SYNOPSIS: Terri (Taraji P. Henson) is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin (Idris Elba), a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at her door claiming car trouble. Terri offers her phone to help him but soon learns that no good deed goes unpunished as she finds herself fighting for survival when he invades her home and terrorizes her family.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Since the romanticized version of home invasion thriller already went to the poorly received Labor Day, Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) and Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) has to resort to killing each other in this cliché-ridden exploitative flick. 

While the producers gushed about how nail biting the script is in the EPK, the audience probably has seen incarnations of No Good Deed countless times. Elba plays Colins Evans, a charismatic, psychotic man who escaped from the police after a failed attempt to get paroled. After killing his ex-girlfriend and crashing his stolen van, he seeks refuge in the home of Terri Granger (Henson).

Obviously in the real world, you wouldn’t open your door to a suspicious-looking stranger who is kind of scruffy and soaked all wet because of the downpour. But then again the man in question is Idris Elba. Dark, charming and incredible sexy and with all that inattentiveness from Terri’s husband, the lonely Terri is suddenly mesmerized by this stranger before he turned wacko.

It could have yielded more sexual tension and inspiring events given the two impressive leads yet the lazy scripting prefers to transform Colins Evans into Jason Voorhess from Friday the 13^th. He gets punched, knocked on the head, pushed down the stairs, got himself stabbed and miraculously he is still up and going. Taraji P. Henson on the other hand is the new spokeswoman for female empowerment as her character juggles between protecting her brood and disabling Evans. Let’s not forget the inclusion of conveniently staged jump scares such as random car alarms and tree branches crashing into the house.

There’s a minor twist in the end, which gives new meaning to the Disney song, It’s a Small World. Consider that Elba and Henson also co-produced this title, this theatrical directorial debut from Sam Miller (Luther) is a generic dud. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Making A Thriller is a standard making of feature that has the producers and director raving about the script and the two leading actors being interviewed about their characters and the story. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

No Good Deed looks good on DVD with rich, detailed images despite the often-dark setting. A few action oriented sequences delivered a strong presence with equally precise, clear ambient effects and dialogue.  

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Remembering MR. LEE KUAN YEW (1923 - 2015) Posted on 23 Mar 2015 It’s unusual for us not to post about movie-related news in this column. Today is an exception because it’s a sad day for Singaporeans as we mourn the loss of our founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. There’s no need to delve further into the countless achievements he has made in his political life. Simply put, without his sacrifices and hard work, there might not be a self-s ... more

Genre: Drama
Director: Herman Yau
Cast: Charlene Choi, Simon Yam, Tony Ho, Paulyn Sun, Mimi Kung, Lam Chiu-Wing, Ryan Lau
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: R21
Released By: Golden Village Pictures and Clover Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 26 March 2015

Synopsis: Journalist Sara has just spent four months completing an in-depth investigation piece. Her editor-in-chief, afraid of offending powerful politicians and business moguls, refuses to run it. Sara’s boyfriend, who works for the same magazine, chooses not to warn her and even sides with the editor-in-chief. In just one moment, Sara is turned off by her work, her love relationship and even about life. At this low point in her life, Sara exiles herself to Chiang Mai, Thailand. One evening, while at a bar, Sara meets child prostitute Dok-my. During her time getting to know Dok-my and through the process of rescuing her, Sara becomes haunted by the memories of her own past.

Movie Review:

If you’ve taken notice of ‘Sara’, it’s likely because of the fact that it has been billed as Charlene Choi’s most daring performance yet – and to give the former Twin credit, it is her most fascinating one yet. Playing the titular character that spans her teenage years to her early 30s as an investigative journalist, Choi abandons all vanity in an honest and sincere portrayal that embraces wholeheartedly Sara’s emotional and psychological vulnerabilities. And yes, she does have a couple of intimate scenes with her co-star Simon Yam – but we might as well advise those hoping to see her topless or fully nude to check those expectations at the door, because while candid, they were never meant to be exploitative.

At its core, ‘Sara’ is a coming-of-age story more than an examination of the Thai sex industry, despite some marketing hype about it being an expose on the latter. Indeed, there are two parallel narratives in Erica Li’s screenplay, but no matter what her intentions may have been at the start, Sara’s sojourn to the seedy underbelly of the Land of Smiles is but superficial unless seen in the context of her own teenage years. Appropriately then, the film opens with her sexual abuse as a 14-year-old at the hands of her stepfather (Tony Ho Wah-chiu), which her equally despicable mother (Pauline Suen) keeps quiet about because she feels a misplaced sense of indebtedness for having taken her in.  

Fast-forward to present day, and Sara is now a plucky journalist who goes undercover as a hostess at a nightclub to expose on the collusion between government officials and real estate magnates. Her article provides too incendiary, and her editor yanks it. Feeling betrayed that her boyfriend (Ryan Lau) kept her in the dark about the editorial decision not to publish her piece, Sara leaves abruptly for a sojourn to Chiang Mai. It is in one of the pubs that Sara meets Angela (Sunadcha Tadrabiab), whom she pays a night for in order to bail her out from spending it with lecherous ‘white men’ (known as ‘falangs’) looking for quick one night stands. Sara takes a personal interest to Dok-my’s story, which is meant to illuminate the plight of young girls taken from their villages and forced to sell themselves for money.

Frankly, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone – many human rights organisations and international news media have consistently tried to draw attention to Thailand’s sex trade, and ‘Sara’ adds nothing particularly insightful or poignant. What it does however is to illustrate the parallels with its protagonist’s own struggles as a teenager who ran away from home and turned to petty crime on the streets in order to make ends meet. In the same way that Dok-my trades her body in exchange for a better life, so does Sara in the form of an ultimately destructive relationship with the mild-mannered Kam Ho-yin (Simon Yam).

In exchange for getting her into a Band I school (which is Hong Kong-speak for a renowned private school), Sara offers to have sex with the middle-aged education Government official, who is later revealed to not just be keen to keep up the image of a faithful husband at home but also a devoted Christian. The contradictions would be apparent to anyone, but Ho-yin’s motivations are intentionally kept obscure as he goes out of his way to look after Sara, including paying her rent for an apartment and giving her an allowance. But as you’d probably imagine, their relationship is hardly straightforward – and so, while Ho-yin gets jealous when he spies her journalism school classmate acting fondly towards Sara, he has no qualms trying to keep her hidden from the rest of his life as far as possible. Without any spoilers, it suffices to say that it doesn’t end well, as one iteration of the poster which sees Charlene Choi lying in a pool of red should be clear a hint as any.

And yet, the fact that we appreciate the emotions between Sara and Ho-yin is to director Herman Yau’s credit. While other directors may be tempted to judge or sensationalise their unconventional affair, Yau treads an impressively objective line in depicting their relationship, such that we do not condemn Ho-yin for clearly crossing a moral line nor be devoid of sympathy when Sara realises that she has fallen in love with him. Li’s screenplay doesn’t shy away from the ethical conundrums of their relationship; instead, she and Yau keep the character dynamic between Sara and Ho-yin real and believable, trusting their audiences’ intelligence to draw their own conclusions if they are so minded to.

Apart from being one of its most prolific filmmakers, Yau is also one of Hong Kong cinema’s most socially conscious creative talents, and that same sensibility has enabled him to coax a perfectly naturalistic performance from Choi. With Yau’s firm direction, she doesn’t overplay the melodramatic moments in the movie, nor short-change her audience when she needs to summon the emotional intensity for her character. Of course, Choi has an excellent foil in Yam, whose subtle low-key acting is just what the script and his character’s connection with Sara needs. As an actor, Yam is also ever gracious, letting Choi take the spotlight by underplaying Ho-yin’s presence in their scenes together.

Thankfully, Choi does not disappoint, and those who have been fans of hers since her Twins days can attest to how far she has come as an actress. ‘Sara’ is by no means a perfect film, but it is one of the bolder and thematically challenging films to come out of Hong Kong in recent years, and Choi’s commitment to her titular role makes it even more compelling. Just as surprising is the fact that funnyman Chapman To is its producer, but from the looks of this serious-minded and well-intentioned drama, his sensibilities are in the right place. 

Movie Rating:

(Charlene Choi sheds all vanity in a daring, committed, and untamed performance that anchors an otherwise uneven but compelling film that is a surprisingly better character study than social drama)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Joe Lynch
Cast: Salma Hayek, Jennifer Blanc, Togo Igawa, Caroline Chikezie, Gabriella Wright, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Masashi Fujimoto, Akie Kotabe, Aisha Ayamah
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: R21 (Violence)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://radiustwc.com/releases/everly/

Opening Day: 26 March 2015

Synopsis: An action/thriller centered on a woman who faces down assassins sent by her ex, a mob boss, while holed up in her apartment.

Movie Review:

What do you get when you throw Luc Besson, Quentin Tarantino and Takashi Miike into the blender? The answer: Everly.

The 48-year-old Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek joins the ranks of Angelina Jolie, Scarlet Johansson and Uma Thurman in this ultra-violent, sometimes sadistic action thriller that contains motifs from the above-mentioned filmmakers.

From the start, Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2, Badassdom) obviously took a leaf out of a Luc Besson’s Europa production. Everly is slim on plotting but contains enough action sequences to differentiate itself from the Hollywood model. Hayek plays Everly, a woman who has been locked up in an apartment as a sex slave for years but decides to fight back one night. Her yakuza boss, Taiko (Hiroyuki Watanabe) hell bent on revenge goes on to send a bunch of assassins to finish her off. Unbeknownst to her assailants, Everly is all equipped to fight back to save herself and her loved ones.

Next, Lynch took on a QT’s Kill Bill approach to the material. When in doubt, kill. Never ever threaten a desperate, scantily clad woman with a mother and young child to protect. Everly is a tough chick with nothing to lose. She easily gets rid of every opponent that is dispatched to kill her, including fellow prostitutes and tonnes of Taiko’s henchmen in an over-the-top fashion. Despite the high level of gore and gruesome deaths, the exploitation flick never forgets to instill some wicked humour into it, like how a menacing dog and a lift load of baddies meet their untimely demise.

The thinly plot gets even weirder as a couple of Japanese villains dubbed The Sadist (Togo Igawa) and The Masochist (Masashi Fujimoto) are introduced to unleash unspeakable torture on Everly in the second half of the movie. Stuff that probably happens in a Takashi Miike’s movie is ridiculously imitated by screenwriter Yale Hannon and Lynch. By the time Taiko makes his grand entrance with countless fake deaths along the way, you are probably anticipating in what way Taiko is going to wind up dead. Is it by a gun, sword, grenade or worst of all, a horrifying death by sulfuric acid?

Except for some brief moments which she shares with her screen mom, her daughter and a dying henchman, Salma Hayek dominates the entire screen duration with her nubile figure and believable warrior tactics. Guys will sure relish at the sight of her toting guns even if Hayek’s character, sex slave-turned-badass mama is a tad hard to believe.

Shot in Serbia on a shoestring budget, Everly, which took place in an apartment, is a dumb popcorn flick through and through. It’s a physically demanding performance and Hayek nails it perfectly. At the very least, Hollywood knows whose door to knock on if they are doing another femme fatale feature.    

Movie Rating:

(Everly is an entertaining, outlandish violent affair)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: David Gelb
Cast: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Donald Glover, Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger, Ray Wise
Runtime: 1 hr 23 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/thelazaruseffect

Opening Day: 26 March 2015

Synopsis: A group of medical students discover a way to bring dead patients back to life. However, terrible consequences ensue when one of their own dies in an accident, and she becomes their first human subject…

Movie Review:

When was the last one you told yourself, “Damn, that’s a really good horror movie!”? The horror genre is a peculiar one. People often diss such movies, using descriptions like “tired’, “contrived”, “predictable” and “uninspired”. But filmmakers continue to churn out one horror movie after another. The reason is simple – people are still flocking to the theatres to be startled by supernatural beings, ghouls and monsters. And that spells M-O-N-E-Y. How do the marketing folks attract cinema goers to fork out money to watch this on the big screens then? By referencing past “success stories”, of course.

The trailer for this horror flick (watch it above) spells out the words “From the producer of The Purge, Paranormal Activity and Insidious”, sending you the message that like the noteworthy titles mentioned, this is one scary movie worth catching. Not that this reviewer wants to be a spoilsport, but the 83 minutes do feel like a drag to sit through.

The plot shows some promise though – a group of researchers led by Mark Duplass’ Frank and his fiancée Zoe (Olivia Wilde) have achieved the unimaginable of bringing the dead back to life. As all researches go, the trial was on an animal. The successful attempt to revive a newly deceased animal inspires the team to unveil their breakthrough to the world. The underground experiments soon go haywire, bringing along with them one nightmare after another. 

First time feature director David Gelb must be given credit to tackle this premise, but he takes things too seriously and ends up with another disposable movie that gives horror fans nothing they haven’t seen elsewhere. Self righteous dialogue? Check. Loud sound effects? Check. Jump scares? Check.

One can’t help but feel that Blumhouse Productions, the American movie production company that has given the world low budget but commercially successful movies like The Bay (2012), Dark Skies and The Boy Next Door (2015) is repeating the formula, with a resulting piece of work that is devoid of any personality.

If one has to find other aspects to give points to this movie, the cast does a decent job portraying their characters. Duplass (Cyrus, Jeff Who Lives at Home), a director himself, is likable as the team’s leader. His on screen charisma with Wilde (Tron: Legacy, Cowboys & Aliens) is an interestingly comfortable pairing, with the female lead in charge of most of the scares (the blood red poster is already a good sign of what’s coming). Elsewhere, they are supported by the younger cast Sarah Bolger (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Evan Peters (X-Men: Days of Future Past’s Quicksilver minus the cool factor), Donald Glover (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day), as well as a suitably creepy Amy Aquino (In Good Company).

When the film credits roll, you will be wondering why you made the decision to watch “yet another” horror flick. But hey, were you seriously expecting fine art here? When Blumhouse Productions’ Insidious: Chapter 3, Sinister 2 and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension are released in theatres later this year, you may probably be catching them as well, fully knowing they are convenient rehashes of past horror flicks. 

Movie Rating:

(Nope, nothing new to offer for fans of the horror genre here)

Review by John Li

Genre: Comedy
Director: Han Yew Kwang
Cast: Yeo Yann Yann , Julian Hee, Marcus Chin, Catherine Sng, Alaric Tay, Oon Shu An
Runtime: 1 hr 26 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Content)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures and Lighthouse Pictures 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 30 April 2015

Synopsis: Condoms aren’t just for protection. They can also be used to save a failing marriage, seduce a plumber, or to punish a selfish playboy. And so it is for this quirky romance comedy in which nothing seems to make sense, and yet everything fits together nicely. Adam is a playboy who dislikes wearing condoms. One day, he wakes up with a condom that he can’t remove. Meanwhile, Ah Hua is contemplating divorcing her husband of 30 years. Ah Niu, who has been visiting prostitutes suddenly recalls how he tricked Ah Hua into thinking that condoms were balloons when he first pursued her so many years ago. On Valentine’s Day, Baoling does not have a date. When she comes home, she is shocked to find Durian, a talking condom who offers to teach her how to get a man.

Movie Review:

Sex sells – how else would you explain the almost ridiculous commercial success of that certain erotic drama about that certain 50 shades of grey? Now, would a sex comedy - a Singaporean one – bring home big bucks at the box office? Will the inhabitants of this supposedly uptight island state flock to the cinemas to rekindle their laughs for a topic so, err, private? And how does this local feature fare when put alongside big budget Hollywoodtitles?

The 86 minute feature brings together three couples who find out what love (that’s the most politically correct way we can think of relaying the film’s overarching theme), thanks to condoms. Yup, you heard it right – condoms.

Unlike that other soon to be franchise that’s about that certain 50 shades of grey, this film is anything but erotic. And in a good way, viewers can, ahem, come (pardon the pun here) into the theatres expecting something that the other “so dull it’s not funny” movie about sadomasochism doesn’t have – heart.

The first story’s protagonist is a womaniser (Alaric Tay from TV’s The Noose) who isn’t a big fan of using condoms. When he is unable to get any girlfriends to fulfill his desire, he fantasises about an AV star (stage and TV actress Oon Shu An) and the two soon get into a sticky situation that requires some sucking and a Taoist exorcist.

Next up, we have a condom critic (Golden Horse Award Best Supporting Actress Yeo Yann Yann, Ilo Ilo) who imagines a human durian condom (the always delightful Lee Chau Min) who dishes advice on how to get hitched. Along comes a hunky plumber (Julian Hee, whose Corporal Darren Ho persona from TV’s Heartlanders we can’t shake off) to do some fixing up.

Making sure we do not forget our geriatric population, the film also features an old couple: the lady in the equation (veteran stage actress Catherine Sng) is fed up with her husband (TV and radio personality Marcus Chin) for always visiting a prostitute. This story explores how a failing marriage can be salvaged by a sweet memory involving blowing condoms.

One wonders what goes on in Han’s mind when the 39 year old filmmaker is conceptualising the script. An AV idol who comes (apologies for the pun again) out of the TV screen, a talking human sized condom and a salesman trying to sell dildos to a senior citizen – what would your teacher say if you penned a composition with these characters?

Do not diss the ever creative Han for injecting this element into his latest work. After the romantic 18 Grams of Love and the gender bending When Hainan Meets Teochew (both movies we loved a lot, by the way), this well produced title isn’t just about gross out juvenile comedy. The experienced TV scriptwriter has managed to put together a sometimes slapstick, sometimes bittersweet, sometimes insightful but always charming piece of work.

The partly crowd funded film is recommended also because of the cast ensemble. Tayis his usual likeable self despite taking on the role of a jerk, while Oon is surprisingly relatable (not everyone can pull the role of an AV actress who spends quite a bit of time at her co star’s crotch). Yeo effortlessly tackles her role of a sex starved but lonely woman while Hee provides eye candy. Sng and Chin’s segment may just make the more emotional viewers shed a few tears.

This film is quintessentially Singaporean: there’s Mandarin, Singlish and Hokkien, and thankfully, spoken in a natural manner (we can’t stand it when dialogue in local productions are recited in an all too pretentious way). You can almost feel the fun the cast and crew had making this film, from the outrageous scenes to the cameos played by industry friends. So please, come (one last attempt at this pun, please) watch this comedy, have a good laugh and take home whatever message you want to share with your loved ones.  

Movie Rating:

(There’s heart – lots of it – in this charming comedy which gives you more than just gross out juvenile humour)

Review by John Li

SYNOPSIS: Disney's heartwarming comedy will have your entire family laughing out loud. Based on the best-selling book, it follows the exploits of Alexander as he experiences the most terrible and horrible day of his young life and wonders if bad things only happen to him. But he discovers he's not alone when his dad (Steve Carrell), mom (Jennifer Garner) and family live through their own terrible -- and hilarious -- day. It will tickle everyone's funny bone and warm their hearts as they discover how even on rotten days, families can grow closer. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

It’s Diary of A Wimpy Kid meets Liar Liar in a movie with one of the longest title in recent cinematic history.

Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) is a normal 11-year old who believes he is blessed with constant bad luck. He woke up with gum stuck in his hair, burnt down a lab and his upcoming birthday party falls on the same day as his more popular classmate. 

His family members on the other hand seem to have all the luck in the world. His father Ben, (Steve Carell) has landed a job interview with a gaming company, mom Kelly (Jennifer Garner) is up for a promotion, older brother Anthony (Dylan Minnette) is going to the prom with the hottest girl in school while sister Emily (Kerris Dorsey) is playing the lead in the school’s play. At the stroke of midnight, Alexander made a genuinely harmless wish; one that wishes his family could have a bad day liked him.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is pure classic Disney.   It’s a family comedy tailor made for the entire family. So expect an onslaught of kiddish humour, slapstick comedic antics and the presence of several animal species.

Because it’s a brief 80 minutes movie, you don’t really need to keep staring at your watch wondering when it will end. Director Miguel Areta (Youth In Revolt, Cedar Rapids) knows how to swiftly jump from one gag to gag effortlessly and with Steve Carell in the house, you land yourself the best actor to set himself on fire, get himself kicked by a kangaroo and juggling a noisy infant in one hand for most of the movie.

One of American’s oldest comedians Dick Van Dyke makes an amusing cameo narrating a children’s book that unfortunately misprint the word jump with dump. American Pie’s Jennifer Coolidge makes a fun appearance as a rather bitchy, cunning driving examiner.

Nowadays it’s hard to find a genuinely heartfelt and the same time, affable family comedy. You can’t deny it’s mediocre but considering the original source material by Judith Vlorst is only 32 pages long, it’s sufficient to entertain families with young kids. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Watch how the production designers and animal wranglers turned a movie set into an Australian theme party in Snappy Crocs and Punchy Roos.

There's also a The Vamps music video.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The images look crisp and sharp and the Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds good enough for a kiddy movie. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Kim Hong-seon
Cast: Kim Woo-bin, Lee Hyun-woo, Im Joo-hwan, Jo Yoon-hee, Kim Young-cheol, Ko Chang-seok
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Clover Films & Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 2 April 2015

Synopsis: Ji-hyuck (KIM Woo-bin), a remarkably intelligent safe-cracker and con-artist with exceptional talent in every kind of fraud, holds hands with Goo-in(GO Chang-suk), his best friend and guy with top connections, and Jong-bae(LEE Hyun-woo), the youngest hacker in the field who can hack even the most impenetrable security system. The fantastic team rob a top-secured jewelry shop, and make headlines overnight. Keeping a close eye on them, Chairman CHO (KIM Young-chol), the black hand of the financial world, draw Ji-hyuck and boys into his grand operation, which is to steal, in just 40 minutes, black money in the sum of 150 million dollars hidden in Incheon Customs, which boasts of the top security system in North East Asia.

Movie Review:

By now, Hollywood has pretty much defined a template for capers, one which director Choi Dong-hoon parlayed to both critical and commercial success in ‘The Thieves’ three years ago. Kim Hong-seon’s sophomore feature doesn’t stray much from formula, and so it is even more disappointing that it is this mediocre. Yes, that a caper is boring is almost criminal, and indeed ‘The Con Artists’ leaves its audience disengaged from start to finish, no matter Kim’s attempt at trying to keep his flagging action comedy pacey.

Rather than an ensemble, Kim gives too much credit to lead actor Kim Woo-bin’s character Ji-hyuck. First introduced as a safe-cracking whiz next to Go Chang-seok’s bumbling counterfeiter Goo-in, Ji-hyuck becomes the team’s only source of intelligence, devising a plan to stay ahead of his latest employer, the ruthless mob boss Captain Cho (Kim Young-chol). So clever is he that Goo-in need serve no other purpose than to be his comic foil, and his other associate, Lee Hyun-woo’s Jong-bae, no ostensible use even as a top hacker whom Ji-hyuck recruits to join his team. It’s one thing to be the Danny Ocean of this heist, but quite another to be Ocean’s Eleven all in one, which is what Choi has made Ji-hyuck out to be.

Anyhow, as far as set-ups go, Ji-hyuck gets into Cho’s crosshairs when the former robs the latter’s jewellery shop, making off with millions worth of diamonds. Cho uses that burglary to hold Ji-hyuck hostage in order to conduct a bigger heist, to the tune of a potential US$150 million dollars of black money protected in a highly secure facility located near the Incheon Customs. Needless to say, there is some shifting alliances and double-crosses thrown into the mix, culminating in a final showdown between Ji-hyuck and Cho that reveals the former’s vendetta to go much deeper and more personal.

To Choi’s credit, the scenes leading up to the heist itself pulse with some degree of suspense, especially as we learn of just how Cho had intended to ‘swap’ the cash with some worthless coupons he had printed at the timbre company which he had acquired just a few months back. But even in these earlier scenes, there is something missing. For one, the characters seem barely defined. Ji-hyuck is portrayed as somewhat of a loner who had a close father figure and is quite obviously interested in a girl who is some art curator, but these attributes don’t quite build into anything coherent, let alone compelling. Ditto for Cho, who comes off as a cartoonish villain incapable of reaching the kid of stature or notoriety which the film wants us to believe that he has.

Alas those looking for the big heist to provide some sort of payoff will also be disappointed. However the facility could be a top security facility is entirely above us, for it seems that our band of thieves break no sweat in breaking into it. Same goes for the cracking of the safe itself, which is over and done with too easily. The rest of the ‘bait and switch’ lacks the attention to detail that it needs to be convincing, especially as Kim clearly fumbles in juggling several threads at the same time - Ji-hyuck, Cho, Cho’s right hand man and the police.

That same shoddiness extends to the rest of the movie as well, as Kim goes through the motion showing how Ji-hyuck had stayed one step ahead of Cho all this while (as if we weren’t already fully aware of it). But what makes it an utter disappointment is how the film ends not with a punchline, but with a MacGuffin, which here is in the form of Ji-hyuck’s relationship with that father figure whom he only shares one scene with, but which we are eventually told was his very motivation right from the very point he chose to rob Cho’s jewellery store. There is no attempt to build any poignancy out of a supposed poignant one, which only serves to leave its audience wanting.

The same can be said of Kim’s performance – notwithstanding his star turn in the popular drama series ‘The Inheritors’, his acting here is frustratingly opaque, even more so because the entire film is built around his one character. Choi clearly plays to Kim’s fans here, but those who are not already converts will find little to be similarly enamoured. It would certainly do the film every good to spend more time on developing its two criminally underused supporting actors, Go and Lee, both of whose characters we end up being much more curious about than Kim’s.

Of all the qualities a caper shouldn’t be, perhaps the one that stands out is being dull, but that is exactly what ‘The Con Artists’ is. Its very title is a misnomer, for all it seems to care about is to glorify its lead star Kim Woo-bin, for which he (naturally) receives top billing. It doesn’t give enough for us to care about its characters, and it never delivers on a satisfying payoff, in particular given that its sleight of hand is really quite slight. In the end, what promises to be a caper turns out to be a sleeper, so you’ll be best advised to find your escapist fantasies somewhere else. 

Movie Rating:

(A caper that isn’t as smart, engaging or witty as it wants itself to be, especially as it rests too heavily on the false laurels of its lead star Kim Woo-bin)

Review by Gabriel Chong

THE HIGHLY ACCLAIMED "SARA" TOPS HONG KONG BOX OFFICE CHART Posted on 12 Mar 2015 The highly acclaimed Hong Kong category 3 movie SARA 《雏妓》 topped the box office chart in Hong Kong last weekend. The movie, starring Charlene Choi and Simon Yam, grossed a total of HKD $8,500,000 (approximately SGD $1.5 million) after playing in cinemas for merely a week, and emerges as the top movie at the cinemas since its opening. SARA is releasing in Singapor ... more

Genre: Thriller
Director: David Lee
Cast: Lau Ching wan, Huang Xiaoming, Alex Fong, Fiona Sit, Nina Paw, Michelle Ye
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Drug Use and Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 2 April 2015

Synopsis:  Three years ago. Fan (Lau Ching Wan) suffered a schizophrenic breakdown, killed his wife (Michelle Ye), and unsuccessfully attempted to kill himself. He was arrested and sentenced to rehabilitation in a psychiatric facility indefinitely. Chow (Huang Xiaoming) is Fan's psychiatrist. He believes that after years of treatment and against all odds, Fan has recovered. He is determined to see Fan discharged. However when Fan is released back into society, he suffers discrimination and once again finds himself at the brink of collapse. One night, Fan kills a drug addict, and turns to his only friend Dr Chow for help. Chow fears if the event is uncovered, his career will be destroyed. He decides to help Fan and conceal the truth, while at the same time being tormented by the media and public opinion. But Fan's clinging to Chow only makes things worse. In order to undo his mistakes, Chow decides to heal Fan secretly. However, in the course of the treatment, can Chow make his way out of this bottomless psyche whirlpool?

Movie Review:

This reviewer would watch any movie starring Hong Kongactor Lau Ching Wan. The multiple award winning actor isn’t your typical Prince Charming, but his acting chops is so engaging, you’d be totally absorbed by any role he takes on. The 51 actor made everyone with a heart weep as a jazz musician alongside Anita Yuen’s cancer stricken girl (Derek Yee’s C’est La Vie Mon Cheri, 1993), had everyone playing the guessing game as an inspector caught in a cat and mouse game with Andy Lau’s thief (Johnnie To’s Running Out of Time, 1999), lampooned Hong Kong showbiz playing a self depreciating actor with an ensemble cast (Lawrence Lau’s My Name is Fame, 2006) and had viewers tensed up at the edge of their seats as one third of a cop trio with Louis Koo and Daniel Wu (Alan Mak and Felix Chong’s Overheard, 2009).

This time round, he plays a man who suffers a schizophrenic attack and accidentally kills his wife. He is then admitted to a mental institute and eventually deemed fit to return to society. Another murder soon happens, and one dark secret after another begin surfacing.

Lau is expectedly excellent in his portrayal of a mentally ill murderer (come on, what else would you expect from the actor who has taken on very varied roles, including a ghost, a crass triad member and a fireman amongst them?) – he delivers a controlled performance, making audiences wonder whether he has really fully recovered to be fully accepted in this unforgiving society we live in. The film begins with Lau as a very disturbed individual who beats up his on screen wife Michelle Ye, before he gradually pulls away layer by layer of the easily loud and showy role to have audiences emphathise with him.

Lau garnered two nominations at the 34^th Hong Kong Film Awards, one for this performance as someone suffering from schizophrenia, and another for playing a property developer who would stop at nothing to get his deal sealed in Overheard 3. Which one would get him the prize? We only worry that having two nomination nods would cancel out his chances of winning.

However, David Lee’s (Yes, I Can See Dead People, 2008) film isn’t all perfect. Starring opposite Lau is Mainland Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming (The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom, Women Who Flirt). The rather odd pairing (one grizzly “Black Prince Charming” and one smooth skinned good looker) only goes to show how Lau manages to do so much more by giving so much less. Huang plays Lau’s doctor who befriends him after his discharge, and going on to help him cover up for a murder to protect his own reputation. The 37 actor screams quite a lot in the 103 minute movie, on top of squeezing every emotion he has to attempt playing the role well. Luckily for him, he has the looks to lessen the impact of naysayers commenting on his less layered acting.

The supporting cast includes familiar faces like Fiona Sit (Hello Babies, Golden Chikensss), Alex Fong (The Lost Bladesman, The Great Magician) and Nina Paw (Special ID, Rigor Mortis), who again manages to creep viewers out with a disheveled grandma role.

Walking out of the theatre, one cannot help but have the impression that the filmmakers had some trouble deciding whether this adequately entertaining movie wants to be a film with a social message about mental illness, or a full fledged whodunit slasher flick. 

Movie Rating:

(Lau Ching Wan impresses again why he is one of the best Hong Kong actors of his time in this adequately entertaining movie)  

Review by John Li