Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Brian A. Miller
Cast: Bruce Willis, Frank Grillo, Johnathon Schaech, Olivia Culpo
Runtime: 1 hr 29 mins
Rating: NC-16
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 September 2018
Synopsis: This gritty, action-packed crime thriller pairs action legends Bruce Willis (Die Hard) and Frank Grillo (Captain America series) in a chilling tale of justice and revenge. After surviving a brutal bank robbery, Jacob (Grillo) teams with his ex-cop neighbor (Willis) to track down the ruthless thief and avenge the assault. Desperate for cash to help treat his diabetic daughter, Jacob plans to take advantage of the situation, but in doing so, puts his family in the crosshairs of a killer...
Movie Review:
Halfway into the climactic shootout between bank manager Jacob (Frank Grillo) and criminal mastermind Gabriel (Jonathon Schaech) in a public park, Bruce Willis’ retired ex-cop James arrives on the scene and proceeds immediately into an ambulance where Jacob’s daughter (Natalie Sophie Butler) is being tended to by the paramedics after suffering a diabetic shock. “You have to go!” Jacob’s wife (Olivia Culpo) pleads with James, urging him to go help Jacob.
We couldn’t agree more – what on earth is James doing whispering words of reassurance to Jacob’s daughter when his skills would be better served helping Jacob out in the line of fire? In fact, we’d already had wanted to say that almost an hour ago, seeing as how Willis is pretty much confined within the walls of his living room for most of his scenes, ostensibly helping Jacob figure out just how to track down Gabriel after the latter had robbed the bank he managed and disrupted his career and sanity in the process. No one goes to see Bruce Willis in an action movie talk, even if he is playing a supporting role, but that is precisely what his involvement in ‘Reprisal’ consists.
Still, that would probably just be a gripe if this miserable excuse of a thriller were more exciting; instead, it is yet another embarrassment in director Brian A. Miller’s decidedly B-movie oeuvre, and his third one with Bruce Willis at that. At first, it does seem as if ‘Reprisal’ would be better than their previous two collaborations ‘The Prince’ and ‘Vice’, especially given the opening act that sees Gabriel execute the robbery by himself with precision, muscle and wit. Alas, the proceedings come to a thudding halt right after, as writer Bryce Hammons struggles to bring any sort of logical sequence to Jacob’s own investigation of the incident.
Oh yes, perhaps the most laughable scenes are that with Jacob and James standing around in the latter’s house trying to make sense of Gabriel’s methods and patterns in order to follow him to his next heist. Little in their disjointed dialogue – no thanks to Ryan Dufrene’s random edits – suggests how they could have identified where Gabriel’s hideout or his next target could be, but hey after some of the dumbest detective work we’ve seen on screen, Jacob magically narrows the search down to a couple of abandoned warehouses and proceeds to stake these out. But lo and behold, as if he were wearing some ankle bracelet that forbade him from going out, James stays back at the house to give Jacob the sort of common-sense advice you wouldn’t need a cop to deliver.
To add frustration to annoyance, Grillo is utterly wasted in a role which seems content to suppress his action-movie credentials. Not only is he only really part of the action in the final shootout, he avoids any sort of physical confrontation with Gabriel right up to that point. Why cast Grillo if all Jacob’s character proves to be is a devoted family man to his wife and daughter? Or for that matter, why cast Grillo and then have him crouching in the corner or on the ground? Ironically, Grillo is even more compelling as the baddie in Wu Jing’s ‘Wolf Warrior 2’ than he is here playing the hapless victim whose titular retaliation is calling the cops when Jacob next robs an armoured car.
As such similar low-budget movies often do, the action is largely confined to a couple of sequences, and there are three here which matter – the bank robbery, the aforementioned armoured car heist, and the gunfight at the end. These are respectably exciting by B-movie standards, but Miller himself undercuts these scenes with some restless camerawork that can get distracting, even dizzying, to watch. It is almost as if Miller isn’t confident that the action is engaging in and of itself, and has therefore decided to enhance the shots with a sense of verite by having the camera move about and around the figures in the scenes.
Like we said, having its biggest action star do little more than talk isn’t the movie’s only woes, and it is for these other reasons that ‘Reprisal’ remains a strictly routine direct-to-video title you shouldn’t be paying good money to see in the cinema. But equally, as much as we recognise that age is catching up to Willis, we’d hate to see him waste the goodwill of his fans away by simply cashing in the pay-check from these thankless supporting roles. As this film’s title suggests, there is only so much humiliation we’re willing to take before we’d respond in reprisal – that is, by simply sitting out his films, just as how he seems perfectly content to sit out the action here.
Movie Rating:
(Yet another of Bruce Willis' embarrassing direct-to-video titles, the poorly scripted and clumsily directed 'Reprisal' lets Willis sit out most of the action - and for that matter Frank Grillo too)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Action/ Adventure
Director: Albert Hughes
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jóhannes Haukur Johannesson
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: PG (Some Intense Sequences)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing
Official Website:
Opening Day: 16August 2018
Synopsis: An epic adventure set in the last Ice Age. Europe, 20,000 years ago. While on his first hunt with his tribe’s most elite group, a young man is injured and left for dead. Awakening to find himself broken and alone -- he must learn to survive and navigate the harsh and unforgiving wilderness. Reluctantly taming a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before the deadly winter arrives.
Movie Review:
‘Alpha’ is so named because it is about how the bond between man and dog came to be forged some 20,000 years ago, but those expecting a compelling yarn would probably be left cold.
As envisioned by its director Albert Hughes, this history lesson is also a coming-of-age Ice Age survival story which sees a young hunter stranded in the wilderness befriend a wolf that becomes his loyal companion and defender.
It is an awfully simple, even simplistic, story, jazzed up by stunning vistas of craggy cliffs, lightning-split skylines, endless snowy tundras, impossibly green forests and eye-popping auroras. Oh yes, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’re watching a National Geographic documentary, not least because the stunning landscapes are much more captivating than the narrative, which feels as drawn-out as the hunter’s trek back to his tribe itself.
Ironically, it starts off with probably its most exciting sequence: a row of hunters crawling on all fours towards a herd of bison grazing on a plain, who on command, charge ahead towards the herd, throw their spears to form a fence, and spread out towards the ends to corner its confused and scattered members. It is during this annual great hunt that our young protagonist Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is thrown off a cliff by one of the angry bison, and duty towards the other members of his tribe compels that Keda’s father Tau (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhanneson) leave Keda for dead on the ledge thousands of feet above ground.
At that point, the movie rewinds one week earlier to offer some backstory on Keda. Having proven his skill at making spear points, his father Tau thinks he may be ready to join the adult males for the annual bison hunt before the winter. Keda’s mother is doubtful. “He leads with his heart, not his spear,” she says. True enough, on the trek, Keda proves unable to finish off a wounded animal. That same hesitation is also why he ends up being gored by one of the stampeding bison in the opening hunt.
By the time we return to Keda in the present, it is already a good half-hour into the movie, so those expecting to see the titular character should know that it does take a while to show up. When it eventually does, it is with his hungry pack, and Keda knifes the alpha in order to force the others to disperse.
Instead of simply leaving the abandoned wolf or killing it, Keda decides to nurse it back to health, and in so doing, begins a symbiotic relationship between the pair that is demonstrated over a couple of ensuing scenes: chasing away random wild animals, fishing in lakes, and hunting for food. There is at least some rhythm to these early scenes, including one where Keda teaches Alpha how to share food, another where they tag-team to hunt their prey and another where Alpha unconsciously demonstrates the game of ‘fetch’.
Alas, as the journey between man and wolf progresses, it gets gradually jumpier, messier and more random. As riveting as it may be to watch Alpha jump in slo-mo over the ice while Keda uses his knife to pierce the surface from underneath, that scene calculated more for spectacle than for any genuine narrative purpose; and the same can be said of another in a iridescent cave where they are suddenly attacked by a giant bear.
It is clear by the hour-mark that Hughes and his screenwriter Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt don’t quite know how to sustain a feature-length film with what is essentially a straightforward tale of devoted companionship and mutual support. And that in turn is reflected in McPhee’s indistinct performance, which hardly brings out just how his character’s arduous journey back to his own tribe becomes a life-changing event for himself. What does Alpha teach Keda about himself? How does the bond between Alpha and Keda change Keda? These remain frustratingly ambiguous by the time the movie concludes with the silhouettes of Alpha and Keda.
So really as pretty as the movie looks, ‘Alpha’ is disappointingly dull and monotonous. Once the bond between Alpha and Keda is established, the movie just becomes a tedious slog to that inevitable happily-ever-after finish. Worse, as minimal as the dialogue of invented early European language may be, the subtitles suggest that it is corny as hell, comprised of the sort of vague aphorisms about how life is for the strong and needs to be earned. Ultimately, it is a middling story of the bond between man and dog, and even if you’re a sucker for such tales, there are much better ones out there you should seek out..
Movie Rating:
(Unless you're looking to watch a NatGeo doc of the prehistoric Ice Age on the big screen, the epic vistas won't quite make up for a less than compelling tale of man and dog's first bond)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama
Director: Min Gyu-dong
Cast: Kim Hae-sook, Kim Hee-ae, Ye Soo-jung, Moon Sook, Lee Yong-nyeo, Kim Sun-young-III
RunTime: 2 hr 1 min
Rating: PG13
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:
Opening Day: 16 August 2018
Synopsis: Based on the inspiring true story of the women in the "Gwanbu Trial". Moon Jeong-suk (Kim Hee-ae) is a hard-hearted successful businesswoman who is initially indifferent to the women of an anti sex-slavery movement. But she has a change of heart when she discovers an old friend's past as a comfort woman for the Japanese during World War II. This sparks Moon's determination to seek justice for 10 former comfort women, beginning an uphill legal battle against the Japanese government that lasted six years..
Movie Review:
Probably the most challenging issue between Japan and the Republic of Korea is finding closure to the legacy of the ‘comfort women’, a euphemism for girls and women who were forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese military during World War II. Though Japan views that it had closed the subject back in 2015 with a formal apology and a 1 billion yen to support these victims, South Korea has since returned to it with the commemoration of the first ‘comfort women’ day this year and the unveiling of monuments dedicated to these women. So while director and co-writer Min Kyu-dong’s film is inspired by the ‘Gwanbu Trial’ in the 1990s, ‘Herstory’ is as timely as ever in portraying the emotionally charged matter. It is also one of the most nuanced among similar films, and by virtue of that, inimitably moving.
At the heart of the movie is a group of ten former ‘comfort women’ who take the Japanese Government to court, demanding that they are owed an apology and compensation under the Constitution as victims of Imperial Japan’s war and colonisation. A total of 23 hearings took place over six years between 1992 and 1998, with these women travelling up and down from Busan to the Japanese city of Shimonoseki in order to have their case heard. But rather than lose focus just by sheer number, the film trains its sight on four of them – namely, the stoic housekeeper Jeong-gil (Kim Hae-sook), the lively and vivacious Soon-nyeo (Ye Soo-jung), the sweet and charming Gwi-soon (Moon Sook), and the dementia-ridden Ok-joo (Lee Yong-nyeo). Each will get her turn on the stand describing her own horrific experience, and it is notable that Min entrusts these veteran actresses’ narration to bring their characters’ ordeal to life than resort to flashbacks to do the same.
There is a fifth female character whose role is no less significant – the strong-minded and fiercely independent middle-aged single mother Jeong-suk (Kim Hee-ae), who decides to channel her own travel agency’s money to finance the legal and travel expenses of this watershed trial. Though she starts off indifferent to the struggles of these women to gain recognition for their case, Jeong-suk has a change of heart after meeting some of them face-to-face through a support centre she had set up within her company premises. It is through this process that she discovers her very own housekeeper Jeong-gil is one of these survivors, and although her starting point was to reform the image of her agency accused of running prostitution tours for Japanese tourists (yes, the irony is intentional), Jeong-suk becomes personally invested in ensuring that justice be served.
As much as her presence may seem like an unnecessary detraction from the true victims themselves, Jeong-suk turns out to be an excellent complement in the narrative – not only does she function as the audience surrogate, she serves as a contemporary example of the tenacity and resilience that her predecessors had portrayed during the war by holding her own in a patriarchal society. That Kim’s performance is one of guts and gusto makes her presence even more welcome, and her chemistry with her accomplished female co-stars is spirited and heart-warming. Most notable of course are her scenes with Kim Hae-sook as their characters grow in mutual understanding, finding in each other kindred spirits akin to that between mother and daughter, not least because Jeong-gil is like a grandmother to Jeong-suk’s teenage daughter.
Especially given the numerous public and political statements on the issue, Min’s refrain from pontification is almost refreshing, choosing instead to emphasise the individual struggles of his characters for whom no measure of apology or compensation may seem sufficient for reconciliation. Oh yes, as cruel as that may sound, it is telling from these accounts that the psychological scars from their past are forever seared into their consciousness, and not time or recompense can come to ameliorate their suffering. But at the very least, recognition of what they had gone through serves to mitigate their indignation, and ‘Herstory’ offers poignant clues as to why this emotive part of history will probably never go away, as much as it may seem practical and even ideal to simply move on.
So as natural as the ‘Gwanbu Trial’ lends itself to cinematic interpretation, it is admirable that Min opts for a restrained, than manipulative, approach which unearths surprising depths of emotion on a deeply personal but highly politicised issue. Like its title suggests, the focus here is really on the five women who dare to withstand public scrutiny and debate so that their stories can be heard, and the film ultimately does justice to the real-life characters whose experiences are the very basis of the narrative. There is not a dull moment in this briskly-paced, well-told drama, and we dare say not likely a dry eye to be found in the cinema by the time the credits roll.
Movie Rating:
(True to its title, this intimate, restrained and nuanced portrayal of the struggles of 'comfort women' is deeply moving)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Animation
Director: Aaron Horvath, Peter Rida Michail
Cast: Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong, Hynden Walch, Will Arnett, Kristen Bell, Eric Bauza, Michael Bolton, Nicolas Cage, John DiMaggio, Halsey
RunTime: 1 hr 28 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:
Opening Day: 30 August 2018
Synopsis: When the Teen Titans go to the big screen, they go big! "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies" finds our egocentric, wildly satirical Super Heroes in their first feature film extravaganza-a fresh, gleefully clever, kid-appropriately crass and tongue-in-cheek play on the superhero genre, complete with musical numbers. It seems to the Teens that all the major superheroes out there are starring in their own movies-everyone but the Teen Titans, that is! But de facto leader Robin is determined to remedy the situation and be seen as a star instead of a sidekick. If only they could get the hottest Hollywood film director to notice them. With a few madcap ideas and a song in their heart, the Teen Titans head to Tinsel Town, certain to pull off their dream. But when the group is radically misdirected by a seriously Super-Villain and his maniacal plan to take over the Earth, things really go awry. The team finds their friendship and their fighting spirit failing, putting the very fate of the Teen Titans themselves on the line!
Movie Review:
Please do yourself a favour and go check out Teen Titans Go!, the animated TV series based on the DC Comics fictional superhero team. This may just alleviate all bewilderment and angst related to the slew of overstuffed movies from the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Yup, we are looking at you - Batman v Superman: D(Y)awn of Justice and Suicide Squad.
After four successful seasons (the fifth season started airing in the US in June), the not so superheroes are confident enough to make their feature film debut. Make way for Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire!
Most of us know Robin as Batman’s sidekick. For the uninitiated, Beast Boy has the superpower to turn into different animals, Cyborg is a robot human with super strength, Raven is a half human and half demon being with telekinetic abilities, and Starfire is an alien princess who can shoot green laser beams from her eyes.
Written and produced by series developers Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, the very hilarious comedy sees the Teen Titans realising that their counterparts in the DCEU are enjoying fame as movie stars (say hi to Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and ahem, Green Lantern). Not wanting to be outdone, they try all ways and means to get cast in a feature film. They figure that an epic villain is required and presto, enter Slade (we love the running gag about the masked antagonist being mistaken for Deadpool) who, of course, has a maniacal plan to take over the world.
If you are familiar with the TV series, the high energy of the movie won’t come as a surprise. The characters have gleefully fun personalities (Robin is a wimp, while Cyborg is an splendid rapper), colours are bursting with vibrancy (we love Beast Boy’s green skin and Starfire’s pink hair), there are lots of laughs (we found ourselves chuckling at every other scene) and wow, the fart jokes actually work.
Credit goes to the filmmakers for being totally self aware. As a superhero movie, you can expect Easter Eggs in this movie but what amazes us is that they come so fast and furious, you will actually lose count. Never heard of the Rainbow Raider and Challengers of the Unknown? Find the name Jade Wilson a little fishy? How about getting a certain Stan Lee to make a cameo appearance in a non Marvel production? You can expect all these and a lot more in this highly entertaining animated movie.
After watching the movie, you can scour the Internet to be continually amazed by the amount of in jokes in the film. Or you can just make a repeat trip to the cinema to catch it again.
Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong and Hynden Walch reprise their roles from the TV series. More notable celebrities lending their voices to the movie are Will Arnett (nope, he isn’t Lego Batman here), Jimmy Kimmel (say hello to your new Batman), Nicolas Cage (this is the next big thing to seeing the foul faced star as Superman) and Kristen Bell (Princess Anna has a darker side as a scheming film director here).
Running at 88 minutes, this movie is for both adults and kids. Adults will love the self referential humour, while kids will adore the cuteness and learn a life lesson or two along the way. And did we mention the movie features a remarkable soundtrack? You just need to listen to Michael Bolton’s Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life to be blown away by its awesomeness.
Movie Rating:
(You will find yourself cheering the Teen Titans in this extremely fun and intelligent animated movie. Go Teen Titans Go! Go Teen Titans Go! Go Teen Titans Go!)
Review by John Li
Genre: Thriller
Director: Yoon Jong-bin
Cast: Hwang Jung-min, Lee Sung-min, Cho Jin-woong, Ju Ji-hoon
RunTime: 2 hrs 17 mins
Rating: PG13
Released By: Golden Village Pictures, Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 20 September 2018
Synopsis: In 1990s, South Korean military intelligence agent with code name 'Black Venus' is assigned to infiltrate North Korean nuclear facility. Disguised as a South Korean businessman working on a collaborative project with North Korea, he manages to win the trust of North's ruling class. but a larger political scheme lies ahead.
Movie Review:
Just as no filmmakers can replicate Jack Neo’s Singapore style comedy, no filmmakers in the world will be able to do a spy drama detailing the political issues between North and South Korea other than a true-blue Korean.
Director and writer Yoon Jong-bin concocts this spy flick based on the accounts of an ex-spy dubbed “Black Venus”. In the movie version, character actor Hwang Jung-min (The Battleship Island, Ode To My Father) plays Park, an ex-intelligence officer who is being assigned by Choi (Cho Jin-woong), director of the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) to infiltrate Pyongyang to gather data on their nuclear plant.
Thus the first half of the drama sees Park transforming to a loud, brash capitalist businessman trying to scour for deals and links in Beijing until he met Director Ri (Lee Sung-min), the man in charge of economic affairs on behalf of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il. On the pretext of looking for special locations in the hermit capital, Park hatches a joint ad venture between the two Koreans. Fortunately, the plan was approved by Kim but with the political climate in South Korea being unpredictable at that point of time, Park’s life and career might be hanging by the thread in the end.
Under Yoon’s skilful guidance, both Hwang and Lee shines tremendously in their respective roles. Both men are faithful to their own motherland and wants nothing but the best for them. Though having the same mindset, their sense of belonging might be a stumbling block to their budding friendship. Joo Ji-hoon (Along With The Gods) who is pretty prolific in 2018 turned up as the Head of Security who is constantly suspicious of Park’s intentions served as one of the movie’s antagonists.
Despite having an espionage theme,The Spy Gone North boasts none of the exhilarating action sequences of the James Bond movies or the Mission Impossible franchise. A gun is sighted but no bullets are fired. In fact, there’s hardly any scene of tension in the entire flick unless you factor in the scene in which we see Park meeting Supreme Leader Kim for the first time. What we have are scenes after scenes of Park talking on the phone in long dark corridors, hotel room and restaurants and Park conversing with Ri along long dark corridors, hotel room and restaurants.
It’s best to walk into The Spy Gone North with a clear mind as Yoon fills the third act with so much political conspiracies, politicians, congressmen and North Korea reps that the narrative is no longer a simple affair that revolves around Park and the nuclear program. For better or worse, this might be the main factor why casual audiences might find convoluting if you somehow lost your concentration.
The Spy Gone North is an ambitious, honest tale of ordinary brave folks who risked their lives for their motherland only to be let-down by it at the end of the day. There are solutions that can be easily settled by fake Rolexs and tie clip instead of nukes and bullets. The movie also boasts impressive CGI which showcases the streets of North Korea and cheesy set dressing that has Taiwan standing in for 90’s Beijing.
Movie Rating:
(For a flick that is set in the 90’s, the themes discussed are still surprisingly relevant today and to top it off, it’s a mature spy flick that boasts excellent performances. Those craving for guns and bullets should stay away)
Review by Linus Tee
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BOOK REVIEW #23: HOW TO AMERICAN: AN IMMIGRANT'S GUIDE TO DISAPPOINTING YOUR PARENTSPosted on 25 Aug 2018 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Rupert Everett
Cast: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Colin Morgan, Edwin Thomas, Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson
RunTime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: R21 (Homosexual Content and Nudity)
Released By: Lighthouse Film Distribution and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 11 October 2018
Synopsis: In a cheap Parisian hotel room Oscar Wilde lies on his death bed and the past floods back, transporting him to other times and places. Was he once the most famous man in London? The artist crucified by a society that once worshipped him? The lover imprisoned and freed, yet still running towards ruin in the final chapter of his life? Under the microscope of death he reviews the failed attempt to reconcile with his long suffering wife Constance, the ensuing reprisal of his fatal love affair with Lord Alfred Douglas and the warmth and devotion of Robbie Ross who tried and failed to save him from himself. From Dieppe to Naples to Paris freedom is elusive and Oscar is a penniless vagabond, always moving on, shunned by his old acquaintance, but revered by a strange group of outlaws and urchins to whom he tells the old stories - his incomparable wit still sharp. THE HAPPY PRINCE is a portrait of the dark side of a genius who lived and died for love in the last days of the nineteenth century.
Movie Review:
You may recognise the title of this film about the great Irish wit Oscar Wilde as that of a children’s tale by the literary giant. The story goes something like this: in a town of poverty and misery, a swallow is asked by the statue of the titular prince to convey its riches to the townspeople; but upon dying in winter as a result of its selfless deeds and of cold, the swallow is thrown in a dust heap with the broken heart of the statue; still, both are eventually taken up by an angel to heaven, where they are reaffirmed by God as the two most precious things in the city.
That the film references the story is no coincidence, and its connection with the writer is deftly laid out over the course of the narrative, which covers his last few years in exile after being imprisoned for two years for then-illegal homosexual acts deemed as “gross indecency”. It is a depressing movie all right, not least because it shows how far Wilde had fallen from the glory of his grand and wily days, so don’t go in expecting Wildean banter; but amidst its melancholy is a heartfelt meditation on the costs and consequences of self-grandiosity, hedonism and decadence.
As its writer and director, Rupert Everett skips back and forth in time to paint a desolate portrayal of a man whose last days were spent skulking through back alleys and claustrophobic cabarets in Paris. Along one such alley, he presses a sympathetic female admirer who recognises him for £5; while at one such night-time establishment, he gets on the table and sings an old show tune, before collapsing face-down on the ground. Not only will that injury of his right ear leave him bedridden, it will eventually lead to his death by meningitis.
Before returning to his lowest ebb, Everett brings us back a couple of years before, with Wilde landing in the coastal French town of Dieppe immediately following his prison release to hang out in the company of his longtime pal Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) and faithful literary executor Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas). During this time, Wilde continues to be supported by his estranged wife Constance (Emily Watson), and in turn he lets it be known to both Reggie and Robbie that he hopes he can be reunited with Constance as well as his two young sons.
Yet despite Robbie’s warnings that both his wish for reconciliation and his very allowance is at stake if he sees his former lover Lord Alfred ‘Bosie’ Douglas (Colin Morgan), Wilde ultimately cannot resist that temptation, and it isn’t long before he abandons both Reggie and Robbie and runs away with Bosie to Naples. Needless to say, things do not go well between Wilde and Bosie in Italy, or for that matter between them and the rest of their Italian play-things, such that Wilde will eventually find himself penniless and alone in Paris to spend the remaining days of his life.
This is the first time that Everett is stepping behind the camera, so you’ll have to bear with the meandering proceedings that lack a sense of urgency, or the confusing structure which skips around too much, or the too-obvious sentimentality which he leans too hard on. Yet even so, the fact that Everett has placed much care and forethought into the movie is undoubtable, especially in drawing out the parallel between the allegorical prose of the titular story and Wilde’s own selfless gift of his exuberance to the people around him.
Everett has also invested his entire being into playing Wilde, and more than the paunchy prosthetics he adopts, there is genuine pathos in his depiction of the character’s vulnerabilities and emotions. Some may recall that Everett had played Wilde before in David Hare’s biographical play ‘The Judas Kiss’, but that in no way diminishes how impressively immersive and full-bodied his performance here is, which powerfully lay bare Wilde’s weaknesses of pleasure-seeking and self-indulgence that precipitated his continued descent into destitution.
Frankly, ‘The Happy Prince’ won’t be an easy film to watch for many – there will be some for whom its homosexual depictions will be uncomfortable; but there will definitely be more who will find it almost uniformly gloomy and depressing, especially knowing how there will not be a happy ending for Wilde. Yet like we said at the start, there is something deeply poignant within about giving one’s life away to self-grandiosity, hedonism and decadence, almost a cautionary lesson if you will; and even if having the word ‘happy’ in its title is really a misnomer, it is still majesty and magnificence in Everett’s passion project.
Movie Rating:
(Contrary to its title, this is little joy to be found in Oscar Wilde's twilight years, but there is genuine pathos in Rupert Everett's poignant and heartfelt depiction of the literary giant's destitution)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan, Kaitlyn Dever, Timothy Hutton, Andre Royo
RunTime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: M18 (Drug and Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures & Lighthouse Film Distribution for Amazon Studios
Official Website: https://www.beautifulboy.movie/
Opening Day: 25 October 2018
Synopsis: Beautiful Boy is a deeply moving portrait of a family’s unwavering love and commitment to each other in the face of their son’s addiction and his attempts at recovery. Based on two memoirs, one from acclaimed journalist David Sheff and one from his son, Nic Sheff. As Nic repeatedly relapses, the Sheffs are faced with the harsh reality that addiction is a disease that does not discriminate and can hit any family at any time.
Movie Review:
John Lennon’s lullaby was the title that journalist David Sheff chose for his memoir of his life-changing journey precipitated by his son’s descent into addiction; and if you’re familiar with the lyrics, you’ll probably agree that it is entirely befitting to describe not just the long road of recovery and relapse, but also the promise of parental protection from David to his son Nic. Director Felix Van Groeningen may have titled his movie after David’s memoir, but he and co-screenwriter Luke Davies have also drawn from Nic’s complementary book ‘Tweak’. So this fact-based account of an American family’s efforts to save their teenage son from drugs is really told from two perspectives – one, that of Nic, sinking into the abyss of addiction; and two, that of his father David, who is desperate at wits’ end to save him.
If it isn’t yet apparent, ‘Beautiful Boy’ isn’t an easy film to watch; in fact, it is harrowing, dispiriting and often frustrating. Part of that is due to the nature of addiction itself, which a clinic worker explains to a distraught David (Steve Carrell) when informing him that his son Nic (Timothee Chalamet) has disappeared from the rehabilitation centre. “Relapse is a part of recovery,” she says, even though that is of little comfort to David. It means for us and for David that we, over the course of the movie, will see Nic going through the wrenching cycle of rehab-relapse-rinse-and-repeat, with no seeming end in sight to his inner emotional turmoil. In turn, we also see David go from confusion (what happened to his beautiful boy, he asks himself), to anguish, to helplessness, and finally to futility (as he finally comes to terms with the fact that Nic will have to choose his own path in life).
In between juggling these two points-of-view, the film also weaves in a whole tapestry of flashbacks, which largely show both father and son in happier times before. These sometimes seemingly random shots of the past add depth to the relationship between David and Nic, especially seeing as how Nic had stayed with his dad after his parents divorced, and had come to accept his dad’s new family as his own. Heck the pair were so close that Nic used to smoke joints with his dad, which also illuminates the torrent of emotions which David feels after discovering that Nic had subsequently moved to much stronger stuff. Flitting between past and present does result in a fractured chronology which can be disorienting at times, but on the whole, these insertions makes David’s subsequent heartbreak feel a lot more intimate.
As it rightly should, the movie belongs largely to Carrell and Chalamet, both of whom play their roles superbly. Carell is quietly devastating as a father who is grappling with the extent of his son’s addiction, first asking himself just what went wrong or what he did wrong, then grasping at straws watching Nic recover and relapse without warning, and finally coming to terms with the limits of his own abilities at breaking the cycle. On the other hand, Chalamet is truly agonising to watch as a young man unable to lift himself out of the void that fuels his addiction, and powerless to escape the hold that drugs have over his life. Both Tierney and Ryan are excellent in their supporting roles as Nic’s stepmom and biological mom respectively, and in their scenes with David and Nic, illustrate the toll that Nic’s condition takes on both families.
Like we said, ‘Beautiful Boy’ isn’t at all comfortable viewing, right down to its open ending, which suggests though that Nic has been eight years clean, his struggle is by no means completely over. But in the midst of the opioid epidemic sweeping over the United States, it is a timely and powerful call for stronger upstream regulation of such drugs and for more downstream support of recovery and rehab programmes. It is also for us a useful reminder just why we had taken a zero tolerance stance against drugs, and why we remain so cautious about legalising marijuana, even for medicinal reasons. You don’t have to be a parent to understand just what David is going through as Nic careens on the abyss, but especially if you’re a parent, this portrait of the fear, anxiety but inevitability of letting go of your child’s life is one that will cut deep and sharp.
Movie Rating:
(Raw, intimate and harrowing to watch, this portrait of the toll that a teenage son's addiction takes on his loving father is beautiful in its portrayal of pain, helplessness and enduring love)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Sho Tsukikawa
Cast: Masaki Suda, Tao Tsuchiya, Yuki Furukawa, Yuki Yamada, Elaiza Ikeda, Minami Hamabe, Gaku Sano, Mokomichi Hayami
RunTime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: MM2 Entertainment
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 September 2018
Synopsis: Problem student Haru Yoshida sits next to cold and studious Shizuku Mizutani in class. Without any other friends to turn to, both of them start to get to know each other and grow closer. Haru eventually develops feelings for Shizuku and confesses his feelings to her. Will Haru and Shizuku get their happily ever after?
Movie Review:
My Little Monster is based on a Shojo Japanese manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Robico. The manga series also had an anime adaptation which was aired in Japan 6 years ago. The story revolves around the romance between Mizutani Shizuku (played by Tsuchiya Tao) and Yoshida Haru (played by Suda Masaki).
Haru is a seemingly problematic student at school, and often gets into trouble for the fights he gets into with other students. Because of his suspension from school, Shizuku makes a visit to his place to deliver the homework and notes he has missed out on. But her first encounter with him turned out to be a disastrous and baffling one. Haru was at first cautious, but immediately assumed friends after realising that Shizuku meant no harm. When Shizuku overheard a conversation bad-mouthing Haru, she instinctively went up to them and stood up for Haru. Shizuku has never acted like that before, as her focus was solely on studying and getting good results. But that first sprout of her relationship with Haru changed her.
My Little Monster, pretty much like other Shojo movies, headlines with the up and rising stars. Tsuchiya Tao, the female lead, has made her breakthrough in 2015 when she was casted for the starring role of the NHK morning drama (a long-running time slot and became representative of Japanese media), after a rigorous auditions of over 2000 candidates. On the other hand, Suda Masaki the male lead, is multi-talented as well. Although he started off with many idol-like activities, his role in 2013’s Backwater (Tomogui) proved his ability to excel as an actor. His popularity rose over the years and he debuted as a solo singer last year, collaborating with several acts, including popular musician Kenshi Yonezu while maintaining his acting activities.
With these two holding the key roles of the movie, it’s almost a guarantee that the movie would not go wrong, given that the movie script is not messed up. And indeed, My Little Monster was mostly entertaining and enjoyable. In fact, Suda Masaki aced his role as Haru. He is so fitting for the role that you wouldn’t be able to imagine anyone else who can make it better than him! Some may say Haru is not a challenging character to begin with, but to bring out his charm points so effectively without spoiling the integrity of the character in the manga makes him such a natural.
Other than casting the right people, the movie pleasantly surprises with many scenic spots. They include a college in Toyama (situated in front of the mountainous range), Kobe’s Venus Bridge and Tokyo’s Anniversaire Tokyo Bay. Further, the movie used Nishino Kana’s songs for the theme song and insert songs, once again hitting the right notes with the target audience.
If you are a fan of the manga/anime series, you might find that the development in the relationship between the characters, particularly the supporting characters, is hastened. That is possibly less than ideal, but My Little Monster manages to recreate a close-enough appearance and atmosphere of the original fiction. Other than the (overly) dramatic ending scene, there aren’t many steep ups and downs or heart wrenching scenes that makes you cry a bucket. Even so, there’s nothing to dislike about this enjoyable watch!
Movie Rating:
(A feel-good, light-hearted and happy Shojo movie. Anyway, here’s a tip off: stay behind when during the credits roll to catch the continuation of the opening scene!)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
Genre: Drama
Director: Björn Runge
Cast: Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Max Irons, Christian Slater, Harry Lloyd
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Scene of Intimacy and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 September 2018
Synopsis: From the best-selling novel by Meg Wolitzer, THE WIFE tells the story of Joan Castleman (Academy Award nominee Glenn Close): A highly intelligent and still-striking beauty – the perfect devoted wife. Forty years spent sacrificing her own talent, dreams and ambitions to fan the flames of her charismatic husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce) and his skyrocketing literary career. Ignoring his infidelities and excuses because of his "art" with grace and humour. Their fateful pact has built a marriage upon uneven compromises. And Joan’s reached her breaking point. On the eve of Joe’s Nobel Prize for Literature, the crown jewel in a spectacular body of work, Joan's coup de grace is to confront the biggest sacrifice of her life and secret of his career. The Wife is a poignant, funny and emotional journey; a celebration of womanhood, self-discovery and liberation…
Movie Review:
Imagine living your life through the eyes of someone else; someone whom you love and feel so truly for. Yet feel a sense of emptiness, pain and suffering?
“The Wife”, based on the book of the same title by Meg Wolitzer, explores Joan’s (Glenn Close) life as a ‘ghost’ author, assisting her husband, Joseph in his writing and career, propelling him to great heights and the honourable Nobel Prize, leaving her wondering what is left of her after all these years.
Joseph Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) set the tone of the film through much dominance and narcissism in his approach to life and the people around him. Through the film, one would be able to see the struggles between the two leads, the changes in attitudes, thoughts and dynamics and the shift in focus and dominance from Joseph to Joan, through multiple mini dramatic episodes.
The film is well paced and breaks quite nicely between the current time that the film was set in and the flashbacks. Pleasant sights of old town Connecticut and wintery Stockholm, befitting of the emotional storyline enclosed, complement the scenes.
The film looks into various interesting topics, interconnecting and weaving them into a tightly knitted story that is easy on the palate, yet enriching enough to feed the curious mind. It is extremely painful yet enduring to witness suppression of women’s rights, explicit fidelity and shaken family values being revealed periodically.
Glenn Close, who plays the lead role Joan, gives an outstanding performance, exceeding all possible expectations and making the character so strong and sturdy, yet fragile and docile. Every single one of her expressions is, without doubt, a gateway to unexplored emotions, undiscovered feelings and unspoken thoughts. Clearly, she is a winner in this film.
The other cast members are also not to be forgotten. They managed to deliver performances of their own and made the characters relatable. Sadly, they are slightly overshadowed by Glenn’s stunning delivery of her role as Joan and that might have dragged the ability for the others to shine.
Sadly also, the film seems slightly shorter than it could have been, although the intention might be to make it digestible and appealing to the general public. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what is missing in this film, as despite it coming forth as one with much potential, seems to might have disconnect itself from the general audience with the literary drama.
Nonetheless, “The Wife” is definitely a great film that is nicely paced and reflective and has a great storyline that transcend generations and is definitely relatable in today’s divisive society.
Movie Rating:
(A pleasantly smooth and intriguing piece of work, topped with stunning performances and a brilliant storyline. Definitely worth the watch!)
Review by Ron Tan
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