Genre: Comedy
Director: Kay Cannon
Cast: John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, Gideon Adlon
RunTime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Content and Nudity)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: https://www.blockersmovie.com
Opening Day: 19 April 2018
Synopsis: When three parents discover their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal.
Movie Review:
Two generations of R-rated comedies – the teenage sex comedy best exemplified by 2001’s groundbreaking ‘American Pie’ and the more recent line of ‘adults behaving badly’ farces that started with 2009’s ‘The Hangover’ – collide with uproarious, irreverent and surprisingly poignant effect in ‘Pitch Perfect’ screenwriter Kay Cannon’s directorial debut. Both dynamics are at play here in ‘Blockers’, which sees a trio of parents set out on a frenzied mission to stop their daughters from fulfilling a pact to lose their virginity on prom night, otherwise known as ‘#sexpact2018’.
The titular blockers are made up of single mom Lisa (Leslie Mann), musclebound jock papa Mitchell (John Cena) and party-boy slob Hunter (Ike Barinholtz), nominal pals since their daughters bonded together in elementary school who happen to be together at Lisa’s house when their kids leave for prom. When Lisa’s daughter’s Julie’s (Kathryn Newton) computer pings with the emojis of eggplants, trees and yas queens, Hunter correctly deciphers that it has all got to do with sex, sending Lisa and Mitchell into a somewhat irrational panic over their respective children’s apparently misbegotten choices.
At least for a while, Hunter acts as the voice of reasonable opposition: simply put, he knows that intervening will certainly spoil what should be a memorable night for the girls, and he especially doesn’t want that to destroy his already fragile connection with his daughter Sam (Gideon Aldon). Unfortunately, Lisa and Mitchell are too caught up in their own insecurities to recognize Hunter’s logic – while Lisa is having extreme separation anxiety about Julie’s college plans, Mitchell just cannot help being coach (or cop) to his daughter Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan).
And so begins a long night of further snooping, limo-tailing and eventually righteous barging-in, which not surprisingly, involves some outrageous shenanigans for these middle-age killjoys. In one, Mitchell reluctantly agrees to a ‘butt-chugging’ challenge with some high-school dudes in order to gain entry into a house party. In another, all three parents end up participating in a (very) sexually active couple’s (played by Gary Cole and Gina Gershon) blindfolded sex game at their house to avoid being detected. These slapstick sequences are designed as much for hilarity as they are for discomfort, but as always, it is the players themselves who make or break the jokes – or in this case, knock them out of the park.
Oh yes, the reliably outstanding Mann hasn’t been as delightful since ‘Knocked Up’, hurtling herself completely into the role to portray Lisa with equal parts ferocity and fear – most notably, a scene where she tries to sneak out after accidentally ending up under the bed in her daughter’s hotel room is classic screwball perfection. Cena plays up his macho archetype to great effect as the sentimental dad who still cries at ‘Frozen’, and his chiseled physique also turns out impeccably suited for his blocklike personality in the movie. And last but not least, Barinholtz is simply hilarious running interference against Mann and Cena’s respective overprotective parenting acts, before eventually finding pathos as the absentee dad trying to patch things up with his daughter.
But like we said earlier, it is as much about the parents as it is about their children, and each one of the teenage actresses playing the latter deserve to be breakout stars in their own right. Relative newcomer Viswanathan is a scene-stealer as the no-nonsense Kayla who more than holds her own against her dad Mitchell as well as her druggy prom date Connor (Miles Robbins); in particular, she and Robbins have a side-splitting exchange where both play it disarmingly cool when she tells him that she intends to sleep with him. Newton’s performance may seem no more like a dumb-blonde act at the start, but the ‘Big Little Lies’ actress turns Julie into an engaging combination of dreamy, bossy and tenacious as the movie progresses. And though Aldon may play wallflower to Viswanathan and Newton at first, she becomes a comedic force in her own right when her character lets herself loose with her official boy escort Chad (Jimmy Bellinger).
That their characters have their own well-defined personalities is also credit to first-time writers Brian and Jim Kehoe, whose script bothers to be more than just teen sex farce. Beyond the crude jokes lies a thoughtful exploration for parents of when to let go and trust our kids to make their own life decisions, especially for fathers whose natural instinct is to be overprotective of their daughters. It is no coincidence that all three kids here happen to be girls, and the fem-centric spin is especially heartening when it becomes clear that these teenagers have the capacity and perceptivity to make enlightened decisions for themselves. While it is true that the Kehoe brothers made sure that they have done right by the sexual politics of our times, that in no way diminishes how they have succeeded in ensuring that their movie doesn’t patronise either demographic between the generation gap.
For a first-time director, Cannon has done exceedingly well. She knows just how and when to go in for the punch, never letting any joke drag on too long or lose the human touch even as the physical comedy goes into hyperdrive. There is sheer exuberance in the crude hilarity on display here, balanced with a down-to-earth sweetness and sensibility that makes the obligatory heart-to-heart conversations between parent and child at the end heart-warming. By acknowledging both the fears of a parent and the aspirations of an adolescent at the same time, ‘Blockers’ speaks not just to the generation for whom teenage sex comedies were traditionally made for, but also to that for whom this latest wave of R-rated adult comedies speak to. It’s an unblocked comic delight all right, but also simultaneously much, much more than just whacking, smutty, in-your-face farce.
Movie Rating:
(About the most refreshing R-rated comedy we've seen in a long while, 'Blockers' is as much fun as a teen sex farce as it is irreverent as an adults-behaving-badly romp, and surprisingly heartfelt either way)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Comedy
Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Thomasin McKenzie, Roman Griffin, Alfie Allen, Taika Waititi, Stephen Merchant
RunTime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 2 January 2020
Synopsis: During WWII, JoJo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), an awkward 10-year-old boy, lives in Germany with his single mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson). As members of the Hitler Youth, Jojo and his friends have to learn war games and how to blow things up, but the kids aren't that adept and manage to stab themselves with the knives they're given and blow up buildings that are not meant to be blown up. When Jojo is asked to kill a rabbit but can't bring himself to do it, he earns himself the nickname "Jojo Rabbit." Discouraged, Jojo seeks solace in his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), who does his best to encourage the boy, while telling him stories of his own awkward youth. Meanwhile, Jojo discovers that his mother is hiding Elsa Korr (Thomasin McKenzie), a teenage Jewish girl, in their home. Jojo doesn't know any Jews, but has heard they have horns and scales and hang from the rafters like bats. He decides not to tell the authorities, because he knows that would put his mother in danger, so instead he tries to find out all he can about Elsa, in order to gather information about Jews for the Nazis. As he does so, he has to endure Elsa's teasing, who makes quips such as, "Obviously we are demons who love money."
Movie Review:
In today’s era of instant media and trigger-happy sensibilities, presenting a film about Nazis and their famed chancellor is like a game of dice… with razor blades. Fortunately under Taika Waititi’s treatment, Jojo Rabbit doesn’t draw blood, but instead, a mixture of laughs, shock, or indignance.
How you enjoy this film might be an indicator of where you sit in the subject matter spectrum. Given that most of our generation didn’t experience World War II, the laughs will come a bit more comfortably, from the antics of characters like Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson at her usual, but with a hilarious butchered accent) to the madcap training in the Nazi Youth Camp. Indeed, the Fuhrer’s evil becomes but only a whiff, drowned out by the silliness of commanders more interested in dressing up, or an imaginary representation (played none other by Waititi himself) that spouts erratic solutions like a pinball machine.
Those who know their history a little better, will appreciate other references that gives an easter-egg layer of emotions. For example, the character Elsa (no, not that one) played delightfully by Tomasin McKenzie, easily echoes Anne Frank - and so adds an extra sting to those in the know. Or also, the queer tension between Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) and Finkel (Alfie Allen), along with several scenes between the imagined war leader and little boys, is no doubt a nod to his suspected homosexuality.
So in short, everyone will come out of Jojo Rabbit with something a little different, and given that the topic is so controversial, a post-movie discussion should make for a very interesting evening. But one thing’s for sure, this is less so a piece on the atrocity of the Third Reich, but more a coming-of-age scenario put to the ultimate test, with absurd circumstances and extreme moral floundering.
We parachute in to the tail end of the war. Our titular character is Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), who is excited to go to Youth Camp and be part of the Fuhrer’s personal army. A side accident - thanks to his imagined Hitler sidekick - leaves him with facial scars and a limp, and also a banal job as an office errand boy.
Things take a turn when he discovers a Jewish girl living in his sister’s room. Who hid her there? Why is she not scared of him? The answers seem to point at the impossible - his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson). Feeling betrayed but mostly confused, he works out his loyalties by extracting information from the girl, on account of documenting facts to help with theories about Germans being the supreme race. Needless to say, he is proven very wrong at the end.
Waititi’s farce has a wavering path. While mostly a comedy, it shuttles between different moods, and at times ineffectively. The initial campy OTT scenarios at the training grounds quickly disappears when the boy becomes injured, only returning in jolts when Captain Klen and his friends reappear. And so, Jojo Rabbit’s tone is dictated by the characters Jojo are interacting with, and as amazing as Davis is, he is not enough an engine to hold the core. That said, the kid is ADORABLE. He has a timid snarkiness that is more endearing than annoying, and his good heart never lets us see him as anything but a misguided and earnest child wanting validation from his idols - the adults.
Equally charming is his campmate Yorki (Archie Yates). One can feel the mood shift in the cinema every time the chubby kid appears, with tumbles of laughter as he spouts his many life-weary findings. Emerging from a battlefield, the boy just casually claims, “I guess I’m just one of those that just can’t die.” Hi-la-rious.
Jojo Rabbit is very much needed in this time and age. When the world is at its most connected and informed, and yet chaotic and sensitive as well. Waititi wants us to remember, sometimes, we just need to sit down and just laugh all our differences away.
Movie Rating:
(Full of punch at the start, Waititi’s film wavers throughout, but the brightest bits far outshine the awkward sappiness, and keeps things heartfelt and funny)
Review by Morgan Awyong
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jeff Tomsic
Cast: Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Annabelle Wallis, Jon Hamm, Isla Fisher, Rashida Jones, Leslie Bibb, Hannibal Buress, Jeremy Renner
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Nudity and Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: http://www.tagthemovie.com/
Opening Day: 21 June 2018
Synopsis: For one month every year, five highly competitive friends hit the ground running in a no-holds-barred game of tag they’ve been playing since the first grade—risking their necks, their jobs and their relationships to take each other down with the battle cry: “You’re It!” This year, the game coincides with the wedding of their only undefeated player, which should finally make him an easy target. But he knows they’re coming…and he’s ready. Based on a true story, the New Line Cinema comedy “Tag” shows how far some guys will go to be the last man standing.
Movie Review:
Tag, you’re it. You know that childhood game where two or more players chase each other in an attempt to tag someone or avoid being tagged? Well, according to a Wall Street Journal article in 2013, it turns out that a group of ten friends have been playing the game once every month for the last 30 years of their lives. It’s not difficult to see why Hollywood has sparked to turning their life story into a bromantic comedy full of high jinks, disguises and carefully choreographed pranks, and thanks to the solid chemistry of an excellent ensemble cast, ‘Tag’ is a light, frothy summer comedy that’s packed with silly fun and an unexpected dose of sweet sentiment.
As conceived by Rob McKittrick and Mark Steilen, this adaptation focuses on the days leading up to the impending nuptials of Jerry (Jeremy Renner), the only member among a group of five childhood friends who has never ever been tagged. Coincidentally, these days fall within the month of May, the month where these lifelong buddies take up the same epic game that they have been perpetuating since they were nine-year-olds. The opening scene shows just how epic their game has evolved to, with the qualified veterinarian Hoagie (Ed Helms) sitting across a sceptical Lil Rel Howery interviewing for a job as a janitor at the swanky New York insurance firm where his buddy Bob Callahan (Jon Hamm) is CEO.
Hoagie so happens to intrude upon Bob giving an interview to Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca (Annabelle Wallis), who decides the tag story is more interesting than Callahan himself and signs herself up to join the duo for a cross-country ride to round up the rest of the team. In Denver, Bob tags their stoner pal Chilli (Jake Johnson) after a intense foot-race through apartments and fire escapes; while in Portland, Sable (Hannibal Buress) is in the middle of a therapy session when the trio emerges from out of the room’s closet to grab him. And with Hoagie’s aggressive and hyper-competitive wife Anna (Isla Fisher) in tow, the gang head back to their hometown of Spokane to pin Jerry down.
Making his feature film debut, veteran TV director Jeff Tomsic approaches the film as a series of elaborate high-energy set-pieces that wouldn’t feel out of place in a conventional Hollywood actioner. Among the highlights are a night-time ambush at the country club where Jerry is due to hold his wedding; a mano-a-mano between Hoagie and Jerry at a mall where the former disguises himself as an old lady with a walker; a cat-and-mouse in the middle of the forest complete with booby traps and body doubles; and last but not least, a fake-out at Jerry’s Alcoholics Anonymous session that also reveals his fiancée Susan (Leslie Bibb) to be the agent of a singularly bizarre gag. It’s no-holds-barred all right, but even so, the shenanigans are always in good fun and never performed with anything so much as ill intent.
That’s the same spirit in which the other raunchy gags are devised, which includes Nora Dunn as Hoagie’s flirtatious mum with an awkward crush on Chilli, Rashida Jones as a honeypot trap for both Chilli and Bob, and Thomas Middleditch as a homophobic gym receptionist whom the guys threaten to ‘waterboard’ for information on Jerry’s whereabouts. The supporting cast is sheer comedy gold, as is the lead quintet of Helms, Hamm, Johnson, Buress and Renner. It is clear just how much fun these actors had making the movie, and their energy, enthusiasm and cheer is simply infectious. In particular, their interior deadpan monologues that precede a number of their attempted tags are utterly hilarious, and especially in Hamm’s case, demonstrates the actors’ impressive comic chops.
But amidst the infantile pratfalls is a poignant subtext about friendships, and perhaps more accurately, the seemingly unbreakable childhood ones that somehow get swept away in the day-to-day grind of adult life. Indeed, more so than claiming the bragging rights of breaking Jerry’s record, the whole point of their game is so that they can keep up with each other – or in literal terms, stay in touch with one another, which is often a lot more than we can say for the friends we grew up with. There is also a more sobering reason behind Hoagie’s desperation to tag Jerry, and Helms nails the moment with surprising pathos. It’s a finish that will bring tears to your eyes all right, which you’d probably didn’t expect watching Chilli plunge down a fire escape or Jerry throwing a thermos of hot coffee in Chilli’s face.
As Hollywood usually does, ‘Tag’ isn’t a faithful retelling of the real-life story it was inspired by, but we have to say that we didn’t quite mind the creative liberties that Tomsic and his two screenwriters have taken here. At its heart, their movie still succeeds in capturing the verve, playfulness and enduring companionship that characterises their annual game. To be frank, we expected this to be some man-child comedy about arrested adolescence, but we came out very much – and pleasantly, we may add – surprised by just how much we enjoyed spending 100 minutes with an undemanding bunch of friends we’d love to be part of. So like Anna or Rebecca or Susan in the movie, we were more than happy to hear the words ‘Tag! You’re it!’.
Movie Rating:
(A rambunctious celebration of friendship, this wacky, raunchy and surprisingly poignant action-comedy will have you gladly wishing that 'you're it!')
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Vaughn Stein
Cast: Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg, Mike Myers, Max Irons, Dexter Fletcher
RunTime: 1 hr 30 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 17 May 2018
Synopsis: In the dark heart of a sprawling, anonymous city, Terminal follows the twisting tales of two assassins carrying out a sinister mission, a teacher battling a fatal illness, an enigmatic janitor and a curious waitress leading a dangerous double life. Murderous consequences unravel in the dead of night as their lives all intertwine at the hands of a mysterious criminal mastermind hell-bent on revenge.
Movie Review:
If you’re curious about ‘Terminal’, it’s probably because of its name cast, which includes the likes of Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg and even Austin Powers… we mean, Mike Myers. But just why such a group of talented actors would lend their time to this interminably boring and utterly pointless movie is beyond comprehension, even more so for Robbie who is among one of its four producers. Oh yes, writer-director Vaughn Stein’s filmmaking debut is a ‘Sin City’ inspired neo-noir infused with a kaleidoscope of neon colours but with all the substance drained out, so unless it’s a one-and-a-half hour of candied pastiche you’re after, you needn’t even bother.
Notwithstanding, for those keen to know more, here’s our attempt at trying to wring coherence out of it. Told through a tortured timeline, the disjointed narrative is made up of three intertwining storylines: first, that of a contract killer named Bonnie (Robbie) who aims to prove herself as a hitman to a mysterious employer by pitting two assassins (Dexter Fletcher and Max Irons) against each other; second, that of diner waitress Annie (also Robbie) who crosses paths with a dying English professor named Bill (Pegg) at the titular restaurant; and third, of a limping janitor (Myers) who shuffles along the vast, depopulated railway station which all the other characters inhabit seemingly going about his own business, but clearly bearing some larger connection to every single one of them.
It will take a little more than an hour before Stein stitches these series of playlets together, but what a terrible hour it is. There’s Fletcher and Irons’ pair of hitmen trading hard-boiled dialogue that tries to sound cool and gritty at the same time, but is really only corny and cringe-worthy. There’s Robbie delivering her dialogue with a snarl that tries to be intimidating and erotic at the same time, but just feels unnecessarily over-the-top. There’s Robbie again challenging Pegg about death, freedom from it and the “pathetic fallacy” that comes off sounding more and more like intellectual psychobabble for the sake of it than anything else. And last but not least, there’s Myers trying to make sense of his role that ends up like a diminutive Dr Evil. Alas, there is hardly any reason to care for any of these characters, not least because they are caricatures that inhabit some artificial underworld that makes no sense, and don’t even get us started about how badly written the lines are.
To his credit, Stein tries to build momentum towards an off-the-rails ending in the third act, but as ballsy as it is, it is equally ridiculous - and considering how underwhelming the earlier acts were, just simply unsatisfying. Oh yes, it’s no surprise that these characters are somehow all connected to one another (including Bonnie and her alter-ego Annie) but to sit through one hour of flashy, hyper-stylised nonsense to get to that point is hardly worth it. There is some strength in its stylistic combination of a neo-noir palette with the Day-Glo colours from ‘Alice in Wonderland’, but the Crayola noir itself is hardly enough to keep one engaged for a full hour.
‘Terminal’ suffers from a classic case of style over substance, or in this case, all style and no substance. There is nothing human, credible or real in its tired tale of deceit, double crosses and narrative switchbacks, so why Robbie, Pegg and/or Myers even bothered is terminally incomprehensible, just like much of the movie is. Its alternate title is ‘End of the Line’, and that’s a pretty apt description for Stein’s filmmaking career if he doesn’t prove that he has more to put on screen than a neon-coloured cartoon.
Movie Rating:
(All style and no substance, this neon-lit ‘Sin City’ inspired neo-noir is interminably boring)
Review by Gabriel Chong
|
TRAILER WATCH - DEADPOOL 2 (FINAL TRAILER)Posted on 21 Apr 2018 |
|
TRAILER WATCH - THE EQUALIZER 2 (FIRST TRAILER)Posted on 21 Apr 2018 |
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Dain Iskandar Said
Cast: Elyana, Umie Aida, Ramli Hassan, Faizal Hussin, Sofi Jikan, Bront Palarae, Hasnul Rahmat, Adlin Aman Ramlie, Nam Ron, Chew Kin Wah
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG13 (Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:
Opening Day: 19 April 2018
Synopsis: It’s a tale about the lure of riches, power, eternal youth, beauty and the blood one must spill to achieve this. Dukun centres around a conflicted lawyer, Karim, who is searching for his lost child, Nadia. His desperation leads him to be entangled with an alleged murderer, Diana Dahlan, who links the disappearance of Nadia to darker secrets that could cause Karim to lose everything.
Movie Review:
Had it not been banned by the Malaysian censors for a decade, the supernatural horror ‘Dukun’ probably wouldn’t have been released to as much fanfare. But despite its notoriety, those looking for the sort of graphic horror that Southeast Asian cinema has been known for will probably be disappointed – compared to the likes of the Mo brothers’ ‘Macabre’ or even the more recent ‘Satan’s Slaves’, writer-director Dain Iskandar Said’s feature filmmaking debut is a much visually tamer affair, comprising some brief scenes of dismemberments, contortions and cannibalism with little gore and offscreen violence. What’s a lot more interesting – and we suspect the reason why it was temporarily prohibited in the first place – is its debate between Islam and ‘black magic’, especially how it alludes to the authority of the former deferring to the powers of the latter.
Arguably, if this were the core of the film, it may not even have seen the light of day today. So rather than discuss it head-on, Said approaches it from the perspective of a legal and police procedural surrounding the trial of a female shaman Diana Dahlan (Uime Aida) accused of the gruesome murder of a prominent businessman. The verdict of the said trial is known right from the start, as the opening prologue shows a smug Diana in a tight dress and red lipstick readying herself for her impending execution by hanging in jail. Instead, the ensuing dual narrative chronicling both the judicial proceedings and the investigation around that murder seeks to establish the whydunnit, the former through a series of witnesses that the prosecution has lined up to take the stand against Diana and the latter through further probes that the two lead detectives commence into a string of similar murders in the past.
Frankly, the fractured chronology doesn’t exactly add up, especially how the case against Diana would go ahead if the police had not even concluded if she was responsible for other murders with the same modus operandi. Notwithstanding, the story remains engaging because of its flirtation with the supernatural, emerging eventually as a cautionary tale on exploiting these means in service of one’s ambition and/or lust for power. While not quite so explicitly emphasized throughout the film, the incongruence and even irony of having such a case judged before a court of law is stated simply and succinctly at the end of the trial. It is also in this same vein that the authority of Islam and the laws of the dark arts come under scrutiny, and although the closing quote makes it quite clear which side the film wants its audience to come down on, the apparent tension between the two is not fully addressed, leaving one to ponder just how such ancient practices sit alongside modern-day mainstream religions.
That conflict is given greater prominence in another parallel narrative which sees Diana’s lawyer Karim (Adlin Aman Ramliee) searching for his teenage daughter Nadim, who has been missing for the past six years. Though clearly engineered for narrative expediency, the film would have us believe that Karim crosses paths with Diana out of sheer coincidence after he approaches the police for help in locating her and is asked in turn to act as her lawyer in court. It is not hard to guess that, or how, he and his daughter’s fates are ultimately intertwined with that of Diana’s, so much so that she would gladly accept a guilty verdict and request that she be executed at the soonest possible time. There are hints of familial tragedy here – most notably that of a married couple who would do what is possible to realise their dream of having a child – but not quite fleshed out enough to be as poignant as it could or should.
Given the controversy surrounding the film, it is inevitably a let-down that ‘Dukun’ isn’t more provocative or sensational than it is, especially its treatment of the mystical and even unnatural. Then again, Said deserves credit for not indulging in excesses, opting instead for a grounded depiction of the occult. And just like its subject matter, Aida’s magnetic performance as a female shaman is deeply enduring, no less outstanding or powerful now as it was a decade ago. It is no coincidence that she is front and centre the bleeding heart and twisted soul of the film, and no surprise that her blend of seduction and menace is what will send chills down your spine long after the lights come up. As long as you set aside those expectations of notoriety, ‘Dukun’ should do just fine as an exploration of the disturbing, even unsettling, paranormal of close cultural resonance.
Movie Rating:
(It probably isn’t as shocking as its notoriety suggests, but this horror thriller of the occult still packs some disturbing, even unsettling, chills)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama
Director: Yang Ya Che
Cast: Kara Wai, Wu Ke-Xi, Vicky Chen, Aaron Fu, Wen Chen-Lin
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes)
Screening Dates: 30 April, 3 & 5 May 2018 (visit scff.sg/films/the-bold-the-corrupt-and-the-beautiful/ for showtimes)
Synopsis: Madame Tang colludes and mediates between the government and the private businesses for the benefit of her all-female family. One case does not go according to plan, and an entire family close to Madame Tang fall victim to a gruesome murder. Ambition, desire and lust eventually change Tang’s relationships with her own family forever.
Movie Review:
Ambition, corruption and beauty make nasty bedfellows in writer-director Yang Ya-che’s Golden Horse Award-winning crime drama set in the 1980s, which pivots on a family of three generations of women. The head of the clan is the ruthless matriarch Madame Tang (Kara Wai) who, though ostensibly dealing in antiques, is in fact acting as go-between for dirty businessmen and crooked politicians looking to profit from land speculation. Assisting Madame Tang in her nefarious schemes is her adult daughter Tang Ning (Wu Ke-xi), who loves and loathes being her mother’s pawn, drowning the latter in sex, drugs and alcohol. Rounding out the family is the teenage Chen-chen (Vicky Chen), an ingenue who watches the immoral going-ons intently, but is also slowly but surely being groomed by Madame Tang to participate in the family business.
The significance of their familial bonds is put to the test when a bank director within Madame Tang’s circle is murdered in cold blood with the rest of his family, although their daughter Pien-pien (Wen Chen-ling) manages to make it out alive but is left in a coma. At first, the suspicion falls on the family’s horse trainer Marco (Wu Shu Wei) whom Pien-pien was seeing secretly – after all, her mother had discovered their affair just hours before the murder, and in turn Marco was supposed to leave the Lin residence that very evening. But pretty soon, the apparent suicide of a government person in charge of land planning and subsequent discovery of further bodies inadvertently trains the spotlight on their illegal real estate manoeuvrings, sending each and every one involved – family or otherwise – scrambling to protect their own individual interests.
In fact, the movie is as much a whodunnit as it is a character study of the Tang family. Madame Tang turns out to be less a coordinator than a conspirator in her own right – and a scene where she sings the Shanghai Bund theme song in a karaoke room, before literally dropping the mic on the one who had intended to confront her about her betrayal is particularly memorable. But yet just as delicious, though heart-breaking, is watching her manage Tang Ning’s meltdown (as the latter comes to realise the full extent of her mother’s maliciousness) and manipulate Chen-chen at the same time against Ning. And as Madame Tang, Kara Wai deserves every single accolade she has received, simply sensational as a Machiavellian seductress whose moral depravity are concealed under layers of courtesy, class and elegance.
On Ning’s part, each further revelation of her mother’s maleficence only causes her to become even more emotionally and psychologically damaged, and the actress Wu Ke-xi portrays her with just the right explosive mix of outrage, resentment and fragility. But neither Madame Tang or Ning is the core of the film; in fact, that honour belongs to Chen-chen, from whose perspective the fractured narrative largely unfolds from. Though she starts off as a quiet observer of the events going on around her, Chen-chen is gradually forced to choose how she wishes to respond to Madame Tang’s cultivation, with far-reaching consequences that will haunt her long into her adult life. As Chen-chen, Vicky Chen’s performance is layered yet contained, and her transformation from demure to sinister is fascinating to watch.
Thanks to the trio of excellent actresses, Yang’s film comes off much better than it really is. For one, it feels convoluted and over-plotted, yet somehow inadequate in tying up all of its plot ends. For another, its hyper-stylisation is a little artificial to say the least – in particular, the use of a pair of traditional Hoklo-speaking storytellers to narrate parts of the story through song is unnecessarily distracting. Still, it’s not hard to see why it has been lavished with so much praise back at home, not least because of its sumptuous production design, beautiful cinematography and thoughtful references to Taiwanese history. It’s not quite ‘The Godfather’ material, but this fem-centric spin on the traditional gangster drama genre is deeply engaging, occasionally thrilling and surprisingly poignant. As we’ve known through countless other films, being bad can be so wickedly delicious to watch.
Movie Rating:
(Equal parts gangster melodrama and family dysfunction, this tale of three women united by blood but divided by morality is viscerally and emotionally thrilling)
Review by Gabriel Chong
|
TRAILER WATCH - VENOMPosted on 24 Apr 2018 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Sonoya Mizuno, Chris Pang, Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Remi Hii, Nico Santos, Pierre Png
RunTime: 2 hrs 1 min
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:
Opening Day: 22 August 2018
Synopsis: The story follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Golding), to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick’s arm puts a target on Rachel’s back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick’s own disapproving mother (Yeoh) taking aim. And it soon becomes clear that while money can’t buy love, it can definitely complicate things.
Movie Review:
We are proud, immensely proud, to say that for a little red dot which some had up until recently mistook as a province in China, Singapore has been getting plenty of limelight within the last few months. On the political stage, the recently concluded Trump-Kim Summit that was dubbed the ‘Singapore Summit’ showcased our professionalism at organising a milestone diplomatic event. And just barely two months after, the very first Hollywood film to feature an all-Asian ensemble in more than 20 years (the last being Ang Lee’s ‘Joy Luck Club’ back in 1993) is easily the most impressive our island city has ever looked on the big screen. Oh yes, the iconic touristy locations including Chijmes, Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands are all there, but there are also surprising nods here to our hawker culture (which you may have heard our PM announcing at this year’s Rally is being put up for a Unesco listing) and Chinese heritage that you’ll cheer for, and damn if seeing the sights and sounds we call home doesn’t make our hearts swell with national pride.
Indeed, ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is as much a win for Asian-Americans as it is for Singapore, and you’d be plain silly to let some misplaced criticism about how the movie doesn’t reflect the real Singapore (because it was meant to be a satirical fantasy?) or lacks the representation of other races (because no film set in New York, or London, or Los Angeles reflects the full cultural breadth of the place?) rain on our parade. Gamely assembling an outstanding ensemble cast from Hollywood, Malaysia and Singapore, this adaptation of Singapore-born author Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel is as breezily entertaining and hilarious as the best of the rom-coms, but its examination on class, culture and the Asian identity is what truly gives it emotional heft and thematic resonance. In fact, it would be utterly simplistic to say that it is a critique on the nouveau riche in Singapore society; there is also the intra-community prejudices within the Asian diasporas, the Chinese tradition of filial loyalty and its implications on parent-child relationships, and last but not least the tensions between different forms of identity including personal, cultural and class.
If it isn’t yet obvious, this movie is so, so much more than just an indulgence in the escapist pleasures of the ultra-rich that its synopsis may suggest. Certainly, as the young economics professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) at New York University accompanies her boyfriend Nicholas Young (Henry Golding) back to Singapore for his best friend’s wedding, she plays the role of the audience surrogate channelling our sense of disbelief, amazement and disgust at his family and their never-never land of aspirational wealth, obscene consumerism and invidious judge-iness. Yet beyond these and the obvious caricatures of Nick’s movie-director cousin Alistair (Remy Hii), his status-conscious Hong Kong cousin Eddie (Ronny Chieng) as well as spoiled-rotten bachelor Bernard (Jimmy O. Yang), there is plenty of sobering material about Nick’s formidable mother Eleanor’s (Michelle Yeoh) disdain towards Rachel and protectiveness towards her son. Ditto the crumbling marriage between Nick’s fashion-maven cousin Astrid (Gemma Chan) and her husband Michael (Pierre Png), owing to the latter’s inferiority complex and subsequent infidelity.
As directed by Jon M. Chu, the movie is perfectly balanced between big broad sequences and quiet intimate moments. The former comprises the gaudy scenes of opulent dinner gatherings, lavish bachelor/ bachelorette parties and $40 million weddings that the trailer was full of, and Chu’s eye for colour and movement ensures that these scenes are lively, vibrant and eye-popping. But it is the latter where his film truly scores – witness for instance how Chu and his cinematographer Vanja Cernjul capture the way Eleanor sizes Rachel up and subsequently regards her with withering putdowns as well as icy glares, and how Rachel and Eleanor face off in a penultimate segment over a thrilling game of mah-jong. Just as captivating but for entirely different reasons are the occasions where Nick and Rachel distance themselves from the crowd and allow themselves to re-discover just why they had fallen in love with each other in the first place. As packed as the movie is with its huge group of characters, Chu never loses focus on his core characters and their relationships vis-à-vis one another, and it is his keen eye for these interactions that ensures his film also possesses emotional gravitas.
Most significantly, ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ offers a touching lesson on embracing who you are, no matter if you’re rich or poor or disparaged. That is as true for Nick as it is for Rachel, just as true if not more so for Eleanor, and surprisingly poignant for both Astrid and Michael. Wu is a standout as the classic good-girl, never overselling the role but instead playing it with just the right mix of poise, vulnerability and self-assertiveness at the right time. Her chemistry with Golding is also infectiously appealing, and for all the hackles about casting a British Malaysian actor to play a Chinese Singaporean justifies the casting choice with his own polished screen charisma. Even more electrifying though is the push-pull dynamic between Wu and Yeoh as their characters lock horns with each other, and though the movie belongs to the younger actors, the veteran Malaysian actress is absolutely regal in her supporting role that is crisp, authoritative but also unexpectedly deserving of empathy. Chan and Png try to flesh out the complications arising from a reversal of the classic Asian husband-wife breadwinning role, but they as well as the other more minor supporting actors relegated to over-the-top bit comic parts are constrained by their little time onscreen.
That said, Kwan’s novel wasn’t ever going to fit neatly into a two-hour feature film, which also means that some of the subplots were going to necessarily receive short shrift; still, for the most part Chu’s screenwriters Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim have retained the core themes within the novel and ensured that these remain just as affecting as Kwan had intended. Like we said at the beginning, Singapore has never looked as gorgeous as it does in this movie, and credit to that colourful razzle-dazzle goes of course to Chu’s visual eye. Yet beneath that shiny veneer is also a layered reflection of the Singaporean Chinese identity, which is both ethnically similar and different to the American-Chinese (or better known as Asian-American) identity, demonstrating how race is shaped as much by history, geography and kinship. Ultimately, its message about identity is as much relevant for an Asian-American audience as it is for us, especially how our multi-racialism often neglects intra-racial differences as well as class differences. You need not be Asian, or crazy rich, or even Chinese, to enjoy this hilarious, romantic and heartfelt rom-com that doesn’t lose its cultural richness while retaining its universal appeal.
Movie Rating:
(As hilarious, romantic and heartfelt as the best of the rom-com genre, 'Crazy Rich Asians' is also a surprisingly textured and poignant examination of ethnic, class and personal identity - as well as the best Singapore has ever looked on the big screen)
Review by Gabriel Chong
| « Prev | 345 | 346 | 347 | 348 | 349 | 350 | 351 | 352 | 353 | 354 | 355 | Next » |
Most Viewed
No content.