Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Sammo Hung 　
Cast: Sammo Hung, Andy Lau, Zhu Yuchen, Li Qinqin, Jack Feng, Jacqueline Chan, Hu Jun, Feng Shaofeng, Eddie Peng Yuyan, Song Jia, Tsui Hark, Karl Maka, Dean Shek, Yuen Biao, Yuen Qiu, Yuen Wah, Yuen Ting, Yuen Bo
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence)
Released By: Shaw & Clover Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 7 April 2016

Synopsis: The Bodyguard follows a retired (Sammo Hung) who has settled in the dark and unknown corner of the world where China, Russia and North Korea meet. Suffering from the beginnings of dementia, the bodyguard is befriended by a young girl whose life is threatened when her father (Andy Lau) falls in with the local crime world. When the girl and her father disappear, the bodyguard must call upon his long forgotten skills to save the life of his young friend.

Movie Review:

For someone who has dedicated more than half his life reinventing the martial arts genre of modern-day Hong Kong cinema, Sammo Hung certainly has not been resting on his laurels. Not only did he recently direct Aaron Kwok and Gong Li in the many extravagant action set-pieces of ‘The Monkey King 2’, he has also been busy assuming similar duties on Benny Chan’s upcoming period action blockbuster ‘The Deadly Reclaim’. Compared to these two elaborate big-budget epics, ‘The Bodyguard’, which sees Sammo assume multi-hyphenate duties as director, action director and lead actor, feels like a walk in the park for the 64-year-old actor/ martial artist.

And it probably is, judging from the friends who have turned up to see Sammo return to the director’s chair after a hiatus of close of two decades – including Yuen Wah as the postman of the sleepy town at the border of China and Russia where the movie is set, Yuen Qiu as a social worker, Yuen Biao as the town’s police commander and Karl Maka, Tsui Hark and Dean Shek as a bunch of town elders who always have a quick barb to trade with each other. Besides these notable alums from Hong Kong cinema past, contemporaries like Hu Jun, Feng Shaofeng and Eddie Peng have also turned up for the all-stars reunion – though we’re leaving out special guest star Andy Lau, since he is after all producer of the movie through his Focus Films company.

Though it is unlikely to expect each one of these guest stars to have a meaningful place in the film, those expecting any of them to have anything more than a glorified cameo will be sorely disappointed. Except for Lau, who plays father to the young girl whom Sammo’s titular bodyguard befriends and eventually protects, not a single one of the other actors contributes any more than a ‘blink-and-miss’ appearance, so there’s no point wondering if any will spar with Sammo at all. Oh yes, you would do well to know that these ‘guest appearances’ are completely extraneous to the story, which tells of a retired Central Security Bureau (CSB) officer named Mr Ding who calls upon his very particular set of skills to protect an innocent life.

As much as that premise lends itself to a martial arts showcase for Sammo, ‘The Bodyguard’ is anything but. Indeed, those looking for a straight-out action flick will very likely be disappointed, for Sammo approaches the ‘Taken-like’ high-concept movie in a conspicuously low-key manner, so much so that it ends up being an hour of set-up, exposition and character build-up for a single extended close-quarter showdown that conveniently pits Sammo against two warring gangster factions at the same time and in the same place. To call it an action thriller would in fact be a misnomer, for it is at best a simple character drama with some bits of action thrown in to lure unsuspecting viewers from Sammo’s considerable fan-base.

That drama largely consists of Sammo either looking lost due to the early onset of dementia that his character is suffering from or acting shy due to the advances of his landlord Madam Park (Li Qinqin). Crucially, Sammo plays his character so aloof that we cannot quite identify with the grief he has supposedly been carrying in his heart after losing his granddaughter while out with her many years ago, which is also why he is currently estranged from his daughter now in America. In the same way, we can also hardly feel the connection between his character and the young girl he now feels responsible for, or for that matter why he suddenly snaps out of his usual passivity to defend her in the third act.

It’s no secret that Sammo is a better fighter than an actor, and the fact that he does plenty of the latter and too little of the former in the first two acts makes the movie a drag. Only in the last half hour does Sammo abandon his dementia-induced stupor for a one-against-many showdown against Choi’s henchmen and the Russians, which gives him the chance to engage in the sort of lethal bone-breaking we suspect most would be waiting for. Yet it is hardly breathtaking stuff – especially for those well-acquainted with Sammo’s previous movies – and too many close-ups as well as a slower-than-ideal frame-rate for Sammo’s lightning-quick moves ultimately make this too-little too-late finale slightly underwhelming.

That expectations are high for ‘The Bodyguard’ is inevitable; like we said, this is the first time that Sammo is in the director’s chair after helming both ‘Mr Nice Guy’ and ‘Once Upon A Time in China and America’ back in 1997. Yet even without the weight of such expectations, this languid drama with just one modest fight sequence at the end is unlikely to satisfy action fans or the rare audience member looking for a serious-minded story on redemption. At this age, there is really little that Sammo need do to cement his legacy as legend, but it should also be said that anyone looking for him to revive his past glories on the big screen will go away empty. We adore Sammo just as much as his most ardent fan, but even that love and respect is not enough for us to find anything redeeming about ‘The Bodyguard’. Sorry, ‘dai gor’. 

Movie Rating:

(Age has caught up with Sammo in more ways than one, and this dull and uninvolving drama that indulges in an hour of tiresome setup before an underwhelming action-packed finale is proof of that)

Review by Gabriel Chong 

Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Lee Byeong-heon
Cast: Kim Woo Bin, Lee Jun Ho, Kang Ha Neul, Jung So-min, Lee Yu-bi, Min Hyo-rin, Jung Ju-yeon
RunTime: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Sexual References)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/its.NEW.contents    

Opening Day: 25 June 2015

Synopsis:  ‘Chi-ho’ whose only virtue is being irresistibly attractive. ‘Dong-woo’ who is torn between his dream and the family. ‘Gyeong-jae’ who only has a brain for study. A super-charming slacker who pursues a life of doing nothing after high school; a retaker who works hard for his dream of becoming a cartoon artist despite the financial harships; a college freshman whose college activities are entirely geared toward attaining his ultimate goal of landing a job in a global corporation... A radiant comedy about three best buddies who turn twenty to share the most embarrassing moment of their lives!

Movie Review:

Twenty is the latest coming-of-age film from Korea. With similar themed films like You Are The Apple of My Eye (2011) andBoyhood (2014) making news and conversations among people across different ages, will Twenty achieve similar commercial success?

While it is easier to sell with romantic love, Twenty places more focus on the friendship and bond between the three boys, Chi-Ho (Kim Woo-Bin), Dong-Woo (Lee Junho) and Gyung-Jae (Kang Ha-Neul). Each of them has a distinct personality and takes on different routes after graduating from senior high school.

Chi-Ho, Dong-Woo and Gyung-Jae each represents a perspective of young adults these days – Chi-Ho bumming around and just trying to figure out what’s next while living off his parents; Dong-Woo hardworking and conscientious to pursue his dreams and make ends meet; Gyung-Jae leading the more normal typical college student life.

The lads make their own fair share of comedy and drama on screen. Viewers can anticipate watching them experience the disappointments, heart aches, struggles with the future and grappling with their identities – which are real and heartfelt depictions of the twenty-somethings.

This movie is directed and written by Lee Byeong-Hun, and Twenty is also his second major feature after Cheer Up Mr Lee (2012). This also explains why Twenty carries an indie undertone, which sets it apart from other typical Korean slapstick comedies.

Although the theme of the movie and the portrayal of what is experienced in the 20s are highly relatable, what the film did not manage to accomplish is to create an impression. The story development was shallow and did not manage to leave a deeper meaning. The comedic and entertainment value of it is also not outstanding, hence it may bore some viewers.

In the film’s conclusion, these three dorky friends do life together once again, despite taking on different paths of life. It seemingly signifies how their friendship stands strong through the test of time. Oh what fun and adventure lies ahead!!

Movie Rating:

(A light-hearted, bittersweet growing up story of the twenty-somethings. The roaring youth, the fearless twenty)

Review by Tho Shu Ling

Genre: Crime/Action
Director: Sarik Andreasyan
Cast: Hayden Christensen, Adrien Brody, Jordana Brewster, Tory Kittles, Akon
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 June 2014

Synopsis: A New Orleans mechanic's struggle to turn his back on crime is compromised by the unexpected return of his ex-con brother, who quickly gets him involved in a dangerous heist. James and Frankie were just teenagers when Frankie was convicted for shooting a cop, and sent to prison. Ten years later, James (Hayden Christensen) has finally put his life back in order. He's seeking the financing to open his own garage when he starts to rekindle a romance with his ex-flame Emily (Jordana Brewster). Their future together is looking bright until Frankie (Adrien Brody) reappears without warning, entangling his brother in a dangerous bank robbery plot hatched by Sugar (Akon) and Ray (Tory Kittles), two enterprising criminals who make it clear that Frankie and Emily will suffer if James doesn't go along with their plans. Later, with the bank vault open and everything going as planned, an unexpected complication puts James' devotion to his troubled brother to the ultimate test.

Movie Review:

F***! F***! F***!

Trust us, you are gonna swear as much as the two protagonists after you seen American Heist. And this of course is not a good thing.

Anakin Skywalker/Hayden Christensen is back after a long career hiatus and for the first time onscreen he is teaming up with Oscar winner Adrien Brody as two brothers who are involved in a bank robbery that of course went awry.

After ten years in jail, small-time hoodlum Frankie (Brody) finally reunites with his ex-jail mates Ray (Tory Kittles) and Sugar (Hip hop star Akon) to work on a major bank heist. But before that, Frankie needs to recruit his younger brother, Jimmy (Christensen) who works as a car mechanic and also conveniently an expert in explosives rigging.

Unlike Frankie, Jimmy wanted to lead a clean life, he even tries to take out a bank loan to start up his own workshop and there’s a former flame in the form of Jordana Brewster (she just loves men that possessed extraordinary automobile skills isn’t she?) coming back to him. But all these are coming to a stop because he loves his only family member so much that he has no choice but to partake in a silly crime that doesn’t has much of a plan to begin with.  

For a start, I like to give points to Brody who delivers a believable gangsta performance. Edgy and completely menacing, he is on a roll after a devilish turn as the villain in Jackie Chan’s Dragon Blade. If you can’t remember Christensen’s last major role was in another star-studded heist movie, Takers, it’s perfectly all right. The usually stiff Christensen who spends considerable screentime playing opposite Brody may not be perfect but he’s more than up for the task.

Apart from that, this modern heist title offers nothing new in fact it’s pretty insipid.  For the first hour or more, you need to sit through repetitive sessions of brotherly talk (slew of vulgarities included), hugs and cries and listen to an unfortunate story of how Frankie nearly got raped in jail if not for the interference of Ray and Sugar. For sure, the story is definitely not in the league of The Town or Heat. There’s an unintended laugh-out-loud moment that touched upon American President Thomas Jefferson. This intelligent quote just came out of nowhere and seriously just spares viewers about lectures on corporate America and get on with the heist.

To be fair, Armenia helmer Sarik Andreasyan did his very best with the limited budget. For the last 20 minutes or so, pyrotechnics are on full display including an absolutely shoddy looking CG chopper being shot down in downtown New Orleans. Blood are shed and no one is spared from the killings except one in the climatic (dubious) closing scene. The action is never riveting though there’s a decent closure to the estranged brothers. American Heist is a perfect example of a cheap straight-to-video actioner, filled with more clichés than bullets. Avoid. 

Movie Rating:

(F***! F***! F***! I just got robbed of my time)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Derek Yee
Cast: All extras in Hengdian World Studios
Runtime: 2 hrs 14 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 16 July 2015

Synopsis: In the middle of China, there’s a town called Hengdian. In this town, there is a movie lot that is bigger than the studios of Universal and Paramount put together. This is the Hengdian World Studios, aka “Hollywood of the East”. It attracts production teams from all over the world, and as a result, creates a new label in the Chinese population ? “Hengpiao”, which literally means the “Hengdian Nomads”. These people are mostly extras on the movie set, and they’re usually perceived as those who dream of becoming movie stars. Until in August, 2012, director Derek Yee met some of the extras during a set visit, and he was touched by their live stories. “I’m Somebody” is inspired by these extras, and for once they get to be the leads. The story evolves around several young people chasing their dreams in Hengdian. They have no knowledge in moviemaking, and they bumbling misadventures turn out to be valuable lessons for their lives. Director Yee wishes this film could inspire countless “nomads” from all walks of life. The obstacles that we’re facing would become the greatest gifts of our lives.

Movie Review:

Admit it - when you stepped out of the theatre after watching Hong Kongfilmmaker artfully directed Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love (2000), you imagined yourself as Maggie Cheung, sashaying down the street in a pretty cheongsam. And wasn’t there a split second you imagined yourself as the grandmaster of martial art Wing Chun after seeing Donnie Yen fight off what looked like hundreds of baddies in Wilson Yip’s Ip Man (2008)?

Sad truth is – in life, most of us are the hundreds, or even thousands, of extras in the background of the film, while the better looking dudes and babes shine. Yup, they would be the ones getting all the attention to. We just have to somehow live with that and get on with our lives.

And that is why the concept behind this drama is interesting. Hong Kongdirector Derek Yee, who is best known for his heartbreakingly beautiful C’est la vie, mo cheri (1993), has a new feature film that pays tribute to the countless number of extras in Mainland China. We are brought to the Chinese city of Hengdian, where thousands of hopeful Chinese from all over the largest country in the world travel to, in hope of becoming a bona fide movie star. In Hengdian, there is a 330 hectare Hengdian World Studios, where an unimaginable number of movies and serials are shot every year. We follow a few characters and see how they pursue their dreams of being the next Zhao Wei or Huang Xiaoming.

The 134 minute movie is self financed by Yee, whose One Night in Mongkok (2004), Protégé (2007) and Shinjuku Incident (2009) have received commercial and critical success. This labour of love is an engaging watch, as the human centred tales of these small time actors are bound to tug at your heartstrings. Who wouldn’t root for an everyman whose dream is to make it big, and has to experience the trials and tribulations of the cold, harsh world we live in?

And while we chuckle at knowing the different rates of extras for walking around, lying in water, playing dead and fleshing skin, isn’t there a part of us realising that this is part of earning a living for survival?

To attract more viewers into the cinemas, Yee has brought together stars like Anita Yuen, Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu, who pop up as cameos throughout the movie. However, the real stars here are the inexperienced actors whose lives are played out in the thoughtful screenplay.

We laugh along with the goofy Wan Guopeng, who leaves his village with the hope of making it big in showbiz. Along the way, he falls in love with a fellow extra and their relationship is put to the test when things get tough. They are not the only ones who face the hardship. There is Shen Kai, who gets his big break at the expense of his marriage. The consequence is almost painful to watch. Elsewhere, there is an ex coal miner who counts his blessings although he knows he doesn’t have the looks, and a pair of sisters who go through an emotional turmoil after arriving in a city where dreams are supposed to come true.

The cast of this well intended movie is made up of extras, so you can expect performances which you wouldn’t usually regard as award winning. Yet, this is what makes this film work on a bizarrely fascinating level. Real life and reel life come together, and you hear common folks sharing their dreams and experiences, occasionally dishing some worldly pieces of life advice.

Movie Rating:

(You learn to appreciate the littler things in life after watching this tribute to movie extras, and knowing that there are some dreams worth chasing after)  

Review by John Li

Extended Sneak Peek of Marvel's Ant-Man Exclusively at Shaw IMAX Theatres Posted on 10 Jun 2015 In anticipation of the release of Marvel’s Ant-Man in IMAX® 3D, a special sneak peek of the film featuring more than six minutes of footage will screen exclusively in Shaw IMAX® theatres in Singapore beginning June 11. The exclusive first look will screen directly ahead of Universal Picture’s Jurassic World and will play for the duration of that film’s run in IMAX thea ... more

TO THE FORE Singapore Press Conference Posted on 11 Aug 2015 Hearing from director Dante Lam about the training that he put his young actors through to prepare for their roles in ‘To The Fore’, one can’t quite help but wonder if he had gone overboard in his quest for realism. Even before the cameras started rolling, each one of his actors had to endure 8 hours of training every day, which consisted of at least 100 km of cycling, followe ... more

SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE (1922 - 2015) Posted on 11 Jun 2015 To contemporary audiences, he is best known for his role as Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sir Christopher Lee has sadly passed away at the age of 93 after being hospitalised for respiratory problems and heart failure. The veteran actor died on Sunday June 7 at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London following respiratory problems and heart failure. Lee had more than 280 f ... more

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Masayuki Ochiai
Cast: Airi Taira, Nozomi Sasaki, Kai Kobayashi, Nonoka Ono, Ren Kiriyama, Miyabi Matsuura, Rimi, Misaki Saisho
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/encorefilms

Opening Day: 9 July 2015

Synopsis:  Mai doggedly follows the clues, which leads her to the cursed house?now nothing but an empty lot. Will she truly discover the horrifying death of her sister and be the one to finally break the curse, or will she be another sacrifice?

Movie Review:

There is a thin line between horror and comedy. You see, being genres that leverage on human emotions, the success of horror flicks and comedies rely very much on how well they elicit either surprise (amusement) or shock (fear) from their audience. Failure to meet these expectations result in either a comedy that is horrifying terrible or a horror flick that is terrifyingly hilarious. Without a doubt, Ju-On 4: The Final Curse is one horror flick that belongs to the latter category.

Continuing from Ju-On 3: The Beginning of the End, Mai (Airi Taira) receives news that her sister Yui (Nozomi Sasaki) has mysteriously disappeared. This brings back memories of an ominous dream she has of Yui and the spirit of a haunted child, Toshio. All these disturbing coincidences accumulate and present themselves to be related when Mai discovers Yui’s teaching records: Toshio is indeed a student of Yui’s who has gone missing. While Mai tries to investigate the strange circumstances surrounding her sister’s disappearance, Toshio (Kai Kobayashi) is discovered to be alive and is taken in by his auntie’s family. The family's warm hospitality, however, spells their downfall as Toshio’s presence brings about the new manifestation of the Ju-On curse brought over from his previous home.

Like in Ju-On 3, director Masayuki Ochiai wastes no time scaring his audience. As of all good horror flicks, Ochiai makes good use of leitmotifs to build tension. In particular, the disconcerting guttural sounds unique to the resentful Kayako (Misaki Saisho) were effective in intensifying the creepy atmosphere of the film. In fact, special mention should be given to Saisho’s performance as Kayako, Toshio’s very dead birth-mother. Out of all the adult actors, Saisho’s performance has a raw energy that makes her stand out from the rest; ironically making Kayako seem more “alive” than the rest of the characters in the film.

That, unfortunately, marks all that is good of Ju-On 4.

That is because horror (and comedy), more than any genres, relies on the “Rule of three” i.e: establishing a pattern to mindf*** the audience into accepting the pattern as a norm in the film. Once established, the “Rule of three” can be either used to make s***ty scenes seems normal in the world that the characters live in or broken to jazz things up. Other than the wonderful use of Toshio and Kayako’s leitmotifs, the “Rule of Three” manifests itself in the subtle shots of Toshio’s spirit sauntering past human characters. But here’s the thing. While that might creep out the audience, having too much of the same action renders its repetition stale. How many times do you want to see a kid wearing only a loincloth saunter past other characters? For crying out loud, the kid is painted so white that one can almost see his a**cheeks if one concentrates hard enough.

Another huge mistake that director Masayuki Ochiai makes is his negligence to plot and story. The other subplots of the film were weak at best and play no significant contribution to the story. Their existence, it seems, only serves to increase the amount of scary scenes in the film. Ultimately, the core of the film should be its story and plot; scary moments in the film should be relevant to the story. Ochiai seems to prefer scares over plot and well, having scary scenes for the sake of having scary scenes just makes Ju-On 4a cheap, B-grade film.

A good horror flick has to come in a package; it has to have a strong plot with a never-ending supply of scares. Forgo any of that and end up with a joke that audiences will forever remember as a hilariously horrible horror flick.

Movie Rating:

(A horror film so horribly terrible that it will make you laugh in jest)

Review by Leng Mong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director:Chalermchatri Yukol
Cast: Pongsakorn Mettarikanont, Sonya Singha, Apa Pawilai, Viri Ladaphan, Gandhi Wasuvivhayagit, Chalat Na Songkhla
Runtime: 1 hr 24 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Gore)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films & Clover Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 June 2015

Synopsis: The chronicle and the archives have recorded that in 1586, King Bayinnaung led his army through the Malamao strait in Tak province to invade Ayutthaya. After long continuous battles, Ayutthaya finally lost the war to the Burmese troops from Hongsawadi in 1569 and end their independence. The collapse of the Ayutthaya Kingdom could not be explained ....some said that the cause might be the “Black Death” that wipe out the residents. Some blamed the hungry ghosts, some blamed the plague that came with the Portuguese. But nobody could find out the real cause until all the corpses transformed themselves into a kind of living dead called ‘The Black Death’ who fearlessly bit and ate the villagers, even the monks were not able to exorcise them...

Movie Review:

It had to happen sooner or later right? If even Singapore has had its own version of the zombie apocalypse in the form of Dolph Lundgren’s terribly C-grade ‘Battle of the Damned’, then it was only a matter of time before Thai cinema dabbled in the creature horror sub-genre that has found a new lease of life in recent years thanks to ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘World War Z’. And yet, those looking for the same compelling blend of action and character drama in Chalermchatri Yukol’s ‘Phi Ha Ayodhaya’ will be quite sorely disappointed; indeed, in making what has been touted as the first Thai zombie movie, Yukol has drawn inspiration not from these Class A archetypes but rather the grindhouse flicks of the 1970s and 1980s.

For the uninitiated, such flicks were often meant to be no more than horror shlock, which meant a high body count, copious amounts of blood and gore, and unbridled violence. They also showed a blatant disregard for conventional elements on which cinema is built on, such as plot, character or storytelling. Indeed, their joys and pleasures were meant to be crude and ephemeral, and they never pretended to be anything more. If that’s the kind of movie that you think you’ll appreciate, then you’ll also know not to quibble with the obvious faults with Yukol’s film; otherwise, you’ll do well to stay away from this like the Plague (which the characters attribute the cause of the zombie phenomenon to), and save yourself the agony and frustration of criticising it for what it was never meant to be.

Putting a revisionist spin on well-known historical events, Yukol circles back to the year 1565 during the reign of Maha Chakkraphat. As we are told in a brief prologue, there was a devastating plague in the old capital which was believed to have originated from seafaring Portuguese and Persian traders. That much is fact, but the rest is probably not. Among the first to witness the effects of the plague is noble warrior Thep (Gandhi Wasuvitchayagit), who watches with wide-eyed horror as the recently slain come back to life and crawl out of mass graves dug in the aftermath of a bloody battle. Thep returns to his village haunted and scarred, but as you can already guess, that won’t be the last he will see of the flesh-eating walking dead.

But before the zombies return with a vengeance, we are introduced without much continuity to a ragtag group of disposable characters who will eventually converge upon the village brothel as their refuge against the rampage. Kong (Phongsakon Mettarikanon) and Mien (Sonya Singha) are a young star-crossed couple, the former the apprentice of a monk and the latter the daughter of a village scion. Ploy (Apa Bhivalai) is a mute prostitute, with Kwan (Tonpon Mahaton) a good-hearted opium smoker and frequent visitor to the brothel she works at who takes pity on her. Jun (Chalad Na Songkhla) is the owner of the brothel, who has designs on Bua (Wiri Ladaphan), a blacksmith whose late husband owes him money. Though Yukol spends almost the first act setting up these characters, none of them make much of an impression, though that hardly matters once the bloodletting begins.

In typical B-grade fashion, the zombies have no distinction or purpose other than to terrorise the living and in turn be cattle for the slaughter – by the latter, we mean having their heads bashed in, their bodies sliced in two, their limbs cut off, and their innards spilled out. There is not much clarity or coherence to these sequences, the former because of poor lighting that makes it more difficult to make out what exactly is going on and the latter because of bad editing that simply doesn’t know how to cut from one scene to the next. Only for the sheer amount and extent of blood and gore on display does the second act stand out, although it unfolds with such self-seriousness that a little self-reflexive humour wouldn’t hurt.

That is especially true for the third and final act, which is basically melodrama of the worst kind. Not even with the language barrier does the dialogue come off any less cringe-worthy, which basically has Kong pledging his undying love for Mien, Thep proclaiming how he is bound by his own code of honour to protect his fellow men and Ploy crying over an infected Kwan. Compared to the chaos before, this sudden change in tone is not only jarring but also infuriating, particularly since we don’t quite care for any of the characters in the first place. Those looking for a final showdown between human and zombie should also be warned – there is none to speak of, and in fact, the ending, that leaves room for a sequel, is just as unsatisfying.

Like we said at the start, ‘The Black Death’ doesn’t try and isn’t meant to be any more than a bloody grindhouse horror. To judge it on any other merit than its gut-sy glory is futile, but even on that count, you’ll do well to know that it is too daft to be any sort of homage to the cult genre that it aims to emulate. Unless the novelty of seeing zombies in a Thai movie excites you that much, there is really nothing more that this splatter-fest offers. 

Movie Rating:

(No more than a grindhouse splatter-fest, this zombie horror offers no pleasure except the novelty of seeing the walking dead in a Thai movie)

Review by Gabriel Chong 

SYNOPSIS: The hunter becomes the hunted when Liam Neeson returns as former CIA operative Bryan Mills who finds himself framed for the brutal murder of his ex-wife. Consumed with rage and pursued by a savvy police inspector, Mills must rely on his particular set of skills one last time to find the real killers, clear his name and protect the only thing that matters to him now - his daughter. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Rest assured, no one is being Taken this time round. First it was his daughter then it was his wife in the sequel and now Luc Besson and his regular writer, Robert Mark Kamen has practically run out of ideas to conclude the third instalment (hopefully the last) of the hugely successful Taken series.

Right from the start,Taken 3 is incredibly silly and unnecessarily tedious. You can’t really imagine a simple revenge tale involving Russian thugs and a sinister-looking husband of Mills’ wife can be that atrociously boring. Even with Bryan Mills’ constant display of his particularly set of skills can’t salvage this poorly execute action movie.      

Why on earth did Bryan Mills escape from the police after his wife is slayed? Is it because of this thirst for revenge or he has no confidence in the local cops? Then there is a sort of clever cop character in the form of Forest Whitaker and his bunch of dumb minions who are always one step behind Bryan filling up the screentime whenever Liam Neeson is out on toilet break.

Maybe you will be impressed by character actor Sam Spruell (Snow White and the Huntsman), his ruthless portrayal of an ex-Spetsnaz operative Oleg Malankov might send chills down your spine. Dougray Scott no stranger to playing dubious characters is in for an easy paycheck. Famke Janssen who gets credited for all three movies has it easy, it’s a pity she bail out shortly after 15 minutes and she didn’t even have time to take her warm bagel. Maggie Grace on the other hand at the ripe age of 32 is still playing a college student.

Liam Neeson continues to work hard to ply his action moves despite being qualify for a SG50 card. But his hard work is letdown by the motion sickness inducing camera moves and red bull pumped up editing techniques that you are unlikely able to make out what’s happening onscreen. Is there a fist fight going on? Or is there a car chase going around?

Obviously Oliver Megaton doesn’t possess any remarkable skill set to shoot and tell a coherent, enjoyable action flick. Let’s pray that Besson stop at this lackluster instalment once and for all. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The DVD comes with an extended cut which is about seven minutes longer than the theatrical version. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is impressive with dynamic loud engaging sound effects and while the camera moves might cause your head to spin, the visuals are satisfying with slight color grading.   

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee