Genre: Animation
Director: Chris Butler
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, Timothy Olyphant, David Walliams, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, Amrita Acharia, Ching Valdes-Aran, Emma Thompson
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: The Walt Disney Company
Official Website: https://www.missinglink.movie

Opening Day: 11 April 2019

Synopsis:  This April, meet Mr. Link: 8 feet tall, 630 lbs, and covered in fur, but don’t let his appearance fool you… he is funny, sweet, and adorably literal, making him the world’s most lovable legend at the heart of Missing Link, the globe-trotting family adventure from LAIKA. Tired of living a solitary life in the Pacific Northwest, Mr. Link recruits fearless explorer Sir Lionel Frost to guide him on a journey to find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, our fearless trio of explorers encounter more than their fair share of peril as they travel to the far reaches of the world to help their new friend. Through it all, the three learn that sometimes you can find a family in the places you least expect."

Movie Review:

We love Hugh Jackman. He made Wolverine a relatable superhero, sang his heart out as Jean Valjean and gave it his all by playing The Greatest Showman. Even when the star takes on antagonistic roles in less acclaimed movies like Chappie and Pan, he exudes enough charisma to get people talking about him.

Things don’t seem to be the case with his latest voicing role though. As Sir Lionel Frost, an adventurer who ventures onto roads less travelled to find legendary creatures, he just isn’t very likeable. The self important human being’s objective seems to be proving naysayers wrong and gaining acceptance from his peers. Then there is this part where the self proclaimed Casanova tries to work his charm on the female protagonist. Not too pleasant either, we’d say. Although he learns about humility at the end of the day, you can’t help but feel he is a white saviour who has gotten his happy ending.

Fortunately, this aspect is easy to overlook because this film is produced by Laika, the stop motion animation studio who has delivered visually stunning features like Coraline (2009) and The Boxtrolls (2014). The four movies before this tugged at heartstrings in different ways (our favourites were ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings), and the latest project directed by Chris Butler aims to do the same.

Let’s get Sir Lionel  out of the picture – the star of the show is undoubtedly Mr Link (voiced adorably by The Lego Batman Movie’s Zach Galifianakis), a Bigfoot searching for his relatives. The screenplay written by Butler would bring the creature and the arrogant monsters investigator to Shangri La, a mythical place which supposedly only exists in legends. Coming along for the ride is a widow (voiced with gusto by My Little Pony: The Movie’s Zoe Saldana) of another adventurer who had a past with Sir Linus.

Although he is a Bigfoot, Mr Link is literate and cracks the wittiest jokes (most of the time, unintentionally), which makes him a joy to watch whenever he appears on screen. It also helps that his desire to be part of a community is affectionately characterised, and you look past logic to go along with the story. Other notable voice actors include Emma Thompson (Johnny English Strikes Again) as a Yeti elder, Stephen Fry (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) as an obnoxious adventurer and Timothy Olyphant (I Am Number Four) as a bounty hunter.  

In terms of visuals, expect nothing less from Laika. The 94 minute movie’s visuals are breathtaking, considering that the sceneries and characters are essentially manipulated physically in small increments so that they will appear to move when the frames is played back as a fast sequence. The vivid imagination of the filmmakers is evident. From the opening sequence where Sir Lionel faces a sea monster to the finale where the protagonists reach the fabled valleyof Shangri La, there is much for your eyes to feast on.

This is a kid friendly movie, with some important lessons to learn. There are occasional moments which adults will enjoy (especially the deadpan humour courtesy of Galifianakis’s Mr Link), and although predictable, the end result is a sincere production complemented by very impressive stop motion animation.

Movie Rating:

(Go on an adventure with a talking Bigfoot and let Laika’s impressive stop motion animation awe you)

Review by John Li

Genre: Drama
Director: Vincent Perez
Cast: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Brief Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 16 February 2017

Synopsis: Berlin 1940. The city is paralyzed by fear. Otto and Anna Quangel are a working class couple living in a shabby apartment block trying, like everyone else, to stay out of trouble under Nazi rule. But when their only child is killed fighting at the front, their loss drives them to an extraordinary act of resistance. They start to drop anonymous postcards all over the city attacking Hitler and his regime. If caught, it means certain execution. Soon their campaign comes to the attention of the Gestapo inspector Escherich and a murderous game of cat-and-mouse begins. But the game serves only to strengthen Otto and Anna’s sense of purpose and a renewed love for each other. Slowly their drab lives and marriage are transformed as they unite in their quiet but profound rebellion…

Movie Review:

Forming the basis of this World War II resistance drama is the true story of Otto and Elise Hampel, an ordinary working-class German couple who jointly penned and distributed anti-Hitler slogans on postcards for two years before being tried of treason and executed by guillotine. Their campaign of silent revolt was documented in Hans Fallada’s 1947 book ‘Every Man Dies Alone’ (though not translated in English until 2009), which has in fact been filmed no less than four times in German as well as Czech. Considering the potential of its source material, as well as its precedence, it is even more disappointing that Swiss actor Vincent Perez’s first English-language adaptation of the book is so dramatically inert – and that is, in spite of fine performances from British veterans Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson as the lead couple Otto and Anna respectively.

Whereas it was the death of Elise’s brother which sparked their anger at the Nazi party, both Fallada’s book and Perez’s film configures the death to be that of their only son, who in the prologue is seen running terrified through a French forest before being shot down. Word of his death reaches his parents through their quietly anti-Nazi postwoman Eva (Katrin Pollitt) just as the country is celebrating France’s defeat, leaving Anna immediately devastated and Otto simmering with resentment. The mild-mannered factory foreman not only refuses to join the party when asked to at his workplace, but initiates putting pen to paper to voice his opposition, going from altering the word Führer at his desk to Lügner (“liar”) to scrawling messages such as “The Führer will murder your son, too” and “Stop the war machine” in a deliberately crude graphic style on an eventual total of 285 postcards. Anna will join Otto in disseminating these postcards, despite her membership in the Nazi Women’s League.

From the perspective of husband and wife, Perez and his co-writer Achim von Borries aim to depict how grief has ironically brought Otto and Anna closer together than they were before, but that dimension is too muted to be compelling. Too little is shown of how they were before and how they are changed, leaving unfortunately too much to our imagination of how their shared loss and consequent worldview gives them common purpose. Ditto the fate of their older Jewish neighbour Frau Rosenthal (Monique Chaumette) – whom the Quangels and a retired judge try in vain to protect from Nazi harassment – that fails too to add to their supposed shared sense of mission. There is also only so much that Gleeson’s stoic dignity and Thompson’s fretful frailty can compensate for their skimpily defined characters, which leave us indifferent to their emotional and/or physical plight.

Just as poorly sketched is the young police inspector Escherich (Daniel Bruhl), tasked by the SS to identify and capture those responsible for the cards whom he calls ‘hobgoblin’. Escherich’s pursuit of his elusive subject(s) is driven less by personal belief than professional pride, and the ending makes clear that he also experiences a crisis of conscience along the way, in particular as he is commanded by the Gestapo to execute extra-judicially a man whom he knows had nothing to do with the cards in the first place. And yet that tension between his personal and professional convictions never quite plays out as powerfully as it should, so much so that Escherich becomes, like Frau earlier on, no more than an embellishing subplot which in effect adds little to the overall plotting, or worse, an unnecessary interlude that only distracts from the perilous mission which the Quangels have chosen.

It speaks of the sort of the film ‘Alone in Berlin’ is that a German actor like Bruhl speaks in German-accented English throughout the film. Oh yes, this is the sort of European war movie told with class and restraint and with every attempt to be tasteful, reflected here in Christophe Beaucarne's gentle cinematography and Alexandre Desplat’s sombre score. That it is comfortable with being more affected than authentic really isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but neither does it explain why the storytelling is so staid, where even the scenes of Otto depositing his postcards in and around Berlin that lend themselves naturally to some degree of narrative tension are told stodgily. Because it is told with such detachment, we are left aloof and nonchalant, ultimately doing little justice to the true story to which it owes its debt or to the book which would hardly be as dour or monotonous as this adaptation is. 

Movie Rating:

(Perplexingly devoid of any narrative tension, this WWII resistance drama squanders fine performances from Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson in favour of dull and dour monotony)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Liu Guonan
Cast: Sammi Cheung, Joseph Chang, Joyce Feng, Jin Qiaoqiao, Lam Suet, Terence Yin
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Clover Films and Filmgarde Cineplex
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 16 February 2017

Synopsis: Bo is the new assistant to Jin, a beautiful CEO. But he is yet to know the real motive of hiring him. In a trip to Paris, the pair is romantically involved. Jin gets pregnant and breaks up with Bo. What kind of game is Jin playing? Bo goes to Paris again to discover the hidden truth...

Movie Review:

Don’t be fool by the somewhat whimsical looking poster thinking its yet another disposable romantic comedy starring Sammi Cheng. Love Contractually might not magically resurrect Cheng’s fading star power. However it’s a title that has the ability to prove the once reigning Heavenly Queen still has what it takes to carry a movie.

Betrayed by her two-timing fiancée (Terence Yin in two brief scenes), the no-nonsense CEO of AXA, Katrina (Sammi Cheng) decides to look for a sperm donor so that she can have a son without the process of physically and emotional attached to a man. In comes Xiao Bo (Joseph Chang), a rugged courier who is unknowingly tricked by Katrina and her scheming assistant to become the targeted donor. So how in the world do these two unlikely persons end up together in the end? We are pretty sure you are not expecting anything tragic.  

Credit has to go to Zhang Yimou’s regular assistant director turned director Liu Guonan and his two screenwriters for not turning this into a lumbering detestable affair, which many Hong Kong and China co-productions tend to turn out nowadays. Although I must first add the first 30 minutes has plenty of unfunny gags liked Xiao Bo’s awkwardly strip dancing and prior to that, Xiao Bo and Katrina dancing to avoid the attack of a revengeful staff.

Thank God the bumbling comedy factor is thrown out of the window subsequently and the movie proceeds to tell a meaningful story of its two leading characters. There’s a decent background story explaining why Katrina developed OCD and why she refused to visit her dementia father (Lam Suet). The character of Xiao Bo might be obsessed and will do anything for money but that doesn’t make him a bad person. Decent, mature writing that works way better than watching two compatible actors acting silly for 98 minutes.

Taiwanese Joseph Chang (Sky on Fire, Murmur of the Heart) even though lacking the typical handsome leading man looks think Eddie Peng or Andy Lau somehow has that untamed charisma to charm the audiences. Pairing opposite Sammi Cheng, it’s definitely a rewarding experience watching them bickering on the big screen for the first time. Cheng who has cut down her onscreen appearances and singing gigs (apparently due to health reasons) in recent years is remarkably endearing as the long-suffering Katrina.  

Love Contractually might end on a predictable note but like a wise man or was that a wise ad once says, it’s the journey that counts. Production values are solid because at least a quarter of the movie is shot in Paris, a country that oozes romance at every corner. Last but not least, it’s always welcome to hear a fresh Sammi’s love tune.  

Movie Rating:

(The actual movie turned out better than the poster, all thanks to Sammi Cheng mostly)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Amma Asante
Cast: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Laura Carmichael
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 16 February 2017

Synopsis: Starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl); and directed by Amma Asante (Belle), A UNITED KINGDOM tells the inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the king of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker that he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Seretse and Ruth defied family, apartheid and empire - their love triumphed over every obstacle flung in their path and in so doing they transformed their nation and inspired the world.

Movie Review:

We are assuming not many of us know who Sir Seretse Khama was – and we aren’t even talking about the relationship he had with his wife Ruth Williams Khama. Unless you had to study the history of Botswana, a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, you probably won’t be aware of its first president.

Here’s what we gathered from the Internet about the man who helped his country undergo rapid economic and social progress during his presidency. Born into a powerful royal family of what was then the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, Khama was educated in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom. He got to know a British woman, Ruth Williams, and eventually married her. Back in the days when such relationships were not widely accepted (you wonder how much has changed today?), it was naturally controversial.

And this is what the movie directed by Amma Asante (A Way of Life, Belle) is about.

David Oyelowo, who caught the attention of the media with his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr in 2014’s Selma, plays Khama. The 40 year old actor who graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art effortlessly brings out the established gentleman in the historical figure. He is a firm leader who fights the rigid administration and gains the respect and support from his people.

Rosamund Pike, best known for her femme fatale characters in Die Another Day (2002) and Gone Girl (2014), has a wonderful chemistry with Oyelowo, as she plays the woman whom Khama falls in love with. Their true life romance is not a sappy one, as you see the two overcoming all odds to stay together, gaining acceptance from Botswana’s people and taking on the lead to bring the country to independence.

Supporting characters are played by Jack Davenport (James Norrington in the Pirates of the Carribean franchise), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise) and Jack Lowden (The Passing Bells, War & Peace).

While the 111 minute film doesn’t offer what big budgeted blockbusters do (read: no extravagantly choreographed action sequences, eye popping computer animation or ear deafening explosions), it is a well meaning and solidly crafted piece of work which will find its fans in cinema goers. Neither does the British biographical drama feel like an Oscar bait: there are no tear inducing theatrics or over the top acting to attract film festival juries.

What you get instead, is a simple and straightforward depiction of a love story which happened more than 60 years ago, and how a couple became a country’s well loved leaders. At the time of its independence in 1966, Botswana was the world's third-poorest country, poorer than most other African countries. Khama set out on an economic programme to transform the nation into an export based economy. His wife was popular amongst her people, an influential and politically active First Lady during Khama’s four consecutive terms as president from 1966 to 1980.

This is a part of world history which you probably won’t be aware of until you watch the film. It may not be the most entertaining two hours of your life, but you’d have gained some knowledge of Sir Seretse Khama and his First Lady Ruth Williams Khama.

Movie Rating:

(A well-acted film which tells the inspiring true-life story of Sir Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams Khama - two people you probably wouldn't know of if you didn't watch this biography) 

Review by John Li

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Danny Boyle
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Steven Robertson, Shirley Henderson, Gordon Kennedy
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Scenes And Drug Use)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International 
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/T2TrainspottingFilm

Opening Day: 2 March 2017

Synopsis: First there was an opportunity......then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined up to welcome him, ready to join the dance.

Movie Review:

This reviewer remembers the phenomenon that was Trainspotting some 20 years ago. If you wanted to be cool, you had to talk about the 1996 movie directed by Danny Boyle. Based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh, the cult film starred Ewan MGregor, Ewen Bremmer, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle and Kelly MacDonald. The screenplay by John Hodge (it was nominated for an Academy Award, just so you know) tells the story of a group of heroin addicts in an economically depressed area of Edinburghand their passage through life.

If you have seen the film, you would probably agree with this columnist that the scene where McGregor dives into a disgusting public toilet (“The Worse Toilet in Scotland”) is one of the most iconic imageries in modern cinema ever. Oh, there’s also the sequence where he hallucinates and sees a baby crawling on the ceiling while his room elongates.

And we haven’t even gone gaga over the soundtrack of the film. Someone put Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” and Primal Scream’s “Trainspotting” on loop now!

And is a sequel after 21 years necessary? Apparently, according to Boyle, who has returned with Hodge and the original ensemble cast (minus McKidd, whose character died from HIV-related toxoplasmosis in the first movie). Based on Welsh’s Porno, the 117 minute film will be enjoyed fullest by those who have seen Trainspotting.

Ever wondered what happened to Renton(McGregor), Spud (Bremmer), Sick Boy (Lee Miller) and Begbie (Carlyle)? Well, like us mere mortals, life caught on with these four characters. If you are interested in what happened in the first film, go get a copy or read the synopsis so you wouldn’t get too confused here.

The film starts with Rentonin the gym, trying to stay healthy (working executives in their 30s and 40s can totally relate to this). Spud is struggling with his heroin addiction which is affecting his partner and son. Sick Boy is working in a shady pub and leads a life of crime dealing and unlawful business. Bagbie is still serving his prison term and his temper hasn’t improved one bit.

Boyle has made this film for fans of the first movie, and he isn’t ashamed to hide it. There are countless self referencing moments. Cinephiles who remember Trainspotting fondly will smile in glee whenever the filmmakers insert familiar film clips, music and styles. Yup, these include toilet and bedroom, which are clearly fan favourites.

The four leading actors are a joy to watch, and there’s this feeling that you have grown up with them over the last two decades. Outside the film, it is worthy to note that this marks the reunion of Boyle and McGregor, who fell out over the casting of The Beach (2000). For those who aren’t aware, McGregor, was expecting to get the lead role all those years ago. Boyle had admitted then that he gave McGregor the impression that he was going to cast, but it eventually went to Leonardo DiCaprio, was who popular off Titanic (1997). The two only reconciled in 2009, and eight years later, this delightful sequel materialised.   

Movie Rating:

(Is this sequel to the 1996 cult movie worth the wait? You bet it is, and it will be enjoyed fully especially if you are a fan of the first film.)  

Review by John Li

Genre: Comedy
Director: Richie Keen
Cast: Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Christina Hendricks, Dennis Haysbert, JoAnna Garcia Swisher
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Sexual References)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 23 February 2017

Synopsis: On the last day of the year, mild-mannered high school English teacher Andy Campbell is trying his best to keep it together amidst senior pranks, a dysfunctional administration and budget cuts that put jobs on the line. But things go from bad to worse when he accidentally crosses his much tougher and deeply feared colleague, Ron Strickland, who challenges Campbell to an old-fashioned throwdown after school. News of the fight spreads like wildfire and ends up becoming the very thing this school, and Campbell, needed.

Movie Review:

Whoever gave the green light to make this comedy probably wasn’t expecting positive reviews. Productions like this are quick fixes: people pay money and step into the cinema to laugh at the lazily conceived jokes, forget what tough the real world outside the theatre is, and enjoy that two hours chuckling at scenarios which are never going to happen in real life.

Directed by Richie Keen and written by Van Robichaux and Evan Susser, this 91 minute works for anyone who isn’t in the mood for a movie that requires any sort of brain activity. The story takes place in a high school: on one side of the ring we have an earnest but cowardly teacher played by Charlie Day, on the other side we have Ice Cube portraying a perpetually angry and intense teacher who isn’t too pleased about losing his job. Through a series of unfortunate events, the two end up hating each other’s guts and a fight after the school day ends is arranged.

Please do not mistake this reviewer as a snob – he loves a hilarious comedy when he watches one. The highlight of this movie, however, seems to be the lineup of stars who have done better in their other projects.

Day (TV’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), is known for his roles in Horrible Bosses (2011) and voicing Benny the astronaut in The Lego Movie (2014). Here, he doesn’t do much except looking frightened and screaming in fear whenever he is bullied by Ice Cube. The rapper, on the other hand, frowns a lot and channels his fury into his thick brows (we prefer him in Barbershop and Are We There Yet? – anytime).

Elsewhere, Tracy Morgan (TV’s Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock) plays an incompetent gym coach, Jllian Bell (22 Jump Street) is mildly funny as a counsellor and Christina Hendricks (TV’s Mad Men) puts her assets to good use as an overdramatic, ahem, drama teacher.

The one and a half hours of jokes in this movie could have been broadcast on TV. While there are occasional laugh out loud moments, the movie recycles how its jokes are told and the result is a tedious comedy that relies more on physical gags than smart jokes. Not that it needs to anyway, granted the habits of casual movie goers nowadays. It feels like a wasted opportunity though, considering how the filmmakers could make use of the premise to comment on the education system.

And how did you think the movie would end? There’s a happy ending of course, with the two opposing individuals shaking hands and ready to improve things in the school. Oh, did we just give away spoilers? Come on, were you really expecting a story twist for a commercial comedy like this? As we speak, countless titles are in production and before you know it, the next one starring your favourite comedies will be showing at a big screen near you. 

Movie Rating:

(There is a scene of Charlie Day being dragged down a flight of stairs by a horse on meth – ‘nuff said)

Review by John Li

Genre: Drama
Director: Lasse Hallström
Cast: Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, K.J. Apa, John Ortiz, Juilet Rylance, Luke Kirby, Peggy Lipton, Pooch Hall
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.adogspurposemovie.com

Opening Day: 2 March 2017

Synopsis: Based on the beloved bestselling novel by W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog’s Purpose, from director Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, Dear John, The 100-Foot Journey), shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love. The family film told from the dog’s perspective also stars Dennis Quaid, Peggy Lipton, Britt Robertson, K.J. Apa, Juilet Rylance, Luke Kirby, John Ortiz and Pooch Hall.

Movie Review:

“Why am I here?”

“What is life all about?”

“What is the purpose of my existence?”

Since time immemorial, the meaning of life has been deliberated by many – great philosophers, thought leaders, acclaimed writers, etc. Existential crisis is nothing too foreign, and is an integral part of the human experience. But have you ever thought if animals would think about it too? Are you curious to know the sentiment of your pet dog? A dog deliberating about its purpose on earth (repeatedly) – that’s the narrative of this movie.

As you would have guessed, A Dog’s Purpose, as with many other dog-related titles, sells well. The novel not only topped the New York Time charts for the best-selling title for 49 weeks, it was also highly praised by animal experts. Similar success should be seen for the movie, since no one can really resist the cute fur animals. However, just prior to the film’s scheduled theatrical release at Los Angeles, a footage alleging animal abuse on the movie set was shared on TMZ (a popular celebrity news website).

It sparked quite an outrage, and even got the schedule postponed, but the scandal didn’t quite stop the reception at the ticket box office. As reported at end of February, the movie has already grossed $77.4 million worldwide, which is more than 3 times its production cost. This speaks volume for the movie. Additionally, independent third-party animal cruelty experts also took turns to speak up for the production, asserting that the video must have been deliberately edited to mislead public.

Beyond all these sensationalization of ‘news’, what the movie did achieve was to bring out the interactions between the dogs and its owners. Quite a significant population of people have a special affection with dogs, especially if they had owned one. So it was very fascinating to hear the dogs taking the first-person narrative about the human world.

While there are many movies out there like Hachiko and movies which personifies animals (Zootopia, The Secret Life of Pets – just to name a few), a dog’s purpose had a unique angle. With pun intended, it used the dog’s angle, i.e. point-of-view shot from the dog, to relay the story. It weaved in well with the story and the voiceovers by Josh Gad was brilliant. He definitely deserves credit having played an anchoring role, in bringing out the emotions so effectively and vividly. The adorable and irresistibly cute footages accented it too.

Another highlight of the movie was having the stories span across different time periods as the dog goes through the ‘incarnations’. From 1960s all the way to modern times, much detail was put into the artifacts. It may not be the award winning kind of cinematic sequence, but it was a neat ‘time travel’ through the different lives of a dog.

Regardless if you’re a dog person, you will enjoy this movie. Learning the human world through the mind of a dog was a refreshing concept. The ups and downs of the different dog lives may also trigger some good memories you have shared with your dog. In all, an endearing and heart-warming movie, perfect for a light-hearted watch!

Movie Rating:

(If you were ever curious of the mind of a dog, this is a must-watch for you!)

Review by Tho Shu Ling

Genre: Drama
Director: Sam Loh
Cast: Rebecca Chen, Melody low, Louis Wu, Sunny Pang
Runtime: 1 hr 22 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Content and Violence)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment and Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 23 February 2017

Synopsis: Mia, an ex-prostitute, is trapped in a loveless marriage with Quan, the butcher who runs a roast meat shop. Quan’s inferior complex due to his impotency has led to frustrations and outbursts, and Mia is the one who bears the brunt of Quan’s physical abuse. When Mia meets Wu, the suave and caring funeral director, the two lonely souls connect immediately. Their lust and desire for each other soon escalates into an affair that turns deadly.

Movie Review:

Earlier this week, at the gala premiere prior to Siew Lup’s official theatrical run, the CEO of mm2 Entertainment (the production company behind the film) took to the stage to promote the movie, touting it as one that attempts to fill the erotic-thriller niche in the local film market, which has been dominated by the likes of other genres such as comedy and horror. And why shouldn’t it, given the success of Hollywood’s Fifty Shades adaptations, he argues. He also noted that the audiences at the screening were mostly male, and exhorted them to bring their female counterparts and spread the word.

He is right on some counts. There hasn’t been a Singaporean movie quite like it in recent memory, except perhaps its predecessor Lang Tong靚汤; (Siew Lup is the second instalment of director Sam Loh’s planned femme fatale revenge trilogy) and the raunchy sex scenes are without a doubt gleefully audacious by local standards. But let’s not harbour any illusions – Siew Lup is, unabashedly a movie that panders to the male gaze and to suggest anything less would be disingenuous.

Sex sells of course, as evidenced by its earlier festival run, where it was the first among more than a hundred films to sell out at the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) last November, and there sure is a lot of sex in Siew Lup. And not just sex, but gratuitous violence; anyone vaguely acquainted with the culinary themes of Lang Tong (which translates loosely to “tasty soup”) and Hong Kong’s The Untold Story series (“人肉叉烧包” or literally “human flesh char-siew buns”) will no doubt already have an idea about the unsavoury origins of the roast meat in this film.

Much like with Lang Tong, the director has decided to cast first-time actresses as the female leads. Rebecca Chen (whose day job as a dancer pays off handsomely on the big screen in the form of her svelte curves and athletic physique) stars as Mia, who starts an affair with Wu (played by a broodingly dashing Louis Wu). Halfway in the film, Wu has a change of heart and falls for another girl, the terminally-ill but temperament-wise milder Xuan who appears serendipitously in his life. The latter is played by Melody Low, styled to look like some buxomly J-pop or K-pop-type ingénue who, let’s just say, also lets out some pretty choice noises during the sex scenes, reminiscent of the kind Japanese AV idols at work).say?

The decision to use fresh faces is not necessarily a good thing though, as the gulf in acting chops between the newcomers and the other more experienced actors is played out to stark effect. Chen, who arguably has the most challenging role in the movie, appears stiff and inexperienced next to her fellow actors. It’s a shame, because it would have been interesting to see her delve more deeply into her character’s journey from suffering ex-prostitute to indomitable femme fatale. Add the fact that her dialogue is unnaturally dubbed in a crisp Mandarin that doesn’t even sound like it’s from her voice, and the result is a wholly wooden and uninspiring performance.

On the other hand, the best acting goes to Sunny Pang, who plays Quan, the butcher husband of Mia. He manages to convey with nuance both frailty and brutality when a scene calls for it. Hardly surprising, considering he has had more than a decade of working in regional films over the past 10 years.

The problems with the film don’t end there though. The storytelling is poor and the filmmakers do not seem interested in creating realistic set-ups, making it difficult for audiences to truly invest themselves in the film. Just to list a few: in the film, characters seem to have difficulty keeping their doors locked, constantly inviting trouble for themselves; there’s a perverted voyeur on the loose in the film who seems to be omnipresent and ever ready with a recording device on hand to film Mia in the throes of passion; in the film’s universe, murders seem to have no legal consequences; towards the end of the film, one particularly incriminating piece of evidence of a murder is left around carelessly – of all places – on the floor; Xuan’s character is terminally-ill but it is never mentioned what she is suffering from – she certainly looks like she’s in the pink of health for the most part. The list could go on and on. Again, not helping is how artificial the dialogue is in general (one particularly cringeworthy line was spouted by Xuan - “one of my dying wishes is to be here with the person I love – just like this”).

In a post-Yangtze Cinema era when Singaporeans can get far more salacious content on the Internet for next to nothing, Siew Lup’s undifferentiated offerings of softcore sex and violently-procured roast meat is tantamount to asking moviegoers to part with good money in exchange for less. Still, Loh deserves some credit for the boldness of his vision and for his conviction in pushing the boundaries of local films. One can only hope the final macabre dish he serves in the trilogy will come with a bigger dollop of solid storytelling.

Movie Rating:

(If steamy softcore sex and gratuitous violence is your idea of a nice night out at the theatres, then go watch the movie. Just go in with zero expectations and don’t expect a storyline that makes sense)

Review by Tan Yong Chia Gabriel

Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Director: Steven Shainberg
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Peter Stormare, Michael Chiklis, Kerry Bishé, Lesley Manville, Ari Millen
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG13 (Disturbing Scenes and Coarse Languagee)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 2 March 2017

Synopsis: Renee Morgan (Noomi Rapace), a single mom who lives with her twelve-year-old son Evan in a quiet suburban home, is terrified of spiders. Unbeknownst to both, their every move is being observed. While running her daily errands her car breaks down and she is violently kidnapped by a group of strangers. About 24 hours later, in an anonymous laboratory, she is tied up and questioned about her medical history, including her great fear of spiders. Soon her captors explain to her that with her genetic abnormality can potentially allow her to RUPTURE in which her own alien nature can be released. Through the experience of one’s deepest fear (in Renee’s case spiders) causes this transforming her into her true self.

Movie Review:

‘Rupture’ may bill itself as science-fiction, but there is little science or fiction in this maddeningly silly tale. The title itself refers to a supposed transformation engineered by members of a cult, who believe that putting people at the centre of their fears causes their nervous system to ‘rupture’ and morph into a higher order of being. But you would not know that until almost at the end; indeed, for most of the time, all we see is Noomi Rapace’s single mum Renee held in captivity by a sinister cohort led by Michael Chiklis, British actress Lesley Manville and Hollywood’s go-to baddie Peter Stormare. Drugged to the eyeballs and kidnapped one day when she stops by the side of the road to investigate a mysterious blowout, Renee is strapped into a gurney, pumped with a strange red chemical from time to time, and exposed to the one thing she fears the most – spiders.

Not surprisingly, ‘Rupture’ unfolds singularly from Renee’s perspective – beginning from her quaint suburban home where she lives with her teenage son Evan (Percy Hynes White), to her ex-husband’s house where she drops Evan off before going skydiving, to her abduction midway during her ensuing drive, to her horror as she sees other prisoners who are held in the same abandoned office building turned makeshift medical facility, and last but not least to her escape attempt crawling through the building’s overhead ventilation shafts and charging down corridor after corridor to find a way out. Oh yes, despite a strong supporting cast, it is Rapace’s show through and through, playing out like a straight-out survivalist thriller as she tries to break free using no more than a penknife she happens to have on her and her wits before she is transformed or drugged to death, whichever comes first.

Renee’s own confusion over her circumstances is ours too, and she deserves credit for carrying the movie on her trademark mix of vulnerability and steel. Yet, although she eventually finds closure at the end of the one-and-a-half hours, the same cannot be said of us. Never mind that it takes a slow-burn approach to setting itself up, what truly irks is how underwhelming and ultimately pointless that whole build-up is. What is her ‘rupture’ for? Why do these people want her to ‘rupture’ in the first place? How does her ‘rupture’ change her or the rest of her captors? None of these questions are answered adequately, if at all, leaving one to wonder what the trouble was for. Yes, even if we are willing to overlook the obvious plot contrivances and the logical loopholes in between, the deeply unsatisfactory ending simply leaves one feeling underwhelmed, or worse exasperated.

Sans gratifying closure, what seemed to be an intriguing premise turns out to be a waste of a good set-up, and like we said at the start, neither good science nor fiction. That ‘Rupture’ is Steven Shainberg’s first film in a decade (since the fascinating BDSM satire ‘Secretary’ and the ambitious but flawed ‘Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus’) makes it even more disappointing, but the blame largely lies with the awful scripting by Brian Nelson (of ‘Hard Candy’ and ’30 Days of Night’ fame), who has disguised his exercise in torture-porn exploitation horror as low-rent science-fiction. Before you ‘rupture’ in disappointment or even disgust, let us warn you to stay away from this; oh yes, you’ll be much better off waiting for the next ‘Alien’ instalment this summer than letting ‘Rupture’ suck you into a vortex of curiosity, boredom and finally frustration. 

Movie Rating:

(A slow-burn exploitation horror that builds to nothing, this low-rent science-fiction is not even worthwhile as Saturday night home viewing)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Osgood Perkins
Cast: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, Lauren Holly, James Remar
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Brief Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaws 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 9 March 2017

Synopsis: In FEBRUARY, beautiful and haunted Joan makes a bloody and determined pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all girls prep school, where Rose and Kat find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. As Joan gets closer, terrifying visions begin plaguing Kat, while Rose watches in horror as she becomes possessed by an unseen evil force.

Movie Review:

‘February’ is nothing like your typical Hollywood horror movie, and we mean that in a good way. Otherwise known as ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ in some territories, actor-turned-writer-director Osgood Perkins’ feature filmmaking debut is really a slow-burn horror without cheap loud scare tactics or gratuitous gore, meaning that viewers looking for instant visceral gratification will probably find their patience tested.

Though divided into three chapters named after the three main female characters, ‘February’ largely unfolds as two parallel narratives in the dead of winter.

The first is anchored around Kat (‘Mad Men’s’ Kiernan Shipka) and Rose (Lucy Boynton), two students at a prestigious Catholic prep school for girls in upstate New York. Whereas other students have gone home for the winter break, Kat and Rose’s parents have apparently been delayed. Being the senior, Rose is assigned by the headmaster Mr Gordon (Peter James Haworth) to look after the freshman Kat. In truth, Rose has intentionally stayed behind in order to meet with a local boy (Peter Gray) to tell him that she is pregnant with his child; on the other hand, Kat’s opening nightmare of a crashed car might reveal some clues whether her parents are even coming.

The other follows Joan (Emma Roberts), a jumpy young woman who is first seen cutting off a hospital bracelet in a public bathroom and experiencing flashbacks of a psychiatric ward. As she waits outside a public bus station for transport to Bramford (which is also the name of the said Catholic school), Joan is offered a ride by a middle-aged man named Bill (James Remar), who happens to be travelling with his wife Linda (Lauren Holly) in the direction where Joan is headed. Linda is less welcoming of their new company, and along the course of the night, the couple’s emotional tensions will become clearer, and so too their suitcases in the trunk of the car as well as the flowers in the backseat.

The less you know about ‘February’ before watchin it the better, just so that you can discover what happens during the course of the night and in the next fateful morning to Kat and Rose as well as the same in a different time period to Joan. We will tell you this though – there is Demonic possession involved, so do steel your nerves for the supernatural. We will also reassure you that the two seemingly unrelated tracks do have a strong, perfectly logical, connection between them, so those thinking that the non-linear storytelling approach is no more than a gimmick can put those fears to rest. Rather than lay out its cards too early, Perkins takes his time to set things up, building tension and dread before revealing the full extent of the horror within.

That ‘February’ manages to get so effectively under your skin is also because of the excellent mise-en-scene. Between the dimly lit interiors and wintry exteriors is some truly atmospheric cinematography by Julie Kirkwood that uses backlighting to create a potently creepy mix of dark and shadow, and equally moody sound design by Allan Fung that alternates between periods of unnerving silence and Elvis Perkins’ spare atonal score. The impressive behind-the-camera work is also well complemented by three strong central female performances, each chillingly effective in their own respective – and very different – ways; in particular, Shipka and Roberts are genuinely unsettling as teenage girls taken by dark forces beyond their control.

Like we forewarned at the beginning, ‘February’ isn’t your typical Hollywood possession/ exorcism movie. Oh yes there are evil things at work here, but Perkins keeps them elemental, eschewing usual tendencies to reason and rationalise why and how bad things happen to some people. This isn’t your genre exercise in shock and awe, but rather an engrossing mystery that takes its time to unveil itself – and when it finally does, proves to be worth the wait all along. Being Perkins’ first film makes ‘February’ an even greater accomplishment, one that certainly bodes greater things ahead for no less than the son of Mr Norman Bates himself. 

Movie Rating:

(Brooding and suspenseful, this indie horror from first-time writer-director Osgood Perkins is a terrific slow-burn watch)

Review by Gabriel Chong