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Golden Horse Award Winner Ethan Juan To Promote "Paradise In Service" in SingaporePosted on 25 Sep 2014 |
Genre: Thriller/Drama
Director: Morten Tyldum
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Mark Strong, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, Allen Leech, Vanessa Kirby, Rory Kinnear, Matthew Beard
RunTime: 1 hr 54 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Homosexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://theimitationgamemovie.com
Opening Day: 22 January 2015
Synopsis: Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, THE IMITATION GAME portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain's top-secret Government Code andCypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.
Movie Review:
“… tell me, am I a machine or a person?” – so goes the question behind Turing’s test, referred to as the imitation game in the film of the same name. Beyond inviting audiences to judge Alan Turing, as depicted here, film’s title also alludes to the thin layers of deception as characters are made to take on the role of secret/double agents or have secrets to hide and are forced to take on the persona of ‘normal’ people.
The Imitation Game is one of those films that support the saying life can be stranger than fiction. Based on the real-life story of Alan Turing, the mathematics genius who has the computer room in Cambridge’s King’s College named after him, the plot of The Imitation Game reads like a Hollywood screenplay spawned from an overly imaginative screenwriter’s mind (with many elements added in by the many people involved in the treatment process).
The story of a withdrawn and socially awkward mathematics genius that no one understands reads very much like another award-winning and celebrated film (A Beautiful Mind anyone?). Except that this time the mathematics genius is actually homosexual and is really working for an intelligence service (instead of imagining that he is working for one).
It would have been easy for the portrayal of Alan Turing to fall flat or for audiences to find it difficult to relate to him if it was not for Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance and good editing. The pacing of the film was just nice and use of flashbacks was done smoothly. For instance, the film removed captions explaining the time period that the flashback was set in once it became easy for audiences to relate specific flashbacks to certain time periods, making flashback less jarring and disruptive.
But back to Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Turing (because really that’s what a good number of you are here to swoon, I mean read, about). Cumberbatch, of course, turns in a worthy performance given his reliability and expertise in portraying likeable social outcasts (think Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness, Sherlock in Sherlock Holmes and even Smaug in The Hobbit). He presents Turing’s vulnerability in a manner that is believable and has you relating to Turing despite the social barrier Turing has unknowingly put around himself. I cannot, however, help but feel that this is probably easy for Cumberbatch as the depiction of Turing in this film reminds me of a more vulnerable and emotional Sherlock, a character who has won Cumberbatch legions of fans (a good majority female too).
Unfortunately for Cumberbatch fans, I have to admit that his, although a great performance, was not the only praiseworthy performance. Keira Knightley (who I’ve always been jealous of and thus, never a big fan of), does more than a decent job in her portrayal of Joan Clarke that has me acknowledging her acting ability. Despite limited screen time, Knightley pulls off a convincing turn as her Clarke transforms from a hesitant but brilliant crossword puzzle solver, who withers in the face of societal pressure, to a strong-willed codebreaker/mathematician who is determined to hold her own in a man’s world and pragmatically uses her charm to beguile men when necessary.
Unfortunately, the other characters have limited development and primarily serve to showcase Turing’s development/personality and his relationship with Clarke. Still, the actors succeed in not pulling in stereotypical performances and having their characters simply fall flat. Still, it would have been interesting to see Matthew Goode’s Hugh Alexander and the double agent (I won’t tell you who here) character more fully fleshed out.
The narrative is also rather smooth, despite the constant use of flashbacks and cutting between time period. Still, the way it’s structured does remind one of A Beautiful Mind although that had a much happier ending.
Movie Rating:
(You don’t have to be good with maths or computer science (or a Cumberbatch fan) to enjoy this film. After watching this, you’ll understand why this movie has been generating so much Oscar buzz. )
Review by Katrina Tee
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jeremy Garelick
Cast: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco, Olivia Thirlby, Mimi Rogers, Nicky Whelan, Ken Howard, Affion Crockett, Jorge Garcia, Dan Gill, Corey Holcomb, Colin Kane, Jenifer Lewis, Alan Ritchson, Ignacio Serricchio, Aaron Takahashi
RunTime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Coarse Language, Sexual References And Drug Use)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/WeddingRinger
Opening Day: 29 January 2015
Synopsis: Doug Harris (Josh Gad) is a loveable but socially awkward groom-to-be with a problem: he has no best man. With less than two weeks to go until he marries the girl of his dreams (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), Doug is referred to Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), owner and CEO of Best Man, Inc., a company that provides flattering best men for socially challenged guys in need. What ensues is a hilarious wedding charade as they try to pull off the big con, and an unexpected budding bromance between Doug and his fake best man Jimmy.
Movie Review:
‘The Wedding Ringer’ joins a long line of wedding-themed comedies from ‘Wedding Crashers’ to ‘The Hangover’ to ‘Bridesmaids’ that Hollywood screenwriters seem to have no shortage of imagination over, and at least in concept, the idea of a friendless schlub who rents a best man for his big day seems a pretty funny one in and of itself. The titular ringer refers to Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), a professional best man-for-hire whom you may engage to give you a crazy bachelor’s party, fill out the rest of your groomsmen, and most importantly of all, deliver a best-man toast that will leave your guests misty-eyed.
One such person who desperately needs his services is Doug (Josh Gad), who is due to marry a girl way out of his league in ten days but hasn’t got a single friend whom he can call on to be his best man – let alone groomsmen – for the wedding. To make matters worth, he’s promised his bride seven groomsmen for the day and named each one of them by mixing and matching common household products – for instance, his best man is called Bic Mitchum, formed by combining the names of his razor and deodorant in the medicine cabinet. Only because Doug is willing to pay the right price does Jimmy agree to perform what the latter names ‘The Golden Tux’, which involves hiring a ragtag bunch to fill up the roles which the former had come up with.
So besides Jimmy aka Bic, Doug will also be joined by an ex-con (Colin Kane), a hen-pecked husband (Jorge Garcia), a hunky and occasionally stuttering doofus (Alan Ritchson), and an Asian guy with three testicles (Aaron Takahashi). Is it any surprise that, despite Jimmy’s warning at the start not to treat their relationship as any more than a business transaction, that the group of loveable losers will eventually become good friends? Or is it any surprise that Jimmy will realise how lonely he really is feeling inside from always being the best man and never the groom? Or that Jimmy will realise that he has simply rushed into marrying his fiancé Gretchen (The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) because he is afraid he will never find someone as beautiful to fall in love with a pudgy nerd like him?
Indeed, the screenplay by Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender (who previously scripted the Vince Vaughn/ Jennifer Aniston rom-com ‘The Break-Up’) ticks all the boxes that you would expect it to, including for that matter the fact that Doug’s father-in-law Ed (Ken Howard) dislikes him elementally. But what it lacks in originality, Garelick, who also directs the movie, makes up for it in a variety of chuckle-worthy gags. There is a mismatched game of touch football between Doug’s wedding party and Ed’s old team (made up of a bunch of NFL veterans, including Joe Namath and John Riggins) that gets more serious with each round. There is a bachelor party gone wrong which leaves Doug being bitten by a canine on his genitals. And our favourite of all is a wedding party Doug and Jimmy attend where they take to the dance floor to show off some pretty mean couple moves, ranging from hip hop to disco to Charleston.
The reason why the movie remains endearing despite its clichés is the chemistry between Hart and Gad. Right from their first meeting where Jimmy discovers to his horror that he’ll have to pretend to be a man named Bic Mitchum, there is real zing to their yin-yang pairing. Even as they are later on joined by a stellar supporting ensemble, Hart and Gad’s budding bromance remain the centre of the entire film, and their comic repartee is truly a delight to watch. It is also as good an introduction to Hart as any for those who are not yet familiar with the up-and-coming comedian, his high-octane breakneck style making him a surefire contender for this generation’s Eddie Murphy. Thankfully, Gad doesn’t try to outdo Hart’s shtick, instead relying on a sweet dignified earnestness as a complement to his co-star’s frenzied routine.
Because Hart and Gad are such game presence to be around, you’ll forgive the rather low-denominator humour that Garelick seems to rely on more frequently than he should be to elicit some laughs from his audience. Hart’s monologue about being the very few black Ethiopian Jews is rib-tickling funny, but the ‘gay’ jokes – including a groan-inducing homosexual wedding planner – gets stale too quickly and recycled too often. It’s no secret that ‘The Wedding Ringer’ tries to gun for that sweet and irreverent spot that ‘The Hangover’ struck on the head, and thanks to its ceaselessly appealing duo, it comes quite close a lot of the time.
Movie Rating:
(Kevin Hart and Josh Gad make a delightful yin-yang comic couple in this otherwise generic exercise of a sweet yet irreverent wedding-themed buddy comedy)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Martial-Arts
Director: Lu Yang
Cast: Chang Chen, Cecelia Liu, Nie Yuan, Wang Qianyuan, Li Dongxue, Jin Shijie, Zhu Dan, Ye Qing
RunTime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: GV
Official Website:
Opening Day: 16 October 2014
Synopsis: It was late Ming Dynasty, when the ceaseless party struggle brought the empire to the brink of collapse. Wei Zhongxian, the ringleader of the so called “eunuch party” lost power as the young emperor ascended the throne. He soon became the NO. 1 assassination target.
Three brothers in Jinyiwei – Lu Jianxing (Wang Qianyuan), Shen Lian (Chang Chen), Jin Yichuan (Li Dongxue) were assigned the job. Wei’s adopted son Zhao Jingzhong (Nie Yuan) was behind the plan. The three men are bounded like blood brothers. They each have their own desire, but money seems to be the key. They took the job and located the target successfully. When it’s nearly done, Wei offered to buy his way out. Shen Uinds the money irresistible and he manages to let him go.
As the three brothers indulged in the big fortune, Lu buying his official seat in the government, Shen paying debt for a prostitute (Liu Shishi) who he loves and feels indebted to, Jin covering a secret of his real identity as a thief, the fact that Wei is still alive come to surface. All parties want them dead to bury the assassination. The day comes when Zhao Jingzhong invited the three to a dinner. The three sensed the danger and fight their way out. They plan to bring their loved ones and go on a run to a peaceful place and hide their names. After a heroic battle, the elder and the younger fall, leaving Shen with memories of their humble dreams.
Movie Review:
Despite receiving generally positive reviews, Brotherhood of Blades suffered a tremendous blow at the Mainland box-office when it opened against Jacob Cheung’s The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom. Apparently, stars do matter. Hypothetically speaking, if Huang Xiaoming, Fan Bingbing or Donnie Yen were among the cast list, this wuxia flick would have met a better success.
Produced by John Woo’s longtime producer, Terence Chang and co-written and directed by Lu Yang, Brotherhood of Blades tells the tale of three sworn brothers who works alongside each other as elite Imperial guards known as Jinyiwei in Chinese. Elder brother Lu (Wang Qianyuan) is a no-nonsense man who yearns for his long-delayed promotion. Second brother Shen Lian (Chang Chen) being the most skillful of the three has a love interest in the form of a courtesan Zhou (Cecilia Liu from TV’s Scarlet Heart) while the youngest, Yichuan (Li Dong Xue) has a dark, hidden secret only known by a fellow senior who frequently extorts him for money.
The main narrative however involves the pursuing of an escaped wanted Eunuch Wei (Jin Shijie). Wei and his clique are wanted by the current young emperor for his corruption and the three sworn brothers are assigned the thankless task by Commander Zhao (Nei Yuan) to kill him. But when Shen makes a deadly mistake of letting Wei go, a chain of unforeseeable consequences is unleashed and the latter realizes there is more to Commander Zhao’s intention to annihilate Eunuch Wei.
The characterizations of the three main characters are clearly defined by the first act and to Lu’s credit; he manages to keep both pacing and narrative flowing smoothly at the same time. There’s hardly a dull moment and even though it is an wuxia flick about brotherhood, romance and political intrigue, there is none of the dozing long pages of dialogue to bore you. Some of the twists and turn may be predictable to those who have seen too many wuxia movies in the past; but even with the main villain revealed early on, the proceedings are reasonably executed and manage to keep you on the edge of your seat for the full 107 minutes.
The action choreography is credited to Lin Sang, a stunt guy who worked on The Transporter and Red Cliff and miraculously the end effort is a great break from the current trend. It hardly showcases any cheesy visual effects (I’m looking at you, The Four), fancy weaponry that probably comes from the world of Transformers (and that’s 14 Blades) and excessive wire-fu effects (Flying Swords of Dragon Gate anyone?), what Brotherhood of Blades has to impress you is plenty of old-school swordplay and a controlled amount of bloodshed to sell you the idea of how kick-ass the characters are.
Lu’s movie is not without its flaws, I mean which movie isn’t? First thing first, Cecilia Liu’s character, Zhou is both clichéd and forgettable. A courtesan waiting for her love one to redeem her freedom? And it’s not Shen we are talking about. We have seen this a thousand times and perhaps more. There’s also a brief backstory of how Zhou first met Shen Lian, which is totally unnecessary. Taiwanese actor Jin Shijie on the other hand is excellent as the sinister Eunuch Wei but he is not granted much screentime. The saving grace is Chang Chen (last seen in The Grandmasters), the underrated actor who appears in many arty dramas as the tortured Shen and his three other co-stars Wang Qianyuan, Li Dong Xue and Nie Yuan who formed the engaging tale of brotherhood and good versus evil.
If you love non-pretentious, old-school martial-arts flick like the much accessible Reign of Assassins, then you will definitely love Brotherhood of Blades. Sometimes, a good movie is like a good book, there is no need for a fancy cover to appreciate the material.
Movie Rating:
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(A genuinely well-told, old-school martial-arts movie)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Olivier Megaton
Cast: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Forest Whitaker, Dougray Scott
RunTime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG13 (Violence and Brief Coarse Language)
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Official Website: http://www.taken3movie.com
Opening Day: 8 January 2015
Synopsis: Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his “particular set of skills,” to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now – his daughter.
Movie Review:
To set the record straight, no one gets taken in ‘Taken 3’, a condition that its principal star Liam Neeson laid down before he agreed to return for this third and presumably final instalment. That is perfectly fine with us; after all, how many times can ex-Special Forces operative Bryan Mills find himself having to deploy his very particular set of skills after a member of his family is taken away from him? Indeed, that is not the issue we had with this utterly disappointing third outing, which totally squanders what audience goodwill the first movie had accumulated and its immediate predecessor had not yet depleted.
Produced by French-based EuropaCorp, the Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen-scripted ‘Taken’ was one of the most notable action films in recent memory when it was released back in 2008. Key to its success was Neeson, whose viciously efficient qualities as the former CIA badass were excellent complement to the actor’s natural gravitas and air of gentleman nobility. The inevitable sequel that followed four years later was a letdown to say the least; not only did it slavishly repeat the original’s formula, it toned down the former’s no-holds-barred brutality to make it more accessible to a younger audience, and in the process losing the former’s gritty, visceral, and even transgressive edge.
Unfortunately, fans of the original hoping that the series would go out on a bang will be sorely disappointed to know that ‘Taken 3’ is cast in the same mould as the sequel. There are plenty of gunshots but no sight of blood. There is hand-to-hand combat that plays out more like a playground brawl between teenagers. Even a torture scene that sees Neeson waterboard fellow co-star Dougray Scott is extremely tame in comparison with a similar and brutally memorable one in the first movie, that if one recalls involved the use of electric clamps that Neeson stabbed into his nemesis’ thighs. Not that we relish the portrayal of extreme violence, but ‘Taken 3’ seem to know not the difference between being restrained and being dull.
But the deadened violence isn’t quite the movie’s most critical flaw; that belongs unquestionably to its director Olivier Megaton. A Besson regular since ‘Transporter 3’, Megaton took over the reins from Pierre Morel on ‘Taken 2’ but has apparently learnt nothing from his previous directorial duties. If there was already a worrying ineptness to his ability to craft a proper action sequence in ‘Taken 2’, then this follow-up shows Megaton at his most incompetent.
Clearly influenced by Paul Greengrass’ frenetic shooting of the ‘Bourne’ movies, Megaton insists on flailing handheld camerawork, frantic over-editing and claustrophobic close-ups to ruin every single action sequence in the entire f**king movie (and yes, it is indeed that frustrating to watch). A freeway car chase is reduced to a flurry of close-ups and rapid edits that bear no continuity or coherence. A confrontation in a liquor store between Neeson and some of the Russian mobsters who took his ex-wife’s life is shot in such close-ups it is impossible to make out who is doing what. And worst of all, there is no climax to speak of – not when a shootout between Neeson and another group of Russian mobsters protecting their boss Oleg Malankov (Sam Spruell) is so poorly staged it makes not a single iota of sense, or when a race between a Porsche driven by Neeson and a private plane ends in an collision that takes out the plane’s front wheel but leaves no one hurt.
It is even more infuriating to think that Megaton manages to f**k up every single sequence when there aren’t that many to begin with. Eschewing the simple set-up of the previous two films, Besson and Kamen have instead opted here for a more plot-driven narrative, setting Neeson up against Forest Whitaker’s LAPD Detective Franck Dotzler even while the former hunts down his wife’s killers. That certainly recalls the dynamic between Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones in ‘The Fugitive’, but ‘Taken 3’ is nowhere as smart and Whitaker nowhere near as keen as Jones’ ever was. Though Besson and Kamen’s script opts for double-crosses, hidden agendas and whodunits to keep their audience’s attention, it is quite clear right at the very start just who has been pulling the strings, a mystery that once solved makes the rest of the proceedings unnecessarily protracted.
Not that it actually matters – while Neeson went about methodically tracking down his kidnapped family in the first and second movies, he rarely exhibits the same kind of discipline clearing his name here. Too much time is spent on emotionally hollow character relationships in the first act, i.e. between Bryan and his young adult daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), or between Bryan and his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), or between Bryan and Lenore’s current husband Stuart (Scott), while the second act is equally wasted on Bryan’s strenuous efforts to contact Kim who is placed under the close watch of the LAPD. By the time Bryan actually gets down to investigating, almost everyone involved looks more keen on getting it over and done – none more so than Neeson, who looks tired and completely uninterested from scene to scene.
Perhaps Neeson is all too aware that the ‘Taken’ franchise has completely sputtered out; indeed, ‘Taken 3’ plays almost like a parody of the original movie, which was to action fans a sheer unbridled delight for its realistic stuntwork and hand-to-hand combat. Both these elements are sorely and sadly missing from a movie that can’t even get its priorities right, no thanks to the utter shocking ineptitude of its director. Like we said, no one in the movie gets taken, but little did we know that the title was meant to be a joke on its audience, who are literally taken for a ride here. Spare yourself the agony, frustration and disappointment, and just NOT get on in the first place.
Movie Rating:
(A shockingly disappointing finale to one of the more notable action films in recent years, ‘Taken 3’ is a disgrace to its star Liam Neeson and an appalling display of ineptness by its director Olivier Megaton)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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InnoForm Warehouse SalePosted on 02 Dec 2014 |
Genre: Thriller/Drama
Director: Shim Sung-bo
Cast: Kim Yoon-seok, Park Yu-chun, Han Ye-ri, Moon Sung-keun, Kim Sang-ho, Lee Hee-jun, You Seung-mok
RunTime: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes)
Released By: GV
Official Website:
Opening Day: 16 October 2014
Synopsis: Based on true events, HAEMOO is the story of a group of fishermen who are driven into madness when their attempt to smuggle illegal migrants ends in a horrible tragedy.
Captain Kang - longtime captain of Junjin, a 69-ton fishing vessel - is forced into a corner when the owner of the boat, Choi, decides to take advantage of the government’s buyback program and sell the boat after years of declining catches. The captain is disheartened when he learns that his entire crew is suddenly in danger of losing their livelihood. He is further dismayed when he finds his wife cheating on him with a Korean-Chinese migrant.
Swallowing his pride as a once venerated sea captain, Kang pays a visit to human trafficking broker Yeo. He decides to take on a dangerous job smuggling illegal migrants into South Korea. From then on, the Junjin crew is thrust into the world of smuggling previously unknown to them as naïve fishermen. The crew consists of Wan-Ho, the kindly engineer who lives on the boat to hide from debt collectors; Ho-young, the ship’s second-in-command and the captain’s loyal right-hand man; Kyung-koo, the foul-mouthed drum winch technician who values money over everything; Chang-wook, the slightly dim-witted deckhand who has trouble containing his animal urges; and Dong-sik, the youngest deckhand who was recently brought onboard. The five crew members dream of returning home with a boat full of fish, and they leave port unaware of the captain’s intentions. But they soon realize that their captain has enlisted them in a smuggling run without their knowledge.
The Junjin arrives at the coordinates in the middle of a rainstorm. After a long, agonizing wait, the Chinese vessel finally appears through the choppy waves and begins unloading the Korean-Chinese migrants onto the boat. While most of the migrants make it across, a young woman named Hong Mae hesitates to jump. When she finally musters the courage and jumps, she falls short of the Junjin and plunges into the sea. She begins to lose consciousness in the pitch-black ocean when Dong-sik dives into the water to rescue her. Captain Kang calls him back, but Dongsik defies his order and saves Hong-mae. The migrants are herded onto the open deck, and they shiver from the cold and the harsh, inhumane treatment. Meanwhile, Dong-sik secretly takes Hong-mae to the warm engine room. Hong Mae is initially wary of Dong-sik but gradually opens up and begins to tell her story.
Captain Kang radios Yeo, who asks him to stall in open waters for another day. The migrants begin to stir, and they insist on knowing why the boat has not moved. Driven to the edge by continued complications, Captain Kang quells the unrest by violently assaulting the migrants. Hong-mae asks Dong-sik to save her fellow passengers, and Dong-sik throws himself in front of the captain to stop the savage beating. As tension builds, a dense sea fog envelops the boat, and tragedy unfolds in the mysterious depths of the fog...
Movie Review:
What initially seemed like an innocent intent to keep his cherished old vessel and fellow fishermen, turned out to be one of the most tragic stories…
Haemoo, also known as Sea Fog, is a movie based on true stories revolving a fisherman’s life of strife during the 1990’s IMF financial crisis in South Korea. For the sake of earning some quick money, Captain Kang (played by Kim Yoon-Seok) agreed to an offer to smuggle in Korean-Chinese illegal migrants. And that, led them on to a path of no return.
The movie wastes no slack in introducing the crew on board. They each had a unique personality, and the movie was quite successful in establishing the distinct characters. Subsequently, when the migrants were brought on board the vessel, they too had interactions with the crew which further develops the story.
The human drama is probably one of the greatest draws of the movie. The crew, headed by Captain Kang, struggled to believe that the decision the captain makes is always the best. Their trust for each other, personal beliefs and principles were all put to great test. As it seems, the only way to evade responsibility for an unfortunate mishap pushes them to hysteria.
In the midst of the mental breakdowns, the tension continues to build up and pushes the men to their worst. Even the finest man on board, who seemed to uphold great principles, was forced to his wit’s end, and acted beyond what you could imagine. The human drama also draws attention to Kim Yoon-Seok, who displayed great maturity in handling his role of Captain Kang. He gave some depth and dimension to the character. Park Yu-chun and Han Ye-Ri, who took on the roles of Dong-sik and Hong-Mae, also convincingly and affectively brought out the exasperation and desperation at those difficult times. One of the scenes on Dong-sik and Hong-Mae’s copulation may seem absurd at first, but in fact highlights humans’ need for want to derive the will to live.
The plot development was quite engaging and kept the audiences interested, but not outstanding enough to be impressionable. Towards the end, it also got a little draggy and probably desensitized some of the audiences.
Overall, Haemoo was an affective tale of melancholy and offers an interesting purview of the human nature. Fear and love, though seemingly unrelated, both sets people to go to their extremes.
Movie Rating:
(This melancholic tale offers an interesting purview of the human nature that sets you thinking)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Mari Asato
Cast: Ayami Nakajo, Aoi Morikawa, Fujiko Kojima, Karen Miyama, Kasumi Yamaya, Minori Hagiwara, Yuri Nakamura, Kodai Asaka, Noriko Nakagoshi, Jun Miho
RunTime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: GV
Official Website: ww.encorefilms.com/fatalframe
Opening Day: 23 October 2014
Synopsis: The original game follows a heroine who uses a Camera Obscura that can photograph spirits. She engages with spirits in a dilapidated Japanese-style house and other settings that gave the title (and its many follow-ups) a particular Japanese ambiance. What sets this game apart from other survival-horror games is that instead of running from the ghosts, you have to face your fears head on by taking pictures of them. The most powerful way to banish a ghost is to take a picture of it right before it tries to kill you, hence the name of the series, Fatal Frame. Fatal Frame is set to terrify everyone this fall.
Movie Review:
Fatal Frame is a movie set in missionary girls' high school in an isolated mountainous town. It revolves around a girl named Michi, who seemed to have bewitched the entire girl population with her angelic looks and voice. A curse that is perpetuated by performing a photo-kissing ritual at the zero hour (midnight) has also seemed to have made a comeback. More and more girls fall trap to the 'curse' and disappear at their dormitories. All evidences points back at Michi, who is suspected to be the perpetrator of the curse and the cause of all the misfortunes.
For starters, one of the greatest criticisms for this movie is its weak, or rather, non-existent association with the original horror video game series. Marketing the movie as being 'based on best-selling horror video game' is possibly one of the most leading information. For avid gamers who were curious to find out how this survival game is depicted in the movie, you’ll surely get very disillusioned. This movie heavily focuses on the ‘curse’, that has absolutely no link to challenging the spirits face-to-face and destroying them with the Camera Obscura.
Putting that aside, the story was not particularly impressionable. It attempts at keeping up the suspense by nudging the narrative into new mysteries. Then, lending the power of the curious young girls who were very convicted that the curse should end with them, they eventually unraveled some chilling truths behind the ‘curse’. However, the story development lacked depth and even for the horror aspect, it was nothing near haunting.
The horror aspect of the movie heavily lacked in visual impact. Yes, it’s obvious that the pale looking figure with the death stare is the spirit, but there weren’t any more to that. Adding CGI also backfired as they accented the weakness instead of intensifying the impact. Contrary to the supposedly anticipated horror impact, some of the scenes were so nonsensical they come across as laughable.
As it turns out, Fatal Frame has abandoned the entire survival game concept to give focus on the lesbian fantasy and sisterly ties. Neither impressionable on the horror nor the drama, Fatal Frame is one easily forgotten entry. And so, what’s so fatal about it anyway?
Movie Rating:
(Dull and uninteresting. How is it fatal? That it kills all interest and curiosity for the movie)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
Genre: Comedy
Director: Sean Anders
Cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Some Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: http://horriblebosses2.com
Opening Day: 27 November 2014
Synopsis: Fed up with answering to higher-ups, Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) decide to become their own bosses by launching their own business in "Horrible Bosses 2." But a slick investor soon pulls the rug out from under them. Outplayed and desperate, and with no legal recourse, the three would-be entrepreneurs hatch a misguided plan to kidnap the investor's adult son and ransom him to regain control of their company.
Movie Review:
Horrible Bosses 2 is the sequel to the 2011 black comedy film Horrible Bosses. The film retains the comedic trio Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day), who have now become entrepreneurs with their new invention, “The Shower Buddy”. They get a call from Rex Hanson (Chris Pine) from Boulder Stream, who is interested in distributing their product. Boulder Stream is the retail giant owned by Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz), a self-made man who believes in the American dream. Rex is Bert’s scoundrel son who earlier tries to intimidate the trio into selling their product exclusively to Boulder Stream for a one-time cut. Much to Rex’s dismay, Burt steps in to help and his honesty charms Nick, Kurt and Dale. They immediately get to work, producing a large order of The Shower Buddy for Bert. Plot twist – Bert turns out to be a greater villain. He cancels their order, leaving the trio on the verge of bankruptcy. Since murder didn’t exactly work out the last time, Nick, Kurt and Dale seek help from their old pal, MotherF***** Jones (Jamie Foxx), to kidnap Rex for ransom. How the trio manages to pull off the worst kidnapping plan ever makes up the rest of the film.
Being a fan of the first installment of Horrible Bosses, the expectations for the sequel were set high. The first film’s clever use of black comedy and the authentic chemistry between Bateman, Sudeikis and Day made Horrible Bosses a hilarious film that we enjoyed immensely. In the sequel, the male leads attempt to start and end strong. The trio has an undeniable comedic chemistry and they hold the film together. Charlie Day ] was particularly impressive in the sequel and again overshadowed most of the main cast. For some unfortunate reason, Sudeikis’s Kurt was made dumber than his character in the first installment. Sudeikis had to rely on tired jokes or slapstick comedy to pull off his role in the trio. This made for some forced and painfully stale jokes in the early half of the film, letting down many fans of the first film. However, the second half of the film proved to be a non-stop comedy fest. The trio kept up perfect comedy timing that entertained the audience, where one could even look past the messy and reprehensible plot. The scripted car chase with Jamie Foxx was the comedic highlight of the film, where the cast worked hand in hand to create a series of perfectly timed jokes that left the audience laughing till the end of the film. There are also some clever laughs as the film subtly pokes fun at the new “American Dream”, which is now made in China.
However, one could argue that the laughs in Horrible Bosses 2 ultimately paled in comparison to its predecessor. There was an overuse of offensive humor that made the audience feel slightly uncomfortable. Jennifer Aniston’s role was reduced to an unfunny sex-maniac/rapist and her purpose in the film was non-existent. This was just one of the many examples of the misuse of the star-studded cast available to Sean Anders and the writers of the film. Kevin Spacey reprised his role as David Harken, Nick’s original horrible boss, and was responsible for some of the best laughs in the film. Unfortunately, Spacey’s role was also condensed and he only made a couple of cameo appearances in the film. We also got to see Christoph Waltz as Bert and most were excited at his introduction. The veteran is well known for his wit and humor outside of Hollywood, and of course his incredible acting abilities as seen on his most recent critically acclaimed hit - Django Unchained. The sequel’s biggest letdown is the criminal under-use of Waltz, as his role was reduced to a few minutes on screen and didn’t even add much oomph to the plot.
There were new, welcome additions to the Horrible Bosses 2 cast – Chris Pine. While Pine is mostly known for his work in the reboot of Star Trek, his work in comedy include the black theatre comedy The Lieutenant of Inishmore and the commercial comedy This Means War with Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon. We were pleasantly surprised at Pine’s natural knack for humor and his ability to keep up with the main cast. Chris Pine proved his acting prowess in Horrible Bosses 2, and we couldn’t be happier.
Overall, Horrible Bosses 2 was a step-down from its predecessor, but it still manages to make room for some great laughs for everyone. It could have lived up to its predecessor’s success if it had made the same, if not greater use of its incredible cast.
Movie Rating:
(It may not be as great as its predecessor, but Horrible Bosses 2 gives us some memorable laughs and a good time)
Review by Aishwarya Kumar
Genre: Comedy
Director: Luke Greenfield
Cast: Damon Wayans Jr., Jake Johnson, Andy Garcia, Nina Dobrev, James D'Arcy, Keegan Michael Key, Rob Riggle
RunTime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Nudity, Drug Use and Coarse Language)
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Official Website: http://www.letsbecops.com
Opening Day: 22 October 2014
Synopsis: It's the ultimate buddy cop movie except for one thing: they're not cops. When two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume party, they become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted “heroes” get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line.
Movie Review:
A title like this pretty much says it all, and indeed this isn’t the kind of movie that leaves much to the imagination. Yes, this farcical take on a buddy-cop comedy has down-on-their-luck roommates Ryan (Jake Johnson), a failed football player, and Justin (Damn Wayans Jr), a video game designer, embrace the empowerment of the uniform after attending what they think is a costume party (the invite said “masquerade”) dressed as cops. To be sure, it doesn’t just stop at the uniform; Ryan purchases an authentic looking police car on e-Bay, such that they aren’t just walking the beat but also cruising on patrol.
Straight off, we can tell you that our law enforcement friends won’t be too happy with just how easy and casual Ryan and Justin impersonate authority, but such political in-correctness is a given if you’re going to sit through this raucous buffoonery. From intervening in a domestic dispute between shrieking women to getting his face shoved in between the legs of a naked 350-pound male thief in a break-in, ‘Let’s Be Cops’ coasts on an endless stream of hijinks leading up to an action-packed climax that stars Andy Garcia as the chief villain – and if you haven’t already guessed that their misadventure will turn them from fake to real cops, then you may find yourself a little more engaged than we were.
As it is, we were hardly impressed when Justin’s get-up scores him the attention of a waitress (Nina Dobrev) he’s been trying to catch, who is in turn also mixed up with a gang of Russian mobsters led by the psychopath Mossi (James D’Arcy) that they eventually go up against. And at this point, we might as well tell you that Garcia plays their criminal overlord in typical over-the-top fashion, his appearance alone probably worth more than his actual performance in the movie. As scripted by helmer Luke Greenfield and Nicholas Thomas, it is pretty much a straight shot from start to end, which in less gentle terms, just speaks of lazy plotting.
But predictability isn’t the movie’s fatal misstep; instead, what truly frustrates is how the duo fail to exploit their already anarchic premise for sharper laughs. Rather than a satire on cop culture from within, what we get are lame bits like kids swearing and recurrent shots of skanky women dancing provocatively in bars, at parties and even on her very own couch in the living room. The gags are tired and the laughs shallow, leaving instead Johnson and Wayans to do the heavy lifting with their improvisational exchanges.
Thankfully, the pair do share a comedic spark, honed no doubt from their work together on the sitcom ‘New Girl’. Their easy rapport helps a lot of the cringe-worthy scenes go down easier, and supporting players like Keegan-Michael Key (of “Key & Peele”) as a dreadlocked Dominican henchman and Rob Riggle (of ‘The Hangover’) as a real police officer help to up the fun quotient. There are gifted performers assembled here, but they are given way too little to work on in a film that is content to simply coast on their likeable down-to-earth appeal than devise its own measure of inspired ingenuity.
Ultimately, this is a film that ends up nowhere. It isn’t bold enough to take advantage of its nihilistic premise, which in itself, risks being ill-conceived by suggesting that the uniform in blue and its concomitant authority be taken lightly. Unless you’re here for Johnson or Wayans, there is little this dull and disposable comedy offers. Yes, you’ll be better off hanging around 21 or 22 Jump Street than this pair of losers.
Movie Rating:
(As disposable as buddy-cop comedies have become in Hollywood, this role-playing romp with a lazy script and unfunny gags gets along purely by its stars’ likeable appeal)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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