Genre: Action
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Cast: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons, John Lithgow, Jeffrey Tambor, Alison Wright, Cynthia Addai-Robinson
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence and Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: http://www.accountantmovie.com

Opening Day: 13 October 2016

Synopsis: Christian Wolff (Affleck) is a math savant with more affinity for numbers than people. Behind the cover of a small-town CPA office, he works as a freelance accountant for some of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations. With the Treasury Department’s Crime Enforcement Division, run by Ray King (J.K. Simmons), starting to close in, Christian takes on a legitimate client: a state-of-the-art robotics company where an accounting clerk (Anna Kendrick) has discovered a discrepancy involving millions of dollars. But as Christian uncooks the books and gets closer to the truth, it is the body count that starts to rise.

Movie Review:

Ever thought that the life of an accountant is boring, with balance sheets and financial statements day in day out? Well, these accountants are probably not trying hardenough, unlike Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff, millionaire CPA accountant andforensic accounting extraordinaire by day and self-righteous vigilante by night. Which coincidentally, sounds like another one of Affleck’s recent roles (without the CPA certification).

The movie starts with someone, presumed to be the titular accountant, secretly entering a gang hideout that just got attacked. Without any further explanation, the scene then changes to thecurrent day, where we see our accountant attempting to help an old couple withtheir tax returns, before getting himself hired to uncook the books for Living Robotics’ CEO Lamar Black (John Lithgow). At the same time, Federal Treasury analyst Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) starts on her quest to find the accountant after being blackmailed by her boss Ray King (J.K.Simmons).

As the story progresses, the audience is given glimpses into Wolff’s troubled childhood, tough love upbringing and experiences, which has resulted in him transferring his talent into mad accountancy skills with a gym trainer-esque body build. At the same time, the movie’s portrayal also glorifies Wolff to be the typical high performing autistic genius, brilliant in everything he does except socialising with others. While there might be some accuracy there, this stereotypical portrayal is honestly overused, and studios can really do better by adding morelayers to autistic characters, instead of letting autism define their entire character. 

Perhaps an attempt to showcase Wolff’s anti social tendencies, while adding another element to the story, was by introducing the almost-nonexistent romance with unwilling accountant Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick). When placed together with Wolff, this pairing is limited to awkward staring into each other’s’ eyes, while the other is sleeping or behind each other’s back, which is uncomfortable at best, creepy at worst. With such a paper-thin romance, it would probably be better to get rid of it altogether. Also a side note – Kendrick seems to be type casted as the chirpy, dorky character that tries too hard (think Twilight, 50/50 and Into theWoods ). While that might be cute and likeable a few movies back, it gets old fast and one would hope that she changes the roles she takes on, quick.

Weak characterization aside, the biggest draw of the movie was probably the suspense and pacing. As the current day storyline frequently interchanges with Wolff’s past, this increases the pace and sense of urgency for both Wolff and Medina to complete what they were made to do. Unsurprisingly, the movie also had its fairshare of violence – expected given the movie’s opening scene and the accountant’s usual clientele of mobsters, drug lords and very rich men. Disappointingly, all the suspense and badass-ness promptly died away at the end, when it became more comedic than anything. In an attempt to wrap up the story quickly, all the built-up suspense was thrown out of the window, as Simmon’s Treasury Chief Ray King explains why he made Medina go on her search, and Wolff tries to keep Cummings safe. The hurried end also led to more than a few loose ends, such as why did Wolff ask King if he was a good father? How did the accountant not know who was behind the hit? What was the real reason for King’s blackmail?

With The Accountant set to compete in the Academy Awards, one thinks that a better thought-out resolution would have lifted the movie. Instead, the movie might just be remembered as the one that shows other accountants how exciting and rich (and dangerous) their lives could be.

Movie Rating:

(Perhaps not as exciting as promised by the summary and trailer, but surprisingly watchable nonetheless)

Review by Goh Yan Hui

Genre: Crime/Drama
Director: Daniel Ragussis
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Nestor Carbonell, Sam Trammell, Tracy Letts, Chris Sullivan, Seth Numrich
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://www.imperiumthemovie.com

Opening Day: 29 September 2016

Synopsis: An FBI agent goes undercover and joins a white supremacist group in order to expose a sizable terrorist plot to create a dirty bomb. The bright up-and-coming analyst must confront the challenge of sticking to a new identity while maintaining his real principles as he navigates the dangerous underworld of white supremacy.

Movie Review:

No actor has worked so hard to shed his or her former screen character than Daniel Radcliffe, who in his post-‘Harry Potter’ days has played a farting corpse, a devil-horned possessee, Frankenstein’s Igor and Allen Ginsberg. His latest sees the actor play a smart but undervalued fresh-faced FBI agent who goes undercover to infiltrate a group of White supremacists, a role which Radcliffe dives into by shaving his head, marching with neo-Nazis, greeting passers-by on the street with a stiff-armed ‘Zeig Heil!’ and spewing racial profanities at Jews. It is wholly believable to say the least, thanks to a carefully intense and fully committed performance by the British actor that immerses you into a bleak, often unseen, reality in American society, which writer-director Daniel Ragussis brings to life in tense, gripping and often disturbing ways in his debut big-screen feature.

Inspired by the career of former FBI agent Mike German, who specialised in infiltrating extremist groups, ‘Imperium’ sets up a plot beginning with the disappearance of some dangerous radioactive material that has the Bureau scrambling to find out who it might be in the hands of. The conventional view is Islamic jihadists, but the under-appreciated domestic terrorism specialist Angela Zamparo (Toni Collette) believes it might be the work of a far-right group based in Virginia with ties to a rabble-rousing Internet show host named Dallas Wolf (Tracy Letts). Eager to prove himself, Radcliffe’s desk-bound jockey Nate Foster agrees to go undercover for her, working his way up from low-level thugs to publicity-hogging Aryan leaders to upper-middle class family types who might be the most quietly dangerously of all.

Indeed, the last (as played by True Blood’s Sam Trammell) especially is not to be under-estimated – between potluck for the neighbours on Sundays and listening to the classical recordings to Leonard Bernstein, the likeable Gerry Conway helps a White couple stage their wedding in front of a pair of blazing swastikas. Oh yes, the skinheads might agitate on the streets or during the marches from time to time, but it is the clean-living teetotal racists who not only exert their influence among their neighbours and community insidiously but also have the intellectual and organisational means to plan for ‘change’. As Nate works his way through a crisscross of potentially lethal racists and neo-Nazis, Ragussis works up a fair amount of suspense keeping us guessing just who might be attempting to build a dirty bomb. Is it the hate-spewing shock jock Wolf? Or the Aryan Alliance leader Andrew Blackwell (Chris Sullivan)? Or even Conway?

But ‘Imperium’ is less successful as a character study of how a bespectacled classical-music fan to tough-talking hatemonger would be affected by his indoctrination into White supremacy; in fact, it is quite clear that Ragussis is more interested in the world that he has cast Nate into than Nate himself, and whether stopping an assault on an inter-racial couple or rescuing Andrew from armed anti-Aryan members, Nate’s inner convictions remain surprisingly consistent from start to finish. That Nate remains a compelling character is therefore to Radcliffe’s credit, who neither overplays the charged interactions with his fellow skinheads nor underplays the transformation he needs to convince the gang he is infiltrating of his authenticity. This is Radcliffe’s show through and through, but a truly impressive one held together on his slim shoulders – and if you have any doubt that Radcliffe is more than just ‘Harry Potter’, well this is more than enough proof that he is his own actor. 

Movie Rating:

(Daniel Radcliffe is searing and intense as a FBI agent gone undercover with neo-Nazis, and this gripping crime thriller is often held together on his impressive performance)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Upcoming horror movies: check the showtimes in Singapore Posted on 09 Sep 2016 Like a good scare? Check out these upcoming horror movies Singapore will be shaking in its boots with the release of these terrifying new horror movies coming out in September and October 2016. Featuring everything from a zombie tale with real brains through to the next installment in the infamous Japanese inspired Ring series, there will be enough spine-tingling moments and lashings of gor ... more

Alone on a weekend and no idea what life has in store for you? We may have found the best way to deal with this – put on the soundtrack for Bridget Jones’s Baby. If you don’t already know, this sequel to the 2004 romantic movie has everyone’s favourite singleton wondering what her love life is heading towards. And as the title suggests, she is reminded that her time to have children is running out.

The CD opens on a bright and cheery note with Ellie Goulding’s “Still Falling for You”. The brand new song from the Grammy nominated, multi platinum singer songwriter aptly captures the spirit of the protagonist. The other new song on the album is “Meteorite” performed by UKbreakout trio Years & Years.

This compilation is a treat for soundtrack collectors as it contains over an hour of music. You’ll love this if you’re a fan of classic R & B and contemporary dance pop.  

Romantics will lap up Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud (Campfire Version)“ (especially those who watched the movie and remember which segment the song appears)”, while the fun loving ones will grin from ear to ear with the cheeky “Fuck You” crooned by Lily Allen (sing the chorus out loud!).

Elsewhere, there is Annie Lennox’s soulful “The Hurting Time” (this will make you feeling all melancholic about life), The Isley Brothers’ trippy “That Lady, Pts 1 & 2” (this can be put on loop for the dance floor) and the MdFadden & Whitehead’s nostalgic hit “Ain’t No Stoppin Us Now” (everything about the 70s was cool, remember?).

It would have been nice if there was more score material from Craig Artmstrong (you would remember his lovely work on 2003’s Love Actually) on this soundtrack. “Race To Mark’s Flat” is hopeful, while “Wedding” is sweet, but we would really have loved to hear a main theme for Ms Jones and Mr Darcy. 

ALBUM RATING:

Recommended Track: (1) Still Falling for You - Ellie Goulding

Review by John Li

Genre: Erotic/Thriller
Director: James Foley
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Tyler Hoechlin, Kim Basinger, Bella Heathcote, Hugh Dancy, Max Martini, Marcia Gay Harden, Eric Johnson, Luke Grimes, Rita Ora
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Rating: R21 (Mature Themes and Sexual Scenes)
Released By: UIP 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 9 February 2017

Synopsis: Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades Darker, the second chapter based on the worldwide bestselling “Fifty Shades” phenomenon. Expanding upon events set in motion in 2015’s blockbuster film that grossed more than $560 million globally, the new installment arrives for Valentine’s Day and invites you to slip into something a shade darker. When a wounded Christian Grey tries to entice a cautious Ana Steele back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle the couple, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together.

Movie Review:

Despite its title, the second entry in the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ trilogy isn’t a darker tale than its predecessor; in fact, you could say that it is a lot less so, chiefly because its director James Foley (taking over from Sam Taylor-Johnson) and screenwriter Niall Leonard (replacing Kelly Marcel, and who happens to be the book’s author E L James’ husband) forgo the doom and gloom of the earlier film for an intentional embrace of the novel’s trashy thrills.

Arguably, the change in tone is also afforded by the narrative, which sees Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) freed of the angst she faced over Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) “getting off on the pain he inflicted [on her]”, and in as much control of their relationship as Christian is. Whereas she was compelled to engage with him on the terms of their contract before, Christian has since decided that he cannot live without Ana and tells her that he’d like to renegotiate terms. “No rules, no punishments, we only do what you’re comfortable with.” To which she adds, “no more secrets.”

If there is a reason why this instalment is labelled ‘darker’, it is because Christian and Ana both have issues that they need to deal with, whether individually or as a couple. Christian begins to open up about his past – beginning with the death of his crack-addicted mother when he was four, to being sexually exploited by an older woman Elena Lincoln (Kim Basinger) who still refuses to let go of him till today, to being stalked by a former love slave Leila Williams (Bella Heathcote) who remains obsessed with him. The fact that she has a boyfriend who draws out a forbidden zone on his torso using her lipstick and tells her to stay within it is weird enough for Ana, without having to confront Leila as well as a lecherous boss (Eric Johnson) who turns hostile when she rejects his sexual advances.

Even though these sombre twists may have been right at home within the same book, to keep them together coherently within a two-hour feature film is another matter altogether – and Leonard struggles under the weight of staying loyal to James’ prose without letting these subplots unravel the film altogether. Try though he does, the dramatic impact of these somewhat unconvincing twists and turns are severely neutered, so much so that they end up being unnecessary distractions at injecting complications into Christian and Ana’s evidently blossoming relationship.

Oh yes, if the previous movie teased its audience to guess will-they-or-won’t-they-stay-together, there is no such doubt this time round. Conspicuously absent is Christian’s need for dominance which drove Ana away in the first place, and the extent and speed of his apparent transformation from sadist master to considerate lover not only is a little hard to believe from a continuity standpoint but also makes Christian a much less compelling character. The same can be said of Ana, whose earlier sexual cum bondage inhibitions seem to have vanished too easily – though the latter does compensate with a newfound confidence and assertiveness which was arguably much less prominent before.

That the film itself remains fitfully engaging is credit to the appealing performances by Dornan and Johnson. The latter in particular deserves accolades for bringing class and grace to a thankless role, which many viewers are observing not so much for authenticity than for titillation. Indeed, Johnson is human and winning, equal parts vulnerable and strong-willed in her character even on the occasions when she is (for a lack of a better word) tied up. Next to Johnson, Dornan seems a lot more comfortable than he was before, and the couple effuse a genuine down-to-earth rapport which goes a long way into selling their unlikely coupling.

Much as we’d like to say we had saved the best for last, what we have so deliberately neglected talking about so far is really pretty much a non-event. The sex scenes spend too much time on the foreplay and not enough on the carry-through, and we suspect many viewers will feel frustrated several times over at how many of these scenes seem to end just when things are actually steaming up. And for all the fancy sex toys and bondage devices Christian keeps locked up in the Red Room, they hardly feature at all, except close to the end when Ana issues an open invitation for Christian to do what he probably wanted to on her.

Surely, those here to savour what Christian calls ‘kinky f**kery’ would quite certainly be disappointed, who will regard there to be too much submission and too little domination on display. To many we suspect, it is exactly that guilty pleasure which they are here for, not story or storytelling or characters. Just as well too, for none of these other elements offer much compensation, dulled too by the fact that Christian is no longer unrepentantly domineering and has in fact abandoned his bad-boy ways to become the embodiment of the new-age sensitive guy cliché.

Notwithstanding the newfound sense of humour, this sequel is still worse off than the original for being opposite from what its title suggests, so much so that what should have been a mesmerising exploration of the fine balance between submission and domination in a relationship – sexually, emotionally, or both – is ultimately no more than a big-screen adaptation of a trashy paperback. And just for the record, we came with every intention of digging into ‘Fifty Shades Darker’s’ lurid stimulations, so it is without bias that we say there is sadly too little gratification to be found here. 

Movie Rating:

(From unrepentantly domineering to new-age sensitive lover, Grey has not quite become fifty shades darker as he has turned dimmer and duller)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Thriller
Director: Alexandre Aja
Cast:  Jamie Dornan, Aaron Paul, Sarah Gadon, Aiden Longworth, Molly Parker, Michael Adamthwaite, Terry Chen
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://www.louis-drax-movie.com

Opening Day: 22 September 2016

Synopsis: After surviving eight near-death accidents throughout his unlucky life, Louis Drax (Aiden Longworth) plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday. While police investigate the cause of Louis' near-fatal fall and the whereabouts of his violent father Peter (Aaron Paul), acclaimed neurologist Dr. Allan Pascal (Jamie Dornan) uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy's unconscious mind and reveal the truth about the events that led to his condition. But as he's drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of Louis' seeming ability to cheat death, the doctor finds himself falling for Louis' mother, Natalie (Sarah Gadon). As new clues emerge in the case, a shocking revelation changes the fates of Louis Drax and everyone around him.

Movie Review:

Which came first - the over-protective mother or the accident-prone child?

Aiden Longworth is the title boy Louis Drax - an intelligent but troubled kid who has an unfortunate annual ritual of getting into near-death experiences. As his mother Natalie, a nostalgic glamour figure played by Sarah Godon, saves him each year, she makes reference to a cat’s nine lives on his ninth birthday, and whispers her fear of it hopefully not being his last.

The ethereal bombshell utters the obvious and after a family picnic, Louis ends up falling over a cliff, ending up in a comatose state after being saved from the fall, with his father (Aaron Paul) on the run for pushing him over.

Dr. Pascale (Jamie Dornan) swoops in for the save, with his TED talks and unorthodox methods as a paediatric neurologist, taking Louis in as his latest patient to cultivate.

What follows next is a movie genre mix that has me more baffled than the actual mystery in the story itself.

Adaptations from literary mediums are always tricky. It’s clear first-time screenwriter Max Minghella couldn’t convey Liz Jensen’s novel of the same name in all its drama and story arcs. What should have been intricately weaved fell apart quickly, over golden tones and blurry filters, into an unconvincing thriller that seems dopey and feels hollow.

Director Alexandre Aja follows the falter, creating elements that just do not mesh as a whole. The actors feel like they are from different worlds, and their responses equally disconnected. Halfway through, a barnacle-laden, seaweed-strewing monster that looks like a mer-cousin of Groot appears, lending some sense of the supernatural to the proceedings. Is that Death? Is that his imaginary friend? Why is Louis talking so much to it?

The tightrope a mystery thriller should walk is quickly tipped off its balance, when the film aims to throw more question but forgets to answer them. Even then, the questions are insipid, seemingly to cater this film to a younger audience.

For example, Dr. Pascal is seemingly brilliant with unconventional methods that presumably works. But his only cutting theory was how he believes people choose to stay in a coma until they feel safe to wake up. The missing father Peter is supposedly a criminal on the run, yet there is nothing in the story to suggest why he would commit such an act. Even Louis himself, albeit coming across with refreshing candour, seems to carry an anger and obnoxiousness that is executed with forced verbal mechanics - like his obtuse use of “blah, blah, blah” to indicate stupidity. His smart-alecky ways (always seeping through via random narrations) grate so much, that when he starts to introduce his “Rule of Disposal” to his then-psychiatrist (Oliver Platt), crushing a hamster under a heavy tome just because they have lived their lifespan, we start to lose all emotional want for this kid to come out of his coma.

Even when a warm score and surreal dream effects is introduced by Aja to butter up the story, it comes at inappropriate moments, served amidst an unbelievable romance thread between Natalie and Dr. Pascal. Jellyfish, lumbering monster friend, obvious riddles - we’ve seen it all before.

The revelation at the end can be clearly felt before the movie passes midway. The twists were mismanaged, with double reveals that served no purpose other than weakening their impact. The social commentary has been diluted by characters we have no sympathy for. In fact, interestingly, it is the unmanufactured moments such as when Peter and Louis have a down-to-earth father and son parting talk, as well as straightforward characters like Peter’s mother (Barbara Hershey) and investigating officer (Molly Parker) that provided much relief from this visual but emotionally clumsy film.

Movie Rating:

(A fantasy thriller that teeters between contrived whimsy and cheesy sentimentality, Louis Drax needs another incarnation to get out of this inadequate execution)

Review by Morgan Awyong 

Genre: Drama
Director: Tom Ford
Cast: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Ellie Bamber, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Michael Sheen, Andrea Riseborough
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Rating: M18 (Nudity)
Released By: UIP 
Official Website: http://www.nocturnalanimals.com.sg

Opening Day: 1 December 2016

Synopsis: From writer/director Tom Ford comes a haunting romantic thriller of a divorced couple discovering dark truths about each other and themselves.

Movie Review:

This reviewer knows a story like this too well. To fit into the mould of what is widely accepted as a “civilised” life, we put up fronts and speak untruths. Deep down inside, the darkest, most unkind, and even saddest secrets are screaming to be unveiled. Is there beauty in life? Yes, but there are lots of ugly things which are quietly making its presence felt in the background as well.

Fashion designer turned film director gives you something to look at in the film’s opening scenes – the artistically shot sequence features plus sized, fully frontal nude models gyrating provocatively. Yes, it is probably meant to make viewers uncomfortable, but it also sets the tone for what’s to come.

We are introduced to Susan (Amy Adams), a classy and refined woman who works as an art gallery curator. Her seemingly perfect life is interrupted when her ex husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) sends her a manuscript chronicling a series of violent and tragic events.

The novel follows a peaceful man is on a road trip with his wife and daughter. They run into three troublemakers, and after some rough exchanges, the two ladies are raped and murdered. Wrecked with guilt, the man becomes depressed finds enough strength to pick himself up again to seek revenge.  

And what’s a drama without a cheating husband (Armie Hammer), a violent criminal (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and a cynical but wise detective (Michael Shannon)?

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, Ford’s latest work is visually mesmerizing. This is not surprising, given his last film A Single Man (2009) starring the gorgeous Colin Firth and Julianne Moore was similarly beautiful to look at. What will connect with viewers sanitised to the urban life is how undercurrents run strong beneath the veils of exquisiteness.

With cinematography by Seamus McGarvey (We Need to Talk About Kevin, Anna Karenina) and music by Abel Korzeniowski (Battle for Terra, WE), the film is no doubt a sleek piece of work that doesn’t fall short on sophistication and style. Colours are boldly used, and the camera loves every single cast member’s striking features.

The film also works because of its brilliant cast. Adams (American Hustle, Big Eyes) has come a long way since making her film debut in 1999’s Drop Dead Gorgeous – the actress has matured nicely and we should be expecting to see her nominated for acting accolades during the awards season (good things have also been said about her performance in Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival). Gyllenhaal channels the angst that we are familiar with (Nightcrawler, Southpaw) to good use here, while Shannon delivers yet another underrated performance which we can only hope gets recognised by the juries. Taylor Johnson is surprisingly good as a foul mouthed antagonist, and minor roles played by Michael Sheen, Laura Linney and Isla Fisher are brief but memorable.

When the 116 minute ends with an expectedly lonesome scene, we can’t help but feel empty and destitute about the state of human relationships. 

Movie Rating:

(Sophisticatedly packaged, this frustrating heart wrenching film aptly explores the dark side of human nature)

Review by John Li

Genre: Animation
Director: Yeon Sangho　
Cast: Ryu Seong-ryong, Shim Eun-Kyung, Lee Joon
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 29 September 2016

Synopsis: Prequel to TRAIN TO BUSAN, SEOUL STATION is a dark yet touching award-winning Korean feature animation. The prequel tells the story of a runaway teenager Hye-sun, who broke up with her boyfriend when he forced her into prostitution and witness an old homeless man, among the many others as they gobble up one another. The attacked become the attackers, increasing their numbers exponentially. What will the government do to control the situation? Who will survive this zombie war?

Movie Review:

Thanks to the runaway success of ‘Train to Busan’, writer-director Yeon Sang-ho’s animated feature ‘Seoul Station’ is seeing the light of day outside the film festival circuit. The latter was in fact completed earlier, but its mature subject matter for a genre largely associated with family-friendly material meant that it needed a commercial anchor on which to boost its ‘sell-ability’. And indeed, between the two, it is ‘Train to Busan’ that is likely to appeal to a wider audience, premised as it is on conventional action horror thrills like ’28 Days Later’ and ‘World War Z’; on the other hand, ‘Seoul Station’ is more akin to George Romero’s ‘Night of Living Dead’ in that it is established primarily with the intention of using the zombie outbreak as a metaphor for social malaise, such that those looking for similar commercial sensibilities will likely be disappointed. 

That’s not to say the latter is the poorer film by comparison; on the contrary, ‘Seoul Station’ has greater depth and significance than its successor, and we suspect those who like their gore with brains will in fact find it superior. It is as well that, though billed as a prequel, the film is really more fitting when seen as a companion piece to ‘Train to Busan’ – other than the fact that they both deal with a zombie outbreak in Seoul, there is absolutely no relation between the events or characters of either film. A decidedly smaller-scaled affair, it unfolds predominantly through the eyes of four characters – a young runaway prostitute Hye-sun (voiced by Shim Eun-kyung), her good-for-nothing boyfriend Ki-woong (Lee Joon), a man who claims to be her father Suk-Kyu (Ryu Seong-ryong), and last but not least a homeless man whose name we never learn desperately trying to find help for patient zero.

That patient happens to be one of the homeless too, who is seen at the beginning stumbling through the titular station promenade bleeding and in pain. A pair of well-heeled young adults whose conversations about universal healthcare seem to hint at their social consciousness notice him, but they stop short of helping when they catch whiff of the old man’s ‘homeless’ stench. Oh yes, there is social critique right from the beginning, as Yeon delivers admonishment on the indifference and even outright disdain of Korean society towards its downtrodden even as it claims to be otherwise. Yeon’s criticism at both the institutions and the people within comes into even sharper focus as the old man’s fellow homeless is frowned at by social workers and turned away by the police when attempting to seek help for the old man’s none-too-well condition.  

Seen in that light, the outbreak is not only comeuppance but also social levelling, reducing rich and poor and any individual alike on the social ladder to a single denominator – that of a bloodthirsty undead driven by the same thirst for blood. There is no doubt where Yeon’s sympathies lie, especially given how Hye-sun, Ki-woong and Suk-kyu are by virtue of their social status among the marginalized in society.  A tiff between Hye-sun and Ki-woong earlier on separates the couple, and the latter spends most of the subsequent time with the former’s father Suk-kyu trying to locate her with the help of mobile communication. As much as the estrangement between father and daughter is part of the story, their interpersonal character drama never becomes the narrative’s driving force, in part because of a neat nihilistic twist at the end and in part not to distract from the social commentary.

If it isn’t clear yet, the latter is the film’s emphasis, and it is therefore no coincidence that Hye-sun will end up at one point with several dozen survivors trapped in an alley between a fully-armed military blockade determined to keep out what they think is an insurrection by a plebian mob and a make-shift barricade meant to keep the zombies on the other end at bay. It is also no coincidence that Hye-sun will stumble into a lavish interior decoration showroom meant to showcase the city’s high-end apartments that neither Hye-sun or the other two characters will ever be able to afford, a point which Suk-kyu makes as he marvels at its opulence when he finally catches up to Hye-sun. Throughout, the divisions between the social classes as well as the attitude of the bureaucracy towards these divisions becomes the film’s pivot, and more than delivering the standard-issue zombie thrills, is its motivation.

Certainly, there are some palpably tense moments in Hye-sun’s struggle to stay alive, but these are no match when compared against the white-knuckle sequences in ‘Train to Busan’. That is both a function of the genre (live-action versus animation) as well as the deliberate intention of its filmmaker, of which ‘Seoul Station’ is a much more intimate and personal work akin to his previous two critically acclaimed animated films - 2011's ‘The King Of Pigs’ as a disturbing and violent exploration of childhood bullying and the trauma it leaves, and 2013's ‘The Fake’ as a blistering critique of organized religion. Like we said at the beginning, those looking for the same wall-to-wall action or suspense in ‘Train to Busan’ will likely be underwhelmed by ‘Seoul Station’, but if you like your helping of zombie gore and guts with brains, you’ll be satisfied by the bite that this zombie flick takes off of society’s inequalities and injustices. 

Movie Rating:

(A decidedly darker and more nihilistic film than its successor 'Train to Busan', ‘Seoul Station’ delivers sharper social commentary at society’s ills than standard-issue zombie action thrills)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Drama/Biography
Director: Natalie Portman
Cast: Natalie Portman, Makram Khoury, Shira Haas, Amir Tessler, Ohad Knoller
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://www.focusfeatures.com/loveanddarkness

Opening Day: 13 October 2016

Synopsis: Based on Amos Oz's international best-seller, A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS recounts the time Oz spent with his mother, Fania (Natalie Portman), who struggles with raising her son in Jerusalem at the end of the British Mandate for Palestine and the early years of the State of Israel. Dealing with a married life of unfulfilled promises and integration in a foreign land, Fania battles her inner demons and longs for a better world for her son.

Movie Review:

There is more of the latter than the former in Natalie Portman’s behind-the-camera debut, an adaptation of the celebrated memoir of the same name by Israeli novelist Amos Oz which intertwines his coming-of-age tale with that of the early years of the birth of Israel. Oh yes, this is a bleak film through and through, told from the point of view of young Amos (Amir Tessler) spanning the years from 1945, with Palestine in the last throes of British rule, to 1953, the state of Israel firmly established after a seminal United Nations (UN) vote. It is as much Amos’ story as it is that of his emotionally fragile mother Fania (Portman), who had escaped the Holocaust with Amos’ father Arieh (Gilad Kehana) to much sparer conditions – and why not, really, since it was his mother’s tales of fantasies as well as his father’s scholarly inclinations which ultimately inspired his love for storytelling and his eventual calling as an author.

Condensing Oz’s 500-plus page book is no small feat, but Portman, who spent years developing it as her as her feature writing-directing debut, largely succeeds in capturing her protagonist’s growing pains as he watches his mother endure a loveless marriage, yearn for the life she left behind and grow increasingly disillusioned with the promise of Israel. Instead of the macho persona we glimpse through brief dreamy episodes, Fania has wound up with a literary critic whose masculinity is limited to building a garden in their backyard. Often overly serious, Arieh is unable to satisfy Fania’s romantic longings, dreaming of a life resembling the literature she devours. And while Arieh is ecstatic about the creation of the state of Israel through the UN General Assembly’s approval to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, Fania only sees her dream of new life further slip away, which precipitates her drift into clinical depression.  

Even as she resents her life with Arieh, Fania is fiercely devoted to Amos, their mother-son bond defined in large part by the stories that she tells him when he cannot sleep. These stories rooted in her yearning for a better life and the promise of a Jewish homeland are not only escape for her from the unhappy and unfulfilled life she currently leads, but also form the nurturing force around which Amos’ world comes to revolve around. But because of the former, they are also revealing of Fania’s mental state, and as she sinks further into depression in the third act, the stories she now tells Amos – one involving a young Polish officer who boards himself in a young girl’s house who goes randomly shooting around the house before shooting himself in the head; and another about a wife whose drunken husband gambled her away at night and who left him only to have a daughter who burns herself to death – are particularly telling, even as they leave Amos confused and alarmed but feeling completely helpless.

To emphasise their dramatic impact, Portman dramatizes these tales, often with metaphorical graphics of swarms of black birds flying against a gloomy sky or apocalyptic desert landscapes. Further, Portman employs an elderly Amos as narrator from time to time to lend greater insight into Fania’s condition as well as to provide a first-person account of how growing up in that family environment (including chancing upon one day of his father Arieh behaving intimately with another woman on the street) impacted him as a kid; and if anything, it is probably most perceptive in how Amos came to be a storyteller himself – it is by telling stories that Amos manages to stay out of the hands of bullies at school. Like we said at the start, it is grim stuff, reflected in Slawomir Idziak’s cinematography that employs coloured filters that underscores the melancholy.

There is no doubt that ‘A Tale of Love and Darkness’ is a passion project for the 35-year-old Portman – herself born in Jerusalem – whose passion and personal connection to the material is clearly evident in every carefully constructed frame. Portman strives for elegiac grace in the tight complex bond between mother and son as well as in the Jewish state’s fraught history, reining in the story’s potent emotions in order not to end up with melodrama or propaganda. That same restraint also guides her portrayal of Fania, and it is as skilful a performance as any we have seen from the actress. But her greatest accomplishment here is indeed her confident directorial voice that is earnest, without vanity, and indeed capable of nuance and poignancy. Israel’s current posture as a nation towards the Palestinians may inspire ambivalence among some to say the least, but there is no political agenda here, only the intention to portray the psyche of a people at a unique turning point of tumult and hope. 

Movie Rating:

(An intimate portrait of regret, longing, hope and resilience, Natalie Portman's writing-directing debut is a grim but undeniably accomplished beginning for the actress turned filmmaker)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Synopsis: The Mongolian Border, 1979: Massive fossils of unknown creatures are discovered in the mountains, and the research team assigned to excavate the remains includes acclaimed Professor Yang (Wang Qingxiang), Hu Bayi (Mark Chao), and Ping (Yao Chen), the professor’s beautiful daughter. When a freak explosion triggers a rockslide, only a handful of explorers survive the fall to the mountain's floor...unearthing an ancient temple and the hideous creatures waiting within. Now living a quiet but tormented life as a librarian, Hu studies demonology manuscripts, seeking answers for that fateful day. Little does he know Professor Yang has just been found wandering the mountains thousands of miles from where he supposedly died; a young woman with amnesia was just discovered in a recently-uncovered tomb; and a Northern Chinese mining town has just been ravaged by giant, ravenous beasts...

MOVIE REVIEW:

Despite its obvious oriental theme, The Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe follows Hollywood’s formula of delivering epic, spectacular effects driven movies and the result is horrendous.

Set first in 1979 and spanned across several years, The Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe is about the uncovering of a mysterious pagoda that can awaken an evil tribe. A soldier Hu Bayi (Mark Chao), medic Yang Ping (Yao Chen) and her Professor father are the three key personnel who posses the knowledge and ability to unlock the history behind the demonic pagoda. But wait, there’s also a Bureau 749 (sort of a facility that is in charge of the supernatural) led by Han (Li Guangjie) and Chen (Rhydian Vaughan) and Bayi’s fat buddy (Feng Li) acting as the comic relief and many other more secondary characters.

The less you know about the story, the more you are going to enjoy The Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe. Frankly, the visual is often rich enough to take you away from the convoluting plotting written by Lu Chuan (City of Life and Death) who also directs this monster adventure. There are so many plot holes and inconsistencies that even Lu Chuan himself couldn’t contribute a reasonable conclusion to the whole hoo-ha that a sequel is hinted in the closing scene. To make matters worse, the original writer in which the basis of this movie is based on took the film companies involved and Lu Chuan to court for drastically altering his material. And that probably sums up why this entire affair ended up so badly onscreen.

Story aside, the technical aspects of it is actually pretty decent. It is often well shot by cinematographer Cao Yu (Kekexili), offers plenty of CGI that ranges from good to serviceable and a cast that chips in decent performances even though they are let down by a story that bites off more than it can chew. Monster fans will be delighted by the appearances of tiny but fiery firebats and werewolves-like gigantic creatures that roam the streets. There’s even a sea monster lurking around waiting to slurp up Yang Ping liked a wanton. If you feel liked dozing off by the end of the first hour, you might like to fast forward to the last 20 minutes of the movie where an exciting battle is going to take place in a deserted oil town.

The Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe opens promisingly enough. It lures audiences with its promise of prehistoric monsters, mythology and science fiction but liked an unfortunate earnest explorer, everything got buried under a huge avalanche in the end. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The extras consist of a brief Making of and a Trailer. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD offers a spectacular listening experience with its rich surround Dolby Digital 5.1. The visual is crisp and strong. Dodgy CGI is obvious at times but this has nothing to do with the quality of the disc. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee