Genre: Comedy
Director: Meng Ong
Cast: Mark Lee, Sandra Ng, Jim Chim, Wang Po-Chieh, Kenji Fitzgerald, Keane Chan
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 20 November 2014
Synopsis: Neurotic ex-singer MRS WU hires 11-year-old spirit medium BOY and his single father MASTER WONG as highly recommended but highly unusual matchmakers, tasked to find a wife for her dead teenage son, PENG. Using an old Chinese matchmaking ritual, the three of them embark on the search for a perfect bride. However, the situation becomes challenging when they move from place to place and yet, the right bride cannot be found. Apparently PENG had died a mysterious death and he could be un-rested. When the search takes on an unexpected turn, MASTER WONG insists that the match is legitimate but MRS WU strongly disagrees. BOY begins to wonder if the ritual is bogus and if they are phony mediums. At the same time, BOY is facing problems in school. As MRS WU charges head on to organize an elaborate wedding banquet for PENG, the fight between her and MASTER WONG escalates. But as the clock ticks closer to the ghost wedding, who will the “bride” be? At the wedding, MRS WU encounters one problem after another as all Chinese ghost wedding hell starts to break loose. As secrets are revealed, it turns into a fantastic night of shocking revelations and both families are forced to face up to the lies they have all been living with. But will they be able to overcome their own limiting beliefs to come to terms with their loved ones and most importantly, their own personal truths?
Movie Review:
As much as ‘A Fantastic Ghost Wedding’ has been sold as a crowd-pleasing comedy, it really isn’t very funny at all. Yes, those looking for the kind of broad laughs in the vein of Hong Kong comedian Sandra Ng’s ‘All’s Well Ends Well’ or our very own Mark Lee’s ‘Money No Enough’ series will probably come off disappointed, because there are few singularly hilarious laugh-out-loud moments to be found here. But that doesn’t mean you should simply dismiss this first pairing between Ng and Lee, for what it lacks in terms of humour, it sure makes up for in thoughtfulness and poignancy.
Credit that to Meng Ong’s script, based upon his own story, which deals with the themes of love, loss and letting go with (pleasantly) surprising nuance. This is one of those movies where the synopsis doesn’t do it any justice, because though it is ostensibly about a father-son medium pair (played by Lee and newcomer Keane Chan) helping a grieving mother (Ng) to find a wife for her deceased son in the afterlife, there is so much more about Ng’s relationship with her son or Lee’s own with his Boy and their parallels that a simple one-paragraph description cannot quite fully articulate.
That said, aside from the initial meet-greet (arising from a recommendation from Marcus Chin’s shopowner of paper offerings for the dead) and a montage of sequences thereafter of the ritual proper, Ng and Lee don’t share the screen as much as one may have expected. Instead, Ong, who also directs the movie, divides Ng’s time threeways – one, between her and her husband (Jim Chim) whom she has grown increasingly distant from since their son’s death; two, visions of her and her son in the afterlife against nicely CG-ed backdrops of paper bungalows, cars, and even an aeroplane; and finally between her and Lee’s Master Wong, whom she largely regards as no more than a conman.
On the other hand, Lee balances his time with Ng against that with his own son alone, as Ong portrays how their unconventional trade has come at the expense of Boy’s friendships with his classmates (who shun him for being someone who consorts with ghosts) as well as that of his time needed for homework and preparing for examinations. Boy also gets to come to terms with a mother he never knew, in particular through a heart-breaking sequence which sees him try to summon his mother’s spirit in order to communicate with her, only to have his own belief in the existence of ghosts challenged when she doesn’t show up (for good reason, we may add).
That is a lot to go on for a 97-minute movie, and the fact that Ong manages to develop each of these overlapping but largely separate plotlines is praise-worthy in itself. Each of them coalesce beautifully around the central themes mentioned earlier, and it is towards the end when we see Ong tying them all together for a climax built on a wedding ceremony between the living and the dead that we fully comprehend Ong’s intention for the movie as a whole. In Ng and Lee’s relationships with their children, and in that of how Ng and Chan deal with the absence of a loved one, Ong meditates on how our tendencies to dictate the way that we love, whether is it by clinging on to the ones we love or freeing them from the confines of our biases and mindsets, ultimately makes not just us miserable but also the very people we love.
What few commentators have touched upon, but what we feel deserves special mention here, is its delicate handling of a possibly homosexual relationship between Ng’s son Peng (Wang Po-Chieh) and Ryan (Kenji Fitzgerald). At the expense of spoiling one of the many surprises of the movie, let’s just say that it isn’t any coincidence that the person who picks up the diamond ring which Peng’s mother offers to find his bride is this white-skinned fellow at the exact spot of his death, and what comes after is testament to Ong’s maturity as a director and perhaps one of the most subtle treatment we have seen of a potentially controversial – but no less relevant – subject in a local movie.
It is befitting then that, although Ng and Lee are known for their ‘mo lei tau’ personalities in other movies, both actors have toned down their more outright comedic sensibilities here. Ng doesn’t overplay her character’s neuroticism; instead, she easily wins empathy for her gentle portrayal of a mother who is forced, after his death, to come to terms with just how domineering she has been with her son all along. Lee also has good chemistry with Chan, who is also forced to recognise that his blind insistence that his son follow in the footsteps of the family’s ‘medium’ business has made him unable to communicate with his son and at risk of losing the Boy altogether. Ng has good banter with both Lee and Chim, and the choice of casting a Hong Kong actor next to Ng as her husband is an inspired one that makes for a more natural delivery in the former’s native Cantonese tongue.
To say that we were surprised by how much we enjoyed ‘A Fantastic Ghost Wedding’ is an understatement. Indeed, this is one of the very best local films of the year that boasts a multi-layered yet well-developed script, solid direction (without any of the glaring continuity errors we so often see), and engaging performances from a regional cast – most significantly to us, it tackles several complex subjects with confidence, thoughtfulness and nuance. No matter really that it isn’t as funny as it has tried to sell itself to be, because it is in refusing to be built on such easier and forgettable pleasures that it manages to be something truly moving and compelling in its own right.
Movie Rating:
(Forgoing easy laughs, this moving and surprisingly thoughtful meditation on love, loss and letting go is one of the best local films this year)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: So Boring (Wong Cho-Lam), a nobody who often speaks in an abrupt manner, considers himself being underappreciated. He has neither career satisfaction nor warmth from family, to top it up, he even makes wrong friends. His good friend Andy-D whose aimless loyalty always gets him into trouble which often embroils Wing. Despite all the negativity, Wing has a gentle and virtuous childhood sweetheart, Bobo Chung, who always comforts him when he is dejected. Wing receives a weird text message one day, saying: Ever thought of deleting those you dislike? On Wing’s birthday, Fat Ma fires him with some ridiculous reasons, Wing is aggrieved by the event and accidentally kills Fat Ma in the quarrel. He moves the body to the car park and puts it in the boot of Fat Ma’s car. Wing returns to the office and finds Bobo and his colleagues throwing him a surprise birthday party. Wing is confused when everyone addresses him Boss Ma. Wing sneaks to take a look in the boot, where he finds it empty! As the story continues, how would Wing use this incredible superpower to change his life? Will Wing live a perfect life happily ever after?
MOVIE REVIEW:
A slight departure from his usual outputs, prolific HK writer director Patrick Kong’s (A Secret Between Us, Mr & Mrs Single) latest comedy is filled with an unexplained fantasy element that ultimately fails to rival even the worst of Wong Jing’s effort.
Rising TV actor and comedian Wong Cho-Lam plays So Boring, a nobody working as a marketing exec who suddenly realize he possessed the ability to DELETE anyone he detest. And the long list include his bastard of a boss (Michael Hui), his obnoxious mum (Yuen Qiu), his so called best friend, Andy Lau (Alex Fong) and his kind-hearted, dim-witted girlfriend of sorts, Bo (Ivana Wong).
To his credit, Kong does have a certain flair for comedy but he needs a co-writer and a co-director to uplift this mediocre material. Maybe a couple more sessions of rewrite would be better. To be honest, nobody in the HK film industry has yet achieve the heights of Wong Jing and Kong’s nonsensical brand of comedy only turned out to be irritable than rib tickling. Take for instance, the character of So Boring’s roly-poly assistance whom for no reason always attempts to to act and talk cute while the frequent digs at TV station ATV and Fong’s awkward impersonation of Andy Lau only served to prove the material is fast running out of gas.
I’m not one of those who find Wong Cho-Lam annoying in fact Wong can be funny under the right circumstances and material. But with a pretty weak opening and Wong’s comic timing not in check, the 103 minutes comedy took almost an eternity to take off. Even old-timer Michael Hui seems lethargic playing the same old mean-boss-character after a long screen absence.
Nevertheless, things do brighten a little after So Boring develops his powers through text messages! His godawful boss turned into everyone’s favourite half-angmoh Michael Wong while his mum became Nancy Sit and his best friend is now Robert Downey Jr’s doppelganger, musician Eric Kwok. Even if you don’t find Kong’s scripting entertaining at least the numerous cameos and cast do help liven things up!
Kong has the tendency to inject some preachy stuff into his movies and Delete My Love has some life lessons to learn from especially a teary segment about true love and a haphazard last act that wrapped the entire deletion affair. Wong Cho-Lam is definitely not the next Stephen Chow and Kong not the next Wong Jing in line. With that being the case, you can safely skipped Delete My Love.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Delete My Love boasts a Mandarin and Cantonese 5.1 soundtrack though it hardly has any use for it. Visual is bright and images respectable for TV viewing.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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"KUNG FU JUNGLE" IS THE FIRST ASIAN FILM TO TOP THE LOCAL WEEKEND BOX OFFICE CHART THIS YEAR!Posted on 03 Nov 2014 |
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WARNER BROS. DATES 'THE CONJURING 2' FOR JUNE 10, 2016Posted on 12 Nov 2014 |
SYNOPSIS: After a war to take back the earth ends in earth becoming an off-limits area for all, a coalition called the Gaia Coalition rules the universe with an iron grip. However, one man dares to defy the coalition and attempt to overthrow the oppressor. Based on the manga and hit anime series, Space Captain Harlock is back in a new feature film from writer Fukui Harutoshi (Mobile Gundam UC) and director Aramaki Shinji (Appleseed). Using the original characters and setting (including the spaceship Arcadia), the film features a new story that offers a fresh take on this familiar tale of rebellion and adventure. One of the most expensive Japanese films ever with a budget of US$30 million, Space Pirate Captain Harlock features state-of-the-art animation that combines computer animation and motion capture technology.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Before Captain Sparrow, there’s already Captain Harlock, a famous Japanese anime character which was created by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto back in the 70’s. While he is generally not as well-known as Captain America locally, Harlock is apparently pretty big in his heydays.
Essentially serving as a reboot or retelling of the character, Space Pirate Captain Harlock is a US$30 million production by Toei Animation, quite a substantial sum consider how limited the crowd this title is going to appeal to.
In the far far away future, Earth is shrouded by dark matter and the human race is on the decline. The universe is controlled by the powerful Gaia Federation and only the fearless, immortal Captain Harlock and his crew members in his imposing looking spaceship, Arcadia is not afraid to go against them. Logan the brother of Ezra who served as Commander of the Gaia fleet is tasked to infiltrate Arcadia to await for a chance to assassinate Captain Harlock.
Just in case you are not aware, the story written by Harutoshi Fukui and Kiyoto Takeuchi has a complex opening, backstory and setting. Despite that, it contains plenty of clichéd and tired elements, stuff which you probably have seen countless times before. Rebels fighting for a noble cause, siblings falling for the same girl, plenty of techie talk and the actions of an anti-hero make up the tiresome two hours duration.
Aside from the perplexing story, Shinji Aramaki of Appleseed fame successfully concocted an outstanding visually rich movie using the latest motion capture CG technology. The production took a staggering five years to complete and every single CG detail from the spaceships to the costumes and appearance of the characters are almost flawless if you compare this to The Polar Express. Nevertheless, a decade has passed and technology has improved leaps and bounds, Space Pirate Captain Harlock is a shining example of stunning visuals.
If you are not a strict, diehard fan of Captain Harlock’s space adventures, this timely reboot of the classic character is a passable CG sci-fi flick that boasts some exciting large scale battles and incredible animation. Those used to high-end videogames liked Halo and Final Fantasy however might not be impressed by this reboot effort.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The superb visual and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is a blast both pleasing to the eyes and packed a wallop for the ears.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Animation
Director: Mark Burton, Richard Starzack
Cast: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Andy Nyman, Omid Djalili, Richard Webber, Kate Harbour, Nick Park
Runtime: 1 hr 25 mins
Rating: G
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://shaunthesheep.com/movie
Opening Day: 19 February 2015
Synopsis: When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he baa-rgained for! Shaun’s mischief accidentally causes the Farmer to be taken away from the farm, so it’s up to Shaun and the flock to travel to the Big City to rescue him. Will Shaun find the Farmer in the strange and unfamiliar world of the City before he’s lost forever?
Movie Review:
There are absolutely no pre-requisites to enjoy a show like Shaun the Sheep the Movie. After all, it’s the latest brainchild from Aardman Animation, the company behind Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit.
Let’s start with a little history about Shaun before we delve further, shall we? Shaun the Sheep was originally a minor supporting character from the Wallace & Gromit television series but it became so popular that it had his own spin-off bite-size series. And now the unusually bright sheep with a flair for drawing (not necessarily the biggest in terms of size) has his very own full-length feature. Not bad for a virtually non-verbal character.
Free from the shackles of a big Hollywood studio like DreamWorks (the dreaded Flushed Away) and Sony Animation (the tedious CGI Arthur Christmas), Aardman is back doing what they do best in this often-hilarious adventure. Directed and co-written by Mark Burton (Gnomeo & Juliet), Shaun and his fellow sheep mates are tired of the mundane life at the farm and decide to have a “day off”. Of course, the plan went awry with the farmer ending up with amnesia in the big city. And now it’s up to Shaun, his gang of woolly friends and the farmer’s loyal dog, Bitzer, to save the day - provided they are not round up by the big bad containment officer, A. Trumper.
Even with the advancement of technology over the decades, Shaun the Sheep the Movie remains painstakingly low-tech (stop-motion being a manual labour-intensive process etc), which reminds us why we fall in love with the exquisite craft in the first place. A small facial gesture might take weeks to create in the studio and it’s all the more remarkable to watch them displayed endearingly on the big screen.
With original founders, Nick Park and Peter Lord sitting it out this round, the picture continues to deliver a handsome amount of fun gags and goofiness in the grand tradition of Aardman. For example, a delightful, laugh-out-loud sequence takes place in a fancy French restaurant and a sinister looking dog pound inhibited probably by the city’s most menacing animals. There’s also a nice, memorable music sequence - the hilarious baa-bershop quartet. Bear in mind there’s absolutely no celebrity voices - just grunts and growls and the occasional pop songs. In other words, it’s a very visual thing for the audience and somehow it works wonder for the entire 85 minutes.
Aardman Animation might have a close competitor in recent years - their American counterpart, Laika Animation, that is responsible for stop-motion hits such as Coraline, ParaNorman and Boxtrolls. Laika stuff, while not necessarily weaker, just happens to be slightly darker. However, Aardman’s titles are instantly charming in the way they handle the characters and infectious humour, very Mr Bean-like and perfect for everyone in the family. At the end, who wouldn’t mind a whimsical claymation full of British wit.
Movie Rating:
(Irresistibly cute and inventive, Aardman raises the baa once more!)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Drama
Director: Peter Chan
Cast: Vicki Zhao, Huang Bo, Tong Dawei, Hao Lei, Zhang Yi, Zhu Dongxu, Yiqing, Kitty Zhang, Zhang Guoqiang
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 20 November 2014
Synopsis: Following 3 years of unrelenting search, Tian Wenjun and ex-wife Lu Xiaojuan finally locate their abducted son in a remote village. After the boy was violently taken away from the village, the heartbroken foster mother Li Hongqin goes on a lone journey to get him (and her other child) back.
Movie Review:
Peter Chan is one of this reviewer’s favourite filmmakers. The 51 year old manages to strike a very nice balance between commerce and art in his works. He has directed some notable movies which defined Hong Kong’s film industry in the 1990s, including Tom, Dick and Hairy (1993), He’s a Woman, She’s a Man (1994) and Comrades, Almost A Love Story (1996). In recent years, his Perhaps Love (2005) and The Warlords (2007) are so dramatically engaging, you’d ponder how much of reel life reflects real life. Besides directing, the Hong Kongborn has also produced films like Golden Chicken (2002) and Protégé (2007).
In his latest work, the respected filmmaker shows us how great a storyteller he is. Based on a true story, we begin the film with the child of divorced parents (Huang Bo and Hao Lei) accidentally going missing. The father goes on a painstaking search dodging frauds and joining a support group dedicated to give strength to parents of lost children. When the child is found years later, he has been brought up by a woman in a village (Vicki Zhao) and has gotten used to knowing her as his mother. To make matters more complex, the woman has another child who was abandoned and who was also brought up by her. How will this melodrama end?
The 123 minute film is actually two intertwined stories. The first half is about the child’s parents, who are victims, going after the villain. In the second half, the “villain” turns out to be even a bigger victim. This gives us an insight into life and the duality of things - you can’t really judge and simply classify who the victims and villains are in today’s complicated society.
The highest draw about this production is how emotionally involving the story is. The twists and turns of the screenplay written by Zhang Ji (who wrote Chan’s last film American Dreams in China) are well balanced and calculated and make the tale very gripping on an entertaining level as well. It may be inappropriate to use the term “entertaining” on an issue as grim as child abduction, but this is indeed a social problem that is increasingly of concern.
The film impresses with its ugly vision of child abduction in contemporary China. You get to see how Chinese urbanites, broadcasting their pleas for any information about their children on TV and the Internet, get inundated by hundreds of calls from people who all claim they can help as long as they are paid first — with some even passing off other kids as the lost child. It is also interesting to see how the filmmakers showing how social media helps spread info to help a hopeless parent in his search.
The film’s production values are commendable: you see the camera lingering on irrelevant details like neighborhood cats looking lost in the gutter, chewing gum stuck to an overhead power line and teenagers arguing in the Internet café. The masterful Chan uses these elements to set up his story, and succeeds greatly.
He also has a very capable cast to work with. Huang (Crazy Stone, Black & White: The Dawn of Justice), Hao (SummerPalace, The Golden Era) and Zhao (Mulan, Painted Skin: The Resurrection) deliver pitch perfect performances. Supporting roles played by Tong Dawei, Zhang Yi and Kitty Zhang will also tug at your heartstrings, making this one of the most memorable Asian films in 2014.
Movie Rating:
(Not only does the film tell an intricate story on child abduction, it is an excellent look at social prejudices in China, making it one of the best works we have seen in 2014)
Review by John Li
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QUENTIN TARANTINO FINALISES CAST OF NEXT FILM HATEFUL EIGHTPosted on 07 Nov 2014 |
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