SYNOPSIS: An assassin on the verge of retirement must put the good life on hold when his greedy boss sends a squad of young, ruthless killers to take him out. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

‘Polar’ sees Mads Mikkelsen play the world’s most dangerous assassin named Duncan Vizla, and as much as that log line reads like hyperbole, we were very much psyched to see the Danish actor go bad-ass all over his enemies. Yet while we were looking forward to a significant amount of bloodletting, this blood-drenched action thriller goes so over-the-top that it becomes abhorrent, stuffed as it is with wall-to-wall violence which makes no apologies for drowning you in a sea of blood and guts.

In brief, Vizla is on the verge of mandatory retirement at the age of 50, and is waiting to collect his pension from the syndicate that he works for. Alas, its absurdly psychotic boss Mr Blut (Matt Lucas) has run into some cashflow issues, and chooses to kill off its former employees than pay them their retirement benefits. Mr Blut thus sends a motley crew of five loud, garish assassins to finish Vizla off before his last day of employment. Meanwhile, Vizla, still haunted by a botched job years ago that left several innocent victims dead, holes himself up in a cabin in Montana. There, Vizla befriends a neighbour Camille (Vanessa Hudgens) with a tragic past, whom as narrative convention dictates, will eventually help him regain his humanity.

The assassin-on-the-verge-of-retirement premise is a familiar one to be honest, but we were perfectly willing to overlook that given how it was adapted from a Dark Horse graphic novel of the same name. We were also just as willing to accept the artistic liberties which former music video director Jonas Akerlund had taken with the material, swapping the minimalistic black, white and dark orange palette of the novel for a much more colourful (read: rainbow saturated) signature. In fact, we were even willing to put up with the overly stylised visuals, complete with flashy character intro title screens, outlandish costumes and rapid-fire editing.

But what we cannot tolerate is the sadism, which unfortunately pervades so much of the movie that we can hardly find any redeeming quality to it. One of the most egregious scenes of this nature has the crew firing a thousand rounds ceaselessly into a morbidly obese guy’s midsection when an earlier shot doesn’t cut it. Another has the requisite sexy squad member Sindy (Ruby O. Fee) taking revenge on a pervert who thought she was there to indulge his BDSM fantasises. And perhaps the most awful sequence is that which sees Vizla being chained up and tortured for days on end, after being tricked by a former hitman (Richard Dreyfuss). We get that it is meant to set the stage for his revenge later on, but the brutality is utterly senseless and repulsive.

To his credit, Mikkelsen tries to maintain a dignified portrait of Vizla throughout the sheer idiocy. His wolfish charisma is just as magnetic as it was on TV’s ‘Hannibal’, and he brings his usual gravitas that the movie frankly does not deserve at all. Hudgens too deserves credit for her sensitive performance, whose scenes with Mikkelsen are probably the best thing that the movie has to offer. Aside from them, Kathryn Winnick is completely wasted as a one-note femme fatale that is Mr Blut’s right-hand woman – and let’s just say the less we talk or see about the bunch of loud, garish assassins sent to kill Vizla the better.

Ultimately, ‘Polar’ is a missed opportunity at turning Mads Mikkelsen into a late-career action star, just as ‘Taken’ was for Liam Neeson. Mikkelsen certainly looks the part, and as the only worthwhile action sequence set in a tight corridor shows, capable of backing it up with some lethally cool moves. But there is a difference between the kind of violence that thrills and the kind that is simply repugnant; unfortunately, ‘Polar’s’ brand of cruelty belongs squarely in the latter category, and is made worse by a palpable sense of sadism which it is not afraid to inflict even on its lead character. You’re better off waiting for Mikkelsen’s next big-screen turn in ‘Arctic’, unless of course graphic torture and wanton killing is kind of guilty pleasure.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Stephen Merchant
Cast: Florence Pugh, Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: PG13 (Violence and Sexual References)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 18 April 2019

Synopsis:  Based on a true story, FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY follows reformed gangster Ricky, wife Julia, daughter Paige and son Zak as they make a living wrestling together in tiny venues. When Paige and Zak get the opportunity to try out for WWE, the family grabs a once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn their wildest dreams into a dazzling future. However, brother and sister quickly discover that to become superstars, both their talent and their relationship will be put to the test.FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY is a heartwarming and smart comedy that proves everything is worth fighting for when it comes to family.

Movie Review:

Don’t let the subject of wrestling deter you if you’re not already a fan; this latest underdog fable is winning and uplifting regardless.

Based on the true story of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Paige (whose offstage name is Saraya-Jade Bevis), it chronicles how a Goth-styled female teenager from a working-class family in the English city of Norwich triumphed against the odds to make it into the WWE spotlight. Many of the elements may seem familiar – including how Paige initially finds herself a misfit among the other trainees, tries to be one of them, fails and almost gives up – but writer-director Stephen Merchant tells the story with such sincerity and humanity that you’ll forgive its formulaic bits.

Oh yes, as the title implies, Paige’s tale isn’t just hers alone, but also that of her family. Dad and Mom are a boisterously affectionate duo (played by Nick Frost and Lena Headey respectively) who nurtured her interest in the sport from a very young age by running their own not-so-lucrative minor-league wrestling outfit, which they name ‘World Association of Wrestling’. Her older brother Zak (Jack Lowden) shares similar pro aspirations as Paige does, and while hoping for their big break with the WWE, teaches local kids at the family gym how to wrestle, thereby keeping them out of worse company around the neighbourhood.

Given how close Zak and Paige are, it is inevitable that their relationship will be dented when the former fails to make it through the WWE tryouts in London. Can we blame Zak that he is both envious and crushed at the same time? To Merchant’s credit, his movie is as much Paige’s coming-of-age story as it is Zak’s, as both these characters are forced to re-examine their motivations in life. On one hand, subject to grueling workout regimens and comparisons of her physical appearance with that of her fellow female trainees, Paige has to confront why and how much she wants to succeed; on the other, staring down the disappointment of professional rejection, Zak has to decide if and to what extent his life should be defined by his WWE ambitions.

Within each of their journeys, Merchant finds both sobering and poignant lessons. Faced with a brutal reception at her first NXT match, Paige decides to ape her fellow female trainees by dyeing her hair blond and lathering on sunless tanning cream, but soon realises that she is wrong to stereotype them as airheaded models or cheerleaders. Whereas, Zak wallows in his depression about being rejected, neglecting his girlfriend and their baby as well as the neighbourhood kids who look up to him as an older brother, before recognising that there is too hope and fulfilment to be found in what he can do back in Norwich.

That both Paige and Zak’s stories are as engaging as they are is also credit to Pugh and Lowden. Pugh lends her character convincing layers of emotional complexity, portraying her insecurities, frustrations and determination with alacrity. As her complement, Lowden brings real pathos to his character’s heartbreak, allowing us to feel all that conflicted emotions within Zak up close and personal. Merchant gives each of his actors room for their performances room to breathe and shine, and supports them with a strong ensemble, including a well-matched Frost and Headey who display perfect comic chemistry as Paige and Zak’s pair of unconventional parents, and Vince Vaughn as Paige’s tough but secretly emphathetic trainer.

For those unfamiliar with the sport, ‘Fighting With My Family’ manages to be both honest and glorifying of professional wrestling at the same time. It is no secret that the WWE events and match-ups are choreographed (“It’s not fake, it’s fixed”, as one character puts it), and the movie even goes one step further to have its producer Dwayne Johnson proclaiming it as “soap opera in Spandex”. But it also emphasises that its performers do put in hard work, and the road to success comes with plenty of bumps and detours; of course, it helps that the one doing the extolling in a couple of well-staged cameos is none other than Johnson himself, who has a self-effacing charm that few, if any, other stars can match.

So, like we said, even if you’re not a WWE fan, this sports comedy/ drama will easily and effortlessly win you over. There is both heart and humour in the roller-coaster journey of Paige’s underdog triumph, and Merchant handles the emotional beats with surprising delicacy. Granted that the journey follows a familiar template, but that by no means diminishes how effectively crowd-pleasing sitting through Paige’s struggles all the way to her eventual shock win at the Wrestlemania Divas tournament. This is a fight worth experiencing and cheering for, and before the summer rage of superhero movies, an excellent reminder of the ordinary heroes whose victories are no less significant and inspiring.

Movie Rating:

(Packed with plenty of heart and humour, this real-life sports underdog fable is effortlessly winning, whether or not you're a wrestling fan)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Drama
Director: Yeo Siew Hua
Cast: Peter Yu, Liu Xiaoyu, Luna Kwok, Jack Tan, Istiaque Zico, Kelvin Ho, George Low, Andie Chen
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Sexual Scene)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 21 February 2019

Synopsis: The first Singaporean film to win the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno Film Festival. A Land Imagined is set in industrial Singapore, police investigator Lok must find missing migrant worker Wang. Wang suffers a worksite accident and is anxious about repatriation. Unable to sleep, Wang starts frequenting a dreamy cybercafé in the dead of the night. Hoping to look for some form of human connection in this foreign land he feels alienated from, Wang forms a virtual friendship with a mysterious gamer that takes a sinister turn. When Wang suddenly disappears, Lok digs deep into the trail leading to a land reclamation site, in order to uncover the truth beneath all that sand.

Movie Review:

Singapore isn’t full of Crazy Rich Asians and this award winning film shows us just that.

In August last year, homegrown filmmaker Yeo Siew Hua’s work took home the highest honours - the Golden Leopard - at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. It is the first film from Singapore to win the prestigious prize at the 71^st edition of one of the world’s most established film festivals. A few months later in December, the independent production clinched the Best Film accolade in the Asian Feature Film Competition at the 29^th Singapore International Film Festival. It is also the first time a Singapore film has been recognised.

On surface, Yeo’s film is a mystery thriller about the disappearance of a migrant Chinese construction worker at a land reclamation site. A world weary detective investigates this case and in the process, ventures into a world where migrants seek solace.

But what is the non mainstream movie really about? To be honest, we aren’t really sure either. But that is the beauty of Yeo’s sophomore feature after his experimental debut In The House of Straw (2009).

Whether this the story written by Yeo is about the true meaning of belonging (does a local feel more at home in Singapore than migrant workers?), an exploration of geographical boundaries (is there a more profound meaning to importing sand from Malaysia, Vietnamand Cambodiafor land reclamation?), or a tale about human connections (is there a world beyond the cyberspace of role playing games where individuals bond?), it depends on how you interpret the surreal events that take place during the 95 minute film.

A Singaporean man strips naked to run on a treadmill. A Chinese national indulges himself in a celebration dance with Bangladeshi workers. A woman repeatedly tells customers in a gaming centre that the air conditioning isn’t free. Each of these scenes can trigger discussions among film academics. And yes, characters have dialogues about philosophical issues.   

Former TV actor Peter Yu plays the cop who is suffering from insomnia. The 51 year old is perfectly cast in this role as he restlessly goes from one place to another, attempting to solve a mystery. With unkempt hair, awful eye bags and a perpetual moodiness around him, you can feel the character’s exhaustion and helplessness. Chinese actress Luna Kwok exudes the right punk rock vibe to portray a girl who works in a cyber café, while Liu Xiaoyi takes on the role of a seemingly lonely worker looking for consolation. Elsewhere, Ishtiaque Zico plays a friendly Bangladeshi colleague, Jack Tan plays a construction site supervisor, and another familiar face Andie Chen has a bit role.

Expectedly, the film features dreamily shot sequences boasting director of photography Hideho Urata’s eye for capturing poignant visuals. The construction sites look especially alienating, the neon lights in the gaming café are strangely hypnotising and the outdoor night scenes feels extra alluring. The music composed by Teo Wei Yong is trippy one moment, and melancholic the next, and every bit fits the mood of the film.          

While Singaporecontinues to bask in the glory of being an economic miracle, is there a side of the Lion City that we do not know about, but need to connect with spiritually? Take a journey with this film to find out.  

Movie Rating:

(A cinematic achievement for Singapore, this is a daring passion project that explores another side of the bustling city state)

Review by John Li

Genre: Drama
Director: Quek Shio Chuan
Cast: Kyo Chan, Ernest Chong, Emily Zying
RunTime: 1 hr 29 mins
Rating: PG (Some Sexual References)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 14 March 2019

Synopsis: Guang is the inspirational story of Wen Guang, an autistic young man who struggles to integrate in a society that discriminates against him. Even with his brother’s help, Wen Guang finds it difficult to hold a decent job. One day, his prodigious talent for music emerges...

Movie Review:

Please give your full support to this impressive debut feature from Malaysian director Quek Shio Chuan. Because you will not regret it.

Based on a short film of the same name Quek directed in 2011, this 89 minute movie excels in ways more than one. Inspired by his own experiences with an elder autistic brother, Quek has made a film that is authentic and speaks louder than many high budget blockbusters out there.

The story’s protagonist is Wen Guang, a grown man who has autism. His younger brother (known only affectionately as Didi, which means younger brother in Mandarin) tries all ways and means to get him hired, and the attempts repeatedly fail. Wen Guang is obsessed with hunting down objects that can produce perfect audio tones, and this leads to one misadventure after another.

A film about autism can easily fall into an exploitatively sentimental tearjerker, but this production knows better than to do just that. There are several comical moments in the film that will make you smile without feeling sorry for with the situation. The banter between the two brothers sound like what two siblings in real life would argue over. The screenplay has definitely benefited from Quek’s own interactions with his brother.

The film is also gorgeously shot. Local viewers should be able to resonate with the worn out flat, the retro coffee shops and the bustling street culture that form the backdrops of the touching story. Instead of painting a drab picture which may further bog down audiences, the colours are often lavish as we see the world through Wen Guang’s eyes. There are some wonderfully edited sequences involving music as well. Without giving away too much, let’s just say these scenes will leave you smiling from ear to ear.

The casting is also spot spot on. Instead of featuring well known starrs, the director put two relatively unknown Malaysian theatre and television actors in the spotlight. Kyo Chen plays Wen Guang, wihle Ernest Chong takes on the role of his younger brother. The two men deliver impressive performances. Chen does not descend into a sad caricature, while Chong’s likeable persona helps him pull off an otherwise sympathetic character. The chemistry between the two actors is perfect. Whether they are having a child like quibble, or are breaking down after an emotional outburst, you will be moved by the relationship between the two brothers.

There are also some believable supporting characters like a caring female friend, and a mahjong kaki who may unleash harsh words but is always ready to support you when you need help. These remind you of real people around you.

The film explores the different aspects of caring for someone with special needs. How inclusive as a society are we? Are there social safety nets to ensure that needs are well taken care of? Are caregivers’ dreams put on hold? These are the questions that may set you thinking as the movie progresses, while it constantly engages you with solid performances, and most importantly, a poignant tale of human relationships, acceptance and hope.

Movie Rating:

(You will laugh, you will cry. And you will be moved by this sincere film about acceptance and hope.)

Review by John Li

SYNOPSIS: DreamWorks Pictures’ Thank You for Your Service follows a group of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq who struggle to integrate back into family and civilian life, while living with the memory of a war that threatens to destroy them long after they’ve left the battlefield. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Thank You For Your Service paints a depressing picture of army veterans who returned home to fight their own wars against PTSD and how their families cope with them. It’s a grim powerful drama in the vein of American Sniper and The Hurt Locker except it has much fewer harrowing war action sequences.

The story follows three returning veterans, first being Adam (Miles Teller) who is coming back home after his third deployment to his beautiful wife, Saskia (Haley Bennet) and two young kids but is unable to shake off the pressuring thoughts of his hemiplegic platoon mate, Emory and the death of his Sergeant Doster who stood in for Adam on the day of the tragic mission. 

His fellow teammate, Solo (Beulah Koale) also suffers from severe PTSD, memory loss and violent outbursts as he tries to get himself re-enlist for another deployment to the dismay of his pregnant wife while Billy (Joe Cole) goes home only to find his fiancée and daughter has cleared the house and left him. 

There’re clearly no happy developments as we follow these three veterans as they returned to civilian lives. Despite being back in the safest place and surrounded by the people they loved, these three individuals still find themselves emotionally challenged and mentally tortured by the events during their deployment. It’s almost painful to watch as we slowly witnessed each one of their lives spiraling down.  

Perhaps this is the main motive of this Jason Hall’s movie. The actor turned writer and director whose credits include American Sniperand Paranoia is perhaps sending a serious message to Congress and the public not to leave this bunch of men and women behind as the department for war veterans seem to be running on a tight budget to cater to the wounded personnel.  

Given his stellar presence in the underrated drama, Only The Brave, Miles Teller, one of this generation fine young actors deliver yet another electrifying performance as the battle scared soldier. Surprisingly, it’s the usually demure Haley Bennet (Music & Lyrics) who shines as Teller’s onscreen wife and comedian Amy Schumer (I Am Pretty) appears in a very small dramatic role as the wife of the late Doster. 

Thank You For Your Service is not the first and definitely not the last drama on PTSD. Does it say anything fresh or shed any new light on the subject at the end of it? I’m afraid it didn’t. However, it’s still a decent, well-acted drama that once again remind the people that peace comes with a price and medals simply are not sufficient to compensate for the pain and sufferings borne by the army veterans.  

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Steven Knight
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Diane Lane, Djimon Hounsou
RunTime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes and Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 21 February 2019

Synopsis: From the creative mind of Oscar nominee Steven Knight comes a daringly original, sexy, stylized thriller. Baker Dill (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey) is a fishing boat captain leading tours off a tranquil, tropical enclave called Plymouth Island. His quiet life is shattered, however, when his ex-wife Karen (Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway) tracks him down with a desperate plea for help. She begs Dill to save her – and their young son – from her new, violent husband (Jason Clarke) by taking him out to sea on a fishing excursion, only to throw him to the sharks and leave him for dead. Karen’s appearance thrusts Dill back into a life he’d tried to forget, and as he struggles between right and wrong, his world is plunged into a new reality that may not be all that it seems.

Movie Review:

Until the next box-office embarrassment, ‘Serenity’ will hold the ignominy of being the worst opening at the U.S. box office for both its lead stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. The next obvious question you’re probably thinking is if it really is that bad, considering how it is written and directed by Steven Knight of ‘Dirty Pretty Things’, ‘Eastern Promises’ and the one-man Tom Hardy showcase ‘Locke’. The short answer to that question is no, although we suspect that there will be those who will like it for what it tries to be and those who dislike it for precisely the same reason(s).

Without giving too much away, let’s just say that it all hinges on how much you buy that third-act twist which is audacious and, we dare say, defies expectation. Oh yes, up till that point, you would have been led to think that the whole conceit revolves around whether the salty Iraq veteran-turned-fishing boat skipper Baker Dill (McConaughey) would go along with his ex-wife Karen’s (Hathaway) nefarious plan to kill her millionaire husband Frank (Jason Clarke). Karen tells Baker that Frank has been physically abusing her, and suggests that the plan to bring Frank out on a fishing trip and feed him to the sharks was conceived by their son Patrick (Rafael Sayegh).

But circumstances are not quite as they seem, and we mean that in an existential way. There are hints of this from the get-go, including how Baker has a single-minded obsession with catching a very large tuna that he’s dubbed Justice, how Baker is pursued by a suited and bespectacled salesman (Jeremy Strong) who keeps missing him, and how Baker’s first mate Duke (Djimon Hounsou) starts talking cryptically about the almighty rules of the game when he hears wind of what Karen has asked Baker to do for her. Why, oh why, too do things feel so routine on the island named Plymouth where apparently ‘everyone knows everything’? And for that matter, what kind of island is Plymouth anyways?

It’s exactly what Knight wants, having you puzzle over each one of these head-scratchers. Yet like we said, much depends on whether you’ll buy the high-concept premise on which the entire narrative is built on. Either way though, it does explain the artifice and incongruity that you’re probably feeling bemused about, especially with Knight not bothering to nuance the symbolism with terms such as ‘existence’ and ‘a higher power’. We’ll say this too – those who do embrace it for what it tries to do will very likely lap its mawkish ending, which goes right to the heart of a father-son relationship that transcends both time and space.

To say anything more about ‘Serenity’ would have us ruining the surprise for those who plan to catch it, so we’ll simply leave you with the advice to go in with an open mind and not try to second-guess it. We guarantee that, whether you eventually like it or not, it is hardly the worst movie of both McConaughey and Hathaway’s careers. A the very least, both actors are as magnetic and appealing as you’d expect them to be, and they do their utmost to carry the movie as best as they can. It is daring of them all right to get behind a film they must have known would be polarising, so count that as one more reason to step into this movie with peace of mind.

Movie Rating:

(You'll either love it or dislike it, but you'll only know when the movie reveals its hand in the third act)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Romance
Director: Chen Yu-Shan
Cast: Darren Wang, Jelly Lin, Kenji Chen, Cecilia Choi, Christopher Lee, Christy Chung, Tai Chih-Yuan
RunTime: 2 hrs 2 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 21 February 2019

Synopsis: FALL IN LOVE AT FIRST KISS is a Taiwanese movie adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series “Itazura na Kiss” written by Kaoru Tada. Jiang Zhishu is a smart boy, while Yuan Xiangqin is a ditzy girl who does not excel in her studies. On the first day of a new semester, Xiangqin comes across Zhishu, the handsome boy loved by thousands of girls. Starting from an unexpected kiss, Xiangqin has her unrequited love.

Movie Review:

Instead of coming out with another original romance comedy after the mega-success of Our Times, director Frankie Chen Yu-shan and screenwriter Sabrina Tseng decides to adapt the decades-old Japanese manga, “Itazurana Kiss” to the big screen for their second onscreen collaboration. In a way, triggering the nostalgia factor especially those who loved the 2005 Taiwanese idol TV drama series, “It Started With A Kiss” or more popular known as “恶作剧之吻”. 

In this updated 2019 movie version, the rugged looking, bad boy Darren Wang (Our Times, A Better Tomorrow 2018) plays Jiang Zhishu, in the role originally played by Joe Cheng. The story revolves around Zhishu, the smartest (with an IQ of 200), coolest, most charming and wanted hunk in the entire school and his romance with the bumbling, happy-go-lucky, slightly naïve, F-class Xiangqing (Jelly Lin who is best remembered as the bumbling mermaid assassin from Stephen Chow’s Mermaid).   

While Zhishu might be the most popular personality in school, he is actually stressed out by the fact he is being groomed to take over his dad’s company once he graduates. In the meantime, Xiangqing finally pluck up the courage to profess her love for Zhishu only to be rejected outright. But when an earthquake rendered Xiangqing and her father without a shelter, Zhishu’s dad (our very own Christopher Lee in a small role) who happened to be old friends with Xiangqing’s dad offered his home to the poor father-and-daughter. Talking about the mother of all coincidences. Thus, with the kind offer creating the chance for Zhishu to know Xiangqing better, will our two love birds unite and live happily ever after?  

In an ironic twist, Darren Wang plays hard to get in Fall In Love At First Kiss while he tries hard to win the one he loves in Our Times.In the former, Jelly Lin’s character being the less capable half spent the entire movie waiting for Zhishu to declare his love for her and we are left guessing whether the perpetual mean and cocky Zhishu has secretly fallen in love with this innocent girl or have in fact gotten together with Shahui (Cecilia Choi), his equally intellectual classmate. 

The mostly China-backed flick continues in the tradition of Taiwanese romance comedies resorting to slapstick antics and exaggerated acting to keep things moving at a swift pace though it still feels 20 minutes too long. Speaking of exaggerating, the sultry and sexy Christy Chung gamely appeared as Zhishu’s over-enthusiastic mom. The majority of the jokes came from the rivalry between Xiangqing’s gang and Zhishu’s “fan club”, a sport meet in the halfway mark turned out to be rather uneventful except sealing Zhishu’s second kiss with Xiangqing and a short stay in a rundown countryside hotel later on contains the funniest gag of all. 

Somehow, Frankie Chen’s years of doing idol drama continues to haunt her as the transition from scene to scene still left a lot to be desired. Fortunately, Jelly Lin is so good being the goofy lead that you probably won’t notice the flaws or remembering Taiwanese actress Ariel Lin was actually the original Xiangqing. Yet the repetitive hammering of the message of getting a better half who love you more than anyone else can be tiresome after a while. 

Without throwing further shade at Fall In Love At First Kiss or risking embroiling in some #metoo movement controversy, let’s just conclude by saying it’s a movie tailored for certain demographics. You know who you are. For those who is going to detest it. Likewise, you know who you are. 

Movie Rating:

(Though Fall In Love At First Kiss is the weakest among Our Times, Café Waiting Love and You Are The Apple My Eye, it remains a light-hearted amusing affair for a Valentine’s Day outing)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Comedy
Director: Andrew Lam
Cast: Louis Cheung, Ivana Wong, Sammo Hung, Andrew Lam, Tien Niu, Leung Siu Lung, Bob Lam, Lam Suet, Teddy Robin, Richard Ng
RunTime: 1 hr 30 mins
Rating: PG (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:

Opening Day: 14 February 2019

Synopsis: In a peaceful elderly home, life goes on around these unique persons: Master (starring Andrew LAM) the caring retired doctor who spent his life travelling the world to help people and now manages this elderly home. He got help from Ching (starring Ivana WONG), a nurse who works for him in all his previous adventures. Together, they are taking care a group of lovely 5 retirees. Teddy (starring Teddy Robin) an ex-professional pickpocket, Fatty Crab (starring Sammo HUNG) a very smart ex-detective but now in a wheel chair, Uncle Lung (starring LEUNG Siu Lung) an ex-spy for the British secret service who vow to keep his mouth shut after the retirement, the sad Richard (starring Richard NG) an ex-professional swimmer whose son died in sea few years back and finally the elegant Wai (starring TIEN Niu) a retired Chinese Opera actress.

The well balanced life of the elderly home is about to be shaken, when the gangster Marvin (starring LAM Suet) an old friend of Master, trying to set up a trap to take revenge on him...

Movie Review:

Arriving a little later than the bumper crop of Lunar New Year titles last week, ‘A Lifetime Treasure’ wraps a well-intentioned message about treasuring the elderly around some less-than-inspired scenes of nonsensical humour. Directed and co-written by Andrew Lam Man-chung, the basic premise of the comedy-drama sees the five residents of a nursing home teaming up with their superintendent (played by Lam himself) to thwart the efforts of a mobster Rainy Hung (Lam Suet) who wants to take over and redevelop the place. Whether these five residents succeed in their quest to preserve their On Hei Nursing Home is a foregone conclusion, especially how this is ultimately a Lunar New Year title meant to leave its audience feeling merry.

In what is undoubtedly five strokes of casting gold, Lam has enlisted Hong Kong cinema veterans Sammo Hung, Teddy Robin, Bruce Leung, Richard Ng and Tien Niu as the elderly quintet of the nursing home. Watching these veterans ribbing each other while hamming it up in their respective roles should be an absolute riot, what with Hung as the world’s greatest detective still obsessed over a thirty-year-old case of a golden pig figurine that he never solved, Robin as a master thief who likes to be called by his English name Ben Chow, Ng as a former ace swimmer dubbed ‘wind-on-the-water’, Leung as a former intelligence operative known as the ‘wind listener’, and Niu as a former singing diva. Naturally, these five individuals are each still enamoured with their previous glories, while at the same time more than happy to mock their other four companions for doing so.

Indeed, it would be logical to expect that Lam would build his movie around these five seemingly unique individuals, but alas you’ll quickly find out that it isn’t to be. Oh yes, the emphasis here is instead on Hung’s two lackeys Chun (Louis Cheung) and Lok (Bob Lam), who are despatched to intimidate the residents and/or force the closure of the facility. As you may expect, Chun and Lok find themselves outwitted by the surprisingly resourceful bunch; not only that, both will also have their conscience pricked, so much so that they will end up assisting the old folks to launch a counter-offensive against their former boss – oh, and the fact that Lok has a crush on the home’s one and only tenacious nurse Ching (Ivana Wong) might have something to do with why he has a change of heart.

Yet Lam does none of his characters little justice by burying them amidst a string of inane gags, which are so lackadaisically conceived you’d wonder if they were made up on the set. One extended sequence has the five elders cast as zombies in a scene for a B-grade movie named ‘Zombie Bathrobe’, where they proceed on the set to ogle over buxom actress Xenia Chong clad in a bikini. Another extended one has them breaking into Hung’s office to steal a contract that would determine the fate of their nursing home, complete with a spoof scene straight out of ‘Mission: Impossible’ and another dramatically exaggerated one where Ng is shot by a tennis-ball cannon. And yet another has Leung suddenly transforming into a kung-fu master, just so he can have a one-on-one with ‘The Legend is Born: Ip Man’s’ Dennis To.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find any truly inspired moments, especially given how the movie seems perfectly content to trade in silly, childish and even crass humour. As paradoxical as it may sound, it still takes wit to engineer some truly nonsensical ‘mo lei tau’ jokes, which is sorely absent here. And just like that, Lam pretty much squanders the talent of the ensemble cast he has assembled here – not only do Cheung and Lam find themselves with little to work with, the five veterans come up equally bereft, often clearly resorting to improvisation just to fill up their scenes. If Lam’s writing falls short, his directing is just as lacking, failing to stitch up the string of gags into a coherent or engaging whole.

Not even a late poignant finish can save this limp movie, which gathers a to-die-for cast for a Lunar New Year movie and leaves them floundering. Like we said at the start, there is a noble lesson here on treating the elderly as treasure, but that is unfortunately lost amidst a clumsy collection of unfunny scenes. Among the Lunar New Year titles we’ve seen this year, we dare say this is the worst of the lot, which probably explains why it didn’t manage much of a reception even in its home territory. There is frankly little to cherish here, even if we wanted to be generous to it, so save your ‘ang pow’ money for something better worth your treasure.

Movie Rating:

(Contrary to its title, there is nothing worth treasuring, or even remembering, about this string of lame gags that wastes the sheer amount of Hong Kong veteran talent it had assembled)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Comedy
Director: Chris Addison
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, Alex Sharp, Ingrid Oliver, Dean Norris, Nicholas Woodeson
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: NC16 (Sexual References)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 9 May 2019

Synopsis:  A remake of the 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, in which two down-and-out con artists engage in a "loser leaves town" contest.

Movie Review:

The Hustle is the latest female centered movie to arrive at the big screen after the all-female reboot of Oceans 8 and Ghostbusters. Let’s just say the final product is not going to make internet trolls any happier. 

In short, the story of The Hustle is a reboot of the 1998 comedy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Steven Martin and Michael Caine. Never mind you have never heard or watched the original but the updated version pulled a gender-switch by having Rebel Wilson playing the Martin role while Anna Hathaway plays the role performed by Caine. 

On the wealthy French Riviera lives a sophisticated con-woman by the name of Josephine (Hathaway) whose daily routine of conning rich stupid old men is interrupted by the arrival of small-time crook, Penny Rust (Wilson). Rather than subjecting herself further to Josephine’s tortures and humiliation, Penny demands to be Josephine’s partner instead of being her student. Thus, the only way to settle their score is for either one of them to win a bet that is to win the affection and most importantly, half a million out of the pocket of a young techy millionaire, Thomas (Alex Sharp).  

If you have seen the original, the meat of the plot remains unchanged except all the original funny gags have been swapped with rather poorly unimaginative ones. And if you have been following the trailers, that “garbage bag” gag is the only sole saving grace which obviously have been spoiled by the marketing team. That is actually saying a lot for a movie that runs at a slim 94 minutes. 

Essentially, The Hustle is filled with Wilson’s usual boob, fat and sex jokes which honestly goes flat after 15 minutes and as a producer here, she is ironically doing the opposite of trying to make a movie that showcases the power of woman. Her trademark free-wheeling and deadpanning her way through is just not worth the price of admission with a sequence (sounds pretty funny on paper) that requires her to go “blind” ended up rather pointlessly.   

At least, Hathaway tries hard to be funny but ended up being too campy to be ticklish despite her best attempts to put on several phony accents and persona. Hathaway might be a good actress but she is never a comedienne. Still, she looks amazingly gorgeous in stilettos, fake wigs and a wide range of designer dresses and costumes. Sad to say, it’s a wrong pair up although both ladies have strengths of their own. 

“No man will ever believe a woman is smarter than him.” It’s indeed a smart statement for Josephine to proclaim. The Hustle struggles every minute of screentime to modernize, update the relevancy of today’s world but with the highlight of the entire swindle being Hathaway feeding Wilson with a French fry dipped in toilet water then unfortunately, the social commentary has failed tremendously. 

Movie Rating:

(Works better for streaming, in fact Wilson manages to pull off a fast one in real-life for MGM to put in the money for this disastrous remake)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: A feared critic, an icy gallery owner and an ambitious assistant snap up a recently deceased artist's stash of paintings -- with dire consequences. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

2014’s ‘Nightcrawler’ saw director-writer Dan Gilroy and leading actor Jake Gyllenhaal forge a electrifying dynamic through a satire on modern-day journalism, and it is no surprise therefore that Gilroy and Gyllenhaal have decided to continue their creative collaboration with an equally satirical piece. This time, both have trained their sights on the contemporary art scene, taking the opportunity to skewer its pretentious denizens while taking the perennial tension between art and commerce to violent heights. And oh, while we are on collaborations, we might add too that Gilroy’s spouse Rene Russo is also in both movies.

Right from the start, Gilroy sets out the ‘types’ he intends to lampoon. There is the pompous ‘art critic’ that is exemplified by Gyllenhaal’s Morf Vandewalt, who relishes and cherishes the power of his reviews in elevating and ending careers. There is the power gallery owner that is personified by Russo’s Rhodora Haze, who has no qualms manipulating those around her to her selfish advantage. There is the greedy museum curator in Toni Collette’s Gretchen, who decides to turn to advising millionaire clients and runs around town trying to convince others that she is running the place. There is the has-been artist in John Malkovich’s Piers, who is struggling to find his next big hit, as well as the up-and-coming complement in Daveed Diggs’ Damrish, who is determined not to become like Piers.

Watching them dance, slither and hiss around one another at the Art Basel in Miami is a gleeful delight, although it does take some getting used to their lingo. But Gilroy has far more devilish designs on these characters, revolving around the spirit of a mentally anguished painter named Ventril Dease which still haunts his artwork. Rhodora’s assistant Josephina (Zawe Ashton) finds Dease’s body in the hallway of her apartment building, and following a cat into his unlocked home, finds the trove of ghoulish paintings which prove so original, disturbing and mesmerising that just about anyone who regards them is instantly transfixed.

Sensing an opportunity to get rich and get famous, Josephina ignores the words of the Dease’s caretaker, who had told her that the artist wanted his work destroyed. Unfortunately for Josephina and everyone else lucky enough to profit from his art, Dease’s hatred and ill-will accumulated from years of abuse and violence have somehow been preserved in his paintings, and one by one, comes to haunt those who seek to profit from them. Be warned – each one of these kills is pretty gory, perhaps even more so than the typical horror movie, and Gilroy leans heavy on horror tropes to build up the sense of foreboding before each death.

Whether you enjoy the second and third acts of ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ depends on how much you want to see these self-absorbed, egoistical types meet their end at the hands of a vengeful artist looking for comeuppance on those who have turned his creations into commodities. It isn’t difficult to guess who Dease chooses to kill first, but as predictable as that may be, Gilroy uses each of these occasions to emphasise just how these characters continue to pursue their own agendas with little regard for anyone else, even as these others seem to be dying or meeting unnatural ends in uncanny ways.

Frankly, Gilroy’s satire loses its bite as it becomes more and more a full-blown horror/ gore movie, even as his setting (i.e. within the art world) proves intriguing. One late sequence has an already freaked-out Morf hearing voices from inside his head while enclosed in a sound exhibit that supposedly contains whale intonations recorded 20,000 feet under the sea in the Mariana trench. Another has Gretchen’s lifeless and severed body being mistaken for an exhibit by visitors at the gallery until her own assistant sees her and realises just what happened. Oh yes, like we said, you’ve got to have a somewhat twisted sense of humour to enjoy these subsequent scenes.

Thankfully, Gilroy’s passion for his ideas is matched by Gyllenhaal’s committed lead performance, evolving from an unplaceably accented, hyperarticulate obsessive into a troubled, even tormented soul questioning everything from his work to his romantic choices over the course of the film. And we dare say that it is Gyllenhaal who holds the film together, finding genuine sympathy in someone who is forced to re-discover his sense of self as well as his view of the world around him. Though Gyllenhaal won’t be winning any awards this time round, it is impressive how he gives shape to Gilroy’s creative impulses. So while ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ is no ‘Nightcrawler’, it still proves a fascinating enough watch – after all, this is arthouse horror, in the most literal sense of the word. .

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Gabriel Chong