SYNOPSIS: This time, Larry Daley and his heroic friends embark on their greatest adventure yet as they travel to London in order to save the magic that brings the museum exhibits to life!

MOVIE REVIEW:

Since the very first Night of the Museum, the word “fun” has been the series’ middle name. With its aim purely at entertaining the entire family, Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb not only marks a fitting end to the franchise but also serves as a poignant farewell to the late Robin Williams.

Instead of the Museum of Natural History, part 3 takes us to The British Museum in London where security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) and his museum friends embark on an epic quest to retrieve a magical tablet before the wax figures lose the magic of reanimating.  

Our old friends, Teddy Roosevelt (Williams), Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher), Jedediah (Owen Wilson), Octavius (Steve Coogan), Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) and Dexter the monkey no doubt contributes to the endless, zippy fun. But as always, its Cowboy Jedediah and Roman general Octavius that provides some of the movies’ craziest antics and lines. One fun sequence obviously is the Pompeii exhibit. You should know exactly where it’s heading.

New characters introduced here are Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens), a Knight who worked for King Arthur, a bubbly security guard named Tilly (Rebel Wilson) who romances Laaa (a Neanderthal also played by Stiller) and a cranky Triceratops skeleton. There’s nothing liked some nifty, impressive visual effects to save the day. Just watch how Daley and Sir Lancelot subdued a nine-headed snake monster and Trafalgar Square lion statues in good old CG fashion.

It’s such a frenetic affair that nobody will notice the shoddy, almost paint by numbers plotting. But I guess no one actually cares about that. The only refreshing fun part of Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is having a prominent actor doing a cameo towards the end. I shall not spoil it for you but the actor has worked with director Shawn Levy before.

Those who have been fans of the series since the first one will not be disappointed by this entry. Those that don’t will continue to find the wax figures and everyone else lifeless and snoozy. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are two Deleted/Extended Scenes, Laa say ‘stay’ and Jobless not homeless.

The cast talk about clowning and having fun on set in Improv, Absurdity and Cracking Up.

A Photo Gallery and Theatrical Trailers round up the extras. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD transfer looks great on TV with nary a complaint. Audio quality is often dynamic and active.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: In the tradition of Disney Sports movies comes McFarland, USA based on the inspiring true story of underdogs triumphing over tremendous obstacles. This heartwarming drama follows novice runners who strive to build a cross-country team under Coach Jim White in their predominantly Latino high school Everyone has a lot to learn about each other but when Coach realizes the boys’ exceptional running ability, things change. Beyond their talent, it’s the power of family, commitment to each other and work ethic that transforms them into champions — helping them achieve their own American dream. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Because the distributor believes sport theme movies has no market locally, we don’t really get to watch a lot of Disney’s backed sports drama on the big screen. Following Million Dollar Arm (which again missed a theatrical run here), Uncle Walt is back yet again with another inspirational tale - this time it’s about cross-country.

Based on a true story with some minor facts changed, an ex-football coach Jim White (Kevin Costner) have to start a new teaching post in McFarland, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in California after he lost his job after an altercation with a student. Facing a bleak future, White stumbled upon the idea of starting a cross-country team in the school after noticing some of his boys in his class are superb runners. Being a fish out of water, will White succeed in convincing the poor boys to join the team and win the State championship?

The answer can’t be a NO right? Especially this is in the tradition of a Disney sports movie. Have you ever watched movies liked The Mighty Ducks, The Rookie, Glory Road, Miracle and Remember the Titans? Then McFarland USA never deviate much from the formula. Rousing, stirring, motivational and heartwarming, McFarland USA has everything covered under the hands of Niki Caro (Anyone can still recall she helmed the acclaimed Whale Rider?) and the credited three writers.

Besides the usual clichés liked the compulsory sports movie speeches, the movie also takes an interesting look at the lives and colorful culture of Mexican-Americans. The various characters felt real and intimate as the flick devotes a decent amount of screentime at those poor Latino boys that grew up juggling to work as pickers at the farms to supplement the family income, at the same time working hard to realize their own dreams.    

Most of the seven young actors are fresh faces with perhaps the exception of Carlos Pratts (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) but their performances remain incredibly strong. Kevin Costner no stranger to playing a sports star (watch Bull Durham and For Love of the Game if you haven’t) is as comfortable portraying a player and a coach. Costner seems to get better as he grows older and this is certainly one of his stronger showings in years.

This sports drama about a cross-country team emerging out of an unknown minority town might not surprise you in the end. Nevertheless, there’s nothing liked an uplifting tale about underdogs to cheer up a lackluster day at work.     

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Inspiring McFarland is a brief 2 minutes segment that has the real Jim White and director speak about the movie in addition to a Music Video by Colombian musician, Juanes. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

With lots of color correction and saturated hues to depict the 80’s setting, the visual and detailing remains impressive. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is overall serviceable as the genre doesn’t require much needed surround and ambient effects. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee
 

SYNOPSIS: Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg delivers a career defining performance as Jim Bennett, an English professor leading a secret double life as a high-stakes gambler. When Jim is forced to borrow from a notorious gangters, he places the lives of those he loves in mortal danger. With time running out, he must enter the criminal underworld and risk everything to keep from losing it all.

MOVIE REVIEW:

You can call The Gambler a complicated affair or rather a pointless one. The movie on one hand features a very interesting main character but the story is too bland to make it a worthwhile journey to embark on.

It’s understandable that all good actors crave for challenges in their acting career and Mark Wahlberg is no exception. In this remake of the 1974’s movie that starred James Caan, Wahlberg plays an English professor, Jim Bennett who got himself into serious shit as he dabbled in high stakes gambling in an underground casino. Despite having his rich mother (Jessica Lange) paying off his massive debts, he still ended up owing big money to a Korean, Lee (Alvin Ing) and a gangster (Michael K Williams). But Bennett doesn’t really care as he is on a self-loathing, destructive path until the safety of his student girlfriend’s life (Brie Larson) is being threatened that he devises the ultimate gamble to pry himself out of the game.

Basically we find it so hard to connect with Wahlberg’s character. Being born into a privilege family, he has the looks, connections and the brains to make it. Even his rock star persona in campus seems to work for him. Why did he choose to throw wads of money away at the casino? Is it because of his estranged relationship with his grandfather and mother? The movie has hints of it but it’s barely there. Or is it because of a lost father figure to guide him to adulthood? Again, this was briefly mentioned. It’s a frustrating watch through and through and it’s definitely not Wahlberg’s performance to begin with.

The wordy script by William Monahan (who won an Oscar for The Departed) apparently failed to make the viewing experience any better and director Rupert Wyatt who impresses with Rise of the Planet of the Apes barely channel any energy into the final material. There’s a backstory involving Jim Bennett but this is left on the cutting floor instead we have an unnecessary young girlfriend character that someone in the making of feature quickly clarify this is not Lolita.   

There’s John Goodman doing his tough guy routine, Mark Wahlberg losing the pounds to play a professor and Brie Larson looking studious and pretty. All the cast members are at their A-game. Sadly, Paramount never raises the stakes when it comes to The Gambler. It’s akin to paying for the admission to the casino and you never even play a game of Jackpot, all talk equals no fun.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, Writer William Monahan and Director Rupert Wyatt briefly talks about the story, casting and filming process in Mr. Self Destruct: Inside The Gambler.

There are Six Deleted/Extended Scenes, notably Jim’s Ex-Wife which at least gave the character a decent backstory.      

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD transfer delivers a rich viewing experience. There’s good color balance and well-detailed palette overall. Music and dialogue in general is solid. It’s a talky movie after all and with the exception of well-placed surround ambient effects, it’s not a soundtrack to shout about.  

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee
 

SYNOPSIS: Nick, Dale and Kurt decide to become their own bosses by launching a business. After a slick investor deceives them, they hatched a misguided plan to get their company back.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The concept of the original, which has three morons planning to kill their bosses, was both ridiculous and funny. This however can’t be said of the sequel three years later.

Best friends, Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) have invented a shower device called “Shower Buddy” that caught the attention of a major company owned by Burt Hanson (Christoph Waltz). Promising them an advanced order of 100,000 units, the threesome went on to produce the units for Hanson. But the unscrupulous Hanson has no intention in honoring his words instead he plans on taking over their inventory during foreclosure. Left with a debt of $500,000, the three buddies plan to kidnap Hanson Junior, Rex (Chris Pine) for a ransom to solve their dire situation.

Director Sean Anders (Sex Drive, That’s My Boy) wrote and took over directing duties from Seth Gordon though he ports back nearly every supporting character from the first including Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Aniston. It’s a good try on Anders’ part but I guessed he is more adept at writing than directing. Hot Tub Time Machine and We’re The Millers were terrific comedy gems, Horrible Bosses 2 is just plain lazy and unfunny. Most of the funniness actually come from the original (the toothbrush gag for example) and we left with constant blabbering, painful jabs from the three guys.

While we might root for the success of Nick, Dale and Kurt since they have the most sadistic bosses on earth, there’s not even a single evil boss to kill in this instalment. It simply doesn’t make sense to root for three incomprehensible morons who made one mistake after another. Throw in Chris Pine character for edging the guys to fake his kidnapping, the movie turned into an exhausting journey of rehashed jokes, tired riffing and a long dragged out police chase.

Liked The Hangover series, the rule of diminishing returns already seeped in way before you even realize it. Horrible Bosses 2 have a bunch of gifted actors but the material is plain horrible. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Running at 17 minutes long, the cast members talk about the chemistry and improv skills of Bateman, Day and Sudeikis in Endless Laughter Guaranteed.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

It’s a Warner comedy so expect high visual and audio quality. Funny dialogue comes across as clear and images sharp. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: From director Christopher Nolan comes the story of a team of pioneers undertaking the most important mission in human history. Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey stars as ex-pilot-turned-farmer Cooper who must leave his family and a floundering Earth behind to lead an expedition travelling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Christopher Nolan always tries to bring something extra to the table. Be it a comic book adaptation (The Dark Knight), a crime thriller (Memento) or a simple drama involving magicians (The Prestige). He never makes the viewing experience easy for the audience and Interstellar marks his most ambitious project ever.

Approximately 50 years from now, Earth is dying, crops are dying and people are dying. Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey stars as ex-Nasa-pilot-turned-farmer Cooper who is being lured back to his craft by a certain Professor John Brand (Michael Caine) to lead a mission into deep space in search of an alternative galaxy for survival. Together with Brand’s daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway), Romilly (David Gyasi) and Doyle (Wes Bentley), Cooper unwillingly left his young son and daughter behind to embark on the dangerous mission to save mankind.  

Running nearly at a bulging three hours, Interstellar is one movie that combines the intelligence of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Contact which indirectly means it’s going to test your patience and digestive power. Thinking that Interstellar is going to be liked Gravity, the award-winning survival space adventure is foolhardy because watching the former is already survival itself.    

Don’t get me wrong though; it’s obvious the story by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan under the influence of theoretical physicist Dr. Kip Thorne Interstellar is not going to dumb things down purely for box-office sake. You got to admire the wonderfully researched scientific details and not be put off by often mind-blogging jargons, brainy exposition and slightly convoluted plotting. Don’t be shocked when the laws of space and time can caused a great time dilation and there’s in fact a greater use of Morse code. Time travel has taken on a new format. Almost every moment is provocatively created not just in the form of storytelling but the visuals as well. The Nolans have achieved their biggest spectacle by the clever combination of CG and miniatures.

If you thought Nolan actually has no sense of humour, you are wrong. In fact, he introduced not one but two robots, TARS (voiced by Bill Irwin) and CASE (voiced by Josh Stewart)as sidekicks in addition to the crew. The performances of the cast on the whole are flawless with McConaughey returning to familiar ground after his leading role in Contact. Nolan’s regular collaborators such as production designer Nathan Crowley and composer Hans Zimmer returned to lend him a hand in churning out the extraordinary looking sets and unnecessarily loud cues.

It’s recommended to go into Interstellar with an open mind. At the heart of this epic space adventure, it’s a movie about family love and sacrifices. You might not necessarily enjoy the experience but you might gain a new knowledge of wormholes. The late Carl Sagan and Arthur C. Clarke will be so proud. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Images look consistently strong and the color palette changes flawlessly according to the narrative. Dialogue are clear and the immersive sound effects are often aggressive and atmospherics except the score by Zimmer tends to be overly loud and distracting. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: When their father passes away, four grown siblings bruised and banged up by their respective adult lives are forced to return to their childhood  home and live under the same roof.

MOVIE REVIEW:

For sure, Shawn Levy isn’t on the list of many people’s favourite list of directors. Levy who made his name directing various forgettable comedies such as Cheaper by the Dozen and Just Married got my attention with one solid entry, Real Steel. And now he nearly stole my heart with this adult-oriented comedy, This Is Where I Leave You.

Writer and Professor of English Jonathan Trooper wrote the screenplay based on his book of the same name. On top of that, Levy has assembled a cast that is thankfully the highlight of the movie and this is because Trooper’s script is at times too Hollywood to be taken at face value. Still, the dramedy entertains on the whole like a sitcom pilot.

The head of the Altman family has passed away and the four Altman siblings have gathered at their old house for the funeral. At the request of their mom (the legendary Jane Fonda), they not only have to stay for the week but also have to face one another with their individual set of problems and skeletons.

Genuinely funnyman Jason Bateman plays the middle boy of the family, Judd, a heartbroken man who once again finds love and solace in the form of high school classmate Penny (Rose Byrne). Eldest of the family, Paul (Corey Stoll) is a no-nonsense, owner of the family business. Daughter Wendy (Tina Fey) has an unhappy marriage and still pins for her old love, Horry (Timothy Olyphant). Youngest boy Philip (Adam Driver) is a full-time womanizer who thinks he has the capability to be an entrepreneur. Add to it a Rabbi nicknamed Boner (Ben Schwartz), a shock jock DJ (Dax Shepard), Annie (Kathryn Hahn), Paul’s wife and Judd’s ex and Judd’s estranged wife Quinn, (Abigail Spencer) and you have a story that contains more fun than tears, more outrageousness than dramatic and more family love than ever.

Each of the numerous characters has a story of their own to share and this probably can be fitted into at least ten other movies. Sibling’s rivalry, infidelities, family squabbles, breast implants, every moment is a comedy of its own. When it comes to a dysfunctional family, the Altmans seems to come out on top as they are virtually a class of its own.

This Is Where I Leave You is a surprise entertaining dramedy despite the torrent of clichés and sometime implausible premises. Shawn Levy appears to be overly enthusiastic that he even ends the movie on an unnecessary high note – a nutty revelation involving the matriarch of the family. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Gospel According to Rabbi Boner is all about why Ben Schwartz’s character is constantly the butt of a joke. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Images are well-defined. Colours look natural and great. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is solid all around with clean dialogue and immersive sound field. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Adventure/Sci-Fi
Director: Jon Wright
Cast: Gillian Anderson, Ben Kingsley, Callan McAuliffe, Ella Hunt, Geraldine James, Tamer Hassan, Steven Mackintosh, Craig Garner
Runtime: 1 hr 30 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 16 April 2015

Synopsis: Earth has been conquered by Robots from a distant Galaxy, survivors are confined to their houses and must wear electronic implants, risking incineration by Robot Sentries if they venture outside. In Robot occupied Britain, city centres are devastated and our gang of teenagers live in a seaside town constantly under Robot threat. Intimidating Sentries patrol the streets, Snipers are merciless death machines. The Mediator is deceptively childlike but unnervingly coercive. The Robot base is The Cube, a massive mother-ship that dominates the horizon.

Movie Review:

What kind of a sci-fi film would give itself such a title as ‘Robot Overlords’? Especially one that would attract the likes of ‘Mrs X-File’ Gillian Anderson and Sir Ben Kingsley? Well, your curiosity is as good as ours really, but thankfully, this family-friendly film isn’t just good for the curious. Jon Wright’s follow-up to his cult hit ‘Grabbers’, the movie tells of the seemingly impossible quest by a band of adoptive siblings living in the aftermath of an alien invasion to defy their titular masters and free their town and possibly the rest of mankind from their subjugation.

Its similarities with J.J. Abrams’ ‘Super 8’ are inevitable, but rather than being just a trim Brit knock-off of its American counterpart, Wright – like Abrams – uses his film to pay homage to the 80s type kids-in-danger adventures that recall the BBC adaptation of John Christopher’s ‘Tripods’ novels or Steven Spielberg’s Amblin fare. No matter that it isn’t made on the same budget as ‘Transformers’ – not even close, if you get what we mean – Wright’s sci-fi embraces its modest origins and delivers admirably on a super-sized concept with rather impressive special effects.

In the most economical fashion, we are told that mankind’s war with the invaders lasted all but 11 days, and the film opens three years after the robots have achieved world domination. A strict curfew has been imposed, and those who refuse to stay in their homes are immediately greeted by a giant robot who issues a prompt warning before vaporising them. Such is the fate that has befallen young Connor’s (Milo Parker) father, and the orphaned boy is immediately taken in by his neighbour Kate (Gillian Anderson). Connor and Kate’s son Sean (Callan McAuliffe) have something in common though – they have both lost their father, who in Sean’s case, was a member of the resistance.

Contrary to what you may think, Anderson isn’t the lead star here. In fact, her role as the matriarch of the adopted brood is just a supporting part. Ditto for her adult co-star Kingsley, who is in typical villain mode playing a “collaborator” with the robots, which is really PC-speak for conspirator. Kingsley’s Mr Symthe was a former geography teacher at the same school as Kate, and in the midst of selling out his own species, still has both the time and thought to stalk his ex-colleague whom he clearly has affections for. Like we said, Anderson and Kingsley may enjoy top billing on the poster, but really they are just sideshows the movie could do without and be none the worse off for.

Odd as it may be, they play second fiddle to Wright’s four young teenagers – Connor, Sean, Sean’s friend Nate James Tarpey), and Nate’s sister Alex (Ella Hunt). Using Connor’s invention to knock out the tracers implanted by the androids right below their ears to track their movements, the group of teens venture outside their homes for a start, but their wilfulness quickly becomes something else when they stumble upon Mr Symthe’s secret facility and the latter sacrifices Nate’s granddad as a lesson to them. One thing leads to another, and pretty soon, the quartet become the face of the rebellion, winning over not only the rowdy denizens of a local pub (where Tamar Hassan plays guvnor) but also the revolutionaries whom they meet at the last stage of their struggle.

Just like ‘Grabbers’, Wright shows a knack for getting the most out of a limited budget, and besides an intriguing FX creation known as the Mediator that has the face of a boy and the body of a shop window dummy, he takes true advantage of the British landscape of terraced houses and quaint seaside locations for the first two acts. Only in the last act does he bring on the machines in their full glory, and even though it doesn’t match what you’ll see in a single sequence on ‘Transformers’, it is nevertheless quite jaw-droppingly impressive in itself. Shrewdly, Wright doesn’t overreach and under-deliver, knowing just what he can accomplish and doing just that in a thrilling last half-hour that shouldn’t disappoint those looking for spectacle.

Most of the time though, Wright offers a certain low-key charm that is matched by the earnest performances of his four key teenage actors. Together with his co-writer Mark Stay, Wright infuses the film with humour and imagination, sticking closely to the perspective of his protagonists as if taking his audience on an adventure with them. There is genuine chemistry between his stars, buoyed by an enthusiasm that their adult co-stars cannot emulate. It is this combination of good humour and genial charm that keeps you engaged throughout, and the fact that it doesn’t bore is testament to Wright’s own successful brand of low-fi filmmaking.

In order to fully appreciate this very British film, it is important to keep in mind what it is and what it is not. Certainly, it isn’t any big-budget fare, so anyone expecting explosions or big fights should look elsewhere. It is however through and through family-friendly, one that also remains distinctly old-fashioned with its kid-focused story and elements of sci-fi staples as well as ‘Doctor Who’ episodes. Sure, it isn’t all that original and doesn’t have too many twists and turns; but this is comfort food for the whole family, and if you’re looking to introduce your kids to what you would probably enjoy back in the day when you were a kid, then ‘Robot Overlords’ is that perfect bite of nostalgia. 

Movie Rating:

(It doesn't break new ground for the sci-fi genre, but this family-friendly entry is a nice throwback to the kids-oriented staples of the 80s when Steven Spielberg made 'E.T.' popular)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Kyle Newman
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jessica Alba, Samuel L. Jackson, Sophie Turner, Jamie King, Dan Fogler
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 16 June 2015

Synopsis: A teenage special ops agent (Hailee Steinfeld) coveting a "normal" adolescence fakes her own death and enrols in a suburban high school. She quickly learns that surviving the treacherous waters of high school is more challenging than international espionage.

Movie Review:

Just when you wonder what Nick Fury might be up to now that it’s been confirmed he won’t appear in the next Captain America film, along comes our answer in the form of a mashup between a teen secret agent movie and a high-school misfit comedy.

We’re talking about ‘Barely Lethal’, in which Samuel L. Jackson plays Hardman, the head instructor of the elite quasi-governmental secret training program known as the Prescott School for Girls. As Hailee Steinfeld’s opening voiceover informs us, Prescott trains orphaned girls to be elite secret agents from a very young age, and in case you’re wondering just why it isn’t a unisex facility, well that’s apparently because no one is likely to suspect a teenage girl for a spy.

Anyhow, Jackson seems right at home barking orders at his tween and teen charges, warning them about forming attachments and teaching them how to fight, kill, drive cars, and oh disarm bombs. Besides teaching them the ropes, Jackson also plays handler on all their missions – though compared to running S.H.I.E.L.D., let’s just say it is pretty much a walk in the park.

On one such mission meant to capture Victoria Knox (Jessica Alba), a former American expat turned deadly assassin, Jackson’s favourite teenage spy codenamed Agent 83 (Steinfeld) goes off the grid so she can experience life for the first time as a normal adolescent, or as normal as a diet of Hollywood movies such as ‘The Breakfast Club’, ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Clueless’ could have taught her. Assuming the identity of a Canadian exchange student by the name of Megan Walsh, she shacks up with a host family and enrols in a middle-American high school.

And just like that, what started off like ‘Mission: Impossible’ for teenage girls becomes another ‘Mean Girls’ wannabe, as Megan has to contend with an ‘AV nerd’ named Roger (Thomas Mann) with the hots for her, a cute musician named Cash (Toby Sebastian) who she (and seemingly every other girl in school) has the hots for, and a romantic rival named Heather (Sophie Turner) with murderous intents for her. Even before everything falls into place in the third act, you can already guess that Megan will eventually come to her senses and get together with Roger, and beat the sh*t out of Heather, so all that matters is whether the ride is fun.

Despite being conscious of clichés of the genre, screenwriter James D’Arco, who makes his feature screenwriting debut here, seems just as contend to trot out those same conventions that he purports to mock. Indeed, even as Megan references ‘Mean Girls’ to rebuff joining a group of cheerleaders at the lunch table, she falls head over heels for the too-cool-for-school dude who is clearly more into himself than into her, or is convinced by two conniving girls with similar designs on Cash to become the school mascot in order to win his heart.

The same can be said about how it makes Megan flip-flop between unflappable operative and awkward teen, nowhere more apparent than in a sequence when she and Heather are in a car talking about how the former’s shallow obsession for Cash right before Megan suddenly goes into agent mode and engages in a high-speed car chase with a fellow Prescott gone rogue. In more ways than one, D’Arco struggles to find the right balance, between sweet and self-aware or between savvy and stupid, and often instead works his film into a muddle.

On his part, director Kyle Newman, who is making his sophomore feature after the cult hit ‘Fanboys’, keeps the pace light and frothy enough to ensure that his target audience won’t get bored. Displaying no further ambition than a Disney Channel Original Movie, Newman puts his characters through the motion of a typical high-school genre picture while inserting stock action sequences that barely raise a pulse. If not for a spirited performance by Academy Award nominee Steinfeld (she of ‘True Grit’ fame), this comfort food for younger audiences aged 14 and below would even be more charmless.

Perhaps we should have taken a cue from the title, a not-quite-so-amusing riff on the porn label that selects and photographs models to emphasize their youth, to infer just what we should expect from ‘Barely Lethal’. At several points during the movie, Megan takes the opportunity to emphasise “if you think being an assassin is hard, try high school!”; well, it seems D’Arco’s screenplay doesn’t quite go beyond that intriguing pitch to justify mashing together two distinct genres that ought to have no business with each other, and which, coming after ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’, makes this teen spy movie even more unnecessary.

We get that running S.H.I.E.L.D. ain’t easy, but neither did we expect Nick Fury would opt for babysitting in between the Avengers’ downtime. Well, maybe that’s because fighting Jessica Alba beats fighting Ultron anytime. 

Movie Rating:

(A barely entertaining blend of spy movie and high-school comedy, this genre mashup is good only for girls below the age of 14)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Anne Fletcher
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara, John Carroll Lynch, Richard T. Jones, Robert Kazinsky, Michael Mosley
Runtime: 1 hr 28 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/HotPursuitMovie

Opening Day: 7 May 2015

Synopsis: An uptight and by-the-book cop (Reese Witherspoon) tries to protect the sexy and outgoing widow (Sofia Vergara) of a drug boss as they race through Texas pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen.

Movie Review:

This reviewer really wanted to like this comedy. You see, after a stressful day at work, nothing beats watching Colombian American actress Sofia Vergara strut her stuff in the successful sitcom series Modern Family as the wildly hilarious Gloria Delgado Pritchett. Yes, you heard it right, this writer enjoys the antics of this funny woman so much, he was blinded by the fact that her latest big screen outing directed by Anne Fletcher would be a dud.

The other reason why this sometimes biased columnist was eagerly catching this movie is probably because of Reese Witherspoon. Some 14 years ago, Witherspoon made audiences everywhere laugh out loud as a goofy sorority girl who sets out to win back her ex boyfriend by earning a law degree in Richard Luketic’s Legally Blonde (2001). Many successful movie outings in the drama genre and a Best Actress win at the Academy Awards (for her portrayal as June Carter Cash in 2005’s Walk the Line) later, one would naturally anticipate the 39 year old actress’s return to comedy (she was almost overshadowed by her male co stars Chris Pine and Tom Hardy in 2012 This Means War, her last effort at making us laugh).

So what went wrong with this action comedy? Could it be the predictably flat story? Witherspoon’s Rose Cooper is a Texaspolice officer who gets assigned to a dead end job despite her passion for fighting crime. As fate would have it, along comes a drug dealer and his wife (enter Vergara and her va va vroom figure) who are the answers to busting a drug lord. The two women soon find themselves in an adventure against criminals and corrupted cops.

The story doesn’t sound criminally bad, especially if we have Witherspoon and Vergara on board. To be fair, it’s fun to watch the duo feed off each other’s personality. One is a uptight law enforcer, while the other is a, not surprisingly, a hot blooded woman shooting off one Spanish phrase after another (fans of Modern Family would be able to relive those hysterical moments) – the evidently different characters are almost too conveniently at the director’s disposal to approach this comedy with a string of drearily lazy jokes.

Fletcher (The Proposal, The Guilt Trip) doesn’t make use of her leads’ energy, instead creating weary caricatured moments which would send viewers down the path of bore. Verbal jokes involve lots of shrill shouting and screaming, while physical humour sees the stars climbing over obstacles and Witherspoon cross dressing into someone who looks like Justin Bieber.

The rest of the supporting cast do not have much to do – Jim Gaffigan (17 Again), Robert Kazinsky (Pacific Rim) and Joaquin Cosio (The Lone Ranger) play out cupboard thin characters which are better off seen on Tv sitcoms.

Despite the movie’s short runtime of 88 minutes, the attempts to milk laughs with one loud stunt after another make us feel bad for the two ladies, who fortunately look like they’ve formed a friendship over this production.  

Movie Rating:

(This loud comedy features lots of high pitched screams and shrieks, and that’s about it)

Review by John Li

Genre: Sci-Fi/War
Director: Tom Green
Cast: Johnny Harris, Sam Keeley, Joe Dempsie, Kyle Soller, Sofia Boutella
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes & Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 23 April 2015

Synopsis: Ten years on from the events of Monsters, and the 'Infected Zones' have now spread worldwide. In the Middle East a new insurgency has begun. At the same time there has also been a proliferation of Monsters in that region. The Army decide to draft in more numbers to help deal with this insurgency. We follow four fresh new recruits from Detroit as they all excitedly look forward to performing what they were trained to do.

Movie Review:

Original helmer Gareth Edwards have moved on to greener pastures after his miniscule budget sci-fi thriller Monsters made its debut in 2011. With Godzilla well-received and a Star Wars spin-off in the pipeline, no wonder Edwards has no free time for the sequel.

Instead of a photojournalist and a tourist making their way to the US-Mexican border, we have a small platoon of American soldiers battling insurgents in an unnamed Middle East country. The story is set a decade after the alien invasion. Human beings on the whole seem to be quite comfortable co-existing with the extra-terrestrials. The monsters are shown lumbering in the background looking innocently enough, often curious and occasionally clumsily crashing into buildings. 

To answer the elephant in the room, so what’s our platoon of men got to do with the creatures? As a matter of fact, “pretty nothing much happens” liked our reviewer mentioned in his original Monsters review. Like it or not, Monsters: Dark Continent faithfully replicate this approach despite a higher budget this time round.

Newly assigned on tour, Parkes (Sam Keeley) and his two buddies, Maguire (Joe Dempsie) and Williams (Parker Sawyers) under hot-tempered Sgt Fratner (Johnny Harris) are sent to extract a group of soldiers. But their mission is short-lived when insurgents ambush their convoy along the way. The narrative and treatment is what you expect from a generic war-related Hollywood flick not to mention the various stock characters are recycled from far superior The Hurt Locker and Black Hawk Down.

What causes a war veteran liked Fratner to suffer from PTSD in the middle of a failed mission? And why are Parkes and Fratner lumbering around with locals for an hour or so? What is the plot trying to convey after two hours of running time? Questions, questions and more questions arise. If there’s a deeper reason or some subtle metaphors, you might not exactly find them here. Okay maybe the U.S. soldiers are the real monsters and intruders in the end. That’s the only answer I can clobber.

Yet, the visual and sound effects are perfectly accomplished. A few key, close-ups featuring the tentacle monsters are so photo-realistic that you wish you could see more of them. There’s one early scene depicting a small baby creature fighting a dog and subsequently, one mid-size alien running alongside the army convoy that speaks of promising things that never materialized.     

Monsters: Dark Continent is more in line with military theme movie than a monster movie. It’s almost like someone accidentally slapped the wrong name on the movie poster. If you hate the pretentious Monsters, you will not find yourself in love with this. Maybe Battle: Los Angeles is a better choice if you are gear up for alien vs soldier movie night. On the other hand, Director Tom Green has submitted a full-length demo reel for Hollywood with this. Mark his name down he might be due for some big project in the future. 

Movie Rating:

(Incredibly flawed and inconsequential. It’s a wasted effort in filmmaking)

Review by Linus Tee