SYNOPSIS: Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Castaway) brings Welcome to Marwen, a bold, wondrous and timely film that is a miraculous true story of one broken man's fight as he discovers how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit. When a devastating attack leaves Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell) shattered and without his memory, no one expected recovery. But by putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous fantasy world, where he draws strength to triumph in the real one. His astonishing art installation becomes a testament to the powerful women who support him on his journey.
MOVIE REVIEW:
After spending a decade making motion-capture movies liked The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol, Robert Zemeckis’ return to live-action filmmaking is a mixed bag at best and his third feature, Welcome to Marwen is unfortunately yet another mishap.
Welcome to Marwen is based on a true life story of Mark Hogancamp, a man who suffered memory loss and PTSD as a result of a brutal assault outside of a bar after admitting to a bunch of men that he is a cross-dresser. Subsequently after spending time in the hospital, Hogancamp begins to work on his art installation which started with World War II-era towns and dolls to help cope with the aftermath of his traumatic attack.
Comedian turned dramatic actor Steve Carell (Foxcatcher, Beautiful Boy) plays Hogancamp, the man who daily surrounds himself with fictional characters in his miniature village called Marwen. Imagining himself as Captain Hogie and together with his bunch of gung-ho female warriors, they take on evil Nazi soldiers and Deja Thoris (Diane Kruger), the green haired witch.
Zemeckis who also co-wrote the story attempts to tell a story of a broken man who somehow manages to find a way to slowly heal himself via an unorthodox manner. Of course, Zemeckis is a man capable of telling a compelling story (just look at Back to the Future and Castaway) but Welcome to Marwen strangely lacks the heart and soul to pull you into Hogancamp’s world. Instead of focusing more on the humans, Zemeckis is pretty much contend in constantly reverting to Hogancamp’s imaginary plastic world which overwhelmed the entire main theme.
Interestingly, Gwendoline Christie (Games of Throne) has only one single scene as Hogancamp’s Russian caregiver. Merritt Weaver (Denise from The Walking Dead) plays Roberta who sort of unconvincingly ended up as a love interest while working in a hobby shop which Hogancamp frequents. Most glaring of all is Leslie Mann who plays Hogancamp’s neighbour who has a stalker ex-boyfriend, a character that brought nothing to the table except being a potential wife material for Hogancamp.
Steve Carell proved he is a versatile, superb actor portraying a complex, disturbed character in a perplexing script. Welcome to Marwen ends up neither being sentimental nor profoundly touching on the subject matter. The entire flick feels like Zemeckis is still struggling to get back on his feet on live-action filmmaking although I must admit the visual, imaginative world of Marwen has far more excitement ongoing with armed creepy dolls on stilettoes and the always welcome DeLorean makes a grand cameo in the finale.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Extras include 11 minutes of Deleted Scenes, Marwen’s Citizens takes a look at the key characters and A Visionary Director delves into the qualities of the director. The most interesting features however belonged to Building Marwen and Living Dolls, the former focusing on the beautifully constructed miniatures sets and the latter on the digitally constructed dolls.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Despite not being an action movie, Welcome to Marwen delivers a solid, robust soundtrack that will rock your household during the gun firing sequences that happened in Mark’s imaginary world. Details are dynamic in both imaginary and the real world while skin tones appear natural. All in all, an almost perfect audio and visual presentation.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Bette Midler, Allison Janney
Runtime: 1 hr 27 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: UIP
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/MeetTheAddams/
Opening Day: 31 October 2019
Synopsis: Get ready to snap your fingers! The Addams Family is back on the big screen in the first animated comedy about this creepy and kooky clan. You may think your family is weird but the outlandish, bizarre, and completely iconic Addams Family, will have you thinking again.
Movie Review:
If you’re expecting your ‘Addams’ to be creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, then you’re quite likely going to be disappointed with this latest incarnation of the household. Oh yes, relative to the 1960s ABC TV show, or the pair of 1990s Barry Sonnenfeld movies, or even the 2010 Broadway musical, Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon’s animated ‘The Addams Family’ is intended as a family-friendly outing through and through. There is therefore no macabre humour to be found, or in fact anything that would come across disturbing to the kiddies, so don’t go in expecting it to be any more subversive than the ‘Despicable Me’ trilogies.
That is honestly more than a bit surprising, considering that co-directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon were behind the R-rated animation ‘Sausage Party’ back in 2016; here, they seem perfectly willing to stick with the usual soft-pedalled children’s movie template, content therefore for their film to wallow in corn-ball one-liners and sight gags. These are wrapped around a paper-thin plot intended to convey a message about society’s tendency to assimilate those who are different from us (and therefore diminish their individuality) than value their diversity and integrate them into our community.
It’s a noble message, and a timely one too, even though it is conveyed as straightforwardly as you can imagine – after all, the town whose people the Addams have to confront is literally named ‘Assimilation’. That’s apparently the brainchild of interior decorator and reality TV star Margaux (Allison Janney), who is horrified that the decrepit house on the hill (which is really a haunted and abanboned asylum) which the Addams refuse to spruce up would affect the prices of the property she so dearly needs to sell in Assimilation (or go bankrupt).
Unfortunately, it isn’t just the immediate Addams which she will have to face; a parallel subplot has to do with the coming-of-age of the chubby Addams boy Pugsley (Finn Wolfhard), who needs to perform a show of swordplay at a ‘sabre mazurka’ in front of all his weird and weirder relatives from all over the world. To his dad Gomez’s (Oscar Isaac) despair, Pugsley is much better at setting off pyromaniacs than he is at waving a sword around in the air, although it’s not hard to guess how Pugsley will eventually employ his explosive tactics to save the day.
Yet another subplot has to do with the Addams teenage girl Wednesday (Chloe Grace Moretz), who is intrigued with the local high school girl crowd and wants to experience that life for herself. She meets Margaux’s daughter Parker (Elsie Fisher), and after defending the latter against the school bully, the pair become firm friends who not only exchange messages but also fashion tips. Her transformation earns the ire of her protective mother Morticia (Charlize Theron), who is alarmed that her formerly suicidal daughter has suddenly become an optimist.
It’s a lot and yet not quite enough for a 87-minute film, which flits from one subplot to another without fully fleshing out any of them; ultimately, the narrative serves only to string together a mixed bag of gags – some like the family butler Lurch using a vacuum cleaner to spread dust around the house during their weekly clean-up are tongue-in-cheek amusing, some like the disembodied hand wearing a wristwatch where an eyeball pops up (it’s an eyeWatch!) are unexpectedly clever, while others like Morticia calling a makeshift bridge from spiders ‘surfing the web’ are cringe-worthy.
To the credit of co-directors Tiernan and Vernon, there are bits of surprising wit sprinkled through the visual design if one pays attention, including how Wednesday’s hair is braided like hanging nooses or how her bed has a guillotine above it to make sure she wakes up every morning. They have also chosen a killer voice cast – especially a deliciously satirical Theron, a winningly disaffected Moretz and a delightfully unhinged Janney – and while comparisons will certainly be made with previous ensembles, we dare say this one holds their own.
Like we said at the start, given its mythology, you’ll probably be expecting ‘The Addams Family’ to be a lot more creepy and kooky, even mysterious and spooky. Unfortunately, this kid-centric offering stays too safe for its own good, sticking instead to the sort of defanged fun that modern-day conventional family films are comfortable with, and that applies right down to its message of embracing those who may be different from us. It is an amusing diversion all right, but it will need a lot more edge to be the finger-snapping delight its familiar theme song sets it out to be.
Movie Rating:
(Not quite creepy and kooky, or mysterious and spooky, enough, this defanged animated story is a kid-centric offering which lacks the subversive wit you'll be expecting of it)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:
Opening Day: 10 October 2019
Synopsis: Gemini Man is an innovative action-thriller starring Will Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite assassin, who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move.
Movie Review:
Not content for the high frame rate (HFR) stereoscopic technology which he first experimented with in 2016’s ‘Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk’ to be a one-hit wonder, Ang Lee employs the same method in this science-fiction action thriller to give it the same pin-sharp clarity. The impact is plainly apparent right from the start if viewed in the HFR 3D format – not only are we led to observe an astonishing extent of visual minutiae in the opening scenes where Will Smith’s special-forces assassin Henry Brogan positions himself atop a grassy knoll to assassinate his target on board an express train, the crispness and clarity of the images are startling to say the least, although some may not be quite so enamoured with the effect.
Regardless, there will probably be no argument that the most stunning technological achievement here is the digital de-aging of Smith, which allows the 51-year-old actor to play a character 25 years younger than he is. Junior, as that character is named here, is a clone created by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) operative Clay Varris (Clive Owen) under the ethically suspect ‘Gemini project’, which aims to manufacture biotech warriors to fight our wars for us. Specifically for Junior though, Clay has been raising him as his adopted son, in the hopes that he may equal Brogan at his own game one day – and that game so happens to be the business of sharpshooting, which Brogan has demonstrated his prowess in through 72 unblemished kills for the DIA and is now more than ready to retire from.
That, in essence, is the premise of ‘Gemini Man’, which has been languishing in development since the 1990s and passed through the likes of Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery before finding its lead in Smith. Thanks to the contributions of Weta Digital, Lee has accomplished what the late director Tony Scott never managed to, although we suspect that achievement will likely be lost on an audience who will wonder why all those years evolving the technology was not similarly spent on developing its undercooked script (credited to three distinguished Hollywood veterans no less, including ‘Game of Thrones’ creator David Benioff and ‘The Hunger Games’ co-writer Billy Ray).
As appealing as the idea of an aging hitman who is targeted by a younger clone of himself may sound, the very concept itself is flawed – indeed, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that just because two individuals have the same DNA means they will possess the same abilities. That logic gap would have been easier to ignore if the movie itself were simply a popcorn blockbuster; unfortunately, it also figures itself to be a thinking-man’s thriller about the age-old debate between Nature and Nurture. Indeed, rather than kill each other outright, Brogan decides to engage in a cat-and-mouse game with Junior, believing that Junior could very well be a different person if he knew the truth about his origins.
Why Brogan would hold a soft spot for his clone is never satisfactorily explained during the movie or even at the end, except to allow the storytelling to pit Smith against Smith and then to have two of them go up against Owen’s resident villain. Yet because Owen is not an action star, the finale turns out underwhelming, leaving only the two set-pieces involving a battle of Wills to hold your attention. Thankfully, owing to Lee’s deft staging, they are pretty amazing to watch – one of them takes place against the picturesque streets of Columbia, unfolding along its rooftops before culminating in a dizzying motorcycle chase; and the other happens in the underlit catacombs of Budapest, where both men engage in a furious exchange of kicks and punches before one of them almost drowns the other.
Even so, these sequences are not enough to compensate for the sheer inertness of the rest of the movie, which comprises of weak banter and plenty of thudding exposition. Despite roping in Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a fellow rogue DIA agent and Benedict Wong as a wise-cracking pilot sidekick, there is hardly any fun to be had in their team dynamics (unlike say that between Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg in ‘Mission Impossible – Fallout’), no thanks to the leaden dialogue. Not only is the science highly suspect, the whole narrative itself is frustratingly thin, with the barest of excuses why they have to go from Columbia to Hungary before heading back to Georgia, or even how they can somehow borrow a Gulfstream jet to fly them from country to country.
In fact, we’d dare say you’ll be bored stiff during the two-hour duration, because other than the action, there is little momentum to the storytelling at all. Lee’s attempt at fleshing out Brogan and Junior’s respective reckoning falls embarrassingly flat, not so much because Smith doesn’t try his best to emote both ways (and we mean both here because he plays both characters), but rather because the character development here is so blunt it hardly even matters. Whether deliberate or otherwise, the fact that the movie pretty much revolves around these five roles (Smith, Smith Jr, Winstead, Wong and Owen) is even less excuse for the sheer laziness in the scripting, both in terms of plot and character.
Much as we’d love to embrace Lee’s techniques here, ‘Gemini Man’ is ultimately a high-concept misfire. Like we said, the very premise itself is flawed, and the rest of the movie does itself no favours by thinking itself smarter and more intelligent than it really is; worse still, it doesn’t even much try to be credible, which neither Smith’s charisma or Lee’s filmmaking ingenuity can compensate for. