Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Noh Dong-seok
Cast: Gang Dong-won, Kim Eui-sung, Han Hyo-joo, Kim Sung-kyun
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG13
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 8 March 2018
Synopsis: A kindhearted and hardworking delivery man (GANG) is meeting up with an old friend when a car explodes nearby. In the blink of an eye, he becomes the prime suspect for the assassination of an presidential candidate, and as he is forced to run, he finds himself trapped in a wide-reaching political conspiracy.
Movie Review:
Golden Slumber is based on a Japanese novel of the same name. The popular novel was first published in 2007, and not only won a book prize, but was also made into a Japanese movie and stage play in 2010 and 2016 respectively. What’s interesting to note is it’s reported that actor Gang Dong-won first took notice and interest in the novel and proposed it to the production company. Subsequently, the director adapted the material fittingly to suit the taste of the Korean audiences. The movie had indeed attracted much footfall to the cinemas in South Korea, with 1.3 million audience in attendance in just 12 days.
The story centres Gun-woo, a seemingly ordinary delivery man who is reliable and kind. He was even featured on TV for bringing saving a pop star. One day, he was coincidentally lurking around the area where a car exploded, and things escalated quickly as he became the prime suspect for the assassination of a presidential candidate. Not only was there evidence proving his involvement in the crime, the incident received high media attention as it’s been reported as a terrorist attack. However, Gun-woo quickly discovers that the video footages are fabricated as he had not done those things as reported on TV. He was put into panic mode and was forced to be on the run.
The movie has got a blend of everything – from the themes of drama and kinship, to politics and authoritarian government. However, that’s also a flaw of the movie as each of these topics is not explored with depth. For instance, it brought out a shallow examination and critique of the power of (controlled) media, then quickly moved on to trust and betrayal in friendships. While it has chosen the right themes to be talking about, the movie seemed to have lacked a focal point.
Nonetheless, the stellar cast did up the watchability of the movie. The role of Gun-woo is helmed by award winning actor, Gang Dong-won. He might not have been appeared often on television drama series, he’s been concentrating on his development on the silver screen. Dong-won has successfully brought out the complex feelings that Gun-woo has experienced through the ongoing drama.
Additionally, the expect the cameo appearance of Kim You-Jung, Choi Woo-Sik, and Jung So-Min too. In particular, the action sequence involving Jung So-Min came as a sweet surprise. So-Min has been involved in comedy dramas like Playful Kiss (2010), The Sound of Your Heart (2016) and rose in popularity over the years. Seeing her play a role out of the genre of comedy came as refreshing. Many of the characters are not found in the original novel, which was intentional as the director already had the vision to adapt it more to address the Korean appetite.
Although the movie was off to a good start by building the action and suspense to the movie, it couldn’t last to finish. Having to cramp so much into the 108-minute sequence also became a bit disengaging towards the end. Nonetheless, the star spotting game and Dong-won’s performance made the watch a bit more meaningful.
Movie Rating:
(Even though this movie was started with a great ambition and creative vision, the execution of it didn’t come close)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
SYNOPSIS: After a transmutation gone wrong, both brothers lost parts of themselves. They want them back but there's a price.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Fullmetal Alchemist is a live-action film of popular manga series of the same name. The manga has also been adapted into two series of animes - Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009). This manga series is among one of the most successful, achieving both critical and commercial success. The movie follows the first 4 volumes of the original manga series, where Edward Elric (played by Ryosuke Yamada) and younger brother Alphonse (voiced by Atomu Mizuishi) go on a quest to find the legendary philosopher’s stone, which could help bring back their bodies.
The story is set in the beginning of the 20th century, at a fictional country of Ametris. The brothers committed a taboo act of trying to perform a human transmutation to bring back the deceased mother who died of illness. But because of the Law of Equivalent Exchange in alchemy, they suffered severe consequences - Alphonse lost his physical body and Edward lost his left leg. In order to save Alphonse’s soul, Edward loses another arm to seal Alphonse’s soul on an armour. Subsequently, Edward replaces his limbs with automail (mechanical prosthesis) by childhood friend Winry Rockbell (played by Tsubasa Honda). Edward becomes a state alchemist, with title “Fullmetal Alchemist”.
The film is directed by Fumihiko Sori, and features an all-star cast, including Ryosuke Yamada (Edward Elric), Tsubasa Honda (Winry Rockbell) and Dean Fujioka (Roy Mustang). The development of the film was originally planned for earlier, but was delayed because of budget and technology constraints. But the wait was definitely worthwhile, seeing how Alphonse (full CGI) is seamlessly integrated to the movie. According to the director’s statement, the technology employed in this movie is what’s used in Hollywood movies like the Avengers. That indeed brought the bar higher in terms of the quality of CGI used in Japanese movies, and enhances many of the action scenes as well. It is undoubtedly a highlight of the movie.
Apart from the seamless use of CGI, what’s applaudable about the movie is it retaining most of the material from the original. It definitely makes it to one of the best manga adapted screenplays. While there are still differences (check out the full list here), they can be considered fine tuning to make the material suit better for a movie. Further, the cast that have most scenes with Alphonse probably have it the toughest - since Alphonse is fully CGI and they would need to act with an invisible character! But both Ryosuke Yamada and Tsubasa Honda, who played most closely with Alphonse, have proved to have no problem in delivering their roles. In fact, Ryosuke has shown much growth and maturity in his acting, a leap from his first main movie role in the Assassination Classroom series.
Although there is so much good to shout about the movie, the reception of the movie is surprisingly divided. There are even petty comments which question why Japanese cast are used for foreign characters… But please, it just seemed like people forgot that the creator of the manga is Japanese, and that the story and its backdrop are fictional! If that’s really a valid concern, other series like the Black Butler and The Saga of Tanya the Evil which also have foreign sounding characters, ought to be scrutinised the same way. While there may be people who find it strange having Japanese talking in their ‘non-Japanese’ roles, the bottom line is the movie did its original justice and didn’t introduce any ‘Japanese’ element which could threaten the integrity of the story.
To seal the deal, the selection of the locations was thoughtful and the panoramic views are simply beautiful, transporting you to the fantasy world of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Most of the movie is shot in Italy, with selected scenes done in Japan. It was a shame that there wasn’t a theatrical release in Singapore, because it would have been an absolute joy to watch it on the big screen!
MOVIE RATING:
(It’s a pity that audiences in Singapore don’t get to watch this movie on the big screens. Highly recommended to watch in 4K HD on Netflix – make full use of it!)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Alfred Molina, Ed O’Neill, Sean Giambrone, Flula Borg, Timothy Simons, Ali Wong, Hamish Blake, GloZell Green, Irene Bedard, Kristen Bell, Jodi Benson, Auli‘i Cravalho, Jennifer Hale, Kate Higgins, Linda Larkin, Kelly Macdonald, Idina Menzel, Mandy Moore, Paige O’Hara, Pamela Ribon, Anika Noni Rose, Ming-Na Wen
RunTime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: http://disney.com/ralphbreakstheinternet
Opening Day: 22 November 2018
Synopsis: In “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” video-game bad guy Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) leave the comforts of Litwak’s arcade in an attempt to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the internet where they rely on the citizens of the internet—the Netizens—to help navigate their way. Lending a virtual hand are Yesss (voice of Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site “BuzzzTube,” and Shank (voice of Gal Gadot), a tough-as-nails driver from a gritty online auto-racing game called Slaughter Race, a place Vanellope wholeheartedly embraces—so much so that Ralph worries he may lose the only friend he’s ever had.
Movie Review:
‘Wreck It Ralph’ saw the titular video-game’s bad guy go on an epic hero’s journey, and for the most part was steeped in a 1980s nostalgia that probably only its adult audience would appreciate. But the 2012 release also established the sarcastic ‘Sugar Rush’ racer Vanellope von Schweetz as the game’s long-lost princess, and as unlikely as she might have seemed a Disney princess, it was precisely how it had subverted the wholesome, kid-friendly mould of singing princesses which made it so fun and endearing.
As an example of how this sequel takes the spirit of irreverent fun even further, ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ has a sequence where Vanellope runs into the entire bevy of other Disney princesses. While the rest are at first wary of how un-princesslike she is (no weird clothes, no animal companions, and no singing), they eventually embrace her for being one of them, on account that people assume her problems were solved because a big, strong man showed up. Oh, Vanellope also proceeds to teach them the value of wearing comfortable clothes (t-shirts anyone?), and that encounter sets her on a path towards her own inevitable maturation.
But first things first, how does an arcade video-game character get into the World Wide Web? The answer is as simple and as existential as the survivial of the 'Sugar Rush' video game machine, which owing to a broken steering wheel, could very well be unplugged forever. The replacement, as Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) learn, is on something called eBay, so both cast themselves via Wi-Fi in order to it down. Blame it on monotony really: six years since the end of the first movie, while Ralph is enjoying life in Litwak’s arcade, Vanellope hankers for more. More significantly, that desire to grow and change will lead to a devastating rift between Ralph and Vanellope, especially as Vanellope becomes enamoured with a free-to-play violent racing game named ‘Slaughter Race’ and decides to make permanent her stay in the world of the Internet.
At its core, this is really a buddy movie that explores the nature of close friendships. After accidentally overhearing a conversation between Vanellope and ‘Slaughter Race’s’ best racer Shank (Gal Gadot), Ralph becomes worried that he might lose his best friend to the Internet. That deep-seated sense of insecurity prompts him to release a virus capable of unleashing a DDoS attack that will eventually, you guessed it, break the Internet. Parents be warned: the climax, which sees a whole swarm of tiny Ralphs combine to form a King Kong-like mega monster to destroy the sprawling metropolis that the Internet is depicted as, is genuinely unsettling, and you might want to cover your children’s eyes.
Still for the most part, the Internet is seen as a cheerfully teeming city where each of the big Internet brands occupy sizeable real estate – what with eBay rendered as a massive auction floor, videosharing service BuzzTube as a crowded hall with people begging for likes and Google as the equivalent of the Empire State Building. A search engine is an information desk manned by a egg-shaped chatterbox with an overenthusiastic auto-fill, and pop-up ads are miniature billboards wielded by panhandlers who shove them in your face until you click on them or push them away. It is to the credit of directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston that there is almost too much to fully appreciate in just one viewing, especially how they have filled each frame with inside jokes, memes and references to online culture.
Like we’ve previously described, it isn’t just all sheen and gloss, and within the bounds of a PG animation, both Moore and Johnston also depict the ills of the Internet. Notably, after putting down a ridiculous bid amount for the steering wheel, Ralph and Vanellope have to find some way of raising the cash, and the former turns to BuzzTube’s fast-talking head algorithm Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) for advice on how to be an internet sensation. While trying to retain his popularity against cat videos, Ralph stumbles upon a whole litany of nasty comments from Internet users, and his emotional devastation will resonate with anyone who’s ever been the subject of trolls and harassment. Just as unsavoury is the dark web, which Ralph is led to by a shady pop-up ad (Bill Hader), depicted here as a warren of dilapidated buildings and smashed pieces of web 1.0.
That said, even as it portrays the unsavoury parts of the Internet and packs a cautionary tale within, the movie for the most part remains an Easter Egg-filled movie with delightful pop culture references, including and especially that belonging to the House of Mouse (watch out for Vanellope’s encounter with Iron Man and Stormtroopers). No matter which demographic you belong to, ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ is a richly imagined sequel that is ambitious in its conceptualisation of something as wild, wacky and weird in the Internet. It is also beautifully animated by the way, and surprisingly clever both in terms of its meta-jokes and thematic sophistication. Like the Internet therefore, it has something for everyone, although in this case, it’s ultimately very much for the better.
Movie Rating:
(Ambitious, beautifully animated and surprisingly clever, this richly imagined sequel portrays both the wonders and ills of the Internet through a poignant buddy movie)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Buck Ferguson (Josh Brolin), famous for hunting whitetail deer, plans a special episode of his hunting show around a bonding weekend with his estranged son, Jaden (Montana Jordan). With trusted - but hapless - cameraman and friend Don (Danny McBride) in tow, Buck sets out for what soon becomes an unexpectedly epic adventure of father-son reconnection in the great outdoors.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter stars man-of-the-year, Josh Brolin (who of course just graced two blockbusters, Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 on the big screen) and Danny McBride who also co-wrote this with director Jody Hill (Eastbound & Down, Observe and Report).
Alpha-male Buck Ferguson (Brolin) who has been separated from his wife for two years, is fast losing the affection of his 11-year-old son, Jaden (Montana Jordan from Young Sheldon) to his wife’s boyfriend, Greg who has no problem bestowing anything to the boy including an automatic pistol.
Together with his trusty cameraman, Don (McBride), TV personality and whitetail hunter Buck is reconnecting with Jaden on a weekend hunting trip in the rural. Jaden however has zero interest in the rituals of hunting, preferring to talk on the phone with his girlfriend, listening to music, playing his guitar and crashing an ATV.
Even with a brief 83 minutes runtime, The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter struggles to make an impact. The father-and-son relationship in particular comes off as predictable and weak despite Brolin working his ass off in the role of an old-fashioned, no-nonsense, desperately seeking his son’s admiration father. Buck in other words is a man lost in the concrete jungle but blessed with a Winchester and nature, he is a gifted hunter.
McBride plays the suffering partner of Buck who long to be recognized for his efforts but his character is relegated to a mere sidekick who spout the occasional jerk-off joke and a chuckling revelation of his girlfriend.
The indie comedy which supposedly been sitting on the shelf until Netflix came to its rescue is also a weak satire on the American gun and hunting culture even though there is potentially lots of material to milk from. The funniest gag in the end turned out to be just the promotional trailers Buck has shot for his hunting videos in glorious VHS quality.
The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter could have been a much better polished comedy on the small screen but as it turned out, it’s not much of a difference in terms of mileage from the Sandler/Happy Madison productions which you constantly get from Netflix. Stream this only if you can’t enough of Brolin’s brilliant acting.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
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THE THIRD MURDER (三度目の殺人) is the biggest winner in the 41st Japan Academy Film PrizePosted on 03 Mar 2018 |
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ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS 2018Posted on 04 Mar 2018 |
SYNOPSIS: An ancient tomb. Booby traps. Endless swarms of vicious spiders. To find her brother, she'll face all of it head-on.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Chinese star Li Bingbing reunites with her Transformers: Age of Extinction co-star Kelsey Grammer in this horribly generic co-production between Australia and China.
Also known as 7 Guardians of the Tomb, Li and ex-pop idol Wu Chun plays a pair of siblings, seemingly at odds but actually loves each other, you know liked any other siblings in real-life. So when Wu’s Luke went missing after an expedition gone wrong in the Gobi desert, Li and the CEO of Biotech Corporation, Dr. Mason (Grammer) decides to pull together a team including rescue specialist, Jack (Twilight’s Kellan Lutz), local guide Chen (Jason Chong), logistics expert Milly (Stef Dawson) and driver Gary (Shane Jacobson) to travel to the site to locate Luke and his partner.
Directed and written by Kimble Rendall who brought you another B movie, Bait which had sharks swimming in a supermarket years ago decides to deal with funnel web spiders in a 200BC built Chinese Emperor’s tomb this time round. With an underground tomb, exotic desert location, booby traps and creepy critters, Guardians of the Tomb reminds one of the incredibly cheesy but entertaining Brendan Fraser’s franchise, The Mummy one and two except Guardians lacks the excitement and soul to make you root for the heroes.
Of course Li Bingbing is 100% game on in tackling her part as a creepy-crawly expert and her English is surprisingly good. Kellan Lutz is O’Connell and Indiana Jones rolled into one and his physique is more than convincing enough to kill a few spiders even though they are done in post-production. Wu Chun appears only in the prologue and near to the end so his fans might want to dial down their expectations. And without a doubt, Grammer’s character is far more sinister than the gigantic CGI spider.
Despite a busy screenplay that churned out an electrical storm, a crumbling bridge and a couple of mummified bodies, Guardians simply couldn’t find the momentum and thrill to last even for a brief 90 minutes. The dialogue is stilted; the reason for finding an ancient elixir is a poor excuse and the frequent close-ups on the CGI creatures are absolutely pointless. To be fair, the production values on display are pretty presentable unfortunately that’s about all we could recommend for this lifeless adventure.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: José Padilha
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl, Eddie Marsan, Nonso Anozie
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: PG13
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 22 March 2018
Synopsis: Inspired by true events, Entebbe, directed by award-winning filmmaker José Padilha (Elite Squad), centers around the 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139 en route from Tel Aviv to Paris, and the daring rescue mission that followed. With only a week to comply with the terrorists’ ultimatums, Israel must make the critical decision: negotiate or launch a seemingly impossible rescue attempt. Starring Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl and Eddie Marsan, Entebbe spotlights the harrowing human story behind the global crisis that changed history.
Movie Review:
‘7 Days in Entebbe’ could – and should – have been a tense fact-based crisis-and-rescue drama like Steven Spielberg’s ‘Munich’, Paul Greengrass’s ‘United 93’ and Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’. Alas Brazilian-born director Jose Padilha’s retelling of one of the 1976 German-Palestinian hijacking of an Air France plane grows turgid and enervating precisely when it should become more thrilling, losing what interest, empathy and momentum it had quite so nicely built up over its first two acts. Not only does he botch the depiction of one of Israel’s most acclaimed military operations, Padilha ends up missing the opportunity to paint a nuanced portrait of the radicalist/ extremist complex, even as he repeatedly, though bluntly, underscores how negotiation is ultimately the non-negotiable solution of the seemingly intransigible Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
To his credit, Padilha fails precisely where he has chosen to be innovative. His movie opens with a snippet of a performance by the Israeli dance troupe Batsheva Dance Company of noted Israeli choreographer’s 1990 work called ‘Kyr’, in which several dancers clad in generic black suits and seated in a semicircle explode in sequence from left to right out of their seats onto their feet, even as one of their members repeatedly collapses to the floor in a heap. Although seemingly at first a move that ruins the symmetry of the arc, the intent of that is precisely on the expectation of conformity, and is itself intended by Padilha as a metaphor to question Israel’s longstanding position of not negotiating with terrorists and whether it is necessary to accommodate exceptions to the norm.
As poetic as that may sound on prose here, the effect of watching that same performance intercut with the climactic special forces military operation led by Yonatan Netanyahu (Angel Bonanni), older brother of future prime minister Benjamin, is a disaster. Oh yes, like the dance, the operation itself requires intricate choreography, but cutting back and forth between the two completely takes you out of what is supposed to be the most gripping moment of those seven days. What you end up seeing are snippets of the rescue itself, which makes it impossible for you to be in the moment with the brave men who mounted an extremely risky mission back in the days when you couldn’t yet make use of satellites to have real-time visual of a remote location. Although we do see interludes of this same dance throughout the course of the film, they are only sparingly employed, and the effect of cross-cutting it with the climax is terribly distracting and utterly misguided.
That is singularly the most fatal flaw in an otherwise reasonably engaging dramatization of the events over the week of the kidnapping told from two key perspectives. The first is through the German terrorists, Brigitte Kuhlmann and Wilfried Böse (Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl), who agreed to assist the Palestinians as much to free their other imprisoned Baader-Meinhof comrades as to make a statement that the Zionists have become the world’s most prominent Fascist state. As the days go by, both Wilfried and Brigitte will come to question their own convictions, especially vis-à-vis that of their fellow Palestinian hijackers. “You are here because you hate your country,” one of the Palestinians says. “I am here because I love mine.” Telling the story through the eyes of the Germans isn’t so much to garner sympathy for them as it is to show how the motivations of terrorists are ultimately rooted in their sense of identity, whether to religion or to country, and how textured that may be.
The other perspective we get is that within the Israeli cabinet, where the then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin (Lior Ashkenazi) agonises if and how to break with the tradition that Israel doesn’t negotiate with terrorists, and along with that whether to go along with the risky operation proposed by his defence minister Shimon Peres (Eddie Marsan). Even though the outcome is well known, the debate in itself is decently suspenseful to watch, and the fact that the decades of history since the discrete event has not yielded any hope of peace between the Israelis and Palestinians also underscores the truism behind Yitzhak’s exhortations that Israel needs to find a way to talk to the other side. That is conveyed a lot clearer than Wilfried and Brigitte’s ideological sympathies and how those shift over the same period, which Bruhl and Pike never quite get a firm enough handle of.
Indeed, besides destroying what should be a riveting high-point of the crisis, ‘7 Days in Entebbe’ just doesn’t have sharp enough focus of its two key characters from whose points-of-view it wants to tell the story – and it doesn’t help that Gregory Burke’s screenplay leaves them uttering such clunky lines as “I want to throw bombs into the consciousness of the masses”. On paper, the team assembled for this project looked highly promising: Padilha’s credits include the hijacking documentary ‘Bus 174’, and Burke wrote the tense effective ‘’71’ about the Belfast troubles. Yet their collaboration muddles an otherwise fascinating story by failing to figure out what exactly it wants to say about the German characters, before reducing heroism to theatrics. Truth be told, it sets up its own disappointment, and as admirable as its ambition may have been, that’s not quite enough to excuse its missteps.
Movie Rating:
(By dancing around literally and figuratively around its compelling subject and character matter, '7 Days in Entebbe' turns what could and should be a tense fact-based crisis-and-rescue drama into an enervating theatrical affair)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director: Wong Chun-chun
Cast: Fiona Sit, Ivy Chen, Janine Chang, Mike Tyson
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: TBA
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 22 March 2018
Synopsis: A bachelorette weekend party spins out of control when three friends wake up naked on a beach — two of them handcuffed to a locked briefcase. They soon become the target of local gangsters as they try to retrace their drunken steps and make it back home.
Movie Review:
We’re not quite sure what prompted director Barbara Wong to turn the sequel of her modest 2014 relationship comedy hit ‘Girls’ into a remake of ‘The Hangover’ and ‘The Hangover: Part II’, but that’s essentially what the long-delayed ‘Girls Vs Gangsters’ (otherwise known as ‘Girls 2’) is.
The similarities are glaring. Swapping Vegas for Vietnam, Wong has transplanted those of her characters from her earlier movie whose cast have (not quite so wisely) opted to return into a mystery that begins with a bachelorette night gone wrong. Cue the hard night of drinking, the dazed-and-confused morning after, the subsequent time unpicking what happened the night before, and even Mike Tyson’s fictionalised version of himself with a few cultural tweaks to get past the Chinese censors. Only the tiger and the baby doesn’t seem to have survived the translation.
For what it’s worth, Yang Qishan had chosen not to sign on for this sequel, so her character Xiamei is only ever mentioned but never seen, apparently off at a film shoot somewhere in the country. Ditto the original’s Shawn Yue, whose character Qiao Li is only present as a plot device to give the girls an excuse to travel to Vietnam in the first place, as well as flimsy reason for fiancée Xiwen (Ivy Chen) to express her insecurities and have her ‘sisters’ rally around her. Oh yes, it is Qiao Li and Xiwen’s upcoming nuptials that the feisty Kimmy (Fiona Sit) and her egotistic mortal enemy Jialan (Ning Chang) are supposed to be celebrating, with Qiao Li’s taciturn younger sister Jingjing (Wang Shuilin) along for the ride.
Wasting no time to get into the shenanigans, the quartet of Kimmy, Jialan, Xiwen and Jingjing find themselves at the house party of a wealthy mobster (Tran Bao San) on their very first night in Vietnam. Before they find themselves naked on the beach with no memory of how they got there, Kimmy will have gotten herself inebriated enough to eat a dead scorpion and misplace her host’s heirloom ruby ring. There’s also the question of whose briefcase full of gold bars Kimmy and Jialan find themselves handcuffed to, and the fact that Jingjing is nowhere to be found. Without asking where Kimmy had found her handphone, she receives an anonymous call threatening Jingjing’s life unless they spend the entire wealth in gold within the next 24 hours.
What follows is, unsurprisingly, a series of comic set-pieces in and around Ho Chi Minh City, including a vehicular chase that continues on water in motorised sampans, a stopover at a church for love offerings that leads to Xiwen kissing a dead person and last but not least, a God-of-Gamblers spoof that sports a cut-rate Chow Yun Fat lookalike. None of the aforementioned are even mildly amusing, and the same can be said of the bunch of colourful supporting characters that the girls meet along the way – among them, the mobster’s busty henchwoman (Elly Tran), a bunch of beaten-up male strippers, and last but not least Tyson’s Korean-pop-culture-loving former boxing champ Dragon. It is patently obvious how the film is straining to be funny, and the frenetic editing from sequence to sequence as well as the actresses’ perpetually exaggerated expressions also emphasise how painfully unfunny the gags are.
In fact, we dare say that ‘Girls Vs Gangsters’ is a surefire contender for one of the worst films of the year. Not only do the jokes fall flat on every level, the filmmaking is simply horrendous – there is little logic or continuity in the story; the scenes are haphazardly composed and shot; the action choreography is laughable; and the CGI looks like it was stuck in the 90s. Not even some last-ditch effort to inject sentiment into the cartoonish proceedings can save the film from itself, so those hoping this to be some affirmation of sisterhood or even female empowerment can ditch those expectations.
Like we said at the start, we’re not sure what made Wong think that it was a good idea to slavishly copy ‘The Hangover’, or for that matter, them R-rated female-oriented comedies cast from the same mould. Either way, she is grossly out of her depth here, and for those who loved her earlier works like ‘Break Up Club’, ‘Girls Vs Gangsters’ confirms that Wong should probably stick to simple and straightforward stories around her signature themes of relationships and friendships. Unless you just want some eye candy (in particular of Fiona Sit and Ning Chang) or are tickled by the thought of an effeminate Tyson, you’ll do well to avoid this sheer and utter misfire.
Movie Rating:
(An unabashed copy of 'The Hangover', this painfully unfunny comedy is a classic example of incoherent scripting, shoddy direction, hysterical acting, poor action choreography and laughable CGI all rolled into one)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/Biography
Director: Teng Bee
Cast: Tosh Chan, Mark Lee, Yeo Yann Yann, Jake Eng, Rosyam Nor, Freddy Wong, Ashley Hua
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 15 March 2018
Synopsis: Biopic on Malaysia’s badminton icon Datuk Wira Lee Chong Wei, who was born in a poor family. Starting with his early years as an aspiring young badminton player from Bukit Mertajam, all the way to becoming a world champion.
Movie Review:
Malaysian viewers would feel patriotic watching this biopic film directed by Teng Bee on national icon Lee Chong Wei. There are several scenes in the movie with the Malaysian flag flapping beautifully in the air - you know, like how the American flag was featured in the Spider Man franchise.
The affection for Lee is apt. The 35 year old professional badminton player was ranked first worldwide for 199 consecutive weeks from August 2008 to June 2012, making him the only Malaysian singles player to hold the ranking for more than a year. With three silver medals from the Olympic Games, it is no wonder the achievement earned him the title Datuk, with the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak describing him as a national hero.
Teng’s movie isn’t about Lee’s countless wins. It is about how the most successful Malaysian Olympian in history rose from poverty to become the successful badminton player he is today. Based on Lee's 2012 autobiography Dare to Be a Champion, the film chronicles Lee’s journey from Bagan Serai, Perak, to a world-class shuttler.
The 125 minute movie is everything you’d expect from an inspirational sports film. The protagonist is a small town character with big dreams. He has supportive family members and friends around him, as well as saboteurs who make things different for him. He experiences many obstacles before he realises his dream. At the end, he is a role model people look up to.
While there is nothing spectacularly innovative about the screenplay, it serves its purpose of telling a story brimming with positive messages. Got a dream? Chase it with purpose. Faced with hurdles? Overcome them with determination. Love a good game of badminton? Play it with all you’ve got. While the plot is based on Lee’s life, much of it is probably dramatised to make for good storytelling material. You can expect melodrama in the form of moving scenes and quote worthy lines, and some sequences may even make you tear a little.
Jake Eng and Tosh Chan play the young and older Lee respectively, and the two deliver fine performances. Eng is adorable as a primary school boy who goes against all odds to play the game, while Chan (who looks a lot like Lee) handles his portion of the film with the right amount of charm. You really want to root for this good natured teenager as he enters National Badminton Academy, gets bullied by privileged peers, falls in love and making it out tops. Elsewhere, you will also be impressed by the acting prowess from Mark Lee (Wonderful! Liang Xi Mei), Yeo Yann Yann (You Mean the World to Me) and Rosyam Nor (KL Special Force) who play Lee’s father, mother and national team coach respectively.
What is a movie about a badminton player without exhilarating badminton sequences? The movie, which boasts top notch production values, captures the thrill and excitement of badminton games. From the underground games to the training sessions, you will as excited as the bystanders on screen.
The movie wouldn’t be complete if it doesn’t showcase the competition between Lee and China’s Lin Dan, which is considered greatest rivalry in badminton history. The cinematography for their games is brilliant, especially for the finale match depicting the 2006 Malaysian Open final. You will want to stand up and cheer for the protagonist as he fights back from 13–20 and scores eight match points against Lin, and finally won the game with a score of 23–21 to secure the title. That’s a winner worth cheering for.
Movie Rating:
(An inspiring movie about a sportsman who dared to dream big and gave it his all to become a champion - this is a motivational tale for all ages)
Review by John Li
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