Genre: Music
Director: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko, Molly Ringwald, Ryan Guzman, Juliette Lewis
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.jemthemovie.com/

Opening Day: 26 November 2015

Synopsis:  As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. In Universal Pictures’ Jem and the Holograms, four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.

Movie Review:

The struggle with self-identity and the eternal question of ‘who am I?’ is definitely nothing new. Just recently, there’s also quite a stir concerning the Australian teen model / influencer Essena O’Neill’s quitting of Instagram. Social media is “contrived perfection made to get attention” and “not real” says the teen. That’s almost exactly the struggle that Jem (or Jerrica) faced. Just that Jem had a different starting point and motivation for putting on that alternate persona…

The story follows the life of Jerrica (played by Aubrey Pepples), who lives with her foster parent and siblings. She’s got a big passion for singing and song writing. Jerrica experimented and recorded a song in the identity of Jem, a pink haired funky-looking young lady. One of her sisters then uploaded it onto YouTube and it propelled her to popularity. However, Jerrica began to feel odd because now majority of the people only know only ‘Jem’. An invitation to be signed as a label artiste also began her adventure of uncovering the secret behind the robot her late dad left behind.

Young actress Aubrey Pepples is commendable with her portrayal of Jem. She brought out the Jem’s journey of self-discovery while experiencing the turbulence in life – her vexations, insecurities and sadness. Her emotional depictions albeit not as mature as veteran actors or actresses, was adequate to emote and convey messages. Other supporting cast weren’t as outstanding, but did enough to support the story.

In terms of the music and songs, a couple of them were quite bubbly and easy to catch. It does good to bring out the youthfulness and energy of the movie. However, while the songs were largely good, the lip-syncing and sound editing of the movie were not as well done. Production-wise, there were also several odd angled amateur looking cuts that distract more than intertwine the story well.

The storyline continues with Jem and her sisters eventually uncovering a hologram (hence the name of the movie). Unfortunately, the story really held no strong objective and was lacking depth. Given it’s a movie targeted at children and teens, it also did not serve to entertain enough. Therefore, that lack of engagement will lose audience’s attention.

As like all perfect worlds, problems will always get resolved at the end which makes everyone nice and happy. That sums up the ending of the Jem and the Holograms, which is well, rather clichéd. Although the movie did impart some good feels, overall it lacked dynamism and vibrancy.

Movie Rating:

(Pleasant feel good movie with sing-along-able songs)

Review by Tho Shu Ling

Genre: Drama
Director: Lynn Shelton
Cast: Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell, Gretchen Mol, Ellie Kemper, Kaitlyn Dever, Mark Webber, Jeff Gardin, Daniel Zovatto, Dylan Arnold
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language And Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://laggiesthemovie.tumblr.com

Opening Day: 9 October 2014

Synopsis: When 28 year old Megan (Keira Knightley) visits her 11 year high school reunion, she realizes that very little has changed in her life. She still lives with her high school boyfriend Anthony (Mark Webber), and works as a sign flipper for her father's accounting company. When her boyfriend proposes, she panics and crosses paths with 16-year-old Annika (Chloë Grace Moretz). Annika convinces her to buy her and her friends alcohol and she hangs out with them for the rest of the night. Afterwards she realizes that she needs to take a week off from her life and lies to her boyfriend, saying that she is going to a business seminar, but instead she goes to Annika's house and spends time there and also with Annika's attractive, single dad, Craig (Sam Rockwell).

Movie Review:

British actress Keira Knightley (Begin Again) plays a female slacker Megan whose life changed after meeting a teenager, Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz) in this comedy set in a small American town.

Unlike raunchy manchild comedies from Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, Laggies takes a far more restrained approach in tackling life issues. The script by first-timer Andrea Seigel and the direction from Lynn Shelton (Humpday) is for the most part funny and engaging though it takes a while for the indie title to take off.

