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Genre: Romance/Mystery
Director: Isao Yukisada
Cast: Haruma Miura, Cecilia Liu Shi Shi, Chang Hsiao-Chuan
Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: http://www.facebook.com/encorefilms

Opening Day: 4 December 2014

Synopsis: “Five Minutes to Tomorrow” is a romantic mystery that depicts the sadness of lost souls. It depicts the lives of a pair of identical twin sisters who are in love with the same man, and a man who lives his life according to a clock that is set five minutes late. Halfway through this film, the twin sisters get into an accident while on holiday, and only one survives. But is the woman that returns to her lover the right twin? What if they have switched places? As the protagonist’s suspicion grows, the film turns into a mystery in the vein of Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”. The concept behind this mystery ? the trials and tribulations of a heart that loves someone ? is what the greatest love stories are made of.

Movie Review:

Five Minutes to Tomorrow is the latest work by award winning Japanese director, Isao Yukisada. The movie is loosely based on the novel series, Five Minutes to Tomorrow Side A & B. The entire backdrop of the movie was shifted to Shanghai and hence the movie is entirely delivered in Mandarin. It is also Isao’s first attempting at directing a movie in his non-native language.

The story is about a pair of identical twin sisters, Ruo Lan and Ru Mei (both played by Cecilia Liu) who have been switching roles since young. Ruo Lan then had a fateful encounter at the pool with Ah Liang (played by Haruma Miura), a watch repairman from Japan. Their relationship gradually develops romantically as Ah Liang starts to know more about Ruo Lan and her perplexing relationship with her twin sister Ru Mei. To add on to the web of relationships, Tian Lun (played by Joseph Chang) is Ru Mei’s romantic interest, who was actually a guy that Ruo Lan first took interest in.

These sisters have the same face, but have different personalities and lead very different lives. On a getaway trip with just the both of them, one of them got killed in an accident and that’s when the mystery kicked in. While the novel’s focus is on the male protagonist, the movie’s focus was much more on the pair of twin sisters. The movie was slow moving and took a long time before it brought us to the turning point. If you could recall Isao’s award winning work, “Crying out love, from the Centre of the Earth”, the pacing is just about similar. The movie also makes use of many several flashbacks, drawing references to the opening scene when they were younger which further thickens the mystery. Is the surviving one only simply cheating herself to believe that she is Ru Mei?

No doubt, the movie has got an excellent lineup of actors and actress. There’s Taiwanese actor Joseph Chang (lead of popular TV drama Drunken to Love You), Japanese actor Miura Haruma (recently casted as lead for live-action Attack on Titan movie), and Chinese actress Cecilia Liu (aka Liu Shi Shi; lead actress of highly rated Chinese drama Scarlet Heart – Bu Bu Jing Xin). In particular, Cecilia Liu has indeed shown sophistication in her acting as she handled the roles of the twin sisters well. However, it was a pity that there wasn’t enough room for both Haruma MIiura and Joseph Chang to truly demonstrate their full potential. It felt like their characters were rather confined, as though on a ball and chain.

In terms of the story development, there was no significant peak although it progressed. There was no breakthrough or great revelation to the mystery that could make the cut. Regarding the couples’ romance, it also didn’t quite hit the bull’s eye. In fact, in one scene that involved Ruo Lan and Ah Liang, the mood was just climbing and then got cut to a disconnected scene. It was probably intentional because it happened more than once, but it was jarring and didn’t do any good to the movie overall.

While Five Minutes to Tomorrow is touted to be a Japanese director’s first to have wide theatrical release in China over 4000 screens and was well received, it probably wouldn’t do as well in our local and Japanese ticket box office (FYI, Singapore has it first even before Japan, which is scheduled to release on 27 Dec 2014). The overarching themes on identity and time can be timeless (pun intended) and foolproof, but it takes more than what this film has to offer to make it a memorable one.

Movie Rating:

(Patiently waited for the movie to take flight, but it never really did. Mystery unresolved)

Review by Tho Shu Ling

Genre: Thriller
Director: Brad Anderson
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Kingsley, Michael Caine
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://www.stonehearstasylum.com/

Opening Day: 20 November 2014

Synopsis: When Edward (Jim Sturgess), a young doctor fresh out of college, arrives at Stonehearst Asylum in search of an apprentice position, he is warmly welcomed by the superintendent, Dr Lamb (Ben Kingsley) and his “staff”, including Finn (David Thewlis) and a mesmerising woman by the name of Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale). Edward is intrigued by Lamb’s modern methods until a series of unusual events lead him to make a horrifying discovery, exposing Lamb’s utopia and proving that nobody is who or what they appear to be.

Movie Review:

Drawing inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe’s short story ‘The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether’, the Victorian-era psychological thriller ‘Stonehearst Asylum’ poses an intriguing ‘what if’ scenario. Indeed, what if the loonies at a mental institution become the ones running the show? That is what the young dewy-eyed doctor fresh out of Oxford, Edward (Jim Sturgess), comes to discover as he arrives on a snowy Christmas Eve at the titular madhouse in a remote corner of England way up in the hilly countryside.

Instead of a Dr Benjamin Salt in charge of the grounds, Edward finds the enigmatic superintendent Dr Silas Lamb (Ben Kingsley) calling the shots. Under Dr Lamb’s administration, the doors of the patients’ rooms have been unlocked, leaving them free to roam the premises. Dinners also resemble a big family gathering, with much (loony) fun and conviviality to be had around pre-meal cocktails and subsequently a huge table in the main hall where the food is served. Gone are the prison food trays – and more significantly the ethically questionable methods of straitjackets and deprivation – that used to be part of Dr Salt’s “treatment” programmes.

But Edward seems really more concerned about one particular resident, a certain Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale), whom we meet briefly at the start when she is trotted out by Brendan Gleeson’s Alienist (as psychiatrists were called in that day) in front of a bunch of medical students to illustrate the symptoms of those suffering from ’hysteria’. When Edward meets Eliza, she is playing the piano beautifully, although the same adjective can be said of her looks, which immediately have Edward mesmerised. By the time Edward insists on saving Eliza even before he contemplates freeing Dr Salt and the rest of the rightful caretakers locked up in the basement, you know that there is something much more to his attraction for her.

Though undoubtedly drawing from Poe’s source material, screenwriter Joseph Gangemi does devise a number of exciting plot turns that do not deviate from the more scientifically-driven themes of the film. Indeed, while our immediate sympathies lie with Dr Salt and his cohort, we learn that they are no saints either, keen to perpetuate the unenlightened practices of the past with nary a care for the humanity or wellbeing of their patients. But just as we think Dr Lamb might be Dr Salt’s complement, the former trots out his proud invention of electroshock therapy to challenge conventional thinking of it as a brutal (but brief) means to a humane end. It’s no secret that psychiatry has gone through a revolution in the past century, and it is admirable that the film doesn’t lose a clear-eye on the nuanced subject.

Not to worry though, director Brad Anderson keeps the psychological mumbo-jumbo brief while guiding the narrative along with an assured hand, ensuring that the theories do not bog down the storytelling. There is certainly a lot happening at the same time, and a lot of questions to be answered. Just who is Silas, and what is his psychosis? Is Eliza really ‘sick’, or is she a victim of circumstance? What about the loose-screw groundskeeper Mickey Finn (David Thewlis), who may be even more unhinged than his master Silas? And just where exactly do Edward’s motivations lie? Anderson keeps the mood tense and mystifying, and it is his accomplishment that the movie pulses with Hitchcockian intrigue and dense thrilling atmosphere.

Beckinsale may be top-billed, but the show belongs to Sturgess and two other British veterans – Kingsley and Caine. Sturgess holds our sympathies as he tries to stay one step ahead of his pseudo-captors, even through Beckinsale’s tendency to over-act in order to compensate for the somewhat one-dimensional writing of her character. There is also much fun to be had in seeing Kingsley and Caine go toe-to-toe, the former projecting a compelling air of gravitas while the latter an aptly more low-key but no less persuasive complement. You’ll also be pleasantly surprised at the stellar ensemble Anderson has also lined up – including a menacingly good Thewlis, a smarmy Gleeson and a nutty Jason Flemyng – evidently drawn by the top-drawer British cast which lend the movie a rare air of prestige.

It’s not often we describe a movie as classy, but Anderson accomplishes that with a gripping yet thoughtful script from Gangemi, solid performances from a inimitable cast and some handsome widescreen lensing by Tom Yatsko. Poe will no doubt be pleased by the film’s thick gothic air, and everyone who loves a good mystery that keeps you guessing till the very end will be in for a real treat.

Movie Rating:

(Absorbing and atmospheric, this Victorian-era psychological thriller is both classy period fare and twisty Hitchcockian mystery at the same time)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Pete Docter
Cast: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: http://movies.disney.sg/inside-out

Opening Day: 27 August 2015

Synopsis: Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley's main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

Movie Review:

It would be a sin not to give praise to any title produced by Pixar Animation Studios. So here it is: this new film has already reserved its place in the Top 10 Movies of 2015 for this reviewer.

More importantly, the 3D computer animated comedy gave this writer a revelation of why he is perceivably upset all the time – there’s always been talk about how our brains are compartmentalised, and how there are different elements in there which cause our different emotions. A group of geniuses have finally found a way to explain this to both adults and kids. While parents can be thankful they need not come up with lame stories to educate their children, kids can also get an inkling of how emotions come in place to define their personalities.

Director and co writer Pete Doctor (Up) first developed this movie after noticing changes in his daughter’s character as she grew older. To legitimise things, the film producers sought opinions from psychologists, added their own magic touch and voila – an unmissable animated film is born.

The story’s human protagonist is a young girl whose world turns upside down when she moves from Minnesotato San Francisco. What used to be a happy, high spirited girl began turning into a sad, angry teenager. Enter the little voices in her head: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. So it turns out that these adorably animated beings are the ones controlling her emotions, and how her seemingly difficult life changing event will be the backdrop for us to realise how all emotions, whether perceivably positive or negative, each has a critical role to play in shaping who we are.

Masses will have an enjoyable time watching this 94 minute movie, which contains laughs, adventure and drama. One doesn’t doubt the Pixar’s animation standards, and the artists are not going to disappoint this time. Viewers will get to venture into the colourful realms of the human mind, visit lands that one can only imagine about, and plunge to the scary depths of a mental wasteland. A good visual storyteller can engage audiences through the brilliance of pictures, and this movie is a fine testament to that.

And those who are familiar with Pixar’s work will have a great time spotting Easter eggs (who needs Marvel’s in jokes when you have more intelligent references from Pixar?)

On a larger picture, this movie is smart, inventive and a timely reminder of how we will eventually grow out of what we may once hold dear, and how deep in some corner of our minds reside parts of our lives which might have meant so much to us decades before. Then there is the life lesson of how sadness is actually an important emotion to possess, because without sadness, there won’t be the sense of joy when things get better.

The voice cast does a perfect job with their characters as well. Amy Poehler’s chirpiness personifies Joy, Phyllis Smith reminds us of how brilliant her character was in the hit TV series The Office by voicing Sadness, while Lewis Black, Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling make you want to be part of the gang with their interpretations of Anger, Fear and Disgust respectively.

And like other Pixar movies, expect to leave the theatre moved, and in this case, wanting to take good care of those little beings in your head.

Movie Rating:

(An unmissable animated movie that affectionately reminds you each emotion you possess makes you who you are)

Review by John Li

SYNOPSIS: When social unrest plagues a Kingdom in ancient China, the Imperial Court collects stockpiles of gold from local governments to expand the royal army. However, the gold is robbed while in transport. In a desperate move to retrieve the stolen treasure, elite royal guards are sent on a mission to go after the gold but soon find out they are not the only ones in pursuit of it.

MOVIE REVIEW:

A throwback to the heydays of Hong Kong action cinema, 7 Assassins stars a slew of familiar faces and also a familiar plot to those seeking a slice of nostalgia.

With the aim of overthrowing the corrupted Qing government, the leader of the rebels, Tieyun (Felix Wong) and his followers are robbed by a gang of horse thieves of their gold while on their way to purchase ammunition for the rebellion. It turns out the horse thieves are working for the Prince Highness (Ray Lui). Tieyun is subsequently advised by a good-hearted Governor Zhou (Ti Lung) to seek refuge at a secluded village, Golden Canyon led by Master Mao (Eric Tsang).

As expected, Tieyun’s whereabouts are quickly discovered and the Qing soldiers are sent on a massacre to bring back Tieyun to the custody of the Prince Highness. However in the grand tradition of Seven Swords and Kung Fu Hustle, the seemingly harmonious Golden Canyon is actually inhibited by recluse martial-arts masters and ex-militants and to lay hands on Tieyun, one needs to first bypass the village of heroes.

Directed by Xiong Xin Xin (who played Clubfoot Seven in Once Upon A Time In China III), 7 Assassins is a clumsily clobbered movie that is set against the backdrop of every Chinese screenwriter’s favourite topic, the heroic revolution that leads to the events of 1911 (Jackie Chan has a movie on this as well if you recall but I’m not recommending that). On the bright side of things, it’s more of an action movie than a politically correct one. The rebellion against the Qing government is merely a great excuse to showcase gunfights, horses falling and frequent old school wire works. It’s the year 2014 but everyone still fight liked it’s 1984!

This is not to say I despised Xiong’s choice of choreographing the action. In fact, the man not only directs but he has a substantial role here as well. The pacing is ridiculously fast for the first 40 minutes before everyone takes a break for some need be exposition and romance between Gigi Leung and Eric Tsang’s characters. Come on, give Gigi Leung a chance to showcase her acting.

Xiong’s co-star in Once Upon A Time In China III, Max Mok and Mainland actor Guo Tao (Drug War) made up the more prominent faces fighting against the evil Highness. If you are acquainted with Hong Kong action cinema in the 70s, 80s and 90s, this is where it’s starts to get fun. Try spotting Shaw martial arts star Chen Kuan Tai and Pai Piao in cameos and many more for a start. Hey even Michael Wong has a role as Pastor Peter, he is really prolific these days.

7 Assassins is a very enjoyable and entertaining movie that hark back to the old days where things are a lot simpler. Production values are top-notched and come free with unlimited explosions and star appearances. The rolling credits also come with a classic Beyond song just to make sure it ends on the right note. How thoughtful.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Audio is presented with a choice of Cantonese and Mandarin dialogue. Sound effects are serviceable but come across stronger when it comes to horses galloping and explosions. There’s noticeable softness in images though hardly a distraction.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef (Susan Sarandon) leads a quiet life with her mother (Ellen Burstyn), her painkillers, and an occasional drink. But when she checks on an ill neighbor, she stumbles upon a gruesome murder that shatters her peaceful existence. With the help of a fellow detective (Gil Bellows) and a transfer cop (Topher Grace), she unearths a series of similar killings across the country. When a local priest (Donald Sutherland) suggests a link to an ancient ritual, Hazel focuses her search on a religious madman with a deadly higher calling. Based on the novel by Inger Ash Wolfe, it’s a journey to the shadowy landscape between faith and fear.

MOVIE REVIEW:

To supplement their incomes, Hollywood stars Susan Sarandon last seen in Tammy, Topher Grace currently in Interstellar and Donald Sutherland soon to be seen in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 appeared together in this independent thriller from Canada.

It’s Fargo meeting Seven when small-town police officer Hazel Micallef (Sarandon) discovered a grisly murder of an old woman in her home with her neck slashed and mouth opened wide. Together with her long-time colleague, Ray (Gil Bellows) and a newly transferred cop, Ben (Topher Grace), Hazel suspects a serial killer is on the loose as the killings turned up getting more and more bizarre.

For most of the running time,The Calling is content in making this a Sarandon vehicle that the entire serial killer premise lacks the tension and gore factor which this genre is fond of applying. Sarandon’s Hazel suffers from an unexplained back pain, drinks on the job, still pins for her ex-husband and has problems communicating with her mom. The story did a fantastic job showcasing Hazel as a troubled cop that the rest of the movie pales in comparison.

Based on a novel by Inger Ash Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Scott Abramovitch, The Calling’s main theme is about salvation. Twelve people must be sacrificed in order for the chosen one to be reborn, a half-baked attempt on a potentially intriguing subject. The villain for one is revealed less than 15 minutes into the movie, a creepy lanky bearded man by the name of Simon (Christopher Heyerdahl) who claims to have the power to heal. Later on, Donald Sutherland appears for a brief moment as Father Price to explain to Hazel what’s behind the unorthodox ritual.

At this juncture, you might think I hate this movie a lot. In reality, I was quite caught up with Sarandon’s incredible performance and the surprisingly well-done cinematography of the bleak, cold landscapes than investing in the brutal crime. Yes, the movie about Christian faith and humanity is not enough to evoke chills. Don’t let me start on the anti-climax ending either. However for a Stage 6 title, it’s a good enough low-key flick to watch on the small screen.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Divine Intention: Making The Calling is a 15 minutes making of feature that contains interviews with the filmmakers, cast and a look at the make-up effects.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Mild softness and grain are detected but overall visuals are acceptable. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack supplied is decent if not entirely underwhelming.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Musical/Drama
Director: Will Gluck
Cast: Quvenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, David Zayas, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Dorian Missick, Tracie Thoms
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://www.annie-movie.com/site/

Opening Day: 18 December 2014

Synopsis: A Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations comes to the big screen with a new, contemporary vision in Columbia Pictures' comedy, Annie. Director/Producer/Screenwriter Will Gluck teams with producers James Lassiter, Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith, and Shawn "JAY Z" Carter, Laurence "Jay" Brown, and Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith with a modern telling that captures the magic of the classic characters and original show that won seven Tony Awards. Celia Costas serves as Executive Producer. The screenplay is by Will Gluck and Aline Brosh McKenna, based on the musical stage play "Annie," book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and on "Little Orphan Annie," (C) and (R) Tribune Media Services, Inc. Academy Award (R) nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) stars as Annie, a young, happy foster kid who's also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they'd be back for her someday, it's been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything's about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) - advised by his brilliant VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) - makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he's her guardian angel, but Annie's self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it's the other way around.

Movie Review:

Disclaimer: This reviewer is an uncultured swine who has not watched the Annie musical but has attempted to educate herself by reading Wikipedia.

Musicals lie in the realm between comedy and horror. On one hand, it is uplifting and entertaining to hear a little girl sing about her optimistic view on life. On the other hand, a world where everyone sings about their ups and down whenever and wherever they want? Only a #@$%king lunatic can enjoy that. But hey, some people love musicals and this reviewer tries not to judge.

So... Annie. For plebians (like this reviewer) who have never watched Annie or any of its adaptions, the film can be entertaining. A contemporary adaptation of the 1977 musical, Annie is set in modern day New York where everything is either sleek and high-tech or dirty and gross. Other than that, the story remains exactly the same; it tells the very encouraging story of how a girl named Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) warms the heart of William Stacks (Jamie Foxx), a billionaire with OCD through her positive outlook on life. To put it simply, this is a child’s rags to riches story where everyone lives happily every after.

Judging from all the children laughing in the theatre (and that one woman who was cackling even at the tiniest joke), the film has the exact formula (i.e: easy to follow story, Disney channel-esque comedy, cute fluffy puppy) to winning the hearts of young children. The simple story, however, works best in the minds of young, gullible kids. With its all-too-wholesome storyline and weak side plots (i.e Grace (Rose Bryne) and Stack’s romantic relationship with close to zero build-up), the film is only average at best.

That being said, Annie does have its charms in the form of Colleen Hannigan (Cameron Diaz), the mean alcoholic who runs the foster home that Annie resides in. It is refreshing seeing Diaz as a nasty bitch after seeing her too often as your stereotypical wife-next-door stuck in ridiculous situations (a.k.a Sex Tape or The Other Woman). In fact, most of the comedy from this “musical comedy-drama” comes from Diaz, so if you are a fan of hers, you might enjoy Annie. The scene where Hannigan schemes and dances with Guy (Bobby Cannavale), Stack’s campaign advisor, will remind you especially of why dudes love her when she debuted in The Mask.

For those who are acquainted with the musical, there are several references to the original musical that you can point out to your clueless friends. To name a few, there is the trademark tap-dancing in the opening scene and a nod to Oliver Warback’s bald head that Annie fans would appreciate. As for those who thought that Annie is something totally new produced by Will Smith, do not panic. The references might elude you and you might not get some of the inside jokes, but even a monkey will identify the Twilight parody that the film succeeds in bringing across wonderfully.

Lastly, as for the music featured in Annie, one can never go wrong with classics like “Tomorrow “and “It's a Hard Knock Life”. The same cannot be said of the songs written specially for the film adaptation. For some reason, it is strange hearing Jamie Fox sing with his smooth as **** R&B vocals. It just does not go well with rest of the songs in the film. So stay calm, dear parents, for none of the songs in Annie stand out. Watch the film in peace, knowing that you will not be tormented daily by an out of tune version of “Tomorrow” or “Opportunity”.

Movie Rating:

(A very average musical unless you are like the woman sitting behind us who laughed even at the tiniest hint of humor)

Review by Leng Mong

Genre: Drama
Director: Andrew Adamson
Cast: Hugh Laurie, Kerry Fox, Eka Darville, Xzannjah Matsi
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:

Opening Day: 26 March 2015

Synopsis: Adapted by Andrew Adamson from the best-selling novel by Lloyd Jones, Mr Pip is the story of how Mr Watts (Hugh Laurie), a teacher on the war-torn island of Bougainville, helps a young girl survive the violence of her daily life through the power of imagination. Mr Watts reads from his favourite book, "Great Expectations", and 14-year-old Matilda (Xzannjah), is transported into the Victorian world, finding inspiration, friendship and hope when her real life is filled with harsh uncertainty and danger.

Movie Review:

Against the backdrop of the civil war on the isle of Bougainville, circa 1990, between the mainland Papuan troops and the local separatist rebels, the New Zealand novelist Lloyd James imagined the power of literature inspiring a teenage girl named Matilda (Xzannjah Matsi) to see the world through the lens of Charles Dickens’ classic novel ‘Great Expectations’. Matilda isn’t just entranced by the prose like the rest of her schoolmates; so caught up with the book is she that she daydreams Dickens’ characters coming to life right in front of her, depicted here by her fellow islanders in fanciful quasi-Victorian dress. Ok, that last bit was an embellishment on the part of this big-screen adaptation, but you get the point about the transformative impact of storytelling.

Intertwined in Matilda’s coming-of-age journey is her English teacher, Mr Watts (Hugh Laurie), an eccentric loner who also happens to be the only white man left on the island. The townsfolk regard him warily, especially during his trips to the village with his acutely depressed native wife, whom he pulls around in a handcart while she stands regally in it under a blue umbrella. Not surprising therefore, there is ambivalence all around when he first offers to give lessons to the village children, whom have been left without a tutor ever since the school shuttered many months ago. Nevertheless, what reservations they used to have slowly gives way when they see how much their children enjoy his lessons based on Dickens’ text, and begin to enjoy the very same pleasures themselves.

One person who isn’t quite won over is Matilda’s mom, Dolores (Healesville Joel), a devout lady who believes in religion for instruction than literature. She unceremoniously invades his classroom one day with her Bible in hand, and gracious as Mr Watts is, the conflict between these two teachers comes to a head one day when the soldiers descend on the village and suspect the story’s lead character, Mr Pip, to be a rebel fugitive that they are hiding. In a brutal but nonetheless effectively heart-rending sequence, Matilda’s mom withholds the only copy of the book which her daughter so desperately needs to prove to the soldiers that Mr Pip is mere fiction, thus provoking the soldiers even further, who eventually set fire to their homes.

That is however just the start, as the soldiers escalate their threats by executing some unfortunate villagers. The successive bursts of terror in the second act are jarring to say the least, especially when one compares that against the lyrical beauty of the island of Bouganville in the preceding act, but that contrast is wholly intended. Yes, there is a message here about the harrowing barbarism of war even against a backdrop as gorgeous as the Papuan New Guinea island, and it is one of the more persuasive points that this uneven and otherwise flawed film manages to make.

Far less successful is its ability to make its audience root for any one of the characters – and yes, that includes our lead teenage protagonist Matilda. Neither as a writer or as a director has Andrew Adamson been known for character-driven narratives, and he stumbles in both capacities in this regard. Thankfully, he has an impressive first-time performer in Matsi as Matilda, although her raw performance is somewhat undone by Laurie, who fails to find the right emotional notes for his enigmatic character to register.

Adamson’s artistic missteps do not stop there. His decision to interplay the real and the imaginary in Matilda’s mind also fails to build into anything meaningful; in fact, the sight of Pacific islanders dressed in Victorian costumes comes off particularly stilted and contrived, not to mention tasteless, considering how that used to be the dressing of their colonial masters.

All this adds up to a movie that is oddly unengaging, unfolding at pretty much its own languid pace for close to an hour before hitting somewhat of a surer stride when the military descends on the island. It doesn’t help that Adamson’s narrative follows closely that of the book by occurring across the span of many years, so much so that the denouement which reveals more about just why the enigmatic Mr Watts would take a stand on behalf of the rest of the village feels like an extended epilogue that is simply tacked on.

Surely, Adamson had the best of intentions optioning for Jones’ work in the first place, but his “labour of love” sadly doesn’t make up for the fact that it is lacking in both story and character development. What could be a poignant reminder of the power of storytelling instead becomes close to two hours of tedium, not helped by a scattershot narrative that doesn’t quite make anything in the film itself compelling. Take our advice – you’re much better off with Dickens and his ‘Great Expectations’ than with Mr Pip.

Movie Rating:

(Tedious, scattershot and uncompelling, this blend of lyricism and violence makes for an ill-fitting adaptation of the critically acclaimed titular piece of fiction)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Live Action/CG Animation
Director: Paul Tibbitt, Mike Mitchell
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Mr. Lawrence, Christopher Backus, Slash
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: UIP
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/SpongebobMovie

Opening Day: 5 March 2015

Synopsis: SpongeBob SquarePants, the world’s favorite sea dwelling invertebrate, comes ashore to our world for his most super-heroic adventure yet.

Movie Review:

David Hasselhoff doesn’t return to give our undersea heroes a leg up (there’s a pun intended for those who had seen their first big-screen adventure slightly more than a decade ago), but it seems that SpongeBob and his buddies Patrick, Squidward, and Sandy as well as Plankton are perfectly ok to write their own fates (that’s another pun for this latest movie, in case you’re wondering). In place of Hasselhoff, Antonio Banderas guest stars as a curmudgeon pirate named Burger-Beard who steals a mysterious book from a desert island whose pages somehow contain the fates of our beloved cartoon characters, creating the perfect excuse for a “sponge out of water” story.

We’re not quite sure the reason why, but there seems to be a certain disdain for the title character, his best friend (and the dumbest starfish around) Patrick and the Nickelodeon TV series in general among those who are not fans of the pineapple-dwelling sea creature. Admittedly, Spongebob’s brand of maniacal humour isn’t universal, but we found his cheerfully random jokes, his tongue-in-cheek references, his idiotic cheerfulness and even his infamous cackle to be a whole ball of zany fun. Yes, everything you loved (or hated) about the TV series is present in this big-screen outing, and it probably comes as no surprise (and in fact a fair deal of comfort for fans) that the story is by ‘SpongeBob’ veteran Paul Tibbett, who also directs, and its very creator Stephen Hillenburg.

Despite what the marketing materials may promise, a large part of the movie actually takes place in the computer-generated world of Bikini Bottom. Much of the plot follows closely to the running themes of the TV series. Spongebob still works in the underwater burger joint, Krusty Krab, where he prepares the mega-popular Krabby Patties. Right opposite the Krusty Krab is the establishment run by the failed restaurateur Plankton, who is still after Mr Krabs’ secret formula for them Krabby Patties. His latest attempt begins with a food fight and ends with the disappearance of the formula itself, which triggers the tyranny of the mob and plunges the underwater Eden into apocalyptic chaos.

True to the nature of the TV series, the story unfolds in a rather scattershot manner, zipping from skit to skit while trying to build a coherent over-arching feature-length narrative about them. But the ceaselessly buoyant energy of these skits more than compensates, ranging from a hilarious zinger involving the use of a “tiny piano” to accompany some tiptoeing to hysterical musical interludes contributed by Pharrell Williams and NERD bandmates Chad Hugo and Shay Haley to accompany Plankton’s journey inside Spongebob’s cotton-candy mind as well as his over-eagerly earnest attempt to explain the concept of teamwork to Plankton. And if you’re thinking that it sounds no more than an extended episode of the series, well rest assured that it is in fact sillier and crazier and all the better for it.

The proof of how entertaining the 2D animation is in and of itself comes when our characters hit land to confront Burger-Beard and retrieve the secret Krabby Patties formula. There, finding themselves outsized at first, they undergo a miraculous transformation from tiny toons to buffed-up superheroes, culminating in a noisy and frankly overblown finale which detracts from the charm of the TV series in the first place. Yes, it’s a very busy real-world excursion for Spongebob and his friends, but one only wishes that it were as clever or as imaginative as it was back under the sea. Banderas hams it up the best he can, but even his devilish charm can’t quite conceal a distinct depreciation of wit and verve.

But even if the decision to once again bring the non-animated world into that of the animated proves to be a misstep this time round, there is enough wacky but good-natured charm in Spongebob’s time in Bikini Bottom to make for a zippily entertaining time. Yes, all the elements that made the animated series such an enduring success are all here – the wordplays and sight gags, the bright colours and even the occasional subversive humour and pop-culture references for adults – and though one may argue that it doesn’t further the TV series, it certainly does offer a chance to indulge in it for longer. Kids will love it, fans will dig it, and for everyone else? Well, you’re best advised to look for another fish-out-of-water story.

Movie Rating:

(You're either a fan or you're not - but if you are, no matter what age, this CG animated/ live-action hybrid of the Nicklodeon TV series will tickle you with its zany, zippy and irrepressibly cheerful demeanor)

Review by Gabriel Chong