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Genre: CG Animation
Director: Dean DeBlois
Cast: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Kit Harrington, Craig Ferguson, F. Murray Abraham
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: UIP
Official Website:

Opening Day: 31 January 2019

Synopsis: From DreamWorks Animation comes a surprising tale about growing up, finding the courage to face the unknown...and how nothing can ever train you to let go.

What began as an unlikely friendship between an adolescent Viking and a fearsome Night Fury dragon has become an epic adventure spanning their lives. Welcome to the most astonishing chapter of one of the most beloved animated franchises in film history: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Now chief and ruler of Berk alongside Astrid, Hiccup has created a gloriously chaotic dragon utopia. When the sudden appearance of female Light Fury coincides with the darkest threat their village has ever faced, Hiccup and Toothless must leave the only home they’ve known and journey to a hidden world thought only to exist in myth. As their true destines are revealed, dragon and rider will fight together - to the very ends of the Earth - to protect everything they’ve grown to treasure.

Movie Review:

‘How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’ was conceived alongside the previous movie by its writer-director Dean DeBlois, and it shows.

There is no attempt to recap the events of what happened before, so those new to the franchise will probably feel a little lost at the start, especially since we are dropped right back into the world of Hiccup and his fellow dragon-riding Berks with a night-time raid that they stage on board a pirate ship to liberate some dragons being held captive. Oh yes, you’ll need to have some knowledge of the last two films to know who is who among the eccentric bunch, including Hiccup’s tough but supportive girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrara), his previously long-lost mother Valka (Cate Blanchett), a pair of bird-brained twins Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig) and Tuffnut (Justin Rupple), and the shortest and cockiest one among them named Snotlout (Jonah Hill).

Ditto the other details that matter over the course of the movie – such as how Hiccup came to have a prosthetic leg or his dragon (aka Night Fury) Toothless’ inability to fly solo – which DeBlois assumes his audience should already be aware of and therefore need no reminder. Instead, setting the events one year after that of the last film (even though it’s been five years since), we find that Hiccup’s quests to free caged dragons have led to their home being increasingly overcrowded. Worse still, Hiccup’s ambition of creating a ‘dragon-viking’ utopia has drawn the attention of ire of warlords who see it as a threat to their own established way of life, leading them to call upon the infamous hunter Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham) whose motivation in life is to hunt down and exterminate every single Night Fury.

To get his people out of harm’s way, Hiccup uproots his entire tribe to look for the mythical Hidden World, which his late father Stoick (Gerard Butler) had described as a subterranean paradise where only dragons roam freely. Trouble is, Hiccup doesn’t know how to get there, or whether it really exists. It doesn’t help that his reliable companion Toothless is distracted by hitherto unseen female company, a pure-white female night fury which Astrid dubs ‘Light Fury’. Neither Hiccup or Toothless realise at first that the Light Fury’s appearance is part of Grimmel’s wily ploy, but even so, it doesn’t change the fact that Toothless’ encounter with a fellow kind marks his coming-of-age that will change the course of his future – as well as that of Hiccup’s – forever.

At the heart of the series is the question whether humans and dragons can peacefully co-exist with one another, and this third chapter tests that proposition even further by pitting it not only against the indomitable human instinct for power and control but also the allure that the call of the wild has on the beast. The latter allows for some of the most beautiful visuals of the series so far, including a dazzling airborne sequence that marks the two dragons’ first official date and a tour of the titular Edenic locale of striking bioluminescence. With master cinematographer Roger Deakins as visual consultant, the imagery truly soars, whether in its glorious vistas over land, sea and air or its more intimate moments of photo-realistic detail.

But more than the animation itself is the narrative’s emotional finish that rounds up what is allegedly the last film in the franchise in a bittersweet yet utterly satisfying way. As he did in the first two movies, DeBlois demonstrates once again that he is not afraid of injecting darker, even unsettling, turns and themes into his stories – and even though this chapter doesn’t deal with death, loss and revenge in the same way as its predecessors did, it still packs a wallop by not shying away from the cruel realities of mankind’s baser inclinations. Fans as well as those who have revisited the earlier two movies in preparation for this one will find their loyalty and/or effort rewarded handsomely, not only in terms of continuity but also in terms of closure.

So, like we warned at the beginning, you’re probably better off doing some revision before stepping into the ‘Hidden World’, for this is less a standalone film in its own right than one intended as conclusion for the last two. There is still much fun and laughter to be had with the oddball bunch of alpha males that form Hiccup’s loyal gang of sidekicks, but both the romantic and dramatic underpinnings of the tale are both more significant and compelling. It is a soaring and roaring end we say, and if this is indeed the final ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ movie, then we’re proud to say that it does go out on a high.

Movie Rating:

(As poignant a finish as you can imagine, this concluding chapter boasts the series' signature breathtaking visuals, while soaring through new dramatic turns of co-existence between man and beast)

Review by Gabriel Chong

SYNOPSIS: In 2029, the elite police squad Illang combats a terrorist group opposing reunification of the two Koreas. But another enemy might be lurking nearby.

MOVIE REVIEW:

For a 139 minutes movie, Illang: The Wolf Brigade contains an impressive and intriguing 20 minutes prologue which tells audiences the potential reunification of the two Koreans to compete against superpowers such as the Americans, Russians and the Japanese. Throw in terrorists who are dead set against the reunification and internal rifts between a powerful Special Unit dubbed the wolf brigade and the Public Security Unit and you have one hell of a flick to look forward to.

Unfortunately, that will be another 45 minutes before anything exciting or meaningful happens.

Based on a 1999 Japanese anime by renowned filmmaker and novelist Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in a Shell) and altering the premise from Japan to Korea, Illang: The Wolf Brigade is filled with so much double-crossing, characters and political motives that it must take several viewings to fully understand the convoluting storyline.

Golden Slumber’s Gang Dong-won plays Lim, an elite member of the wolf brigade who is still shaken by the killing of 15 innocent school girls five years ago is once again haunted by the death of a young suicide bomber. Persuaded by an-ex teammate, Han (Kim Moo-yul) who is now working in the Public Security Unit to pass the wallet of the deceased suicide bomber to her elder sister, Yun-hee (Han Hyo-joo). Lim is subsequently lured into a conspiracy that threatened the disbandment of the wolf brigade. So is Yun-hee a spy, a terrorist or an informer? And why is Han bent on getting rid of the wolf brigade?

Apparently, there’s no straight answers to be expected from this action flick helmed by Kim Jee-woon who impresses audiences with his The Age of Shadows, The Good, The Bad, The Weird and A Bittersweet Life. Very much of what is promised in the prologue is forgotten by the end of the first hour as Kim delivers one solid action set piece after another.

The highlight of the entire movie is a shootout which took place at Namsan Tower, probably a replica of it since an entire floor is destroyed by fights and heavy arms as Lim and Yun-hee attempts to escape from Han’s team while more violent and bloody killings await in a dark sewer for the finale. Obviously by then, you know where Kim’s strengths lie.

It’s hard to recommend a flick liked Illang: The Wolf Brigade since the end product is pretty divided. Action fans will generally be pleased with all the solid action sequences which are elaborately choreographed and shot in well-built soundstages. But for those looking for an interesting sci-fi concept or hated the unexplained appearances of a weird man wearing an impenetrable armour with glowing red eyes should look elsewhere immediately. And yes, we still have no idea of what the metaphor of The Little Red Riding Hood actually means.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Fede Alvarez
Cast: Claire Foy, Sverrir Gudnason, Lakeith Stanfield, Sylvia Hoeks, Stephen Merchant
RunTime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence & Sexual References)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website:

Opening Day: 6 November 2018

Synopsis: Young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.

Movie Review:

Girl in the Spider’s Web is the first film in the “Millennium” series that is not derived from a novel by original “Millennium” series author, Stieg Larsson and the lack of Larsson’s touch is quite stark in the film (and if the film is true to the novel of the same title, then it is evidence of how crucial Larsson’s ability to develop flawed characters, who you are strangely drawn to, and refreshing yet complicated plots was to the success of the “Millennium” series).

Veering away from Noomi Rapace’s emotionally nuanced yet intense portrayal and Rooney Mara’s cool yet dark portrayal of Swedish hacker Lisbeth Salander, Claire Foy’s Lisbeth Salander comes across very much as a Batman (or should I say Batgirl) wannabe who, rather than face foes much like the villains from Gotham’s rogue gallery, faces enemies straight out of a Bond movie. And wrapping it all up is a Bond ‘girl’ in the form of Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason) who has a largely passive role of helping Lisbeth find out who she is up against but who also plays the role of damsel in distress who needs to be saved by Batgirl Lisbeth.

The Batman/Bond influence is felt right at the beginning of the movie with the opening scene being a blast from the past in a house atop a snowy cliff of sorts. Trapped at the edge of a cliff of sorts, the young Lisbeth is forced to make a dramatic escape from her abusive father by falling backwards off the height as her twin sister, Camilla, watches her without blinking at all (for unknown reasons Camilla chooses to stay with her abusive father despite appearing to have a bond of sorts with Lisbeth). The movie then opens with a sequence typical of a Bond movie (you half-expect Daniel Craig to show up in a tuxedo).

The next scene then switches from Bond mode to Batman mode as we see Lisbeth mysteriously appearing in the home of a prominent businessman (who is a cookie-cutter evil man who abuses women, beating both his wife and random prostitutes he hires while sleeping with his business partner’s wife) after an extremely short blackout. You half-expect her to reply to the businessman’s question of who she is with “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman!” before she beats the man up and leaves him literally hanging (without killing him).

And that is precisely what makes this film disappointing. Rather than take on its own tone, it tries too hard to live up to some kind of ideal of an action film franchise, resulting in it being a strange wannabe that is neither Bond nor Batman nor quite its own thing. Everything is made big, the explosions are huge and the shots are overly iconic. This results in everything feeling somewhat hollow and strangely slow-paced as you never quite get drawn into Lisbeth. Unlike Rapace who debuted the role with a vulnerability that was cloaked by a smouldering intensity which make you drawn to her Lisbeth while feeling sympathetic, Foy’s Lisbeth feels like she is trying too hard to be edgy yet vulnerable. There are moments (usually during close up shots) when that veneer of Foy’s Lisbeth cracks a bit and you start to sense a little of her vulnerability, but those moments are never built upon, leaving audiences unable to experience and appreciate Lisbeth’s complexity. Rather, she is simply a brooding bisexual genius hacker who clearly has unexplained emotional entanglement with her non-identical sister and investigative journalist Mikhail Blomkvist (reduced to a wallflower role).

Unfortunately, even if it strives to be a conventional action thriller, the movie could be more tightly paced. Supposedly nerve-wrecking moments, such as when Lisbeth threatens to prevent a potential ally from escaping the clutches of their common enemy, did not make my heart skip a beat. In fact, I kept wondering when such moments would speed up instead.

The action sequences occasionally make the movie a little bit more thrilling, but for the most part, the movie tries too hard to be edgy yet appealing to the broad audience. The end result is a movie that is for, most part, neither quite exciting nor different.

Movie Rating:

(Entertaining to some extent if you are new to the series, but disappointing for those who watched the previous movies from the Millennium series)

Review by Katrina Tee

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Shih-Han Liao
Cast: Kimi Hsia, Jason Tsou, Po-Cheng Chen, Ke Fang Sun, Han Gee Liu, Vicci Pan, Fox Lee, Kimi Chen
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:

Opening Day: 15 November 2018

Synopsis: The Rope Ritual is a traditional ritual passed down from thousands of years ago. Legend has it that after people commit suicide by hanging, a curse resides on the rope which grows more powerful and sinister over time. Along the coastal areas of Taiwan, a ritual must be performed to burn the rope to lift the Rope Curse. This is called The Rope Ritual. Jia-Wei works at a TV station and makes side income through live broadcasting bizarre events. With his good friend, A-Gwai, they decide to livestream the Rope Ritual to reach more viewers. Unknowingly, they find themselves tied to an unknown and unspeakable horror, which also implicates Jia-Wei’s girlfriend, Shu-Yi. As the situation escalates, Jia-Wei seeks the help of a Taoist Master to protect himself and his lover. But what he uncovers is Shu-Yi’s long buried secret from a decade ago. Can Jia-Wei unravel Shu-Yi’s secret and hold back the evil unleashed by The Rope Curse?

Movie Review:

A suicide is tragic enough, but there’s something extra about the image of a hanging body that never fails to chill one to the bone. So it’s not surprising that in parts of Fujian and Taiwan, that a ritual has been created to combat the horror of a person hanging by choice.

It is given a nickname: sending rice dumplings - a more innocuous term for the spiritual procession that delivers the spirit of the deceased away from the location of hanging. And it’s an elaborate one. The rope is retrieved, and the area it was hung from cut down if possible. The fearsome Zhongkui deity then leads the rope away, to be cast to the sea, with plenty of talismans and firecrackers along the way.

While locals in the path of the ritual will shutter windows and doors and place upturned brooms to ward off the evil, Jiawei (Jason Tsou) is banking on livestreaming this tradition to generate impressions on his social channel, all in a bid to earn advertising money enough for his marriage to Shuyi (Kimi Hsia).

A literal bump in the road occurs and the rope drops unseen from the ritual bag, and continues its curse. Jiawei gets pulled in when the death of his talent turns up dubious, but Shuyi also gets wrapped up in nightmares of a childhood friend.

Liao Shih Han’s The Rope Curse mostly succeeds in creating a frightening revenge tale of an aggrieved spirit. There’s plenty of sequences played out with clever editing and the plot moves fairly quickly, just a tad bogged down by redundant flashbacks as the back story unfolds. Maybe a better understanding of similar material might help? It’s not an entirely original story - bullied girl comes back to avenge her classmates - so the audience doesn’t need so much explanation or rehashed scenes of petty bullying. But because Shuyi was her best (if only) friend, we have enough to keep going.

Chen Po Cheng as the priest who dispenses his wisdom and skills is always a riot, his stern no-nonsense ways acting as the occasional comic relief when his nephew acts up. And the leads demonstrate their motivations well, if a little lacking in romantic chemistry. The ball drops with the bullied spirit. The girl is a caricature - bad haircut, dorky glasses, timid manners - and the rendition is bordering on comic, which makes it hard for the audience to feel for her.

As a ghost she’s sometimes creepy (usually as a blur in the background), but when she is more clearly seen, the make-up and blood is again - almost laughable. This, luckily, does not happen very often, so The Rope Curse manages to keep the suspense and horror quotient satisfying.

The film works best when the ritualistic proceedings are going on. And supported by some lush visuals and lighting, makes the film a decent treat for fans into Asian horror.

Movie Rating:

(The spirit causing chaos might need some help in her make-up and characterisation, but the native spiritual practises maintain this film as satisfying horror fodder)

Review by Morgan Awyong

Genre: Biography/Drama
Director: Trevor Nunn
Cast: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:

Opening Day: 4 July 2019

Synopsis: The year is 2000 and Joan Stanley (Academy Award winner Judi Dench) is living in contented retirement in suburbia at the turn of the millennium. Her tranquil life is suddenly disrupted when she’s arrested by MI5 and accused of providing intelligence to Communist Russia. Cut to 1938 where Joan is a Cambridge physics student who falls for young communist Leo Galich and through him, begins to see the world in a new light. Working at a top-secret nuclear research facility during WWII, Joan comes to the realisation that the world is on the brink of mutually assured destruction. Confronted with an impossible question- what price would you pay for peace? Joan must choose between betraying her country and loved ones or saving them.

Movie Review:

Without the involvement of Judi Dench, we are guessing that not many people would be interested in this spy drama film.

Dench, a seven time Oscar nominee (she won the Best Supporting Actress prize for her eight minute appearance in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love), has delivered impressive performances in acclaimed works like Philomena (2013), The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) and Victoria & Abdul (2017), is an obvious choice if you want to cast someone to play an elderly lady who had ideals in her younger days, but has been wronged by the system.

In this film helmed by English theatre director Trevor Nunn, Dench plays the older version of Joan Stanley, who studied physics at Cambridgein her younger days. The genius became involved with communists and radical politics, and got her life turned upside down. Now in her senior years, she gets questioned by the Special Branch for being involved in communism.

The character is based on Jennie Rooney’s novel of the same name, which was inspired by Melita Norwood, a real life personality who worked at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association as a secretary and supplied the Soviet Union with nuclear secrets.

The story sounds like a recipe for high stakes drama and plenty of double crossings, before culminating in a finale where the protagonist righteously speaks about how her actions are fueled by a need for opposing sides of the war to be on the same playing field. But this 101 minute film is treated with a prim and proper approach, and sparks just don’t fly. In fact, the only moments when you’d sit up and watch are when Dench appears on screen to narrate the flashbacks.

The younger Joan is played by Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Golden Circle). While the 29 year old English actress does a decent job of playing a bright young girl who has huge ambitions, she just doesn’t seem to be able to fill the shoes of the big hearted character she is supposed to portray. Of course, it doesn’t help that her older self is played by Dench, who commands the screen in every scene.

Hence, viewers can’t help but compare.

Cookson’s scenes with a fellow radical (Tereza Srbova) and a German Jew (Tom Hughes) also fail to spark chemistry. While you can’t label their performances as bad acting, this is the kind of show that you’d expect to come across while channel surfing on a lazy weekend afternoon. If you have personal interest in history and happen to be a fan of spy dramas, then this film would keep you adequately engaged.

Another possible reason why this movie may fail to interest the mainstream movie goer is the lack of impressive sequences. Given the background of Nunn, he may not have seen the need to include big sets, action scenes and dramatic plot development. The concept does sound like an interesting one on paper, but when it gets translated into the visual medium, one wishes that more could have been done to engage today’s audiences, whose attention span is increasingly falling short.

Movie Rating:

(A film with an interesting premise, but could have increased many doses of drama to spice things up)

Review by John Li

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director:Teddy Robin
Cast: Stephy Tang, Louis Cheung, Kevin Cheng, Dada Chan
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:

Opening Day: 1 November 2018

Synopsis: The movie is about four of the director’s dreams: Don wanted to repay his debt by holding a fake wedding; white collar Fan learned how to let go of his ego after his struggle in love and work; writer Tong reunited with her long-lost mother but their love could not be continued; coach driver Chung was inspired by four ‘ghost ladies’ and became confident again about his talent in music.

Movie Review:

Four short stories titled ‘Happiness’, ‘Wrath’, ‘Sorrow’ and ‘Joy’ make up this tonally uneven horror-comedy anthology, which are wholly unrelated except for the fact that they belong in the mind of director Teddy Robin Kwan. Playing a fictional version of himself in the film, Teddy is seen at the start musing about the resemblance between a dream and a movie, and whether it is the director who is in control of the dream or if it is the dream that is in control of the director. Frankly, the philosophical mambo-jumbo is just a bunch of nonsense; ditto the argument that Teddy has with his producer, before a freak accident on the set of his latest movie renders him unconscious and triggers the quartet of dream narratives.

‘Happiness’ sees Louis Cheung play a small-time gangster Tung, who conspires with his associate Sai Gai (Wan Chiu) and a prostitute Dada (Dada Chan) to stage a fake wedding on a building rooftop, in order to trick his relatives of their ‘ang pows’ to pay off his debts. Their scam goes on without a hitch until after they set off a fire to chase all their guests off the roof, when Tung picks up a call on Dada’s phone that is from the hospital, informing the one in possession of the device that its owner had passed away just hours earlier. There are some further abrupt surprises within the story, most crucially involving Tung’s grandmother (Susan Shaw), but by simply being the most coherent, this is unquestionably the best segment of the four.

Kevin Cheng’s ‘Wrath’ follows, which sees him play an office worker Chun who seethes under the verbal abuse of his boss Jin (Tony Ho). After staying late one night to set up for a meeting the next day, Chun runs into a hobo at the underpass and is given a bag of seeds which the latter says will change his luck. Alas, Chun returns to the office the next day to find that his girlfriend Cherry, who works in the same office, had stabbed Jin in the neck after he had tried to rape her. Just like that, the story culminates in a showdown at Chun’s apartment that same evening, where both Cherry and Jin suddenly decide to show up. Yet by the time it ends, you’ll be left wondering what to make of Chun, or for that matter, this pointless story about pent-up anger.

On the other hand, the next story ‘Sorrow’ tries to cram too much plot at one go. This is also the episode which has made headlines about Stephy Tang baring her back for the first time, but those expecting anything sensual best not harbour any such expectation. Tang plays an illustrator who moves back to the family mansion she grew up in as a child, after finding out that her husband is having an extramarital affair, not least on her birthday. What follows involves not just her husband but also her mother, who had gone missing after a fire in the same mansion years ago that claimed the life of her father. There is more than one tragedy at play here, but the sheer haste at which the movie goes through these events diminishes their emotional poignancy. Plot-wise, there are some curious similarities with the recently released ‘The Lingering’, which though certainly longer is not necessarily better executed.

Last but not least is the thinnest one of them all, which sees Andrew Lam play a bus driver named Ah Chung, who is asked by his boss to ply a new bus route that runs to the supposedly haunted East Town Theatre. En route, Ah Chung has run-ins with a couple of spooky passengers, but these individuals turn out to be no more than cosplayers on their way to the theatre to participate in a musical. Oh yes, this final story is played for laughs more than anything, and with Ah Chung and his passengers walking into the theatre where Teddy happens to be seated, meant to bring the whole movie to a close. Even as closure though, it is too inconsequential to justify its very existence, and underscores the general futility of these stories.

Indeed, we’re not quite sure what was the point of this exercise, or if there was a point to be made in the first place. Perhaps Teddy and his co-writer Ng Ho-yin has a germ of four ideas in their head, and not knowing how to develop each of these, decided simply to just string them together with a pretentious meta- overlay. Either way, hardly any of the stories seem properly developed, or for that matter the very concept of presenting them as dreams within a director’s mind. It does prove one thing though – whether on film or in reality, the inner workings of Teddy Robin Kwan may be minimally lucid, but they aren’t exactly coherent, well thought-out or even sensible.

Movie Rating:

(Four largely pointless horror stories strung together with a pretentious meta- overlay - that about describes how lucid this pointless exercise is)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Comedy
Director: Jo Won-hee
Cast: Don Lee, Kim Young-kwang, Lee Yoo-young, Choi Gwi-hwa, Joo Jin-mo
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:

Opening Day: 15 November 2018

Synopsis: Devoted father Jang-su (Don LEE) is very good at minding his own business and only cares about his young daughter who has been on a heart transplant list for over 4 years. Tae-jin (KIM Young-kwang) is a rookie policeman who goes out of his way to help the citizens and even tracks down suspicious criminal activities on his free time. When he falls into coma while chasing down a lead, he appears before Jang-su as a ghost. Tae-jin has no choice but to ask Jang-su for help since he’s the only one who can see him. To Tae-jin’s dismay, Jang-su won’t do anything to help even if it’s to save Tae-jin’s fiancée from danger…

Movie Review:

Ma Dong-seok is probably one of the most hardworking actors in Korean cinema of late, with no less than five films slated to be released this year alone. ‘Wonderful Ghost’ – otherwise known as ‘The Soul Mate’ – is his third, and if you’ve seen his earlier ‘Champion’, you’ll probably be able to guess just what type of character he is playing here. Like that movie, this one is intended as family-friendly comedy, so it’s no surprise that Ma’s judo-gym instructor Jang-su here is really a tough-looking guy with a heart of gold. Oh yes, don’t let the fact that he doesn’t lend a helping hand to an old woman harassed by a young gangster punk early on in the movie fool you, Jang-su is ultimately kind-hearted and caring, though scarred by a tragic incident which ended up claiming the life of someone he loved.

Jo Won-hee’s film pairs Ma with rising TV-turned-film star Kim Young-hwang, who plays the earnest and righteous junior police officer Tae-jin that stumbles upon a crime ring smuggling women to work as prostitutes at a local nightclub. Tae-jin’s strong sense of justice means he feels compelled to investigate on his own, but upon gathering videographic evidence of the crime, he is unfortunately betrayed by his police senior Jong-sik (Choi Gwi-hwa). Turns out that both Jong-sik (Choi Gwi-hwa) and Tae-jin’s superior Yang (Joo Jin-mo) are complicit in the illegal enterprise, and the latter especially will do whatever it takes to keep the lucrative operation running. An ambush at an underground carpark lands Tae-jin in a coma, and shifts the attention of the baddies to his fiancée Hyun-ji (Lee Yoo-young), whom they suspect may be in possession of the evidence he once held.

Jang-su and Tae-jin’s fates become intertwined after the former follows the latter down the carpark, and is also knocked unconscious during the melee. Jang-su is lucky enough not to fall comatose, though the very supernatural twist of the film’s premise has him saddled with the misfortune of being the only one who can see Tae-jin’s spirit roaming out of its human body. Tae-jin seeks Jang-su’s help to protect Hyun-ji, whose life he fears is in imminent danger, but as expected, Jang-su refuses to do so until right at the end when she is kidnapped by Yang’s men and due to be silenced for her knowledge of the crime. Jang-su’s change of heart happens through his young daughter Do-Kyung (Choi Yoo-ri), who suffers from a weak heart and needs a transplant soon if she is to survive.

It isn’t all that difficult to guess just how and where these pieces fall into place, as a somewhat pedestrian script by Kim Sung-jin largely charts a predictable course of events leading up to a foreseeable climax and an equally anticipated bittersweet conclusion. Indeed, you can probably tell if Hyun-ji is saved, or whether Tae-jin comes out of the coma, or whether Do-Kyung gets that transplant and a new lease of life in the process, even before you get to the end of the movie. But what the narrative lacks in surprises, it certainly makes up for in heart, not just in the writing but also in the heartfelt performances on display.

You’ll be moved by the devotion Jang-su displays towards his daughter, especially as she teeters on the brink of life and death. Ditto the commitment that Tae-jin has for Hyun-ji, who not only pays passers-by to purchase the remaining of the fish at her stall so she can close up for the night, but also secretly acquires her parents’ house that she had to give up following their death for both of them to move into and settle down. And last but not least, there is the friendship between Jang-su and Tae-jin, which as typical buddy comedies do, starts off with them being at odds with each other (while tailing the smugglers, Tae-jin runs into Jang-su and suspects that he might be entangled with them too) and gradually evolves into camaraderie. Ma and Kim share a natural, easygoing chemistry that rubs onto you, and makes them all the more pleasing and likeable to hang out with.

Truth be told, its sentimentality is ultimately what makes ‘Wonderful Ghost’ enjoyable viewing. Its story may be straightforward, but there is a sincerity in both its telling and its characters within that sticks with you. Never mind therefore the somewhat contrived coincidence at the end involving Do-Kyung’s surgeon, you’ll lap it up knowing it is meant to underscore how good deeds have a way of going around in life; and never mind too the obvious call-back at the end that shows Jang-su no longer pretending to look away, you’ll cheer with the passengers on board the bus as he teaches the young punk a lesson. It may be a tad of a stretch to call it wonderful, but certainly there are heart-warming pleasures to be had with this simple, unaffected comedy, so if you need a little reminder to take heart in the goodness of people around, then this movie will be just that feel-good pill.

Movie Rating:

(As predictable as it is heartfelt, this familiar yet pleasing buddy comedy is a feel-good reminder to take heart in the goodness of people around)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Kim Tae-gyoon
Cast: Kim Yoon-seok, Ju Ji-hoon, Moon Jung-hee, Jin Seon-kyu, Jung Jong-joon
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:

Opening Day: 15 November 2018

Synopsis: Hyung-min (Kim Yoon-seok) is a prominent police detective who lives to solve criminal cases. With the help of an informant, he meets Tae-oh (Ju Ji-hoon) who claims that he was hired to kill someone 10 years ago. Just when he is about to confess where he buried the body, another team of police detectives snatch him away for an arrest. A month later, Tae-oh calls Hyung-min from prison and confesses that he actually killed 6 more people and will give him clues if he visits.

Movie Review:

Ju Ji-hoon and Kim Yoon-seok are the gems in this crime drama that touches on unaccounted, unreported violent crimes in Korea, an immensely relevant yet forgotten social issue.

Kim Hyeong-min (Yoon-seok) is a seasoned narcotics officer who stumbled upon a cold-heartened murderer, Kang Tae-oh (Ju Ji-hoon) while investigating another unrelated case with his informant. Months later, Tae-oh called up Hyeong-min from his cell to confess that including the one he was caught for, he had murdered a total of seven persons in the past. Intrigued by Tae-oh, Heyong-min decides to transfer to Homicide division to take up Tae-oh’s so-called unresolved murder cases.

But despite Heyong-min’s interrogation and bribes, Tae-oh seems to be biding time by constantly providing Heyong-min with false clues and leading him in circles. Is Tae-oh the real serial-killer? Is he an epitome of evil or a great manipulator of facts? What is his intention? Kim Tae-gyoon’s Dark Figure of Crime will keep viewers guessing from start to end although those looking for sequences of violent bloodshed and heart-pounding action should dial down your expectations.

Not be confused with Song Kang-ho from The Host, Kim Yoon-seok actually first garner international attention for his acclaimed performance in The Chaser. A somewhat quiet, subtle actor, Yoon-seok puts in yet another strong performance as the persistent detective who is not even seen smoking, swearing or drinking throughout the entire movie (a rare occurrence in Korea’s modern-day detective thrillers). He is simply an ordinary man who had lost his wife in a tragic hit-and-run accident years ago and here he is (though with a rich background) struggling to deal with Tae-oh’s inconsistency statements and bizarre behavior.

Pitting against Yoon-seok is Ju Ji-hoon last seen in Along With The Gods series. Ji-hoon is incredible as the psychopathic killer, probably his career-best. Without being over-the-top in terms of performance, he is able to single-handedly steal the show from his much veteran counterpart with his portrayal of this troubled character, a victim of an abused father and built-up resentment against society. And to top it off, since much of the exchanges took place in a holding area between Hyeong-min and Tae-oh with the occasional insertion of flashbacks, the success of the entire crime drama relied heavily on the dialogues and performances of the two leads which of course is a triumph for a director helming his sophomore effort.

As this is a title which is based on actual events, there were some initial controversies surrounding Dark Figure of Crime prior to its release in local theatres one which had relatives of deceased victims suing the producers. The move eventually turned out to be a free marketing gimmick for the movie which has since became quite a hit in Korea and Taiwan. Other than some slight draggy moments midway, there are a few courtroom scenes which highlight the frustration and limitations of modern-day law court proceedings. In a way, it’s a grim reminder that loopholes can still be exploited by criminals especially with slimy individuals liked Tae-oh.

Again, this is not a movie that contains a clear-cut conclusion if you are expecting the ending to shed lights on the issue of unsolved crimes and the Korea judicial system. When it comes to a complex court case, there’s definitely no black and white certainties it seems. While Tae-oh did got the punishment he deserved in the end, there are still many unaccounted crimes on Yoon-seok’s list. The credits might have rolled but the real Kim Yoon-seok is still chasing after clues and leads on the rest of the missing personnel.

Movie Rating:

(A grim compelling crime drama with strong performances, catch Dark Figure of Crime if you prefer something that is both relevant to today’s society and intellectually stimulating)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Set in and around the corridors of power, Bodyguard tells the story of David Budd (Richard Madden), a heroic, but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for London’s Metropolitan Police Service. When he is assigned to protect the ambitious Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs. Responsible for her safety, could he become her biggest threat?

MOVIE REVIEW:

This isn’t usually the space for TV series, but ‘Bodyguard’ is excellent enough for us to make an exception.

Already the most watched BBC drama since 2008, ‘Bodyguard’ is now available to stream on Netflix, and proves to live up to its hype and more. Much more, in fact, because you’ll instantly be caught up in its intriguing, intoxicating, and often pulse-pounding, mix of politics, treason and terrorism.

‘Game of Thrones’ alum Richard Madden stars as police sergeant David Budd, who in the opening episode of this six-parter, is on a train to London Euston with his two children when he suspects something awry might be going on. Soon enough, he is confronting would-be female suicide bomber Nadia (Anjli Mohindra) in one of the train’s toilet cubicles, and carefully coaxes her not to go ahead with her mission, even as counter-terrorism forces are scrambling outside to contain the situation. Most of the first episode happens on the train itself, but director Thomas Vincent (who also helms the next two episodes) screws the suspense so tight you’ll be relieved when it finally lets you catch your breath.

As David returns home with his kids to his wife Vicky (Sophie Rundle), you’ll sense that something else is not quite right with his marriage and with the man himself. It only becomes clearer slightly more than halfway through the extent of his disorder, but suffices to say that the post-Afghan war vet had not entirely left the war behind him. His heroic act earns him the assignment of protecting Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), a hawkish politician who is in the throes of pushing through a controversial piece of legislation RIPA-18 that has become the magnet of much public criticism.

Within the Home Ministry, Julia has also earned the ire of her Minister of State Mike Travis (Vincent Franklin) and the police counter-terrorism head Anne Sampson (Gina McKee) for allowing the Security Service (led by Stuart Bowman’s Director General of MI5 Stephen Hunter-Dunn) to interfere in the investigation into Nadia and her associates, which both opposed to it fear will only become the norm if the Security Service is given enhanced powers under RIPA-18. It doesn’t help that the police end up almost bungling another terrorist act, and that Julia is herself targeted by a sniper on a roof, ostensibly confirming her suspicions that the police are either incompetent and/or compromised.

Amidst all this, the clandestine relationship between David and Julia complicates matters even further. Following her near-miss with death, Julia gets intimate with David, and the couple soon spend many more nights together in each other’s embrace, even while maintaining their professional distance in the day. But both find themselves guilty of withholding information from each other – Julia knows she was aware that the school which David’s children attend could very well have been the target of the terrorists’ next attack, and true enough the foiled attack happens just metres away from the school entrance; on the other hand, David is recruited by his boss Chief Superintendent Lorraine Craddock (Pippa Haywood) and Commander Sampson to report on Julia’s whereabouts, especially any contact she has with the Security Service.

It’s a byzantine plot all right, but creator/ writer Jed Mercurio keeps all the pieces spinning impressively, leaving you guessing at every turn just who is responsible for what. Oh yes, everyone has their own agenda here, and it’ll be a mistake to think that a single actor or group of actors is behind each and every one of the incidents. Not to forget too that the politics isn’t simply within the Home Ministry between the police and the Security Service, but also between Julia and the Prime Minister, to whom she is possibly launching a leadership challenge for No 10 Downing Street. And without giving anything away, you should also prepare yourself for a literally explosive twist midway into the series, which dramatically alters the course of all involved in the latter half of the season.

If the first three episodes are styled as political drama, then the latter three unfold like an investigative procedural, which director John Strickland takes over the reins of without ever losing momentum or pace. Besides the aforementioned characters, other key supporting ones thrown into the mix include a shadowy Intelligence operative known as Longcross (Michael Schaeffer), two counter-terrorism detectives Deepak Sharma (Ash Tandon) and Louise Rayburn (Nina Toussaint-White), Julia’s ex-husband and Member of Parliament Roger Penhaligon (Nicholas Gleaves) and organised crime leader Luke Aikens (Matt Stokoe). Until you stop to take stock of all these characters do you realise just how intricate and elaborate this web of conspiracies Mercurio has woven, and it is to his credit that you never feel lost within at any point.

Notwithstanding, the show belongs in large part to Madden, who skilfully adjusts his performance from restraint to rage over the course of the six episodes. There is palpabl sexually charged chemistry between him and Hawes, which makes his transformation in the latter half of the season even more believable. But even though much of the story unfolds through Budd’s perspective, it’s probably more accurate to think of the entire series as an ensemble, comprising notable contributions from a who’s who of British TV acting talent. Whether intentional or not, there is a very strong female presence here, and it is a sheer delight watching McKee and Haywood spar with Franklin, Bowman and Gleaves.

There is plenty to enjoy and savour about ‘Bodyguard’, which taps into our zeitgeist of divisive politics, terrorism and controversial national security laws. Even though we’ve seen many US TV shows tap into similar themes, there is still something truly propulsive, gripping and stimulating about this latest iteration, which explains just why it has become a cultural phenomenon within the UK. Sure, some of the specific political references may seem a little less familiar, but we’re very sure the appeal of this densely but tensely plotted political/ terrorism drama extends way beyond its home shores. Like we said at the start, this usually isn’t the space for a mini-series like this, but the fact that we’ve made an exception shows just how blown away we were by this, and we dare say this is well worth the time you would otherwise have spent on three other less outstanding cinematic features in the theatre.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Gabriel Chong