Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Poj Anon
Cast: Kunatip Pinpradub, Puvadol Vechwongsah, Kittipat Samarntragulchai, Worachai Sirikongsuwan, Rittichai Tasarika, Brian Garton, Suppakij Amornthitipong, Witawas Tawkumleu, Pitipon Porntresat, Pattaravarin Timgul, Nutcha Rujinanon
RunTime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: Encore Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 27 February 2014

Synopsis: : A high school gang led by the gang leader, Kunatip Pinpradub (Nick), and gang members-­‐ Puvadol Vechwongsah (James), Worachai Sirikongsuwan (Tape), Suppakij Amornthitipong (Benz), Kittipat SamarnTagulchai (Bill), Brian Garton (Brian) and Sirapob Manitikun (Net)-­‐ love to seek and challenge ghosts at abandoned buildings. During school break, there is a rule that students must leave their school dormitories to return home. However, this gang wanted to challenge themselves to some wicked fun. They choose to visit an abandoned school which held a history of a student’s tragic suicide. After the suicide, the building was sealed and became restricted to all students. Being young and reckless, the students wildly challenge the dead-­‐ with their foul mouths and naivety. The incident brings them through a series of comic moments and a journey to the realization of truth.

Movie Review: 

We knew after the runaway success of ‘Pee Mak’ that it would not take long for similar horror comedies to emerge; true enough, one of the first out of the gate just three or four months later is Poj Arnon’s ‘Make Me Shudder’. Built around the exploits of a gang of high school students masquerading as ‘ghostbusters’, it tries valiantly to bring on both the scares as well as the guffaws - though, as you’ve probably already guessed, it turns out neither as scary nor as funny as one might have hoped.

For starters, the setup is as flimsy as it gets. Some rumour about a Grade 12 student who killed himself by jumping off the roof of the building leads a plucky high school student named Nick to round up a posse of his friends and his friends’ friends one night to debunk the myth. The prelude established Nick as a firm non-believer in ghosts, who would regularly organise visits to purportedly haunted places in order to scare the ‘heebeegeebees’ out of them with his elaborate pranks and prove that indeed there is nothing to be afraid of.

As narrative convention would have it, we know that Nick’s visit to the sealed off section of his school compound will ultimately bring him face to face with the said ghost and teach him and his friends a lesson that they will not forget. At least Arnon doesn’t pretend that there is plot when there is not; indeed, thankfully, he cuts to the chase just 15 minutes into the movie, with our resident ghost making its first appearance to everyone in the group, banishing any doubt once and for all in their minds that the legend was nothing more than hearsay.

What follows however turns out pretty boring in its repetition. Yes, for the next 45 minutes, all we see are the boys getting split up, stalked by the ghost with the mutilated head, chased up and down staircases, skulking across gated-off hallways, finding excuses for why the other should take the lead or make the sacrifice, and basically screaming their heads off ad infinitum. What makes matters worse is that the boys are barely distinguishable from each other except by name and appearance (e.g. the bespectacled one, the one with the pull-on fringe) no thanks to the fact that each is as timid as the other, so you’ll hardly sympathise with any of them if at all.

Things pick up slightly only after the first hour, when Arnon builds on the story of a fierce headmistress named Pannee (played by ‘May’ Pathawarin Timkul) who leads one half of the boys into a classroom marked ‘6/5’ (hence the titular reference in Thai). Not to give anything away, but the addition of this supporting character gives an interesting twist to the proceedings, in particular in casting a brand new perspective on the ghost named Mark whom we only learn the name of at this point. It’s not enough to make up for the monotony of the earlier hour, but at least it doesn’t leave you even more dissatisfied.

We’re not quite sure how this became Thailand’s ‘all-time No. 1 3D horror blockbuster’, since really it is but a much poorer cousin of ‘Pee Mak’ in the vein of horror-comedies. While there are specific scenes designed for stereoscopy, these never fail to come off gimmicky and hardly worth the extra dollar for the additional dimension. It won’t make you shudder for sure, but if you’re in dire need of a laugh, then you just might find something in this middling entry; otherwise, keep your distance is what we’d advise. 

Movie Rating:

(This is no 'Pee Mak' that's for sure - despite an irreverent tone, ''Make Me Shudder' will likely make you yawn with its flimsy plot, nonexistent characterisation and overall repetitiveness)

Review by Gabriel Chong

SYNOPSIS: Chris (Adam Brody) is a workplace weakling who doesn't have the courage to stand up to the slick office bully, Phil (Rob Huebel), who steals all his ideas, and he has yet to muster the courage to ask out cute HR manager, Lisa (Megan Boone). Even Chris' only friend, Jared (Eric Edelstein), a sarcastic slacker IT guy who secretly monitors everyone's porn intake, slams Chris for being a sissy. But when a team-building "wilderness seminar" goes horribly wrong, and unhinged ex-marine teambuilding coach Storm Rothchild (Jean-Claude Van Damme) gets mauled by a tiger, Chris and his co-workers find themselves stranded on a deserted tropical island with no rescue in sight – and someone's going to have to step up and take charge. Phil quickly proclaims himself "God" of the island – but Chris has Boy Scout skills and would be far better suited to lead the group if he could overcome his fear – of everything. Can Chris finally start acting like a man and face Phil, release his inner-beast, get them rescued and win the girl? Or will Phil triumph, as usual, while Chris cowers like an effeminate weakling?

MOVIE REVIEW:

Are you seriously thinking of watching Welcome to the Jungle because a certain Jean-Claude Van Damme is placed right in the center of the DVD cover? Then I must say you will be very disappointed by the time the movie ends.  

Not related to the Guns N’ Roses song in any way, this comedy, which was made way back in 2012, is atrociously boring not that JCVD is bad at comedy, for the record he makes the very best out of every dumb line that is fed to him and he is all too keen to make fun of himself.

Adam Brody (whose career has since dissipated after the end of O.C.) plays Chris, a nice, timid guy working in an ad agency who simply does not muster enough courage to go against office bully Phil (Rob Huebel). Phil mocks and steals Chris’ ideas and even has eyes for his secret love interest Lisa (Megan Boone). When a mandatory team building exercise on a deserted island led by military man Storm Rothschild (JCVD) went wrong, Chris realizes that he must stand up against Phil in order to get everyone out of the island alive. 

Welcome to the Jungle has all the elements to establish what it would be an uproarious adventurous comedy. For a start, the cast is perfect with the inclusion of comedians such as Huebel, Kristen Schaal (playing a co-worker who loves rabbits) and Eric Edelstein as Chris’ best friend. It’s set on an island and anything can happen. But then as it turned out none of the dialogue is specially bone tickling. The unfolding of events worsens as time goes. And there’s an absolute silly plot element that turns everyone into horny primitive cavemen.

The Muscles from Brussels besides getting the necessary exposure and money has very little to do with the movie in actual fact. Either director Rob Meltzer or first time screenwriter Jeff Kauffman thinks it’s funny for Storm to be mauled by a tiger and disappear from the screen for prolonged amount of time. 

You should really unleash your inner beast and thrashed this unfunny flick. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The visual presentation is sharp and detailed while the outburst of explosions and ambient effects are pretty well done. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: The Earth was ravaged by the Formics, an alien race seemingly determined to destroy humanity. Seventy years later, the people of Earth remain banded together to prevent their own annihilation from this technologically superior alien species. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterflied), a quiet but brilliant boy, may become the savior of the human race. He is separated from his beloved sister and his terrifying brother and brought to battle school in orbit around earth. He will be tested and honed into an empathetic killer who begins to despise what he does as he learns to fight in hopes of saving Earth and his family.

MOVIE REVIEW:

You can blame it all on Twilight. The success of the vampire romance series caused everyone in Hollywood to scramble for the next YA property. Not surprisingly that includes Summit Entertainment as well, the one-time independent company that started it all.

Ender’s Game is Summit’s latest YA venture though it hardly make a dent at the box-office to warrant a sequel yet it’s a nicely made thinking-man’s sci-fi adventure based on a book by Orson Scott Card.

One of the primarily reasons why Ender’s Game never really took off is much of the touted action, adventure took place either off-screen or on the computer screens. Imagine watching someone holding on to the joystick for two hours playing Warcraft. Or could it be Card’s anti-gay statements that sabotaged the flick instead? Possibly.

Anyway the story of Ender’s Game is set in the future whereby mankind is nearly wiped off from earth by mysterious aliens invaders if not for the bravery of a heroic commander. Years later, the young gifted Andrew “Ender“ Wiggin (Asa Butterfield from Hugo) is handpicked by Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) to attend Battle School as Graff sees Ender as the one to end the aliens colony.  

Brushing his dismal X-Men Origins: Wolverine aside, director and writer Gavin Hood manages to weave a compelling and morally debatable tale involving the genocide of aliens and recruitment of child soldiers. Much of the story revolves around Ender’s training in Battle School as he learns to strategize, battles against jealous classmates and dealing with the loss of communicating with his elder sister, Valentine (Abigail Breslin). His thinking and behavior is put to the test as he struggles whether it’s the right choice to save the world by choosing to mindlessly exterminating the entire extraterrestrial species. Thought-provoking isn’t it?   

Hood with the help of Digital Domain created a convincing zero gravity-free chamber for the recruits to practice their battles of which two crucial scenes took place. The visual effects are often stunning and believable except an appearance of a generic looking alien towards the end that nearly spoiled the broth.

Ender’s Game is not just about space battles in a galaxy far away. It challenges you with profound messages if you aren’t too bored by the many gigantic computer screens. Too bad it ends with a cliffhanger and the only way to know the ending is to search for Card’s books.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The visual is striking and impressive while dialogue is clear and sound effects perfectly optimized by the provided Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Danny Trejo (Machete) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) deliver twice the Bad Ass action in this hard-hitting, butt-kicking sequel to the original cult favorite! Vietnam vet Frank Vega (Trejo) now runs an East L.A. community center where he trains young boxers to survive in and out of the ring. But when his prize student falls in with the wrong crowd and turns up dead, Frank teams up with his pal Bernie (Glover) to take matters into their own fists and prove that justice never gets old.

MOVIE REVIEW:

It’s ok if you have never heard of or watch the original Bad Ass. When you have Danny Trejo holding a baseball club and Danny Glover from the Lethal Weapon series glaring at you on the DVD cover, you already have a faint idea Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses is well about two aging dudes going around kicking ass.

Frank Vega (Danny Trejo) is an ex-Vietnam vet who now runs a community center that teaches boxing. When his best student, Manny was found murdered, Vega together with the local mom-and-pop store owner, Bernie Pope (Danny Glover) teams up to track down the killers. 

Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses is largely built on a single idea – revenge. Director and writer Craig Moss easily filled the 91 minutes straight-to-video flick with bodily humor, jokes about old folks and cheesy (and sometimes unexpected gore factor) action to entertain the masses despite coming up with a ruthless drug lord as the main nemesis.

There are simply too many unbelievable life-and-death situations which saw Vega and Pope getting out unscathed. The bad guys always end up in dire straits and Pope’s constant ailments never get in the way during critical moments. That’s probably due to the magic of poker faced Danny Trejo I guess. The two old dudes actually showcased plenty of energy and fun together and that definitely helps a lot.

This is truly a nice over-the-top parody of the buddy-cop routine. Our two leading men sure isn’t that young to convincingly take out a bunch of menacing dudes in real-life. However, when it comes to entertainment, they sure accomplished their part.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Making of Bad Asses is a standard 9 minutes feature that interviews the two main stars and director. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Details and picture quality are overall excellent on DVD and the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack provides the occasional tremble and bass. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Nelly is haunted by her past. Her memories take us back in time to follow the story of her exciting but fragile relationship with Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes). Dickens - famous, controlling and emotionally isolated within his success - falls for Nelly. As Nelly becomes the focus of Dickens' passion and his muse, for both of them secrecy is the price, and for Nelly a life of "invisibility".

MOVIE REVIEW:

There must be a reason why this British biographical drama never made it to local cinemas. Although it’s got Ralph Voldemort Fiennes taking on the director’s role, and features the sweet Felicity Jones as Charles Dickens’ (played by Fiennes himself, no less) young lover, these elements do not appeal enough to local distributors to screen it on the big screens. Therefore, here we get the movie on home entertainment. Which is might as well, because the 111 minute film is a slow burning piece of work which may not go down too well with today’s viewers with short attention spans.

Based on the book The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin and a screenplay by Abi Morgan, the film touches on the secret love affair between Dickens and Nelly Ternan, which lasted for 13 years until his death in 1870.

The film tells the story from Ternan’s point of view, who at age 18 falls in love with Dickens, then the unhappily married father of 10 children. Despite the heavy handed approach, the movie is basically an extended flashback interrupted once in a while by scenes of an older frustrated Nelly, walking breathlessly on a beach. It’s difficult to see what exactly Nelly has to be so unhappy about though, particularly when you compare her life to the plight of Catherine Dickens (the wonderful Joanna Scanlan), Dickens’ sweetly sad wife. Hence, it becomes a little difficult to emphatise with Ternan, unless you go with the notion that love knows no common sense.

Fiennes keeps his direction restrained, concentrating on small moments rather than grand gestures to powerful effect.

The cast is unfaultable. Fiennes is superb as Dickens. Suitably bewhiskered, he looks surprisingly like the author, but it’s his portrayal of the complex, driven private man behind the boundless enthusiasm and charisma of Dickens’s public image that makes his performance special. Jones is even better, with her subtly expressive face conveying the emotional turmoil of being passionately adored but forced by Victorian propriety and her lover’s fame to remain invisible. Expressing much while often saying little, Jones has a mesmerising screen presence, a performer behind whose face you can see the most complex and subtle thought processes at work. 

Fans of Dickens’ works would embrace this handsomely produced film, with the author’s references scattered throughout the slow moving plot. The period drama is a lavish production (Michael O’ Connor’s work on the movie earned him a Best Costume Design at the 86^th Academy Awards), and is a visual treat and a brainy exercise for those who are willing to sit through it. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

For a movie like this, you’d expect lots of bonus materials, and there are all in place. Here you get a detailed Commentary with Ralph Fiennes and Felicity Jones. There is also a montage of the stars On the Red Carpet at the Toronto Premiere, an informative piece featuring SAG Foundation Conversations with Ralph Fiennes & Felicity Jones, and a clip from the Toronto International Film Festival Press Conference. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The visual transfer complements the movie’s excellent production values, and there are English and Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital language tracks to choose from. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by John Li

SYNOPSIS: Crunch Calhoun (Russell), a third rate motorcycle daredevil and semi-reformed art thief, agrees to get back into the con game and pull off just one more lucrative art theft with his untrustworthy brother Nicky (Dillon). Crunch reassembles the old team and comes up with a plan to steal a priceless historical book, but the successful heist leads to another, far riskier, plan devised by Nicky. What the brothers don't realize is they each have their own agenda and their plan goes awry in this con movie about brotherhood, honor and revenge.

MOVIE REVIEW:

If there’s one reason to watch The Art of the Steal, it’s Kurt Russell.

The star of Escape from New York and Stargate heads this crime caper as Crunch Calhoun, a former wheeler for art heists who is now working as a down-and-out motorcycle stunt performer. Seven years ago, Crunch was made the scapegoat by his half-brother, Nicky (Matt Dillon) when a heist went wrong and he was subsequently sent to a Polish jail. Now an old partner, Uncle Paddy (Kenneth Welsh) decides to round up the usual gang for an easy job- to steal a historical religious book from the border police. Will their plan succeed when everyone seems to have an agenda of their own especially Nicky?

While Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean trilogy and Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist is all flashy and star-studded, writer and director Jonathan Sobol has cleverly made good use of the limited funds to conjure a fun crime flick that often begs the question “Is he the good guy or is he not?”. His scripting might get a bit too ambitious towards the end with the seemingly endless double crossing and flashback but that’s the whole fun of watching a gang of old-time crooks doing what they does best.

The Art of the Steal often tickles with perfect comic timing from Jay Baruchel (How to Train Your Dragon) who plays Crunch’s loyal mechanic Francie. It's always amusing to see Baruchel play a fumbling character and he doesn’t disappoint. The best lines however ought to go to Terence Stamp (playing an informant here) for his non-stop hilarious sarcasm on his Interpol agent, Bick (Jason Jones). The other colourful character has to be Guy de Cornet, a French forger who is played to perfection by Chris Diamantopoulos.

In the end, Kurt ‘Snake Plissken’ Russell has what it takes to play a cool character still despite his frequent absence from the big screen. Crunch Calhoun might be old and maybe slow but Russell’s presence alone just makes the character more believable and vulnerable.      

The entire caper flick might be devoid of any exhilarating action sequences nor any elaborate schemes but The Art of the Steal moves along at a brisk pace (with a couple of unexpected twists and turns) and in general pretty entertaining for the most part. Can’t wait to catch Russell appearing in Fast & Furious 7 next.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Commentary with Director Jonathan Sobol & Producer Nicholas Tabarrok is a lively, engaging track in which the two filmmakers reveal a couple of interesting anecdotes behind the making. If you love the movie, you shouldn’t miss this.

Cast and crew talks about the collaboration process and the script in Doing the Crime: Making The Art of the Steal.

Getting Away With It: Inside The Art of the Steal has the actors talk about their onscreen characters.

The Making of "The Theft of the Mona Lisa" is a brief segment on how the CG is accomplished in the flashback sequence.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD looks fine not exceptional and the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack offers a clean, concise listening experience. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: For the past two years, high-school security guard Ben (Hart) has been trying to show decorated APD detective James (Cube) that he’s more than just a video-game junkie who’s unworthy of James’ sister, Angela (Tika Sumpter). When Ben finally gets accepted into the academy, he thinks he’s earned the seasoned policeman’s respect and asks for his blessing to marry Angela. Knowing that a ride along will demonstrate if Ben has what it takes to take care of his sister, James invites him on a shift designed to scare the hell out of the trainee. But when the wild night leads them to the most notorious criminal in the city, James will find that his new partner’s rapid-fire mouth is just as dangerous as the bullets speeding at it.

MOVIE REVIEW:

It’s like the tough cop, foul-mouthed character (played by Ice Cube) in 21 Jump Street just got a movie of his movie, unfortunately compared to the latter, this one is far less funny and even less inspiring.

Ice Cube plays James Payton, a detective with the Atlanta police force who is investigating for leads about a mysterious arms smuggler named Omar. But when his fast-talking, soon-to-be brother-in-law, Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) asks him for his blessing to marry his sister Angela (Tika Sumpter), James decides to bring Ben for a ride along to prove his worthiness for his sister’s love. Things quickly went south and the duo finds themselves in hotter soup than they expect.    

The buddy cop comedy genre has been done to death over the years. Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan did one some time back and bombed. Jackie Chan might be too preoccupied to do another Rush Hour and Eddie Murphy probably won’t have a chance to do another 48 Hours given his diminishing star power. Don’t even bring up the name Mel Gibson, its likely taboo in Hollywood.

So what’s left is Ice Cube and rising comedian Kevin Hart. Cube manages to scowl and grunt for most of the running time while Hart is left yapping from start to finish. There’s even a joke in the movie that he tries to talk himself out of every situation and that’s remarkably true. The guy can seriously talk for hours in his high-pitch helium-like voice without missing a beat.   

Helmer Tim Story (The Fantastic Four and the remake of Taxi) just let the cameras roll in front of Hart for the most while occasionally throwing in a car chase, a gigantic explosion and a silly gunplay to justify its presence as an action comedy. Morpheus himself appears towards the end of the movie and no prizes for guessing who he plays.   

Hardly showcasing any effort for reinventing the genre, Ride Along is mere passable entertainment for the masses. For the record, a sequel is already in the works.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD feature crisp, clear images and the Dolby Digital 5.1 offers a sonic soundfield at selected points of the movie. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Comics/Action/Fantasy
Director: James Gunn
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro
RunTime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Rating: PG13 (Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 31 July 2014

Synopsis: From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy's fate in the balance.

Movie Review:

Notwithstanding the heart-tugging prologue which sees a young Peter Quill saying his tearful goodbye to his dying mother in a hospital room, it is manifestly clear from the opening strains of that 1970s Redbone classic ‘Come and Get Your Love’ that Marvel’s latest cinematic addition ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ just wants to have some fun. Yes, immediately after that prologue, we catch up with our anti-hero - a thieving Ravager, a self-styled Starlord, and a general intergalactic do-no-gooder - skipping along to that song while venturing his way into a cave on an abandoned planet to retrieve a much-sought after silver orb.

In case it isn’t already apparent from the trailer, that is the first of many 1970s pop classics that form about half of the soundtrack of the movie, and which Peter carries around in a mix-tape with his trusty Walkman. That artistic choice isn’t self-evident; although these characters were already known as a team of misfit heroes from their introduction into the Marvel universe back in 1969, it did not come with the same cheeky comic tone which James Gunn has taken to the material. Indeed, the galaxy may be at stake, but the fact that its fate lies in the hands of a talking raccoon named Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), a tall talking tree named Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), a massively muscled angry guy named Drax (pro wrestler Dave Bautista), a green-skinned female assassin named Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Peter (Chris Pratt) means that it is a good thing this Marvel picture doesn’t try to sell it straight.

In fact, it easily stands out from the rest of the more recognisable Marvel properties by simply being more playful than any of the rest. Peter is a sweet rogue played by Pratt with wily mischief. Drax is delightfully hypermuscled and hyperliteral - his rejoinder when being accused by Rocket that metaphors “fly over his head” is an absolute hoot. Gamora is kick-ass cool. Groot is lovably monosyllabic. And the one who often steals the show is the irascible foul-mouthed raccoon whom Groot provides the muscle for, Rocket, who is also streetwise, smart and suffers from an existential crisis. They aren’t exactly first-choice to save the Earth-like planet Xandar from the warmongering baddie Ronan (Lee Pace), who wants the orb for his patron Thanos on the deal that the latter would help destroy Xandar - and both Xandar’s Nova Corps officer (John C. Reilly) and head honcho Nova Prime (Glenn Close) pretty much make that clear.

But it is precisely their misfit nature that makes it all the more enjoyable. Whether escaping from Xandar’s space prison known as the Kiln or from the cheekily-titled planet of Knowhere on which Benicio del Toro’s The Collector resides, the ragtag gang always have a witty quip to spare, and the cast’s delivery of Gunn’s cleverly-scripted repartee is spot-on. There is also plenty of situational and physical humour in the numerous action scenes that follow our heroes along their space adventure - and fanboys will have a field day picking out Gunn’s homage to classic sci-fi fare like ‘Star Wars’ in addition to thoroughly lapping up the pop-culture irony.

Gunn’s casting here is flawless. None of the actors in the ensemble call attention to their own individual characters; instead, they play off each other with offbeat chemistry and perfect timing. In particular, Cooper is almost unrecognisable as the voice of Rocket, capturing perfectly his character’s blend of brashness, intelligence and angst in a delivery brimming with panache. They easily overshadow the other villainous sorts who pop up every now and then to wreck destruction - including Ronan’s lieutenant Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and Thanos’ disillusioned daughter Nebula (Karen Gillan) - who unfortunately turn out just as nondescript as the villains in the Marvel movies so far.

That fault is not so much the actors as that of Gunn and his co-writer Nicole Perlman. If something had to give in order to make way for that self-aware smart-assery, it turned out to be both plot and character. Put aside the visual dazzle, and there’s no doubt the narrative is about as straightforward as it gets. There is no treachery, no double-crossing, just plain good and bad defined right from the point that the characters make their entrance. Same goes for the characters, which aren’t afforded much time for any backstory (save for that prologue we mentioned at the start) in between dodging bullets and blowing up stuff. As far as origin movies are concerned, this hardly makes the impression the way ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ and ‘Iron Man’ did for their respective characters.

Those unfamiliar with Marvel lore will also find themselves grasping to understand how the entire universe comes together - for starters, you may wish to take note that the orb is so prized because it belongs in the same league as the Tesseract in ‘The Avengers’ movie. But if you find yourself lost amidst the mythology, you’ll probably still find yourself lost in a giddy spirit of amusement. It’s zany fun to say the least, with a perfectly pitched bunch of memorable characters, irreverent humour and some truly eye-popping CGI wizardry. Gunn relentlessly guns at everything that is fun and pleasing, no matter that they may seem absurd - and you know what, ‘Guardians’ is all the better for it.

Movie Rating:

(An unusually Marvel-lous blend of zany humour, quirky characters and thrilling action that makes for a hugely enjoyable dose of summer entertainment)

THE LEGO MOVIE TOPS SINGAPORE'S BOX OFFICE Posted on 20 Feb 2014 The LEGO Movie assembles at the top of the worldwide, US and Singapore’s box office. The first-ever, full-length theatrical LEGO adventure movie opened on 6 February has build a total box office of $1.75 million in Singapore as of 19 February, two weeks after its release. The LEGO Movie enjoys a 4% rise in box office takings on its second week of release. This awesome performance is a ... more

Genre: Thriller/Crime
Director: Dante Lam
Cast: Daniel Wu, Nick Cheung, Liu Kai-chi, Christie Chen, Lam Kar Wah, Patrick Keung
RunTime: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Violence)
Released By: Clover Films & Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 18 April 2014

Synopsis: Reclusive cop Dave unwittingly saves the life of criminal gang leader Hon Kong by donating his blood, thus symbolizing that despite diametrically opposed outer appearances they are essentially made of the same stuff. The gang members hide their faces behind traditional demon masks when committing their violent crimes. In schizophrenic fits Dave experiences his own demons within as he sets out to play off the gang members against each other, resulting in everyone's annihilation.

Movie Review:

After a detour into Hollywood blockbuster territory and another more successful one into the world of MMA, Dante Lam returns to the cop thriller genre that he has carved a name out of in recent years with the critically acclaimed character driven pieces ‘The Stool Pigeon’ and ‘The Beast Stalker’. Reuniting with his frequent muse/ writing partner Jack Ng, ‘that Demon Within’ sees Lam fusing the themes of good versus evil in his earlier movies with the design of a supernatural horror to create what is possibly his most mature, intense, and compelling masterpiece to date.

In the titular role of the troubled cop is the upright constable Dave Wong (Daniel Wu), whose ignorance leads him to dutifully donate blood when Hong Kong’s most wanted criminal Hon stumbles into the A&E of a hospital bleeding and heavily injured. Turns out that Hon (also known as the Demon King) had just escaped from being caught by the police in his flat after he and his gang of violent criminals engaged the cops in a fierce shootout following a diamond heist worth $80 million dollars; and Dave’s act of kindness earns the consternation of Senior Inspector Mok (Dominic Lam), bent on putting Hon and his gang before bars before his imminent retirement.

That single event turns Dave’s carefully constructed world inside out. Though it may seem at first that Dave is simply over-righteous, we realise that he is a person with his own issues to deal, a loner prone to bouts of intense anger and paranoia. In fact, joining the police force was his way of finding some semblance of stability in his life, a safe harbour if you will that becomes anything but as his guilt manifests itself in hallucinations, impulses and even occasional episodes of self-flagellation as a form of anger management. And slowly but surely, Dave becomes obsessed with Hon, seeing visions of the two of them merging together as one, or of Hon’s apparition in the form of a visual representation of the Demon King (depicted as a burning face) goading him into relenting to his savage instincts.

While it may seem as if he has his sights squarely on Hon at the start, Lam’s intents for his film to be a character study on Dave becomes much clearer later on. Eschewing the more affluent parts of Hong Kong, Lam chooses instead for his characters to inhabit the squalid housing estates of Kowloon City and Sai Ying Pun, the choice of location especially befitting of the dark tone he opts for here. It isn’t just Hon whose worship of the Demon King proves extremely unsettling, but the image of Dave framed against metal gates and sealed windows in his apartment adds to the disquieting mood that Lam conveys with panache.

More so than in any of his movies, Lam explores, as its title suggests, the latent evil that exists within an individual. That is plainly evident in Hon, but much more complex in Dave, whose “personality issues” come to light in hynopsis sessions with his sister Stephanie (Astrid Chan) that hinges on his traumatic childhood with a strict and sadistic father. As Dave struggles to contain his “demon within”, Lam steeps his film in the kind of religious symbolism which he alluded to in his ‘Fire of Conscience’, whether is it with the choice of locations in funeral parlours and morgues or with his choice of emotively unsettling visual imagery commonplace in horror films, in particular recurrent images of human immolation.

Those who are fans of Lam’s brand of urban action however need not be disappointed; right from the get-go, Lam impresses with a thrilling opening gunfight in the streets more violent than his usual and certainly more malevolent, especially with Hon’s gang donning the masks of the Demon King. Another equally if not more exhilarating one unfolds on an overpass, and Lam reserves a petrol station for a fiery ending which aptly bears a blazing symbol of hell. Even as he ventures into dark psychological territory, it is indeed heartening to know that Lam hasn’t lost his touch with delivering the sort of thrills which a large part of his early career was built on.

Certainly one could use the same to describe Daniel Wu’s performance here, which easily surpasses anything he’s done before. Digging deep to play a critically flawed character who has to confront his own monsters while attempting to stop another, Wu delivers one of his most challenging and therefore captivating roles to date. He is also well-matched with Lam regular Nick Cheung, who gets to ooze menace in every frame. It is as diametrically different a role from that of his award-winning one in ‘Unbeatable’, but one which cements his reputation as one of Hong Kong’s most versatile actors around.

And with ‘That Demon Within’, Lam officially makes his cop thrillers with Cheung a trilogy, the latter of which also starred in ‘Beast Stalker’ and ‘The Stool Pigeon’. It is as outstanding a trilogy capper as any fan can ask for, combining the earlier films’ blend of gritty action and character-driven drama with psychological horror elements into a riveting whole that grabs you from the start and never lets go.  It is also testament to a director who continues to push the envelope, certainly one of the most unique and original films to come out of Hong Kong this year. 

Movie Rating:

(Combining his trademark gritty action with character-driven drama and elements of psychological horror, Dante Lam delivers his most mature, intense, and compelling masterpiece to date)