Genre: Action/War
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, Eric Bana, Alexander Ludwig, Jerry Ferrara
RunTime: 2 hrs 1 min
Rating: M18 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: http://www.lonesurvivorfilm.com/

Opening Day: 13 February 2014

Synopsis: "Lone Survivor," starring Mark Wahlberg, tells the story of four Navy SEALs on an ill-fated covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative when they are ambushed by enemy forces in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. Based on The New York Times bestseller, this story of heroism, courage and survival directed by Peter Berg ("Hancock," "Friday Night Lights") also stars Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch and Eric Bana.

Movie Review:

The mission codenamed Operation Redwings is simple enough. Four Navy seals are dispatched to the mountains in Afghanistan’s Kunar province on a reconnaissance mission to establish the location of a wanted Taliban commander. But just hours later, the mission is botched by a couple of goat-herders and worst of all, the men suffered from poor reception to reach back to their base. 

Based on the nonfiction book and true account by retired Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell, Lone Survivor is a superbly intense war picture helmed by Peter Berg who was behind the disastrous Battleship and Hancock. Fret not; Berg is back in top form here.  It took him seven years just to bring Luttrell’s book to the big screen and it probably goes down in history as one of Berg’s best picture to date.

For many, it might be yet another forgettable Afghan war related movie that celebrates American heroism and nothing more. Indeed, that’s undeniably true because the movie doesn’t spend time telling the side of the Taliban fighters’ story. But if you minus the fact that the people involved are all whites, the word heroism actually applies to all, be it Americans or Singaporeans. In that essence, Berg’s picture celebrates what you call a true hero. It just so happens that Luttrell and his teammates belong to the Navy Seals. 

The title alone tells you what happen next. A much larger Taliban force ambushed Luttrell (played by Mark Wahlberg) and his three teammates after their Lieutenant Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch) decides to set free the goat-herders after a fierce debate between the men. A rather thought-provoking scene that ask the question of is it morality right to execute the unarmed civilians or merely letting them go away scot-free. 

Ultimately, it’s the events that follow that will have you gripping tightly to your seats. Luttrell, Murphy, Matthew Axelson (Ben Foster) and Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) despite being heavily ambushed fought hard to escape from the clutches of the enemies. The action is hard-hitting, bloody often aided by cinematographer Tobias Schliessler’s naturalistic approach and realistic stunt coordination from the stunt guys. Clearly, Berg has no qualms recreating the stomach-churning injury and wound effects courtesy of KNB EFX group as well.

Every actor is busy looking bushy and buff including Eric Bana who plays Lieutenant Commander Erik Kristensen who heads a failed Chinook helicopter rescued operation and Alexander Ludwig looking extremely baulked up (From The Hunger Games and Race to Witch Mountain) turning up as a young petty officer Shane Patton. Nevertheless its Wahlberg who stole the thunder with his performance as the tortured Marcus Luttrell and obviously, Marky Mark has already established himself as a credible actor.

Freedom cannot be taken for granted and true heroics cannot be faked in a combat environment as this harrowing story tells us. In the tradition of Black Hawk Down and The Hurt Locker, Lone Survivor is a solid modern warfare movie that pays tribute to the many fallen men and women. It’s a tale of brotherhood, courage, patriotism and more. 

Movie Rating:

(A must watch for all NS men past and present)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: John Crowley
Cast: Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Ciarán Hinds, Riz Ahmed, Anne-Marie Duff, Kenneth Cranham, Denis Moschitto, Julia Stiles, Jim Broadbent
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 21 November 2013 

Synopsis: From the producers of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY comes the new international thriller, CLOSED CIRCUIT. Following a mysterious explosion in a busy London market, the police swoop, a suspect is detained, and the country prepares for one of the most high-profile trials in British history. Two exceptional lawyers with a romantic history step into a dangerous web of secrets and lies, and when evidence points to a possible British Secret Service cover up, it's not just their reputations, but their lives that are at stake.

Movie Review:

Approximately half a million closed circuit cameras are mounted in London to keep watch on its streets, its buildings and of course its citizens. That amounts to about one for every 32 citizens. Befittingly then, the movie opens with surveillance camera footage of its citizens looking through London’s Borough Market neighbourhood, first four, then eight, then 12 and so on. As the multitude of CCTV footage fills the screen, a terrorist bomb explodes, filling the air with smoke and rubble.

‘Closed Circuit’ is one of those thrillers set in a post-9/11 geopolitical context, and like many of its ilk, poses a lifelike scenario to question the means necessary to protect ordinary citizens from national security threats. Cutting straight to several months later, this one focuses on the events that follow after a lone suspect, Farroukh Erdogan (Denis Moschitto), claimed by the Government to be the only surviving member of the call responsible for the bombing, is set to be charged in court for his crime. Peculiar to the British legal system, he will have two lawyers - the first to be his attorney in open court; and the second, termed a Special Advocate, will hear the classified evidence to be kept secret for reasons of national security.

Eric Bana’s Martin Rose plays the former, stepping into the hot seat after the apparent suicide of the previous lawyer and his friend. The latter is played by Rebecca Hall’s Claudia Simmons-Howe, whom Martin is not allowed to meet, share information or have any sort of a relationship. Just happens that Martin and Claudia used to be lovers, a clandestine affair that led to a bitter end to Martin’s marriage and whom both are still reeling from - better to keep that then from the coolly menacing attorney general (Jim Broadbent) who seems to be keeping tabs on their every move and offering words of prescient advice and even warnings.

As de rigueur for a British thriller, there is a conspiracy involved, one that reaches up the highest echelons of Government – think the MI5, the British secret service. Steven Knight, the screenwriter of ‘Dirty Pretty Things’, ‘Eastern Promises’ and the most recent ‘Redemption’ spins a fairly engaging mystery with some interesting supporting characters -  Martin’s partner Devlin (Ciaran Hinds) who got him the job in the first place; the MI5 operative Nazrul Sharma (Riz Ahmed) who seems to have some vested interest in seeing Farroukh put down; and even a New York Times investigative reporter Joanna Reece (Julia Stiles) who had close ties with Farroukh’s deceased former lawyer.

While it isn’t terribly clever, the narrative serves its purpose in being fodder for the film’s central conceit. Just how important are the principles of transparency and openness, especially in a situation where the two seem necessary compromises for the protection of millions of lives? How important are the rights of an individual compared to the rights of the collective majority? Knight’s writing is nuanced enough not to push any sort of agenda and instead allows his viewer space to ponder and draw his or her own conclusions; and on Crowley’s part, he does a fine job balancing the labyrinth subplots, keeping the story humming at a brisk pace.  

The impeccable ensemble also gives the movie a sharp boost. Bana brings urgency and gravitas to his role as the defense attorney unwittingly caught up in matters way above his head, while Hall exudes intelligence as his peer tangled in the very same web of cover-ups. Hinds, Stiles, Ahmed do their best in their roles, but it is Broadbent who stands out among them all, his terse and tense exchanges with Martin some of the most chilling scenes the movie has going for it.

Even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights of brilliance, ‘Closed Circuit’ proves an intriguing probe into the realities of a post-9/11 world, where, in the name of national interest, personal freedom has been justified as an obligatory sacrifice. It is gripping no doubt, staged with mounting tension from start to finish, and gifted with the kind of performances to make this the kind of thriller for a smart, thinking audience. 

Movie Rating:  

(Tense and engaging, this political thriller set firmly in a post-9/11 geopolitical context makes for both a gripping and thought-provoking watch)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Share a Diet Pepsi with Josh Duhamel Posted on 30 Aug 2013 Lighten up people, it's Friday!!! Transformers hunk Josh Duhamel invites you to have a sip of Diet Pepsi with him in this latest ad from the famous soft drink maker. A simple commercial but brings the message across effectively. Slurp it up... ... more

SYNOPSIS: This groundbreaking cinematic event stars Tom Cruise as Jack Harper, the lone security repairman stationed on a desolate, nearly-ruined furture earth. When he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft, her arrival triggers a non-stop chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows, leaving humanity's fate in his hands.

MOVIE REVIEW:

You may not agree with his off-screen antics but you can’t deny Tom Cruise is one actor that is constantly trying to outdo himself. With two solid sci-fi movies (both with Steven Spielberg) under his belt, Cruise joins hands with Joseph Kosinski (Tron Legacy) in bringing to life this US$120 million production based on the latter’s graphic novel.

For a start, Kosinski is a master at graphics; his visual sense is simply remarkable. Whereas he is obligated to expand on a world already existed in his debut feature, Oblivion is the large blank canvas waiting for him to embark on. It’s visually stunning and the overall clean, clear cut designs of the spaceship, drones and tower just to name a few is compelling enough to wow you. Apple, you might want to hire Kosinski as consultant for the next iPhone and stuff.

But then here comes the sad part, the plotting of Oblivion is an obvious mash-up of several renowned sci-fi movies, the fats of it derived from better sources and the third act almost crashes whatever Kosinski has set up for the first hour. Not to let the cat out of the bag, Cruise plays Tech 49, Jack Harper, a drone repairman stationed on Earth to maintain and protect the drones which are harvesting energy for the surviving humans whom has since migrated to a massive space station after an alien invasion.

Although Jack’s has fleeting visions of a mysterious woman he met on the Empire State Building, his only colleague (and lover), Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) assures him nothing else matters as once their mission is completed within weeks, they can join the rest of the survivors. But when a spacecraft carrying a woman, Julia (Olga Kurylenko) crashed on Earth, Jack realized there is more than meets the eyes and the things he believed might not be true after all.

For a two hours movie, Oblivion can be slow at parts and having trusted actors liked Morgan Freeman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau onboard for some brief moments just doesn’t nail it. Much liked a spaceship going mayday, the narrative loses much steam with an adrenalin rush of slam-bang set pieces and a predictable twist to conclude the story. Fortunately, there are always some arresting visuals accompanied by a pounding score provided by French electronic band M83 to capture your imagination.

Trust me, you will never be bored with the 51 year old Cruise running his ass off, flying an ice-cream cone looking spaceship or behaving intimately with his co-star in Oblivion. This is not a cutting-edge sci-fi flick for sure but sometimes, the visuals alone can outweigh the storytelling. For now, this is that flick. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

This DVD transfer is brimming with beautiful images and colours, any better you need the bluray version. Same goes to the audio with weighty, surround effects all around and brilliant music score.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: The studio that brought you Marvel’s The Avengers unleashes the best Iron Man adventure yet with this must-own, global phenomenon starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. When Tony Stark/Iron Man finds his entire world reduced to rubble, he must use all his ingenuity to survive, destroy his enemy and somehow protect those he loves. But a soul-searching question haunts him: Does the man make the suit… or does the suit make the man?

MOVIE REVIEW:

(This review contains spoilers)

Shane Black’s treatment of Iron Man 3 nearly destroyed what Jon Favreau has established in the first two instalments. While it is without doubt the biggest movie this summer, the Marvel superhero epic actually contains more flaws than the last entry.

Considered essentially as a darker, more mature outing by raving critics, Iron Man 3 in a nutshell focused mostly on Tony Stark and his suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Order (PTSD) after his heroic escape from the wormhole in Avengers. Well, he is still Iron Man, he is still the cool swinging Billionaire inventor Tony Stark, Pepper Potts is still by his side and he even has a bigger threat this time round, the mysterious ruthless Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley) and his Extremis agents out to get him. But what is wrong with Black’s script that leaves me unsatisfied and slightly pissed?

Everything in one way or another turned out to be some sort of a joke or gag in Black’s writing. For non-comic fans, The Mandarin is both a genius scientist and a martial arts artist (not to mention magical power rings) with a background as interesting as Stark. The trailer tries to sell him as an Osama Bin Laden-like modern day terrorist and of course, we believed that as the entire Iron Man series is set in a believable, contemporary real-world, Mandarin is being reimagined as the Mandarin version of Bin Laden. Cool. But no, Ben Kingsley in the end turned out to be a ridiculous punch line which caused the whole movie to proceed without much of a purpose other than a disjointed visual affair.

This is not the sole character issue we have here. The main villain, Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), an inventor of the Extremis technology whom as compared to the significant Mandarin is mainly another disposable character in the vast Marvel Universe. Isn’t Killian as forgettable as Iron Man 2’s Ivan Vanko? Without a central villainous character to expand the story further, it’s hard to root for more Iron Man adventures. Worse, having Pepper Potts disposing Killian in the finale (where numerous Iron Man suits ended disastrously) is probably similar to watching Lois Lane twisting the neck of General Zod in Man of Steel? Okay, that’s a bit far off but I hope you are getting my point. 

Besides these, James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) aka Iron Patriot becomes a fumbling sidekick to Tony Stark and his most reliable partner throughout the ordeal happened to be a 10-year-old ordinary boy named Harley. English actress Rebecca Hall playing Dr Hansen, a botanist who assists Killian in his deadly experiment is sadly negligible. Not all is lost in one of Marvel’s most lucrative franchise however. The visual effects remain state-of-art and the action sequences whether crucial to the plotting or serve as plain eye candy is top notch in terms of execution.

To the casual movie-goer, Iron Man 3 is a perfunctory summer blockbuster: loud, occasionally filled with unexpected twists and fun. For the rest of us, we are liked Robert Downey Jr showing signs of fatigue at this piece of once glazing metal piece. Not a very reassuring sign that there will be a fourth stand-alone iron head down the road that we can look forward to. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Deconstructing The Scene: Attack On Air Force One is an eight minutes feature that shows us how the exhilarating action sequence is conceived through practical photography with the combination of visual effects by Digital Domain. 

Exclusive Behind the Scene Look: Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World is just a mere two minutes interview with the key filmmakers and trailer shots.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Iron Man 3’s DVD transfer is pristine and power packed with imaging details while the soundtrack is filled with explosions and zipping weaponry effects.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Overheard 3 is the much anticipated finale to the successful Hong Kong movie franchise by the team behind the Infernal Affairs trilogy. The last installation centres on a group of businessmen using wiretapping methods to obtain information about the government’s undisclosed plans on Hong Kong’s real estate development.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Expectations are high because Overheard 3 is the latest if not the last instalment of a pretty successful franchise created by Alan Mak and Felix Chong after their Infernal Affairs movie series.

While Overheard 3 continues the theme of surveillance and feature the same three leading actors Louis Koo, Sean Lau and Daniel Wu, the convoluting plot no longer tackles the world of finance instead it’s a messy affair involving properties, land and a sizeable cast gasping for screentime.

To seize a part of the profitable New Territories Village in land-scare Hong Kong, Uncle To (Kenneth Tsang) and the Luk Brothers, Keung (Sean Lau), Fu (Alex Fong), Paul (Gordon Lam) and Chuck (Dominic Lam) teamed up with Mainland investor Wan (Huang Lei) to build elaborate apartments on the villagers’ land. With the enlistment of fellow friend, Jau (Louis Koo), they managed to kill off the last opposing man of the project, Yuen (Chin Kar Lok in a cameo).

Their evil scheme works and five years later the four brothers are obscenely richer than any of the poor villagers. At the same time, Jau is out of jail and he gets the promised reward of a million dollars from Keung. But Jau has plans of his own. He is now in cahoots with his ex-girlfriend, Yu (Michelle Ye) also the daughter of Uncle To and a computer expert Joe (Daniel Wu) to monitor the movements, phone recordings etc of the Luk Brothers so as to thwart their plans of a proposed IPO.

Money is never enough and greed can be lethal if this is the underlying message in Overheard 3. It’s best to watch the movie with a clear mind rather than going in with a sleepy head as you might find the heavy dialogue, numerous story arcs and complicated human relationships hard to follow.

Keung happens to be in love with a widow, Moon (Zhou Xun) whose husband happens to be Yuen and Moon happens to be smitten with Joe when the latter repaired her broken truck one night. Jau and Yu are old flames, separated by Uncle To when they were young but now Yu is in a relationship with Wan. Paul is having an affair with Fu’s wife and I think Chuck is dealing with drugs as well. Seemingly, everyone is related to one another one way or another and dealing with dirty deeds and more. Apparently every second onscreen revealed a little of every characters but it’s not substantial to salvage a wobbly story.

The only recommended aspect comes from the performances of Louis Koo and Sean Lau whose chemistry is undeniable while Daniel Wu and Zhou Xun is very much wasted in roles that didn’t possess enough screentime. The surveillance technique employed by Joe is probably much more powerful than the police and you can discard this as a mere cinematic tactic to keep you invested in the flagging story.

Overheard 3 is by far the most underwhelming entry of the three though in terms of technicalities such as cinematography, it remains a superior effort.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD boasts a dual Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack which is sufficient for this title. Visual presentation appears satisfying and images crisp and lifelike. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: During the beginning of the Rattanakosin Dynasty, many Thai men are drafted to serve in the war. Mak is no exception and has to leave his pregnant wife to join the fight. While at war, he saves and manages to forge a close bond with four fellow soldiers – Ter, Puak, Shin and Aey. When the war is over, Mak invites his four friends into his home in Phra Khanong town and introduces them to his beautiful wife Nak and his newborn baby boy Dang. However, a rumour is going around in the village that Nak has died from giving birth to her stillborn baby. The source of this rumour comes from Aunty Priak, the owner of a local liquor store, who is found dead floating on the river a few days later. The four friends suspects that Nak and Dang may already be dead and have been lingering around as haunting ghosts. It is now up to Mak to choose love or reality.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The heydays of Thai horror titles are mostly over since we are first introduced to the mega hit Shutter. Nowadays, it’s considered lucky for a Thai horror to survive more than a week run at the cinemas. Pee Mak however proves to be not just a hit in Thailand but locally as well.

Director Banjong Pisanthanakun who is behind Shutter, 4BIA and Hello Stranger grants Pee Mak a new lease of life by making it as a comedy rather than a straight out horror affair. Based on a famous Thai folklore, it’s a story of a pregnant lady who died during child birth. Her ghost returns to wait for her husband who was sent off to war. At least for Banjong’s version, the core of the story remains faithful while the rest of the movie is played mainly for laughs.

The handsome Thai-German actor Mario Maurer (Jan Dara: The Beginning) plays the tragic husband, Mak who along with his four goofy army buddies, Puak (Pongsatorn Jongwilak), Ter (Nattapong Chartpong), Aye (Kantapat Permpoonpatcharasuk), and Shin (Wiwat Kongrasri) returns to Mak’s homeland only to find out his beautiful wife, Nak is actually dead together with their child. The foursome tried their best to convince Mak that Nak is in fact a ghost though Mak refused to accept their explanation.

This arrangement allows Banjong and his main cast members (the foursome from 4BIA and Phobia 2) to stir up some laugh-out-loud laughs, two of which taking place in an amusement park’s haunted house and a boat ride respectively. Some of the fun might be lost through the subtitles but at least majority of the pop culture references will leave you in stitches definitely ironic for a movie set in early 1900s.

Despite the laughs, Pee Mak is slightly buoyed down by excessive material with the gags overstaying their welcome pretty often. Banjong’s habit of stretching the laughs becomes the movie’s main problem. The finale especially which has Mak outpouring his grief to his late wife is a total contrast to the rest of the movie not to mention the absurd ending.

Yet we can see why Pee Mak is so successful domestically and even in Singapore (for the record Pee Mak is the highest grossing Thai movie for the past five years). The material presented here is not terrifying at all and a sure crowd pleaser to everyone in the family.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Visual is satisfying even for the darker scenes and the audio serviceable.

MOVIE RATING:



DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: “The Wedding Diary II” picks up two years after the marriage of Wei Jie (Aniu) and Zhixin (Elanne), when they welcome a new and expected addition to their family. However, all is not well for Wei Jie　when Zhixin`s father, Colin (Jack Choo) suffers a stroke, which puts a strain on the couple`s relationship as Zhixin has to step up to handle her father`s business and at the same time, ensure that her mother (Kara Hui) does not fall into depression and anxiety due to her husband`s condition. It pains Weijie to see Zhixin under such stress and he quits his job to be a stay-home dad…

MOVIE REVIEW:

The fun in watching The Wedding Diary II is you need to be a fan of the first one.

Basically, the story of The Wedding Diary II continues from the first whereby Weijie (A Niu) and Zhixin (Elanne Kwong) are now happily settled down after a tumultuous wedding. But the young couple starts to experience marriage woes after Zhixin delivers her first kid and at the same time, Zhixin’s dad, Colin (Zhu Houren) suffers a stroke and she has to take over the management of his company. Weijie upon seeing his wife is under tremendous pressure quits his job to become a full-time dad. But the problems don’t stop there; a woman named Reese (Cynthia Wang) appeared claiming to be Colin’s illegitimate daughter. What is the real identity of Reese and will Weijie and Zhixin overcome these obstacles?

Helmed by Adrian Teh with all the original cast members assembled, it’s all TV drama and comedy when it comes to the plotting of The Wedding Diary II. Instead of focusing on society issues such as the pressure of raising kids and modern marriage woes, the movie decides to spilt into several subplots keeping things busy and melodramatic by the time it ends at a slick 96 minutes. The introduction of the new character, Reese for example adds nothing significant to the plotting and mainly acts to stir up unnecessary attempts to wet your eyes. While a cutesy baby is featured prominently on the promotional materials, the boy doesn’t really have a lot of screentime. It’s actually pretty fortunate we are spared the constant poo jokes come to think of it.

One of the standout performances from the series comes from veteran Marcus Chin returning as Weijie’s dad, a salted fish vendor from Malaysia who is keen on penetrating the Singapore market. His comical timing is flawless and his well-meaning (sometimes to the extent of hurtful) banter with his onscreen son is genuinely affecting and funny. Hong Kong’s Kara Hui and local actor, Zhu Houren tried their best to make do with their underwritten roles and A Niu together with Elanne Kwong once again won the audience over with their perfect chemistry. The cameo appearances of Chapman To as a Peter Chan look-alike director and the late getai comedian John Cheng nearly brought the house down with their enthusiastic performances.

Infidelity and kidnapping doesn’t always go hand in hand. If you loved the characters in the first instalment and laugh-out-loud moments (which might not be related to the main plot) then The Wedding Diary II makes a nice concluding chapter despite being uneven and inadequate. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The extras consist of a brief 3 minutes Making of, a Music Video, Photo Gallery and a Trailer.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Visual is clear for the digitally shot movie and dialogue always audible.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: When the White House (Secret Service Code: "Olympus") is captured and the President (Aaron Eckhart) is kidnapped by a terrorist mastermind, disgraced former Presidential guard, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), moves to action. As the national security team scrambles to respond, the secret service ground team is wiped out and it's up to Banning to retake the White House, save the President and avert an even bigger crisis.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Honestly speaking, Olympus Has Fallen should be the fifth instalment of Die Hard because John McClane will be no stranger to non-stop bombardment of explosions and gunfires. In this surprisingly entertaining action piece, it’s Antonie Fuqua (Training Day, Shooter) who did a John McTiernan with his leading man, Gerald Butler (300) donning a producer hat as well as shooting his ass of a la McClane style.

With the tragic happening of 9/11, it’s no longer implausible to penetrate the US of A it seems. Olympus Has Fallen tries to play into that fear but instead of some enemies from the Middle East, the North Koreans are the ones being portrayed to get even with Uncle Sam.

The plotting by married couple Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt functions as a paint-by-numbers action pic spending hardly any screentime explaining the enemies’ motives. It’s populated with clichés and the sheer amount of patriotic dialogues will put every Americans to shame. But wait, we are not here to watch Butler romancing the enemies and he sure didn’t disappoint as it doesn’t take long before the villain, Kang (Rick Yune) and his cronies took over the White House and the hero is called up for duty.

After a haphazard opening which involves the First Lady (Ashley Judd in a cameo) being killed in an automobile accident and the President dismissing Mike Banning (Butler) from the secret service later on, the movie dives direct into the North Korean’s guerilla forces attacking the White House. We see a bit of Banning’s guilt (he failed to extract the First Lady from her seatbelt if you must know), his relation with his nurse wife (Radha Mitchell) and his boring deskbound job at the Treasury before the confrontation begins. Olympus Has Fallen is the kind of movie that can’t wait to unload the first bullet.

Fuqua is clearly the right man to choreograph the mayhem with the action all pump up from aerial to the ground blasting every corner, roof and walls of the West Wing. There are more people getting shot at blank point than I can keep up and I can assure you will forgive the silly premise and rather root for Banning’s success by the first hour. Fuqua managed to keep the both the tension and slam bang action going, a stark reminder of the equally riveting Die Hard though the CG effects are exceptionally poor at times.

Spare us his rom-com appearances; Butler obviously fits the bill here as the no-nonsense hero and Aaron Eckhart despite being cuffed for most of the time managed to deliver a dignified performance as the Commander-in-Chief. Who can forget Morgan Freeman as Mr Speaker, Angela Basset as Secret Service Director and Melissa Leo as Secretary of Defense? The supporting cast already warrants some viewing time and for the record, we haven’t seen such a hardcore entertaining action flick for some time. A Good Day to Die Hard sure doesn’t count. What’s wrong in loving a dumb movie occasionally? 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Under Surveillance: The Making of Olympus Has Fallen is a 11 minutes feature that takes viewers to the actual filming location which is at Louisiana. A two minutes Gag Reel, a Trailer, TV spots and Photo Gallery round up the extras.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Majority of the darker scenes for examples are poorly done in the DVD transfer. Imaging details are largely fine. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surprisingly is front heavy and the surround effect only kicks in at selective scenes and in this case is also pretty subdued.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Luke (Ryan Gosling) gives up his job as a motorcycle stunt performer in order to provide for his new family. Avery (Bradley Cooper), an ambitious rookie cop, struggles to make his way in a corrupt police department. Their two worlds collide when Luke takes part in a string of bank robberies and the consequences of their shocking confrontation will reverberate into the next generation.

MOVIE REVIEW:

He Drive. He is also part of Gangster Squad. Sometimes, Only God Forgives when he is Crazy, Stupid, Love.  

His name is Ryan Gosling.

In this beautifully crafted drama, Gosling plays Luke Glanton, a popular motorcycle performer with the circus. Liked his Driver character, Luke is a drifter. Somber and definitely not one that had an easy childhood from his appearance. When an ex-lover, Romina (Eva Mendes) turns up with his son, it totally changed Luke’s course of life. Desperate to provide for his baby son, Jason and wins back Romina, Luke teamed up with a mechanic, Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) to rob banks. But when a cop Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper) turned up and shot Luke during an escape, little did we know that it’s only the start of a multi-story arc in The Place Beyond The Pines.

With the appearance of Cooper at the 45 minutes mark, it begins a story that spanned over 17 years and two generations. Before we even get to that, there’s an engrossing subplot involving police corruption and how it managed to turn Cross’ career from a lowly cop into an assistant district attorney. When you have Ray Liotta appearing as Cross’ colleague, you know he is up to no good. Director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) is incredible with his storytelling skills with the first act flowing seamlessly into the second. There’s never a second of boredom despite the running time of 140 minutes. It’s not even bloated to say the least, it’s a miracle Cianfrance managed to accomplish so much into that time frame.

By the time the sons of Luke and Cross met for the first time 15 years later (without knowing the identity of each other) in school. You came to realize The Place Beyond The Pines has touches on themes such as fatherhood and retribution, not Shakespearean tragedy mind you but bold enough to sweep your feet off. It’s a crime drama yet also an established family drama in every way; the narrative both ambitious and unpredictable.

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are astonishing in their performances especially the latter who sort of traded in her usual sexy image for some beautiful acting by the third act. Gosling is the James Dean of this generation and his juggling between indie and commercial projects are remarkable. Bradley Cooper coming off a strong year with Silver Linings Playbook shows he can be more than just a smirking asshole. Throws in the up-and-coming Dane DeHaan (Chronicle) as the grown-up son of Luke who is struggling to find his true identity and the movie more than pays off.  

Without a doubt,The Place Beyond The Pines qualifies as one of this year’s best drama. Drama never gets so exciting and complex like this. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

It’s not very outstanding when it comes to the audio and visual aspect of this DVD. Just plain serviceable and very ordinary.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee