Genre: Drama
Director: Stephen Frears
Cast: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Sean Mahon, Simone Lahbib, Neve Gachev, Charlie Murphy, Charles Edwards, Xavier Atkins
RunTime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://philomenamovie.com
Opening Day: 13 February 2014
Synopsis: Philomena is the true story of one mother’s search for her lost son. Falling pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a “fallen woman”. When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns for adoption in America. Philomena spent the next fifty years searching for him in vain. Then she met Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary political journalist who happened to be intrigued by her story. Together they set off for America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son, but also create an unexpectedly close bond between them. The film is a compelling narrative of human love and loss and ultimately celebrates life. It is both funny and sad and concerns two very different people, at different stages of their lives, who help each other and show that there is laughter even in the darkest places. The book “The Lost Child Of Philomena Lee” was published in 2009. It acted as a catalyst for thousands of adopted Irish children and their ‘shamed’ mothers to come forward to tell their stories. Many are still searching for their lost families.
Movie Review:
One does not simply have qualms about movies starring Judi Dench. The 79 year old English actress has never disappointed, impressing critics time after time in works like Pride and Prejudice (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012). Let’s not forgetting her memorable turn as M in the James Bond series, and her award winning performance as Queen Elizabeth I in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love. Yup, the eight minute screen time got her a Best Supporting Actress award. Heck, she was also adorable voicing a cow in Disney’s overlooked animation Home on a Range (2004). Her latest portrayal of a woman who spent 50 years searching for her long lost son is no less remarkable.
In this comedy drama directed by Stephen Frears (Mrs Henderson Presents, The Queen), Dench’s Philomena Lee teams up with a world weary political journalist Martin Sixsmith (played by the underrated Steve Coogan) to find her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
You know how some films rely on heavy special effects to lure you in the cinema. Or what about those who feature lots of screaming and crying (read: melodrama) to “move” you to tears? Then there are movies which have nothing but empty antics like explosions, larger than life caricatures and slapstick sidekicks to redeem themselves. This 98 minute movie does not employ any of those tactics to wow its audience. The cinematography, editing and pacing is nothing to shout about, and the viewing experience seems to be merely a journey with two people finding someone, and getting to know each other better.
That’s what works for this piece of gem – the storytelling is personal, and you feel like you are right there with the duo, chatting about your everyday happenings. You don’t feel that Dench and Coogan are portraying impossibly unreachable characters. They talk about the books they love and talk about what family means. In one scene, Dench’s Philomena perks up when she hears that the drinks on the plane are free, making us less guilty of our “kiasu” selves.
Based on the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Sixsmith, Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope’s understated but affecting adapted screenplay is nominated for an Oscar at the upcoming Academy Awards. Other nominations include Best Actress for Dench (but of course), Best Original Score for Alexander Desplat’s harmoniously pleasing composition and Best Picture. The film has also gathered prizes and nominations from other major festivals and awards like Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, the Golden Globes and the BAFTA Awards.
Dench and Coogan weren’t the most likely screen pairing to hit it off, but the result under the masterful direction of Frears is a touching display of human emotions. The banter between the two is moving yet humorous. The more serious discussions are lighthearted yet poignant. Does Philomena find her son at the end of the film? Google will tell you that, but what you’d be missing if you don’t watch the film is the affecting human drama between two people, each with a purpose to achieve.
Movie Rating:
(Judi Dench and Steve Coogan deliver moving performances, which are perfect for this affectingly simple human drama)
Review by John Li
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Pascal Chaumeil
Cast: Diane Kruger, Dany Boon, Alice Pol, Robert Plagnol, Jonathan Cohen
RunTime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: PG13 (Brief Coarse Language)
Released By: InnoForm Media and Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.sonyclassics.com/imsoexcited/
Opening Day: 13 February 2014
Synopsis: Isabelle (Diane Kruger) is prepared to marry the man she has loved for the past ten years. However, she has to overcome a curse that her female family members have been battling for years — that all their first marriages end in divorce! Isabelle then comes up with the perfect plan. She will marry a stranger and get a quick divorce to avoid the curse and voilà! She’ll be happily married forever the second time. To achieve this, she has to marry the first unsuspecting idiot (Danny Boon) she can find... but then, even the most perfect of plans do not always work out the way one intends it to!
Movie Review:
Pascal Chaumeil hit box office gold with screenwriters Laurent Zeitoun and Yoann Gromb in ‘Heartbreaker’ back in 2010, the story of a brother and sister pair who run a professional business of breaking up couples by making their target realise the inadequacy of their existing relationship. And so it is not surprising that for their sophomore collaboration, the Gallic trio have once again concocted a high-concept rom-com worthy of a Hollywood remake, this time starring no less than one of their territory’s most well-known Hollywood exports by the name of Diane Kruger.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’ or ‘Un plan parfait’ in French is built on the premise of a family curse that the successful and pitch-perfect blond Isabelle (Kruger) has to confront when deciding to settle down with her longtime dentist partner Pierre (Robert Plagnol). Apparently, the women in her family have never gotten their first marriages to work out, so Isabelle thinks that hers to Pierre is doomed if it were to be her first. To attempt to break the curse, she comes up with a plan to marry and divorce a stranger all within a single day - just so that she can guarantee her marital bliss with Pierre.
That man she eventually settles on is Jean-Yves (Dany Boon), a goofy and somewhat eccentric travel guide whom she meets briefly on the plane to Copenhagen and whom she follows to Kenya on his location scouting for sites to be included in the French tourist guidebook, Le Routard. As such narrative conventions go, Isabelle and Jean-Yves will turn out mismatched in as many ways as possible at the start, before gradually and eventually falling in love with each other. And that’s exactly what happens, but not before Isabelle sets off on yet another trip to Moscow to get Jean-Yves to sign the divorce papers on the knot they tie at a tribal ceremony in the African continent.
Compared to ‘Heartbreaker’, Chaumeil’s latest rom-com feels a tad too generic and predictable. Indeed, the scenarios don’t go beyond the usual clichés, whether is it facing down a lion in the safari or some inappropriately raunchy talk at an official function in order that Isabelle embarrass Jean-Yves. What passes for humour instead comes off juvenile rather than inspired, even more so when Isabelle strains to wreck Jean-Yves’ life by destroying his prized antiques, pretending to talk to an imaginary friend and passing him hair removal cream instead of shampoo while he is in the shower after emptying the bottle out.
But if the shenanigans remain watchable, that is to Diane Kruger’s surprisingly spirited comedic turn. Though gifted with an ethereal beauty, Kruger has rarely been cast in rom-coms; and yet if her lively and amusing presence here is anything to go by, we wouldn’t bring if she took more frequent breaks from the more dramatic stuff like TV’s ‘The Bridge’. Boon is still the loveable buffoon from the French hit ‘Welcome to the Sticks’, and he and Kruger share an easy rapport that effuses an unexpected amount of humanity particularly towards the end of the film.
Even though it may not reach the same comedic heights as ‘Heartbreaker’, Chaumeil’s rom-com followup is still a pleasing enough diversion for anyone looking for some romantic escapism. The supporting leads, including a often hilarious Johnathan Cohen as Isabelle’s brother-in-law, are uniformly excellent, and Kruger and Boon nail the leads quite perfectly. And oh, if you’re wondering, the direct translation of the French title makes for ‘A Perfect Plan’, which probably sounded less appealing than pilfering the title of that classic Frank Sinatra song for its release in English-speaking territories.
Movie Rating:
(Appealing performances from a surprisingly amusing and lively Diane Kruger and an always funny Dany Boon make for a pleasing rom-com outing just in time for V-Day)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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GRAVITY to be re-released in selected Singapore cinemas!Posted on 20 Jan 2014 |
Genre: Comedy
Director: Tan Boon Huat
Cast: Aniu, Joyce Cheng, Marcus Chin, Elvis Chin, Hong Kuo Juey
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures & Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 30 January 2014
Synopsis: HUAT AH! HUAT AH! HUAT is an inspirational comedy for audiences of all ages. The film tells the story of Ah Huat, a youth who strives for success but never goes against his motto of “being honest”. Ah Huat reflects the typical Malaysian Chinese who treats everyone with kindness and sincerity.
Movie Review:
Aniu reprises the role of the simple-minded but likeable kampung boy in his latest ‘Huat Ah! Huat Ah! Huat’, which immediately recalls his filmmaking debut ‘Ice Kachang Puppy Love’. Indeed, there are many similarities between the two movies - and we’re not just talking about the nature of the character which Aniu plays. Co-scripted by Aniu himself together with director Tan Boon Huat and Ho Liu Fong, it is at its heart also a love story built around one young man’s attempt to convey his love to his long-time crush.
That person here, as the title pointedly suggests, is Ah Huat, an autistic lad who may be 26 years old but possesses the naiveté of a child. The extended opening prologue establishes his guileless nature with some of the best scenes of the movie, as Ah Huat repeatedly falls out of favour with the village fruit stall owner Ah Kun (Sam Chong) by being too honest with the quality of the latter’s fruits with his customers. But Ah Huat isn’t just the village idiot; as an assistant with Ah Kun, he reveals a savant sense of smell that is able to tell the difference between a rotting mango and one that has worms inside.
It isn’t the only gift Ah Huat is blessed with though; the most significant of that is a little magical ability called a ‘tornado’ hand, which literally means that he can create a mini ‘tornado’ with the swirl of his right hand. That special ability finally comes in handy when he is thought how to make coffee from a mysterious old man, in which his swirl becomes critical in achieving a perfectly balanced brew. Almost instantly, Ah Huat goes from pariah to celebrity - not only are the people in his village amazed by his coffee-making skills, others from around Malaysia also flock to his nondescript village just to get a taste of his coffee.
And yet Ah Huat has but two motivations in his life - first, to win the heart of the girl of his dreams, a nerdy fishmonger woman named Xiao Ping (Cheng); and second, to take care of his grandfather Da Chai (Marcus Chin), especially so when he accidentally hears that the latter is ill. To earn money for both, he accepts fellow villager turned businessman Paul’s (Elvis Chin) proposal to set up a high-class barista in Kuala Lumpur - but as you might expect, things can only start to go downhill for Ah Huat from then on.
Yes, if it isn’t yet clear enough, there is a point the filmmakers are trying to make here about being honest and appreciating the simpler things in life (like family and loved ones) as opposed to choosing the unscrupulous route and letting money rule over everything else. Ah Huat is the perfect embodiment of the former, with his business partners turned enemies Paul and a greedy investor Madam Tsunami (Joanne Kam) the exact polar opposites the film wants to make a lesson out of. As well-intentioned as that may be, the thinly written script hardly fleshes out the film’s central theme enough to truly resonate.
Ditto for the love story between Ah Huat and Xiao Ping, which never quite convinces its audience exactly whether and why the two would share a mutual attraction - even if both find solace in being ostracised by their fellow villagers at one point. On the other hand, the film squanders the opportunity of finding poignancy in Ah Huat’s relationship with his grandfather - despite a good setup which emphasises the depth of Da Cai’s paternal love for Ah Huat, there isn’t a satisfying end to the melodramatic twist. Indeed, it is a pity really that the most fully formed relationship in the story is that between Ah Huat and Ah Kun in the first half hour of the movie, after which everything else simply becomes lamentably underdeveloped.
As with ‘Ice Kachang’, Aniu also relies on musical interludes and a fair bit of CGI to lend his film a whimsical touch from start to finish. Those who like his hit ‘Look over here, girl across the street’ (literally translated from 對面的女孩看過來) will similarly appreciate the song-and-dance sequences under Aniu’s direction here, which retains the same folkish nature. And yet, one wishes that Aniu and his director Tan had dared to keep the proceedings a little more realistic now and then - in particular, Aniu’s incredible ability for creating a mini-tornado with his hand while in a shallow pool proves a little too incredulous to be swept up in. One also wishes that there could be a deeper dramatic angle to the film, which overplays the humour especially towards the end.
Yet Aniu remains an agreeable lead throughout the film, even if - as you can probably tell - he isn’t exactly the most good-looking actor around. He shares a nice chemistry with three of his younger co-stars - Vernique Lin, Tee Jing Chen and Bosvin Chen - who play Lin Lin, Jeremy and Sup Kambing respectively, and we might add more so than he does with his female co-star Joyce Cheng. The supporting acts are surprisingly well played, from Marcus Chin to Sam Chong to Ramasundran as the neighbourhood kopitiam owner who takes Ah Huat in to KK Wong as the village bully named Fei Yong Jun.
A final word of caution - those expecting big laughs should probably avoid ‘Huat Ah! Huat Ah! Huat’, as even the best material here is only gently amusing. The only thing it has going for it is a genuine down-to-earth feel-good quality, that is likely to make the older generation among us reminisce about a time when life was simpler and less hectic - but even at a mere 91 minutes, it feels longer than it should primarily because it simply isn’t quite engaging. And if it isn’t obvious enough, the movie is also in itself the biggest product placement - after all, the name of the character and his coffee brewing skills is ultimately an advertisement for the film’s main sponsor, Ah Huat White Coffee, even though the subtle irony between the film’s anti-commercialisation message and the fact that you can get the sponsor’s coffee sachets in any nearby supermarket is probably unintended.
Movie Rating:
(A down-to-earth feel-good vibe cannot quite compensate for a lack of laughs, a lack of chemistry between Aniu and his co-star Joyce Cheng, and most of all an increasingly haphazardly plotted story that hardly engages)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Kat Coiro
Cast: Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Vince Vaughn, Sienna Miller, Brendan Fraser, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage
RunTime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Drug Use)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films and InnoForm Media
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/ThatAwkwardMomentMovie
Opening Day: 13 February 2014
Synopsis: Young writer Sam (Justin Long) has a crush on Birdie (Evan Rachel Wood), the cute and quirky barista at his local coffee shop. When his conventional attempts to woo her crash and burn, he takes his efforts online, creating a Facebook profile embellished with all of the details that would make him Birdie’s dream guy: ballroom dancing, rock climbing, a seemingly endless, escalating series of wacky and unlikely hobbies. When the harebrained scheme is a surprise success and Birdie falls for his exaggerated alter ego, Sam must keep up the act or lose his dream girl forever.
Movie Review:
‘A Case of You’ makes a case of being yourself even while wooing the girl of your dreams. Starring Apple spokesgeek Justin Long and notable indie actress Evan Rachel Wood, it eschews the typical Hollywood rom-com in favour of a more understated indie feel, so those expecting big laughs and bigger emotional moments will likely be disappointed. And yet, those looking for a low-key charmer like ‘500 Days of Summer’ will also probably find this underwhelming, as Long’s first outing as a writer proves too perfunctory to make a lasting impression.
Long plays the mildly neurotic Sam, who makes a living authoring novelisations of trashy movies like Teen Vampire: Revenge of the Baldroozens. Sam likes a girl named Birdie (Wood) at his neighbourhood barista; unfortunately, Birdie is replaced by the suitably dour Gerard (Peter Dinklage) shortly after Sam gets to know her name. Nonetheless, with a certain modern-day tool called Facebook, Sam manages to track her down and find out just what she fancies in a guy - which in Sam’s case, happens to be a compendium of hobbies and interests like cooking, playing the guitar, rock climbing and Art appreciation.
And so begins Sam’s transformation into what he thinks is Birdie’s dream guy, learning judo, French cooking, ballroom dancing and how to strum Joan Baez on the guitar - the last of which sees an amusing cameo by ‘Moon’ star Sam Rockwell as his bitter guitar teacher. In addition to watching him endure the pain of being someone he obviously isn’t, Sam also gets some supporting comic relief in the form of his idiosyncratic roommate Eliot (Keir O’Donnell), whose penchant for masturbating to the pictures of mature Hollywood actresses like Carrie Fisher is one of the amusing - but overused - running jokes in the movie.
Directing from a script by Long, Christian Long and O’Donnell, Kat Coiro fails to find an engaging narrative rhythm with which to overcome the episodic nature of the writing. Each of Sam’s contortions doesn’t quite add up to a coherent whole at the end, which predictably ends up in a minor kerfuffle between Sam and Birdie just before the happily-ever-after finale. Indeed, even though it clocks in at slightly longer than one half hours, there is a certain lethargy to the entire affair, which pretty much means that you’ll be finding yourself checking your watch every once in a while.
On his part, Long is never less than affable in the role, though that in itself doesn’t make his character particularly interesting to watch. Wood takes a break from darker portraits to play his fantasy girl Birdie, but neither Long nor Wood share enough chemistry to convince you of something akin to a mutual attraction between them. In fact, it is the big-name supporting acts who end up stealing the show from either of them - besides those already mentioned, there’s Vince Vaughn as Long’s publisher and Brendan Fraser as Wood’s dilettante ex-boyfriend.
And so it is that ‘A Case of You’ never does make much of a compelling case why you should make it a case about it. It has a few amusing bits here and there, it strives for romantic, and it tells a noble lesson about how we should just be able to be ourselves next to our other halves; but the sum total of it hardly makes for anything consequential. It is ever so slight as a romance, a comedy or as a drama, and unless you really have one half hours of nothing else to do, make that time a case about something else, anything else instead.
Movie Rating:
(Not nearly as funny, romantic or poignant as it should be, this wannabe indie rom-com never quite answers why you should make it a case of itself)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Akiva Goldsman
Cast: Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Eva Marie Saint, Russell Crowe, Ripley Sobo, Mckayla Twiggs
RunTime: 1 hr 59 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Scene of Intimacy)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://www.winterstalemovie.com
Opening Day: 13 February 2014
Synopsis: Set in a mythic New York City and spanning more than a century, “Winter’s Tale” is a story of miracles, crossed destinies, and the age-old battle between good and evil. The film stars Colin Farrell (“Total Recall”), Jessica Brown Findlay (TV’s “Downton Abbey”), and Oscar® winners Jennifer Connelly (“A Beautiful Mind”), William Hurt (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”), Eva Marie Saint (“On the Waterfront”) and Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”). “Winter’s Tale” also introduces young newcomers Ripley Sobo and Mckayla Twiggs (both from Broadway’s “Once”). The film marks the directorial debut of Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind”), who also wrote the screenplay, based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Helprin.
Movie Review:
If you don’t believe in the stuff of destiny and miracles, then you might as well not bother with ‘Winter’s Tale’. A magic-realist romance based on Mark Helprin’s 1983 bestselling novel of the same name, it spans present day Manhattan and early 20th century New York to tell a love story between a petty thief by the name of Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) and the daughter of a wealthy newspaper publisher named Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), the latter of which also happens to be dying from consumption.
But before you think this is going to be some sappy melodrama a la a Nicholas Sparks novel, acclaimed screenwriter Akiva Goldsman’s directorial debut actually has a lot more going for it.
First, there is an Oliver Twist-twist (pardon the pun) to the tale. Peter’s love for Beverly earns the consternation of the malevolent crime boss Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe), who has raised Peter since boyhood as part of his criminal enterprise. It is not just Peter who time-travels; rather, Pearly’s blind pursuit of the one whom he thinks has betrayed him also spans the century. Much as this is at its heart a love story, it never hurts to have a little action now - especially when it’s Farrell and Crowe playing the hunted and the hunter respectively.
Besides also being a minor gangster saga, there is also the inimitable element of magic in the proceedings. It isn’t just coincidence that Beverly exclaims ‘The sicker I become, the more clearly I can see that everything is connected by light!’, accompanied of course by some CG dazzle. Peter’s ability to travel through the ages is also no fluke, not least for the fact that he rides a pretty spectacular looking flying white horse with the name Athansor. Part of the mystery lies in finding out just who Peter is, seen at the start in present day riffling through a box on the roof of New York’s Grand Central station, mirrored in his own search for his true identity with the help of Jennifer Connelly’s newspaper columnist.
But it doesn’t end there, and depending on your faith, this is either where it gets interesting or plain absurd. Heaven is depicted as a place among the stars. Athansor turns out to be Peter’s guardian angel - and not the only spirit animal walking the Earth we may add. Will Smith turns up as Lucifer, more ‘Judge’ though than anything else. And perhaps most significantly, Peter discovers that he has some truly divine powers, so much so that by the time it is all over, he has become a Jesus figure. No matter the wistful or whimsical tone that Goldsman tries to achieve, how much you buy into its motifs of life, death, rebirth and the enduring power of love will ultimately determine if the magical woo-woo will come off as hocus pocus or something much more meaningful.
To his credit, Goldsman does try his best to make the fantasy enchanting. Every image that is meant to be adorned with magic comes off looking as if it were a page out of a picture book – in particular, Beverly’s abode looks like a mansion straight out of a Disney cartoon perched on the edge of a frozen lake. There is an otherworldly feel to the entire telling, and like its title suggests, one cannot deny that it does transport you to a live-action fairy tale world. And yet despite displaying a heretofore unseen visual imagination, the Academy-Award winning screenwriter of such acclaimed dramas like ‘A Beautiful Mind’ and ‘Cinderella Man’ disappoints by leaving out the weightier aspects of Helprin’s novel.
Most prominently, by fashioning it as a pretty romance, Goldsman neglects the author’s moral meditation on the meaning and purpose of justice. Helprin’s prose was rich in portraying the industrial Edwardian era style of a mythic New York City, through which the injustices of that Metropolis was vindicated with the promise of redemption and salvation through death. These are difficult to portray no doubt, but their omission leaves ultimately a watered down story that works as a fairytale romance and little more.
Nonetheless, Farrell and Findlay are never less than engaging leads, and between them share a sparkling (pun intended yet again) chemistry that lights up the scene more than Goldsman’s literal CG additions. On his own though, Farrell once again puts his roguish charm to good use, oozing sweet earnest sincerity in his performance of a bad boy who just wants a chance to be good again. He is also well-matched with Crowe’s glowering screen villain, whose imposing presence effortlessly commands your attention.
Though far from the stuff we have come to expect from Goldsman, ‘Winter’s Tale’ still works as a time-travel fantasy romance that espouses the hope that love be ageless and timeless. It might not be the thoughtful adaptation fans of the book may be expecting, but those looking for a Valentine’s Day trifle will find plenty to ogle at and be delighted about. At the very least, Goldsman uncannily balances fantasy and realism, and even though it isn’t quite magical, it promises to be a moving tale of enduring love that will sweep you off your feet.
Movie Rating:
(Nicely balancing fantasy and realism, this magical tale of love through the ages works as a sweet Valentine’s Day escapist trifle but little more)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Set in Singapore, ILO ILO chronicles the relationship between the Lim family and their newly arrived maid, Teresa. Like many other Filipino women, she has come to this city in search of a better life. Her presence in the family worsens their already strained relationship. Jiale, the young and troublesome son, starts to form a unique bond with Teresa, who soon becomes an unspoken part of the family. But this is 1997 and the Asian Financial Crisis is beginning to be felt in the region…
MOVIE REVIEW:
When Anthony Chen mentioned in one of his interviews ILO ILO is a little film with a big heart. I couldn’t agree with him more.
Just in case you missed the news while mediating in some mountainous region or simply not proud to be a Singaporean to acknowledge the fact, ILO ILO happens to be the first local movie to win the prestigious Camera D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
This wonderful heartland drama chronicles the tale of Teresa or Terry (Angeli Bayani), as she is known in the film, a Filipino who came to Singapore to work for the Lim Family as their domestic helper. A typical Singapore family setup, Mr Lim Keng Teck (Chen Tianwen) works as a struggling salesman while his wife Hwee Leng, (Yeo Yann Yann) is a clerk at a shipping company and they have a troubled young son Jia Ler (newcomer Koh Jia Ler).
It’s impressive to see Chen crafts such a heartening vivid tale that plays so close to the hearts of Singaporeans given it’s his first feature film. Partly inspired by his own growing up years with a domestic helper, ILO ILO packs so much material into a compact 99 minutes running time that the film easily puts the current crop of Mediacorp dramas to shame.
I’m pretty sure a lot of blue collar workers suffered during the 1997 economic crisis. People liked Mr Lim who neither has a degree nor speak proper English suffered the brute of it despite years of working experience he possessed. Mrs Lim on the other hand has to juggle job stress, the constant troubles her son got himself to in school and the jealously she faced when she realized Jia Ler is forming a close bond with Terry. Bits and pieces of the lives of the middle-class are faithfully reflected in the narrative.
In addition, director Chen gives a sympathetic side of the maids who mostly left their hometown in search of better prospects to provide for their own family. It’s also Chen’s acute sense of humour in his script that helps detailed the convincingly portrayed bond between Terry and Jia Ler especially the latter’s sometimes sharp and offensive retorts.
Performances from the four cast members are top-notch. D.P. Benoit Soler provides a remarkable 90’s look with some scenes taking place in rather period locations filled with authentic props such as a payphone and a Tamagotchi toy.
Definitely an accessible drama, ILO ILO touches the heart and soul and rightfully deserved the high accolades.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The 20 minutes Making of mainly covers interviews with the director and cast members at the Cannes Festival.
There are 4 minutes of highlights of the Singapore Gala Premiere plus another 4 minutes of highlights of the Press Conference held at the Art Science Museum.
A Festival Trailer is attached as well.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visual and Audio is respectable for the little film.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: The Special Duties Unit (SDU) is an elite paramilitary tactical unit of the Hong Kong Police Force and is considered one of the world’s finest in its role. But being the best carries its own burdens. Like everyone else, they go through troubles with love, with family and with their jobs. And sometimes they get horny. This touching story is about Special Duties Unit Team B and their trip to Macau for a weekend of unadulterated debauchery.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Since the success of Vulgaria, Chapman To has become the frontman for all Made-In-HK raunchy comedies. In this Pang Ho-Cheung produced, Gary Mak directed comedy; Chapman plays a horny SDU (Special Duties Unit) B-Team member on a sexual escapade to Macau along with his three other teammates.
The question of whether Chapman is convincing enough to be a SDU member is least of our worries as the story of SDU: Sex Duties Unit is incredibly loose and directionless. Adding to the fact that most of the jokes are lost via the Mandarin dubbing and the senseless sharp cuts to obtain a friendlier M18 rating, the movie becomes a chore to sit through even if it lasts only 85 minutes.
Joining Chapman on the journey is Josh (Shawn Yue), Ka Ho (Matt Chow) and Dried Shrimp (Derek Tsang). Actor and writer Matt Chow’s character is the horniest of the lot and his often jabs at gays and sexual organs become repetitive and offensive. The funniest running gag ought to be dried shrimp who runs around with a hard-on when the prostitute rubs the wrong kind of oil on him. Shawn Yue plays the usual nice guy who happens to fall in love with a sweet trainee prostitute while Chapman rambles on and on just to coerce some laughs.
While we have our very own Jack Neo to represent Singapore humour, SDU: Sex Duties Unit is another typical example of having sharp HK humour and dialogue present. There are many silly references to Cold War and Vulgaria though it’s not substantial to salvage the entire movie.
There are familiar cameos including Simon Lui turning up as an illegal boatman, Lam Suet as a silly robber and Jim Chim as an overly enthusiastic male mamasan. Thus it’s puzzling why the movie fails to live up to Vulgaria despite so many outrageous characters and a promising premise. Although potentially another brought-the-house-down crass comedy, this castrated version fails to ignite any fire. Perhaps some Chinese aphrodisiac might help.
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The sole Mandarin track and the rating killed the movie. Enough said.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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WU MA (午马) (1942 - 2014)Posted on 04 Feb 2014 |
Genre: Action/Thriller/Crime
Director: Randy Ang
Cast: Chris Lee, Sunny Pang, Mico Chang, Jimmy Wong, Yuan Shuai, Pamelyn Chee, Zheng Geping, Xiang Yun, Zhu Houren, Richard Low
RunTime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: MM2 Entertainment & Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: facebook.com/resolvemovie
Opening Day: 27 February 2014
Synopsis: Singapore’s first crime thriller follows Serious Crimes Unit Inspector Chen Shaoqiang (Chris Lee Chih Cheng) as he tries to figure out a series of daring armed heists and seemingly unrelated murders. Shaoqiang must revisit his troubled past as a member of the elite Special Tactics Unit, after a botched raid seven years earlier that shattered the unity of his team, taking the life of his mentor Wu Tianle (Sunny Pang). The resulting cover up destroys his relationship with Tianle’s sister Wu Qizhen (Mico Chang Wei Chun). Shaoqiang’s past collides with the present, as heists are targeted at financial firm BWB Capital, where Qizhen and another former team mate, Wang Zhengming (Jimmy Wong), now work. Shaoqiang, and his new partner Yan Yongcheng (Yuan Shuai), must race against the clock to the catch the perpetrators as the heists escalate into a tense hostage situation, where the stakes not only involve the nation’s security, but also the lives of his friends.
Movie Review:
re: solve marks the directorial debut feature of Randy Ang, co-founder of the now-defunct Sinema Old School and producer of local indie dramas Becoming Royston and The Days.
Touted as Singapore’s first police action thriller, Ang’s ambition in breaking the convention of a typical local movie is evident in the explosive prologue. A team led by Wu Tianle (Sunny Pang) from the Police Tactical Unit is assigned to crack down an illegal transaction at the dock. But when the operation went wrong and Tianle is killed in the process, fingers are pointed against him and as a result causing him to lose his pension. Tianle’s sister, Qizhen (Mico Chang) who is in a romantic relationship with one of his brother’s subordinates, Shaoqiang (Chris Lee) blamed the latter for his incompetence in protecting his brother’s interests and subsequently broke up with him and left the force.
The biggest flaw with Ang’s script is that for all the hype and tension he built in the beginning is quickly squander away for the next hour or so. Taking place seven years later, Shaoqiang has risen to be an inspector with the CID while Qizhen has joined Shaoqiang’s ex teammate, Zhengming (Jimmy Wong) in a financial firm, BWB Capital. Shaoqiang and Qizhen once again have their paths crossed when a series of mysterious daring heists took place at BWB. With $15 million stolen and a few fellow PTU teammates killed, the only suspect Shaoqiang and his partner, Yong Cheng (Yuan Shuai) has in mind is Tianle. But the thing is how can a deceased man be the killer or is he truly dead?
Hampered by insipid storytelling, re:solve spent majority of the time on character development that goes nowhere and laughable half-baked police investigation routines. There’s never any concrete proof that Tianle is involved with the baddies and thus why revoked his pension? There’s subtle mention of police cover-up and stuff, which makes for some crazy storytelling yet none of the promised candy actually materialized.
The usual Hong Kong cops-and-robber flick normally has a major action sequence tuck in the middle to excite the senses but we had none of that right here. You probably go on to expect a bigger spectacle for the climatic conclusion especially when it took place onboard Superstar Virgo (yup that large cruise ship which most Singaporeans are familiar with). Eventually what you have is just a few tame shootouts and stiff fights between the two sides and of course a totally unconvincing twist that I will not reveal.
The assembled cast which includes Mediacorp veterans Xiang Yun, Zheng Geping, Zhu Houren, Yuen Shuai and Channel 5 regulars Sunny Pang and Pamelyn Chee adds some need be weight to the production. But that can’t be said of the two foreign leads. With their atrocious wooden acting, Taiwanese idol actor Chris Lee and model Mico Chang simply lacks the charisma to carry the movie. Newcomer Jimmy Wong on the other hand holds himself well.
Technically, re: solve which is shot digitally on Alexa looks great on the big screen. The lensing by Jack Tan is cinematic though he is not given much opportunity to shoot on a wider canvas and musician Jim Lim supplies a serviceable score.
Movie Rating:
(re: solve aims high and hit low)
Review by Linus Tee
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