Genre: Romance/Sci-Fi
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa  
Cast: Takeru Satoh, Haruka Ayase, Miki Nakatani, Joe Odagiri, Shota Sometani, Keisuke Horibe, Yutaka Matsushige, Kyoko Koizumi
RunTime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: PG (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Encore Films 
Official Website:  

Opening Day: 14 November 2013

Synopsis: Directed by one of Japan’s best filmmakers, Kiyoshi Kurosawa has delivered yet another masterpiece. REAL is among the highly-anticipated movies set to release this year. REAL is about a pair of childhood lovers who struggles to find love and seeks to discover the truth in an infinite world where reality and unreality meet. In 2012, Atsumi (Haruka Ayase) attempted suicide and fell into a coma since. Through a sophisticated neurological treatment called ‘sensing’, Koichi (Takeru Satoh) enters the multi-dimensional world to communicate with Atsumi and tries to find out why she tried to kill herself. Along the way, Koichi begins to remember; There is something else that is bothering him- a boy.

Movie Review:

REAL is adapted from an award winning novel, A Perfect Day for a Plesiosaur by Rokuro Inui. Ko-ichi (Takeru Satoh) was in desperate hopes to bring his fiancée, Atsumi (Haruka Ayase) out of coma from an attempted suicide. He decided to enter her subconscious mind through a futuristic medical treatment known as ‘sensing’. It seems like the picture of a Plesiosaur holds the key to all the mystery. What exactly is preventing her from waking up?

The first half of the movie was very well set-up. The introduction of having a machine that can actually connect two people’s subconscious minds was new and interesting. The attention of the audience was kept high as Ko-ichi uses his limited time during ‘sensing’ to try to convince and figure out what Atsumi needs to wake up from her coma. It was able to engage and make audience want to delve deeper into the story as well.

This movie is directed and co-written by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who is well known for past works such as dark family drama Tokyo Sonata (2008) and horror movie Pulse (2001). Although his more recent works seem to suggest that he is steering away from the horror elements, REAL shows that his peculiar penchant for horror is still strong at present. So do expect some gruesome and grotesque visuals and dead bodies popping out of nowhere, as they are part of Atsumi and Ko-ichi’s imagination. After all, Atsumi is a manga artist best known for her murder solving series, Roomi.

The later half of the movie had a twist and plunged right into chasing their shared childhood memories at an island. At this point, the story still seemed coherent. However, as the secret behind the plesiosaur was unveiled, it went a little haphazard and the leadings into the series of event were not very well explained and developed. The whole set up in the earlier half also became irrelevant. This thus made the revelation of the story a lot less impactful and overly simplistic (e.g. the anagram that can be resolved effortlessly).

Overall, the movie did not have much of a focus. Although the clever use of symbols and signs (e.g.having a heavily fogged place representing the unconscious mind and subliminal memories) was commendable, it wasted too much time on a lengthy introduction which did no good to the story development. The scary visuals served no purpose and side stories concerning the other supporting were insignificant.

The story development also got a bit ridiculous when the plesiosaur suddenly became the main. Arguably the climax, the wrestling with the plesiosaur seemed to be made intentionally long to showcase the intricate and well done CGI. Lastly, it was interesting to note that Atsumi and Ko-ichi actually saw a dried seahorse to resemble the plesiosaur (but no, it’s really just a dried seahorse in a bottle). A perfect day for a plesiosaur? A far far cry from it.

Movie Rating:

(Possibly an attempt to be avant-garde and creative, but it lost all the attention when the Plesioasaur stole the show)

Review by Tho Shu Ling
  

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Jimmy Hayward
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Dan Fogler, Amy Poehler, Lesley Nicol, George Takei, Colm Meaney, Keith David, Dwight Howard, Carlos Alazraqui 
RunTime: 1 hr 25 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: GV
Official Website: http://www.freebirdsmovie.com/

Opening Day: 31 October 2013

Synopsis: In this hilarious, adventurous buddy comedy for audiences of all ages, directed by Jimmy Hayward (Horton Hears a Who!), two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the Thanksgiving menu for good.

Movie Review:

Thanksgiving isn’t a big occasion this side of the world, but even those with a most rudimentary knowledge of it will know that turkeys – lots of them – are consumed on that very day (preferably with cranberry sauce).  ‘Horton Hears a Who’s’ Jimmy Hayward’s ‘Free Birds’ plays on that holiday tradition by imagining the unlikely scenario where an independent-minded turkey unwittingly teams up with a plucky (pardon the pun) member of his species to go back in time and reverse the establishment of that tradition.

Like many such tales, our hero Reggie (Owen Wilson) is an underachiever who is looking for something more in his existence beyond being just another member of his species. So while the rest of the turkeys on the farm are immediately lured by food in the farmer’s hand and think by extension that he is their friend, Reggie is all too aware that the farmer only intends to fatten them up so he can slaughter them - and no, he also isn’t deluded that they will therefore end up in ‘turkey heaven’.

Reggie’s journey starts when he is chosen among millions of his ilk to be pardoned by the President of the United States and sent to a protected reserve. Unfortunately, it is also at that place where he meets Jake (Woody Harrelson), the President - and we might add, only member - of the Turkeys Liberation Front who claims he is answering a calling from the Great Turkey that visited him years ago to go back in time to the first Thanksgiving and stop turkeys from becoming the holiday meal. It’s a classic case of mismatched partners, but thanks to some witty lines from Hayward and his co-scripter Scott Mosier, there is still some amusement to be had amidst the familiarity.

It isn’t just make believe though - there is indeed a time machine to be found in the Government lab that Reggie and Jake break into, and with that, an actual time travel to the year1622. Oh, and did we mention that in between the mission of saving his species, Reggie finds additional motivation in the form of a love interest? That’ll be Jenny (Amy Poehler), courageous where Reggie is terrified and altogether too attractive for the glib-tongued Reggie to resist.

As far as toons go, this one hardly pushes the narrative limits of imagination. You can almost predict that Reggie will be confronted with a crucial turning point whether to stay with his flock or return to the comfort of his old life back at the reserve - and for that matter, if he will rise to the occasion to be a better fowl. In fact, Hayward demands a fair bit of suspension of belief by playing it fast and loose with the conundrums of time travel, especially as he and Mosier try to make the disparate events across time and space tie together into one coherent whole. We warn you - it doesn’t take anyone with more than a bird brain to tell that they are clutching at straws, so you’d be advised to simply accept the creative liberties they take with logic and just plain common sense.

To his credit, Hayward does a pretty fine job with the animation. The detail can’t quite match up to established studios like Disney/ Pixar and Dreamworks, but this maiden effort from Reel FX Studios is colourful, energetic, and still visually captivating stuff to keep the young ones glued to their seats. Everything also moves at a pretty fast clip, and even if it does rely on familiar plot and character tropes, at no point does it get boring or repetitive. Hayward also has to thank his enthusiastic voice cast for that, in particular Wilson and Harrelson deliver their respective parts with much gusto.

And so even though Thanksgiving as a holiday doesn’t quite resonate as much here as it does in the United States, the humour, fun and excitement that it offers for kids and less demanding adults is universal. The best reassurance we can give is that it isn’t a ‘turkey’; in fact, despite being entirely formulaic, it still is an entertaining diversion for families, especially for those looking for a cinematic equivalent of a babysitter. 

Movie Rating:

(Even though it doesn’t quite take you on flights on imagination, this briskly paced action adventure still moves fast enough on the ground to be an entertaining diversion)

Review by Gabriel Chong
  

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Karoline Herfurth, Paul Anderson, Rainer Bock, Frank Witter
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.passionthemovie.com/

Opening Day: 31 October 2013 

Synopsis: An erotic thriller in the tradition of "Dressed To Kill" and "Basic Instinct", Brian de Palma's PASSION tells the story of a deadly power struggle between two women in the dog-eat-dog world of international business. Christine possesses the natural elegance and casual ease associated with one who has a healthy relationship with money and power. Innocent, lovely and easily exploited, her admiring protégée Isabelle is full of cutting-edge ideas that Christine has no qualms about stealing. They're on the same team, after all... Christine takes pleasure in exercising control over the younger woman, leading her one step at a time ever deeper into a game of seduction and manipulation, dominance and humiliation. But when Isabelle falls into bed with one of Christine's lovers, war breaks out. On the night of the murder, Isabelle is at the ballet, while Christine receives an invitation to seduction. From whom? Christine loves surprises. Naked she goes to meet the mystery lover waiting in her bedroom.

Movie Review:

You can’t quite judge ‘Passion’ by conventional Hollywood standards; after all, Brian De Palma’s latest isn’t made in that mould. Instead, the man best known for his 1980s gangster epics ‘Scarface’ and ‘The Untouchables’ as well as for kickstarting the ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise has returned to his trashy roots for a lurid European-set thriller that recalls his guiltily enjoyable ‘Dressed to Kill’ and ‘Obsession’ - and oh, did we yet mention that it is in fact a remake of the 2010 French movie by Alain Corneau called ‘Love Crime’?

Adapted by Palma himself, it retains the original’s skeleton, setting Rachel McAdams up as the cold-blooded corporate executive who manipulates her underling played by ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s’ Noomi Rapace in order to get ahead on the corporate ladder. “There’s no back-stabbing here. It’s just business,” says Christine (McAdams) to Isabelle (Rapace) when the latter confronts her for stealing the credit for a creative campaign concept.

But it’s not as if Isabelle herself is an angel; she’s sleeping with Christine’s ne’er-do-well boyfriend Dirk (Paul Anderson) and pretty soon discovers for herself that she has got what it takes inside of her to play at the very game Christine engages her in. Isabelle too has an ally, an assistant by the name of Dani (Karoline Herfurth), who for reasons that will become much clearer later on, puts her life and career on the line to help Isabelle plot her revenge against Christine.

Obviously as the title implies, it isn’t just about work - besides using her smarts to one-up Isabelle at work, Christine also uses her feminine wiles to try to seduce Isabelle, the former revealing herself to be a sexually voracious creature who isn’t afraid to sexually manipulate who she needs to get what she wants. A midway twist that you can probably see coming adds an interesting three-way tangle to the story, but just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Palma throws in even more surprises into a climax that is surprisingly devoid of dialogue and heavy on Italian composer Pino Donaggio’s lush, sensuous, and deliberately  intrusive musical score.

Indeed, if you’re going to enjoy the shallow pleasures that ‘Passion’ aims to offer, you’re doing yourself no favours criticising it for being shallow and vulgar. Kink, seduction and sex are the order of the day, with Palma essentially bringing his trademark psychosexual thrills into the arena of corporate politics. The mystery in the second half also channels his inner Hitchcockian tendencies, though a master of suspense the director most definitely is not - in fact, he undermines himself by reverting to his old tricks of creeping zooms and split screens, which do little but add to the campy artifice of the drama.

That said, fans of McAdams are in for a treat watching the normally sweet and adorable actress play the ruthless alpha female. Granted that she’s done it before in ‘Mean Girls’, but McAdams clearly relishes the chance to play against type, dressed in deep-red outfits and lipstick with wolfish grins and deathly glares. As her contrast, Rapace is less outstanding; whether is it because she has been made to appear as McAdams’ glammed down opposite, or because Palma has interpreted the role in that manner, the Swedish actress takes her character far too seriously in a movie that deserves to be more self-aware than it is.

For all its ambition of being a reflection of today’s corporate realities, ‘Passion’ is ultimately no better than a potboiler that sufficiently distracts if you so need something to occupy your mind. It isn’t particularly thrilling nor for that matter possessing of what its title promises - yes, if you’re looking for steamy sex scenes of McAdams and Rapace, you should know better than to expect these actresses to be in any sort of compromising position - so if you're not in the mood for one of those trashy novels you read to kill time on the plane, Palma's work will leave you cold.

Movie Rating:  

(A sufficiently lurid and trashy thriller that recalls Brian De Palma’s earlier work; just don’t go in expecting anything more)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams, Louis C.K., Alessandro Nivola, Elisabeth Rohm, Jack Huston, Dawn Olivieri, Thomas Matthews, Michael Pena, Jack Jones, Jay Giannone
RunTime: 2 hrs 20 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language)
Released By: GV
Official Website: http://www.americanhustle-movie.com/site/
 
Opening Day: 26 December 2013

Synopsis: A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, "American Hustle" tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that's as dangerous as it is enchanting. Jeremy Renner is Carmine Polito, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving's unpredictable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down. Like David O. Russell's previous films, "American Hustle" defies genre, hinging on raw emotion, and life and death stakes.

Movie Review:

If there was yet any doubt in your mind from his previous two films ‘The Fighter’ and ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ that director David O’ Russell is on a creative streak, then his latest ‘American Hustle’ should convince you unequivocally to put these qualms to rest. Taking an unconventional approach to the loose retelling of the Abscam scandal, a late 1970s FBI sting operation that led to bribery convictions for a U.S. senator and several members of the House, it sees Russell at his most invigorated yet, a wild and woolly ride through the dark and dizzy heart of American ambition brimming with so much unbridled verve that it is quite impossible not to get caught up in its rapture.

Co-written by Russell and Eric Warren Singer, it begins on a definitively offbeat note with a paunchy Christian Bale painstakingly putting together his hair with some glue, a forlorn toupee and a comb-over. Bale’s transformation into the balding and bloated con man Irving Rosenfeld is a revelation in itself, one of his character reinventions that demonstrate his commitment as an actor and his astonishing ability to disappear into just about any role that he takes on. But more about Bale and the rest of the ensemble later on – what is apparent from this very opening scene is Russell’s screwball exuberance to the material, which recalls both stylistically and spiritually the spirit of vintage Scorcese.

That sequence thrusts its viewer into the same frame with the rest of the key actors - Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) and Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) - whose roles in relation to Irving become clearer after Russell rewinds to recount the events leading up to that terse and tense exchange.  Allowing his characters their own voices, Russell lets Irving and Sydney narrate their own individual livelihoods - the former as a con artist with a dry cleaning business on the side and the latter as a knockout stripper from New Mexico - before the pair bond at a Long Island pool party over a shared passion for Duke Ellington's “Jeep's Blues” as well as a mutual belief in reinventing their respective lives.

Making use of an alternate identity as Lady Edith Greenleigh, Sydney builds a fake loan scheme with Irving using the company guise of London Associates. Their grifting enterprise becomes so successful that they attract the attention of Richie, an ambitious FBI agent whose latest target is white collar criminals and whom arm-twists the pair into setting up a scam involving a fake sheikh (Michael Pena) to reel in some bigger fish. What follows is an increasingly elaborate - and dangerous - sting operation that calls into question their shifting personas and motivations, especially as the all-too eager Ritchie works his way up the food chain with New Jersey mayor Carmine as his prime focus and eventually unwitting pawn.

While the title ostensibly refers to Irving and Sydney’s business, the brilliantly written script slowly peels back the layers of each and every one of its characters to reveal each as a ‘hustler’. For Ritchie, that means refusing to see through the delusions of his FBI glory to recognise the good intentions of Carmine and the rest of his targets.  It also is refusing to accept his hen-pecked life in a working-class home with a mother and fiancé, and finding distraction instead in his growing attraction for Sydney. And for Irving and Sydney, their hustle lies not only in their schemes but also in their personal lives, what with Irving being married to a much younger but also much more unhinged wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) whose young son is the apple of his eye. There are no perfect characters here, no saints or heroes or role models to look up to; rather, each in his or her own way inevitably resorts to some form of hustling in order to survive.

It is evident from how richly Russell sketches these characters that he loves each and every one of them, and his passion for the material is matched by the enthusiasm and creative energy that each one of his actors brings. Reflecting that perfect synergy between actor and director, Russell and his ace cast share a trust and confidence in each other that is demonstrated in the boldness with which they take to their roles. Not one of these actors is a stranger to Russell - Bale and Adams from ‘The Fighter’ and Cooper and Lawrence from ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ - and their combination sets off an explosive chemistry that counts as acting fireworks. Throw in a terrific Renner, comedian Louis C.K. in a deadpan performance playing Ritchie’s beleaguered superior and De Niro in a brief but impossible to miss turn as a mafia chief, and you have just about one of the finest ensemble outings in a very long while.

Russell’s love for these idiosyncratic characters extends also to the era in which they belong, and he portrays with a giddy headiness the excesses and extravagances of the 1970s. With cinematographer Linus Sandgren, production designer Judy Becker and costume designer Michael Wilkinson, Russell recreates in elaborate detail the glamour of the decade - and from Carmine’s pompadour to the Halston dresses of the women to the disco scene straight out of ‘Saturday Night Fever’, there is an infectious brio coupled with Danny Elfman’s evocative score and some choice tunes from Chicago, Jeff Lynne, Steely Dan, Donna Summer, Elton John and David Bowie that you’ll be completely swept up in. That gaudy sheen also reinforces the movie’s central message - that in a time when appearances and poise mattered so much, it is inevitable that hustling became a necessary trait to survival.

Indeed, ‘American Hustle’ might very well be Russell’s best film that boasts a perfect balance of the director’s spontaneity and control. He gives his gallery of strays, cheaters and deceivers plenty of room to roam far and wide, and yet nothing feels superfluous at any point. And in that corral, we see Bale’s magnificently understated performance, one that grows in pathos and dignity as he is called upon to be the film’s moral centre; we also see Adams’ most versatile act yet, showing a depth in a darker and more dangerous role than she has ever played; we are also treated to Cooper at his funniest and liveliest, digging deep to unearth a maniacal side yet unseen; last but not least, a simply magnetic Lawrence who is mesmerising as “the Picasso of passive-aggressive karate”.  Exceptional performances from some of the finest actors of our generation, a director at the top of his game, and an intriguing subject that finds its relevance even today, this is one movie that belongs on your must-see list and every critic’s best-of list of the year. 

Movie Rating:

(Hands down one of the best films of the year, this fictionalised account of the Abscam scandal is riotously entertaining and ceaselessly captivating thanks to an A-list cast at their best and a director at the very top of his game)

Review by Gabriel Chong
  

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa
Cast: Miori Takimoto, Koji Seto, Kokoro Hirasawa, Itsumi Osawa, Takeshi Onishi, Yusuke Yamamoto, Ryosei Tayama
RunTime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror & Some Violence)
Released By: GV
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 31 October 2013

Synopsis: Several years have passed since the “cursed video clip” incidents. There is a mysterious outbreak of multiple deaths, but the cause is unknown. At the same time, there are many incidents of disappearance. Perhaps it is an outbreak of some new kind of virus, or intentional terrorist activity? During the ongoing investigation, it is established that there is some kind of relationship to the “cursed video clip” incidents that occurred a few years earlier... A mysterious little girl holds the key to solving the story. Does this little girl have some kind of connection to Sadako? When all of the incidents are linked as one, the ultimate extent of the mystery is revealed.

Movie Review:

Even after so many years, many of us can probably still vividly remember the creepy long-haired ghost in white that haunted us on countless nights. The international success of ‘The Ring (1998)’ propelled the revival of horror filmmaking in Japan during the late 90s and early 2000s. We have also seen the successes from The Grudge (aka Juon, 2000) and Dark Water (2002). These films garnered really positive receptions so much so that filmmakers from US, and even Korea, made their attempts to remake these horror films. Well, so that’s the past glories of Japanese horror films…

Sadako 2 is the sequel of Sadako 3D (2012) based on the novel S (a follow-up novel of ‘The Ring’, from Koji Suzuki). Both movies extend the imagination of Sadako, with the pervasiveness of the ‘cursed videos’ even more widespread than before, owing to high-speed internet and social sharing. Her presence is no longer confined to the television box! After a not-so-successful comeback of Sadako, there isn’t much to look forward for this sequel as well.

Sadako 2 picked up from where Sadako 3D concluded, where Akane and Takanori seemingly won against Sadako. However, Sadako’s curse did not seem to have let go. It continues to plague the Ando family and the people around them with a series of strange happenings. These inauspicious happenings all seem to be caused by Nagi, the offspring of Akane and Takanori. This led to Nagi’s primary caretaker, Takanori’s sister, to even suspect that Nagi is possibly a sinister child of Sadako.

So what we exactly have here is a paranoid aunt (Takanori’s sister, Fuko), a spooky child (Nagi), an unconcerned and distant father (Takanori), a non-existent mother (Akane, who should have died), and a series of supernatural happenings. As dull as it already seems, there is little development in the narrative that sustains the viewers’ interests. Despite the introduction of other supporting roles such as the serial killer and the police officer in-charge, the resolution of the mysteries was somewhat disappointing.

Most of the scare tactics used in the film is none other than the most plain and undecorated ‘BOO’ scares. There are many ‘pop out of the screen’ scenes too, since this film is also available in 3D. However, the tricks are kind of juvenile and feel like high school pranks; not mature in its execution and no psychological thrill. For one part where Fuko’s fear of Nagi was intensified, it was where the suspense and mood was built to its best. However, it disappeared really quickly when it eventually became an ‘Inception’ sequence (i.e. a dream in a dream) – lacking originality and cuts the mood.

The classic 1998’s The Ring can really never be outdone. Sadako 2 in its attempt to bring the scare back was yet another feeble try. Weak in both plot and its ability to hook the audiences, Sadako will be well back in her well and not reappear for some time now…

Movie Rating:  

(Watch only if you haven’t got enough of Spooktacular)

Review by Tho Shu Ling
  

Genre: Thriller/Horror
Director: Leong Po-Chih  
Cast: Raymond Lam, Karena Ng, Kate Tsui, Janelle Sing, Yu Bo, Irene Wan, Lo Hoi-Pang
RunTime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror and Scene of Intimacy)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films & Scorpio East Pictures
Official Website:  

Opening Day: 7 November 2013

Synopsis: When a young couple, blogger Tian Qing and song-writer Hao moves into a home, they find a mysterious doll that changes their lives forever. Not long after, Tian Qing becomes pregnant with twins but as Hao is always busy with his work, he comes home late every night. When Tian Qing suffers a fall and ends up giving birth to only one child, she begins to show signs of depression and weird behaviour...

Movie Review:

It really baffles us how there will always be movie protagonists who take fancy in the strangest objects. Take for example the doll you see on the movie poster here – who in the right mind would think it is adorable, so much so that he or she becomes obsessed and in love with it? Oh, we must have left out the fact that in horror movies, logic is often left and the door. In the name of scaring you shitless, anything goes.

Chinese British director Leong Po Chih, who is known for his non Chinese works Shanghai 1920 (1991) and The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998), tries his hand at helming a Hong Kong horror flick. Does he manage to inject his Western influence into an Asian horror movie? Can he bring out memorable performances from Raymond Lam and Kate Tsui like how he did with John Lone and Jude Law? Most importantly, is this not going to yet another run of the mill scary movie that belongs in the DVD bin?

Very unfortunately, as much as we want to root for this production, it is a forgettable movie that does nothing to spike your senses.

The story fails to excite: A young couple moves into a new house and chances upon a creepy looking doll that will mess up their lives forever. The wife becomes pregnant with twins but ends up giving birth to only one child after a fall. No thanks to the husband’s busy work schedule as a record producer, she begins to show signs of depression and weird behaviour. Does it have to do with the freaky doll she took a liking with? You bet!

Good looker Raymond Lam (The Sorcerer and the White Snake, Saving General Yang) takes on the role of the husband while eye candy Janelle Sing stars alongside as his wife. Anyone would want to be in the shoes of this model couple – but you know that only happens in movies. Co stars include Kate Tsui as a seductively sexy singer, Lam’s real life girlfriend Karena Ng as his sister in law,and Lo Hoi Pang as an ominous uncle who appears randomly to warn the couple of their impending doom.

There are a number of notable Hong Kong artistes here, and to be fair, they deliver commendable performances. What makes this 93 minute flick a disposable one is its ridiculous plot (nothing new actually), a sluggish story pacing (when things begin picking up in the last 20 minutes, it’s really too late to leave an impact) and its uncreative scare tactics. Come on, you can definitely do better than having a CGI doll spinning and pointing its bloody finger at you? Splattering blood and hallucination dream sequences aren’t anything exciting to shout about in this day and age as well.

By the time the credits roll, you’d wonder whether this movie belongs on the small screen (especially when the stars are relatively well known for their TV roles), and whether the movie managed to send any chills down your spine.  

Movie Rating:

(Despite decent performances, the Hong Kong horror flick is messily forgettable)

Review by John Li

Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Patrick Kong  
Cast: Edward Ma, Angel Chiang, Elena Kong, Tin-Ngoh Seung, Lo Hoi-Pang, Mak Cheung Ching, Amanda Lee
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Violence and Sexual Scenes) 
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:  

Opening Day: 14 November 2013

Synopsis: Bobo (Angel Chiang) and Ken (Edward Ma) are lovers. One day, Bobo’s mum was diagnosed with serious kidney failure. To pay for the kidney transplant, Bobo has no choice but to work as a prostitute. Later Bobo’s mother passed away and she was taken away by her relatives, without having a chance to inform Ken. Ken never get to meet her since then, till 10 years later where they meet at their friend’s wedding…

Movie Review:

Don’t get us wrong – we love nostalgic movies. Look at what the genre did for the 2011 Taiwanese romance flick You Are the Apple of My Eye directed by Giddens Ko. We still shed bittersweet tears of joy whenever we think of the bittersweet nostalgic scenes. However, Hong Kongfilmmaker Patrick Kong, who is known for his teen dramas Nobody’s Perfect (2008) and Love Connected (2009), seems to have gotten it all wrong in his latest work.

The 96 minute movie begins with the male and female protagonists meeting after years apart to rekindle their first love. Inevitably, they stir up memories and secrets they share.Flashback: In the heat of a summer vacation, and with their first love blossoming, tragic news sends this young couple spinning. The girl’s mother is diagnosed with kidney disease, and is in desperate need of transplant surgery. The poor girl turns to prostitution to earn quick money to save her dying mother. How will this implicate the love that was supposed to conclude with a fairytale ending? 

The storyline is treading into some edgily dark areas, but the need to appeal to mainstream audiences through the use of nostalgia seems unfitting. There are lovey dovey scenes of the couple chatting about what the future holds for them, complemented by visually appealing cinematography. There are scenes of the couple’s first attempt at lovemaking. There are even scenes of sexual abuse, which was supposed to evoke sympathy for the female lead, but no thanks to uneven pacing, you’d wish the one and a half hours in the theatre would end sooner.

Produced by Wong Jing, the movie stars eye candy Edward Ma as the clueless lad and Angel Chiang as the headstrong girl who is forced to turn to desperate measures. The pairing has some chemistry between them - Chiang sheds her sex symbol image to pass the test, and Ma’s boyish looks should send some hearts fluttering. However, they are greenhorns in the industry after all, and eventually fail to leave an impression with their somewhat forgettable performances. Standing out are veteran actors like Elena Kong and Lo Hoi Pang, whose screen time is limited but leaves an impact.

Is this a coming of age film? The answer is clear, but while it attempts to tug at your heartstrings, it does so compromising on sincerity, and the unfortunate result is a movie where you don’t really care for the protagonists.

We know love is like an addiction, but watching it unfold in this movie is a somewhat frustrating experience. This is especially prevalent towards the end of the movie, where we wished the couple would be less wishy washy about things. We also know love is filled with mushy dialogue, but when it’s played out here, things seem contrived instead. The overbearing piano score sure doesn’t help either. The result is a rather self indulgent piece of work which may look good superficially, but is nothing more than a commercial product produced at earning some quick bucks at the box office. 

Movie Rating:

(A teen drama that leaves little impact despite its pretty visuals)

Review by John Li

SYNOPSIS: Two years post-Bangkok, with disaster-magnet Leslie Chow supposedly locked up in a Thai prison, Phil, Stu and Doug are finally living blissfully uneventful lives - until their best friend Alan ditches his meds, goes off the rails and triggers a final odyssey of comic mayhem. Director Todd Phillips saves the best for last in this hysterically funny, action-packed epic conclusion to his incomparable Wolfpack Trilogy. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

The first Hangover was a breath of fresh air. As ironic as it sounds, it boasts a relatively unknown cast; a ludicrous setup blended with raunchy comedy and went on to become a global box-office hit. The second is a lazy rehashed of the original except it took place in Bangkok instead of Vegas, still it makes a killing at the box-office.  

Given the amount of money at stake, there’s no doubt a third chapter (or supposedly finale) is in the pipeline and that’s when director Todd Phillips promised audience a far different template as compared to the first two. And after watching the completed product, Phillips is right after all and likely the feeling you get is you are in fact not watching a Hangover movie.

After Alan’s (Zach Galifianakis) dad died from a heart attack, the Wolfpack decides to take Alan to a rehab facility in Arizona given his worsening medical condition. On the way, the guys are confronted by a mob boss, Marshall (John Goodman) about Chow (Ken Jeong) hijacking half of his gold. Taking Doug (Justin Bartha) as hostage, Marshall wants Alan, Stu (Ed Helms) and Phil (Bradley Cooper) to locate Chow and retrieve his lost gold. The simple road trip turned into a series of misadventures as the trio becomes Chow’s accomplices, meeting old and new friends and ended up back in Vegas where their troubles originally began.

The glaring mistake Phillips made was to dedicate the majority of the screentime to the character Chow, the cocaine-sniffing, out-of-control and hyperactive criminal who has bits and pieces of funniness in the original. Chow instead becomes the centre of attraction in Part III and the Wolfpack are relegated to the sideline as the crazy and plain annoying Chow took over. Sure, there are short moments to be chuckled at and that mostly is from Alan, the innocent and sometimes not so innocent rich man-boy. His romance with a pawnshop staff (played by Melissa McCarthy) is like a tip of an iceberg and you expected more from the comedic duo. The Wolfpack’s reunion with stripper Jade (Heather Graham) is unnecessary and fortunately Mike Tyson and his Tiger didn’t bother making an appearance.  

Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms seem to be having an easy time with a confirmed fat paycheck in tow while John Goodman has his moments. Apparently, Phillips and his guys love animals though the chain-smoking monkey is out, you get to watch Chow firing at fighting cocks, poisoning dogs and Alan accidentally looping the head of a giraffe off. Okay, I’m sorry the last one is indeed funny (despite the cruelty nature of it) and probably the only scene worth laughing out loud.

Did we just watch the finale of the Hangover? Yes, I guess so. Todd Phillips even include a post-credit (which is hell lot funnier) to remind you that. Unfortunately, The Hangover Part III fares neither as a successful dark comedy or a rousing road trip adventure movie. No wedding, no bachelor party this time round just ultimate B-O-R-E-D-O-M. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

3 short Extended Scenes and 8 minutes of Outtakes (occasionally funnier than the end product) filled up the Special Features. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The Hangover Part III DVD looks and sound perfect. Detailing and imaging is striking except for some lagging CGI. Audio is dynamic when it comes to dialogue and the occasional action sets.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Henry Cavill becomes the first official Brit man to don the red tights in this rather controversial reboot of everyone’s favourite comic superhero.

Written by the creators of The Dark Knight trilogy, David S. Goyer, with a story credit by acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan and helmed by 300 and Watchmen’s Zack Synder, Man of Steel once again takes viewers back to the origins of the Boy Scout and this time as promised by Synder, nothing you have seen before.  

Following the footsteps of Batman Begins, Man of Steel is hell lot grittier, greyer and beefier than Richard Donner and Bryan Singer’s versions. To be frank, Goyer’s ambitious take on the character actually loses its potential before the third act despite his best efforts to boast ups the expository and characterisations.  

The movie opens impressively with the planet Krypton soon meeting its doom. While Superman aka Kal-El as most know is the last son of Krypton, Goyer’s version tells us a lot more starting with his scientist dad Jor-El (Russell Crowe) who got into a tussle with the planet’s military commander, General Zod (Michael Shannon) over a failed military coup. Infusing his son’s with the planet’s genetic codex, Kal-El is sent to Earth while General Zod and his followers are banished to the Phantom Zone before Krypton is blown up.

I must say the prologue pushes all the right buttons and we are captivated by all the creatures, people and technology inhibiting in Superman’s birth place. Unfortunately, the plotting slowly crumbles as Goyer and Synder prefers to adopt a non-linear way of storytelling and by juggling between the present day and the past, it’s hard to relate to the pains and sufferings faced by Kal-El as he grew up in Smallville with his adopted parents, Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane).  

With the now grown up Kal-El, known as his adopted name, Clark Kent living a nomadic lifestyle in searching of his true self with flashes of incidents in his childhood, we came to know our hero indeed has a difficult childhood struggling with his powers. While Jor-El wants his son to be the savior to mankind, his adopted dad prefers him to keep his powers a secret. The story posed an interesting dilemma and the plotting significantly questioned but ultimately failed to answer.

Yet it’s the veteran stars that dazzle especially Kevin Costner and Diane Lane who rightfully deserved a heavier screentime. Russell Crowe becomes more of a running joke given that Jor-El appears conveniently throughout the movie. Laurence Fishburne and Amy Adams are mere icing on an already flavoured cake, here’s hoping Adam’s Lois Lane has a bigger presence in the sequel. Michael Shannon’s performance as the villainous General Zod is both creepy and riveting, pity his character needs a fresher approach and lastly, congrats to Cavill for his successful portrayal of the iconic superhero.

Man of Steel continues Synder’s trademark usage of CGI and colour treatment (read: gritty). The CG which is handled by the prestigious Weta Digital is dubious, the climatic showdown (which seems to last a laborious 45 plus minutes) between Superman and Zod in Metropolis for example becomes an orgy of blurriness, whip-pans and explosions that it is a letdown compared to The Avengers. Sure you might argue they are entirely different comic properties but Man of Steel nevertheless deserved better treatment. Hans Zimmer’s rousing score as opposed to John Williams’ already memorable theme take a little longer to digest but you can’t deny it’s one of Zimmer’s best in recent times.      

