DYLAN O'BRIEN NAMED "CHOICE AN'TEEN'CIPATED MOVIE ACTOR" FOR DEEPWATER HORIZON Posted on 02 Aug 2016 The winners of Teen Choice 2016 were announced yesterday and Golden Village Pictures is thrilled that Dylan O’Brien has won the “Choice AnTEENcipated Movie Actor” for his upcoming role in disaster epic DEEPWATER HORIZON. The film is inspired by true events that resulted in the largest accidental ocean oil spill in human history. On April 20th, 2010, one of the world’ ... more

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Director: Tate Taylor
Cast: Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Edgar Ramirez, Lisa Kudrow, Laura Prepon
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes & Violence)
Released By: UIP 
Official Website: http://www.thegirlonthetrainmovie.com

Opening Day: 6 October 2016

Synopsis: In the thriller, Rachel (Blunt), who is devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds. Based on Paula Hawkins’ bestselling novel.

Movie Review:

Comparisons with ‘Gone Girl’ are inevitable, and yet ‘The Girl on the Train’ is, by nature of its bestselling source material, meant to be a much more probing drama at upper-class ennui with its attendant dysfunction and pathology. Like the former, Paula Hawkins’ bestselling 2015 novel was spun as a murder mystery – and without revealing any spoilers, let’s just say it isn’t the titular female, who is but one of the three female protagonists around which the whodunit revolves around. Rachel is the name of the one who rides the Metro-North commuter train along the Hudson into and out of New York City every day, a routine she keeps up despite having lost her job months earlier due to her alcoholism. The daily pantomime is really for the view – not only that of a seemingly perfect suburban couple she names Jason and Jess because she doesn’t know of their real names till later, but also of her former Westchester County home on the same street where her ex-husband Tom now lives with his new wife Anna (or former mistress) and baby daughter.

That Rachel is in a sorry state precipitated by Tom’s infidelity during their marriage years is reason for our sympathies, even more so because she is portrayed with feverish commitment by Emily Blunt in an uncharacteristic performance. Oh yes, the actress usually seen in smart physical roles is unflinching playing a troubled divorcee who in her binge-drinking bouts floods Tom with text messages and phone calls to let out her barely controlled rage at Tom. Just as Hawkins did, the film’s screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson retains her first-person perspective in telling her sad tale, and it goes without saying that her frequent black-outs make her a somewhat unreliable narrator. But this is a story from three points-of-view, the other two being Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), whose picture of contented domesticity is a façade with cracks that will reveal themselves gradually, and Megan (Haley Bennett), the one Rachel initially calls Jess whose real life is far from the fantasy Rachel has concocted in her booze-addled mind.

Not just the fractured perspectives, the film also inherits the book’s shifting timelines, which is intended to be revealing of the individual narrators yet obscuring the mystery of one of their disappearance which unites them all. It is through these multiple voices that we also learn about the three males which complete the story – the serial cheater Tom (Justin Theroux) who had also hit on Megan when she was helping to baby-sit his child, Megan’s possessive husband Scott (Luke Evans), and last but not least Megan’s therapist Kamal (Edgar Ramirez) whom Rachel catches Megan exchanging a kiss with one day. The beauty for those encountering the mystery for the first time is discovering the connections between these characters and the ironies that bind them – Rachel wanted a child but could not have one; Anna ended up bearing one with her ex Tom; and Megan can have a child but doesn’t want one – which Wilson and her director Tate Taylor bring together fluidly.

The same pleasure will certainly be lost on those who have read the book, for which Taylor’s depiction of the themes of marriage and motherhood and the anxieties and ambivalences around both only compensate marginally. Like he did with his last movie ‘The Help’, Taylor draws out strong acting from his three female actors here, but unlike that inspirational drama, he is here caught between the serious-minded and the inherent trash appeal of the potboiler surrounding the three female characters. Because of the latter, the former misses the novel’s psychological depth, which is ultimately crucial to finding out just how and why Rachel, Anna and Megan are depressed in their own ways; and yet, the latter in itself is not as clever or intriguing as it wants to be, given how the motivations of the key suspects are actually not that difficult to figure out. Taylor is also hardly the master of suspense (as ‘Gone Girl’s’ David Fincher was) and often struggles between genres to find a consistent tone.

To be sure, ‘The Girl on the Train’ is equal parts murder mystery and suburban drama, the latter founded on the curiosity we often have of what goes on in the houses and homes we pass by. In particular, Rachel, Anna and Megan are intended as different versions of the not-so-perfect lives that go on within the beautiful houses we admire and envy in suburbia, but Taylor shortchanges the characters by letting their respective misfortunes descend into melodrama. Though not entirely of Taylor’s doing, his film is also let down by an ending that isn’t as clever or surprising as one is expecting it to be. Like we said at the start, as unfair as it may be, the comparisons with ‘Gone Girl’ are unavoidable, and between the two – whether by book or by film – this is the lesser, and would have been much less if not for bravado performances from the female ensemble. 

Movie Rating:

(If not for the unflinching and feverishly committed performance of Emily Blunt, this journey into the dysfunction and pathology of upper-class ennui would have been a waste of time)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: David F. Sandberg
Cast: Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Alicia Vela-Bailey
Runtime: 1 hr 21 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Horror)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: http://www.lightsoutmovie.com

Opening Day: 18 August 2016

Synopsis:  When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger…once the lights go out.

Movie Review:

What we love about this 81 minute horror is how much it manages to tell with so little – a feat few horror filmmakers are able to achieve these days. Take a closer look and you see James Wan taking on the role of one of the supernatural movie’s producers. David S Sandberg helms the scare fest, and it is a well made popcorn flick that will stay with you long after the lights come on.

Based on Sandberg’s 2013 short film of the same name and featuring Lotta Losten, who starred in the short, the evil and scary character in the movie is a bloodthirsty supernatural being that lurks in the shadows. It preys upon a family, and a young woman must fight to protect herself, save her little half brother, and uncover a mystery about her family's shadowy past.

Terror comes at a fast and furious pace, and you are never really given a chance to breathe throughout. There is violence and there are disturbing images (the movie is rated NC16 by the regulators). The filmmakers know how to capture the viewers’ attention. There are only a few key locations, and thanks to some clever framing, you will be at the edge of your seat most of the time. Unlike other forgettable horror movies, there isn’t a lot of screaming and brainless running around a big, dark house. What you get instead is a tense and taut thriller that grabs you and doesn’t let go.

If you are afraid of the dark, this movie plays on that fear and makes you feel like you are going through an amusement park ride. There is lots of fun, twist, turns and of course, screams. The fun of watching horror movies in a dark theatre is being startled together as a cinema, and of course, those sudden screams and nervous giggles.

If you are looking for a quick, digestible time to be entertained in the cinema, this is a wonderful choice. What lurks in the darkness is not only something you fear, but something you yearn to be scared the s*** out of. The fun doesn’t wear out,  and before you know it, the movie is over.

There are no familiar faces in this movie, but that isn’t the point here. There may be predictable scares, but you won’t feel cheated when the end credits start rolling. While it has its great moments, it still has some room for improvement if it were to be branded as a modern day horror movie.

But you can be assured that with the right ingredients (and the right mentor in the form of Wan), Sandberg’s future in making horror movies is bright, or in this case, gleefully dark. 

Movie Rating:

(Fear the dark? Hold tight to your seats, as it will be a gleefully horrifying time with this entertaining horror flick!)

Review by John Li

Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Parker Posey, Corey Stoll, Ken Stott
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: PG (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 9 September 2016

Synopsis: New York in the 1930s. As he has more and more trouble putting up with his bickering parents, his gangster brother and the family jewelry store, Bobby Dorfman feels like he needs a change of scenery! So he decides to go and try his luck in Hollywood where his high-powered agent uncle Phil hires him as an errand boy. In Hollywood he soon falls in love but unfortunately the girl has a boyfriend. Bobby settles for friendship ? up until the day the girl knocks at his door, telling him her boyfriend just broke up with her. All of a sudden Bobby’s life takes a new turn, and a very romantic one at that.

Movie Review:

What is life? The profound question seems to take centrestage in every Woody Allen film. The 80 year old, whose career spans more than 60 years, is still actively making films that feature his characters talking – a lot. Set against different backdrops, the people in Allen’s films always have a reason to talk. These are characters which may remind you of real life friends or acquaintances. The common topic of interest? Life. The only differences are the circumstances these fictional protagonists are in, or the era the stories take place in.

In his latest romantic comedy drama (that’s three genres in one film, if you haven’t realised), Allen tells the story of a young man who moves from New Yorkto Los Angelesduring the 1930s. There, he falls in love with his talent agent uncle’s assistant. The problem is, she is having a an affair with his wedded uncle.

After playing Mark Zuckerberg in 2010’s The Social Network, it isn’t easy for Jesse Eisenberg to break out of his mould. Be it a talking bird in Rio(2011), a conman in Now You See Me (2013) or Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), viewers always see the 32 year old actor as a fast talking lad who, well, talks fast. In his second Woody Allen film after 2012’s To Rome With Love, Eisenberg takes on the role of the film’s protagonist – a Jewish boy dreaming of a better life in Hollywood. Even before watching his performance, you can imagine him chatting his way through the 96 minute movie, charming his fans while slightly irritating others.

Playing Eisenberg’s love interest is Kristen Stewart, whose screen presence is increasingly growing on us (not a challenge, considering how irksome her Bella Swan persona from The Twilight Saga film series is). The 26 year old actress plays a secretary who will change the lives of two men: one idealistic about the future that lies ahead (Eisenberg), and the other whose life spells S-U-C-C-E-S-S (Steve Carell, channeling his Michael Scott persona from TV’s The Office to good use).

The ensemble cast also includes the beautiful Blake Lively as Eisenberg’s eventual partner, the underrated Corey Stoll as a gangster and the over the top Parker Posey as a woman from Hollywood’s high society.

The film is a small and unassuming drama that charms with its seemingly mundane moments. Two people meet, connect, separate – not before their actions impact others around them. Allen provides the narration throughout, making sure that he maintains the movie’s tone constant. The result is undeniably Woody Allen – cynicism is evident in the dialogue, and there is a melancholic sense of longing.

While old timers will say that this isn’t Allen’s best work (he has won four Oscars: three for Best Orginal Screenplay – 1978’s Annie Hall, 1987’s Hannah and Her Sisters and 2011’s Midnight in Paris; and one for Best Director – Annie Hall), and that the good looking backdrop of glamourous cars and pretty Hollywood stars suggests a style over substance, you have to admit that it is still better than most of the CGIladen productions out there. When the film ends with the characters feeling distant from the loved ones beside them, you realise this is often what life feels like.  

Movie Rating:

(The film may be set against a glamourous backdrop of 1930s Hollywood, but Woody Allen knows what it takes to portray a universal sense of love and longing)   

Review by John Li

Genre: Horror/Action
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts, Ruby Rose, Eoin Macken, Rola, Lee Joon-Gi, William Levy, Iain Glen
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International (Singapore) 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 2 February 2017

Synopsis: Picking up immediately after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity’s final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began – The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.

Movie Review:

As with all franchises, words like final, ultimate andlast become tools for marketing than real reflections of actual closure. Folks tell me that they intend to watch this film because “I want to see how it ends” or “I might as well finish it”. See how that works?

Alice (Milla Jovovich) is back. Emerging from the wreckage in a dusty, apocalyptic land, our zombie tomb raider figure trudges with signature bewildered expression across a Max Max-inspired landscape. She conveys purpose with her searching, while the audience gets into gear with the same formulaic deja vu at the opening of every movie in the series.

After a monster fight to get the adrenaline going, The Red Queen - a mainframe computer artificial intelligence - appears at an abandoned facility, beseeching Alice with a mission -  to retrieve an antidote to the toxic T-virus, and save Mankind from complete annihilation. Because you know, it’s the final chapter.

The computer, having been morally reprehensible in earlier installments, does not convince Alice. But then again, what’s a superhuman girl to do with nothing planned in her diary? So it isn’t long before she makes her way back towards ground zero, Raccoon City, where the infection started.

Her mission is to enter into The Hive (Umbrella Corp’s headquarters and research facility) and secure the antidote, then release the airborne cure so that the corporation doesn’t execute their Bible-inspired plans - that of a purposeful cleansing so that the selected rich and powerful get a chance at a new world order.

“Sometimes I feel this has been my whole life. Running. Killing,” mutters the tired Alice. We feel you girl.

Resident Evilis pretty much all you can expect a movie in the series. You’ve got your high-kicks and logic-defying acrobatics. You’ve got a year’s worth of Jovovich’s grunting and wincing. And you’ll most definitely get your tickets worth of violence and gore. Poor Alice gets more variation in her costume between movies than she does in her plot as the passive-aggressive reluctant savior.

Looking at it as a whole, the story does a good job of returning to its roots. There’s references to earlier storylines and sets. Old characters appear to aid Alice’s grand goal. Her old nemesis Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) and Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) give their all to destroy her. It’s the final showdown of the good versus evil, with some zombies at the side.

But the truth is, an overzealous hand dimmed this episode of Resident Evil. Director Paul W. S. Anderson has overworked the show, like a crazy conductor. He probably felt “diced edits” and ïmpactful soundtrack”, but all we got was a headache.

The editing came across frenetic, with sequences flying by with such speed that you can’t even lock onto any target or content. It’s Transformers 2007 all over again. And the score? Brash and offensive. There’s no depth or restraint, music pounding down like a sledgehammer. Even the sound effects are overbearing - grating and jarring with no other purpose than to keep our nerves fried. With no escape from visual or aural over-stimulation, one quickly gets more frustrated than entertained.

The move ends in a way that bears debate as to the finality of the franchise. But if Ms. Jovovich is as smart as she is beautiful, she should know that it’s time for her to relinquish residency.

Movie Rating:

(A closing chapter that overreaches, with decent plot ruined by an overworked score and editing. Pity.)

Review by Morgan Awyong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Fede Alvarez
Cast: Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, Stephen Lang
Runtime: 1 hr 28 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International (Singapore) 
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/dontbreathemovie/

Opening Day: 25 August 2016

Synopsis: A trio of reckless thieves breaks into the house of a wealthy blind man, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect heist. They’re wrong.

Movie Review:

Don’t Breathe is the first feature since Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead (2013), an intense thriller known for its bloodshed. Despite having aspirations to work on big budgeted projects, Fede Alvarez ended up creating this rather low budget thriller. The style of the movie is consistent with the director’s other works, and proves itself to be a unique horror movie. The narrative follows three thieves, Rocky, Alex and Money, who break into houses of wealthy people to steal their material possessions. Money then received an insider’s scoop on a blind man living in a quiet neighborhood, who keeps lots of cash in the house from the money he received in a settlement case. Though Alex was reluctant at first, he decided to hop on this break-in so he could help Rocky gather the money she needs to lead a new life out of this town.

The narrative itself is actually dull in flavor. However, as the story progresses and they make their break in to the blind man’s house where bulk of the action happens. The build up to that was well paced and exemplary. The ability to hold and sustain the suspense was also impressive.

Just when you thought the story is going to reach a stalemate, there comes another surprise around the corner and plot twist. The twists and mind-bending sequences pack a punch and are nothing short of insane. One of the most memorable scenes would be the one which the characters really have to guard against the blind man in the dark. Using sounds over visuals to bring out the fear of the unknown and being afraid of what the eyes cannot see was fantastic.

The only lackluster part would be because there is so much effort spent on maintaining the high tension and suspense, the story suffers. Though the plot twists were rather unpredictable and mind-blowing at first, too many of it actually got a little bit tiresome nearing the end. As a standalone, there is not much charm to the story.

To sum this movie in one phrase: it’s pure insanity. From the story building to the suspense and action sequences, it’s one that you have to watch to experience. Fede Alvarez steered away from the intense gore and successfully delivered a thriller-horror that hooks.

Movie Rating:

(Brace yourself for pure insanity)

Review by Tho Shu Ling 

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Fantasy
Director: Jeffrey Lau　
Cast: Han Geng, Tiffany Tang, Karen Mok, Wu Jing, Gillian Chung, Xie Nan
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Mature Reference)
Released By: Shaw 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 22 September 2016

Synopsis: A Chinese Odyssey Part Three is a third part continuation from the famous 1995 fantasy comedy film A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box and A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella starring Stephen Chow.

Movie Review:

Not a lot will make sense – and probably even less if you haven’t watched or cannot quite remember the first two chapters – in writer/director Jeff Lau’s long-gestating sequel to his cult classic fantasy saga ‘A Chinese Odyssey’. Coming two decades after Zixia sacrificed herself to save the Monkey King from the Bull King, Lau continues his revisionist take on the ‘Journey to the West’ tale with a brand-new storyline that has Zixia using the Pandora’s Box to foresee her tragic future and then travelling back to the past 500 years ago to prevent that fate by marrying the Bull King instead. If that got you lost, you’re not alone; seeing as how casually and frequently refer to past events to justify their actions in the present, one supposes that Lau assumes his audience already has an encyclopedia’s knowledge of his first two movies if they are here to see him do it all over again.

It isn’t just Zixia who is messing with the sequence of events; even the Jade Emperor has apparently gotten it wrong, screwing up the timing of the Monkey King’s birth meant to aid the pilgrims in their journey to fetch the Buddhist scriptures. How it all resolves itself is indeed the odyssey this time around, and let’s just say it won’t leave you very much satisfied. But hey, all that jumbled plotting is really an excuse for Lau to once again play the anachronistic jester, injecting pop-culture jokes and references into the period setting for sheer inane humour – and let’s face it, as silly as it may be, can you deny that hearing Law Kar-Ying’s Longevity Monk irritate the heck out of Stephen Chow’s Monkey King with his rendition of ‘Only You’ in ‘A Chinese Odyssey: Part Two’ doesn’t make you smile from ear to ear? Oh yes, it is that spirit of tomfoolery that we’ve come to indulge in here, never mind that it all seems utterly nonsensical.

Alas, time seems to have dulled Lau’s comedic sensibilities, and like his more recent attempts at replicating the heights of his ‘Chinese Odyssey’ heydays (see: ‘A Chinese Tall Story’ (2005); ‘Just Another Pandora’s Box (2010); and ‘Just Another Margin’ (2014)), this third chapter of ‘A Chinese Odyssey’ sees the Hong Kong writer-director struggling with recapturing the wit and inventiveness of his earlier 90s hits. A reference to the blue-skinned people from James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ comes off dated, while a spontaneous Cantonese ballad that the characters spring into to reflect on their respective love conundrums feels recycled and is ultimately not quite so quirky enough. As much as Lau keeps the pace frenetic from start to finish, there’s no doubting that the gags in and of themselves do not hit the funny bone as hard as it they should be.

Unfair though such comparisons may be, it is hard not to lament the omission of the original franchise stars, especially the hilarious triumvirate of Stephen Chow, Ng Man-Tat and Law Kar-Ying. Oh yes, except for Karen Mok who returns in no more than a glorified cameo as the White-Boned Spirit (aka Bak Jing-Jing), Lau has switched his previous cast of Hong Kong actors for a predominantly Mainland ensemble – including Han Geng as the Monkey King, Wu Jing as the Longevity Monk, Tiffany Tang as Zixia and Shawn Huang as the Bull Demon King. None of the new stars manage to re-define the roles as their own, with the most glaring ersatz substitutions being the pretty-but-wooden-boy Han Geng and a woefully unfunny Wu Jing. Notwithstanding the difficulty of re-assembling the original group of actors, one wonders if the current crop were chosen simply on their box-office value.

In fact, one suspects that the only reason for this belated yet unnecessary sequel is the lure of the Mainland audience dollar; otherwise, there is no discernible reason why Lau would take a trip back in time just so to re-write the storylines in ‘A Chinese Odyssey Parts I and II’ that generations of audiences have come to love and embrace. The suspicion that this third chapter is no more than a cash-grab is further reinforced by the substandard computer graphics, which shockingly fall short even by the standards of the originals two decades ago. As generous as we wanted to be about a sequel without its obvious marquee star Stephen Chow, ‘A Chinese Odyssey Part III’ makes his absence even more glaring with its poor roster of cast substitutes and a dearth of genuine ‘mo-lei-tau’ wit. There’s clever silly and there’s just silly silly, and unfortunately, this pointless sequel is of the latter.  

Movie Rating:

(Proving that there is no 'Chinese Odyssey' without Stephen Chow, this belated yet completely unnecessary sequel substitutes the original roster of Hong Kong stars for good-looking but empty Mainland actors and lacks the original's 'mo-lei-tau' wit or inventiveness)

Review by Gabriel Chong 

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Dante Lam　
Cast: Eddie Peng, Zhang Hanyu, Carl Ng, Ken Lo, Feng Wenjuan, Pawarith Monkolpisit, Zhao Jian, Liu Xianda, Zhan Liguo, Jonathan Wu
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Drug Use & Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures, Clover Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 6 October 2016

Synopsis: The Golden Triangle has become synonymous with the drug trade. Not only is it one of the largest drug manufacturing regions of the world, it is an untamed, lawless land as it sits at the intersection of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. Two Chinese commercial vessels are ambushed while traveling down the Mekong River in the waters of the Golden Triangle. 13 sailors are executed at gunpoint, and 900,000 meth pills are recovered at the scene. This brutal massacre sets the scene for the tragedy that’s about to unfold. The Chinese government immediately reacts by sending a band of elite narcotics officers - led by Captain Gao Gang (Zhang Hanyu) - to the Golden Triangle to uncover the truth and find the mastermind behind the murders. Tea field owner and Golden Triangle-based intelligence officer Fang Xinwu (Eddie Peng) also joins the investigation, discovering that the seized drugs were planted there by the henchman of a notorious drug cartel named Naw Khar. The governments of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China immediately launch a joint task force to apprehend Naw Khar, but the road to justice is paved with dangerous and deadly obstacles along the way…

Movie Review:

As well-intentioned as his inspirational youth cycling drama ‘To the Fore’ may have been, we’d much prefer Dante Lam’s character-driven yet action-packed cop dramas ‘The Stool Pigeon’, ‘Beast Stalker’ and even the under-appreciated ‘That Demon Within’. It should therefore be relief to his fans that Lam is returning to familiar territory with his latest, based upon the Chinese government’s response to the real-life incident often referred to as the ‘Mekong River Massacre’ in which a special narcotics investigation was assembled to enter the Golden Triangle (that lies between the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos) to arrest the notorious drug lord Naw Khar and his compatriots responsible for the killing of 13 Chinese fishermen and crew on board two merchant vessels. And true enough, Lam does not disappoint – not only does ‘Operation Mekong’ represent his return to large-scale hyper-kinetic action cinema, it is his most ambitiously action-packed movie ever and will quite likely be one of the best action movies you’ll see this year.

True to its title, the focus is on the covert operation led by Captain Gao Gang (Zhang Hanyu), a no-nonsense hard-nosed anti-narcotics officer handpicked by the Home Affairs Minister. Except for an opening prologue that tells of the devastating impact of the drug habit in Chinese society and introduces the Golden Triangle as a key producer of the narcotics, there is no attempt at social commentary. Nor does the film try to portray the politics involved, aside from mentioning the multi-national task force that was set up among China and the three aforementioned Southeast Asian nations in the days following the massacre to conduct joint patrols of the Golden Triangle and the titular river. Whether to avoid becoming propaganda or risk becoming a flashpoint in complex geopolitics, Lam and his four co-writers steer clear of the vagaries surrounding the unilateral move by the Chinese government to sanction its officers sent under the guise of the multi-national task force to bring the criminals to face trial back in China than in any of the other countries.

Brought to the fore (pun intended) instead is the intricacies of the operation, as Gao’s elite squad teams up with locally based intelligence officer Fang Xinwu (Eddie Peng) to identify the location of Naw Khar’s base deep in the jungles of the Golden Triangle Special Region. That entails trying to rescue one of Naw Khar’s men Yan Taung Pha responsible for setting up the deal that led to the massacre, which inadvertently exposes Xinwu’s informant Gong Chai; when that fails, posing as a rich businessman looking to use Naw Khar’s drugs to complement a new casino venture; and by doing so, getting closer to Naw Khar’s inner circle, in particular his son Naw Htuu, to extract that crucial piece of information in order to apprehend Naw Khar. In between, Gao and his men will cross paths with a smarmy middleman Pierre played by Carl Ng (son of Richard and star of ‘Point of Entry’) as well as a notorious drug dealer Xing Deng wanted by the Chinese authorities from before played by veteran Hong Kong martial arts actor Ken Lo.

Each one of these three new leads is opportunity for Lam to stage a high-octane action set-piece (with impressive direction by Tung Wai) – first, a breathless foot chase through a claustrophobic market and a busy train station that turns into a jaw-dropping car chase complete with gunfights and RPGs; then, a shootout in a crowded mall which ensues in mass chaos and a tragic outcome for one of Gao’s men; and finally, the all-out assault on Naw Khar’s jungle lair that culminates in a spectacular boat chase along the Mekong River. Lam’s insistence on realism, whether in terms of sets or props, ensures that every one of these elaborate sequences looks, sounds and feels real and thrilling. Coupled with that is his flair for build-up – prior to the mall shootout for instance are gripping parallel theatres of events, one led by Gao masquerading as businessman Mr Qian meeting Naw Khar’s number-three Ya Ta and the other led by Gao’s man Wenfeng trailing the bag of money used for the exchange – which accentuates the tension and sheer white-knuckle suspense of each major sequence.

Compromised in the process is character detail or development, which frankly is somewhat of a pity. The most we learn about Gao aside from his solid leadership of his team is through a few occasional scenes where he looks at videos of his young daughter and one where he shares with Xinwu that the tolls of his job have led to his divorce years earlier. Xinwu gets a tragic backstory with Xing Deng which leads to questions about his ability to remain objective during the operation, but that little history hardly builds to anything compelling. The rest of Gao’s team are defined only by their unique skills – one’s a tech expert, one’s a linguist, another’s an excellent tracker – as well as by their Greek God-code names, e.g. Poseidon, Aphrodite, Icarus or Panoptes. There are also no shades of good and evil here, such that Gao and his men are uniformly heroes whereas Naw Phar – depicted as an over-the-top villain who snorts heroin and laughs when his child soldiers blow their own brains out playing Russian roulette – is unquestionably to be despised.

There is never any doubt that Lam has set out to make a wall-to-wall action movie, and on that count, he succeeds tremendously. Mind you, this is not some Hollywood B-movie, but one where every gunfight, car chase and explosion is choreographed with panache, adding up beautifully to a single movie that has nary a dull moment. Unlike his peers who have taken on similar subjects (such as Johnnie To in ‘Drug War’ or Derek Yee in ‘Protégé’), Lam isn’t taken so much by the fallouts of the drug business or its victims – notwithstanding the brief nod to the limbless villagers punished for disobeying Naw Khar’s orders – as he is on the complexities and minutiae of the clandestine operation that helped bring to justice one of the biggest criminal kingpins in the Golden Triangle. If you accept ‘Operation Mekong’ on its terms, you’ll find this one of the most exhilarating movies of the year, an accomplishment which cements Lam’s reputation as the foremost Hong Kong director for big-scale action cinema. 

Movie Rating:

(Easily one of the most exhilarating movies of the year, ‘Operation Mekong’ boasts spectacularly real and thrilling action set-pieces that represents some of its director Dante Lam’s finest work)

Review by Gabriel Chong 

If you don’t already know by now, some of the world’s most notable movie theme music was composed by 84 year old John Williams. Jaws, Superman, JurassicPark, as well as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series – yup, melodies that you’ll find yourself humming to came from the bright mind of this New Yorkborn musician.

After a scheduling conflict with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which is another great score, by the way) did not allow maestro to work on Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies (2015), fans would be glad to see two of the movie industry’s most celebrated talents come together for the 27^th time to work on the movie adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved classic.

The first soundtracks which come to mind after a preview of Williams’ latest work are the scores he composed for the first three Harry Potter films. There is a sense of wonderment and magic throughout the album’s generous 65 minute runtime. It also reminds fans of his score for 2011’s The Adventure of Tintin, bringing listeners on a thrilling ride full of adventure and action.

There are many beautiful woodwind performances in this album, with the flute symbolising anything related to dreams throughout the story (Dream Country, Dream Jars, Blowing Dreams). Brass instruments, on the other hand, take on the role of representing the frightening elements of nightmares and giants (Sophie’s Nightmare, Fleshlumpeater, Frolic). The loveliest and most delicate bits belong to Sophie, the film’s protagonist who strikes a friendship with the titular Big Friendly Giant. The piano, together with lush woodwind orchestrations, bring out the heartfelt moments, with emotionally engaging effect (Sophie’s Future, Finale, Sophie And The BFG).

This is a must own for any fan of Williams’ music. With a career spanning over sixty years and countless accolades, including 50 Academy Award nominations (he won five), you know things won’t go wrong with him on board. We are already looking forward to his next project – Star Wars: Episode VIII by Rian Johnson. Those who want to experience Spielberg Williams collaborations would have to wait till 2018’s Ready Player One and 2019’s Indiana Jones 5. 

ALBUM RATING:

Recommended Track: (19) Sophie And The BFG

Review by John Li

Genre: Action
Director: David Hackl
Cast: John Travolta, Kate Bosworth, Devon Sawa, Julie Benz, Gil Bellows, Ryan Robbins, Ty Olsson, Reese Alexander, Stuart Stone, Sharon Stone
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Shaw 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 1 September 2016

Synopsis: Life on the Line is an exhilarating action drama, which follows the lives of a crew of eccentric and courageous Texan power line workers who do the extremely dangerous work of fixing the crumbling electrical grid. John Travolta stars as ‘Beau’, a salt of the earth man who blames himself for his brother’s death and raises Bailey, his orphaned niece (Kate Bosworth). His worlds collide when Bailey’s handsome lover joins his linemen crew on the eve of a massive and deadly storm that threatens to rip their lives apart.

Movie Review: 

Before we start the review proper, let me explain what a Line worker actually does. They are in fact those hardworking dudes who scale electrified poles to make sure every household gets the electricity. Though we don’t really have Linemen in our small little red dot, being a lineman is actually the fourth’s most dangerous job in the States. The filmmakers are so generous that they even shared a slideshow in the movie to prove that point.

In Life On The Line, a bushy John Travolta plays Beau, a no-nonsense line worker who helped raised her orphaned niece after her parents died in separate tragic accidents. His little niece happens to grow up to be Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) aka Bailey whose love of her life is a guy named Duncan (Devon Sawa). Beau being the overprotective uncle disapproves of the relationship because Duncan is a poor guy, had an alcoholic mum (Sharon Stone in a glorified cameo) and to make things worse, he has just become a lineman too.

If Life On The Line is somewhat liked Twisters, at least we have an enjoyable ride following the storm chasers or in this case, lineman in their line of duty. But director David Hackl (Saw V) and the four credited screenwriters have practically no idea on what to do with the subject that they actually piled the entire movie with clichéd dialogue and subplots that have practically nothing much to do with anything. 

Take for instance, there’s a prolonged subplot that involved a fellow line worker, Eugene (Ryan Robbins) who suffered from PTSD and has a cheating wife. This character has almost zilch interaction with Beau except functioning as neighbours of Beau and Bailey. Why this is an ongoing part of the story is muddling. There’s also a disgruntled suitor of Bailey that simply refuses to go away. All these unnecessary plottings took up almost 70 minutes of the running time consider the movie official runtime is only pegged at 98 minutes.

If you are expecting some thrilling action sets, you will be deeply disappointed as the supposedly pending deadly storm is just a cheap gimmick to end the story on a high note. Life On The Line is a lousy movie despite the fact that it harbours good intentions. One of the executive producers actually established an organization to help the families of line workers killed on duty. Fans of Travolta try not to get your hopes up. Rewatch Ladder 49 if you want to see a heroic side of him. 

Movie Rating:

(You thought it’s an action flick involving line workers but it’s NOT)

Review by Linus Tee