for his visual touches and sometimes incoherent storytelling, Wong’s movies might not be that accessible for the masses, “The Grandmaster” however departs from his usual arty style taking its form as a grandeur martial-arts epic rather than a mere plain biopic of legendary Master Ip Man.

“The Grandmaster” opens with a startling beautifully scene of a fight taking place in a downpour. The inclusion of fight choreography maestro Yuen Woo Ping on Wong’s crew assures the action is constantly spectacular, enforced with Philippe Le Sourd’s cinematography and Wong’s eye for visual, this particular prologue assures the audience the art house filmmaker is definitely capable of pulling off the subject.  

Naturally it’s Wong’s habit to test the audience’s patience and understanding. The first half hour is a portrait of Ip Man’s (Tony Leung) family life and his approach to martial-arts which calls for a fleeting performance from Korea actress Song Hye Kyo playing Ip’s wife. And before you think it’s all too similar to Wilson Yip’s version, Wong decides to pull a rabbit out of a hat by introducing Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi), daughter of a reputable Kungfu master who vows to revenge the death of his father caused by his estranged protégé, Ma San (Zhang Jin). How does Gong Er comes into place and usurped the leading man, Tony Leung’s screentime by almost an hour easily becomes Wong’s fatal flaw if not for the several lavishly staged fights, one taking place in a train station and delicate martial-arts philosophy to impress the movie-goers.   

The storytelling becomes slightly haphazardly in the middle when the character of Chang Chen is thrown into the tale without much of a flow. Chang’s portrayal of Razor, a mysterious and powerful member of the Bagua school ends up being a showy kung fu master and contributes nothing to the end product. Same goes to Mainland comedian Xiao Shenyang who is offered nothing more than an extended cameo.

Zhang Ziyi on the other hand delivers a pounding and emotional performance as the steadfast Gong Er, a role which can be concludes as one of her best since “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”. Partly, Wong’s writing of Gong Er is detailed and mesmerizing. A strong-willed woman carrying the huge burden of her family name and her hidden feelings for Ip allows Zhang to once again showcase her proven acting skills. Leung who suffers numerous injuries for his role is relegated to more of a supporting role in his usual collaborator’s latest effort. This is not to say that Leung is not convincing enough to be Ip Man, it’s just that the storytelling does not effectively flesh out the character of Ip Man in the manner Gong Er is handled.

Wong Kar Wai is known for submitting in his work late and don’t be surprised even several versions of the same film popped out in the end at festivals due to his excruciating editing. “The Grandmaster” is a glaring example of it. While the version we saw here is Wong biting off more than he can chew, you can’t deny it’s another of Wong’s masterpieces that once again excite the senses and unravel a martial-arts world that only the auteur himself can pull off.        

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Making of The Grandmaster is a brief 12 minutes making of feature that has Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen talking about their roles and the production. The only surprise here is the glimpses of various shots not seen in the final movie. The Theatrical Trailer is also attached. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The visuals are stunning with a series of impressive white and black color scheme. Of course only a HD presentation can do justice to Wong’s works but this DVD does just fine. The only gripe is there isn’t a sonic Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack supplied here. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Action
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey, John Leguizamo, Yancy Butler, Robert Emms, Morris Chestnut, Andy Nyman, Claudia Lee, Enzo Cilenti
RunTime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.kickass-themovie.com/splashpage/index.php
 
Opening Day: 22 August 2013 

Synopsis: Kick-Ass, Hit Girl and Red Mist return for the follow-up to 2010's irreverent global hit: Kick-Ass 2. After Kick-Ass' (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) insane bravery inspires a new wave of self-made masked crusaders, led by the badass Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), our hero joins them on patrol. When these amateur superheroes are hunted down by Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)-reborn as The Mother the blade-wielding Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) can prevent their annihilation. When we last saw junior assassin Hit Girl and young vigilante Kick-Ass, they were trying to live as normal teenagers Mindy and Dave. With graduation looming and uncertain what to do, Dave decides to start the world's first superhero team with Mindy. Unfortunately, when Mindy is busted for sneaking out as Hit Girl, she's forced to retire-leaving her to navigate the terrifying world of high-school mean girls on her own. With no one left to turn to, Dave joins forces with Justice Forever, run by a born-again ex-mobster named Colonel Stars and Stripes. Just as they start to make a real difference on the streets, the world's first super villain, The Mother assembles his own evil league and puts a plan in motion to make Kick-Ass and Hit Girl pay for what they did to his dad. But there's only one problem with his scheme: If you mess with one member of Justice Forever, you mess with them all.

Movie Review:

Three years ago, a certain superhero inspired us. Kick Ass, that’s the name of the average teenager who made ass kicking fun and irreverent. Amidst the seemingly nonsensical violence, there was a message – you don’t have to own big mansions (read: Bruce Wayne), have super powers (yup, that’s you Peter Parker) or yield big hammers (can anyone beat Thor when it comes to showing off his rod?) to save the world. Matthew Vaugh’s (X Men: First Class, Layer Cake) movie adaptation of the comic book taught us that all you need is guts, and glory will be yours.

So came along this sequel three years later helmed by Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down). With Vaughn and Brad Pitt on board as producers, it is difficult not to be looking forward to this one. The story continues from the first installment, where the costumed high school hero Kick Ass teams up with normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. They are not glorified superheroes, with some dark pasts and sad secrets behind them. Meanwhile, Kick Ass’s friend Hit Girl feels the need to be all girly and popular (probably a hormone thing), and ponders whether to stop saving the world altogether. And because evil never rests, Red Mist plots an act of revenge which will change people’s lives forever.

The 103 minute movie prods along at a rather awkward pace initially, with a little too much emphasis on how the several characters are attempting to lead normal lives. Viewers who are great fans of the first movie may be surprised at how this sequel has toned down in terms of campiness and outrageous violence. Instead, we get doses of reality, where older viewers remember what it was like to fit in with the hip crowd in school, and the facades we put on to gain that extra bit of recognition.

Leads Aaron Taylor Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz have grown up nicely since the last movie, and they tackle their roles well in this sequel adapted from the comics Kick Ass 2 and Hit Girl by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. The 23 year old Johnson has a tinge of weariness in him, indicating the character’s awareness that the world is in dire need of help. He is never self righteous, and his performance evolves nicely throughout the movie, till the finale where he carries out his destiny. Meanwhile, the 16 year old Moretz has impressed us in her recent works Hugo and Dark Shadows, and her screen presence in this movie is strong. The chemistry between the two is charming enough for audiences to root for the duo.

So where is the fun that made us sit up and watch in the first movie? Unfortunately, they come in bits and pieces here. There are moments of stylised violence, and the villains are entertaining to watch. One would expect comedian Jim Carrey to be hilariously outrageous as Colonel Stars and Stripes, but there is something which tells us he didn’t have that much fun playing the role. Almost unrecognisable under the mask (and it isn’t the signature Jim Carrey voice you’ll hear), the actor does a decent job portraying the leader of a superhero group Justice Forever, but we just feel that there’s more to him than this.  

The movie ends with an after credits scene, which makes you wonder whether there will be a third installment. With that, you can only hope there will be more snazzy characters and fizzy fun that is somewhat lacking in this movie. 

Movie Rating:

(A sequel that isn’t as fun as its predecessor, but still manages to kick a few punches)

Review by John Li

Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Xue Xiaolu
Cast: Tang Wei, Wu Xiubo, Hai Qing, Elaine Jin, Mai Hongmei, Theresa Lee
RunTime: 2 hrs 2 mins
Rating: TBA
Released By: GV and Clover Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 April 2013

Synopsis: City girl Jiajia is traveling to Seattle to give birth to the son who’s going to help her win over her rich, married boyfriend. Armed with his unlimited credit card and the singular goal of bringing a little U.S. citizen back to Beijing, Jiajia knows how to play this game of modern love. But when Jiajia arrives in Seattle, the city which inspired her favorite movie Sleepless in Seattle, nothing goes right: she’s stuck sharing a small house with two other pregnant ladies, she has trouble reaching her boyfriend on the phone, and eventually, even the credit card stops working. To top that off, the only person willing to spend time with her is her driver Frank. At first, Jiajia can’t stand Frank but reluctantly, she realizes he’s not half bad. Jiajia surprises Frank too-- though every bit a selfish princess on the outside, deep down he knows her heart is as big as her Birkin bag. When a crisis in her pregnancy endangers Jiajia’s life, Frank is the only one standing by her side, tirelessly taking care of her and her newborn son. When Jiajia’s boyfriend suddenly resurfaces--newly divorced and more doting than ever--Jiajia’s mission is accomplished and she can return to China. The trouble is, even as she enjoys her new upgraded life in Beijing, she can’t seem to stop thinking about Frank. Has Jiajia gone completely crazy? Frank is the opposite of everything she ever wanted in a man…or could he be exactly the kind of guy she really needs?

Movie Review:

It’s hardly surprising that Mainland China audiences enjoy romantic comedies as much as the rest of the world, which explains why their filmmakers have in recent years been trying to replicate the formula which Hollywood has perfected to a fault. In that regard, Xue Xiaolu’s sophomore feature film (after the Jet Li tearjerker ‘Ocean Heaven’) is no different, but what really sets it apart from its ilk is how she manages to execute it with wit, panache and poignancy.

Right from the start, Xue acknowledges her Hollywood influence – in the film’s opening scene, when lead female protagonist Wen Jiajia is asked by US immigration what the purpose of her visit is, she quotes the timeless Hollywood classic ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ as the reason for travelling to none other than Seattle itself. In fact, that Tom Hanks- Meg Ryan starrer is the very inspiration for Xue’s film – not only is it the movie that Jiajia watches in a cinema, it is also the very reason why Jiajia journeys to New York and eventually gets her happily-ever-after finale at the top of the Empire State Building.

But lest we give you the impression that ‘Finding Mr Right’ is no more than a slavish copy of that movie, rest assured that it isn’t. To be sure, Xue displays much more originality and audacity in her self-written screenplay, which is evident just by looking at her two leads. Far from being just a tourist, Jiajia is the mistress of a rich Beijing businessman (referred to as ‘Boss Zhong’) who has been shipped to Seattle to give birth after she is found pregnant. Besides the fact that ‘Boss Zhong’ wants to hide her from his family, there’s also the more inconvenient truth that she cannot do so in China given her singlehood.

Completing the love equation here is Frank, the mild-mannered driver who receives her at the airport to bring her the illegal maternity centre she is booked at and whom she takes advantage of at the start to be her chauffeur around town. Like Jiajia, Frank is more than what he appears to be – a recent divorcee looking after his young daughter Julie, he was once a famous doctor in Beijing before making the move to the US so that Julie can be nearer to her mother. Indeed, Frank and Jiajia are hardly the normal stuff of rom-coms, let alone protagonists in a Mainland movie where social norms are conventionally respected.

And yet here they are in a smartly-scripted reflection of contemporary Chinese society; while Jiajia portrays the increasingly materialistic prima donnas one can easily spot in luxury brand boutiques all over the world, Frank’s circumstance mirrors the tension faced by the traditional Chinese family as its working members respond to the call of globalisation and head overseas for work opportunities. Though Jiajia’s change of heart as she comes to realise the worthlessness of wealth is to be expected, how Frank’s own family situation resolves itself is rather unexpected and, shall we say, less politically correct, which ultimately adds to the credibility of the entire set-up.

Certainly, despite the fact that it does follow a customary narrative trajectory in establishing Jiajia and Frank as kindred souls recovering from their respective unfortunate romantic pasts and finding solace in each other, Xue’s sensitive approach to the material ensures that it never hits a false beat. From her longing for a traditional family to spend the Christmas holidays with (illustrated in an affecting sequence set to ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’) to her subsequent connection with Frank (recapped beautifully to Sarah McLachlan’s ‘ Angel’ at a key twist before the end), we guarantee that only the hardest of hearts won’t be moved by the immensely touching relationship that develops between the leads. Even what could easily be dismissed as pure contrivance in a different movie works delightfully in the climax, and ultimately a deeply meaningful conclusion that depicts how one is still entitled to a Hollywood-style romance (a la ‘Sleepless in Seattle) if one remains grounded with the right priorities and perspective in life.

Besides Xue’s engaging characters, a large part of the charm is thanks to Tang Wei and Wu Xiubo’s performances. Never a first choice to play a romantic lead (and regarded somewhat as a pariah in the Mainland China’s box-office after her daring debut in Ang Lee’s ‘Lust, Caution’), Tang Wei amazes with a disarmingly honest portrayal of Jiajia that conveys her naivety, verve and vulnerability. She finds a perfect complement in Xiubo’s restrained acting as Frank, who doesn’t overplay his character’s somewhat saintly care and concern for Jiajia and becomes a truly fully formed persona in the second half when he loses his cool over both his daughter and his ex-wife in two separate occasions.

Xue also scripts some warm supporting roles in Elaine Jin’s Mrs Huang, the Taiwanese caretaker of the maternity home Jiajia stays in, and Hai Qing’s Mei, a fellow resident whom Jiajia has a couple of entanglements with due to her petulant nature at the beginning – in particular, an unexpected twist regarding the latter’s pregnancy might in fact be seen as a breakthrough for the Chinese film industry. Of course, the same should be said of the entire movie, which represents an achievement in how it takes the rom-com formula developed by Hollywood and applies it to Mainland characters within a US context no less. But if these abstract notions don’t interest you, then hear this – ‘Finding Mr Right’ is amusing, witty, warm and touching, one of the most perfect date movies we’ve seen in some time. 

Movie Rating:

(Smart, funny, and surprisingly affecting, this rom-com surpasses a somewhat conventional narrative with unconventional but authentically written characters and a winning combination of wit, panache and poignancy)

Review by Gabriel Chong

SYNOPSIS: While trying to move on from an abusive ex-boyfriend, Amanda (Katie Cassidy, TV's Arrow) looks for a roommate to help pay the rent. Hailey (Tracy Spiridakos, TV's Revolution) just moved to college to get away from her own abusive past. Now roommates, both girls find comfort in their friendship and make a pact to help each other overcome their pasts... no matter what the cost. When Amanda's abusive ex-boyfriend catches up with her, a riveting roller coaster of suspense and twists is set in motion. In order to survive, the two girls face their harrowing pasts together. But as Hailey's past becomes more transparent, it's difficult to decipher who is the victim and who is the cold-blooded killer.

MOVIE REVIEW:

It’s always easy to have an idea for a movie but it’s never that easy to make an interesting one or for the matter of fact, an original and coherent flick that will leave you craving for more.

“Kill For Me” comes from the mind of Michael Greenspan whose debut feature is the Adrien Brody’s suspense thriller “Wrecked”. If not for the beautiful presence of Katie Cassidy from Arrow and Gossip Girl, this sophomore effort from Greenspan probably wouldn’t get made.

Cassidy plays Amanda, a college student whose roommate, Natalie mysteriously went missing six months earlier. Unable to pay the rent, Amanda’s friend brought in a new girl, Hailey (Tracy Spiridakos) to stay in Natalie’s room. The pair hit it off and a steamy relationship ensues after Hailey get rid of Amanda’s stalking ex-boyfriend. However, a favour is a favour and in turn, Hailey wants Amanda to kill his abusive dad.

It’s hard to imagine we need director Michael Greenspan and two more writers Christopher Dodd and Christian Forte to come up with this hot mess. It is for the most part a slow jog to nowhere, worst the revelation in the end leads to nothing spectacular and only confirmed this is not a very good thriller. Practically none of the mystery and suspense that are promised by the earlier proceedings works in this case. The story paints Hailey as a tortured soul yet she is clear minded enough to kill someone and dump his body and uses Amanda as a tool to kill his dad. Fair enough but how do you explain her self-inflicted injuries and the relationship with his abusive dad?

Nothing adds up to anything not even the sexy lesbian scenes can revive much viewing interest after 95 minutes which honestly run likes three hours. The only good thing right here is the presence of Cassidy and Spiridakos who contributed pretty gung-ho performances. Ultimately, “Kill For Me” belongs to the usual crop of direct-to-video releases, utterly forgettable and definitely boring in this case.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Making of KILL FOR ME includes some b-roll footages and the usual interviews with the director and cast.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

“Dialogue and sound effects are passable from the provided Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Images are sharp on the whole though the darker scenes are a little too murky.  

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee