Genre: Drama
Director: Patrick Kong
Cast: Chi Lam Cheung, Charmaine Sheh, Nancy Sit, Michael Tong, Joe Chen, Wilfred Lau, Jacquelin Chng, Samuel Kwok, Chan Ka-Kai, Helen Ma, Henry Lo
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures & Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 12 November 2015
Synopsis: On the day of Macau’s handover in 1999, Man-Cho (Chi Lam Cheung), Kiki (Joe Chen) and their neighbors were celebrating Aunty Q‘s birthday (Nancy Sit). Kwan-Ho migrated to the US for some years and she made a surprise appearance at the birthday party. Despite the jovial ambience, Man-Cho noticed that Kwan-ho is strangely quiet and seems troubled. At the same night, Man-Cho receives news that Lai-Sun has died in a car accident, Man-Cho was worried and followed Kwan-ho to the hotel, he eventually saves her from her suicide attempt. After Kwan-ho got discharged from hospital, she is still sad and often deep in thoughts. Man-Cho, Aunty Q and Kiki tried their best to cheer Kwan–ho up by showering her with care and concern. Through the years, Man-Cho, Kwan-Ho, Kam-Sing and Aunty Q have experienced the joys and sorrows of life. While things seem to be going fine, bad news strikes: Man-Cho learns that he has cancer and has less than half a year to live…
Movie Review:
‘Return of the Cuckoo’ remains one of Julian Cheung and Charmaine Sheh’s most popular drama series till this date, but if there was one thing that it didn’t give fans, it was proper closure. And so it is understandable that fifteen years after the fact, writer/ director Patrick Kong would attempt to give fans the ending that they wanted to see, i.e. that Cheung’s Man-Cho would get together with Sheh’s Kwan-Ho, notwithstanding Auntie Q’s (Nancy Sit) objections or even the fact that Man-Cho had married Lai-Sun’s (Stephen Ma) at the end of 20 episodes and moved to the States thereafter. Still, this big-screen version of the perennial TVB favourite squanders every ounce of the audience goodwill that the series had built up, substituting real pathos for contrived melodrama that frankly does neither the characters nor their fans any favours.
As an excuse to bring Kwan-Ho back to Macau, Kong introduces a personal tragedy that sees her try to commit suicide not once but twice within the first half hour. Lai-Sun and their two children have unfortunately perished in a car accident, shortly after she discovered that Lai-Sun was having an affair with someone at work, leaving Kwan-Ho devastated. Who better to nurse her back to health than Man-Cho of course, but since that wouldn’t in itself make a movie, the pair whom we know should and already get together find themselves intertwined in a love triangle involving a mute girl named Kiki (Joe Chen), whom we are told Man-Cho was very close to in the time since before Kwan-Ho’s surprise return on the occasion of Auntie Q’s birthday.
Whereas the first act was about nursing Kwan-Ho back to psychological health, the second deals with Kiki’s love for Man-Cho and her concomitant jealousy towards Kwan-Ho as she starts to get closer to Man-Cho all over again. As with any one of Kong’s teenage romances, Kiki’s unrequited love for Man-Cho resolves itself in over-the-top fashion during Typhoon Fengshen in 2008 – and without spoiling it for anyone, let’s just say that it is particularly unconvincing because at no point before her act of selfishness does Kiki seem that bitter and resentful of Man-Cho and Kwan-Ho rekindling their love for each other. To top things off, Kong uses that one event to lurch even further into melodrama in the third and final act, as a head injury necessitates an operation on Man-Cho which would save his life but potentially cause him to lose his memory altogether.
So after all is said and done, does Kong in fact grant fans the resolution that they have been waiting for? The irony is that he doesn’t. Oh yes, you read that right – instead of tying up what had seemed inevitable from the start, Kong teases yet another continuation to the love story that just wouldn’t end, leaving room for Man-Cho and Kwan-Ho to fall in love with each other again. Had he woven a more compelling narrative for the ‘Return of the Cuckoo’, the open-ended conclusion at the end of this movie would probably have made a lot more sense; as it stands however, it is yet another frustrating capper to an altogether frustratingly unsatisfactory sequence of events that will leave fans of the original series exasperated and the rest of us feeling blasé.
Yes, besides the initial euphoria of seeing Cheung and Sheh (and to a lesser extent, Ma, who appears in no more than an extended cameo) in their original roles, there is little that this belated reunion offers those who fell in love with them or the rest of the supporting characters. Sit’s Aunty Q appears for no other reason than for the sake of maintaining continuity with the original series, and the same can be said of the rest of the TVB veterans including Samuel Kwok (郭鋒) as Kwan-Ho’s father, Helen Ma (馬海倫) or Henry Lo (魯振順). The one returning supporting cast member who is not completely redundant is Michael Tong’s Kam-sing, whose fortunes as the King of Gambling in Macau are reversed after his arrest by the authorities.
Notable too are unbilled cameos by Kent Cheng, who plays a reclusive real estate mogul Kam-sing tries to court to turn his fate around, and the three members of Grasshopper (草蜢) whom Kwan-Ho meets while on a gambling binge to drown her sorrows earlier on. Kong’s ensemble is pretty impressive, but the heavyweight line-up is sadly undermined by an undercooked script that not even the committed performances by the forever youthful Cheung and the elegantly beautiful Sheh can redeem; in fact, those who do not have the benefit of hindsight will probably be wondering just what is so mutually attractive about Man-Cho and Kwan-Ho, because hardly any sparks fly between them in the course of this movie.
And with this benefit of hindsight, it is no wonder Cheung had expressed reservations about Kong’s script even before shooting, with rumours that he was at odds with Kong’s interpretation of his character as well as the story in general. For the lack of a better word, this big-screen continuation of the TVB series is itself a cuckoo, an ineffectual shadow of its much more superior predecessor that proves some good things should be left alone. As much as anyone who has seen the series would love to see Cheung and Sheh back together again, it is hardly an overstatement that they certainly deserve much, much better.
Movie Rating:
(Contrived and ceaselessly melodramatic, this continuation of the hit TVB series is, despite Julian and Charmaine's reprisal, a disappointing shadow of its much superior predecessor)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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Popular Hong Kong Artistes Chi Lam Cheung and Charmaine Sheh in town this 9th November to promote RETURN OF THE CUCKOO!Posted on 09 Oct 2015 |
SYNOPSIS: When former high school sweethearts Dawson and Amanda meet at a loved one's funeral 20 years after tragedy separated them, their love is ignited. As they recall and relive the past, they come to a deeper understanding about the choices they've made.
MOVIE REVIEW:
In the literary circle, when it comes to horrors, the name Stephen King pops up. Legal thrillers and we have John Grisham. Weepy romantic sagas? Nicholas Sparks has them all covered. Like it or not, Hollywood practically served up at least one of Sparks’ works annually. For sure, it’s not going away anytime soon.
In this heavy-handed tale of first love, James Marsden (Enchanted) and Michelle Monaghan (Source Code) plays high school sweethearts, Dawson and Amanda who separated after a tragic incident which sees Dawson being sent to prison. 21 years later, while sorting out the belongings of a deceased friend, Dawson and Amanda starts reigniting their love. The question is will Sparks allow them to have a second chance to live happily ever after?
The Best Of Me is expectedly filled with Sparks’ usual formulaic plot devices and ludicrous twists. He is always out to boast the tissue business and believe me, there are way too many unbelievable obstacles along the way to split up the pair of lovebirds. For starters, Dawson comes from an abusive and drug-dealing family while Amanda is that sweet pampered girl from a rich family. Talking about family status, Dawson obviously is out of her league. Then there is a violent confrontation that leads to more bad blood between Dawson and his dad. And while a major explosion on an oil rig didn’t kill him, I’m not so sure if he will survive Sparks’ trigger-happy, over-emotional climatic ending.
Even though the mawkish tearjerker might not tug at your heartstrings, Marsden (who inherited the role after the passing of Paul Walker) looks incredibly charismatic and sexy on screen opposite Monaghan. Since the movie travels back and forth filling audiences with their backstories of love, pain and agony, Luke Bracey (The November Man) and Liana Liberato (Stuck in Love) played the leads’ younger versions despite the obvious fact that both resembles more towards Chris Hemsworth and Taylor Swift rather than Marsden and Monaghan.
Venturing into The Best Of Me is liked attending Nicholas Sparks’ School of Life where star-crossed lovers learn to live, make love, read letters and eventually one of them dies. There’s nothing here that you have never watch before and quite possibly not the last you expect to see.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Tears of Joy" Edition with Alternate Ending unlike the theatrical version has a more upbeat, happier ending.
Along for the Ride strangely touts Sparks’ next movie adaptation, The Longest Ride.
Commentary by Michael Hoffman features a safe and predictable piece from the director of One Fine Day.
The extras also come with a Music Video and Theatrical Trailer.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visually speaking, detailing is excellent. Colours are warm and scenes are beautifully setup. With a couple of loud gunshots, the audio 5.1 is mostly front heavy with clear dialogue.
MOVIE RATING:
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DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida, Ann Dowd, Scoot McNairy, Zoe Kazan
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: http://www.ourbrandiscrisismovie.com/
Opening Day: 14 January 2016
Synopsis: A Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine (Bullock). In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that earned her nickname and rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Thornton), now coaching the opposition. But as Candy zeroes in on every vulnerability – both on and off the campaign trail – Jane is plunged into a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits nationally to boost their numbers. “Our Brand is Crisis” reveals the cynical machinations and private battles of world-class political consultants for whom nothing is sacred and winning is all that matters.
Movie Review:
Our Brand Is Crisis has a tremendously talented cast of Academy award winners - Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton, as well as others like Anthony Mackie and Scoot McNairy - but even that couldn’t save it from being a crisis. It is a political satire that fails to deliver comedic or dramatic elements, making it feel very uneven - though not without its moments.
Based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, the dramedy is a fictionalized retelling of the documentary and is about an American campaign strategist, Jane Bodine (played by Bullock), who is hired by an unpopular Bolivian presidential candidate, Pedro Castillo (a fictionalized version of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada played by Joaquim de Almeida), to help him win the 2002 Bolivian presidential election.
With a plot like that and a talented cast, audiences are promised even greater things when comedy director, David Gordon Green, is at the helm. Having previously directed comedies such as Pineapple Express and Prince Avalanche, audiences are bound to have high expectations for this film. What we get instead is a weird mess of political spoofs and music videos. At times, the film ended up feeling like Green did not know what he wanted to achieve - a comedy, a drama or a dramedy. For the most part, he handled the plot well but it was the tone that turns audiences off. This is highly evident in the first half of the film, whereby there were instances of scenes that felt too much like music videos. The comedy doesn’t suit the message of the film and its purpose, sometimes even affecting the overall theme. This made the emotional scenes feel clunky in the film. Morever, three-quarter of the jokes failed to hit and this could be due to the screenplay which brings me to my next point.
The screenplay written by Peter Straughan was a step down from his previous works, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Frank. Unlike the documentary it is based on, the scipt for this film has considerably lesser grit. This causes the film to have a rough uneveness that is probably due to Straughan trying to achieve a script that is both comedic and impactful. This affects the dialogue in the film, which at times feel very monotonous. Audiences could be seen checking watches or phones when there were slower pieces of dialogues. Characters do sometimes feel unrelatable and unreal as if they were made to exist only in a movie.
With that said, despite the characters having little emotional resonnance to the viewers, the actors did a fine job. Sandra Bullock as Jane is likeable for the most part, but pales in comparison to her previous roles. Anthony Mackie gave a good performance, showing that he has the ability to do drama roles. Zoe Kazan’s character, LeBlanc, is one of the film's brightest moments. However, due to Kazan’s character being only there for a short while, one cannot help but feel that she was severely underused. On the flip side, Billy Bob Thorton who plays the film's main antagonist, feels like he was phoning it in at times. That is not his fault and more of the material he was given to work with. Just like Scoot McNairy’s character, Thorton’s chracter did come across as annoying at times. This led to some groans and mehs when it comes to certain gags with these characters. Although the film is released in a period whereby Oscar consideration is high, no performances stand out as being Oscar calibre.
Per contra the above negative from the film, there are still some moments that genuinely felt smart. One being certain motivational dialogues and the usage of well known phrases by Bullock’s character. These scenes to come across as being witty. But due to the overall shifty tone of the film, some of these scenes lost their effect. Another positive about the film is the jokes that hit. Certain scenes made the entire theatre hall filled with laughter. The best being a scene on a bus and Bullock’s Butt; another being the Lama scene that was shown in the trailer.
It is the humour that overshadows the warm fuzzy feeling that the creators of the movie were trying to achieve through the ending of the movie. The ending felt less powerful and less like it was based on a true story. It felt unconclusive due to the fact that, a certain character had a complete change in motif. Instead of going out with a bang, the film decide to finish rather slowly, and beat audiences over the top of their heads with a political message. By the time the credits roll, audiences would have lost the vibe the comedic scenes brought. The ending is truly sluggish and has lost its meaning and impact.
Movie Rating:
(Not necessary a catastrophe but a forgettable bad film with certain moments that had potential)
Review by Celestine Pang
Genre: Drama
Director: Peter Landesman
Cast: Will Smith, Stephen Moyer, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Eddie Marsan, Alec Baldwin, Luke Wilson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Morse, Albert Brooks, Hill Harper, Matthew Willig
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 min
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 14 January 2016
Synopsis: Will Smith stars in Concussion, a dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu's emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful institutions in the world.
Movie Review:
Logic will probably tell you that repeated concussions to the head may eventually lead to significant cognitive impairments, but when faced with the prospect of losing a multibillion-dollar business, not even hard science can be enough. That’s the unfortunate position that Nigerian-born pathologist Dr Bennet Omalu found himself in back in 2002 when he announced that he had discovered a disease caused by football which he termed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Not only did the all-powerful National Football League (NFL) refuse to acknowledge his findings, it tried various means to shut Bennet up, such as triggering an FBI probe on his supportive boss to force him to leave his post in Pittsburgh.
‘Concussion’ is as much a study of Bennet’s struggle to bring his discovery to light as it is of the toll that it inflicts on him and his family. As much as one would like to see his David-versus-Goliath story told as a thriller with the NFL as the corporation that he eventually takes down, writer-director Peter Landesman avoids such convenient genre stereotypes in favour of a more restrained character study on Bennett himself. Yes, you’ll see the lengths the NFL will go to discredit him and demand a retraction, but equally you’ll also see Bennet romancing the Kenyan-born Prema (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a boarder he takes in at the behest of his church who would eventually become his wife and mother of his three kids.
These are two quite different stories in and of themselves, and not surprisingly, opinion has been divided on how the two seemingly parallel narrative strands fit together. Yet rather than being an unnecessary distraction, Bennet’s romance with Prema allows us to appreciate a different side of the good doctor that we would otherwise be blind to. Lest we forget, Bennet was not even an American citizen at the time when he did his ground-breaking research; instead, he was an outsider who had come to the United States in pursuit of the American dream – in his own words describing how becoming an American was an ideal growing up in Nigeria, “You could be anything, you could do anything. I never wanted anything as much as I wanted to be an American.”
Who can blame him for letting that hope turn into disillusion when faced with the NFL and their dirty tricks? Who can blame him for regretting at the lowest point of his personal and professional life that he ever met beloved Hall of Fame center “Iron Mike” Webster of the Steelers? And who can blame him for retreating to the city of Lodi, California, at the time he was being persecuted, rather than stand up for himself and his work? Without Prema, the personal stakes of that high-risk gamble he took by taking on the NFL would not be as acutely felt, and his decision to retreat from public view for three years before his belated vindication would only seem cowardly and even embarrassing.
Implicit in the way Landesman has chosen to tell Bennet’s story is the fact that CTE would probably have not been discovered were it not for someone like Bennet. Before Bennet, the conventional wisdom held at the time held was that former football players who died in their 40s or 50s suffered from dementia or early onset Alzheimer’s. No one was asking why so many of these men were stricken with early onset Alzheimer’s in the first place – not even their team doctor, whose job was largely to get players back on the field. It wasn’t just that he was not an NFL doctor; oh no, Bennet was no ordinary physician. For one, he likes to throw his instruments away after each autopsy; for another, he talks to the dead before each autopsy to ask them for their help to tell the world what happened to them.
It is precisely that curiosity which led him to order tests he had to pay for himself in order to find out just what happened to Webster, whose mental breakdown he attributes to the thousands of collisions sustained over the course of a professional football career. That breakthrough is good enough for him to be published in a medical journal, though it will take several more test cases before the press and the general public sit up and take notice. There is more than enough material in Bennet’s fascinating fact-based story to turn it into a scientific-sports thriller, but Landesman – who was a journalist for longer than he has been a filmmaker – avoids sensationalising the conspiratorial elements and allows Bennet’s fight to be heard to tell itself.
No doubt those expecting a more incendiary thriller will be disappointed, but there is no shame in Landesman’s choice to tell Bennet’s struggle by way of a heartfelt biography. Especially not when he has Will Smith as Bennet, the actor putting his gentle unassuming charm and easy unaffected charisma to good use in a strong performance that opts for nuance and avoids going over-the-top. Smith is surrounded by some top-class supporting acts, including Alec Baldwin as a former NFL doctor who becomes his invaluable ally, Albert Brooks as his boss and mentor, and an almost unrecognisable David Morse as the unhinged Webster in his later years. Besides Morse, Richard T. Jones and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje also play real-life ex-NFL players Andre Waters and Dave Duerson respectively.
You may not get the sport (for the record, Bennet wasn’t a fan, even though his wife Prema was), but ‘Concussion’ is a very different sports-based movie that takes on the business and game which has all but swallowed up American sport. It is about the fight for the truth, a decent God-fearing man’s fight against a big-money monolith. But it is also that rare film which doesn’t delight in beating its own chest, in adulating its real-life hero slavishly, that would rather be subtle and humble about his victory over a wrathful Goliath. It is ultimately anchored by Will Smith’s finest acting in years, which is reason enough to see it.
Movie Rating:
(A David-versus-Goliath tale that opts for a heartfelt biography of its 'David'-like subject and ultimately wins you over thanks to Will Smith's fine understated performance that is his best in years)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Comedy
Director: Sean Anders, John Morris
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church, Hannibal Buress, Alessandra Ambrosio, Paul Scheer
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.daddyshomemovie.com
Opening Day: 31 December 2015
Synopsis: “DADDY’S HOME” follows a mild-mannered radio executive (Ferrell) who strives to become the best stepdad to his wife’s two children, but complications ensue when their freewheeling and freeloading real father (Wahlberg) arrives, forcing him to compete for the affection of the kids.
Movie Review:
There’s a gem of a comedy in the form of The Other Guys (2010) starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. The chemistry between the two unlikely leading men is something you have to see to believe. The result is a rip roaring story about two mismatched New York detectives who try very, very hard to be the city’s top cops. Go search for some of the hilarious clips on YouTube. Oh, if you don’t already know, there are also the side splitting cameo appearances by Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson.
And that is why we were very much looking forward to this second collaboration between Ferrell the funnyman and Wahlberg the muscleman.
Ferrell (The Lego Movie, Get Hard) plays a mild mannered radio host who happens to be a stepfather to a happy family. He tries his best to get his stepchildren to love him and call him Dad. Along comes Wahlberg’s (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Ted 2) tough guy character, who happens to be the kids’ biological father. The laughs begin when he is everything a kid wants in a cool Dad – attractive physique, cool bike, liberal attitude.
Given that this is a family comedy, and that the film producers have box office earnings in mind, you can forget about crude jokes that will keep younger viewers out of the theatres. Hence, you get a nice and decent comedy that doesn’t try to be too clever, hits the spot and ends on a happy note. This isn’t necessary a bad thing in this day and age, where we often get overstuffed comedies (or movies for that matter) which have, in our opinion, are failing to make us laugh.
It sure helps that there is a wholesome message in this 98 minute movie. What being a father means, what being a parent means, and what being there for your kids means are some of the textbook friendly themes which will go down well with the masses.
Fortunately though, jokes are not compromised as you still get a barrel of laughs (knowing Ferrell and the established comedian Adam McKay worked on this production as producers is comforting). Watch out for scenes where Ferrell rides Wahlberg’s bike to disastrous results, where Ferrell tries to impress his kids by skateboarding after Wahlberg builds a cool tree house, and where Ferrell loses it when Ferrell effortlessly clinches the deal for a winning jingle at the radio station. Yup, these are the uncool stepdad versus cool daddy situations.
Then there are supporting roles played by Thomas Haden Church(Easy A, We Bought a Zoo) and Bobby Cannavale (Spy, Ant Man). The former portrays a rambling superior to Ferrell’s character. Watch as he goes on and on about seemingly pointless life lessons. The latter takes on the role as a fertility doctor who has the movie’s best scenes by comparing the differences between good and not so good manhood. The cameo appearance at the end of the movie is also a nice surprise.
For those who love Wahlberg’s bod, he comfortably goes topless for quite a number of scenes in the movie. Oh, and as a bonus, you get to see Ferrell flashing his bod too.
Movie Rating:
(Will Ferrell and Mark Whalberg's portrayals of Uncool Stepdad versus Cool Daddy drip with comedic chemistry in this comedy that doesn’t try to be unnecessarily clever)
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Cast: Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Sarah Snook, Caroline Goodall, Kerry Fox
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Some Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/TheDressmakerMovie
Opening Day: 28 January 2016
Synopsis: THE DRESSMAKER tells the story of the beautiful and talented Tilly Dunnage (Academy Award winner KATE WINSLET). After years working as a dressmaker in exclusive Parisian fashion houses, Tilly returns home to a town in the Australian outback to reconcile with her eccentric mother Molly (Academy Award nominee JUDY DAVIS). She also falls in love with the pure-hearted Teddy (LIAM HEMSWORTH), and armed with her sewing machine and haute couture style, Tilly transforms the women of the town, exacting sweet revenge on those who did her wrong.
Movie Review:
It’s as if Australian filmmaker Jocelyn Moorhouse (How to make an American Quilt) is trying to make up for lost time because her latest directorial effort, The Dressmaker after an absence of eight years is a mixture of whimsical comedy, a mystery thriller and a tragic melodrama.
Based on the book by Rosalie Ham and adapted by Moorhouse and her director husband P.J. Hogan (Peter Pan), The Dressmaker tells the story of Tilly Dunnage (Kate Winslet) who returns to her sleepy hometown of Dungatar after mastering her skills at the haute couture in Paris. But Tilly has a dark past, she was branded a murderer after the death of the town councilor’s son. The unfortunate event results her being sent off and the subsequent estrangement from her mom, Molly (Judy Davis).
Years later, Tilly is back. First to take care of her ailing mother at the same time exact revenge on those bastards who wronged her and lastly, perhaps find a handsome lover in the end.
While the setting should be somewhere in the 50’s, Dungatar resembles more like a period western town inhibited by various quirky residents. There’s the fearsome looking teacher, a hunchback pharmacist, a town councilor with high libido and a cross-dressing policeman, Sergeant Farrat (Hugo Weaving). Each probably has a part to play in the mysterious murder case years back. Who is involved and who is withholding the truth?
For the first half of the movie, Moorhouse is happy to play all silly and innocent with Tilly trying to turn the women of Dungatar into fashionistas. That all begins with the drastic transformation of the daughter of the grocery store, Gertude (Sarah Nook). The title is not called The Dressmaker for nothing. Then there is the local hunk, Teddy (Liam Hemsworth) who has a thing for Tilly. Believe it or not, Winslet is 14 years older than Liam in real-life but luckily we all have Liam’s bushy beard to thank for.
The movie’s tone and direction starts to go awry and dark when some townsfolk just for no reason met their death in macabre manner in the last act. Is someone up there helping Tilly’s on her revenge plan or is this Moorhouse’s wicked way of telling us in life, when one door closes, another opens?
Kate Winslet expectedly puts on a strong performance equipped with a flawless Australian accent and she is definitely perfect in the shockingly red dress. Kudos to costume designers Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson. No surprise, Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving are scene-stealers in whatever scenes they are in and so are the rest of the relatively unknown supporting cast members from Australia and New Zealand. The lush cinematography of the rich vast outback by Donald McAlpine (Ender’s Game) is a plus and the fictional town of Dungatar that is built from scratch by the production team is fabulous.
Don’t be deceived by the innocently looking title. Try to watch The Dressmaker with an open mind and be awed by the absurdities, sardonic humor and Liam’s abs.
Movie Rating:
(The Dressmaker may cause you to be on pins and needles)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Director: Wu Ershan
Cast: Chen Kun, Angelababy, Shu Qi, Huang Bo, Xia Yu, Cherry Ngan, Liu Xiao Qing
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 min
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:
Opening Day: 7 January 2016
Synopsis: Mojin-The Lost Legend is an epic fantasy adventure about a trio of legendary grave robbers. While relishing retired civilian life on the mean streets of New York City hawking goods, they are approached by a shady client. Before long, the three get thrown back into the job, raiding the secrets and treasures of ancient tombs in China, risking their friendship and even their lives on the tumultuous journey.
Movie Review:
There are enough reasons to be excited about this action fantasy thriller. It stars Huang Bo, the Beijing Film Academy graduate who delivered top notch performances as Sun Wukong in Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013) and a father in search of his lost child in Dearest (2014). His co star is the ridiculously good looking Chen Kun, who has appeared in blockbusters like Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012) and Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013). Accompanying the two men is the gorgeous Shu Qi, who has been receiving international acclaim for her restrainedly powerful role in The Assassin (2015).
The supporting cast is equally worthy – there’s Mrs Huang Xiaoming Angelababy, as well as veterans Xia Yu (Breakup Buddies) and Liu Xiaoqing (Legendary Amazons). There’s also the up and coming Hong Kong actress Cherry Ngan (The Way We Dance) in the mix.
With a stellar cast like this, what’s there not to like about the 125 minute movie which reportedly cost US$37 million to make?
At first glance, the movie directed by Wuershan (The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman) and produced by Chen Kuo Fu (You Are The One) seems like an Asian rip off of adventure franchises like Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider (check out the, ahem, not so inspired costume donned by the leads). There are enough elements to make film snobs go all critical about this commercial flick – the bombastic action sequences, the very loud soundtrack score, the countless scenes incorporating computer generated effects and the formulaic plot are just some of the things that a harsh film reviewer will list in his no bars held article.
But this columnist has always believed that there is a reason behind every movie production. Just look at the two big names behind this movie – Dalian Wanda Group and Huayi Brothers. Did you really think the folks behind these conglomerates were out to make a small, independent film to make viewers go all melancholic and reflect on life?
You’ll have to look beyond its straightforward storyline – a group of retired tomb raiders deciding to make one final heist to retrieve a flower which supposedly has the power to raise the dead.
If you are at the movies to enjoy a blockbuster with action and effects, this one is for you. There are enough scary flying creatures, grotesque zombies, loud explosions and picturesque sets to keep you entertained throughout the two hours. It helps that the actors are likeable in their own rights. Huang is again a natural, effortlessly playing a character who you want to root for. Chen and Shu quibble over love, but you know all’s going to be good before the end credits run.
The supporting cast doesn’t have this fortune though. Xia is a hustler bordering on being irritating, while Liu holds her aged face together to play a creepy religious cult leader. Ngan is a Japanese (we don’t get this) sidekick with little to do.
However, if you are simply searching for pure popcorn entertainment, this is one movie worth your time. The movie grossed US$92 million from Friday to Sunday, making it the third best opening weekend ever for a Chinese movie. The numbers do indeed speak for themselves.
Movie Rating:
(The epic adventure blockbuster may be formulaic, but it is solid popcorn entertainment for the masses)
Review by John Li
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AH BOYS - STAY WITH US! 2015 MINI-SHOWCASEPosted on 13 Oct 2015 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Justin Kurzel
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Elizabeth Debicki, Sean Harris, David Thewlis, Jack Reynor, Paddy Considine, Ross Anderson
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence And Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/Macbeth.The.Movie
Opening Day: 26 November 2015
Synopsis: MACBETH is the story of a fearless warrior and inspiring leader brought low by ambition and desire. A thrilling interpretation of the dramatic realities of the times and a reimagining of what wartime must have been like for one of Shakespeare’s most famous and compelling characters, a story of all-consuming passion and ambition, set in war torn Scottish landscape.
Movie Review:
So who donned the director’s cape for the harrowingly transporting tragedy? It is none other than the Australian director Justin Kurzel who started working his magic in the Isle of Skyre in the Highlands since February 2014. And he would be the same phantom who painstakingly narrated the poetic tragedy and the briefest work of Shakespeare that could be as old as five centuries in the most elite manner. Kurzel has arranged one act after another seamlessly into a blockbuster and made it possible for the tragedy to be enjoyed as a film. Not the average silver screen for it is slated for an impressive award arrangements down the road with the production team hailing from The King’s Speech and Academy Award nominee Micheal Fassbender with its leading man and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth.
The film opens with a laid down shot of a baby that looks grimly forlorn and rumour mills have done overtime that Kurzel was planning that particular scene of burying a baby for a modern day thriller in which he was working on but could not get enough funding for. And Kurzel was eventually approached with Macbeth.
The scene then pummels into a bloody sequence with a minute-long war that sets the movie in motion and sucks all into an eerie trance since it is in slow-mo.
With an exhilaratingly brilliant cast line-up, Macbeth plunges right into the plot without a back story as to why the greed spiralled into a sinister desire and when the sisters of doom show up with their prophetic vows.
Fassbender's character of Macbeth effortlessly morphed from a ruthless soldier, to a cowed husband who is all attentive to the wife's malefic whispers of greed, and a senile king who witnesses the hauntings of his self-fetched success and a broken person who stands up to fight the oncoming battle with the last of his breath.
Fassbender is no stranger to the landscape of storylines that depict monumental wars. Many may not recall, but we did witness Fassbender in a certainly less prominent role in 300 where he was part of the red cape squad with well-toned torso and a blond half-up. The laudable actor of German descent, took a nosedive in manifesting into one of Shakespeare’s muse (can’t blame him for he is an Arian male) thus going for the kill. Just as the world was thrown in a fray as to if Phantom of the Opera made Gerard Butler or if Butler was made for the movie, Fassbender too is crowned to have been cut out for Macbeth. “Thou shalt be king hereafter..” These words as spoken by the third witch might ring true for Fassbender in Hollywood with Macbeth defining the sexiest curve of his career.
Marion Cotillard the face of La Vie en Rose, and the voice of Le Petit Prince’s Rose rendered a hauntingly beautiful performance as a wife, a mother and a queen filled with both avarice and a cutting conscience. Lady Macbeth plays a pivotal role where she is the sensual dark voice inside of her husband’s head who is a brilliant force to the world but a docile hubby when locked in the arms of his brainy better half. Cotillard’s French genes never betrayed her tongue that worked the Shakespearean English in the tragedy. This has to be the darkest of the many shades of Cotillard that one could have seen of the fine thespian.
The sea of faces that one is likely to recall from recent screen works are Jack Reynor (A Royal Night Out, Delivery Man), Elizabeth Debicki (The Man from U.N.C.L.E) and Sean Harris (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Deliver Us From Evil) along with a fine pick of talents to embellish the plot that builds around the downfall of a king and his lady. The exciting trio from Macbeth (Kurzi, Cotillard and Fassbender) will get together and shall be witnessed again in the Assassin’s Creed in late 2016.
What allows the audiences to follow the storyline without any visual dilemma would be the costumes that fits the time frame just right and it is not at all overwhelming. Speaking of cinematography, the lighting and colours were so shrewdly used with red being the colour of blood and war that the climax seemed almost fought in Mars, the ruling planet of war.
The shortest tragedy penned by Shakespeare and directed as a big screen hit, wraps up the movie season of fall in our part of the world as a sword-edged finale where a catastrophe retold countless of times stays just as good as new. To have a play handed several centuries down made into a movie is beyond sings of praises for both the crew and cast. It will be a complete shame to dismiss an epic literature written in blood as just a literature lover’s film for it has got the latitude to be enjoyed by most adults in all aspects. For those who get intimidated by Shakespearean English need not be so, as there are subtitles. And Fassbender’s nasal voice turns on the highlander in us. Yaass!
Movie Rating:
(All hail Macbeth!)
Review by Asha Gizelle M
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