Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Aman Chang
Cast: Francis Ng, Angela Wang, Miriam Yeung, Yuen Qiu, Jim Chim, Jozef Waite, Mars, Grasshoppers
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:
Opening Day: 4 August 2016
Synopsis: Girl of the Big House follows Bowie (Angela Wang), a little girl born with a silver spoon to parents, Neil (Francis Ng) and Nina (Miriam Yeung). She is kidnapped by her uncle, Dave (also Francis Ng) who wishes to retrieve the Van Gogh’s masterpiece which is a family heirloom. With the help of her nanny and friends, Bowie fights against them and ultimately brought Dave and his accomplices to justice. Bowie reunites with her parents and found herself precious friendships…
Movie Review:
Seeing how juvenile, farcical and downright nonsensical ‘From Vegas to Macau III’ was, it makes perfect sense that Wong Jing’s next movie would be no less than a kids’ movie. Oh yes, even though he isn’t credited as director, his fingerprints are all over the equally scattershot and infantile ‘Girl of the Big House’, not least because he wrote and produced it and has appointed one of his regular deputies Aman Chang (of other Wong Jing scripted- and produced- efforts such as ‘The Conman 2002’ and ‘Flirting in the Air’) to direct it on his behalf. Even when approached with the lowest of expectations, there is little redeeming about this barely coherent mess, which aims for a contemporary fairy tale by way of ‘Home Alone’ and fails on every conceivable level.
It takes no longer than the opening credits for one to sense that something is quite amiss. To introduce us to the titular protagonist are the three members of the Cantopop band Grasshopper, who by way of a CG-animated musical sequence tell of a little girl named Bowie (Angela Wang) born with a silver spoon who spends her days in a big house akin to a modern-day castle while her parents (Francis Ng and Miriam Yeung) travel around the world for business. Not only is the ditty awkward and unwieldy, it behooves the filmmakers to use the same technique sometime along the course of the movie in order not to make the opening completely out of place, which ultimately precipitates another misplaced ditty in the middle of the film and a closing song-and-dance sequence as cringe-worthy for the audience as it is for the band members as well as the actors obligated to perform in it.
Indeed, that pained expression is clearly written on the faces of Ng and Yeung, who seem to have had their own respective debts to re-pay to Wong Jing in order to have agreed to lend their names to this misfire. Yeung appears for no more than 15 minutes in the whole film, her most substantial contribution being engaging with the baddies in a spoof ‘Fruit Ninja’ sequence after being revealed as a former TVB ‘kung fu’ actress. On the other hand, Ng has to put up with much more ignominy, taking on dual roles as both Bowie’s father as well as the latter’s ne'er-do-well older brother Dave, who comes up with the plan to rob his own family’s house in order to retrieve a valuable painting which he believes he was rightfully denied. Ng is too consummate an actor to slum his way through, but it is truly depressing watching him endure the silly pratfalls his character is made to do, like take nibbles off a chicken drumstick his nemesis is holding while being tied up kneeling on the floor.
If it isn’t immediately clear from the trailer, let’s just say that the curly-haired Dave isn’t the ultimate villain; oh no, he’s in fact a man with a conscience who has been misguided by his envy of his more successful younger brother Neil (a la Bowie’s father), and it is no secret that Dave will come to realise the folly of his ways before the end credits. Instead, the real baddie falls to Jim Chim’s Mr Brutal, who with half a head of black and half a head of white hair as well as a parrot in tow just about screams caricature. It is Mr Brutal who makes use of Dave’s two accomplices (played by Lo Fan and Mars) to make the jump on the latter, not only to burgle the entire house but also to kidnap Bowie in order to ransom her wealthy parents, thus setting the proceedings as a cat-and-mouse chase around the house as the trailer so promises.
In truth, it takes close to half the movie for the kidnappers to finally enter the house, the first half littered with throwaway sequences such as Bowie being courted in her international school by a mischievous boy named Benji or an extended chase around a Pottinger Street market to evade a pair of kidnappers (Lo Fan again and Tony Ho). The latter is intended to introduce Bowie to three friends – Holly (The Bodyguard’s Jacqueline Chan), Donald (Dragon Blade’s Jozef Liu) and Ah Man (Wong Yuet Yuk) – who will turn up at her house to celebrate the occasion of her birthday just as the kidnapping is underway, but Wong Jing’s script is too daft and Aman Chang’s direction too mechanical to make the smart-kids-versus-bumbling adults premise pop.
Worse, Wong Jing isn’t yet done with his obsession of robotic butlers, and so Bowie gets a fat red round one called Wiley that her parents get her as her birthday present. Whereas ‘From Vegas to Macau III’s’ Robot Skinny could make coffee with his fingertips, Wiley is conveniently retrofitted to be an ice cream machine when Bowie wants one or her personal bodyguard when she needs one. Nonetheless, Wiley’s presence as well as his supposed ‘combat mode’ is entirely superfluous, seeing as how he is literally tied up most of the time and has been written to run out of battery just when he is put back into action. And yet, considering how much of Wong Jing’s ideas on script rarely develop further than brain farts, it isn’t too surprising that Wiley turns out pointless.
As much as we hate to, it bears stating that Angela Wang does not have what it takes to sustain a movie on her own and not even the presence of Yuen Qiu, who appears next to her more than half the time, makes her acting less dull. Of course, she is not helped by an aimless script and lackluster direction, which only serve to accentuate the inane gags and witless lines. It has sometimes become too easy to slam a Wong Jing film, but we dare say that we tried as far as possible to cast aside any preconceived bias we had of the movie, which only made it more infuriating that the ‘Girl of the Big House’ pretty much confirms what we feared worst about the filmmaker’s tendencies. Not even for kids we say – you’ll be much better off watching re-runs of ‘Home Alone’ than this copycat dud.
Movie Rating:
(Watch it only if you want to find out how bad a Wong Jing film can get - lazily scripted, messily directed, and filled with inane gags and witless lines)
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Cast: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate, Kathryn Hahn, Jada Pinkett Smith, Annie Mumolo, Jay Hernandez, Oona Laurence, Emjay Anthony, David Walton, Clark Duke, Wanda Sykes
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Nudity & Sexual References)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/BadMoms/?fref=ts
Opening Day: 28 July 2016
Synopsis: In this new comedy from the writers of The Hangover, Amy (Mila Kunis) has a seemingly perfect life – a great marriage, over-achieving kids, beautiful home and a career. However she's over-worked, over-committed and exhausted to the point that she's about to snap. Fed up, she joins forces with two other over-stressed moms on a quest to liberate themselves from conventional responsibilities – going on a wild, un-mom-like binge of long overdue freedom, fun and self-indulgence – putting them on a collision course with PTA Queen Bee Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) and her clique of devoted perfect moms.
Movie Review:
You should know what you are getting knowing that Bad Moms is helmed by the writers of The Hangover, 21 And Over and The Change Up. Instead of a bunch of man-boys and college kids, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore is poking fun at mothers.
Real-life expecting mother Mila Kunis plays Amy Mitchell, the seemingly perfect mother to two young kids. She practically run the entire company, she does her son’s school projects and she prepares the kids’ breakfast among other stuff. But Amy is overworked, exhausted from household chores and she just found out her husband is obsessed with porn for the last 10 months or so. She is about to snap until she joins fellow over-stressed mothers, timid and mother of four Kiki (Kristen Bell) and foul-mouthed Carla (Kathryn Hahn) to liberate themselves from their day-to-day routines.
That’s not all. Troubles continue to brew for Amy as she goes head to head with the President of the PTA (Parents, Teachers Association if I got that right), perfectionist and control freak Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) and her followers, Stacy (Jada Pinkette Smith), Vicky (Annie Mumolo) in a battle for the next presidency.
Given that The Hangover was such a huge hit, it’s hard to blame Lucas and Moore for sticking to their usual brand of coarse humor and politically incorrect gags (the Chinese got poked again and ironically Huayi Brothers actually has a part in funding). Still, there are comedies that hit an emotional core despite the over-the-top jokes and there are obviously a lot out there which don’t. At this point, you might assume Bad Moms belonged to the latter. Got to admit it’s totally formulaic but at certain junctures of the movie, it does appeal to all the mothers and fathers out there.
No one is a perfect mom or dad at the end of the day. Everyone is trying their best to provide for their little ones and perhaps this is the biggest message this comedy attempts to send across. Bad Moms can be very nonsensical especially the hilarious supermarket scene. It’s also very real and touching when the leads talk about loving and hating their kids at the same time. At times, Lucas and Moore stretches things a little too far liked a joke about uncircumcised dicks get slightly too awkward for comfort.
Bad Moms survives also because of the rapport between the three leads. Mila Kunis is very much likeable as the suffering mom with a husband that is basically not helping. Kristen Bell fortunately is a lot funnier than she was in The Boss. Last but not least, Kathryn Hahn who played countless of bit parts from Step Brothers to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is basically a scene-stealer with her zany character getting the most laughs from the audience.
It’s certainly better than any of Lucas and Moore’s recent ventures. I’m honestly quite dismayed I actually put this down in black and white. It might be a long rant about motherhood but definitely you won’t mind rooting for the three underdogs. Liked the three ladies, Bad Moms is perfect for a girl’s night out and for moms who long for a break. Brace yourself for the generous dick jokes.
P.S. you might be interested to know that the credits has the stars talking about being a good/bad mom with their real-life mummies
Movie Rating:
![](\"http://www.moviexclusive.com/image/mx%20star.gif\")
(“Get up your tits” – the next perfect motivational quote)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Thriller
Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Cast: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Juliette Lewis, Samira Wiley, Kimiko Glenn
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:
Opening Day: 11 August 2016
Synopsis: Industrious high school senior, Vee Delmonico [Emma Roberts], has had it with living life on the sidelines. When pressured by friends to join the popular online game Nerve, Vee decides to sign up for just one dare in what seems like harmless fun. But as she finds herself caught up in the thrill of the adrenaline-fueled competition partnered with a mysterious stranger [Dave Franco], the game begins to take a sinister turn with increasingly dangerous acts, leading her into a high stakes finale that will determine her entire future.
Movie Review:
‘Nerve’ could not have arrived at a more prescient time, seeing as how a certain augmented reality-app is sweeping our part of the globe and capturing our collective consciousness in more ways than one. Imagine then that instead of setting ‘lures’ to catch ‘em Pokemons, you can pay to ‘lure’ real-life people into dares that you determine, whether is it kissing a complete stranger in a diner, taking off with that stranger on motorbike, trying on a new dress in an expensive boutique store, or farting alongside strangers in public space. But how about riding pillion on a motorbike going at 60 miles per hour with a blindfolded rider? Or laying down on a subway track and waiting for the train to pass over you? Or even dangling with one-hand off a construction crane 200 feet from the ground? Would you pay to watch people be dared, knowing that you will be putting their lives on the line? Would it change your decision if you knew that hundreds of people were making the same dare?
Based on Jeanne Ryan’s 2012 novel of the same name and helmed by “Catfish” directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, this latest teen-thriller highlights the dangerous pitfalls of online anonymity, especially in numbers. What happens to an individual’s sense of responsibility? Is the individual forgiven if his or her decision to endanger another’s life is only part of a much larger mob? Or better still, how do we break the grip of such voyeurism, whose dangerous effects are multiplied as more and more people join the herd? But in order to get its target demographic to think about these issues, ‘Nerve’ wraps its cautionary messages in a high-school romance revolving around a straight-arrow senior Venus ‘Vee’ Delmonico (Emma Roberts) and a roguish stranger Ian (Dave Franco) that she teams up with to tackle their dares after locking lips with him for her maiden $100 challenge.
Vee is hardly the type you would imagine to play ‘Nerve’ – for one, she prefers hiding behind her camera taking photos of the football jock she has a crush on than trying to get to know him; for another, she is prepared to decline an admission into CalArts for fear of upsetting her mother still grieving over her deceased brother. Yet to prove to her attention-seeking best friend Sydney (Emily Meade) that she has a mind of her own, Vee signs up as a ‘Player’ on the game, the difference between them and ‘Watchers’ being that the former has to execute and film the dares which the latter has paid them to perform from a first-person perspective. Though it is the need for self-validation that gets her started, what keeps her going is in fact much simpler to understand – simply, she is attracted to Ian, and as each dare gets more and more outrageous, the thrill from completing them together also draws them closer to each other.
Oh yes, for a good part of its first two acts, ‘Nerve’ plays like a warm fuzzy romance with delightful scenes of Vee and Ian running naked through a Bergdorf Goodman and scooting across the Verrazano Bridge to the tune of Børns’ ‘Electric Love’. As much as some may say that these scenes are an unnecessary distraction from the film’s techno-thriller ambitions, they do serve to ground the movie in the fundamental human desire to be loved and accepted. Indeed, whereas there will be individuals like Syd who crave social media celebrity status, there are equally others like Vee whom the game offers the sort of one-to-one companionship that she would otherwise be too shy to reach out for. When you consider her attraction towards Ian, it makes perfect sense why even a thoughtful individual like her would willingly allow herself to participate in each escalatingly ridiculous dare.
The thing about ‘Nerve’ is that it allows its audience to be part of the game, to feel the appeal of being loved and admired as well as the perils of online exposure. It is the chase for likes and follows that drives many individuals to offer up their exposed online selves, often realizing too late that such exposure can also be wielded as a powerful weapon by watchers on the Internet. Together with their d.p. Michael Simonds, Schulman and Joost heighten the viewer experience with pop-ups and reverse perspectives to portray how it feels like to be a ‘Player’ or a ‘Watcher’, ultimately contending with the notion that any individual, whether socially awkward or social butterfly, can end up as either. Though it does offer up an ending a little too pat and convenient, ‘Nerve’ remains a fascinating romantic teen cyber-thriller whose topicality makes it even more compellingly watchable.
Movie Rating:
(You won't find a more topical film than this pulsating cyber-thriller/ teen romance about the dangers of social media celebrity and Internet anonymity)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Western/Action
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Peter Sarsgaard, Byung-hun Lee, Vincent D’Onofrio, Haley Bennett, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Sean Bridgers, Luke Grimes
Runtime: 2 hrs 13 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Sony Pictures Singapore
Official Website:
Opening Day: 22 September 2016
Synopsis: With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns – Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money..
Movie Review:
As far as remakes are concerned, Antoine Fuqua’s 2016 update of ‘The Magnificent Seven’ is definitely one of the better ones. Truth be told, there was really no need for this remake of a remake – that is, a new version of John Sturges’ 1960 western of the same name about a septet of hired American guns protecting a Mexican village, which was based on Akira Kurosawa’s classic ‘Seven Samurai’. The story, as scripted by Nic Pizzolatto (of TV's True Detective fame) and Richard Wenk, remains by and large the same, with the most significant difference between Fuqua’s version and its predecessor being the diversity of the ensemble – instead of being all-white, the titular seven includes an African-American, an Asian, a Mexican and a Comanche. But Fuqua’s sure-handed direction in capturing the spirit of the Old West, as well as the cast he’s assembled to fill the roles – make this an entertaining, engaging and occasionally cheer-worthy old-fashioned shoot-em-up.
Oh yes, old-fashioned is the word. The setting is the year 1879, a time when frontier mining towns like Rose Creek were threatened by robber barons like Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard). Rolling into Rose Creek, the sociopathic Bogue sets the town’s church on fire and guns down the few parishioners who dare stand up to him, giving the rest of the townspeople three weeks to accept his measly offer to buy up their land. After watching her husband die in front of her, the plucky Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) decides to organize the town’s efforts to hire a small group of mercenary gunslingers to defend them, beginning with the taciturn bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington). Next up is the wise-cracking rogue-ish gambler Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt) and the ex-Confederate sharp-shooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), the latter bringing along his knife-fighting virtuosocompanion Billy Rocks (Lee Byung-hun).
The other three rounded up are Mexican outlaw-gunslinger Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), legendary God-fearing tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio) and the native-American archer Red Harvest (newcomer Martin Sensmeier). The fact that the ensemble is probably the most multi-racial we’ve seen in any Hollywood Western isn’t made a big deal in and of itself; instead, Fuqua and his writers bring into sharp focus how the so-called ‘magnificent seven’ are really a motley crew united by a common mission, each one of them with their own demons or debt or scores to settle. Vasquez is in because he owes his life to Chisolm. Once a decorated soldier dubbed the ‘Angel of Death’, Robicheaux is now struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. And Chisolm has his grudge from long ago to settle with Bogue, which calls into question whether he is fighting in the present or for the past.
It is inevitable with such an assortment of characters that some will end up falling by the wayside, but for the most part, Fuqua gives each one of the seven his due in the gruff breezy banter that carries the first half of the movie. Saving his firepower for the extended half-hour finale at the end, Fuqua loads up rather on humour and repartee, letting his wild bunch rib on one another as well as on the ill-preparedness of the townsfolk who cannot quite seem to hold a gun or shoot straight to save their own lives. Those looking for wall-to-wall action will no doubt find their patience tested, but it takes gumption for Fuqua to follow in the footsteps of the traditional Western and devote as much attention to detail to the build-up as to the ultra-violent climax. Notwithstanding, the wait is definitely worth it, culminating in a ballistic good-versus-bad battle that is frankly just magnificent to watch.
Impressive as they may be in their own right, ‘The Magnificent Seven’ would not quite so live up to its title if not for the charisma of its lead star Denzel Washington. This is Washington’s third collaboration with Fuqua after their Oscar-winning ‘Training Day’ and the more recent ‘The Equalizer’, and there is a certain rapport between star and director which carries the movie. Most importantly, Fuqua has a way of shooting Washington which doesn’t require the actor to say much yet convey much more, such that the latter carries the movie with his own blend of grace and gravitas. Washington also looks oh-so-good riding high in the saddle on a horse, and it is no less than a masterstroke that Fuqua has decided to cast him in his first ever role in a Western, even more significant given how he is essentially a black man playing the lead in a genre historically defined by white men.
If anything, it is for this reason alone that this 2016 version proves its mettle against its predecessors. From a storytelling point of view, there probably is little reason to remake Sturges’ iconic oater; and yet, the Western is such an under-served genre in modern Hollywood cinema that an earnest attempt to recapture the glories of old Hollywood should be embraced with warm open arms. Fuqua’s love for Westerns since childhood is well-documented, and he brings that passion to bear in not just the stunningly gorgeous mountain vistas and clear-blue skies but also the down-and-dirty grit of the ordinary heroes that make up the genre. Like we said at the start, this remake is certainly one of the better ones, and if it does fire up love from a new generation of audiences for Westerns, then it definitely is a worthwhile exercise in good-old fashioned heroism.
Movie Rating:
![](\"http://www.moviexclusive.com/image/half%20mx%20star.gif\")
(As old-fashioned and satisfying as Westerns come, this remake is an entertaining, engaging and occasionally cheer-worthy shoot-em-up that rides high on the charisma of its ensemble)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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GARRY MARSHALL (1935 - 2016)Posted on 20 Jul 2016 |
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Director: Yuichiro Hirakawa
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kasumi Arimura, Tsubasa Nakagawa, Rio Suzuki, Yuriko Ishida, Yuriko Ishida, Mitsuhiro Oikawa
Runtime: 2 hrs
Rating: PG
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 4 August 2016
Synopsis: Satoru Fujinuma (Tatsuya Fujiwara), a struggling manga artist and part-time pizza delivery man, experiences a strange phenomenon called “revival”. When something is amiss in his surroundings, he finds himself sent back several minutes in time just before a significant incident occurs. He must seek the source of the incident, so he can move forward in time. After experiencing “revival”, Satoru manages to stop a kid from crossing the road and prevent an accident, but he gets hit by the same speeding truck minutes after. The whole scene was witnessed by his colleague Airi Katagiri (Kasumi Arimura), who becomes intrigued. A few days later, Satoru's mother Sachiko (Yuriko Ishida), who had witnessed an attempted abduction, is murdered. The police suspects Satoru, but he experiences “revival” again when he is about to get arrested. This time, he is brought back to his childhood 18 years ago—days before the abduction-murder case of his classmate Kayo Hinazuki (Rio Suzuki). A 29-year-old trapped in a 10-year-old’s body, Satoru (younger self played by Tsubasa Nakagawa) is convinced that the two murders are linked to the same perpetrator, and begins his investigation. With his inexplicable ability, he travels back and forth between present and past, gathering clues each time. Will Satoru be able to stop the murders and save the people he loves?
Movie Review:
Since appearing as Light Yagami in the wildly popular Death Note franchise, Tatsuya Fujiwara has been a constant presence in the Japanese cinema circuit and on the small screen. Locally of course we have seen him in Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler, The Incite Mill and Ruroni Kenshin over the years. In 2016, Fujiwara is back once again in a live-action movie based on an acclaimed manga, Bokudake Ga Inai Machi.
The ever-youthful looking Fujiwara plays Satoru Fujinuma, a struggling manga artist and part-time pizza deliveryman who possessed the ability to go back in time whenever a significant incident is about to happen for instance saving a kid from being knocked down by a truck. There’s no explanation why and how Satoru acquired this special power, which he termed as ‘revival’ and that’s one reason, why you are effortlessly hooked into the premise.
Anyway before long, Satoru’s mother who is visiting from Hokkaido is found murdered. Perhaps it is linked to a kidnap-murder case which happened 18 years ago. Instead of going back time for a few seconds, Satoru finds himself going back to when he was just an elementary school student. He is now an adult trapped in his 11-year-old body (Tsubasa Nakagawa) and the only way to save his mum is to solve the kidnap-murder case starting with his loner classmate, Hinazuki (Rio Suzuki).
Time travelling can be a tricky concept to utilize in a story. If done well, it can be both witty and intriguing in the cases of Back to the Future and Source Code else it will be just a plain gimmick to get the narrative going. Erased however sits somewhere inbetween. One of the biggest downfall of Erased is there are no apparent logic and consequences in Satoru’s time-travelling power. It seems that he can easily drift in and out, past and present without altering any future events. And basically no one suspects anything except Satoru’s fellow colleague, Airi (Kasumi Arimura).
Don’t get me wrong though. Erased remains very much a taut, tense mystery thriller except the flimsy time-concept thingy of course. The performances of the child actors played by Tsubasa Nakagawa and Rio Suzuki are simply awesome because it’s crucial for audiences to believe Satoru’s confrontation of the past is important. We root for the young Satoru to uncover the truth and we really feel for Hinazuki’s plight in the end. As for their adult counterparts, Tatsuya Fujiwara is serviceable as yet again in a role of an underdog. Up-and-coming young actress Kasumi Arimura provides the eye candy factor while veteran Yuriko Ishida impresses as Satoru’s affectionate mom.
Erased would have been a highly recommended movie if not for a lackluster ending that defeat whatever is established earlier on. Stop reading now if you are not into spoilers.
Let’s just say it doesn’t make much sense for a person possessed with special powers and who have already deduced the killer’s identity to sacrifice himself. Isn’t it far better for him to live on to make the world a better place?
Movie Rating:
(A botched ending to an otherwise arresting flick)
Review by Linus Tee
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TRAIN TO BUSAN IS THE TOP-GROSSING ASIAN MOVIE IN 2016!Posted on 05 Sep 2016 |
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SOUTH KOREAN BOX OFFICE HIT - SUPERNATURAL THRILLER THE WAILING ARRIVES IN SINGAPOREPosted on 22 Jul 2016 |
Genre: Drama/Crime
Director: Brad Furman
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, Amy Ryan, Yul Vazquez
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene and Coarse Language)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.theinfiltrator.com
Opening Day: 25 August 2016
Synopsis: Amidst the lavish excess of the 1980s, Robert Musella became a pivotal player for drug lords cleaning their dirty cash. He traded on mob connections, to become the confidant to scores of the international underworld and the bankers who enabled them. However, Robert Musella was, in fact, the undercover persona of Special Agent Robert Mazur: a US customs official who went further than any before him. Laying his life on the line, he infiltrated the globe’s largest cartels and discovered just how deep into society their influence extended. Welcomed into an inner-circle of violence and corruption, Mazur found himself in the tight embrace of those he had promised to take down. Based on the true story of a fearless undercover agent, THE INFILTRATOR is a heart-stopping account of one of history’s most elaborate stings. The operation reeled in key players in a chain stretching all the way to Escobar. Their arrests would lead to the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International and shake the black economy to its core.
Movie Review:
We still feel that Bryan Cranston was robbed of the Best Actor prize at this year’s Academy Awards (Leonardo DiCaprio had to win it for going through a torturous time in The Revenant), and his performance as a US customs agent who goes undercover to infiltrate the country’s dangerous drug trafficking scene just makes us really, really hope that the jury will recognise this actor and give him an Oscar soon.
Doing what he does best (most people know the Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner as Walter White, the mild mannered school teacher and family man turned ruthless criminal mastermind and murderer from popular TV series Breaking Bad), Cranston channels that charming inner gruff into the film’s protagonist Robert Mazur, who uses his alias “Bob Musella" to take on drug lords and their dirty business. In the movie’s 127 minutes, you see how he infiltrates the cartels to discover the money laundering organisation of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar, and also take down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which took illegal ownership of First American Bank shares in Washington.
Sounds like a exciting cop and thief drama with lots of undercover action, deceit, deception and treachery? Yes, since it is based on Mazur’s autobiography of the same name, you can bet things would only be more exciting in real life. The crime caper directed by Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer, Runner Runner) has the elements of an entertaining Hollywoodflick in the mode of mobster films, and at the same time gives its protagonist moments to experience moral dilemma. This is an incorruptible man risking his life in a dangerous job, and you can find no one better than Cranstonto deliver the goods.
Supporting characters come in the form of a street wise partner (the underrated John Leguizamo), a fellow agent (the classy Diane Kruger) who is tasked to deceive the bad guys into thinking that she is Bob’s romantic half, and a crime lord (the show stealing Benjamin Bratt) who will leaving you empathising for his predicaments. The cast members deliver commendable performances worthy of acting nominations. Although the movie gets bogged down by sluggish pacing at times, seeing this group of great actors on screen make up for it.
You know the bad guys won’t be winning this battle, but as you see how the plot builds up for Cranston and Kruger’s characters conceiving a plan to take town their targets at a mock wedding, you will still be kept anticipating eagerly, wanting to see the action unravel. When it finally happens, the movie presents itself in such a way that will leave you wondering – Are these supposedly villains really the bad guys in the grander scheme of things? Is there a more sinister conspiracy theory that the powers to be are hiding from the public?
Welcome to the shady world where things get a little complicated, and thanks to movies, you get to be aware of them in the comfort your seats.
Movie Rating:
(Needless to say, Bryan Cranston is the reason why this crime drama works)
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: Sheng Ruxi, a white collar woman in her 30s, leads a successful career while having no love life, which is the issue that her parents and friends are extremely anxious about. However, things change when she meets her new colleague Ma Sai, a 25 year-old young man whois considerate and attractive. Sheng Ruxi can’t help but waver from her original perspective because fo the unexpected sparks of romance between them, reconsidering about every aspect of her life.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Real life mirrors reel life especially in the case of Taiwanese actress Shu Qi. The beautiful and acclaimed starlet who will be 40 this year remains single and unattached even after years of rumors circulating of her being in love with fellow actor and director Stephen Fung.
In The Last Women Standing, the actress who recently won praises for her performance in The Assassin plays Sheng Ruxi, a single woman who experienced more success in her career than her love life. She is what people termed as “leftovers”. Her mum (so convincingly portrayed by Chinese actress Pan Hong) is so worried about her only daughter’s happiness that she arranges a blind date in the form of a nice but bland doctor for Ruxi. But fate is a funny thing. The new (and five years younger) company recruit, Ma Sai (Eddie Peng) seems to caught the eye of Ruxi. Will the good-looking couple end up happily ever after?
Luo Luo who directs and adapts the material from her own best-selling novel seems to have issues telling a decent compelling love story. First, she wants to establish the fact that singles can actually stay single and live happily on their own but the end results seem otherwise. Then she tries to set up a fairy tale scenario of how a woman met and fall in love with a young and handsome man but from the way the story flows, it’s rather hard to convince the audience why Ruxi for no reason decides to hook up with Ma Sai just because they spent the night together after the plane fails to take off during their planned company trip.
Last but not least, Luo Luo even includes a subplot of Ruxi’s mother developing Alzheimer which sadly turned nowhere by the time the credits rolled with a melodramatic score in tow. Of course, Shu Qi and Eddie Peng are definitely not the cause of it in fact they are the sole reasons why The Last Women Standing actually stays afloat. They are easy on the eyes and their chemistry is pleasing. Veterans Jin Shijie and Pan Hong who played the parents of Ruxi ought to be applaud for their flawless performances while Lynn Xiong whom most will recognize from the Ip Man trilogy also pops up once a while as a close buddy of Ruxi. Acclaimed cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bin shot this so it’s almost guaranteed Shanghai is going to look gorgeous on screen.
Sadly, The Last Women Standing is a wasted opportunity to bring across meaningful messages about social stigma and the ever-revolving views on marriage and romance. It’s neither a sweet rom-com nor an interesting social drama to begin with. Strictly for fans of Shu Qi and Eddie only.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Decent ambient sound effects, clear dialogue and passable video transfer. Honestly not a title that requires a 5.1 set up.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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