SYNOPSIS: Captain Mattei (Daniel Auteuil) is on the brink of arresting a notorious gang of bank robbers when rooftop sniper (Mathieu Kassovitz) shoots at a unit of cops to allow his accomplices to escape. One of the gang is seriously wounded, which forces them to change their plans. Hiding out with a corrupt doctor (Olivier Gourmet), they have to postpone sharing the spoils. As Captain Mattei organizes a major manhunt, the gang starts their descent into hell...
MOVIE REVIEW:
This French crime drama begins with a nail-biting scene of cops vs. robbers on a crowded street of Paris. A group of robbers has clocked 15 heists within a span of 2 years and now Captain Mattei (Daniel Auteuil from “36”) is assigned to arrest this gang of bank robbers. However the mission is thwarted when a rooftop sniper, Vincent Kaminski (Mathieu Kassovitz) successfully wounded the cops thus allowing his fellow accomplices to escape.
Just when you thought it’s another one of those intense cop dramas which French cinema occasionally served up, Italian director Michele Placido and his screenwriters decide to pull off something unexpectedly middling. With one of their guys wounded, the rest of the men decide to hide in the house of an illegal doctor, Franck before splitting the loot. The surprise here is Franck happens to be a greedy serial killer as well.
I have no problems with serial killers in a horror, torture porn genre but in a cop thriller movie? Seriously? The plotting veers into a confusing myriad of issues after the intense opening beginning with numerous characters liked Vincent’s ex-lawyer girlfriend, a morphine-addicted partner and his wife taking much of the screentime. Captain Mattei on the other hand is no saint either; he probably has a personal vendetta against Vincent who killed his son while both were on a secret mission in Afghanistan. Throw in a sick character liked Franck and the cat-and-mouse game becomes a less than compelling title at the end.
That being said, Michele Placido did manage to concoct yet another impressive action sequence for the finale in case you feel short-changed. Obviously, “The Lookout” would be a much welcome crime flick if Placido actually work on a better story arc. Technically, the movie has all the aesthetic to look cool and drained though leading stars Daniel Auteuil and Mathieu Kassovitz are mostly wasted in this effort.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
This no-frills DVD contains imprinted English subtitles and a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that does little to the shootouts.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell star in this hilarious, non-stop action-packed comedy costarring Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth and Tom Arnold. A nice guy with a questionable past, Charlie Bronson (Shepard), risks everything when he busts out of a witness protection program to drive his girlfriend (Bell) to Los Angeles for the job opportunity of a lifetime. Their road trip grows awkwardly complicated, however, when they're chased by an inept fed (Arnold) and Charlie's ex-pal (Cooper), a vengeance-crazed criminal he helped put behind bars. Hit & Run is a high-speed race to the finish where the brakes are off and the chase is on.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Hit & Run is definitely Dex Shepard’s self-indulgent project. Even if he wrote, co-directed and likely foots the bill for some of the expenses, this is no excuse to come up with something so short of laughs and sputters almost all the way.
The flick opens with a couple getting cozy, teasing each other and all that mushy stuff. It helps that the couple, Charlie and Annie is played by soon-to-be husband-and-wife, Shepard and Kristen Bell. Shortly, we learnt that Charlie is in some sort of witness protection program with an U.S. Marshal, Randy (Tom Arnold from True Lies) assigned to protect him. When Annie has a job interview at L.A., Charlie offers to give her a lift. But their road trip is intercepted by Charlie’s fellow crime buddies, Dmitri (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Ryan Hansen) and Neve (Joy Bryant) including Annie’s over-zealous ex-beau, Gil (Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum).
The tagline says something liked “A comedy that never takes its foot off the gas”. The comedy part is completely off unless you find a roomful of senior citizens’ nudity and Randy’s constant fumbling amusing. The part about gas is nothing more than boring showcases of Shepard’s personal automobile collection which includes a Lincoln (not that American President) and some other handsome cars, a Pontiac Solstice if I’m not wrong racing along dirt tracks and the highway. Not that kind of exciting Fast & Furious racing you are expecting, most of them for the record remained gleaming in one piece at the end.
If there’s one thing that Shepard excelled is the sizzling chemistry emitting from him and Bell. The two bicker and offers some interesting anecdotes along the way mostly about Charlie whom by the way is not really call Charlie and his past life as a getaway driver. Shepard even ropes in his friend, the now superhot Bradley Cooper as the insane and violent-prone Dmitri, he might not be the right guy for the role but he is certainly having fun. A late uncredited Jason Bateman’s appearance is a surprise.
There are indeed bright sparks in Hit & Run. Shepard’s departure from the usual Hollywood formula certainly deserved a compliment of sorts unfortunately the tone is so uneven with plenty of screentime splitting between a rom-com and crime flick that the whole journey feels pretty much uncomfortable and bumpy.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visual is clean and brimming with details maybe it’s because the entire movie took place in broad daylight. Dialogue is clear while the revving car engines and screeching wheels filled the entire soundstage aggressively.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: The year is 1949 and ruthless gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) has the city of Los Angeles in his grip. Against a gang protected by rampant corruption, Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) resorts to extremes. He enlists battle-hardened hero Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) to form a unit to exact vigilante justice. Their job isn't to make arrests...it's to make war. As the city explodes in gunfire, jaded cop Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) is reluctantly drawn into the fight as he falls hard for Grace Faraday (Emma Stone), the elegant beauty whom Cohen claims as his own. Inspired by an incredible true story, Gangster Squad blows open the secret files of the cops who fought for L.A.'s soul.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Despite a star-studded cast, “Gangster Squad” fails to impress in the end. It has the names, the action, the production design and style but someone forgot to dial in a better script amidst all that.
With a story that is easily understood by the average teenage movie-goer, “Gangster Squad” follows an off the record, motley crew of law enforcers led by Sgt John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) to get mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) and his increasingly powerful crime empire out of the city of L.A. The politically-correct gang consists of womaniser Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), black officer Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), wire tapper and family man Conway (Giovanni Ribisi), Mexican-American Navidad (Michael Pena) and old-timer Max (Robert Patrick) with each possessing an unique skill of their own.
If not for the period setting and the somewhat historically based plotting, this could be easily be a 40’s A-Team. Unlike “The Untouchables”, “L.A. Confidential” or even Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies”, this Ruben Fleischer’s title never goes in-depth into the pulpy world of old-fashioned, organized crime unless you consider beating the daylights out of every bad guys on the street old-fashioned. Throwing in historical crime figure, Mickey Cohen into the script doesn’t make it any authentic if you squander the development of the character. And focusing unnecessary attention on O’Mara’s pregnant wife and Conway’s son only make it clichéd and predictable.
Still, there are enough bullet-riddled and stylized violence to please the action buffs. Car chases, a John-Woo inspired massive shootout in a hotel lobby and an intense, explosive sequence in Chinatown probably give you more bang for your buck particularly if you love blazing Tommy guns. The savvy production design, costumes including red-hot dresses, fitting suits and fedoras equipped with spectacular cinematography by Dion Beebe gives “Gangster Squad” a dazzling look.
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone make a hot pair in “Crazy Stupid Love” unfortunately that isn’t so right here. Stone playing Cohen’s social etiquette teacher and lover, Grace Faraday who falls in love with Gosling’s Jerry ends up underused and superficial while his co-star who impresses with “Drive” flaunts around aimlessly in stylish suits. Sean Penn took a lot of flak for his over-the-top performance as the sadistic Mickey Cohen, a criticism that remains pretty subjective given the overall clumsy handling of the material. Brolin on the other hand certainly keeps things moving with his honest, tough cop role.
“Gangster Squad” received a lot of attention due to the tragic happening of the Aurora shooting. A sensitive scene was removed, reshoots were scheduled and the release date was bumped. This certainly grants the movie plenty of publicity but that alone couldn’t alter the actual mediocre result of such a star-studded movie.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Tough Guys With Style, a brief 5 minutes segment that talks about the costume design and fashion style of the men and women of “Gangster Squad”.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The video presentation looks impressive with an array of lighting, shadow to create a smoky, dated feel and is beautifully captured here on DVD. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is an outstanding showcase of loud gunfires, doors crashing and hell lot of deafening punching.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Hong Kong of the 1970s - a place bustling with opportunities and riches! The earnest Song (starring Bosco Wong) befriended the crafty Ha (starring Michael Tse), who introduced Song to a job at a Chinese Teahouse. Fate has it that both Song and Ha fell for May (starring Kate Tsui), who is from a rich family and that Yuen (starring Joyce Cheng), May’s best friend had a huge crush on Ha. Decades passed and Song is now the owner of the Teahouse. All is well until Ha returns to create havoc. Facing the challenges of keeping the Teahouse afloat, Song decided to seek extreme measures, which resulted in him meeting an Angel (starring Eric Tsang)... will the Angel provide sound advice that solve Song’s woes? Or will the unity of Song and his loyal patrons and staff be the solution?
MOVIE REVIEW:
Eric Tsang is Raymond Wong’s closest rival when it comes to Lunar New Year productions. While the latter has been riding on his “All’s Well End’s Well” series, Tsang has been roping in TVB, Shaw and his celebrity friends to anchor his annual festive comedy.
“I Love HK 2013” continues Tsang’s taste for local, by that I mean it’s really a Hong Kong movie. The topic is local, the stars are mostly local and the entire movie shot locally as well. This time round, Tsang roped in his best friend, evergreen pop singer Alan Tam to play a goody-two-shoe, Sung Chi Hung who works in a teahouse with his best friend, Ha Shek Lam (Michael Tse). But their friendship is broken when Sung falls in love with a rich girl, Yeung (Kate Tsui) whom Ha has been admiring all along. Fast forward to present time, Ha is back for revenge and he tries to gain control of Sung’s teahouse while the family of Sung wants him to sell away his teahouse and migrate to Canada. Torn by all the hard decisions, will Sung manage to end his life or saved by an afro-looking angel (Tsang)?
You see, a strong plotline is not really the case here. It’s a New Year tradition to watch a heartwarming family drama with lots of stars thrown in for good measure that makes it more important. This is not to say the end result of “I Love HK 2013” is appalling however. In fact, Tsang and his team of scriptwriters managed to revoke a sense of nostalgia once again with the frequent flashbacks to the good old days beginning with Joyce Cheng gamely portraying a character that resemblances her late mother, Lydia Sum, musical performances including a cover of The Wynners’ LOVE and the return of sex bomb Veronica Yip for a cameo as the wife of Sung. Unfortunately, there are two fellatio gags that seem entirely inappropriate for a family comedy, director Chung Shu Kai should put a stop to it.
Even though Tam and Yip are prominently billed it’s rising TVB stars Bosco Wong and Kate Tsui (they play the younger Sung couple) who took up much of the screentime in this 97 minutes movie. Series regular Stanley Fung is back as the kindhearted boss of the teahouse and despite that “I Love HK 2013” appears less star-studded than its predecessors, it’s still an eye feast for longtime TVB fans.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Just a Trailer and Photo Gallery.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Colour reproduction and clarity is excellent and viewers have the option to choose between a 5.1 and 2.0 Mandarin/Cantonese soundtrack.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Crime/Action
Director: Eran Creevy
Cast: James McAvoy, Mark Strong, Andrea Riseborough, David Morrissey, Peter Mullan, Jason Flemyng, Elyes Gabel, Johnny Harris, Daniel Mays, Daniel Kaluuya
RunTime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/welcometothepunchmovie
Opening Day: 18 July 2013
Synopsis: WELCOME TO THE PUNCH is the second feature from Shifty writer-director Eran Creevy and producers Rory Aitken and Ben Pugh. The film focuses on the relationship between detective Max Lewinsky and Ex-criminal Jacob Sternwood, focusing on the moment Jacob’s son is involved in a heist gone wrong, forcing him to return to London from his Icelandic hideaway. This gives Max another chance to take down the man he’s always been after, a man who has humiliated and physically scarred him. With the two men set on an unremitting collision course, they come across a deeper conspiracy that they will both need to solve in order to survive. Written and directed by BAFTA nominated Eran Creevy (Shifty), WELCOME TO THE PUNCH is a crime-thriller shot in and around the modern city-scapes of London including the banking centre of Canary Wharf and the city’s rejuvenated East End. The film stars James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class, Wanted, Atonement, The Last King Of Scotland), Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), and Andrea Riseborough (W.E.), along with Peter Mullan (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Tyrannosaur), David Morrissey (Nowhere Boy, The Other Boleyn Girl), Daniel Mays (Shifty) and Johnny Harris (The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus).
Movie Review:
While Hollywood continues its perennial struggle to find new blockbuster ideas that will connect with worldwide audiences, the British film industry has in recent years found its own niche producing gritty crime thrillers. ‘Welcome to the Punch’ is a (pardon the pun) welcome addition to that list, an impressive helming debut for self-professed genre geek Evan Creevy, whose script for the movie found itself atop the 2010 Brit List of the best unproduced screenplays compiled by the industry itself.
There’s no doubt, watching Creevy’s film, why his script was met with such critical acclaim. Pitting a dogged and vengeful renegade detective against a smart and composed criminal mastermind, Creevy demonstrates through the evolving relationship between his two protagonists that he is fully in tune with the macho sensibilities of the crime genre. This is the kind of pairing that Michael Mann made formula with Al Pacino and Robert de Niro in ‘Heat’ and once again with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx in ‘Collateral’, and Creevy plays it just right here.
As acted by James McAvoy, the hard-boiled cop Max Lewinsky, who is still physically and psychologically scarred from a bullet to the knee inflicted by his bitter enemy Jacob Sternwood, is visibly bitter but always understandably so. On the other hand, Mark Strong’s Jacob is never less than Max’s intriguing foil, charismatic and brilliant but surprisingly measured even in his ruthlessness. Assisted by McAvoy and Strong’s solid performances, Creevy’s design of his characters’ feud is consistently gripping to watch, even more so when they are forced to become allies against a larger common enemy in the last third of the film.
Clearly inspired by other similarly-minded thrillers, Creevy throws some political intrigue into the mix, painting a shadowy conspiracy that involves the higher echelons of the police force and the Home Secretary who is currently seeking re-election. There’s little doubt that Max’s chief, Geiger (David Morrissey), is somehow involved in it all; nonetheless, what this late twist lacks in originality, Creevy makes up for in terms of atmosphere, keeping a taut rein on the proceedings as the unlikely partners take on the powers that be.
The same can be said of the entire film in fact, which Creevy shoots with a stylised intensity that does not let up. Right from the opening frame, he establishes a sleek visual palette swathed in blues and greys, evoking a cooler than cool feel to its London’s East End locations - in particular, the business district of Canary Wharf. He also does a surprisingly impressive job with the gun battles - one within a night club and the other around the compound of a container yard - which pulse with excitement as much as the rest of the movie does with verve.
If there is but one gripe, it is that there could be more of the dark humour which characterises one of the standout sequences of the film. Also featuring a brief performance by veteran acclaimed Brit actress Ruth Sheen, it injects a dash of levity into the general solemnity with a tense but darkly humorous standoff between a singularly-minded soldier (Johnny Harris) and the three men holding his mother (Sheen) hostage. And oh, we might add too that it does end with a John Woo-esque slo-mo gunplay that differentiates it from the rest of the action.
But despite borrowing openly from Woo to Mann to even Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy, Creevy’s sophomore feature film never feels like a foolish amalgamation of different styles; rather, it builds on these influences within a distinctively British setting, and like Creevy’s own 2008 debut ‘Shifty’ is all the better for it. It won’t become a classic for sure, but ‘Welcome to the Punch’ is still a fine example of the craft of British filmmakers in the crime genre - after all, the fact that Ridley Scott is executive producer should mean something.
Movie Rating:
(A sleekly cool British crime thriller that won’t win points for originality, but still packs a potent punch in style and atmosphere to satisfy genre fans)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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HANS ZIMMER'S TAKE ON THE MAN OF STEELPosted on 07 May 2013 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Lee Hwan-gyeong
Cast: Ryoo Seung-ryong, Park Sin-hye, Gal So-won, Oh Dal-soo, Park Won-sang, Kim Jeong-tae
RunTime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Nudity)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.7gift.kr
Opening Day: 20 June 2013
Synopsis: Lee Yong-gu is a mentally challenged man with an intelligence of a 6 year-old, which is actually the age of his own daughter Yesung who is much smarter than her peers. The two of them lead a happy life on their own while Yong-gu makes a living by working as a parking attendant at a local supermarket. But one day, when the police commissioner’s young daughter dies in a strange accident, Yong-gu who happens to find her is falsely accused and sentenced to death for abduction, sexual assault, and murder of a minor. Yesung is sent to a childcare institution and Yong-gu gets imprisoned and assigned to Cell No.7. At first, other inmates in the cell keep their guard against Yong-gu on death roll, then realize that there’s something wrong with him. Not understanding his own dire situation, Yong-gu only worries about his daughter. One day, he saves his fellow cellmate, an influential figure in the prison, from an attack by his rival. In return for saving his life, Yong-gu is granted a wish: to see his daughter Yesung again. The inmates put their heads together to carry out a daring operation and miraculously succeed in sneaking Yesung into Cell No.7 during a religious event. While the father and daughter rejoice, the others realize it was relatively easy getting her in, but impossible getting her out. After a while, Yesung is detected and sent back, but during the time the inmates as well as the prison guards come to realize that Yong-gu was falsely charged. And they all put their heads together to prepare him for his final trial.
Movie Review:
True to its title, ‘Miracle in Cell No 7’ achieved a miracle in its home country earlier this year, joining a rare club of movies that have crossed the 10 million admission mark and cementing its position as one of the biggest local hits of the year. It’s not hard to see why really - despite being an odd mix of broad comedy and melodramatic family tragedy, director and co-screenwriter Lee Hwan-kyung’s latest film is an unabashed crowdpleaser that does exactly what it needs to in order to tug at his audience’s heartstrings.
Savvy viewers should be able to recognise his intentions right from the start, as Lee sets a mentally handicapped single father with a precocious but oh-so-adorable little daughter as his main character. Wasting no time in laying the premise of his prison-set story, Lee introduces us to the father-daughter pair of Yong-gu (played by the chameleon-like performer Ryu Seung-ryong) and Ye-sung (Gal So-won) singing and performing the ‘Sailor Moon’ theme song outside a stationery shop, the significance of that Japanese cartoon coming into sharper focus later on.
Ye-sung wants the ‘Sailor Moon’ backpack on display in the shop, but before Yong-gu gets his salary for the month to buy her the only one left, another parent has snapped it up for his six-year-old girl. By sheer chance, that same girl runs into Yong-gu at the parking garage where he works as an attendant, and promises to bring him to another shop which sells the exact same bag. So he follows, but along a quiet alley, she winds up dead and he is mistaken by a passer-by for having raped and killed her. Turns out that girl is the Commissioner’s daughter, who blinded by rage, is content to rely merely on circumstantial evidence to get him convicted and sent behind bars.
Lee doesn’t keep his audience under any illusion that Yong-gu is innocent, so any subsequent act of injustice done to him is meant to stir up a sense of indignation - whether the initial outburst by the prison warden Jang (Jeong Jin-young) at an act of perceived insubordination or the ‘ragging’ he gets from his cellmates at the start when they find out what he has been charged with. A selfless act that saves Boss Yang-ho’s (Oh Dal-su) life leads the former and the rest of his cellmates to change their opinion of Yong-gu, and Yang-ho returns the favour by smuggling Ye-sung into prison so that father and daughter can be reunited.
The mechanics of that aren’t important; by that point, it should already be clear that Lee is more than willing to play by narrative contrivance in order to engineer schmaltzy moments. Ditto for a distinct lack of veracity - not only for the sheer implausibility of just how long Ye-sung can stay hidden inside the cell without being found out, but at its most extreme, how Yang-ho and the rest of his cellmates can actually build a hot-air balloon that can rise above the walls of the prison. Indeed, if you’re determined to enjoy Lee’s slice of fantasy, you’ll be better off accepting his constructs at face value.
To Lee’s credit, it’s really not hard to be won over. The bond between Yong-gu and Ye-sung is heartfelt and heartwarming, and both Ryu Seung-ryong and Gal So-won share such effortless chemistry with each other that only the hardest of hearts won’t be moved. Also brimming with warmth are the scenes between Yong-gu and his cellmates - Chun-ho (Park Won-sang), Seo (Kim Ki-cheon), Bong-shik (Jung Man-shik) and Man-beom (Kim Jung-tae) in addition to Yang-ho - none of whom prove more threatening than a fly. In particular, the running gags involving their attempts to conceal Ye-sung from the guards and teach their boss Yang-ho to read are easily some of the most hilarious moments in the movie.
And even though it’s apparent that a large part of the movie is designed specifically for broad audience appeal, Lee exercises an admirable amount of restraint when it comes to the emotional finale. Yes, it’s a given that tears are meant to be shed, but Lee works that sequence with a touch of elegance, so much so that you won’t be inclined to begrudge it for being successful. Rather than leave his audience vexed, Lee also ends the movie on a bittersweet note as an adult Ye-sung finally gets her father the justice he deserves in a belated trial that reunites his former cellmates and Warden Jang.
Because of Lee’s deliberate but nonetheless effective efforts to ensure that his movie connects and resonates on an emotional level with his audience, it’s not hard to see why it has come out of nowhere to become one of the biggest Korean hits of the year. There is no cultural barrier to the story too, as Lee relies on universal themes of the love between father and daughter and the camaraderie between friends forged by circumstance to tell an implausible but touching modern-day fairy tale. Suspend your belief and we guarantee you that you’ll find yourself tickled and moved by this fable.
Movie Rating:
(Unabashedly manipulative but nonetheless surprisingly amusing, affecting and uplifting, this modern-day fairy tale of enduring love between a father and a daughter will leave you misty-eyed)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Jennifer Prior, Charlotte Prior, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari
RunTime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/BeforeMidnightFilm
Opening Day: 25 July 2013
Synopsis: In Before Midnight, we meet Celine and Jesse 9 years on. Almost 2 decades have passed since that first meeting on a train bound for Vienna, and we now find them in their early 40's in Greece. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story.
Movie Review:
“I mean how long has it been since we were just wandering around bullshitting?”
Apparently, it’s been about nine years, but it feels longer than that in Before Midnight.
The third part of Richard Linklater’s (Me and Orson Welles, Bernie) trilogy revolving around the slow burn of a romance between a couple that fell in love from a chance encounter is the darkest one yet, and aptly titled. 1995’s Before Sunrise laid out the serendipitous meeting of young adults Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) on a train in Vienna. Their immediate attraction sparked an ineffable chemistry and intimate heart-to-heart conversations. Nothing much happened: there were no clichéd romantic overtures or cringe-worthy proposal scenes. They were simply talking, and the film was notable for exactly that. The natural interplay between Jesse and Celine were so riveting that the sequel in 2004, Before Sunset, felt like a welcome second chapter. It came to an abrupt end when Jesse had to rush off to catch a plane back home to his wife and kid… but did he?
It’s been another nine years since, and Before Midnight opens with Jesse at the airport with his son, a teasing reference to the previous film’s ending. The father-son interaction is awkward, reflective of a semi-distant relationship where both parties aren’t spending enough time with each other. We hear mentions of his ex-wife, an absent and rather carelessly demonised figure, and Jesse reluctantly sees his son off before joining Celine, who’s waiting in the car outside with their blonde twin daughters. They now live together in Paris but are holidaying in Greece, and as they drive off in the balmy weather, both drift into a familiar repartee, exchanging witty/snarky comments without missing a single beat.
It would feel like more of the same, but the content of the conversation is strongly telling of their age, heavier responsibilities and (still) struggling aspirations. Celine brings up a potential career opportunity in Paris while Jesse shares his concerns with missing out on his son’s growing up years, and hints at moving back to Chicago from Paris. Both ideas are at odds; we know this rift is merely the tip of the iceberg.
The dialogue between them is funny and entertaining, for sure, but now also practical: They no longer discuss dreams, philosophy or politics, and instead talk about their past, their families, their mortality, and ultimately whether their love can withstand life’s wear and tear. While the first two films felt like idealistic romance, reality bites in Before Midnight. When Jesse and Celine argue, both perspectives are painfully fleshed out, and audiences probably can identify with certain points. They’re so close that they know precisely what to say or do to deliver the deepest cuts. Perhaps worse than that, they do it unconsciously. It’s most clearly evinced over a lunch with a few other couples, where Celine repeatedly mentions their disagreements, ultimately prompting a young couple to question the longevity of love.
It is in the heavier parts of the film, when tensions are at their highest, where the depth of both lead characters shine through. Once a bright-eyed ingénue with a mind of her own, Celine in particular has matured and taken on a more assertive and caustic demeanour. She’s witty, occasionally to the point of being scathing, and never shy to call a spade a spade. Her new over-protectiveness is likely a function of her role as a mother. Delpy does an excellent job in conveying her character’s nuances and overall growth. Meanwhile, the age shows in Hawke’s Jesse, who’s trying his best but weighed down by his responsibility to his previous marriage.
Linklater retains the loose relaxed flow of the earlier two movies, allowing long takes where Hawke and Delpy have their famous talks and look like they’re improvising on-screen – both actors have said that they’re not; everything is scripted and rehearsed. This is largely in part due to the tight collaboration between the three, who’ve been involved in the series since day one. Credible and intelligent, the script manages to balance the joys of being in a committed relationship with the stress of inevitable conflicts. The end result is a bittersweet concoction that should strike a chord in many.
Movie Rating:
(Graceful and emotionally intense, this third chapter closes out the romantic story of a complex couple, featuring a fascinating blend of humour and pain while exploring love’s struggle against the realities of life)
Review by Wong Keng Hui
SYNOPSIS: A company of American soldiers is lost behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge and makes a horrific discovery - a super bomb in development. The soldiers soon learn about a secret allied mission to retrieve a defecting German scientist in charge of a secret weapons program. Faced with impossible odds, the company and an escaping POW go on a daring raid into the heart of Nazi Germany in pursuit of the scientist.
MOVIE REVIEW:
You probably have seen his face in “Saving Private Ryan” and “Black Hawk Down” though you are unlikely to recall his name. Well, he is Tom Sizemore, the troubled actor who is used to playing grizzled war veteran and tough personalities. And I guess he has the most recognizable face for the marketing department to plaster on the DVD cover.
In this direct-to-video adaptation of the now-defunct THQ’s “Company of Heroes” videogame series, Sizemore plays Dean Ransom, a demoted officer together with his platoon of men are assigned to deliver Christmas ham to the troops by their commander (Neal McDonough who hilariously gets top billing but only appears right at the beginning and end). You read that right, h-a-m. And before you know it, the platoon of men has stumbled upon the Nazi’s evil plan of testing and detonating an atomic bomb in New York or Washington whichever is convenient. The question lies in the hands of a rookie sniper, Nate (Chad Michael Collins) who just took over the commanding of whatever left of their platoon – that is whether or not to thwart the Nazi’s plan by capturing the nuclear scientist and save the world.
This is supposed to be some untold WWII story that changed history yet the storytelling is so flat it makes “Captain America” looks like Oscar-winning material. None of the leading characters are memorable apart from Ransom and Nate before most of them are predictably killed off and the introduction of a female character in the later arc of the plotting adds nothing substantial except for a nudity bit. Vinnie Jones of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels fame on the other hand shows up midway in a forgettable role of a wisecracking British soldier.
Fortunately, director Don Michael Paul knows how to blow things up in snow covered locations just to lend some authenticity that it’s near to Christmas. Even with a limited budget, “Company of Heroes” shines in its several well-staged battles and the handheld shaky cam shots give it a genuine sense of danger. The inclusion of tanks used during the WWII era makes it even more impressive. But that couldn’t be said of the occasional CG explosions and aerial fighter planes jetting across the sky.
There are worst movies in the direct-to-video category though “Company of Heroes” surprisingly isn’t one of them; it has enough adrenalin and stuff blowing up in the end to warrant your time. Just don’t worry the part about untold story that changed history.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
A single Deleted Scene is included while In The Trenches: Filming Company of Heroes is a typical featurette where the filmmakers and cast talks about making the movie. The 6 minutes Fabricating World War II delves into the movie’s art design and the authentic weaponry seen. .
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Audio is rather impressive with lots of wham-bang explosives and bullets whizzing across in every direction. Visually, the movie suffers especially during the night scenes where it’s difficult to make out the details.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
A soundtrack album from the visionary director Baz Luhrmann? We’ve got to lay our hands on it. The Australian filmmaker’s latest work isn’t stingy when it comes to budget, and besides the ludicrously unabashed visuals, we can tell from the names attached to this 72 minute album.
The album cover wastes no time in telling you that big names like Jay Z, will.i.am, Florence + The Machine and Lana Del Rey are some of the artistes you’d find crooning tunes on the CD. With Jay Z taking on the role of executive producer, it is no surprise the who’s who of the music industry agreed to being involved in this commercial project. But hey, what’s wrong with being in your face commercial? For the record, we are loving the music on this highly recommended album.
Leonardo Dicaprio’s Jay Gatsby whispers “My life has got to be like this. It has to keep going on.” In the opening track “100$ Bill” performed by Jay Z, setting the mood for the following cues. Beyonce and Andre 3000 collaborate on the guilty pleasure that is “Back to Black”, a cover of Amy Winehouse’s well known song. Lana Del Rey comes on next, with the emotionally heart wrenching “Young and Beautiful”, the perfect tune to play when you are drowning in self pity. An even more over the top version featuring the DH Orchestra is also included in this deluxe version.
The always perfect Jack White performs U2’s “Love is Blindness”, while Emeli Sande and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra brings on Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”. The wacky “Bang Bang” is performed by will.i.am, before Fergie leads Q Tip and Goonrock to party it out with “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody”.
We are but halfway through the album, and we feel that this album is the perfect choice to liven things up your party. Expect tunes like “Over the Love” by Florence+ The Machine, “Kill and Run” by Sia and “Together” by The xx to keep the rhythm going. This is one CD you’d want to keep on standby, in case things get a little boring at your next gathering.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (3) Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey
Review by John Li
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