Genre: Drama
Director: Zhang Yimou
Cast: Chen Daoming, Gong Li, Dan Dan, Guo Tao, Liu Peiqi, Yan Ni
RunTime: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: GV and Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 29 May 2014
Synopsis: Lu Yanshi (Chen Daoming) and Feng Wanyu (Gong Li) are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner, just as his wife is injured in an accident. Released during the last days of the Cultural Revolution, he finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife has amnesia and remembers little of her past. Unable to recognize Lu, she patiently waits her husband's return. A stranger alone in the heart of his broken family, Lu Yanshi determines to resurrect their past together and reawaken his wife's memory.
Movie Review:
Just to reminisce how cinema used to have the power to move the now cynical reviewer, he watched Zhang Yimou’s To Live (1994) the day before the screening of Coming Home, the Chinese auteur’s latest work. Mind you, To Live was a film made 20 years ago, and so powerful is the human drama (the story spanned from the 40s to the 70s, chronicling a family’s Mainland China’s tumultuous times), the raw emotions portrayed are relevant to this day.
Coming Home seemed to have the potential to make any Scrooge break into tears, but as this reviewer found out by the time the end credits rolled, what he felt was something more poignant than sadness. No tears were shed – what took its place instead was an overpowering sense of helplessness. Yet, this feeling was also one of sensibility – a need to move on in life despite the unfortunate events that have ever taken place.
Based on the last 30 pages of the novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi by Yan Geling, the highly recommended film which had its international premiere at the recent Cannes Film Festival in the out of competition section, the story’s protagonist is a former professor who tries but fails to make up with his wife when he is transferred from one labour camp to another in the early 1970s. He returns home after three years to find his wife suffering from selective amnesia. What happens next is a bittersweet tale of homecoming which requires its characters to make peace with the past, a life lesson some of us are desperately in need of.
This is clearly Zhang’s forte, telling a story of love, guilt and reconciliation set against the historical backdrop of the Cultural Revolution’s aftermath. You may know Zhang’s high profile productions like Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004) and Curse of the Golden Flower (2006), but the gems are really films like Raise the Red Lantern (1991), Not One Less (1999) and Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005). With Coming Home, it seems that Zhang is able to comfortably saddle between high budget commercial blockbusters and artistic productions which boast potent storytelling.
It sure helps that the award winning filmmaker has a capable cast to support him in this latest project. Gong Li, Zhang’s frequent leading lady, collaborates with the director for the eighth time (check out her wonderful performances in 1987’s Red Sorghum and 1995’s Shanghai Triad), and brings her character of the forlorn female protagonist to life. Stirring even more emotions is leading man Chen Daoming (The Founding of a republic, Back to 1942) who plays the forgotten husband who eventually learns how painfully exasperating and brutally realistic it can be to remain by your loved one’s side forever.
The two leads are supported by newcomer Zhang Huiwen who plays the couple’s daughter who has a terrible secret to hide. There are also cameos from popular veterans like Guo Tao and Yan Ni whom viewers familiar with Mainland Chinese cinema can spot.
You know a film may not just be a film. In this case, one can go one debating the political and historical symbolisms explored in the 111 movie. Is it about a country’s attempts to reconcile with its past? Is it about a new generation’s identity crisis with its nation’s history? Or is it about a homeland’s memory of its golden years? This is the beauty of this highly recommended film – it presents you with questions, and aligning them with your life may bring, hopefully, some sort of self enlightenment.
Movie Rating:
(Human drama at its best, this a poignant tale thanks to Zhang Yimou’s masterful direction)
Review by John Li
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Director: Poj Apirut
Cast: Wanida Termthanaporn, Pongpitch Preechaborisuthigul, Kunatip Pinpradub, Puvadol Vechwongsah, Kittipat Samarntragulchai, Worachai Sirikongsuwan, Rittichai Tasarika, Brian Garton, Sirapob Manitikun, Witawas Tawkumleu, Metakorn Supapuntaree, Surawich Ruengyoss
RunTime: 2 hrs
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: Encore Films and GV
Official Website: http://www.encorefilms.com/makemeshudder2
Opening Day: 12 June 2014
Synopsis: The wacky and foul-mouthed high school boys are back. The gang is led by their leader, Kunatip Pinpradub (Nick). His gang members include: Puvadol Vechwongsah (James), Worachai Sirikongsuwan (Tape), Suppakij Amornthitipong (Benz), Kittipat SamarnTagulchai (Bill), Brian Garton (Brian) and Sirapob Manitikun (Net). After challenging supernatural forces at an abandoned school (in Make Me Shudder Part 1), Nick, Bew, James and his friends are now preparing for their university admission. As they played too much and failed miserably for their examinations, James brings his friends to receive blessings from Mae Nak Shrine, hoping to enter a university. However, Nick does not believe in Mae Nak and insults Mae Nak at her shrine. Suddenly, a whirl of wind brings the gang back in time. Mae Nak appears and promises to grant them their wish, but under one condition: they have to find her husband, Pee Mak. Desperate, the gang decides to seek any help to return back home. This is when the horror (fun) begins.
Movie Review:
Whenever anyone talks about Thailand, Bangkok, cheap shopping, Thai food, massage and Thai horror are never fail to be mentioned. If you are expecting Shudder Me Mae Nak to be in the likes of Thai horror films such as Shutter (2004), Coming Soon (2008), 4bia & 4bia 2 (2008, 2009), you are in for a very wrong deal. To make your expectations right, just think of Shudder Me Mae Nak to be the Asian version of the Scary Movie series.
According to Thai folklore, Mae Nak (otherwise known as Nang Nak), had an undying (pun intended) love for her husband. After he returned from the war, the already dead Mae Nak, continues to live with her husband and ended up harming the entire village to keep her husband away from the truth of her death. This story is repeatedly told and dramatized, and made into horror movies such as Nang Nak (1999) and Ghost of Mae Nak (2005). The Thais really grow up hearing about her story, and to this day, people go to the shrine dedicated to Mae Nak for blessings and guidance.
So Shudder Me Mae Nak is basically a spoof and parody of this well-known folklore. The gang of friends, headed by Nick, Bew and James, decided to seek for Mae Nak’s blessings for their upcoming examinations. While ‘praying’ for her blessings to bestow upon them, Nick also secretly challenged Mae Nak to show her powers to them. After what seemed like a supernatural wind storm, Nick wakes up from a blackout and was summoned to a hut by the river. He convinces his gang of friends to join him on this expedition.
There, they were brought back in time and witnessed Mae Nak’s death while having a hard delivery. They fled for their lives, only to realize that they could not find the way back. They were eventually tasked by Mae Nak to relay the message to the husband that she had given birth to their child. The later part of the story and the development closely follows to the original story of Mae Nak.
This movie is definitely more of a comedy than a horror movie. It was funny initially, especially with the boys being adorable and naïve at the same time. But eventually the movie did feel arduously long, as both the scare and comedic elements tend to be repetitive. Expect a lot of the ‘in your face’ kind of scare tactics. And even when the sound effect prepares you for a very high quality scare, you’d only be thrown a wet blanket. The interest level dips lower and lower each time the pattern repeats.
Shudder Me Mae Nak is at best one of those cheap entertainments that helps you kill some time. It offers you a fresh perspective on what Thai cinema and Thai horror can be. Its attempt to be the forerunner of the Asian version of Scary Movie series is applaudable, albeit still not a top choice in movies (as expected of parody films actually). If you need to train up your guts to watch scarier Thai horror films, this is not too bad a starting ground.
Movie Rating:
(Asian’s very own Scary Movie? Makes me shudder too!)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
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"MEETING THE GIANT" UNVEILS OFFICIAL MOVIE POSTER!Posted on 21 May 2014 |
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Cast: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Daniel Henney, Maya Rudolph, James Cromwell, Damon Wayans Jr., T.J. Miller, Alan Tudyk, Jamie Chung, Genesis Rodriguez, Katie Lowes, Stan Lee
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG (Some Intense Sequences)
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: http://movies.disney.com/big-hero-6/
Opening Day: 13 November 2014
Synopsis: With all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Big Hero 6” is an action-packed comedy-adventure about robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who learns to harness his genius—thanks to his brilliant brother Tadashi and their like-minded friends: adrenaline junkie Go Go Tamago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. When a devastating turn of events catapults them into the midst of a dangerous plot unfolding in the streets of San Fransokyo, Hiro turns to his closest companion—a robot named Baymax—and transforms the group into a band of high-tech heroes determined to solve the mystery.
Movie Review:
Damn you, Disney. The moment this reviewer walked out of the computer animated superhero comedy movie produced by the House of Mouse, he felt the urge to own every piece of Big Hero 6 merchandise available in stores. The 54th animated feature from the bigwig studio is inspired by the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, and is the first Disney animated flick to feature Marvel Comics characters. Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible if The Walt Disney Company had not acquired Marvel in 2009.
The 102 minute movie tells the story of a young robotics prodigy who forms a superhero team to combat a masked villain who is responsible for the death of his respectable older brother. Yup, the story is that simple. Besides the big, pudgy robot Baymax (this character frontlines the movie’s marketing efforts), you get your usual array of characters - adrenaline junkie GoGo Tamago, laser blade innovator Wasabi, chemistry specialist Honey Lemon and the Godzilla obsessed fan boy Fred. The leader of this superhero team is Hiro Hamada, an Asian American teenager who's not only an orphan, but also deprived of a big brother figure (after he dies half an hour into the film). It is this grief that makes him assemble the motley crew of superheroes, and boy, what an adventure we will embark on.
The movie is for everyone because it is honestly endearing. The young ones will go crazy for Baymax (okay, this reviewer is a fan as well, because he is so squishy and cute), while the older adults will appreciate the humour and often intelligent script. Under the supervision of Pixar’s executive producer John Lasseter, directors Don Hall (Winnie the Poo”) and Chris Williams (Bolt) have created a genuinely charming story scripted by Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson and Jordan Roberts. There is much inspiration from Japanese anime here, and you will fall in love with the future megapolis that is San Fransokyo. Japanese architecture is incorporated into and around the Golden Gate Bridge, and vintage Victorians alongside futuristic towers, is nicely imagined. The movie looks detailed without being cluttered or overly busy.
Nerds are in for a field day with the countless Easter eggs in store, and like this reviewer, you’d want to hunt down the adorable merchandise like a kid. The movie relies on some predictable, worn out plots and plenty of visual flair. Hero suffers a big loss? Check. A mysterious villain threatens the city and the science-y kids must team up with superhero science-y suits to save it? Check. Baymax shows the true meaning of heroism? Check.
But the movie also succeeds the most when focused on the lovable, huggable Baymax. It turns out heart matters more than CGI. The gentle, waddling giant delivers so much warmly puffy emotional resonance, you wish you had him as a personal companion.
The audience is presented with some sort of message about loss and the pointlessness of revenge as we rocket through the story, and the filmmakers manage to tell a story so affecting, the more emotional viewers may need a tissue or two.
That said, this highly recommended movie is more Wreck It Ralph than Frozen, and is definitely making it into this reviewer’s favourites for 2014.
Movie Rating:
(A gorgeous piece of work that charms with awe and action - for both adults and kids)
Review by John Li
Genre: Comedy
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton, Sterling Jerins, Yaya DaCosta, Paloma Guzmán, Frankie Valli, Andy Karl
RunTime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: PG (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:
Opening Day: 31 July 2014
Synopsis: There are a million reasons not to like realtor Oren Little (Michael Douglas), and that's just the way he likes it. Willfully obnoxious to anyone who might cross his path, he wants nothing more than to sell one last house and retire in peace and quiet -- until his estranged son suddenly drops off a granddaughter (Sterling Jerins) he never knew existed and turns his life upside-down. Clueless about how to care for a sweet, abandoned nine-year-old, he pawns her off on his determined and lovable neighbour Leah (Diane Keaton) and tries to resume his life uninterrupted. But little by little, Oren stubbornly learns to open his heart - to his family, to Leah, and to life itself - in this uplifting comedy from acclaimed director Rob Reiner.
Movie Review:
“There are a million reasons not to like realtor Oren Little” goes the description for this movie.
There are probably just about as many reasons not to like this movie.
I would usually give a spoiler alert warning but given how predictable the plot of this romance movie is, I think I can safely forgo the warning for this movie.
In less than five minutes, you will be able to figure out that the seemingly self-centred Oren Little (portrayed by Michael Douglas) does have a hidden humane side which will unveil itself as he interact more with his kindly next door neighbor Leah (portrayed by Diane Keaton).
And yes, he will fall in love with her as she and the granddaughter, Sarah (portrayed by Sterling Jerins) break down those emotional walls that he has built.
Oh, and he has a son (how else to explain the granddaughter?) who is unimportant except as a device to introduce the granddaughter.
Random events such as the delivery of the baby of a neighbor is thrown in for… I’m not very sure what actually as none of the events really add to the plot.
I also didn’t realize this was supposed to be a comedy until I read that somewhere online. That was how funny this movie was.
The main saving grace of the movie? Probably its length. At 94 minutes, it’s thankfully relatively short.
Movie Rating:
(If you want to watch this, I suggest you wait till it’s aired free on TV. Even then, I would caution watching this only if you really don’t have anything better to do)
Review by Katrina Tee
Genre: Sci-Fi/Drama
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay
RunTime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: R21 (Nudity)
Released By: GV and MVP
Official Website: http://undertheskinmovie.com
Opening Day: 12 June 2014
Synopsis: A voluptuous woman of unknown origin combs the highway in search of isolated or forsaken men, luring a succession of lost souls into an otherworldly lair. They are seduced, stripped of their humanity, and never heard from again.
Movie Review:
What will make you watch this science fiction movie about an alien seductress scouring the lands of Scotlandto prey on men? Two words: Scarlett Johansson.
Well, more so for the male species actually (please note that you have to be 21 years old to catch this film in the theatres) – we don’t know any guy who wasn’t mesmerised by the 29 year old American actress. One of Hollywood’s prominent modern sex symbols, you may remember her as a child actor in Home Alone 3 (1997), before she transited into adult roles in Lost in Translation (2003) and Match Point (2005). Some genius then decided to get Johansson to don a tight leather suit to play Black Widow in the several Marvel movies.
So when you hear that the Golden Globe nominee and BAFTA winner is playing an alien who seduces men in a movie slapped with a R21 rating (with the consumer advice “Nudity”), won’t you have the urge to check out how titillating the film is going to be?
Let’s set thing straight by saying that this 108 minute production isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Sure, it does have a synopsis that sounds exciting enough to keep your eyes glued to the screen, but this is no mainstream alien action flick.
This reviewer remembers going gaga over Natasha Henstridge in Species (1995). The actress’ debut role is an alien seductress who mates with human males and then kills them. This is not what you’re going to get with Johansson’s character. Instead, you get weirdly haunting sequences where she walks on a pool of black liquid, while the men she seduces strips and steps towards her excitedly, only to gradually sink into the creepy pool. These sequences are bizarre yet alluring, and may just leave you wanting more. Get an idea of what to expect by watching the trailer embedded above.
There are many uncomfortable moments of silence in this Jonathan Glazer directed feature, which may leave the less patient viewer frustrated (an almost angry comment overheard during this reviewer’s preview screening: “The movie doesn’t make sense after 20 minutes!”). If you aren’t used to long periods of silences, you may want to opt out of this.
Johansson does a decent job of portraying an alien who takes over the body of an attractive woman. She is initially unfeeling of the emotions around her, but slowly (albeit painfully) understanding how it is like to have feelings like a human.
Director Glazer (2000’s Sexy Beast, 2004’s Birth) could have taken the mainstream approach to tell this story based on Michel Faber’s 2000 novel of the same name and employ the usual theatrics, but he has adopted a more artistic style here. There are lingering moments of discomfort, a male character who suffers from facial disfigurement and some less than pleasant sex scenes.
This is probably one question hot blooded male readers have on their minds (if we haven’t lost them already): Do we get to see Johansson’s well endowed assets? No point hiding – the answer is yes. But after the movie’s disturbing images, we aren’t sure whether you’d still be gaping in awe.
Movie Rating:
(While this disturbingly haunting sci fi movie may not be everyone’s cup of tea, there are moments in the film which are bizarrely and alluringly satisfying)
Review by John Li
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: David Lam
Cast: Louis Koo, Lam Ka Tung, Michael Wong, Dada Chen, Lo Hoi Pang, Eddie Cheung, Felix Lok, Liu Kai Chi, Janelle Sing, Stephen Au, Joe Cheung
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Rating: NC-16
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 3 July 2014
Synopsis: Somebody says: the ICAC has helped Hong Kong to earn the reputation of a leading international financial center. This may be the most critical corruption case since ICAC was established for forty years, involving enormous corruption group; include retired senior governor, senior police officer, business millionaire, senior Attorney and so on. Confronting such Tenacious enemies, ICAC’s investigators never give up; they use technology, internet and psychological skills to fight back, and meanwhile they try their best to protect themselves from being killed by professional killers. Hong Kong, our Advantage is ICAC.
Movie Review:
Just when we thought the Hong Kong moviemaking industry was making a rebound, along comes a disappointment like ‘Z Storm’ to give us pause. There’s no doubt about it; the financial thriller is a huge letdown - not only is it because it had been touted as one of the most highly anticipated blockbusters of 2014, but also because of its pedigree (John Chong of ‘Infernal Affairs’ is credited as the sole producer) and its big-name cast (a who’s who of the industry including Louis Koo, Gordon Lam, Michael Wong, Lo Hoi Pang and Liu Kai Chi).
But as the opening minutes quickly reveal, one should severely scale down your expectations if you don’t intend to be frustrated by it. Right from the get-go, there is clearly something off with Wong Ho-Wah’s script as well as David Lam’s (who also receives a story credit) direction. Both have largely been absent from the filmmaking circle since the late 1990s (their last collaboration was an utterly mediocre film in 1998 called ‘The Magnificent Team’ starring Francis Ng and Amanda Lee), and it seems have fallen gravely out of touch with even making a decent film.
Beginning with an extended prologue that plays like a recap at the start of an episode of a TVB drama, we are fleetingly introduced to the superintendent of the Commercial Crime Bureau Wong Man Bin (Gordon Lam), who in a raid on an office abets an accountant Law Tak Wing (Lo Hoi Pang) in disposing crucial evidence that could implicate him and many others in financial fraud. Man Bin comes to the attention of the ICAC when his wife goes to the latter with evidence of his possession of a large sum of cash in a black bag upon his return from Macau. That immediately piques the attention of ICAC Principal Investigator William Luk (Louis Koo), who promptly instructs his team to bring Man Bin in for questioning.
Wong’s interrogation is the sole highlight of the first half hour of the film, where he promptly calls William’s teammates (Stephen Au and Derek Tsang) out for having but only circumstantial evidence of his alleged corruption. Other than that, and right up till William realises he is going up against the likes of two high-powered politicians (Alfred Cheung and May Law in guest roles), the film flits from scene to scene with nary any care for continuity; in fact, we’d go so far as to say that it doesn’t even bother with establishing a single compelling sequence, disguising its incompetence with an urgent but ultimately silly momentum and an awfully cringe-worthy score that knows no subtlety.
By the time the ICAC christens the titular operation, your patience would probably have been worn thin, but any hope that things will pick up are just as quickly dashed. The needlessly convoluted story further introduces Michael Wong as a shady lawyer Malcolm Wu doing the dirty deeds for a George Soros-type character, using Dada Chan’s cancer survivor Angel Leung as a pawn to hook Lo and Felix Lok’s high-ranking civil servant into his Ponzi scheme under the ‘Z Fund’ - hence the name of the operation if you’re wondering. And yet these subplots add little to the central story of the ICAC versus Wu and Co., serving only to pad the runtime so that the climax can unfold on the day the fund is supposed to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE).
If the story is too scattered for its own good, the characters fare even worse. Koo’s dogged personality is attributed to the unfortunate death of his wife from a lift accident a few years back, one of the many melodramatic backstories established in a flashback that feels utterly forced and contrived. The rest of the characters are even less defined - we are supposed to infer that greed is the motivation for Man Bin’s corruption, obligatory gratitude as the reason for Angel’s predicament, and well spousal love for why Tak Wing turned rogue - and not one of them go beyond the one-liner that would have been used to summarise them in a storyboard.
The same can be said of the obligatory action scenes, which are choreographed with as little flair as the rest of the movie. The vehicular chase you see in the trailer is but the only one that appears in the entire movie, which comes to an anticlimactic stop when the baddies back off after spotting a police roadblock. A shootout that follows shortly after is played out in terrible lighting and ends in terribly clichéd fashion. We know the ICAC aren’t exactly the SWAT, but that is no excuse for the sloppily conceived action, which rings smack of the kind of the slapdash filmmaking which the glut of 90s Hong Kong films were guilty of.
Indeed, the association is deliberate. Though blessed with a big budget, ‘Z Storm’ squanders what potential it has and what vested expectation we have with a shoddy script that is made even worse by Lam’s amateurish direction. Lam’s experience with ICAC-themed material notwithstanding, this wholly ill-conceived attempt to extol the virtues of the agency is a terrible misfire on every level, and could not come at a worse time when the anti-graft organisation is in real life struggling to regain its own reputation after a scandal involving its former chief. Contrary to its title therefore, there is no storm, not even a squall to speak of here, only a rumble that ends in a whimper.
Movie Rating:
(What is supposed to be a taut financial thriller turns out to be an exercise in bad filmmaking, rendering this even less than a storm in a teacup)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Masayuki Ochiai
Cast: Nozomi Sasaki, ShoAoyagi, Reina Triendl
RunTime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Horror)
Released By: GV & Encore Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 24 July 2014
Synopsis: Yui (Nozomi Sasaki) takes on responsibility as a form teacher for a 3rd year primary school class at very short notice. One of the pupils, Toshio Saeki, has been refusing to come to school for a while so she visits him at home. Since that day, inexplicable phenomena start to happen to her. The house turns out to be the "cursed house" where everyone who sets foot in the place dies in strange circumstances. Saeki family's past gradually comes into the open. Strange cases unfold one after another. But Yui comes back to the house and enters, as if she is drawn in by the house. Is this happening due to the karma of those who died holding a strong grudge? What is the hidden secret of the "cursed house".
Movie Review:
In recent years, we have experienced a fair bit of disappointments from the J-horror releases. From the unremarkable extensions of classics such as The Ring (1998), to the mundane new additions to the franchise of Ju-On (2003) which features the iconic pale white kid. Ju-On 3: The Beginning of the End, contrary to what the name suggests, is the seventh installment of the franchise of Ju-On. This is the first film that has no involvement from the series creator, Takashi Shimizu. Instead, a familiar name in Japanese horror film making, Masayuki Ochiai (director of Infection, 2006) takes over. Will J-Horror films ever come back with something equivalent to one of those we’ve seen in the golden era of J-Horror?
For those who are familiar with the Ju-On franchise, you may already know that it adopts a format where the narrative is being ‘chopped up’, going back and forth to tell a story. Hence it might frustrate the viewer a little, trying to keep up and link the dots. This time, the story focuses on Yui (Nozomi Sasaki), an elementary school teacher who will slowly uncover the true reason for one of her student’s absence from school. She pays the family a visit at their house, only to unravel the tragedy that happened 10 years ago. The vengeful spirits are still out to haunt for the next victims – seems like anyone who enters the ‘cursed house’ will not come out unscathed.
The movie begins with a hand-held camera styled sequence, which closely follows the first group of people who discovered the body of a child being left to die in the summer heat. Brace yourself for the first ‘boo’ scare of the movie, which sets out the tone and atmosphere of the movie. As much as we humans have this tendency to be masochistic (i.e. it’s so spooky but it’s so good), the truth is we won’t deliberately walk into an obvious trap/danger. Hence in that respect, you may find some sequences in the movie rather illogical. Nonetheless, the whole horror atmosphere was well maintained from beginning to end – giving you the chills and keeping you in good suspense. This was supported by the seamless use of horror tracks and sound effects, one of the hallmarks of Japanese horror movies.
Director Masayuki Ochiai takes a slightly different approach as Takashi Shimizu when it comes to the scares. Masayuki has a penchant to use more graphic scenes to create the shock and impact. While it does create an impression, the prolonged screen time of some of the grossly gruesome scenes numb the eyes. The converse of having less is more will probably work better in this aspect.
Nevertheless, this new addition to the Ju-On franchise is not too shabby a J-Horror. Though any may say that this still does not match up with the first theatrical release of Ju-On in 2003, Ju-On 3 has set another milestone for the Ju-On cult for giving it a more edgy and modern remake, redefining it for the new generation that have never encountered what Ju-On is. While many of the horror sequences have to do with daily activities, be glad that a lot of them are not the common experience in Singapore – hence it won’t haunt you through those endless nights.
Movie Rating:
(Despite having a weak plot, Ju-On 3 manages to nab a high score on the scare-o-meter. Haven’t been scared in a long while? It’s time to test your guts.)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
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SINGAPORE IS THE FIRST ASIAN COUNTRY, OUTSIDE OF HONG KONG, TO RELEASE HONG KONG EROTIC COMEDY "3D NAKED AMBITION"Posted on 30 May 2014 |
Genre: Comedy
Director: Lee Kung-Lok
Cast: Chapman To, Josie Ho, Louis Koo, Sandra Ng, Charlene Choi, Wong Jing
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Content & Coarse Language)
Released By: GV
Official Website:
Opening Day: 5 June 2014
Synopsis: 3D NAKED AMBITION is a sex comedy which parodies Japanese adult film industry through various iconic scenes with exaggerated expressions.
Movie Review:
Someone once told this writer that the 3D medium was made for the pornographic genre, and perhaps that’s what Chan Hing-ka made in mind when he decided to make this loose sequel to his 2003 comedy of the same time sans the two characters at the front. Yes indeed, in case there was any doubt, this parody of the Japanese AV industry is offered in glorious 3D, attempting of course to replicate the same kind of bashful pleasure which its predecessors ‘3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy’ and ‘3D Due West: Our Sex Journey’ promised.
Co-scripted by Chan who has since handed over the directorial reins to ‘MicroSex Office’s’ Lee Kung-lok (another sexual farce for the uninitiated), the Category III-rated comedy has one thing going for it which neither of the aforementioned films had - that is, the sheer inspiration of Chapman To. No matter the actor’s outspoken public persona which has since earned him the ire of netizens in China, To buffs and bronzes himself for a role which requires him to show more flesh than he has ever done, but it is his spot-on comedic timing that is the reason why ‘3D Naked Ambition’ is such a guilty pleasure.
No stranger to such farces after pulling duties in as ‘Vulgaria’ and ‘SDU: Sex Duties Unit’, To here stars as a magazine writer Wyman Chan, who has most recently lost his job writing steamy stories for a saucy magazine. After commiserating with a buddy (Derek Tsang) about the death of porno VCDs/DVDs with the availability of free Internet porn, Wyman rounds up a few like-minded Hong Kong guys and travels to Tokyo to get to the heart of AV itself - i.e. to invest in their own AV content production and not only with the hope of making some money out of it, but also to have the opportunity to watch the filming live in the flesh.
A word of warning - the more bashful members of the audience (you know who you are) might want to bring along a sleep mask, for there are plenty of scenes that you will inadvertently turn red over. Wyman’s trip to Tokyo becomes his initiation into the world of AV professional acting, as the novice learns it the hard way (pun intended) being made to replace the male lead next to actress Yui Tatsumi in a porno shoot. His unexpected overnight success leads to some ‘finger foreplay’ training under veteran AV actor Taka Kato, and further AV shoots under the screen name of Mario Ozawa (a reference to AV goddess Maria Ozawa) in familiar scenes such as a body check under the school matron, a subway car molestation and even an alien S&M attack.
For the uninitiated, these send-ups of classic AV cliches will probably seem exaggerated and worse, strained; but trust us that those who are familiar with the subgenre (we’re being extremely politically correct here) will likely be laughing their heads off. The twist here of course is that To plays the reluctant male here exploited for sex, in a clear gender reversal from that which one usually finds in AV movies. It’s completely tongue-in-cheek of course, and To gets excellent support from real-life female AV stars Nozomi Aso, Anri Okita and Yuki Maiko in his madcap routine.
The cameos don’t end there. Other Hong Kong actors also appear in minor roles, including Wong Jing, Sandra Ng, Charlene Choi and Louis Koo - the latter in particular appears as To’s rival Naoki Nagasaki, who provides the obligatory showdown for the movie to wrap things up on a relative high. Besides poking fun at the lucrative AV industry, Chan’s script is also rife with colloquial humour that purposely thumbs its nose at the Chinese censors (presumably, the filmmakers never intended to make their product available for the China market) - a reference to China’s belligerent posturing for the Diaoyu Islands proves surprisingly hilarious.
Ultimately, ‘3D Naked Ambition’ knows exactly what it wants to accomplish and does exactly that. It doesn’t purport to be high art, or anything else for that matter, except skewer the Japanese AV film scene - that it does with great hilarity thanks to a largely witty script by Chan and a very game male lead in Chapman To. It also pushes the R21 limit in terms of the number of boobies on display, so that should be incentive for those who were undecided whether or not to watch this in 3D, Trust us, it’s worth the extra D.
Movie Rating:
(If you know AV, you’ll love this parody to bits)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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