Genre: Horror
Director: Chookiat Sakverakul
Cast: Porama Imanothai, Focus Jeerakul, Chonnikarn Netjui, Kittisak Patomburana
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films and Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 27 November 2014
Synopsis: Three months ago, a couple, Nott(Porama “Panjan” Imanothai) and Pla (Focus Jeerakul) gets into a fatal motorcycle accident where Pla died. Feeling guilty and despair over his girlfriend death, Nott tries to find ways to meet his Pla again, even if it means seeing her as a ghost.
The young man sets out to find a way that will enable him to open his eyes to the realm of the dead. He finally joins a body-collecting unit – a volunteer work that deals with picking up the corpses. Nott secretly collects personal objects of dead people who die of violent deaths, in the hope that they would help him to make contact with the spirits – and thus he would be able to see Pla again. Meanwhile, his friends who share the house with him encounter creepy incidents that prompt them to move out. Only MODTA (Chonnikarn Netjui), a female friend, understands Nott’s suffering and tries to help him.
Nott’s close friend, JOHN (Kittisak Patomburana), who works at the body-collecting unit with him warns Nott to stop trying and quit all the dark activities because they’re too dangerous. Nott doesn’t listen to him, and instead he intensifies his efforts to contact the world of the spirits. All he wants is to confront the most vicious ghosts since he believes it’s the only way he’ll be able to talk to Pla again.
Love and guilt drive Nott to take the most dangerous step. What he doesn’t know is that Pla has been watching him from the “other side”. The fate of the two young lovers are forever entwined in life and in death.
Movie Review:
As much as eyes are windows to the soul , what is it about Thai horror films for directors and screen writers to have so much affection towards peepers in general?
Just as what demons, paranormal recordings and sinister presence in homes are to a Hollywood horror number, knee-slappingly hilarious scenes, peek-through-your-finger moments and overly done CGI own The Eyes Diary.
Directed by Chookiat Sakverakul, the 33-year-old behind the success of Love of Siam, The Eyes Diary is a paranormal Thai film that essays the voluntary stabs of one reckless young man (Porama Imanothai) to reach out to his lover from the other realm. An accident that leads to countless others resulting in his indulgence of creepy acts of theft from the dead (think finders, keepers) that leaves them hanging around his abode in the most undesirable sense. His friends too realise that the house becomes overly crowded with the presence of uninvited beings. But little did he know that his dead beau is already watching his every effort in vain.
The plot goes headfirst into what the very practical yet selfish lead male does to salvage his communication with his already dead girlfriend. The characters are a little quirky in their own ways and just like a group of friends is a prerequisite for any Thai or teen horror much, the cast mates deliver accordingly and colourise the storyline. Lagging a little in plot somewhere in the middle, the film went for a apocalypse-que kind of end leaving you mildly shocked.
101 minutes of jump-in-your-seat moments with some blues popping every now and then reminding us that love too knows how to be self-seeking while in flesh and blood.
Be warned of the boom-box sound effects though, because it builds up from a low drone to a crescendo, quickening your heartbeat and heightening anticipation to an all-new high. With a good throw of droll scenes and realistically daunting stuff that portray the life of the dead, The Eyes Diary makes a good Thai horromance flick to catch.
Watch this if you had liked: Possessed (2013).
Movie Rating:
(Although the theatrical poster may make it seem like any other regular movie from the aforementioned genre, it is still modern, and stands out for its quixotic factor. May not be a serious cookie-cutter supernatural drama like Shutter or Alone but a fresh cocktail of romance, forbidding theme and comedic chops awaits you. Still wondering whose eyes are able to keep a journal? Last warning)
Review by Asha Gizelle M
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BE ONE OF THE FIRST IN SINGAPORE TO WATCH "STAND BY ME DORAEMON" AT THE GALA PREMIERE ON 3RD DECEMBER!Posted on 20 Nov 2014 |
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Ryuichi Yagi, Takashi Yamazaki
Cast: Wasabi Mizuta, Megumi Ohara, Yumi Kakazu, Tomokazu Seki, Subaru Kimura, Yoshiko Kamei, Vanilla Yamazaki, Kotono Mitsuishi, Yasunori Matsumoto, Satoshi Tsumabuki
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://doraemon-3d.com
Opening Day: 11 December 2014
Synopsis: In the suburbs of Tokyo sometime ago, there lived a clumsy boy about 10 years old. There appeared in front of him a boy named Sewashi, Nobita’s descendant of four generations later from the 22nd century and Doraemon, a 22nd century cat-type caretaker robot who helps people with its secret gadgets. Sewashi claims that his family is suffering from the debts Nobita made even to his generation, so in order to change this disastrous future, he brought along Doraemon as Nobita’s caretaker to bring happiness to his future, although Doraemon is not happy about this. And so Sewashi installed an accomplishment program into Doraemon forcing him to take care of Nobita. Unless he makes Nobita happy, Doraemon can no longer go back to the 22nd century. This is how the life of Doraemon and Nobita begins. Will Doraemon succeed this mission and return to the 22nd century?
Movie Review:
Time traveling probably still remains as one of man’s greatest dreams. Though impossible to achieve in reality, we always remember that there’s Doraemon and his gadgets that can help realize those possibilities. Doraemon, the robot cat from the future, has traveled back in time along with Sewashi, Nobita’s (aka Da Xiong) descendant. They went back to the past to help 10 year old Nobita fix the mess so his descendants need not suffer the consequences. Sewashi leaves Doraemon behind, installing a program in him that disallows him from going back to the future till Nobita attains happiness.
As you might already know, Nobita is known for his cowardice and wimpy behavior. Once he realized how powerful Doraemon’s gadgets can be, he simply relies on them and attempts at making the game change. However, as you might expect, the gadgets have limitations. Ultimately, it depends on one’s will and resolve that can truly break through the circumstances. Nobita fails and try again, growing out of his wimpy self and eventually overcomes the challenges.
Stand by Me has a very simple, engaging and easy-to-follow story. There’s nothing too drastic or dramatic to expect, which could disappoint some who are looking for something stimulating. The entire story also has a hint of nostalgia. It’s easy to identify with the young Nobita, since virtually everyone goes through that ‘rite of passage’ – of growing up. The character development of Nobita though not multifaceted, has enough depth and gives a good support to the narrative.
Visually wise, the 3D animated Doraemon might require some getting used to since it is not that 2D one which we are familiar to watching on TV. (Don’t we all have some fond childhood memories of catching Doraemon on our local channel on weekend mornings?) Yet, this has got to be the cutest and most adorable Doraemon to date. With his vivid expressions, it’s impossible not to like!
The entire 3D environment was also a masterwork. Not only were they very realistic, even the sound effects and background chatter were worked down to great details. Further, you really have to give it to the Japanese for having such great voice actors. They probably have the world’s best, and thanks to them, the entire movie was truly ‘animated’.
Overall, Stand by Me is one entertaining film that’s surprisingly touching as well. This has to be the blockbuster of the Doraemon movies released thus far. Subtly but surely, Stand by Me gives you and me a stark reminder that ‘your life is the sum of your choices'.
Movie Rating:
(An enjoyable and heart-warming story that deeply resonates with the heart)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
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FIRST TRAILER FOR DISNEY'S CINDERELLAPosted on 21 Nov 2014 |
Genre: Drama/Biography
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Gaby Hoffman, Kevin Rankin, Michiel Huisman
RunTime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes and Drug Use)
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Official Website: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/wild/
Opening Day: 5 February 2015
Synopsis: In Wild, director Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club), Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) and Academy Award nominated screenwriter Nick Hornby (An Education) bring bestselling author Cheryl Strayed’s extraordinary adventure to the screen. After years of reckless behavior, a heroin addiction and the destruction of her marriage, Strayed makes a rash decision. Haunted by memories of her mother Bobbi (Academy Award nominee Laura Dern) and with absolutely no experience, she sets out to hike more than a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own. WILD powerfully reveals her terrors and pleasures --as she forges ahead on a journey that maddens, strengthens, and ultimately heals her.
Movie Review:
“How wild it was, to let it be”
Quite like its protagonist’s journey, ‘Wild’ is a one-woman show, and that credit goes to none other than its producer and star Reese Witherspoon. It was Witherspoon who chased after the film rights to author Cheryl Strayed’s New York Times bestseller, an autobiographical memoir that chronicled her incredible journey of self-discovery back in 1995, when at the age of 26 and with no experience whatsoever, the emotionally bereft Cheryl hiked 1,100 miles on her own along the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to the border with Washington State – and it is also Witherspoon who with her ‘Dallas Buyers’ Club’ director Jean-Marc Vallee have re-enacted Cheryl’s transformation into a profoundly moving experience quite unlike any other we have experienced on the big screen.
Such man-versus-the-wilderness stories are not new, and in fact, we’ve seen a number of them in recent years. ‘127 Hours’ had James Franco trapped and struggling to keep alive for that duration in a narrow crevice. ‘Into the Wild’ saw Emile Hirsch take off into the Alaskan wilderness. And the Australian film ‘Tracks’ brought Mia Wasikowska on a solo trip across the desert from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean. Unlike each one of these movies, Vallee doesn’t present ‘Wild’ as a survival story; sure, the elements of nature are there – hunger, thirst, injury and even wild animals – but what differentiates this from the rest is how it is ultimately less about the body than about the mind, or to be more precise, how Cheryl overcomes her personal demons through a cleansing ritual of physical endurance.
To be sure, Cheryl’s memoir wasn’t going to be easy to adapt; a lot of the prose consisted of her solitary musings at different parts of her trail as well as the enlightenment she gained looking back at her destructive pattern of behaviour from the moment her single mother died of cancer at the age of 45. Whereas lesser screenwriters would have turned much of the prose into voiceover, British writer Nick Hornby wisely keeps that to a minimum; instead, Hornby unfolds her contemplation of the dissolution of her marriage as well as her spiral into sex and heroin addictions as a series of jagged flashbacks, leaving only the occasional recitation of the words of Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost and James A. Michener which she scribbles in her journal as that which we hear onscreen.
It didn’t quite dawn on us at first, but we advise you to pay attention to the way Vallee presents these flashbacks. They are not all the same. The first kind is swift and sudden, a series of images from Cheryl’s past which intercut with her present which we still hear. The second type is a particularly acute recollection, one which stabs into the present and cuts it quiet, as jarring to us as it is to Cheryl – and we may add, for good reason so. The last unfolds as a sequence in itself, when Cheryl consciously goes back to a particular point of time in her past, such as when she meets her mother along the corridor of the Minneapolis University she attends that the latter is studying for a belated bachelor’s degree at. The result is poignantly evocative, that not only lets its audience piece together the fractured pieces of Cheryl’s preceding life but also allows us to feel her despair, confusion, frustration, sadness and ultimately tranquillity.
Her inner struggles are nicely contrasted with the rugged beauty of her surroundings, drawn from locations in the Mojave Desert and the Oregon wilderness. Once again working under the pseudonym of John Mac McMurphy, Vallee ensures that every shot connects perfectly with the last, especially if they hail from different periods in Cheryl’s life, blending the ambient sounds with a soundtrack inspired by the real-life character’s favourite tunes, like S&G’s ‘Homeward Bound’, Joni Mitchell’s ‘California’, Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Tougher Than The Rest’ and most prominently Simon & Garfunkel's version of the Andean folk tune ‘El Condor Pasa’. The visual and aural combination that makes for what we see and hear is beautifully haunting, bringing into intimate focus the stirrings of Cheryl’s heart and soul.
That we feel so much for her character is to Witherspoon’s credit, who gives her best and most committed performance since she won the Academy Award for ‘Walk the Line’. Whether it is Cheryl’s grit or vulnerabilities, Witherspoon never overplays them, and her restraint all the more brings her character to life, both in her mental as well as emotional baggage. Her commitment to the role is evident at every turn, and she is front and centre holding the screen almost every single second. Though the movie belongs to Witherspoon, one other performer impossible to ignore is Laura Dern, who plays Cheryl’s mother Bobbi. There is nary a false note to Dern’s sunny optimism, and her sweetness is a perfect complement to Witherspoon’s ambivalence and occasional cynicism.
Watching a single woman hike across the PCT may not sound like an interesting movie at all, but Witherspoon and her director Vallee have transcended the limits of their character’s story to deliver a truly affecting account of personal redemption. Cheryl’s transformation embodies the adage that one may sometimes have to lose oneself in order to find oneself, and this character-driven tale packs a surprisingly powerful wallop for those willing to take that journey with it. It is wild all right, raw and primal in its emotions, yet both intelligent and poetical. Oh yes, how ‘Wild’ it is, to let it be.
Movie Rating:
(Superbly directed and amazingly acted, this tale of personal redemption makes its real-life character’s transformation so wildly felt that you cannot help but be tamed)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Musical/Comedy
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee, Hailee Steinfeld with John Michael Higgins, Katey Sagal, Elizabeth Banks
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: PG13 (Sexual References)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://pitchperfect2-nl.tumblr.com
Opening Day: 14 May 2015
Synopsis: The Barden Bellas are back in Pitch Perfect 2, the follow-up to the original smash hit. The comedy will be helmed by Elizabeth Banks, co-star and producer of Pitch Perfect, and produced by Paul Brooks, Max Handelman and Banks. Writer Kay Cannon returns to the team to pen the next chapter.
Movie Review:
Pitch Perfect is back with a bolder sequel! The film features its original cast, some exciting new additions and guest cameos (Hint - some very important people in the White House, and the Dogfather of Rap).The Barden Bellas are at an all-time high, fresh off winning the National A Cappella competition and performing for the President of the United States at the Lincoln Centre. Things go awry during the performance as Fat Amy has a horrific wardrobe malfunction that completely overshadows Janet Jackson's mishap at the 2004 SuperBowl. The Barden Bellas end up back where they started in the first instalment of the series – on the road to redemption. The odds are severely stacked against the Bellas – they are pulled out of their National Victory Tour, told that they are not to recruit any new members, and not to compete in the upcoming national competition. The Bellas decide that the only way to right their wrongs is to go on the world stage and win the International A Capella championship, which no American team has ever managed to accomplish. On the road to the internationals, the girls rediscover friendship, their voice, and goals for the future.
The film’s intent is clear – to promote authenticity and simplicity in an industry that is marred by over-production and spectacle. This is achieved with the introduction of Emily Junk (Hailee Steinfeld), a “Legacy” Bella who is determined to find her own sound through the mentorship of the legendary Bellas. Steinfeld proves she has many tricks up her sleeve. Her filmography is diverse; she’s credited in the 2013 film Ender’s Game and her phenomenal performance in 2010 film True Grit. While her voice is a welcome surprise, Steinfeld doesn’t add much to the already spectacular film and appears negligible amidst other talented cast members. While the movie toned down the “bitch” factor (albeit a good decision by Director Elizabeth Banks), Steinfeld’s character appears aloof and disconnected from the rest of the Bellas, and often puts her needs and ability ahead of the bigger picture. Perhaps Steinfeld was positioned to serve as the beacon of hope and voice of reason for the Bellas who seem to have lost their groove, but it is Anna Camp, who returns as Aubrey Posen, that fulfils this role with poise and geniality.
Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow and Skylar Austin also reprise their roles in their sequel, but their performance is limited. It may have been the screenwriter or producer’s choice to centre the film around the Bellas in comparison to focusing on Kendrick’s character, Beca. While Kendrick does have a few moments alone on screen, they pale in comparison to the overall entertainment value the film provides. The film could do without her parallel storyline of self-discovery and journey to find her own authentic sound. The fact is that there isn’t any noteworthy character development to expect in Pitch Perfect 2. The film does try to explore each Bella’s individuality and dreams, but the girls are mostly stagnant in the film. But these are issues the audience can ignore when the film on the whole provides great entertainment.
Other cast members have come back more self-assured than in the first instalment with significant help from Banks. Peripheral characters such as Cynthia (Ester Dean), Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) and Flo (a new addition to the Bellas, played by Chrissie Fit) stepped up to the plate in the film. They've embraced their characters’ eccentricity and taken a nuanced approach to comedy. Fit and Lee both made the most of their screen time; they were able to tastefully approach racial stereotypes and picked their moments to shine amongst a fully loaded cast. Rebel Wilson returns as “Fat Amy” and she doesn’t hold back. Her comedy is sharp and effective for the most part, with a perfect combination of slapstick and wit. Wilson also nails choreography and her solos –Banks opted to give Wilson more screen time for the sequel, and she makes full use of it. She also has some “disturbingly charming” (for the lack of a better phrase) chemistry with Adam DeVine, who returns as Bumper. Of course, credit also goes to Elizabeth Banks for being able to capitalize on each cast member’s comedic potential. The skinny plot becomes insignificant in the face of entertaining dialogue and comedy.
The film is in absolute harmony (pun intended) in every way. The Bellas come back more energized and colourful. The story flows without a dull moment. Banks, with the help of returning screenwriter Kay Cannon, trims the fat wherever possible and every scene is integral to the story. Cannon and Banks employ an unapologetic brand of humor. As a result, there are some really memorable moments in the film (e.g. Rebel Wilson’s accident that leads to the Bellas being disqualified from their competition is labelled “Muffgate”). Banks’ presence in the film as the returning A Capella commentator is also excellent. She serves as the feminist voice in the film, but she doesn’t take her role too seriously. This is perfection on Banks’ part as she demonstrates the light-touch approach she takes to both comedy and direction. Banks thus emerges real star of the film, which is a great feat she has accomplished in her first rodeo as director.
The film’s take on music and the A Capella phenomenon is also refreshing; there are some unexpected performances by cast members, and some unique song choices in the soundtrack. The introduction of German A Capella group “Das Sound Machine” (led by Birgitte Hjort Sorensen) was also an excellent choice - they often stole the show from the Bellas with their impeccable harmonies and bold song choices (notably Uprising by Muse). Banks’ ability to direct an entertaining sing-off sequence is also unparalleled. All song sequences were entertaining and unforgettable – but one sing-off sequence between the various A Capella groups (Bardon Bellas, Treblemakers, Tone Hangers, Green Bay Packers and Das Sound Machine) was particularly exceptional in its ability to harmonize important pop culture references from the past and present. That sing-off overshadowed the entire production of the grand finale sequence, so look out for it!
It is obvious that the Pitch Perfect franchise rides off the successful “Glee” phenomenon and A Capella centred reality shows, so there’s really nothing novel about this instalment. But there’s something about the awkward charisma, off-tangent humour, and soulful harmonies from each cast member that leave us wanting more “aca-awesome” entertainment. Pitch Perfect 2 manages to charm us once again with the same winning formula, proving that you don’t have to try too hard to be different in order to be entertaining.
Movie Rating:
(Pitch Perfect 2 shows the potential Mean Girls 2 could have had, but failed to achieve. Major props to the talented cast and crew!)
Review by Aishwarya Kumar
Genre: Adventure/Thriller
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, Judy Greer
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.jurassicworldintl.com/ww/
Opening Day: 11 June 2015
Synopsis: Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers.
Movie Review:
Let’s cut to the chase – for those of you who just want to know if ‘Jurassic World’ is as good as ‘Jurassic Park’, the answer is no, but it does come pretty damn close. To be fair, it was going to be a tall order to top the Steven Spielberg original – heck, even Spielberg’s own sequel ‘The Lost World’ failed to do that – a fact which the revamped park’s own management, owner Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) and his right-hand woman Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), readily acknowledge. It isn’t enough that we are seeing dinosaurs come alive before us; in order to dazzle, the animals has got to be “bigger, louder, and more teeth”.
And so in their quest to create a new attraction for the park, its chief scientist Dr Henry Wu (B.D. Wong, the only cast member from ‘Jurassic Park’ to reprise his role) turns to genetic modification to create varieties that never existed 65 billion years ago. That research has yielded the Indominous Rex, a hybrid whose DNA is based off a T-rex and is spliced with the genome of other species which we slowly learn (the hard way) of its predatory functions. Bred miles away from the actual visitors’ areas, it sets a trap to bait its breeders into its paddock and, during the ensuing melee, breaks out of the enclosure to wreck havoc not just to the humans on the Isla Nubar but also the rest of its own kind living on the island.
With the Indominous Rex on the loose, ex-Navy man Owen (Chris Pratt) springs into action to try to stop the beast before it reaches the 20 thousand over blissfully unaware visitors and at the same time rescue two kids (Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson), who happen to be Claire’s nephews, that are in imminent danger after veering off the beaten course. Save for a little spot of complication from the corporation’s head of security, Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio), whose idea to employ raptors against the Indominous Rex backfires in a jaw-dropping ‘oh sh*t’ moment, the narrative unfolds in as linear and straightforward a manner as you can imagine.
Not that we’re complaining – despite crediting four writers, ‘Jurassic World’ is supposed to be a movie built on thrill and spectacle more than anything else, a fact that isn’t lost on its director Colin Trevorrow. Despite having only one other feature-length movie to his credit, Trevorrow proves more than able to construct riveting action setpieces that are keystone to the franchise. Among the highlights – Masrani’s attempt to take down the Indominous Rex from a helicopter that comes to a fiery end and sets free the winged predators held captive in an aviary, the birds’ subsequent attack on the hordes of visitors in the main theme park, and the raptors’ hunt for the Indominous Rex that takes a surprising turn.
Just about the last hour and a half is packed wall-to-wall with non-stop action, as the characters run, duck, hide, chase, rinse and repeat in order to save their own and prevent a bigger calamity from shutting down the park forever. Trevorrow lacks Spielberg’s gift for creating and sustaining tension, but in place of iconic moments like the ripples in the glass of water on the dashboard or the velociraptors opening a kitchen door, he simply keeps the action going and going, pausing only to a) let in a kicker and/or b) pay tribute to his predecessors. That said, it is to us also the reason why this entry pales in comparison to Spielberg’s original, which was a quintessential masterpiece in choreographed suspense.
Rightfully, Trevorrow shows the utmost respect for the establishing blocks of the franchise. Although the theme park has undergone a major makeover with snazzy new attractions like a dinosaur petting zoo, an amphitheatre featuring a monosaurus feeding show and face-to-face safari-like dino excursions in a circular self-powered vehicle called a gyrosphere, there are constant nods to the original movie. The original Jurassic Park Visitors Centre makes a pleasantly surprising appearance midway into the film, and for that matter so does its banner and T-shirts. Most significantly, the finale pays homage to the first movie in truly cheer-worthy rah-rah fashion – and while we will agree with the cynics that it is deus ex machina, there is no denying that it closes the film on a high note.
In a marked departure from the earlier film(s), Trevorrow has injected a generous dose of humour into his movie. For that, he mostly relies on his ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ lead star Jake Johnson, who embodies our nostalgia with ‘Jurassic Park’ while being the lovable geek with his endearing idiosyncrasies. Those looking for Chris Pratt to bring his Star Lord act from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ will likely be disappointed though; rather than reprising that role here, Pratt plays a straight-up action hero, though he does share some charming moments with Howard, whose controlling, strait-laced nature is the reason why their first date was also their only one. Howard’s transformation from buttoned-up corporate businesswoman to action heroine is also suitably rousing, even more so later on when she gets to save the day and kick dinosaur ass alongside Pratt.
Yes, though this is the first chapter in the series to introduce a whole new set of characters, they are well written and well played enough to compensate for any nostalgia one may have of Dr Alan Grant or Dr Ian Malcolm. Pratt’s good-natured charisma rubs off amply on his character, and Howard manages to go from unlikeable to someone we care about with surprising clarity. Most delightful however is the sibling dynamic between Simpkins and Robinson, which provides much of the film’s emotional anchor; indeed, it is from their perspective that we are brought into the titular resort, and whose survival we come to fear the most for.
Back in the day, the Steven Spielberg original was the very definition of blockbuster entertainment, especially in how it so seamlessly fused CGI with animatronics to create awe-inspiring renditions of the beasts that once walked our earth. Like we said at the beginning, it is probably too much to ask that ‘Jurassic World’ has that same effect on us, but it is also the only entry thus far to come close to replicating that experience. The effects are obviously leaps and bounds over the 1993 gamechanger, such that what was real feels even more so now. It is also a non-stop edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, one that hits the high gear even before the halfway mark and never lets up. And thanks to a genuine sense of nostalgia, it will also give those who were old enough to see the first one in the cinema goosebumps. You bet you’ll be humming that John Williams theme song as you step out of the theatre, and if you ain’t awe-struck, we guarantee that it will still leave you breathless.
Movie Rating:
(The best yet since the original, this reboot twenty-two years after the first 'Jurassic Park' is a non-stop edge-of-your-seat thrill ride with pleasantly surprising doses of good humour and warm nostalgia)
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jack Neo
Cast: Joshua Tan, Maxi Lim, Tosh Zhang, Wang Wei Liang, Wesley Wong, Justin Dominic Mission, Charlie Goh, Bao Shang Ze, Jaspers Lai, Irene Ang, Richard Low, Wang Lei, Aileen Tan, Chen Tian Wen, Yip Limei
RunTime: 2 hrs 30 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language & Violence)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 19 February 2015
Synopsis: Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen brings Singapore’s favourite recruits back to the days before enlistment in ABTM. Instead of reporting to Pualu Tekong, the Ah Boys are posted to the Naval Diving Unit (NDU). Returning to active duty are familiar characters ? Ken Chow (Joshua Tan), the spoilt, rich kid, who tries to 'keng' his way out of NS. Aloysius Jin AKA Wayang King (Maxi Lim), whose over-enthusiasm creates more problems for his cabin mates. Lobang (Wang Weiliang), the street-smart wheeler dealer, out to make a quick buck off his cabin mates. Joining them is new face Hei Long AKA The Black Dragon (Wesley Wong), an aggressive gang leader, who prefers to talk with his fists instead of his mouth. Together, these ragtag band of misfits must somehow survive 40 weeks of training in hell. Do they have what it takes to become one of Singapore’s most fearsome military units ? the frogmen?
Movie Review:
What if, instead of Basic Military School (BMT) in Pulau Tekong, our favourite recruits were selected right from the onset to join the elite Naval Diving Unit (NDU) and underwent a forty-week training course to be frogmen? That, in a nutshell, is how Jack Neo has set up this third instalment of the highest-grossing franchise in local movie history. Yes, other than the fact that it largely bears the same group of characters we’ve come to love (or for some, hate) from the first two movies, there is no relation whatsoever with the earlier duology. Cynics who’ve never loved Jack Neo and his movies will certainly see this as a money-spinner, but ‘Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen’ is a surprisingly entertaining alternate story that stands on its own merits.
Chiefly, the decision not to split this movie into two – which explains its two-and-a-half hour runtime – is a wise one. Skimming over the Boys’ requisite BMT training, Neo focuses instead on the land, sand and sea training in the weeks after that is unique to the NDU, including tyre flips, overhead boat push-ups, boat tosses (where a crew of eight men throw the boat into the air and catch it on the way down), flutter kicks (on land and at the beach), drown proofing, capsize drills, fins swimming, sea circuit training and culminating of course in the infamous Hell Week. As much as this is unabashedly a Public Service Advertisement for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in its fiftieth year, Neo doesn’t prettify any bit of the gruelling “baptism of fire” that every frogman has to go through.
Yes, no one has so vividly captured the physical, mental, emotional and psychological endurance that is required of each and every NDU recruit, and Neo makes full use of the unprecedented access he has obtained to the NDU’s actual training premises in Sembawang Camp to portray the unit in all its sweat and tears and glory. That same commitment to realism also extends to his cast – much has been said about how Neo has insisted that they experience the training for themselves, and indeed there is no CGI used (or needed) in displaying the transformation that his actors have undergone after being through weeks of the very same training as the characters they play. It is quite an amazing transformation to watch – and not only do we emerge at the end of it with respect for the characters but also for the very actors portraying them.
Like the first two movies, Neo juxtaposes their transformation within the camp and that outside the camp. For the large part, the characters are pretty much the same as the ones they played in the first two movies. Wang Weiliang’s ‘L O Bang King’ is still the street-smart kid who knows how to make the best of his circumstances – and that means running a small ‘minimart’ business in camp selling snacks to his platoon mates. As a testament to Weiliang’s rising stardom, Neo gives his character much more depth and scope than before – indeed, Weiliang’s struggle to support and protect his sister from his drug-addicted mother comes to an unexpectedly emotional conclusion that ties in beautifully with a poignant display of humanity by his superiors, Alex (Tosh Zhang) and No 2 (Justin Dominic Misson).
Joshua Tan’s Ken Chow is still struggling with girlfriend issues and looking for ways to ‘keng’, but (thankfully) there is no sob story here with his father (Richard Low) or for that matter his fastidious mother (Irene Ang). Maxi Lim’s Aloysius Jin (or Zeng Xia Lang in Chinese) is still the annoying eager-to-please smart-aleck, but he wisely chooses to underplay than overplay his character’s more ingratiating qualities this time round. Tosh’s Sergeant Alex Ong remains tough but fair, and a much more nuanced character here in how he responds to Ken’s ‘chao keng’ behaviour vis-à-vis ‘Lobang King’s’ unusual request to book out to attend an urgent family matter late at night. Instead of re-playing the initial hostilities between ‘Lobang King’ and ‘Wayang King’, Neo introduces a new character in Hei Long (Wesley Wong), a new citizen from Hong Kong whose triad roots there have propagated into similar ties with the street gangs in Tiong Bahru. Through a series of unfortunate run-ins, Neo builds the conflict between the two that leads to an undeniably mawkish but nonetheless effective confrontation that earns our sympathies for both characters.
As they have demonstrated in the last two movies, the cast are Neo’s strongest hand. Weiliang has perfected his ‘ah beng’ routine of mixing brashness and vulnerability, and proves himself again to be a truly versatile and natural performer. Tosh may be the same age as the recruits he presides over, but he yet again displays a commanding air of authority and an admirable sense of justice. Thrust into a much bigger role here is Misson (he was the ‘crazy’ warrant officer in ‘Ah Boys’ in the 70s showing how life was much tougher then) as the notorious ‘trainer from hell’ – so convincing is his tough-as-nails getup that we found it hard to distinguish the actor from his character, and that he isn't in fact an SAF regular simply playing the same part in the movie.
Neo’s keen eye for casting has occasionally been undermined by his self-indulgent tendencies, but thankfully that’s kept to a minimum here. His fascination with modern-day CGI manifests itself only once – and briefly – when ‘Lobang King’ recounts how he envisioned the NDU’s iconic ‘frog with wings’ statue make a leap into the sky and into the sea when trying to sneak out of camp. He also emphasises the drama rather than the melodrama, in particular the drama between and within the recruits through the weeks of training. His play on common words, phrases and acronyms is at its sharpest in years – and amusing asides like how NDU is abbreviated to be ‘Night Delivery Unit’ or how ‘hum ka chan’ actually means humble and garang largely hit the right notes. The structure of the NDU training itself also imposes discipline on his storytelling, and this is probably one of his most coherent and tightly knit films in recent years.
Much as we thought the ‘Ah Boys to Men’ franchise was done and dusted with a drama series and a musical following the two-part movies, Neo has proven that there is plenty of mileage left in the story of a ragtag group of misfits going through an indelible journey in every Singaporean male’s transformation from teenager to young adult. Though he opens with a thrilling rescue by the NDU of a cargo vessel overtaken by pirates, it is in these endearing NS character archetypes and their individual, as well as collective, rites of passage that ‘Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen’ truly resonates. Not just because of its theme, but also because of its treatment, its humour and its drama, we dare say you won’t find a more relevant Singaporean film this year.
Movie Rating:
(Rewinding to put the Boys through NDU instead of BMT training, Jack Neo’s third instalment hits a high-water mark for the franchise with tighter storytelling, more precise – and poignant - character beats and the same excellent cast of misfits)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Comedy
Director: Philippe de Chauveron
Cast: Christian Clavier, Chantal Lauby, Ary Abittan, Medi Sadoun, Frédéric Chau, Noom Diawara, Frédérique Bel, Julia Piaton, Emilie Caen, Elodie Fontan
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 11 December 2014
Synopsis: Claude and Marie Verneuil, from the provincial, Catholic upper middle class, are rather conservative parents. But they've always forced themselves to be open-minded. However, their tolerance has been sorely tested when their first daughter married a Muslim, the second a Jew, and the third a Chinese man. Their hopes to at last see one of their daughters married in church hence focus on their youngest, who has, hallelujah, just met a good Catholic...
Movie Review:
If you ever need a reminder that French cinema can be as commercialised as Hollywood, look no further than the latest Gallic comedy, ‘Serial (Bad) Weddings’. One of the biggest box-office earners at home when it opened earlier this year, this culture-clash family comedy sees an upper-class Catholic couple (Christian Clavier and Chantal Lauby) struggle to accept an Arab, a Jew, a Muslim and finally a black – in that order – as their sons-in-law. In place of artistic merit, writer/ director Philippe de Chauveron trades on broad stereotypes for laughs that are convenient, crass and to some extent, cheap, so those expecting any sort of sophistication should probably look elsewhere.
Together with his co-writer Guy Laurent, de Chauveron has tapped on the close-mindedness of his fellow Frenchmen to fashion a story that begins after Claude and Marie (Clavier and Lauby respectively) witness with an awkward grimace their three daughters get married to a Rachid Benassem (Medi Sadoun), a David Benichou (Ary Abittan) and a Chao Ling (Frédéric Chau). Though their individual marriages seem to be happy and fulfilling, the family reunions are as chaotic as can be – in particular, a luncheon after the circumcision of their Jewish grandchild sees Rachid call David “Arafat” and the former being served a karate chop by Chao later on for demeaning his race.
But in an attempt to reconcile the family, Claude and Marie invite the three married couples and their one unmarried daughter to their “castle” in the picturesque French countryside for the weekend. They have an ulterior motive though – to introduce their youngest, Laure (Elodie Fontan), to their ideal son-in-law. Unbeknownst to them, Laure is already engaged to Charles (Noom Diawara), who though Catholic is African and has a dad André (Pascal Nzonzi) that is tough and even more racially intolerant than the two of them combined (yes, indeed, racism cuts both ways).
Even though de Chauveron teases his audience to guess whether or not the wedding between Charles and Laure is doomed as tempers flare and fray, there is no doubt at any point that there will be a happy ending for the couple. What therefore remains to be seen is whether the journey to that destination is worth the ride, and the answer in this case, is questionable. Clavier is a known comic star in his home territory, and here proves to be the best thing about the shenanigans; indeed, Clavier shares good rapport with Nzonzi, and despite the clichés, their scenes bonding over fine wine, cigars and Charles de Gaulle are heartwarming and pleasing.
Unfortunately, the film on a whole can’t quite rise above the trappings of a middling sitcom, with its gags resembling that which belong to the sort of politically incorrect Hollywood comedies that deserve to be both raunchier and more irreverent. How else would you spin a joke about the family dog eating what is supposed to be a sacred piece of foreskin that David had entrusted his parents-in-law to keep buried in the ground? Or Andre turning out to be a former military man who remains resentful of the “whites” for having colonised his homeland? de Chauveron aims to have his cake and eat it by trying to keep the racially tinged jokes just mildly inoffensive, but doesn’t quite succeed either way.
Thankfully, the game cast make the affair an amiable enough one to pass the time. Besides Clavier, the male cast members, Sadoun, Abittan and Chau, share good chemistry with one another. Their rib-tickling resembles a cheerful night out with friends, and a sequence where they band together impromptu to sing the French national anthem – and surprise their father-in-law – is easily one of the highlights of the film.
Depending on how you like your (French) comedy, you may either find de Chauveron’s multicultural farce amusing or simply frustrating. To be sure, this isn’t the sort of classy stuff you would expect from ‘Amelie’; but if you’re willing to accept your French cinema like Hollywood cuisine, then you’ll find that ‘Serial (Bad) Weddings’ still has quite a number of guffaws to offer, especially if you’re in a light-hearted generous mood.
Movie Rating:
(As Hollywood as French cinema gets, this multicultural farce trades on racial stereotypes for a rib-tickling time while trying to stay on the right side of political correctness)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Director: The Spierig Brothers
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor, Christopher Kirby, Madeleine West, Jim Knobeloch, Freya Stafford, Cate Wolfe
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 December 2014
Synopsis: PREDESTINATION chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to ensure the continuation of his law enforcement career for all eternity. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.
Movie Review:
Time travel has proven one of the knottiest concepts for filmmakers, and as this fall’s underwhelming ‘Interstellar’ showed, even an auteur like Christopher Nolan can find his head in a (literal) spin. That alone should put into perspective the accomplishment of siblings Peter and Michael Spierig, who with their latest time- and mind-bending science-fiction ‘Predestination’ (based upon the short story ‘All You Zombies’ by Robert A. Heinlein) have just managed to weave a narrative around time travel that makes perfect sense. Not to say that it is easy to understand – in fact, it did take us the second viewing to put it all together – but once you start to appreciate it on its own terms, you’ll begin to realise just how everything falls beautifully into its destined (pun intended) place.
Christians will offer their own interpretation of the title according to scripture, but that is not the intention of the Spierigs, who are also responsible for adapting Heinlein’s story. At best, that 13-page story was just a treatment, which starts off as a ‘guy who walks into a bar’ story – in this case, one with as nondescript a name as John, who writes under the pseudonym ‘the Unmarried Mother’ for confession magazines. John starts to narrate his incredible life story to the Bartender (there is a reason why we’ve capitalised this character), which begins as a little girl abandoned and raised in an orphanage in 1945. As a child and teenager, this girl named Jane wasn’t at all well-liked, and grew up learning to defend herself against her peers who would pick on her; but unsociable as she was, she was very intelligent.
The Spierigs have made some significant additions to Heinlein’s original story, most prominently by turning the Bartender into a Temporal Agent, whose mission as part of a top-secret organisation is to travel through time to prevent major crimes from happening. A brief prologue establishes this particular Agent’s crucial mission as stopping the ‘Fizzle Bomber’, a terrorist responsible for causing the deaths of tens of thousands in New York during the 1970s. The Agent is about to disarm the latest explosive rigged by the Fizzle Bomber when the latter stuns him from beneath, causing the bomb to blow up in his face. Thankfully, just before he loses consciousness, the Agent is sent many years into the future by a coordinate transformer field kit – which is really a time machine in the disguise of a violin case – and given a new lease of life with reconstructive surgery.
The Agent’s final mission before he is decommissioned happens to be John/ Jane, who enlists as a young adult in the Space Corps as a glorified “comfort woman” for the male astronauts out in space. Her scores are exemplary, but she is expelled from training when the doctors discover that she is an intersex, i.e. born with both male and female reproductive organs. Jane’s story takes a few more unexpected twists and turns, especially when she meets a young man who literally completes her sentences, knows her inside out, falls in love with her (and her with him), and then leaves just before she finds out that she is pregnant. The pregnancy and her daughter’s subsequent abduction from the nursery leaves her extremely bitter, which therefore allows the Agent to ask that one critical question of the film.
“What if I put him in front of you, the man who ruined your life? Would you kill him?” the Agent asks John. The answer is a brilliant paradox that deserves to be discovered by its audience on their own; indeed, to reveal anything more would be doing the Spierigs a great dishonour. It may take some time for you to fully grasp the significance of just who this young man who impregnates Jane is, but it seems appropriate to warn the more conservative members that the midway twist may potentially be rather disturbing from an ethical standpoint. And yet, it is about the most realistic and logical twist that we have ever seen in a time-travel context, one that eventually is also just as ingeniously replicated in the mystery tying the Agent and the Fizzle Bomber.
Whereas many time-travel movies posit the past to which their future selves return to as a parallel but alternate dimension, the Spierigs have overcome perhaps the knottiest logic gap in time-travel by suggesting that it happens within the very same dimension. You’ll do well if you don’t want to leave the cinema scratching your head to pay attention to every single line of dialogue, and our advice is to pay special attention to the one about time-travel being a snake eating its own tail. Yes, it is pure genius how the Spierigs have explained everything within their own movie as happening within the same dimension, even more so when after you think about it that there are but three main characters in their mind-stimulating narrative.
Compared to the ambitious but underdeveloped ‘Daybreakers’, ‘Predestination’ is a triumph for the Spierigs. Their storytelling is on par with some of the best sci-fi movies ever made, and their attention to detail here, not just with the plot but also with the characters and the locations, is impeccable. They are also supported by a most competent pair of actors, i.e. Ethan Hawke as the Temporal Agent/ Bartender and Sarah Snook as John/ Jane. Hawke proves again why he is one of the most understated leading men around, but it is Snook who in a performance of range and sensitivity truly makes the film a compelling watch from start to end, her portrayal of a transgender person so carefully modulated that you can thoroughly feel her transformation both psychologically and emotionally.
It isn’t any coincidence that the Spierigs’ film has obtained the most number of nominations in this year’s Australian Film Awards. Smart, gripping and unexpectedly poignant, this is one of the very movies that has managed to transcend the inherent challenges of its time-travel conceit without compromising on storyline and character. Besides an intriguing plot, you’ll also find that there are deep themes here of identity, destiny and choice at play. Yes, this is a movie that will leave you thinking, questioning and debating, and therein lies its brilliance and beauty, for everything ties so wonderfully together that you can’t help but agree that it is ‘Predestination’.
Movie Rating:
(One of the very best sci-fi films built on time-travel, this tightly knotted exploration of identity and destiny will keep you intrigued and entranced long after the credits roll)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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