The character of Megan seems unlikeable at first. While not exactly a total trainwreck, she is jobless, aimless, living off his parents and photographer boyfriend, Anthony (Mark Webber) and practically avoiding any major decisions in her life. Even her high school buddies finds it hard to communicate with her because deep down, Megan is still stuck in the past not knowing how to move on with her life despite a degree in marriage counseling. When her long-time sweetheart boyfriend suddenly proposes, Megan panicked and ran off to stay with Annika avoiding contacts with everyone.

Perhaps you find it hard to accept a person liked Megan in real-life, which is why her perfect soul mate turned out to be a teenager. It takes an adult to learn from a kid and vice versa. Only when Megan start seeing Annika getting into all sort of problems from teen romance to her estranged relationship with her mother that she realizes her own struggles. Seigel’s script is never pretentious or challenging. It’s a lot of fun and the charm from the entire cast is ridiculously addictive.

The underrated Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2) can never do wrong and in Laggies, he plays Craig, the father of Annika which took a liking for Megan in the end. He doesn’t really have a big role as compared to Knightley and Moretz but as always, he is genuinely a delightful presence. Juggling between indie titles and major Hollywood productions, Knightley puts in a silly convincing performance as a teenager trapped in an adult’s body. The in-demand Moretz kind of plays herself as she is basically just a teenager off-screen.

Laggies reminds one ofYoung Adult, a similarly theme drama from 2012 starring Charlie Theron. Some might find the latter too brooding and dark for liking, fortunately Laggies kept things light and lively. It’s not a perfect movie because you might be offended by the somewhat rushed and fluffy ending yet for a weirdly titled cinematic outing, you expect worse. 

Movie Rating:

(30 and not acting your age? Go catch Laggies)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Comedy/Action
Director: Tim Story
Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Olivia Munn, Nadine Velazquez, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt, Glen Powell, T.I., Tyrese Gibson
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG13 (Violence and Brief Coarse Language)
Released By: UIP 
Official Website: http://www.ridealong.com

Opening Day: 25 February 2016

Synopsis: Kevin Hart and Ice Cube lead the returning lineup of "Ride Along 2", the sequel to the blockbuster action-comedy that gave us the year's most popular comedy duo. 

Movie Review:

Aside from the fact that it pairs two ‘black’ actors as mismatched partners, ‘Ride Along 2’ offers nothing that you haven’t already seen in previous buddy-cop action-comedies – and oh yes, that includes those which starred two ‘white’ actors, like Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in ‘The Other Guys’. Worse still, it is a tired and witless sequel that seems content to rehash the formula of the original, so despite that Kevin Hart’s talkative cop wannabe Ben Barber is now a bona fide Atlanta rookie officer, the reason why Ice Cube’s glowering veteran detective James Payton agrees to bring him along on assignment is once again to get rid of the “dwarf”. 

That assignment is excuse to relocate the action from their hometown to Miami, where they find themselves up against the successful businessman cum well-regarded philanthropist Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt). A suaver villain than the former’s Laurence Fishburne, Antonio is under that seemingly perfect façade a drug dealer and weapons smuggler, whose biggest mistake was to employ a greedy hacker named AJ (Ken Jeong) as his tech specialist. It is in pursuit of AJ that James and Ben have made the trip down to the Magic City, where they team up with Miami P.D.’s hottest female officer Maya (Olivia Munn) to weed out Pope and his entrenched cronies – including the city’s port commissioner – from the power structure. 

Except for one car chase that sees Ben putting his ‘Grand Theft Auto-like’ video-game experience into action, the rest of the action set-pieces are as lazily executed as the script from two of the original’s credited screenwriters. There is a foot chase through the back alleys of Little Havana that is copiously edited to make Jeong look like he’s some mini-Jackie Chan. There is a shootout at a nightclub that is staged with little sense of continuity. And oh, the finale is yet another poorly choreographed shootout, this time at the docks where Pope foolishly chooses to implicate himself by showing up with a couple of henchmen next to containers of smuggled goods. Like we said, the action, like the plot, is largely by-the-numbers at best, which leaves only the comedy and chemistry between Hart and Cube. 

Sadly, neither delivers as it desperately needs to. The lines from writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi are stale and half-baked, and repeat ad nauseum Hart’s clowning routine next to Cube’s growling presence. To both actors’ credit, they still give it their all, but their characters are so thinly defined that even their considerable talent struggle to make up for the none-too-funny scenarios and opposites-attract repartee. If it feels as if Cube has done the same thing but better, you’re right – Cube has done the no-nonsense serious-cop shtick to much, much more amusing effect in the two ‘Jump Street’ movies; and as for Hart, well let’s just say his stand-up comedies have more laughs than both the ‘Ride Along’ movies combined. As much as we love their odd-couple pairing, there is only so much that Cube and Hart can do to breathe life into the obviously strained proceedings.

If it’s more of the same you seek, then you may just find ‘Ride Along 2’ right up your alley; but anyone expecting at least that the filmmakers would try something a little different or better with the sequel will be most sorely disappointed. Certainly, even as a standalone movie, Tim Story’s buddy-cop action comedy flails and fails to breathe life into a formula that is as established as it is well-worn. Because we have seen what they can do, we know that ‘Ride Along 2’ squanders the potential of the Cube-Hart pairing that we saw better glimpses of even in its predecessor. When even they need Munn to ooze sex-appeal from time to time to bail them out, you know that this ride’s in trouble. 

Movie Rating:

(Ice Cube and Kevin Hart still got it - but this tired and witless sequel is a criminal waste of their talent and opposites-attract chemistry)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Comics/Action/Adventure
Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Chadwick Boseman, Emily VanCamp, Daniel Brühl, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Martin Freeman
Runtime: 2 hrs 27 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/captainamericacw

Opening Day: 28 April 2016

Synopsis: Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.

Movie Review:

All eyes are on Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War after Batman V Superman suffered serious bouts of bashing by critics and audiences alike. There are those who are waiting eagerly for Marvel’s crushing defeat and there are those who can’t wait to catch some Avengers in action. Team Cap or Team Stark? It doesn’t matter, strap in and enjoy this hell of a ride!

After a mission which killed 11 innocents in Lagos (a terrific opener that brought back Crossbones played by Frank Grillo) in addition to the disastrous events of New York and Sokovia, the actions of the Avengers are called into question by the government. The Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt reprising his role from The Incredible Hulk) wants the Avengers to sign a treaty – an agreement that their future actions be controlled by the United Nations.

Captain America (Chris Evans), Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Oslen) will have none of it while Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are all ready to sign on the dotted line. This internal rift will of course lead to the movie’s title, a war in the making. A war that is not ignites by the superheroes but by an unseen sinister power lurking in the dark.        

Rather than a plain silly slug out by the two teams of superheroes, the Russo brothers together with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (both of whom worked on the earlier Captain Americas and Thor: The Dark World) have came out with more twists and turns than any other Marvel movies combined to justify their actions. Miraculously, they even have the time to tie in with the past, present and future Marvel cinematic universe.    

For a carefree tech billionaire, it’s weird that Stark wanted accountability and as for the military trained Cap, it’s even weirder for him to reject authority. But there’s a reason for Cap to do so that is to save his bud, Bucky aka the brainwashed Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) from the hands of the government. Stark on his part has somehow softened since his Iron Man days and still feeling guilty over the dead of his parents and the innocents. The movie successfully established the reason why the conflict exists in a way better than the grudge Batman has against Superman.

Despite numerous characters appearing liked an Avengers 2.1 outing, most of them are given ample screentime and elaborate introductions (Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man are good examples), funny one-liners courtesy of the Falcon and occasionally Iron Man, a memorable heart-to-heart session between Vision and Scarlet Witch over paprika chicken, a laugh-out-loud superpower enhancement by Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) making a late appearance. It never for one moment feels rush and it’s fortunate that most of the major battles and the exhilarating airport showdown took place in broad daylight so you can witness every kick-ass move.    

While Captain America: Civil War no doubt is a solid entry, it does strangely omit the existence of Nick Fury, the ‘nanny’ of the Avengers especially when the UN is taking over his men. And secondly, no one in the team actually knows the whereabouts of Thor and Hulk while Scarlet Witch’s horrendous heavy accented English is mysteriously dropped but that’s just a minor gripe.

Despite the neligible missteps, it’s clear by now that Captain America: Civil War is so good on so many levels that Zack Snyder seriously needs to take notes before he rolls his camera for Justice League. The storytelling though serious and mature has no lack of humor. If not for the speed-up effect, the action partly choreographed by John Wick’s Chad Stahelski is stunning. The CGI by ILM, Double Negative and many others are flawless. With this outing sitting somewhere between the first Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, directors Joe and Anthony Russo indeed are the perfect folks to bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the next phase. 

Movie Rating:

(It’s #TEAMMARVEL. Go for it!)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: In the near future, breathable air is nonexistent. Virtually all of humanity has disappeared, and those chosen to reestablish society reside in a controlled state of suspended animation. Two engineers tasked with guarding the last hope for mankind struggle to preserve their own sanity and lives while administering to the vital task at hand.

MOVIE REVIEW:

In this indie science fiction thriller, the air on earth is contaminated by a chemical warfare that kills everyone except a few selected smart beings who are kept alive in chambers situated in an underground bunker. Every six months, two lone maintenance workers, Bauer (Norman Reedus) and Cartwright (Djimon Hounsou) are awakened to make sure the equipments and facility still run smoothly as ever. But most important of all, what about the workers’ mental state of mind?

Air never succeeds in bringing out the side of humanity or the psychological side effects of being trapped in a dark, claustrophobic environment for a prolonged period of time. Except for some sudden tensions and Cartwright’s constant interaction with an imaginary woman, the script by director Christian Cantamessa and Chris Pasetto never really keep things interesting. Air has a lot in common with Duncan Jones’ Moon but despite having two credible actors onboard, the story fails to take off with no obvious clever twist or character motivation. Running at a mere 94 minutes, the end result is apparently way too long for comfort.      

The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus and creator Robert Kirkman co-produced this title, hoping fans of the hit AMC series will pick this up. They are probably right since we have a familiar face on the cover and the premise sounds engaging to attract curious viewers. Reedus’s Bauer is another variation of Daryl (his hairstyle looks the same and the way he carries a pistol is almost alike) though Bauer is much more talkative here and Hounsou gets the chance to emote more instead of his many blink-and-miss appearances on the big screen. Clearly, the story is setup in a way that both men each carries a dark secret of their own and the eventual face off is practically unavoidable. Ultimately it’s the scripting that lets them down not the fault of the actors.

Canadian cinematographer Norm Li did a marvelous job lighting the minimal set to create a claustrophobic environment and also the set designer for the retro-style bunker that is equipped with outdated mainframe monitors and dot-matrix printer. Well, Kirkman expresses his wish not to see an Apple store inspired layout so there you have it. In short, Air is yet again a tale set in a post-apocalyptic world with a genuine good idea to boot but with absolute poor execution written all over. Let’s hope Reedus and Kirkman can find better material to work together in future. How about a Walking Dead movie for a start? 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

 An Account of Confinement: Creating AIR is an 8 minutes that touches on the story, cinematography and set design.

The Custodians: Behind the Scenes with Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou takes a deeper look at their characters. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

For a budgeted and dark looking movie, the visual looks pretty good on DVD. Details and imaging is not a problem at all. Surround sound quality is heavy with environmental, ambient sound effects and dialogue is clean. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Thriller
Director: Alejandro Amenábar
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson, David Thewlis, David Dencik, Dale Dickey, Lothaire Bluteau, Devon Bostick
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 3 December 2015

Synopsis: Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates the case of young Angela (Emma Watson), who accuses her father, John Gray (David Dencik), of an unspeakable crime. When John unexpectedly and without recollection admits guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines (David Thewlis) is brought in to help him relive his memories and what they discover unmasks a horrifying nationwide mystery.

Movie Review:

It probably wasn’t too long ago when you came across a movie which is based on the workings of evil Satanic cults. It also probably rather recent that a film tells you that its screenplay is inspired by real life events. While statements like these seem to be convenient formulae to churn out movies (especially horror thrillers which will then go on to spawn countless sequel if the first flick takes home a decent amount of box office takings), what does this Alejandro Amenabar directed psychological thriller that promises which makes it, well, different from the others out there?

Is it Amenabar himself, who has helmed acclaimed films like Open Your Eyes (1999) and The Sea Inside (2004)? The Spanish filmmaker last made the very atmospheric The Others 14 years ago – can his latest work send chills down our spine like the Nicole Kidman horror vehicle which not only boasts of a good script, but also fine storytelling skills?

Or are fans of Emma Watson supposed to flock to the cinemas to see how the 25 actress can handle the horror genre? This role of a sexually abused girl is no Hermione Granger, for sure. Can cinema goers take her portrayal of an edgier, moodier character?

Maybe long times fans of 45 year old Ethan Hawke will lap this up instead? Hawke, who got back into the limelight with Richard Linklater’s Boyhood last year, sure can act. But can he hold this 107 minute thriller together, considering its rather uninspired storyline?

Hawke plays a hot blooded detective who is on the case of a young girl (Watson) who is accusing her father of an unspeakable crime. While the old man admits guilt, he claims that he has no recollections of what happened. Enter David Thewlis’s (The Theory of Everything, Macbeth) psychologist character who uses an unconventional method of hypnosis to help the accused man relive his memories. Along the way, we are introduced to Satanic cults and the scary things they do to common townsfolk.

There is one point in the film where Hawke mutters that he has no idea how things are progressing – this is the same sentiment we had after one hour into the movie. Things are moody throughout the movie, and there is seems to be a constant gloomy shroud over the camera lens. You can expect the usual flashback techniques, ominous dialogues and actors with creepy make up popping up every once in a while. Hawke also receives lectures from other characters about how things are not what they seem, and that evil truly does exist. Long story short – these are messages that we have heard elsewhere before.

While things can be better executed (having more action and scare scenes may help to keep your viewers interested), the cast does a commendable job bringing out the emotions of the characters. If you invest yourself emotionally throughout the film, you’ll find yourself being able to identify with their apprehensiveness, fear, cynicism and the eventual helplessness. This is not a cheery film which you’ll walk out of the theatre feeling inspired about life, for sure. 

Movie Rating:

(While this gloomy thriller features a capable cast, its familiar been-there-done-that style only makes an already dreary story wearier)

Review by John Li

Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: Andrew Chien　
Cast: Ariel Lin, Chen Bolin, Vic Chou, Nana, Li Jiahang, Vivian Wu
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: PG13
Released By: Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 4 December 2015

Synopsis: Stepping into her thirties, Du Lala is a driven and capable white-collar at DB. She is assigned to assist ‘Devil Maggie’ from her company’s New York HQ to negotiate for a merger with fashion label – SC. Just before the negotiation with SC, Maggie got into an accident, which forces Lala to stand in to front the negotiation meeting with SC team. Her brilliant speech impresses SC’s general manager Chen Feng. Lala has been dating Wang Wei, his photographer boyfriend for a few years now, but the latter is not ready for marriage. When Wang finally summoned enough courage to propose, he finds out about Lala’s “dubious” rapport with Chen Feng. Meanwhile Lala’s young assistant is very interested in Wang Wei and engages him for SC’s latest campaign. The project gathers Lala, Chen Feng and Wang Wei, creating awkward moments for the trio. Chen Feng falls for Lala and proposes during a celebration party… Lala is torn, will she say yes to Chen Feng or reconcile with Wang Wei…

Movie Review:

If you are somewhat well-versed with Taiwanese television dramas, Ariel Lin, Vic Zhou and Chen Bolin certainly do not look unfamiliar to you. As a front, Go Lala Go 2 has a strong main cast lineup that certainly evokes the curiosity to see what these three can collectively bring out in this movie.

Ariel Lin plays the role of Du Lala, the modern independent woman who strives to work her way up the social ladder. She has a steady boyfriend of many years, Wang Wei (played by Vic Zhou), who recently quite his sales job and made a career switch to become a professional photographer. Despite being in a stable relationship, Wang Wei always seem to skirt the topic of ‘marriage’. With a twist of events, Lala is forced into faking her identity, to present a pitch to potential business partner Chen Feng (played by Chen Bolin). Romance began to brew between Chen Feng and Lala, leaving Wang Wei in much disappointment and distress.

This romance-drama movie was clear and easy to follow. Basically the story is about stresses between work and relationship that a modern woman typically faces. Many times it would seem like an inevitable choice one has to make, but ultimately it really boils down to the motivation and the end goal in mind. In Lala’s case, it was clear she wanted to advance in her career through this once in a lifetime chance to prove her worth to the company. However after attaining what she thought she always wanted, she sacrificed on what she really needed – Wang Wei.

Ariel nailed her role as the lead, Lala. Her portrayal of Lala’s emotional journey while going through the struggles and tensions with work and relationship was good. Vic also has natural and great onscreen chemistry with Ariel, making the viewers even more involved in the relationship between Wang Wei and Lala. On the other hand, Bolin didn’t have much opportunity to shine in this movie as much as he did in his Taiwanese DramaIn Time With You (2011) with Ariel.

But to tell the truth, Go Lala Go 2 had too lean a story that it is not impressionable. While it has great objective and moral to tell even, it was delivered with little impact. The veteran and stellar cast lineup did salvage the movie in holding it together, but it did not manage to accomplish anything more than that. In its closing, although we could all expect to see a happy ending, it had a slight twist in the story and was a thoughtful way to end. That means the movie at least had a strong beginning and a good conclusion. 

Movie Rating:

(Learning from Lala: you don’t need to prepare yourself to receive true love)

Review by Tho Shu Ling

SYNOPSIS: Three years after he bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, Mike finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with Magic Mike, the legendary headliner sharing the spotlight with them. On the road to their final show, with whistle stops in Jacksonville and Savannah to renew old acquaintances and make new friends, Mike and the guys learn some new moves and shake off the past in surprising ways.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Magic Mike XXL not only loses its star Matthew McConaughey but also the story which makes the original Magic Mike so endearing.

It has been three years since Mike Lane aka Magic Mike (Channing Tatum) left the stripping industry to start his own furniture company. With his girlfriend rejecting his proposal and his business going nowhere, Mike decides to join the remaining Kings of Tampa for a weekend trip to Myrtle Beach for a stripping convention and end their stripping career on a high note.

Ultimately, Magic Mike XXL barely contains a story in fact the entire movie is stringed together by a series of loose scenes consisting nothing but a road trip on a food truck, meeting old friends, abs and G-strings. Making the affair even more dreading is a draggy flirtation scene between Mike and a photographer, Zoe (Amber Heard) on a beach followed by another long scene that sees Mike and gang seducing a group of middle-aged woman including Zoe’s mother, Nancy played by Four Weddings and A Funeral actress Andie MacDowell. 

Steven Soderbergh has the knack for combining serious storytelling with cheesy fun. His regular collaborator Greogory Jacobs (Wind Chill) who took over the helm however has no clue to make a stripper movie interesting except for an impromptu dance segment by Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello) at a convenience store. You still get all the slick moves by Tatum, lots of dry hump and gyrating but I’m sure wasn’t impressed by all the crotch-in-your-face moves.

Maybe Magic Mike XXL is not tailored for the straight men crowd. In the first movie, there was enough interesting narrative to keep things moving. A mentor and protégé relationship, the kid’s downward spiral and Mike’s struggle with his dream just to name a few. Filled with silly banter, boring ramblings, the sequel is a disappointment through and through. Still, Magic Mike XXL is going to deserve a half star more because the last 20 minutes is an insane choreography of sexy moves, music and thongs. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Moves of 'Magic Mike XXL' is an 8 minutes feature that mainly touches on the dance choreography.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Steven Soderbergh shot this so you expect a certain level of standard. Detailing and skintones are reproduced with no noticeable issues though generally it looks soft. Dance music and crowd effects ruled the surround sound. You will love the audio if you love to party. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee
 

Genre: Action/Fantasy
Director: Alex Proyas
Cast: Gerard Butler, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, Brenton Thwarts, Rufus Sewell, Geoffrey Rush, Chadwick Boseman
Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.godsofegypt.movie/home

Opening Day: 25 February 2016

Synopsis:  Magic, monsters, gods, and madness reign throughout the palaces and pyramids of the lush Nile River Valley in this sweeping action-adventure inspired by the classic mythology of Egypt. With the survival of mankind hanging in the balance, an unexpected hero undertakes a thrilling journey to save the world and rescue his true love. Set (Gerard Butler), the merciless god of darkness, has usurped Egypt’s throne, plunging the once peaceful and prosperous empire into chaos and conflict. With only a handful of heroic rebels opposing Set’s savage rule, Bek (Brenton Thwaites), a bold and defiant mortal, enlists the aid of the powerful god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) in an unlikely alliance against the evil overlord.

Movie Review:

History is replete with the follies of Hollywood’s gods-versus-mortals epics that have since faded into ignominy or is remembered with scorn, so much so that it is almost instinct to wonder which ‘Gods of Egypt’ will turn out to be, especially given its pre-release criticism about its literally white-washed cast. Yet Alex Proyas’ first film in seven years deserves much better regard than the toxic buzz it has been getting – not only is it one of the more imaginative mythological adventures in recent years, it is also one of the most entertaining by simply not taking itself too seriously.

Imagining an ancient Egypt that never existed where gods and men live together, this effects-driven CGI extravaganza pits the benevolent if slightly flirtatious lord of the air Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) against the nefarious desert god Set (Gerard Butler) who usurps his throne of Egypt on the day of his coronation. As with most such power tussles, there is a familial dimension – Set is in fact Horus’ uncle, who isn’t just resentful that his father, the sun god Ra (Geoffrey Rush), had given rule of Egypt to Horus but also seemingly banished him to a bleak and barren wasteland. So Set kills his brother Osiris (Bryan Brown) and blinds Horus, exiling him to some faraway dune to wallow in self-pity and eternal misery.

That opening sets the stage for Horus to embark on a journey of self-discovery on his way to reclaiming the throne, with immeasurable help from a mortal thief Bek (Brenton Thwaites). It is Bek who returns Horus one of his eyes after breaking into Set’s seemingly impenetrable vault, who also subsequently accompanies Horus on his quest in exchange for passage for his one true love Zaya (Courtney Eaton) back from the underworld. And so begins a series of razzle-dazzle action sequences, including a thrilling chase by two evil goddesses Astarte (Abbey Lee) and Anat (Yaya Deng) atop two giant fire-breathing serpents and a near-death escape from Set with some help from Elodie Yung’s goddess of love Hathor inside the chamber of a towering Sphinx.

Oh yes, there is no such thing as subtlety here. The chariots are pulled by giant scarab beetles. Sedan chairs take flight with hundreds of birds. Gods transform from their 11, 12 feet in height human form into glistening animal-headed robots and bleed liquid gold. Ra lives in a spaceship hovering above the Earth, bursts into flames at will and spends each night doing battle with the Lovecraftian ancient Apep by shooting fireballs from his spear. Indeed, as far as being gaudy is concerned, Proyas isn’t shy at all about flaunting every single dollar of his significant US$140 million budget that went into creating the sheer visual spectacle (or excess, depending on how you see it) that you’ll get to see on the big screen.

Yet its silliness certainly isn’t lost on Proyas; indeed, along with his writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (‘Dracula Untold’ and ‘The Last Witch Hunter’), Proyas gleefully embraces its absurdity with campy humour. For one, Bek is never too far from an amusing quib usually directed at Bek. For another, the god of wisdom Thoth (Chadwick Boseman) is a ball being haughty and all full of himself – and we mean that literally in the context of the hundreds of copies he has made of himself to serve him in his lair. It never does take itself too seriously, nor too flippantly to be completely dismissed, and the levity is a nice counter-balance to the elaborate kitsch on display.

Credit that too to Coster-Waldau and Thwaites, who sustain a lively bickersome chemistry as a pair of mismatched buddies forced to work together rather than apart. For the ladies, Coster-Waldau also oozes sheer masculine charm, while Butler often chews up the scenery with pomp and swagger. Both actors are no stranger to the swords-and-sandals genre – the former from the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ and the latter of course from ‘300’ – and have no trouble convincing us of their place in Egyptian mythology. Rush also lends his trademark eccentricity to Ra, looking just at home on his solar barque.

And so like last summer’s ‘Hercules’, ‘Gods of Egypt’ rises above the ashes by delivering two hours of solid sword-and-sorcery entertainment with dashes of self-aware humour. There is swashbuckling adventure, romance, epic battles and plenty of visual grandeur to meet its mad ambition with lunatic conviction. That it is overstuffed is part of its excessive nature, but you can’t argue that it doesn’t fill you with a sense of awe and captivate and delight you more than you expect it to. 

Movie Rating:

(Loud, dumb and silly, this overstuffed god-versus-mortals epic still delivers two hours of solid swashbuckling adventure, romance, epic CG battles and sheer visual grandeur)

SYNOPSIS: Ever since they were children, Quentin has been in love with his enigmatic neighbor Margo. So when Margo recruits Quentin for a prank-filled night of adventure, Quentin leaps at the opportunity. But next day, Margo suddenly disappears leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. When he goes on an epic road trip to find her, Quentin ultimately learns the true meaning of love & friendship.

MOVIE REVIEW:

John Green is fast becoming the next Nicholas Sparks. While the latter conquered the adults market with his tragic romance stories, the former won the heart of Hollywood with his YA novel The Fault In Our Stars being successfully turned into a movie hit.

Based on Green’s third YA novel and released a year after Stars is Paper Towns, a narratively flawed but otherwise light teen romance flick designed purely for the teen-centric crowd. The nerdy, awkward Quentin (Nat Wolff) has always love Margo (model turned actress Cara Delevingne) since they were kids. But their relationship has distanced since they reached high school until one night Margo appear to invite Quentin out for a night of adventure.

However after a night of pranking her ex-boyfriend and friends for cheating on her, Margo disappears. Determined to locate Margo after scouring through maps, traces of clues which she left behind and her ramblings about paper towns, Quentin and his group of best friends embark on a road trip to the state of New York hoping to find her before the start of school prom.

Paper Towns attempts to address popular teens issues such as friendship, prom woes, puppy love and many other coming-of-age stuff and most importantly that mysterious, popular girl in school. Margo is that girl who doesn’t know what she wants. She dislikes a normal life, hates routines and prefers to live life to the max. Even the movie itself doesn’t really find a satisfying solution for the character of Margo. But what it succeeds in portraying is the goofy, heartwarming friendship between Quentin and his two childhood buddies, the earnest Radar (Justice Smith) and the horny Ben (Austin Abrams). Their banter is genuinely funny, charming and you could feel their camaraderie coming through in the form of a Pokemon theme song.   

Nat Wolff is a natural, likeable actor if you have seen the young actor in Stars and Stuck In Love but it’s not really his fault when his chemistry with Delevingne seems stiff. It could be the very obvious fact that Delevingne only appears liked 20 minutes in the entire movie. At the very least, she is potentially an interesting actress to look out for.

Sorely lacking the emotional latch of The Fault In Our Stars, we thought there could be something more profound or meaningful to Paper Towns. As it turned out, it’s more of a sentimental dramedy road trip with a CGI cow thrown in. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Writer John Green posed random questions to Nat Wolff in John and Nat: Lightning Round and Cara Delevingne in John and Cara: Lightning Round. Audio Commentary with Director Jake Schreier and Author John Green is a pretty entertaining piece as the duo shared plenty of anecdotes about the cast and movie making. There’s also a Photo Gallery and four brief Promotional Featurettes: Van Chats. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Dark shots appear to contain slight compression artifacts but generally on the whole, images are natural with fine detailing. Audio quality is near perfect as dialogue is clean and clear. Surround is underutilized except for occasional ambient effects. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee