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Check out our blurb on the US Edition of FIRESTORM Bluray and DVDPosted on 25 Sep 2014 |
Genre: Thriller/Sci-Fi
Director: Jeff Renfroe
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Zegers, Bill Paxton, Charlotte Sullivan, Dru Viergever, Atticus Dean Mitchell, John Tench, Lisa Berry
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Some Gore)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/thecolonymovie
Opening Day: 3 October 2013
Synopsis: Award‐winning director Jeff Renfroe (One Point Zero, Civic Duty) delivers an actionpacked, post‐apocalyptic thriller in his icy feature THE COLONY. Set during the next iceage, an outpost of colonists struggle to survive below the world’s frozen surface. Short on supplies, and plagued by illness and internal conflict, the colonists suspect the worst when they mysteriously lose contact with their only other known settlement, Colony 5. When Colony 7’s leader Briggs (Laurence Fishburne ‐ Contagion, The Matrix Trilogy) decides to lead an expedition to discover what happened, he is challenged by Mason (Bill Paxton – Aliens, Twister), his former comrade‐in‐arms, who has his own ideas of what is best for the colonists. Briggs takes two volunteers on the mission, the young Graydon, and Sam (Kevin Zegers ‐ Fifty Dead Men Walking, TV’s Gossip Girl), a strongwilled mechanic who seizes the opportunity to confront the icy wasteland that orphaned him. When they reach their destination, the team discover a threat much worse than nature and must battle to save themselves and protect their fellow colonists in what might be humanity’s last stand. A riveting, intense story of survival, humanity, and desperation, THE COLONY is a rich addition to the post‐apocalyptic action genre.
Movie Review:
In short, The Colony is yet another predictable post-apocalyptic flick. Normally for such circumstances, you are bound to encounter zombies, vampires, aliens, the undead or anything that goes “Arghhhhhh…” and The Colony unfortunately never deviates far from this tried and tested formula.
The year is 2045 and the weather has gone bonkers. Earth has turned into a frozen wasteland as it continues to snow non-stop. In colony 7 led by Briggs (Laurence Fishburne), the remaining survivors known as colonists have ventured underground growing limited amount of food sources to keep warm and alive. When they receive a distress signal from another colony, Briggs and two of his mates, Sam (Kevin Zegers) and Graydon (Atticus Mitchell) decide to trek across dangerous iceland to check things out.
At this point, I hope you are not expecting an intelligent drama involving global warming or a man-against-nature-survivor tale set on ice. The threat comes in fast and fury in the form of yikes! Ferals. What’s that again? It’s cannibals to be precise. Yikes! A sole survivor is found by the trio and a fight to survive ensues, unleashing blood, gore, violence and a terrible excuse to let go of the busy (probably expensive) Fishburne.
Shot on a shoestring budget in Ontario, this Canadian production also boasts an original member of Alien and one who doesn’t shine away from tornados, Bill Paxton, in the obligatory villainous role. Things simply aren’t that interesting without a human character that is both equally ambitious, cowardly and making entirely implausible stupid decisions like ignoring Sam’s warning of the ferals. This aside, the flick manages to deliver passable CGI and production values slightly surpassing the average B-movie.
To writer-director Jeff Renfroe’s credit, The Colony does churn out other merits like decent fight choregraphy and explosions (helps to keep you awake), a distinctly cold, bleak landscape and a climatic set piece given the limited resources on hand. Having two Hollywood veterans in the picture lends some need be presence in this otherwise low-profile title while up-and-coming Kevin Zegers (The Mortal Instrument: City of Bones) and Charlotte Sullivan provides some eye candy amid all the crazy running and screaming.
For sure, you can definitely forget about any logic conclusion why humans turned into cannibals. Combining elements from The Hill Have Eyes, Event Horizon, The Day After Tomorrow and defeating its core purpose of telling a stimulating sci-fi, survival tale, The Colony soon descends into a gruesome slasher movie after the initial setup. Someone forgot to remind Renfroe that The Road and The Book of Eli are examples of a great post-apocalyptic movie, not the above mentioned anyway.
Movie Rating:
("Arghhhhhh!" Let me get outta of The Colony)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Denzil Smith, Bharati Achrekar, Nakul Vaid, Yashvi Puneet Nagar, Lillete Dubey
RunTime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Lighthouse Pictures and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://www.sonyclassics.com/thelunchbox/
Opening Day: 27 March 2014
Synopsis: Middle class housewife Ila is trying once again to add some spice to her marriage, this time through her cooking. She desperately hopes that this new recipe will finally arouse some kind of reaction from her neglectful husband. She prepares a special lunchbox to be delivered to him at work, but, unbeknownst to her, it is mistakenly delivered to another office worker, Saajan, a lonely man on the verge of retirement. Curious about the lack of reaction from her husband, Ila puts a little note in the following day’s lunchbox, in the hopes of getting to the bottom of the mystery. This begins a series of lunchbox notes between Saajan and Ila, and the mere comfort of communicating with a stranger anonymously soon evolves into an unexpected friendship. Gradually, their notes become little confessions about their loneliness, memories, regrets, fears, and even small joys. They each discover a new sense of self and find an anchor to hold on to in the big city of Mumbai that so often crushes hopes and dreams. Still strangers physically, Ila and Saajan become lost in a virtual relationship that could jeopardize both their realities.
Movie Review:
It seems befitting that the basis of the dispirited widower Saajan Fernandes (Irrfan Khan) and the unhappy housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) should be over food. Indeed, the need for human connection is as fundamental as the need for sustenance, and in first-time director Ritesh Batra’s warm, poignant and reaffirming feature film, it is in satisfying one that our characters find in each other the companion they both need in their lives.
Not many in Singapore may be familiar with the concept of dabbawallas, but in Mumbai, these individuals are part of an elaborate food delivery system that brings home-cooked meals to thousands of office workers in the city. Ila is one such domesticated wife, who pours her heart and soul into making each meal in order to win back the affection of her since distant neglectful husband. Unknown to her, there’s a cog out of place in the system, and her carefully prepared lunchbox is instead going to a billing agent named Saajan who is preparing for retirement.
At least at the start, Ila doesn’t realise the mistake, and finds the handwritten messages that return with the empty lunch boxes comfort food for her broken soul. It’s no wonder then that even when she discovers the mixup, she continues to send the lunches and the notes to this stranger who licks clean her containers. “I don’t know when I became old,” Saajan ponders in a note; in turn, Ila, watching her marriage fade away, responds “What do we live for?” Pretty soon, a platonic but empowering connection develops between them, goading them to rethink the paths of their lives.
Against the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, Bitra succeeds in painting a portrait of loneliness between two authentically portrayed characters who yearn for someone to share their worries, frustrations and anxieties. These are essentially two lonely people reaching out to each other, baring their souls safely to a stranger at the other end on bits of paper. To Bitra’s credit, he eschews the mawkish and sentimental for sensitive and naturalistic character beats, and there is a beautiful understatement in the way he allows both Saajan and Ila to find their respective bearings in life.
Less delightful though are the supporting characters, in particular Saajan’s trainee (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and Ila’s domineering mother (Lillete Dubey), both of whom are clearly intended as comic foils to our lead characters but end up awkward additions that could simply have been excluded. Thankfully, they don’t quite detract from the light but bittersweet tone of the movie, which moves at a gentle unhurried pace to allow its audience to savour the many keen observations it makes about coincidence and connection.
In Khan and Kaur, Bitra has found two perfect and perfectly matched actors to play their respective parts. Best known for playing the adult Pi Patel in Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’, Khan delivers a quietly masterful performance that begins glum and grumpy and reveals both wit and tenderness later on, evolving just as the tenure of his notes do. On the other hand, Kaur effortlessly slips under the skin of a wife and mother who gradually realises that she is falling in love with a total stranger.
Even though it may not offer big cathartic moments, ‘The Lunchbox’ is one packed with morsels of heartwarming goodness, reminding its audience of the connections between people that make a difference in our lives and the transformative power that such connections have as well. It is an impressive debut for Bitra, with a pleasantly ambiguous ending that holds out hope for Saajan and leaves his audience feeling equally sanguine. And indeed, the need for connection is as powerful as the need for food, a sustenance if you would have it that is perhaps all it takes to make us feel renewed and confident about the circumstances of our lives.
Movie Rating:
(Warm, gentle and reaffirming, this delicious combination of food and love tugs at the most fundamental human need for connection)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Inspired by Hong Kong action cinema, Writer/Director Eran Creevy’s Welcome to the Punch is a stylishly done crime thriller shot entirely in London with an English cast. With the exception of a sleek opening which involved a heist on motorbikes, the rest of the flick starts to sputter and somehow lost its footing by the time the movie wrapped, quite a pity considering the potential of it.
Three years ago, Detective Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy), was shot by criminal Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) on his leg while trying to apprehend him. But with Jacob’s son, Ruan injured in a heist gone wrong, Jacob is forced to return to London from his hideout in Iceland after receiving a call from Ruan. Together with his partner, Sarah (Andrea Riseborough), Max is determined to capture Jacob this time round but the least he expects is a conspiracy far deeper than he has anticipated and Max must collaborate with Jacob to uncover the truth in the end.
On one hand, it’s a good thing Creevy has trimmed off all the fats to deliver a compact cops and robbers flick. The other, it means sacrificing all the backstory of Jacob Sternwood and perhaps the relationship between Max and Sarah which result in the characters being a bit flat. It’s a double-edged sword actually. And to make up for all the screentime losses, Creevy’s script attempts to be a little smarter just to differentiate itself from a straight shoot-em-up action piece. With a plot that includes a political conspiracy and corruption at the top of the police hierarchy, everything just sounds far more exciting on paper than the actual results.
Cinematographer Ed Wild and Creevy have created an extremely cool visual palette and contemporary London never looks so cool before especially in the night. The scale of the constant gun plays are ambitious but never come across as memorable and intense. It’s another decent effort from McAvory who seems to shun away from drama and rom-coms and opted for grittier roles lately while Mark Strong certainly deserved better material.
Welcome to the Punch would have been an exciting stylized action affair if Creevy has settled for a simpler approach. Always remember less is more. Too bad it’s all sound from the start and no bites.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Black levels are good, dialogue is clear though the action sequences suffer from a lack of a 5.1 soundtrack.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: “Goldmoon”, the biggest crime organization in Korea, is suddenly in chaos when its leader Chairman Seok is killed in a mysterious car accident. Top-level police officials initiate project “New World“ to intervene in “Goldmoon”’s election process for the next leader, and to use Chairman Seok’s death to their advantage in controlling the crime organization. The project’s leader Detective Kang (Choi Min-sik) calls upon “Goldmoon”’s Executive Lee Ja-sung (Lee Jung-jae), an undercover cop who he planted deep within the organization on 8 years ago, and needs Ja-Sung for the operation “New World”. And, eventually Ja-sung becomes the right hand man of the #2 crime boss Jung Chung (Hwang Jung-Min) in the crime group. But Ja-sung, who had been waiting long for the day he is reinstated into the police, becomes more disillusioned with Detective Kang's obsession with operation "New World" and torn over his loyalties to #2 crime boss Jung Chung.
MOVIE REVIEW:
In the grand tradition of Johnnie To’s Election and Andrew Lau’s Infernal Affairs, Park Hoon-jung’s sophomore feature, New World takes audience to the disturbing world of triad, moles and cops set in contemporary Korea.
With the death of the Chairman behind the notorious Goldmoon syndicate, Ja-sung (Lee Jung-jae) assumed his role as a mole in the triad is done. But his superior, Detective Kang (Choi Min-sik) has other plans for him and that is for him to create chaos between the two leading successors and crumble the huge organization. With mounting pressure surrounding his dangerous undercover position and the safety of his unborn child, Ja-sung is torn between his loyalty to his crime boss, Jung Chung (Hwang Jung-min) and the police force.
Writer-director Park Hoon-jung who is also behind I Saw The Devil weaved an often intense, less bloody effort that prefers to let his narrative do the work than displaying unnecessary amount of violence to shock you. Other than an uncomfortable opening which saw a snitch being tortured and fed with cement, New World is contend with flashing out the relationship between Kang and Ja-sung and also the latter’s comradeship with the thuggish Jung Chung. Throw in Jung Chung’s closest rival, the ruthless Joong-goo (Park Seong-woong) in the hierarchy and we have a good time of guessing who will have the upper hand in the end.
Of course, all the suits and corporate talk can only last so long despite Hoon-jung’s best efforts to keep things tight and proper for the first hour or so. Honestly, he sure does know how to work in a heart-pumping scene I must add especially one involving the revelation of moles around Jung Chung. Things however only start to culminate in the final end with Jung Chung brutally attacked by countless henchmen armed with knives and baseball bats in a car park, an attack which subsequently triggered a string of unpredictable consequences. Questions of morals and brotherhood starts to surface and the climax makes an unsettling answer to all that.
Even both are familiar, veteran actors in their own right, the Il Mare and Housemaid star Lee Jung-jae and Oldboy Choi Min-sik is unfortunately outshine by Hwang Jung-min’s charismatic portrayal of the erratic #2 boss in the organization. Sadly, Lee Jung-jae gives a one-note performance as the tortured Ja-sung while Choi Min-sik surprisingly puts in a subdued, almost weary act as compared to his usual scenery-chewing performances in his movies.
Purists might find New World paling in comparison and lacking a distinct print on the genre. There are obviously better crime dramas out there deserving a far solid rating though one must not forget the fact that New World is a handsomely done if not well-written gangster title that at least deserved 134 minutes of your time.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Another bare-bones DVD with serviceable audio and visual.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Scott Waugh
Cast: Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper, Ramon Rodriguez, Rami Malek, Harrison Gilbertson, Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi, Michael Keaton, Dakota Johnson
RunTime: 2 hrs 11 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Nudity)
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: http://www.needforspeed.com/movie
Opening Day: 13 March 2014
Synopsis: Based on the most successful racing video game franchise ever with over 140 million copies sold, DreamWorks Pictures' "Need for Speed" captures the thrills of the game in a real-world setting. An exciting return to the great car-culture films of the 1960s and '70s, when authenticity brought a new level of intensity to the action, "Need for Speed" taps into what makes the American myth of the open road so enticing.
The story chronicles a near-impossible cross-country race against time—one that begins as a mission for revenge, but proves to be one of redemption. In a last attempt to save his struggling garage, blue-collar mechanic Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul)—who with his team skillfully builds and races muscle cars on the side—reluctantly partners with wealthy, arrogant ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). Just as a major sale to car broker Julia Bonet (Imogen Poots) looks like it will save the business, a disastrous, unsanctioned race results in Dino framing Tobey for manslaughter. Two years later and fresh out of prison, Tobey is set on revenge with plans to take down Dino in the high-stakes De Leon race—the Super Bowl of underground racing. To get there in time, Tobey must run a high-octane, action-packed gauntlet, dodging cops coast-to-coast and dealing with fallout from a dangerous bounty Dino put on his car. With his loyal crew and the surprisingly resourceful Julia as allies, Tobey defies odds at every turn and proves that even in the flashy world of exotic supercars, the underdog can still finish first.
Movie Review:
How do you turn a racing game into a movie? Well we guess the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise offers a ready template, but anyone hoping for this videogame adaptation to deliver the same kind of high-octane thrills will be sorely disappointed. And that’s because instead of using that franchise as the most obvious reference point, the filmmakers have instead taken heed from Disney/ Pixar’s ‘Cars’ and we kid you not, this resembles a live-action version of the animated film and comes off all the worse off for it.
Offering up as straightforward a story as you can get, first-time feature film writer George Gatins sets up a personal vendetta between local street racer Tobey Marshall and competitive racer Dino Brewster which forms the basis of the entire movie. High-school rivals whose fates have since diverged, the slicker California-based Dino challenges the less urbane Tobey to a race around their small town of Mt. Kisco, NY, in order to prove which among them is the better racer. Just because Dino happens to be engaged to Tobey’s ex-flame Anita (Dakota Johnson), her brother Pete (Harrison Gilbertson), who also happens to be Tobey’s good buddy, joins in the race as well.
Playing a one-two tag team, Tobey and Pete force Dino into pole position, which provokes the latter to ram Pete’s vehicle from the back, causing it to spin, crash and catch fire spectacularly. Whereas Dino immediately flees the scene and finds an alibi, Tobey spends the next two years in jail for vehicular manslaughter. Upon his release on parole, Tobey immediately assembles his old crew to drive 45 hours across America to participate in an illegal race in California known as the DeLeon in order to exact vengeance and clear his name in the process.
Clocking in at an interminable 131 minutes, too much time is spent following Tobey and his buddies - Benny (Scott Mescudi), Joe (Ramon Rodriguez) and Finn (Rami Malek) - as they provide both ground and air support for Tobey’s cross-country drive in a legendary Mustang that Carroll Shelby himself was purportedly building before he passed away. Amongst Tobey’s crew, the most interesting of the lot is unquestionably Benny, who turns up in everything from a small prop plane to a news chopper to a military cargo chopper to provide air recon and eventually airlift to Tobey’s Mustang.
Despite the addition of Brit actress’ Imogen Poots as Tobey’s wing ‘woman’ and obligatory romantic interest, there is little that Tobey and his crew can do to sustain your interest on the way to the expected finale. Pardon our bluntness, but Benny just isn’t a very humourous ‘black man’ (think Tyrese Gibson in ‘Transformers’ or Ludacris in ‘Fast and Furious’) no matter Gatins’ attempt at milking that stereotype for all that it is worth. Joe and Finn hardly get much attention; the most you’ll remember of the former is that he’s a pretty skilled high-tech mechanic and of the latter that he strips completely naked somewhere during the movie to show that he’s had enough of his corporate cubicle job.
In the absence of engaging moments of camaraderie, director Scott Waugh - his sophomore film since making his debut in the Navy SEALS drama ‘Act of Valor’ - tries to sustain the momentum by staging a fair number of high-speed car chases as Tobey tries to evade getting caught by the interstate police for violating the rules of his parole while getting noticed by the mysterious ‘Monarch’ (a terribly under-utilised Michael Keaton who spends all the time in the movie behind a console playing a video podcast radio show host) in order to get invited to the DeLeon.
Waugh’s insistence at using real cars for each and every one of the stunts pays off to a certain extent - there’s often no doubt you’re seeing it for real onscreen - but there is just something oddly disengaging about the manner in which the shots are edited together to form a coherent whole. Waugh’s cinematographer Shane Hurlbut finds a variety of ways of putting the audience right into the point of view of the driver (in the spirit of the first-person perspective of the videogame), and to give credit where it is due, there are a number of good heart-stopping Vertigo shots; but on the overall, none of the car chases are choreographed with the same imagination as you would expect from a Hollywood racing flick, which is ok only if you’re expecting nothing more than reality-show type stunts.
In fact, the entire movie plays like a car stuck in second gear all the way through, incapable of revving up from a persistently sluggish pace even when it’s close to the finishing line. The climax is nothing to shout for, even though it does total a number of expensive luxury cars that you’d wish the filmmakers had simply let you own instead. Waugh’s heavy-handed tendencies with the more melodramatic scenes are also not what ‘Breaking Bad’ star Aaron Paul and his entourage manage to overcome; rather, Paul seems utterly out of his league playing the leading man here, coming off soft, ineffectual and thoroughly lacking in any sort of screen charisma.
Every which way you look, this movie adaptation of the popular videogame series of the same name just doesn’t cut it. The plotting is almost inexistent; the dialogue is awkward, stilted and often cringe-worthy; and the racing scenes barely raise a pulse for the modern-day viewer greased on them ‘Fast and Furious’ flicks. It would certainly have been better if Waugh had tried to launch a new ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise, rather than a live-action ‘Cars’ movie that leads its viewer along a road trip down half of America. True to its title, it demonstrates a desperate ‘need for speed’, which pretty much explains why it goes on and on (and on) for more than two hours.
Movie Rating:
(Running on nothing more than fumes, this interminably long road trip of a racing flick plays like a sluggish live-action ‘Cars’ than a new ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise)
Review by Gabriel Chong
As clichéd as it sounds, life is a journey. And the music we listen to on this road trip makes us who we are. For the soundtrack of this coming of age movie directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, the producers have put together an affecting selection of songs which you’ll fondly remember as you trod down this path called life.
Acclaimed singer songwriter Edie Brickell contributes two new songs to the soundtrack, and they aptly open and close the film. Together with pop rock band The Gaddabouts, “For The Time Being” and “Go Where The Love Is” are tunes which you’ll have no problems liking. The heartfelt melody and lyrics are a breeze to listen to, and may even have you reflecting on the finer aspects of life. Brickell’s collaboration with band members Steve Gadd, Pino Palladino and Andy Fairweather Low is spot on, and the result are two folksy yet contemporary tracks which are must listens on the 57 minute album.
Elsewhere, American rock band Mr. Mister, whose music is very popular in the 1980s, performs “Kyrie”, a nostalgically joyous song to listen to. Multi instrumentalist Ben Kweller croons “Out The Door”, a tune which reminds us of the best years of our lives – youth. Young Galaxy and Army Navy may not be familiar names, but these two indie bands’ songs “Come And See” and “Running Wild” are outstanding tracks on the soundtrack too.
If you have caught the film starring a fine ensemble cast including Steve Carell, Toni Collete, Sam Rockwell and May Rudolph, you may identify with The Apache Relay’s “Power Hungry Animals” and Trampled by Turtles’ “Alone”, which mark some of the most poignant moments in the critically acclaimed comedy drama.
Composer Rob Simonsen’s brief score cue “The Way Way Back” closes the album. The melancholically heartrending has a warmth to it, and it left us smiling thinking about what life has in store for each and every one of us.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (14) Go Where The Love Is – Edie Brickell and the Gaddabouts
Review by John Li
It’s been a while since we heard a solid adventure score. Remember the good ol’ days when we were brought on swashbuckling exploration journeys with action heroes, fought villainous monsters alongside brave knights and flew through blue skies on fire breathing dragons – just by listening to soaring scores written by talented composers. We are also missing grand orchestra scores where grandeur and magnificence is brought about by proud brasses, while spledour and greatness is marked by lovely woodwinds.
In this day and age, soundtracks albums which feature score cues are far and few in between (locally, at least), and that is why we were pleased to review this 69 minute album with music composed by Canadian composer Andrew Lockington. While he may not be as well known as his counterparts in the industry like John Williams or Hans Zimmer, or recent notable names like Henry Jackman and John Ottman, we knew the 39 year old has got good stuff to share when we first heard his work in 2012’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
First thing to note that this is no Harry Potter score, because there are no straightforward main themes to identify with. That said, if you have a love for film music, then you’ll be fully indulged in the wonderful score Lockington has composed. Kicking off the CD is “Thalia’s Story”, a mythical introduction that gets into the swing of things shortly. Adventure and soaring cues follow in the lyrical “Percy at the Lake”, the foreboding four minute extravaganza “Colchis Bull” and the ominous “The Oracle’s Prophecy”.
One track that will stand out is “Wild Taxi Ride”, where Lockington infuses some modern elements into the three odd minute piece. The seven minute “Wave Conjuring” is also a splendid cue, where you’ll be transported from one treachery to another, before it ends with a somewhat tragically beautiful finale. Another long cue, “Thank You Brother”, is dark and looms with danger, before “Kronos” brings on the full wrath of the super villain in the movie.
The highly recommended soundtrack concludes with electronic pop musician IAMEVE’s “To Feel Alive”, an inspiringly soaring song which we can’t get off our heads.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (11) Wave Conjuring
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, Eve Hewson, Tavi Gevinson, Tracey Fairaway
RunTime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Official Website: http://www.enoughsaidmovie.com/
Opening Day: 7 November 2013
Synopsis: A divorced and single parent, Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) spends her days enjoying work as a masseuse but dreading her daughter's impending departure for college. She meets Albert (James Gandolfini) - a sweet, funny and like-minded man also facing an empty nest. As their romance quickly blossoms, Eva befriends Marianne (Catherine Keener), her new massage client. Marianne is a beautiful poet who seems "almost perfect" except for one prominent quality: she rags on her ex-husband way too much. Suddenly, Eva finds herself doubting her own relationship with Albert as she learns the truth about Marianne's Ex. ENOUGH SAID is a sharp, insightful comedy that humorously explores the mess that often comes with getting involved again.
Movie Review:
If we were to be ungracious about things, we would nitpick how the promotional poster of this Nicole Holofcener directed drama is oh so plain and uncreative. How is your average movie goer supposed to be whip out his bucks to step into the cinema just by seeing two head shots of James Gandolfini and Julia Louis Dreyfuss looking away, smiling at something in a distance? Of course, we are not that superficial to diss this movie, especially when the rest of the world is raving about it. There has to be something worth your 93 minutes, and yup, your money to catch this on the big screen.
Gandolfini’s death in June earlier this year probably has something to do with how reviewers are viewing this charming comedy about what life has in store for people approaching, ahem, middle age. This being the New Jersey born actor’s final leading role (Michael R Roskam’s Animal Rescue in 2014 will be his final appearance in a feature film), there is something bittersweet watching how the 51 year old star (who was also seen in other recent movies like Zero Dark Thirty and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone) play a man down and out on love.
Louis Dreyfus plays a woman who dates Gandolfini’s character, only to find out that he is the spouse of a friend. This leaves her in a dilemma whether she should risk her friendship and romantic partner if she reveals what she has learnt about them from one another.
To be honest, there isn’t a lot happening in this movie, except lots of talking. But hey, isn’t that most of our lives is about? The script by Holofcener is honest and true to life, and it sure helps that she has decided not to cast eye candy in the leading roles. Gandolfini, whom many readers may know as Tony Soprano from the critically acclaimed series The Sopranos (1999-2007) is perfectly cast as the male protagonist who is charismatic with his candid smile and adorable humour. Louis Dreyfus’s chemistry with him is spot on, as she portrays a divorced masseuse who makes a connection with a fellow divorcee, and bravely takes on what life holds for her.
The movie paints an honest picture of what love and life may be like for fifty somethings. There isn’t the glitz and glamour as many would hope for, and surely there is nothing to shout about when you have to deal with a rebellious kid, an unexciting job and the expectations to keep up with life. Therein also lies the beauty of life, as depicted by this movie – every moment you live is something that defines who you are, and what your life is about. There may be no dramatic car chases or life changing twists and turns, but that is exactly what most of us will be heading towards as middle age approaches.
The two leads are supported by a fine supporting cast which includes Toni Collette, Catherine Keener, Ben Falcone and Toby Huss, all delivering truthful portrayals of the people who make up our everyday lives. There may be nothing groundbreaking with this recommended movie, but it is a reflection of how far we have come, and what is in store ahead.
Movie Rating:
(James Gandolfini and Julia Louis Dreyfus are perfectly cast in this movie which paints an honest and bittersweet picture of middle age)
Review by John Li
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Cartier & Andy Lau celebrate the launch of the Tank MC watchPosted on 27 Sep 2013 |
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