MovieXclusive.com -

TRAILER WATCH - PITCH PERFECT 3

Posted on 29 Sep 2017

Just when the Barden Bellas think they’re out, something pulls them right back into the whole singing-with-other-people-but-without-instruments game. Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, and Hailee Steinfeld (remember how she was in the last movie?) all return in the third installment of the Pitch Perfect franchise, where they go on a world tour, hit on soldiers, and consider leaving t ...

Genre: Comedy
Director: Milind Dhaimade
Cast: Barun Sobti, Shahana Goswami, Vishal Malhotra, Nakul Bhalla
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language & Sexual references)
Released By: Lighthouse Pictures & Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/tuhaimerasunday

Opening Day: 6 October 2017

Synopsis: A heartwarming story of five Sunday football friends trying to escape the madness of everyday life and their trysts to find happiness and love.

Movie Review:

What is your state of life now? Are you happy with it? And perhaps more importantly, what are you fighting for in life? Writer-director Milind Dhaimade asks those questions of his five middle-aged male protagonists in his feature filmmaking debut ‘Tu Hai Meera Sunday’ (or ‘You Are My Sunday’) but these are questions that we could as easily ask ourselves. But first, the movie gets its title from the quintet’s regular gathering of football at their favourite spot on Juhu Beach, a custom that is unexpectedly disrupted one particular Sunday when the nicest guy among them Arjun (Barun Sobti) invites an old man they accidentally knocked into to join them. Before their game is over, the said old geezer will kick the ball that lands squarely onto the head of the female President of the Juhu Citizens’ Association delivering a speech on the same beach, thereby causing the sport to be banned and the pals to be forced to look for another playing ground within the crowded city of Mumbai, which in itself is also a metaphor for what the movie tries to portray.

As Arjun opens up to the old man’s daughter Kevi (Shahana Goswami), we learn how the Berkeley and Indian Institute of Management graduate was once a high-flyer in the business world, before deciding to call it quits entirely to run his own business helping small- and medium-sized enterprises do sales and marketing. That he doesn’t have a place to call his own but bunks in with his sister and her family is of little concern to him; all that matters to him is that he leads a happy, carefree life. Contrast that to pent-up office worker Mehernosh (Nakul Bhalla), who puts up with a demanding boss during office hours and goes home to type anonymous ‘insult’ letters that he mails to the boss. What particularly irks him is how his boss abuses the office secretary Peppy (Pallavi Batra) whom he has an undeniable crush on. The rest, though not in the corporate world, have their own respective frustrations to contend with – Domi (Vishal Malhotra), a former musician turned party organiser, has to face up to an overbearing mother and an older brother now back from Dubai whom he holds a grudge against; Rashid (Avinash Tiwary) is a self-professed ‘ladies man’ whose womanising ways hide his own deep scar from a previous relationship; and last but not least, Jayesh (Jay Upadhyay) is constantly putting up with his large family and their raucous ways at home.

By the end of the movie though, each will be presented with an opportunity to turn their life around. Arjun and Revi will come to fall in love with each other, even though the former’s daftness will be a stumbling block before they eventually get together. Mehernosh will give his boss a due dressing-down, even though it comes at the expense of his job. Domi and his brother will come to peace with each other, thanks to the sunny charms of his new soon-to-be sister-in-law Vinta (Maanvi Gagroo) who encourages Domi to embrace his inner musician once more. Rashid will come to overcome his past with a divorcee Tasneem (Rasika Dugal) who lives downstairs with her two deaf sons. The turning point is a weekend getaway/ road trip to Goa, which will force them to confront what they already know about their own ‘stuck’ lives but have tried to avoid confronting head on. Through his characters’ vicissitudes, Dhaimade’s message here is simple but no less resonant – avoid letting yourself be caught by the daily grind of life, which is a very likely casualty of city life like Mumbai (or even say Singapore?), but be ever observant to seize the chances that life gives you to make a real change.

More than what it says, ‘Tu Hai Meera Sunday’ is an immensely enjoyable watch because of how it says what it wants to say. Dhaimade steers clear of melodrama and/or histrionics, opting instead for a cheerful, light-hearted tone most of time, which is in itself a reflection of his characters’ dispositions. At the same time, he keeps the comedy and drama in his movie nicely balanced, so that the laughs never do diminish the true-to-life challenges that each one of his characters is facing. Over the course of two hours, the movie’s characters are also given plenty of space to come into their own, and it is notable how fully realised they do become (with perhaps the exception of Jayesh) as well as how much you’ll come to embrace these individuals dealing with their coming-into-middle-age. Much of the movie’s charm also derives from the wonderful ensemble cast, whose sincere and charming performances make their characters come to life in delightful ways. The great chemistry among the leading quintet also embodies beautifully the camaraderie among the five 30-somethings, and their close friendship is where the movie often derives its heartfelt warmth.

Truth be told, we never expected to enjoy ‘Tu Hai Meera Sunday’ as much as we did. There are no immediately big recognisable Bollywood stars in this, which not only means that there are no showboating distraction but also that the focus is rightly on the characters than on the actors per se. It is to Dhaimade’s credit that the movie on the whole always feels real, authentic and grounded, thanks to deliberate choices in storytelling, characterisation and actual location filming in and around the streets of Mumbai. If ‘Slumdog Millionnaire’ presented a romanticised version of India, this is as honest an account as it gets about the middle-aged middle-class trying to find their purpose, footing and reason in life amidst the pressures of society as well as the sheer pace of change itself. No wonder then that the movie which has travelled to film festivals in US and UK has also been picking up a handful of audience choice awards along the way – there is a rare geniality, genuineness and good-naturedness that will easily win you over, and Sundays or otherwise, it will gladly make your day.

Movie Rating:

(As pleasing as Sundays are meant to be, this coming-into-middle-age story of five 30-somethings is a warm, sincere and genuine crowd-pleasing delight)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro
Cast: Takeru Satoh, Go Ayano, Tetsuji Tamayama, Yu Shirota, Yudai Chiba, Rina Kawaei, Minami Hamabe
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures & Encore Films
Official Website:

Opening Day: 12 October 2017

Synopsis: The destiny of trainee doctor Kei Nagai (Takeru Satoh) changed one day after a fatal accident. Moments after he was killed on the road, Kei suddenly came back to life on the spot, leading to the shocking discovery that he is an Ajin, a race of demi-humans who cannot be killed. Because of that, Kei is pursued throughout the country and eventually captured by the government. He is then held captive at a mysterious research facility, where he is subjected to inhumane experiments. There he encounters another Ajin named Sato (Go Ayano), who helps him. Kei soon finds out that Sato is a vengeful terrorist feared amongst both humans and Ajins, and has been plotting to overthrow the government at any cost. Though he is an Ajin, Kei rejects Sato’s extremist ideals and vicious methods, and wishes to be no part of their conflict. However, as Sato begins his shocking bid for power, Kei realises he must join the fight to end his violent campaign. What will be the outcome of a battle between these two demi-humans who can never die?

Movie Review:

Ajin is a real-life action movie of a manga series of the same name. The manga series was also adapted into anime, released in 2016. Ajin is a special race of humans who are immortal. They could also summon an invisible black matter, or ‘ghost’ as referred in the movie, which can go into combat mode along with the Ajin.

The movie is neatly structured into two story arcs. The first story arc sets up the narrative and introduces the key characters, Sato and Nagai. Both of them were kept captive at a government facility where extreme experiments were carried out on them. Sato escaped the facility before Nagai arrived, and came back along with his other Ajin comrades to rescue Nagai from the facility so he could join him on his mission against the government. However, Sato’s plan is one that is charged with vengeance and violence, which Nagai opposes to. Nonetheless, Sato took advantage of the hoo-ha they have created and expose the government’s dirty secret. He also set a challenge to the government which sent the nation to panic.

The crux of the narrative is provocative. While there’s practically no difference in the appearance of an Ajin and an average human being, Ajin is portrayed to be shunned away and feared when their identity is exposed. They’re a minority and kept away from the public. As they suffer from inhumane methods of experiment, it was readily accepted by the government in the name of progress and because they are immortal. However, what cannot be dismissed is that Ajins experience pain and trauma of such experiments. When it was exposed to the public by Sato, it also raises questions around ‘human rights’ – just because they are a special race, should they be ripped of the basic rights one should enjoy?

The movie scored high with its actions. For instance, within the first 30 minutes of the movie, once the context was set up, it launches into full action and effectively establish the difference in the combat style of an Ajin as opposed to a normal person. Since Ajins are immortal and regenerate once he/she dies, they can even employ self-harm methods to become whole again! That action-packed sequence was exhilarating. Even ex-AKB member Kawaei Rina deserves a special mention. Although she stands only at 1.52m, her agility and fearless delivery did not lose out to any of the male counterparts in the movie.

In its second story arc, the government sets up a special unit – ‘Tai-ai’ – a combat unit trained to deter the Ajin race. It brings the action to a whole new level and intensifies the atmosphere. If you’re curious, the action scenes were planned by the same team behind the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy, who have worked previously with Sato Takeru (acts as Nagai). His delivery in those intense action scenes is stellar. Ayano Go (acts as Sato) may not have been in the spotlight in past years, but he too has action experiences in Takashi Miike’s Crows Zero 2 and SF movie Gatchaman. Takeru and Go both aced their roles in this movie, not only in seamlessly delivering the action sequences, but also in the acting territory. Other than these lead characters, the supporting cast includes also recognizable actors like Chiba Yudai, Shirota Yu and Tamayama Tetsuji. They too added flavour and character to the movie.

Overall the movie is really high in entertainment value. Besides the narrative and action, the CGI of the black ghosts worked flawlessly with the real-life action. Coupled with the outstanding OST and sound effects, it enhances the entire cinematic experience. There hasn’t been such a gratifying watch in a while! With its plot twists and exciting sequences, it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat!

Movie Rating:

(Ajin is a highly entertaining and exhilarating action-packed movie. 109 minutes’ worth of gratifying watch!)

Review by Tho Shu Ling

Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Kelsey Asbille, Julia Jones, Graham Green
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:

Opening Day: 23 November 2017

Synopsis: From producers Basil Iwanyk (“Sicario,” “The Town”), Peter Berg (“Lone Survivor,” “Battleship”), and Matthew George (“LBJ”) comes the gripping thriller WIND RIVER. WIND RIVER is a chilling thriller that follows a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) who teams up with a local game tracker with deep community ties and a haunted past (Jeremy Renner) to investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of solving the her mysterious death. Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, WIND RIVER also stars Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, Julia Jones, Kelsey Asbille, and James Jordan.

Movie Review:

“How do you gauge someone’s will to live?” asks Cory, a cowboy hunter living in a mythical version of an American West that no longer exists. In fact, we don’t even know if this place full of “snow and silence” with no real rules, called Wind River ever did exist in the American West.

Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan (the scriptwriter for Hell or High Water and Sicario), Wind River demonstrates that Sheridan is more than just a good scribe. A well-paced and tense thriller, Wind River will keep you on captivated as you enter the world that are equal parts beautiful and brutal.

Wind River is heavy with symbolism right off from the start. When we first meet Cory (portrayed by Jeremy Renner), he is lying on his stomach in the snow, shooting wolves that have been preying on his sheep, being more protector and predator. On one of his hunting trips, he comes across the frozen corpse of a young woman (who we would have seen at the beginning of the film) who he recognises as the teenage daughter of his best friend, who similarly died under mysterious conditions. In comes newbie FBI agent, Jane Banner (portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen). Her rookieness is established from the outset when she enters the area so ill prepared that she needs to borrow snow gear from the closet of Cory’s late daughter, further fuelling the sense of grief handing over.

As Cory works with Jane to unravel the mystery of what happened to Natalie, he is forced to confront what happened to his own daughter. Sheridan handles the relationship between Jane and Cory deftly: They’re equals, but they also need and learn from each other.Thankfully, Sheridan doesn’t throw them together in a needless and awkward romance (just because every single film seems to see the need to do so for their protagonists who are co-dependent).

Renner is in good form here as the sensitive, protective Cory (which helps you forget that he was the Avenger with no real super power). He gives his most subtle and riveting performance in years. As a hunter, Cory is very much attuned to the terrain’s hostility which is etched more clearly in his heart due to a terrible event in his past and resolving the case of the frozen young woman becomes his way of mending his own hurt heart. Olsen does a creditable job too as a new officer, who though out of her comfort zone, keeps her cool even as things swirl around her in what must be an overwhelming manner to a rookie much akin to her being caught in the middle of a tornado.

However, Sheridan’s direction is not perfect. At times, the characters articulate too clearly what they’re thinking and feeling, most often in the exchanges between Cory and Martin, Natalie’s grieving father. Rather ironic given that they are supposed to be stoic men living in harsh snowy conditions. However, the words articulated are so heartfelt and have such deep truth, it is almost forgivable for those otherwise unnecessary exchanges. However, Sheridan’s film is just as, if not more, powerful during the quiet moments where the characters’ silence speaks volume.

Cinematographer Ben Richardson, helps create the rich visuals that allow Sheridan to show the harshness and indifference of this beautiful vast landscape towards everyone who walk through it. The pristine white snow is interrupted only by a snowmobile cutting through it to create a solitary path and you can hear the crunch of the snow as you imagine the bitter chill cutting you to the bone.

The one big flaw of the film though is how it spends a lot more time featuring white people when its closing title card marks it as a film concerned with the colonial injustice suffered by Native Americans. Rather than a film addressing political issues, Wind River would be more rightfully placed as a film addressing existential issues.

Movie Rating:

(Wind River is deeply captivating and well-paced, leaving you pondering about existential issues without being overly philosophical - also, you get to move past seeing Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye)

Review by Katrina Tee

AH BOYS TO MEN 4 IS TOP-SELLING ASIAN MOVIE OF 2017!

Posted on 27 Nov 2017

AH BOYS TO MEN 4 (新兵正传 IV)is breaking records again! The movie has surpassed the $4-million-mark in Singapore collecting SGD $4.3 million after 19 days of release (9 to 27 November). This puts the film as the best-selling Asian movie of the year, surpassing Jackie Chan’s Chinese New Year movie KUNGFU YOGA which collected SGD $3.65 million at the box office. ...

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Director: Jake Kasdan
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas, Rhys Darby, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Alex Wolff
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Rating: PG (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website:

Opening Day: 21 December 2017

Synopsis: In the brand new adventure "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," the tables are turned as four teenagers in detention are sucked into the world of Jumanji. When they discover an old video game console with a game they’ve never heard of, they are immediately thrust into the game’s jungle setting, into the bodies of their avatars, played by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan. What they discover is that you don’t just play Jumanji – Jumanji plays you. They’ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, or they’ll be stuck in the game forever…

Movie Review:

It first happened in August 2012 when we first heard that Jumanji was going to be reimagined and updated for today’s audiences. Together with the rest of the Internet, we did not think much of this piece of news. This was especially so when the remake was confirmed in August 2015 – too soon after the unfortunate demise of Robin Williams (Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb), who portrayed Alan Parrish in the 1995 movie.

For the uninitiated, the original movie directed by Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger) is about how young Alan Parrish gets trapped in a board game in 1969. Fast forward 26 years, a pair of siblings play the game and release the adult Alan. What follows is an unforgettable series of near death incidents involving wild animals and carnivorous plants. To a child who grew up in the 1990s, this action adventure which also starred Kirsten Dunst (The Beguiled) and Bonnie Hunt (Cars 3) was both exciting and terrifying.

One can understand why people were waiting to see how the 2017 movie is going to fail. Luckily for the filmmakers (and the movie studio), the standalone sequel is a fun ride.

The plot is a no brainer: we follow four teenagers as they get transported into the video game world of Jumanji, and they must conquer the game by playing as the characters they choose. Yup, and as the story goes, this is the only way the four of them can return to the real world.

Directed by Jake Kasdan (Sex Tape), this is the type of popcorn flick that requires viewers to be undemanding so that you can easily enjoy your time in the cinema. Running at 119 minutes, the movie is a winner because of the stars headlining the production. In this day and age, this approach is the most convenient way to sell an otherwise predictable product (you can expect everyone to be safe and happy when the end credits roll).

Who do we have here? All hail Dwayne Johnson (Baywatch), who aptly uses his smoldering intensity and megawatt smile to play an archaeologist and explorer in the game. This dude is a bona fide movie star. Then we have Jack Black (Bernie), who puts his comedy prowess on display by portraying a young girl trapped in a fat, middle aged cryptographer and paleontologist’s body. The serious film connoisseur may regard his scenes as cheap attempts at humour, but trust us – Black is a natural at inducing laughs. The fast talking Kevin Hart (Central Intelligence) is another member of the ensemble cast, and audiences can expect more jokes involving the short zoologist and weapons specialist. There’s also Karen Gilian (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) who plays a kickass female fighter, Nick Jonas (Careful What You Wish For) exuding heartthrob charm who plays a lost explorer and Bobby Cannavale (Ferdinand) who effortlessly plays a scheming villain.

Thanks to the advancement of CGI, the creatures in this movie are realistically created on screen. A hungry hippopotamus gobbles up a character, while a fleet angry rhinoceroses goes on a stampede. While the first movie induced some sort of fear (it may also be due to the fact that we were kids), this update is all about the laugh out loud moments, thanks to a charming ensemble cast led by a certain huge personality known as The Rock.

Movie Rating:

(Welcome to Jumanji and sit tight for an entertaining ride filled with solid laughs)

Review by John Li

Genre: Comedy
Director: Song Yang, Zhang Chiyu
Cast: Ma Li, Allen, Shen Teng, Tian Yu, Xue Haowen
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:

Opening Day: 12 October 2017

Synopsis: The story is about a self discovery journey when two person swop bodies after an accidental electric shock. Edison, who match-fixes for a living, and Maxiao, a principled sports journalist, dislike each other for every reason. After the body swop, they started to plot against each other, causing a “commotion” in the boxing world and revealed secrets of match-fixing in boxing games. They got into a lot of troubles. Finally, under the supervision of a Master, Zhang Zhuju, they start to fight back against the vicious powers using their fists.

Movie Review:

Allen Ai Lun and Ma Li may not be immediately recognisable names as say Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan or even Donnie Yen and Andy Lau, but the duo from the stage comedy troupe Mahua Fun Age handily beat their other celebrity counterparts to claim the box-office crown over China’s lucrative Golden Week holiday with their latest outrageous body-swap comedy.

Based upon their 2014 play of the same name, the premise has Ai Lun’s disgraced MMA fighter Edison switching bodies with Ma Li’s sharp-tongued sports journalist Maxia following a personal confrontation that results in them locking lips while falling into a rooftop swimming pool one stormy evening. It isn’t the most original conceit we’ll give you that – in fact, their earlier 2015 box-office hit ‘Goodbye Mr Loser’ had also employed a similar premise but within the same person’s younger and older selves – but spirited performances from both actors make this slapstick-driven laugh-fest mostly enjoyable from start to finish.

Broadly structured into three parts, the first third trades in the sort of gender-bending laughs you would expect from its very setup. Instead of the elegant sophistication we see in the first few scenes, Maxiao transforms into a loud, boorish and even tomboyish figure; on the other hand, Edison loses his self-confident poise and becomes an effeminate coward you’d love to dislike. Both actors do the obligatory coming-to-terms-with-their-predicament scenes with great comic timing – a montage that sees them return to where it started with taser batons in a vain attempt to reverse the course of lightning is thigh-slapping hilarious; so is another sequence where Edison exploits the gender of his physical body to enter a female-only spa for his own personal amusement.

Not all though is played for laughs; not only will Maxiao get to learn the less-than-savoury secrets of her MMA champion of a fiancée Wu Liang (Xue Haowen), she will also realise how she has been unwittingly complicit in his deceitful plan three years ago to ruin the reputation of then up-and-coming fighter Edison after intentionally breaking his left arm during their match.

Oh yes, it becomes clear early on that Wu Liang will be their mutual enemy, and to prepare herself – I mean, himself – to defeat Wu Liang in the ring, Edison will take the advice of his fight promoter Ma Dong (Tian Yu) and journey up to the mountain to find the master of the reclusive Curtain Lotus kung fu sect.

As convention would have it, their subsequent training with the Vice Master (Teng Shen) will involve seemingly ridiculous acts such as engaging in a staring death match with a hawk (that will last a couple of sleepless days and nights), attempting to slot flyers onto speeding vehicles along an expressway (hint: it doesn’t go on the windscreen), and last but not least deflecting two different types of coloured fish left and right with one’s palms while standing in the middle of a stream (ok, this one’s pretty clear that it’s about the reflexes). The middle act with its ‘mo lei tau’ jokes feels like it belongs better in a Stephen Chow comedy, but there are a couple of good bits here amidst an otherwise unnecessarily extended and altogether less than engaging detour into the wilderness.

In contrast, the final third sees the plotting go almost into overdrive, what with Edison staging a stunning comeback through a series of knockout wins to earn the climactic match against Wu Liang and the latter countering in his usual conniving ways in order to ‘fix’ his showdown with Edison. That piece de resistance set in the heart of Macau’s glamourous Studio City is quite thrillingly choreographed and staged, though purposely engineered to milk our audience sympathy for Edison before his expected triumph.

There are hardly any laughs to be found in this last stretch, which is supposed to drive home the message encapsulated in its title – especially in the last two fights, Edison gets plenty of bruising, battering and bloodying, but never yet yields to his opponent through sheer grit and inner steel. It must be said though that while the narrative certainly intended for him to be a formidable fighter, Allen’s consistently less-than-muscular physique means that there is a fundamental disbelief about his competency vis-à-vis clearly more well-toned challengers.

Compared therefore to ‘Goodbye Mr Loser’, their spiritual follow-up is somewhat less entertaining, no thanks to a strong start that is subsequently undermined by a sluggish middle and an overcompensating finish. There is punch and pace to the jokes and storytelling at the start, but first-time directors Song Yang and Zhang Chiyu seem unsure how to sustain the energy for the film’s entire length, eventually resorting to the sort of low-brow farcical humour that cheapens the movie and feels rather incongruous with its other true-to-life parts – and by that, we don’t mean the jokes where you know for sure were made squarely with the Mainland Chinese audience in mind (much like how some of the gags in our Jack Neo comedies won’t resonate with a non-Singaporean audience).

Like we said at the start, it is Ai Lun and Ma Li’s lively performances that ultimately sustain the film, especially in playing against gender stereotype following their body-swap. It hardly is a winner like their previous 2015 runaway hit, but neither is it a loser by any measure, so if you’re in the need for some broad laughs, this should do the trick.

Movie Rating:

(Not quite as consistently and refreshingly funny as their 2015 runway hit, Mahua Fun Age’s spiritual follow-up to ‘Goodbye Mr Loser’ nevertheless boasts some good laugh-out-loud moments and spirited performances by its gender-swapping leads)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Comedy
Director: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Cast: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jay Hernandez, Cheryl Hines, Peter Gallagher, Justin Hartley, David Walton, Christine Baranski, Susan Sarandon
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language and Sexual References)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:

Opening Day: 2 November 2017

Synopsis: A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS follows our three under-appreciated and over-burdened women as they rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for moms: Christmas. And if creating a more perfect holiday for their families wasn’t hard enough, they have to do all of that while hosting and entertaining their own mothers. By the end of the journey, our moms will redefine how to make the holidays special for all and discover a closer relationship with their mothers.

Movie Review:

No doubt looking to cash in on the surprise success of last year’s summer comedy ‘Bad Moms’, the original’s writer-director team Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have reunited the trio of Mila Kunis, Kirsten Bell and Kathryn Hahn for yet another serving of out-there raunchiness and deeply-felt emotion. And why not? Amidst the recent box-office doldrums for R-rated comedies, ‘Bad Moms’ counted as one of the rare bright spots, not only for crossing the US$100 million benchmark but also for being the first since the Lucas-Moore scripted ‘The Hangover’ to earn a solid ‘A’ CinemaScore. So these ladies are back for this holiday-themed sequel – which, as Kunis’ newly divorced Amy intones at the start of the movie, is the most harried occasion of the year for mothers, who struggle with the presents, the parties and the pressure to give their kids the Best Christmas Ever.

Whereas the first movie pitted these earnest but struggling parents against a cult of sanctimonious momsters, the sequel sets its sights on the complexities of each one of these characters’ relationship with their own mothers when the latter descend on their homes for the holidays. Amy has to confront her control-freak snob of a mother Ruth (Christine Baranski), who upsets her plan to have a mellow Christmas by turning the front yard of her house into a ’12 Days of Christmas’ display and throwing a huge party at her house on Christmas Eve with no less than Kenny G for entertainment. Bell’s chippy Kiki has to contend with her pathologically clingy mother Sandy (Cheryl Hines), who turns up at her place wearing a jacket with her face on it, sneaks into her room to watch her fall asleep at night, and last but not least secretly buys the house next door to be closer to her. On the other hand, Hahn’s potty-mouthed working stiff Carla comes face-to-face with her dope-smoking, free-wheeling and free-loading mother Isis (Susan Sarandon), who has no qualms flirting with her sweet new stripper boyfriend Ty (Justin Hartley).

Because each bad-mom-of-a-bad-mom is different from the other, each set of mother-daughter tensions is largely expressed, negotiated and resolved independent of the other. This also means that Kunis, Bell and Hahn spend a lot more time apart than together compared to the earlier film, which in itself deprives the movie from one of its most fundamental sources of mirth. It’s one thing to have these girls turn to each other for emotional support whenever things at home seem too much to bear, but quite another altogether to have them work against a common enemy. Without that unity of purpose, the joy of seeing these three talented actresses share the screen is limited to their occasional bouts of slo-mo drunken misbehaviour, such as lap-dancing with a mall Santa and stealing a Christmas tree from footwear retailer Lady Foot Locker.

Rather than their combined chemistry, the laughs here come mostly from the scene-stealing Hahn. An impromptu dodgeball game that sees her use her slow-witted teenage son (Cade Cooksey) as a shield is hilarious; ditto her meet-cute with Ty at the spa where she works which sees them exchange conversation about the waxing of intimate male body parts while in the midst of giving him a full Brazilian. Hahn’s scenes with Sarandon are also by far the most interesting among the three mother-daughter duos, the former reacting with a hilarious mix of bewilderment and resignation as she finds her character’s slovenly ways met with an even more severe display of irresponsibility. It is a pity too that there isn’t more of them together, or more of Sarandon for that matter, for they are simply a hoot whether singly or collectively.

Even then, this fast-tracked follow-up isn’t even close to being as funny as its predecessor, nor is it as affecting. You can feel the strain as it piles on the expletives and leans heavily on the sight gags – such as having Kunis wear a prosthetic nose a la Ebenezer Scrooge while going carolling door-to-door (that former nemesis Christina Applegate remarks in a brief cameo looks like a pe**s), or putting Baranski, Sarandon and Hines at a Sky Zone trampoline park trying to one-up each other. You can recognise the attempt to inject heart into the shenanigans, especially in the contrived but nonetheless moving final act that sees each one of the three pairs of mothers and daughters make up in time for Christmas Day. But the material is hardly as inspired, and ultimately compensated by the sheer female comedic talent assembled, including the new trio of mothers’ mothers that could very well belong in a spinoff of their own. It certainly isn’t bad, especially if you’re looking for some undemanding holiday fare, but coming off the wacky exuberance of ‘Bad Moms’, you’re inevitably expecting a lot more underneath the attractive wrapping.

Movie Rating:

(This fast-tracked holiday-themed sequel cannot escape the fate of diminishing returns, but there is still enough mirth, cheer and heart to leave you in a jolly mood)

Review by Gabriel Chong