Genre: Drama
Director: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Austin Stowell, Jayson Blair, Kavita Patil, Michael D. Cohen
RunTime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://sonyclassics.com/whiplash/
Opening Day: 15 January 2015
Synopsis: A young and talented drummer (Miles Teller) attending a prestigious music academy finds himself under the wing of the most respected professor (J.K. Simmons) at the school, one who does not hold back on abuse towards his students. The two form an odd relationship as the student tries to achieve greatness, and the professor tries to stop him.
Movie Review:
This reviewer used to be from the symphonic band, and remembers how much time was spent in rehearsal rooms, trying to perfect that tune with his comrades. National band competitions were a big deal. And it is so big a deal that people would crumble and break into tears if the school didn’t clinch a gold medal. Two decades later, this writer asks himself: How is artistic perfection achieved? Is there such a thing as perfection in art? At what price and to what length can an individual delve into to attain that perfection? Damien Chazelle’s highly engaging drama film tackles all those questions, and more – much much more.
The premise sounds simple enough: An ambitious young jazz drummer, like any other aspiring musician who wants great things in his life, pursues his dream in an elite music conservatory. He isn’t particularly awed by his father’s failed writing career, and becomes obsessed with becoming a legendary drummer. Enter an instructor who is known for his teaching talents and discovering great musicians. This guy isn’t joking when he tells you to buck up. Known for his tyrannical teaching methods, he also leads the top jazz band in the school. These two characters come together, and the teacher will push the student to an edge so dangerous, sanity is at stake.
In 2013, writer director Chazelle, himself a former drums student, made a short film Whiplash and took home the jury award at Sundance Film Festival’s US fiction category. Last year, the feature film premiered in competition and opened the prestigious independent film festival. It went on to receive the top audience and grand jury awards in the US dramatic competition.
Then people started to take note of this 106 minute film, which is a good thing of course. Sony Pictures Worldwide acquired the international distribution rights, and people started talking about the power of this well crafted piece of work. It is hard to take your eyes off the screen once the movie starts. Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now, That Awkward Moment) plays the drumming protégé Andrew Neiman. The 27 year old American actor, a musician himself, portrays this rather unlikable kid. But one can’t help sympathising him the moment JK Simmons’ (Thank You for Smoking, Burn After Reading) Terence Fletcher comes into the picture.
Simmons, whom we all know as J Jonah Jameson (the editor in chief at the Daily Bugle) in Sam Raimi’s Spider Man trilogy, has been getting great acclaim for his unforgettable role as a terrifying and monstrous mentor, will send shivers down any viewer’s spine. You giggle nervously as he hurls expletives as Teller. Heck, this petrifying character is the epitome of terror, and will inflict horror on anyone in his way. The actor has already won numerous prizes for his hauntingly memorable performance, including a Best Supporting Actor accolade at the Golden Globes earlier this week. We are pretty certain of an Oscar nomination, and a highly possible Oscar win.
The film is a gleefully interesting character study. As the perfectly edited film progresses, you begin to empathise where both characters are coming from. The student is pursuing a dream, and the teacher wants nothing more than perfection for the young apprentice. When the movie ends with its dramatic finale, when the final beat is heard before the screen goes to black, you feel like you’ve lived through the painful joy of creating art.
Movie Rating:
(A dauntingly powerful piece of work with unforgettable performances from JK Simmons and Miles Teller, its brutally riveting tone will grip you for the film’s entire duration)
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Cast: Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan, Lake Bell
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 27 August 2015
Synopsis: An intense international thriller, NO ESCAPE centres on an American businessman (Owen Wilson) as he and his family settle into their new home in a fictitious country in Southeast Asia. Suddenly finding themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising, they must frantically look for a safe escape as rebels mercilessly attack the city.
Movie Review:
Nope, there will never be world peace. And movies like this thriller directed by John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine, Devil) are not really helping. This is not a bad thing though, considering the global mess that’s happening outside our safe and sanitised homes. There is, to a certain extent, some truth in every other seemingly B grade action movie exploring the themes of international unrest.
The story penned by the director and his brother Drew Dowdle sees an American businessman moving to an unnamed country in Southeast Asia(nice try, film producers, for attempting not to anger any of our regional neighbours) and finding themselves in the middle of a coup. From there, you see the family of four frantically trying to escape (there are lots of running, sweating and hiding) the violence and bloodshed that’s around them.
The first thing you’d be concern about is the casting of Asians as the supposed villains in the 103 minute movie. Yup, Asians are conveniently depicted as the evil “others”, wielding their guns and choppers, going around killing innocent victims. Countless people die, but as you can probably expect, not the white family viewers are supposed to root for.
One thing you may eventually realise though (if you haven’t either completely shut off or immersing yourself in the action), is how every member of the global community has a part to play to reach this messy stage where unrest lurks in every corner of our world.
There is lots of collateral damage in the movie. You see buildings collapse, explosions going off and almost everything in sight breaking apart. If you’re looking for a movie with in depth character study, you may want to look elsewhere.
Hence, as a popcorn flick, this movie doesn’t fare too bad. Funnyman Owen Wilson (yup, an odd choice as the leading man in an action movie) does a decent job – you almost emphatise with him for having to go through what looks like a very strenuous shoot. He is paired up with LakeBell, who portrays a foreigner out of her comfort zone pretty well. And then there are the two child actors to tug at your heartstrings. Completing the picture is Pierce Brosnan, who reminds you how the years haven’t been kind to the suave actor who made countless females swoon with his rendition of James Bond.
The action sequences in the movie are nicely paced – watch out for a scene where Wilsonhas to bring his family to an adjacent building by convincing his wife that she can jump across the rooftop, and brace yourself for this: flinging his children across to the other side. While you may think to yourself “yah… right”, but you have to admit there won’t be any casualties or things will end up looking pretty ugly.
We are guessing this movie won’t go down too well with critics, and probably won’t have much box office impact. But as a casual viewer, this isn’t all that bad.
Movie Rating:
(There are some nice action sequences in this movie, but they are probably not enough to save it from mediocrity)
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: In the span of a single day, the town of Silverton is ravaged by an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes. The entire town is at the mercy of the erratic and deadly cyclones, even as storm trackers predict the worst is yet to come. Most people seek shelter, while others run towards the vortex, testing how far a storm chaser will go for that once-in-a-lifetime shot.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Into The Storm is a mix of found footage, disaster movie. It can’t decide if it wants to be the next Twister or the next Sharknado thus it ends up as a middling effort that rip and roar through the brisk 89 minutes with intense sound and visual effects.
With not much narrative and backstory to begin with, a high school vice principle, Gary Fuller (Richard Armitage’s from The Hobbit) and his two sons, Trey and Donnie are preparing for the school graduation ceremony in the small town of Silverton while a group of storm chasers are prepping to film the biggest tornado of all time.
If this is the writing standard of future Hollywood movies then we are in deep trouble. We probably don’t really care about Donnie’s safety as he accompanied the girl he likes to an abandoned mill to film a school project in the middle of a pending storm or the fact that Gary might end up with meteorologist Allison Stone (Sarah Wayne Callies) and her team to rescue the entire school students. Even sillier are two rednecks that appear for no reason except to provide comic relief Jackass-style.
While Twister features the likes of Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and flying cows, Into The Storm lacks memorable characters and believable acting. Assistant director turned director Steven Quale treats the material as if it was another instalment of Final Destination. Instead of introducing the next glorifying death, Quale and his visual effects team created one gigantic tornado one after another dispensing the need for credible stories and physical actors.
Still, the visual effects are competent enough in portraying the ruthless carnage and maniac weather conditions if that’s what you are looking for in the comfort and safety of your own home. Sit back, crank up the Dolby Digital 5.1 and enjoy this CG spectacle.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Not everything is CG as Fake Storms: Real Conditions shows us how practical effects such as wind and rain are created in the background.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Gray and dark levels dominate the look of this DVD though it’s not that harsh enough to affect your viewing experience. The soundtrack is aggressive and packs a wallop whenever the leading star aka Tornado appears onscreen.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Action
Director: Panna Rittikrai
Cast: Diew-Choopong Changprung, Wut-Nantawut Boonrupsup
RunTime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:
Opening Day: 1 January 2015
Synopsis: For Nathee (Diew-Choopong Changprung), the turning point of his life towards becoming a deadly assassin is his search of the truth about his parent’s murders. He abandoned his only brother, Than (Wut-Nantawut Boonrubsup) to pursue his new assassin role. One day he received a mission to provide protection to Ploy (May-Nisachon Tuamsongnern), a niece of an influential person. In the middle of his protective mission, the order was diverted to kill Ploy instead. However, the story took its turn when he decided not to follow the order and he was targeted as a scape goat in a kidnapping case, which resulted in him being hunted down by a mysterious assassin. Nathee had to rejoin forces with his brother, Than, to fight for their lives while also in search of finding out who is the mastermind behind all these incidents!!! The ultimate fight of vengeance comes with ultimate fighting tactics full of actions, “To win, the only choice is to be faster, stronger and bolder”.
Movie Review:
Tony Jaa may be the face of ‘Ong Bak’ and ‘Tom Yum Goong’, but bona fide aficionados of Thai action cinema will tell you that the real star behind these international hits is Panna Rittikrai. Indeed, Rittikrai was Jaa’s mentor and fight choreographer on both the aforementioned movies before graduating to taking Prachya Pinkaew’s place as director of both the ‘Ong Bak’ sequels through Jaa’s existential crisis. But Pittikrai never craved for the sort of fame and recognition that Jaa has since received; while Jaa looked for (and found) his big Hollywood break, Pittikrai remained firmly in the Thai cinema circle and continued to work at giving promising young actors like Dan Chupong and Yanin “Jeeja” Vismistananda their chance to be the next Tony Jaa.
If we’ve started our review on a somewhat sombre note, it is because ‘Vengeance of an Assassin’ has turned out to be Rittikrai’s final work. At age 53, Rittikrai passed away earlier this year, and this film is dedicated to his loving memory. And yet even though it was never made with that intention, this gritty hard-hitting action spectacle is undeniably a befitting tribute to Rittikrai and his legacy. Co-written and directed by Rittikrai, it is an unabashed throwback to the action movies of the 80s and 90s when action was the operative word of the genre and elements such as plot and character were secondary, so much so that the good guys were unreservedly good and the bad guys were, well, bound to meet their deserved end.
Pittikrai’s priorities are clear right from the thrilling opening sequence, where a bunch of mostly shirtless guys with great abs are playing a game of indoor soccer as if their lives literally depended on it. No matter that we don’t yet know who is who, every kick and punch is so bone-crunchingly real that we cannot help but marvel at Rittikrai’s choreography and execution. Even when that standalone sequence is finally revealed to be nothing more than a dream for our lead character Than (Nathawut Boonrubsub), the adrenaline ride is more than worth the narrative gimmick. Like we said, the plotting here isn’t the film’s focal point, and serves no more than as a form of connective tissue for the series of equally jaw-dropping action scenes to come.
It follows too that storytelling isn’t Pittikrai’s strong suite, so do be minded to forgive him for the messy way in which events unfold. For the record, the idea here is that Than and his older brother Thee (Dan Chupong) lost their parents at a young age and now looked after by their uncle (Ping Lumpraploeng). Curious at how his parents died, Thee sets out to uncover their true identities, and through an old family friend, stumbles into the underworld as an assassin for hire. His latest assignment is to kill Ploy (newcomer Nisachon Tuamsungnoen), the daughter of an influential politician; unbeknownst to him, his employer has only engaged him in order to take the fall for Ploy’s assassination.
Thee goes on the run with Ploy, which puts him at odds with his employer(s); unsurprisingly, they turn out to be connected to his parents’ death, thereby giving him, Than and his uncle the chance to avenge their loss (hence the title of the movie). Rittikrai and his co-writer Wisit Wachatanon try to weave a gangland thriller with power plays and double-crosses, but the needlessly convoluted setup is merely excuse to let Chupong take out a whole bunch of baddies on his own before meeting his match in the foxy "Nui" Kessarin Ektawatkul, another one of Pittikrai’s protégé from his 2004 film ‘Born to Fight’. It is also eventually an opportunity for Boonrubsub to showcase his moves against chief villain Chai’s henchmen, in the same one-against-many style before similarly culminating in a more evenly matched mano-a-mano showdown.
Rittikrai’s language of movie-making has been through the hands, legs and everyday objects that his characters use as weapons against each other, and true enough, his film only truly finds its groove after the half-hour mark when its characters finally get to speak to each other in the language Rittikrai knows best. Trust us when we say that it is well worth the wait, as Rittikrai minimises the kind of wirework that has marred Asian action cinema of late and sticks to the sort of raw unflinching violence that will undoubtedly in turn make you flinch. Against equally crude backgrounds such as garages and abandoned factories, Rittkrai lets his characters go at each other in a no holds barred manner that will see faces smashed, jaws torn open and other assorted body parts being crushed.
Oh yes, it certainly is over-the-top, in particular a typical 80s Hollywood-style sequence where Tee and Than try to rescue Ploy from on board a runaway locomotive while their uncle and Ploy’s family doctor named Master Si Fu attempt to take down a helicopter from their Land Rover using machine guns and RPGs. We’re not sure if the poorly done CG backgrounds while Than fights off a seemingly never-ending stream of bad guys on top of the train were intentional, but it certainly adds up to the gleefully retro feel of the sequence which could very well have come straight out of a Chuck Norris or Sylvester Stallone movie back in the days. You can’t quite fault it for being exaggerated if you’re going to enjoy the sheer nuttiness of it, just as how you’ll have to accept that Than could have learnt his moves simply by watching and practising that displayed by his parents on some old videos his uncle doesn’t want him to see.
This being a Rittikrai movie, you can be sure every single one of the actors can actually fight; and yet it isn’t Chupong and Boonrubsub who manages to surprise us but the elderly Malaysian actor named Ooi Teik Huat who plays Master Si Fu. It is a delightful supporting role that captures both the exuberance and the energy that this B-action movie has in spades. If it’s action you want, it’s action you’ll get in Rittikrai’s latest and last, and while cynics can easily tear the movie apart for its flaws, we’d rather just indulge in its guilty pleasures and enjoy the sheer adrenaline rush it affords its audience.
Movie Rating:
(A glorious throwback to the genre in the 80s and 90s, Panna Rittikrai’s final movie offers action fanatics as visceral an adrenaline rush as one can ask for)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama
Director: Adrian Kwan
Cast: Miriam Yeung, Louis Koo, Richard Ng, Philip Keung, Rain Lau, Mimi Kung, Stanley Fung, Sammy Leung, Fu Shun-ying, Wong Sze-nga, Ho Yun-ying, Zaha, Kaiti
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/movie.littlebigmaster
Opening Day: 19 March 2015
Synopsis: Feeling unsettled, Hung (by Miriam Yeung) steps down as Headmistress from a famous Kindergarten. Retiring at her age seems to be a perfect timing to achieve the dream of traveling around the world with her husband, Tung (by Louis Koo), who works as a designer in the museum. However, Hung understands this retirement is only a mean to walk away from her fading passion towards education.
Then, Hung notices a recruitment ad of a Kindergarten in a village recruiting headmaster and school keeper in a single post. If they can’t hire a headmaster in time, this kindergarten with only five poor students will be retrieved by properties developer, thus exploiting the five kid’s only chance to attend school. Hung is haunted by the uncertain future of the five kids…. At last, only in the hope of searching them a better school before the coming school year, she decides to apply for the Headmistress despite the extremely low salary and postpones the trip with Tung for a year.
At first when Hung secretly visits the five kids, Suet, Kaka, Chu, and the South Asian sisters Kitty and Jennie, they strongly refuse to open their hearts to strangers, but after showing much care and patience by Hung, the kids turn to welcome Hung with their hands holding tight. The pure innocence in their eyes touches Hung and relights her passion towards education and she gets to know about the story behind each of them bit by bit.
There are a lot more to do besides planning the curriculum, including fixing the old school building, cleaning the toilet, driving the school bus. She even has to stand the sarcasm from the public after assisting the poor parents. Nevertheless, she overcomes all the difficulties with her great passion and gets to love this place gradually. She determines to keep on working for the school without letting Tung knows…
Tung has a cold war with Hung after discovering Hung is still running the Kindergarten. In the meantime, parents are instigated to drop out of school and the developer gives final notice of impending land resumption, all these things come together and make Hung too stressful, she finally collapses with severe illness…
On that day, regardless of the illness, Hung returns to the Kindergarten to attend an important occasion - the graduation ceremony of five kids. The kids, who have been sharing laughter and tears with Hung, are well prepared to give a thank you speech to their respectful headmistress. Hung realises her perseverance and hard work pays off and gains her support. Hung’s passionate spirit is not going to fade along with the graduation of the five kids, but becomes contagious.
Movie Review:
‘Little Big Master’ is the kind of movie that you’ll probably feel bad for disliking even if it were terrible, but thankfully it never puts its audience in that position. A fact-based portrait of a former headmistress from an elite kindergarten who takes up the same role for a meagre payout at a ramshackle village school with just five children in its enrolment, it makes no attempt to conceal the fact that it intends to tug at your heartstrings – but by staying true to its subject as well as that of the real-life characters it aims to portray, there is absolutely no need for anyone to find an excuse to love it.
Playing the titular role of Madam Lilian Lui Wai-hung is Miriam Yeung, who gives one of her most down-to-earth and honest performances ever. That is evident right from the get-go, where in the opening scenes, Yeung effortlessly establishes her character as a passionate educator who resigns after the board of the prestigious pre-school she is at disagrees with her dressing down of a parent obsessed with grades. A few months of doing nothing in particular later, Hung chances across a news report on the predicament facing Yuen Tin Kindergarten, which is facing imminent closure by the village council at the end of its current school term if its numbers fall below the critical minimum of five when one of its students graduates.
After making a trip to visit the requisitely – and this in case, genuinely – adorable kids, Hung agrees to accept a HK$4,500 salary for being the school’s headmistress cum janitor cum groundskeeper. The local road sweeper makes it a point every day to say loudly how futile her efforts are. Ditto the rest of the villagers, some of whom have begun accepting bets based on how long they think she will last. And yet Hung doesn’t waver in her belief that each child deserves a good education, so she takes it upon herself to ensure not just that the grounds and the classrooms are clean and conducive but also that every one of her students shows up daily for lessons.
Tempting though it may be to O.D. his audience with scenes of Hung and her irresistibly and irrepressibly cute quintet of muppets, director Adrian Kwan doesn’t sugar-coat the realities which his story derives from. Indeed, Kwan and his co-writer Hannah Cheung take pains to highlight the working-class backgrounds of each of the tots – Siu-suet (Ho Yuen-ying)’s father, played by veteran actor Richard Ng, is a single parent working as a scrap metal collector who is lucky to scrape enough each day to put food on the table for that day itself; Ka-ka (Fu Shun-ying) lost both her parents to a car accident one stormy day and is now cared for by her aunt; Chu-chu (Keira Wang) is afraid to come to school on days when her disabled dad (Philip Keung) loses his temper at scheming land developers harassing him to sign his current house away; and sisters Kitty Fathima (Zaha Fathima) and Jennie (Nayab Khan) have to help their mother in the kitchen where their father works too. As each child takes turns to skip school, Hung pays them a house visit to convince their parents of the importance of a proper education.
There is an important lesson here about the impact that a good educator can make, and Kwan emphasises that point by contrasting Hung’s attitude with that of her former CEO’s (Sammy Leung), whose chief aim is to capitalise on a pressure-cooker system to earn money from ‘kiasu’ parents. But Kwan is also careful not to sanctify his subject, hence the attention on developing a subplot related to Hung’s marriage with designer Tung (Louis Koo) – though she promises initially that they would go on a tour around the world after his contract ends, she fails to tell him when she makes up her mind to stay on teaching at the kindergarten by organising an enrolment drive to keep the numbers going. Yeung's scenes with Koo add a refreshing dimension to her story, depicting a touching example of an ideal marriage built on trust, encouragement and mutual support.
That Yeung manages a modest chemistry with Koo should come as no surprise, since it is just months before that the pair were lovers in ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2’. What is quite amazing is the genuine rapport that Yeung shares with her much, much younger co-stars. Their casting from amongst 400 hopefuls who auditioned is spot-on; in particular, the emotional finale set on the very last day of the school term demonstrates how natural the kids are, and we guarantee that only a heartless monster will not be moved eventually. That credit is also Kwan’s as well as his producer Benny Chan’s (yes, the Benny Chan of ‘The White Storm’ and ‘Shaolin’), who manage to coax such unaffected and even infectious performances from their first-time actresses.
Sure there are deliberate heart-rending moments, but by telling her story as it is and never being emotionally manipulative about it, Kwan – dubbed the ‘Gospel Director’ for his feel-good Christian films ‘Sometimes, Miracles Do Happen’, ‘Life is a Miracle’ and ‘If U Care ...’ – does a fittingly elegant tribute to his film’s real-life hero. There is no place for cynicism or for that matter melodrama here; rather, this social-based drama that illuminates a cause worth fighting for is moving, affecting and inspirational in its own right. It’s a little story of one teacher and five kids all right, but a big one about change, conviction, and making a positive difference.
Movie Rating:
(Earnest and honest, with a refreshingly down-to-earth performance by Miriam Yeung, this fact-based social drama is moving, affecting and inspirational in its own right)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Barney, Christmas and the rest of the team come face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks, who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables -- but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Stallone admits in a recent interview that the PG13 friendlier rating was a horrible miscalculation. But honestly, the third instalment of Expendables has far serious flaws instead of mere missing bloodshed and gore.
The Expendables franchise sells itself as an action flick that features past action stars kicking ass once again on the big screen. In this third outing, Stallone bent the rule a little too far allowing younger stars such as Kellan Lutz and Glen Powell to take over the screen for half of the duration despite having new recruits: Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas and Mel Gibson onboard.
This time round, the Expendables are sent on a mission by the CIA to capture an arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks to be tried for war crimes. For some incomprehensive reasons, Barney Ross decides to disband the old gang and recruit new members for the mission. But when his new team is captured by Stonebanks, Ross’ ex-mercenaries returned to lend a helping hand before Stonebanks and his army kills them all.
The story is too formulaic to allow that many stars to squeeze into, obviously a sign that Stallone should leave the script writing duties to more capable hands. The action set pieces while aplenty lacked imagination and worn out its welcome by the time the finale gun battle arrived.
As weak as it is, The Expendables 3 is still a watchable B-movie mainly because of Banderas providing comic relief and Gibson as the ruthless Stonebanks, co-founder of the expendables turned arms dealer. The running time at 121 minutes is much longer than the earlier two instalments though it hardly feels draggy or painful. Maybe time flies faster watching stuff blowing up, endless gunfire and Jet Li, Schwarzenegger and Ford’s brief appearances.
The Expendables 3 is not exactly a disaster on the whole. As the latest entry to the franchise, it undeniably stumbles. Perhaps a revamp is needed to energize this tired franchise. Just get Steven Seagal, Jackie Chan and Pierce Bronson for the fourth one and eliminate the inclusion of younger members for a start.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The movie looks fine on DVD with strong detailing and colours. Sound reproduction is dynamic and immersive.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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Genre: Drama/Action
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Navid Negahban, Eric Close, Eric Ladin, Sammy Sheik, Sam Jaeger, Rey Gallegos, Joel Lambert
RunTime: 2 hrs 14 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://www.americansnipermovie.com
Opening Day: 22 January 2015
Synopsis: From director Clint Eastwood comes "American Sniper," starring Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. But there was much more to this true American hero than his skill with a rifle. U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle is sent to Iraq with only one mission: to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname "Legend." However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents. Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Chris serves through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, becoming emblematic of the SEAL creed to "leave no man behind." But upon returning home, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
Movie Review:
‘American Sniper’ is based on the autobiography of Chris Kyle, also known as the most lethal sniper in US history. That said, the film not only explores Kyle’s four tours to Iraq (with Kyle played by an extremely buff Bradley Cooper), but also explores his childhood (briefly), motivation for joining the US Navy SEALs, family life and after he was honorably discharged.
War films are not exactly the films I will typically watch for two main reasons:
First, the cheesy impetus to join the Force. The way someone could just decide, at a snap of a finger, to join the force after a single triggering event bewilders me. At this point of time, the character is lured by his romanticized vision of war, without considering what fighting and killing really entails. Perhaps it does not happen in reality, but it does seem so in most war movies. Also connected to this are bravado and jingoism, and an oversized ego.
Next, the one sided portrayal of the enemy, and placing the protagonist against a faceless “Other”. True, it is the victors that write history, and they have no reason to glorify the enemy. But that doesn’t make the enemy any less human, and this element is often lost in films, where time is a precious commodity.
Sorry to be a downer here, but the American Sniper contained both of these pitfalls. In the movie, Kyle was suddenly struck by the impulse to join the army while drowning his sorrows in alcohol, and watching the news. He undergoes the grueling SEAL training, romanced his wife, and is flown to Iraq. While being in Iraq for more than a thousand days, Kyle guns down terrorists lurking in the shadows, earning the title “Legend” and a bounty on his head.
Thankfully, the stereotypes end here. While the deadly sniper portrayal is present throughout (the audience was reminded of his “gift” and “sheepdog” instinct early in the film), the film also features Kyle stateside, growing increasingly distant from his family, trying to cope with PTSD, guilt, and his failure to protect his comrades.
As Kyle, Cooper does a convincing job at being the patriot, the sheepdog, and the guilty, especially in the quieter moments of the film. Used to the violence in Iraq, the relative peacefulness of being stateside was probably unnerving, and Cooper shows this by his jumpiness as well as brooding reticence. This might come across as being over the top, but Cooper somehow manages to pull it off.
As for the treatment of the enemy, the film does give a name and face to them, although they are often shown as being excessively brutal or simply moving targets. The main enemy, one that Kyle grapples with throughout his tours, is the enemy sniper, a Syrian ex-Olympic shooter. Both snipers, American and Syrian, were shown to be more similar than they seem – having a family with children, and yet forsaking them to fight for their beliefs. For me, this was the most powerful message of the movie: that there is no good or evil, but simply different beliefs and ways of protecting them.
The film’s unflinching and realistic take on war would probably not disappoint war film aficionados, with explosions, miraculous running in gunfire without being hurt, and pin-point sniper accuracy that almost felt like a video game. Being a film about snipers, well, the bloodiness was to be expected. However, director Clint Eastwood does not brood too much on it, simply showing enough to paint a realistic picture.
Portrayal of the war veterans brings to mind a line from Wilfred Owen’s poetry, “legless, sewn short at elbow”, but that is not to say the scars are only on the surface. For Kyle, who was mentally crippled by PTSD, the camaraderie between comrades was both his downfall and his savior, and the film showcases an honorable man who fought for his country and beliefs even to the end.
Movie Rating:
(The film serves as a timely reminder that war is not only about patriotism and sacrifice, but also what lies after, when the soldiers are irrevocably changed by their participation, making it all the more poignant)
Review by Goh Yan Hui
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