While it lacks in many ways as compared to Batman Begins (Synder is after all not a Nolan), the reboot of Superman is not entirely a miss. It has fleeting scenes of brilliance to like and occasional misses to grieve. For a summer blockbuster and a big DC/Warner title, it sufficiently delivers the job. Here’s hoping for more heroic Super Batty actions in 2015.   

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Dylan Sprayberry who plays the 13 year old Clark Kent takes us on a swift journey on how the various visual effects are done in Behind the Scenes: Krypton Decoded.

Jointly conceived by Bruce Timm, Zack Synder and music scored by Hans Zimmer, Superman 75th Anniversary Animated Short is a nicely done tribute to the Superhero.

Featurette: New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth is entirely not related to Man of Steel in anyway, clearly a promo filler to promote the upcoming Hobbit sequel.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track offers an immersive soundfield, mostly dynamic and deafening. Visually, Man Of Steel reminds one of Synder’s Sucker Punch: bleak, stylized and a little too heavy on digital grading though audience should not confuse this with the actual visual results which are almost flawless.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Christopher Landon
Cast: Andrew Jacobs, Carlos Pratts, Richard Cabral, Eddie J. Fernandez, Jorge Diaz, Gloria Sandoval, David Fernandez Jr., Kimberly Ables Jindra, Tonja Kahlens, Frank Salinas
RunTime: 1 hr 24 mins
Rating: M18 (Nudity, Coarse Language And Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.paranormalmovie.co.uk/
 
Opening Day: 2 January 2014

Synopsis: "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" will offer up a storyline centered around a Catholic based investigation. The Catholic faith and Mexican folklore are known to have various ghost stories from demons to horrifying witch tales, and hopefully Landon took cue from these stories instead of the plain boring story told throughout the first four films. This could be a new turn that could see various Paranormal Activity spin-off films telling one off stories.

Movie Review:

Not to be mistaken for its fifth instalment, ‘The Marked Ones’ is in fact a spinoff that casts a young Latino named Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) in place of the original’s Katie and Kristi Featherstone. But what could have been an opportunity to invigorate a franchise of increasingly diminishing returns turns out instead to be a nail in the coffin, and despite boasting the series’ regular screenwriter Christopher Landon as its writer cum director, this is undoubtedly the worst entry yet to bear the ‘Paranormal Activity’ brand name.

The setting is a modern-day Latino neighbourhood in Los Angeles, where best buddies Jesse and Hector (Jorge Diaz) spend their time doing Jackass-type stunts and filming them with their new handheld camera. Within their two-storey apartment complex lives a mysterious (ain’t they always) neighbour Anna (Gloria Sandoval), from whose unit Hector hears strange noises from at night and who is rumoured to be a witch. Plenty of time-filling scenes and a half hour later, Anna is found gunned down by their school valedictorian Oscar (Carlos Pratts).

And just as you expect them to, Jesse and Hector decide to play Sherlock Holmes by breaking into Anna’s apartment to look for clues. That first visit leaves Jesse with a mark on his forearm (hence the title) as well as superhuman-like powers that look like an utter ripoff from ‘Chronicle’. Jesse discovers that his powers stem from the presence of a supernatural entity, which he verifies is malevolent with the help of an Old Simon electronic game (or basically the equivalent of an electronic oujia board).  That’s not the worst of it - he starts to sleepwalk at night to places he cannot remember and develops some stringy stuff around his eyes which he tries to remove to suitably gruesome effect.

For reasons unknown, Landon seems schizophrenic about his film. On one hand, he wants a clear link to the other ‘Paranormal Activity’ films, such that hardcore fans who have seen especially the last two in the series will immediately guess that it has to do with some coven of witches who have been practicing the dark arts. On the other, he seems to want to take things in a different direction, so instead of things that go bump in the night around the house, Jesse goes the way of ‘The Exorcist’ and gradually becomes possessed by the very otherworldly entity who’s been following him around.

Suffice to say that originality is in short shrift here, but what begins as an exercise in mediocrity descends into camp by the time the climax rolls around. We won’t spoil it for those who are undeterred by the lack of any new ideas here; we will however declare it probably one of the most unintentionally hilarious moments of the franchise. What redemption the relatively exciting climax provides is also quickly undone by the ending, which sees Landon try just too hard to tie the events of the film to the main ‘Paranormal Activity’ story thread of Katie and Kristi.  

But the surest sign that the series has all but lost its footing is the fact that there is nothing at all scary or disturbing in this entry. Whereas the earlier films used suspense and anticipation to build some genuinely terrifying moments, this one offers none of that gratification, offering instead an ‘Exorcist’-style horror with elements of ‘Chronicle’ blended into the ‘Paranormal Activity’ universe. The result is derivative to say the least, and proof that what was once a promising and enduring brand in the horror genre is quickly going the way of ‘Saw’ and ultimately bleeding itself dry.

As its title suggests, mark this entry down - but do so by crossing it out. 

Movie Rating:

(Easily the worst entry in the ‘Paranormal Activity’ series, this spinoff is little more than a ripoff of possession-type horror movies with some of the supernatural from ‘ChronIcle’)

Review by Gabriel Chong