The first time we saw the teaser trailer to Ben Stiller’s latest film, we couldn’t shake that tune off out heads. Icelandic indie folk indie pop band blew Of Monsters and Men blew us away with the soaring “Dirty Paws”, and from that moment on, all we wanted was to own a copy of the soundtrack to Stiller’s adaptation of James Thurber’s 1939 short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
And were we, dare we say it, desperately hoping to be inspired like the titular character with the music from the film? You bet.
That desire to own the CD was 2013. Fast forward a month and here we are in January 2014, spinning the album in our player – on repeat. Yes, the 49 minute soundtrack doesn’t disappoint one bit. Kicking off the compilation of music from and inspired by the motion picture (which unfortunately, received mixed reviews from the cynical critics) is Swedish indie folk singer songwriter Jose Gonzales’ “Step Out”. This is the song featured in the second trailer to the film, and thanks to the widespread exposure, this is one inspirational tune easy to like.
Elsewhere, Gonzales croons “Stay Alive”, a low key but equally affecting tune that somehow made us all melancholic about life. The talented musician is also part of Junip, a folk rock psychedelic rock band with fellow Swedish Tobias Winterkorn. The duo performs “Far Away” and “Don’t Let It Pass”, two rhythmic cues which get the energy going on the soundtrack.
The ever so cool American folk rock singer songwriter Jack Johnson (you know he’s cool when he headlines the soundtrack to the animated film Curious George based on the popular book series) covers “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)”, and leaves us wanting to leave the burden that is life behind to chill out with a bottle of beer by the beach.
Things get a little sultry with the cover “Don’t You Want Me” performed by Canadian musicians Bahamasand The Weather Station, before it becomes breezily tranquil with The Wolves & The Ravens’ “RogueValley”. One track to highlight in this collection of folk tunes is “Space Oddity (Mitty Mix)” by David Bowie. Lead actress Kristen Wiig’s voice is infused into the well loved classic and we’re loving this innovative duet.
The soundtrack has been, and we hope, will always be on loop to remind us the lengths we are capable of going to live life to the fullest.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (1) Step Out – Jose Gonzales
Review by John Li
We were expecting the biopic of the late Nelson Mandela to get lots of attention at the major film awards, but to our surprise, the hype seems to be rather underwhelming (granted this is indeed a strong year for movies gunning for accolades). This soundtrack album to Justin Chadwick’s film is one of the two produced (the other one is a CD containing score material composed by Alex Heffes), and contains 50 minutes worth of music embodying the uplifting spirit captured in the movie.
There are two genres of songs in this album – Western tunes like The Havana Swingsters’ “Mzala” and The Manhattan Brothers’ “Be My Guest”, and South African compositions like Tony Kgoroge’s “Hoya Rona” and Dizu Plaatjie’s “Kaphume Aphendlini”.
Because we live in this part of the world, the Western tunes may be an easier listen for us. Cues like The Manhattan Brothers’ “Jikela Emaweni” and Todd Matshikiza’s “Quickly In Love” are perfect to chill the weekend afternoon away. Elsewhere, you get more ethnic tunes like Art Blakely’s “Amuck” and Innocent Modiba’s “Thetha no Botha/ Siyaya ePitoli”.
For a film that chronicles Nelson Mandela’s life journey from childhood in a rural village to his inauguration to the first democratically president of South Africa, you’d expect politically charged tracks like Bob Marley’s “War” and Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.
The highlight of the album is definitely U2’s “Ordinary Love”. The four minute song has already won a Golden Globe, and garnered the only nomination for the movie at the upcoming Academy Awards. With lyrics like ““birds fly high in the summer sky and rest on the breeze, the sea wind will take care of you and I, we’ll build our house in the trees”, would we be expecting the Irish quartet to grace the stage to accept the Oscar in Dolby Theatre on 2 March?
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (17) Ordinary Love – U2
Review by John Li
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jeff Tremaine
Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll
RunTime: 1 hr 32 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Sexual Humour and Coarse Language)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.jackassmovie.com/social/
Opening Day: 9 January 2014
Synopsis: 86 year-old Irving Zisman is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companion, his 8 year-old Grandson Billy in "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”. In 2014, the signature Jackass character Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) and Billy (Jackson Nicoll) will take movie audiences along for the most insane hidden camera road trip ever captured on film. Along the way Irving will introduce the young and impressionable Billy to people, places and situations that give new meaning to the term childrearing. The duo will encounter male strippers, disgruntled child beauty pageant contestants (and their equally disgruntled mothers), funeral home mourners, biker bar patrons and a whole lot of unsuspecting citizens. Real people in unreal situations, making for one really messed up comedy.
Movie Review:
You’re either a fan of ‘Jackass’ or you’re not. Since debuting on MTV more than a decade ago, the reality series has become a brand name in itself for dangerous, crude and at times disgusting pranks (case in point, the final showpiece stunt of the last ‘Jackass’ movie had one of its regulars named Steve-O launched into the air while inside a portable toilet filled with excrement). You’ll do well to remember that before you step into ‘Bad Grandpa’, a spinoff movie from its creators that makes no apologies for the cavalcade of elaborately choreographed pranks which it unleashes on unsuspecting bystanders.
The titular character refers to 86-year-old Irving Zisman, a lecherous, foul-mouthed and totally irresponsible old coot that first debuted during the final season of ‘Jackass’ on MTV and which its lead star Johnny Knoxville has reprised in the trilogy of films before this one. Unlike previous iterations however, Knoxville’s fictional octogenarian alter ego here gets an 8-year-old companion in the form of a grandson named Billy (Jackson Nicoll) as well as the opportunity to display a heretofore unseen human side during a cross-country trip to drop Billy off with his ne'er-do-well toker son-in-law, Chuck (Zia Harris).
Indeed, this is the first time that the ‘Jackass’ team of Knoxville, director Jeff Tremaine and producer Spike Jonze are collaborating within the structure of a story that has a beginning, middle and end. What you get therefore is a hybrid of scripted narrative with improv-heavy, hidden-camera stunt comedy that the ‘Jackass’ franchise has traditionally been associated with. Though it may resemble in structure and concept the faux-documentary ‘Borat’, the mix takes a little getting used to, coming off neither as a fully-fleshed movie in its own right nor a loose collection of gags the previous three ‘Jackass’ films were.
Still, the setup works simply because of two reasons. First, despite being racist, sexist and salacious, Knoxville remains as unapologetic as ever; instead, he revels in every single scatological bit of humour, whether getting his dangly bits stuck in a soda machine, or putting his moves on the ladies in a bingo hall, or busting into a male strip joint, or soiling himself flamboyantly in a diner, or (and this is our favourite) dressing Billy in drag to perform a raunchy stripease to Warrant’s ‘Cherry Pie’ before a little-miss beauty pageant. Oh yes, it’s every bit politically incorrect, and there is a brazen quality to the humour that you can’t help but admire the filmmakers’ derring-do for.
Second, there is real chemistry between Knoxville and his young co-star Nicoll, the latter of which made his big screen debut as Christian Bale’s son in ‘The Fighter’. Especially in the second half of the movie, Tremaine engineers some truly serious and sweet moments between grandpa and grandson, culminating in a surprisingly heartwarming finale when the pair converge on a seedy-looking bar and meet a real biker gang named ‘Guardians of the Children’ whose aim is to assist abused youths. Nicoll has an innocent charm of his own, and the buddy-pic bond that develops between Nicoll’s character Billy and his grandpa unfolds with unexpected empathy.
Notwithstanding that, this is still first and foremost a ‘Jackass’ movie, which as we had cautioned at the start, is not everyone’s idea of funny. We’re not talking ‘Candid Camera’ here, but a more, far more, extreme form of comic anarchy that will either leave you annoyed or doubling over with laughter. As long as you’re sure that you’re the latter when it comes to ‘Jackass’ humour, you’ll find this ‘Bad Grandpa’ a surprisingly entertaining concoction of adult frat-boy jokes with a good dollop of heart and warmth.
Movie Rating:
(Not nearly as outrageous as any of the last three ‘Jackass’ films, this mix of scripted and improv comedy still holds its own thanks to an irrepressibly brazen attitude and some surprisingly heartwarming moments)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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ASHTON KUTCHER - actor, entrepreneur, tech investor, producer and now Lenovo's Product EngineerPosted on 04 Jan 2014 |
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Wilson Chin
Cast: Alex Lam, Ava Liu, Jena Ho, Sammy Sum, Mia Chan
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 2 January 2014
Synopsis: Shin and Sara have been engaged for two years. They once had an argument and agree to have fun individually. Sara's best friend Jena, who always has a soft spot for Shin, then tried every means to seduce him. Meanwhile, Jena's boyfriend Jacky is also getting close with another girl Jolie who's fun and wild. Lan Kwai Fong, the famous Hong Kong nightspot, is as bustling as usual during the weekends. The girls are all gathering up to rock the clubs. Then, Sara meets a hot Korean hunk name Kim. The relationship between all of them starts to change..
Movie Review:
If you need an introduction to the ‘Lan Kwai Fong’ movies, then look no further than the poster itself. It’s a flesh parade really, a chance to gawk and ogle at pretty twenty something girls whose main purpose - and indeed even sole activity - in life is to party, hook up and make out. It’s also an opportunity to live vicariously as a party animal, an invitation to feel what it is like to let loose and be immersed in the combination of pulsing music, strobe lights and the constant attention of members of the opposite sex.
Now if that doesn’t appeal to you, then we’re sure you’re not the reason why writer/ director Wilson Chin has - within the span of the last two years - managed to turn this into a trilogy. Indeed, the fact that we’re watching the third instalment of what we never would have thought at the start could become a franchise demonstrates that there is an audience out there who revels in the pleasures that Chin’s ‘Lan Kwai Fong’ movies bring - and let’s be very clear that it has nothing to do with a compelling plot or characters.
Essentially, ‘Lan Kwai Fong 3’ unfolds over the course of three nights at a club in the Hong Kong district, one at a club in Korea (the first time the movie has gone overseas for location shooting we may add) and one weekend beach party on board three expensive yachts. As for sets, just add some rooms and a Jacuzzi where the intimate lovemaking scenes unfold and your list will be complete. Within that setup, Chin tells the ups and downs of a bunch of pretty young females - and perhaps one not so attractive companion - who simply love and are addicted to the clubbing life.
If you need to know, the key characters are a quartet of best friends - there’s Sara (singer Ava Yu) who has been engaged to Shin (Alex Lam) for the past two years, Jeana (Jeana Ho) who’s harboured a secret crush on Shin, Jo (TVB’s Whitney Hui) who’s just returned from overseas, and last but not least Papa (Celia Kwok) who is the not so pretty one among them and often referred to unkindly as ‘pork chop’. Their run-ins include a Korean hunk with the hots for Sara, a geeky pathologist with the hots for Papa and oh not forgetting a wannabe model whom Jeana slighted just to bring out the claws.
There’s no point really discussing the rest of the story, because so little of it is present that we’d probably end up revealing the whole movie anyways - and which is probably why Chin managed so quickly to revise the script before production when ‘Vulgaria’ actress Dada Chan dropped out. But Chin knows exactly what his target audience is here for, and he offers it in spades. Not only are there plenty of gratuitous shots of bosoms and bottoms, you’ll also be treated to about five softcore porn-type making-out scenes that (yeah) turn up the temperature - and we mean that as a pun especially for one of them filmed in an outdoor spa in winter in Korea.
If you must know, it ends - like each of its predecessors - with a corny declaration of love by one of the couples, though we can reassure you that it isn’t as cringe-worthy as the ‘running backwards’ sequence in ‘Lan Kwai Fong 2’ to symbolise the turning back of time. But hey, even though it is a horrible movie by any conventional standard, let’s just say it does deliver the trashy pleasures. Like we said at the beginning, this is a movie that knows exactly who it is preaching to, knows exactly what its message should be, and offers nothing more or less. At the very least, it stands head and shoulders above the first and second chapter by having a sense of humour (the scene where the pathologist pastes a gauze over a small wound on Papa’s ass and then proceeds to make out with her in her lingerie is simply hilarious), so if you’re checking out ‘Lan Kwai Fong 3’, know exactly what you should be in for and you’ll be gratified.
Movie Rating:
(It’s a flesh parade all right - but for not promising anything more and delivering nothing less, it is entertaining in its own trashy, shallow way)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Sophie is a girl who loves to fantasize, loves comics, loves action heroes but is struggling to meet ends meet. On a prize vacation to Singapore, the man of her dreams appears - David. When she tries to express her feelings, she ruins David's ongoing mission. David is actually a special agent hot on the tracks of a crime boss. Together they must find a way to recover a lost diamond and survive the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way, Sophie must disguise herself...as a carnival performer, vixen, dancer...she has to be convincing. Together with David, She makes all sorts of hilarious mistakes. Every time Sophie messes things up, David comes to the rescue. In the end, Sophie must face the biggest challenge alone. Using her wits and newfound talents, she succeeds. Sophie has changed from being a shy, introverted girl into a confident, gorgeous woman. But is David for real? What is the meaning of real adventure? What exactly is true love?
MOVIE REVIEW:
We cringed every time Zhang Ziyi acts all cutesy and bubbly. It might be because we are so used to her tough as nails, strong-willed onscreen personalities. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero and House of Flying Daggers just to name a few. Not forgetting her performance in The Grandmaster nets her a Golden Horse award as well.
But for her sophomore producing effort, Zhang returns to her role of Sophie, the fumbling, lovelorn cartoonist who dreamt of marrying her ideal man. We can’t imagine there is actually a market for this sort of teenybopper material but apparently there is. Thus we are treated once again to 109 minutes of pointless saccharin disguised as a secret agent caper.
Sophie, a part-time cartoonist and telesales agent in Beijing has won a vacation to our very own Singapore with four nights of stay at the luxury Marina Sands thrown in. Bumping into a very handsome David (Wang Lee Hom) who by the way is a James Bond-like agent, Sophie believes David is the man destined for her as he looks exactly as the character in her comics. David on the other hand is on a mission to retrieve a diamond, which is powerful enough to be converted into a mass destruction weapon. But with Sophie getting in David’s way all the time, will he manage to accomplish the mission and save the world?
American TV director Dennie Gordon (who also co-wrote the script) has successfully brought her Hollywood style of filming to the Chinese language feature. It’s a pity upon seeing the end results it’s neither funny nor romantic except it’s indeed glittering and globetrotting. There you go, here’s a plate of Hollywood.
Singer and actor Wang Lee Hom looks all dashing and dressed up for the occasion. Pairing opposite Zhang, the good-looking duo exudes plenty of charm but little chemistry despite the latter trying her best to bring out her comedic ability. End of the day, we still prefer the tough Ziyi Zhang than the zany one.
The production values for My Lucky Star ranges from mediocre to fabulous. The CG is campy while the wardrobe for the casts are candy to the eyes. We do love the cartoon illustrations for the record in fact far more than the actual movie. For a kitschy campy time, do check out international starlet Ziyi Zhang’s second attempt at rom-com. The rest of us can just stick to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The DVD title comes with serviceable audio and visual aspects.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Julian, a respected figure in the criminal underworld of Bangkok, runs a Thai boxing club and smuggling ring with his brother, Billy. Billy is suddenly murdered and their crime lord matriarch, Crystal arrives from London to bring back the body. When Crystal forces Julian to settle the score with his brother's killers, Julian finds himself in the ultimate showdown.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Only God Forgives is art on celluloid. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling reunites again in this arthouse tale of revenge set mainly in the seedy alleys of Bangkok accompanied by rousing local tunes and a soundtrack by Cliff Martinez.
Proving to be both an asset to the mainstream cinema and the indie circuit, Gosling plays Julian, owner of a boxing club whose brother, Billy is killed after he murdered an underage prostitute. The death of Billy sets off a series of events first beginning with the arrival of the brothers’ mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas), a foul-mouthed, mafia-like woman. Throw in a samurai-wielding cop, Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm) who has no qualms carrying out his own punishment, singing karaoke to entertain his subordinates and the narrative gets weirder by the minute.
Drenched in neon-lit atmosphere, frequent moments of stillness and filled with dreamlike sequences, Only God Forgives is not an easy movie to swallow for the general audience. For a short 85 minutes movie, there’s more style than substance including a splatter of early David Lynch, a little of wacky Quentin Tarantino and a dab of Refn’s trademark. If you get past all the pretentiousness, it’s actually quite an enjoyable flick.
Gosling is simply amazing. With less than 18 lines of dialogue during the entire time, he is able to exude ultra coolness even with a beautiful woman masturbating in front of him. Kristin Scott Thomas is far better. The British thespian is almost unrecognizable as Crystal and simply scary as the dominating Crystal. Without battling his eyelids, Vithaya Pansringarm on the hand is clearly the winner here. Whether he is singing karaoke, decapitating and torturing his victims or just running, he is well probably the coolest character after T-1000 in Terminator 2.
Definitely a far cry from the more accessible Drive, whether you like it or not for all the controversies, Only God Forgives at the minimum deserves a single viewing. For art sake.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
A DVD with servicable audio and visual.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Jiaming, a spirited teenager has never taken school seriously. However he is forced to confront his future when he flunks his O level exams and drops out of school. While deciding his future, Jiaming decides to help out at his parents' music pub, 'Meng Chuan'. Jiaming's buddies Caogen, Haoban and Xiaopang pass their exams and move on to Junior College. But they are caught renting porn magazines by the principle and are suspended for a month. During this month, the boys join a local music competition, have a taste of first love and work hard to bring business back to the struggling 'Meng Chuan'. In this coming-of-age tale, Jiaming and gang realise the harsh realities of the real world. In growing up, choosing to follow your heart is never easy in the face of societal expectations.
MOVIE REVIEW:
In short, That Girl In Pinafore is Singapore answer to Giddens Ko’s 2011 hit, You Are The Apple of My Eye. Please don’t assume this is a mere copy of the Taiwanese flick but both are strongly rooted in the same vein even though they are geographically apart.
The young talented Chai Yee Wei co-wrote and directs this effort, which is set in the early 90’s using xinyao as the backdrop. A group of four teenage buddies, Jiaming (Daren Tan), Cao Gen (Seah Jiaqing), Hao Ban (Kenny Khoo) and the obligatory fatty, Xiao Pang (Kelvin Mun) are preparing for their ‘O’ levels. At the end of the day, all of them successfully went into JC except Jiaming who has not much of an interest in study. Roping in the rest of his buddies to help out at his parents’ dismal music pub, they gets to know a fellow bunch of girls who shared the same interest as them – music.
Its apparent Chai cheats a little since the xinyao movement has long disappear by the 90’s replaced by music from the four heavenly kings and bands liked Nirvana and Guns N Roses. Still, Chai managed to craft a piece of genuine coming-of-age tale that is guaranteed to warm your hearts. Who can forget about the coolest technology at that time, the Discman or mugging late into the night at airport and the experience of first love?
Jiaming’s affection for May (Julie Tan) becomes the bulk of the last act despite the upbeat, often engaging first hour. A series of memorable songs from one of xinyao pioneers Liang Wen Fook and a couple of dance segments from the cast (who actually hold their tunes pretty well) will keep you humming and tapping to the beat. Sadly, it’s the rather melodramatic love story between May and Jiaming that bogged the rest of the movie. The usual clichéd moments when a worried atas mother refused her daughter to see her poor boyfriend, add to the fact that May actually has a serious heart condition and it becomes a stark contrast to the far potential first half.
As to the performance of the cast, Project Superstar Daren Tan makes a good match with TV actress Julie Tan. Both looks (and sounds) good especially Julie who surprises us with her sweet vocal and makes a convincing pair of lovebirds. The Woo sisters (Jayley and Hayley) and the rest of the relatively new faces including Sherly Ng as Xiao Pang’s love interest and Naomi Yeo who appears for the finale seems ready made for the local television and movie circle.
After doing two horror thrillers, Chai’s That Girl In Pinafore is a wonderful piece of sentimental tribute not only to the bygone days of xinyao but also acts as a time machine that takes us back to our youthful days.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The extras consist of Teasers and Trailers, a Bonus Song by Ng King Kang and a 23 minutes Making of which has the main cast members discussing the movie and music producers sharing their thoughts on recreating the xinyao music onscreen.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visual on the whole looks fine but the Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds muffled and soft at times.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Tom Gormican
Cast: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Jessica Lucas, Mackenzie Davis, Addison Timlin, Josh Pais, Lola Glaudini, Alysia Reiner
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films and InnoForm Media
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/ThatAwkwardMomentMovie
Opening Day: 13 February 2014
Synopsis: In support of a friend devastated by a recent breakup, three guys vow to maintain their single status for as long as possible. The plan gets derailed when they each fall in love and have to secretly work around their pledge to bachelorhood, while trying to figure out the complications of relationships.
Movie Review:
Disguised as a frat boy comedy, there’s nothing funny or notable about The Awkward Moment except that it stars three of the hottest young male leads of Hollywood.
Making his mark in Disney’s High School Musical and obviously needing no further introduction, Zac Efron plays Jason, a book jacket designer who has no problems with hook ups but has a problem being attached in a relationship that is until he meets Ellie (Imogen Poots), a gutsy, smart writer.
His buddies on the other hand, Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) is an ER doctor who is recently served divorce papers by his wife. Despite his buddies’ best attempt to hook him up with someone else, Mikey hopes to win back his wife. The last being Daniel (Miles Teller) who has a thing for his female friend, Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis) but hesitates to admit. To support Mikey’s recent single status, Jason and Daniel vows to stay single with him for as long as possible. The problem right now is the three buddies are already much in love with someone.
Originally titled Are We Officially Dating?, the movie never really comes together and just slogs its way through a series of tired dick jokeseven thoughthere’s great camaraderie among Efron, Jordan and Tellers. A recurring bathroom joke about Daniel becomes tired after a while. The only saving grace it seems is the flick gives a brand new meaning to the word cocktail. The likeable cast obviously ad-libbed most of the funny lines but they still have a long way to go before they reach the level of the dudes in The Hangover or the Apatow gang.
Predictably when there’s a movie about brotherhood, friendship and love, relationships are going to be tested and there are bound to be conflicts at some point. Thankfully, the last act offers a glimpse of excitement as the guys finds out (in a toilet no less) their so-called commitment to being single is mere hot air. The ending is formulaic, sappy at least it breaks the monotonous story telling which consists nothing charming except plenty of scenes featuring the actors rolling in bed with their partners.
Liked mentioned earlier, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller both coming off a good year with acclaimed dramas such as The Fruitvale Station and The Spectacular Now are rumored to star in the Fantastic Four reboot so The Awkward Moment might be a good opportunity to know them.
Shot entirely in New York and looking pretty nifty for an independent movie, The Awkward Moment offers little insight to love with the occasional raunchy frat boy humor being more of a distraction. In the end, the debut feature from writer and director Tom Gormican is quite a disappointment.
Movie Rating:
(Neither works as a raunchy bromance nor rom-com. Awkward.)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: Shana Feste
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Gabriella Wilde, Bruce Greenwood, Robert Patrick, Joely Richardson, Rhys Wakefield, Dayo Okeniyi, Emma Rigby
RunTime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: PG13 (Scene of Intimacy)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.endlessloveintl.com/splashpage/
Opening Day: 13 February 2014
Synopsis: "Endless Love" stars Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike) and Gabriella Wilde (The Three Musketeers) in the story of a privileged girl and a charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Movie Review:
We hardly see the point of remaking a movie that is known more for its theme song than anything else, but hey since the reboot of ‘Flashdance’ did not turn out so bad after all, maybe this one of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1981 film of the same name would prove itself worthy too. Unfortunately, this second adaptation of Scott Spencer’s novel of romantic obsession does little more than to put a more glossy finish to the tale, offering up no more than a conventional teen romance that even fails to reproduce the more lurid pleasures of its predecessor.
Yes, you may recall a certain model named Brooke Shields during the 1980s, who back in the day, sold many tickets with the promise of a showcase sex scene that saw her stripping off in front of a roaring fire. That confidently trashy tone is nowhere to be found in director Shana Feste’s remake, which aside from vowing to stay firmly in PG13 territory, has no qualms retreading the path taken by the original. Taking over Brooke Shields’ role is British actress Gabriella Wilde, who plays the rich girl Jade Butterfield that falls hard for David Axelrod (Alex Pettyfer), a boy from the other side of the tracks.
Upon Jade’s graduation from high school, David takes it on himself to draw his crush out of the shell she has been hiding in since the unfortunate death of her brother two years ago. Cue plenty of sun-dappled montages, which has Jade immediately shedding her loner self to seduce a guy who proclaims without batting an eyelid that he has been watching her all through her past four years by stripping down to her bikini at her dad’s lakeside beach house and teases him to join her in the water. You get the idea, it’s that kind of a movie.
The dramatic conflict here comes in the form of Jade’s controlling dad Hugh (Bruce Greenwood), who perceives their increasingly consuming romance to be distracting her from her plans for medical school - never mind what Jade’s mother (Joely Richardson) or her brother (Rhys Wakefield) thinks. So he gets someone to dig up some dirt on David, which basically means unearthing his history of violence that he and his father (Robert Patrick) have tried to put behind themselves - though you’ve probably seen enough to know that Jade will hardly be deterred in her quest for love.
Whereas Zeffirelli’s original was comfortably and confidently trashy, Feste sees her adaptation as a lesson about a young woman who takes control of her destiny and also the lengths she is willing to go to just so she can be with the one she loves. Suffice to say that Feste has toned down significantly the darker edges of the original tale, dropping most prominently the grimmer ending for a much more tween-friendly one. In the process however, she has needed to make a couple of tradeoffs, including turning Greenwood’s initially credible father figure into a pantomime villain who will go to extraordinary lengths just so to keep his daughter and her true love apart.
That leaves the story very much in the hands of its key performers, who are sadly underwhelming to say the least. Pettyfer remains little more than a pretty face, emoting with a one-note ‘I’m pissed off’ expression for almost the whole movie. Wilde is easy on the eye, but she is ultimately vanilla bland. There is a nice easygoing rapport between the pair, but not enough to convince us to buy into their supposedly immense love for each other. In fact, it is the supporting players who steal the show - Greenwood brings more dignity to the role than it deserves; Patrick has a nice down-to-earth appeal as David’s gruff but loveable dad; and Dayo Okeniyi is a welcome presence of levity as David’s goofy pal Mace.
Yet there is little to justify this remake, which is really a stripped down version of a decidedly more vivid modern-day ‘Romeo and Juliet’ love story. At least Zeffirelli was bold enough to retain the criminal carnality in Spencer’s novel; Feste here keeps every frame looking bright and pretty but leaves the rest of the movie shallow and mawkish. And since it doesn’t even give fans of the original the pleasure of the Lionel Ritchie/ Diana Ross song for old times’ sake, this remake is plainly unnecessary.
Movie Rating:
(A stripped down PG13-lite teenage romance of a much more decidedly trashy original that at least offered some lurid pleasures, this remake is strictly for those between the ages of 13 to 18)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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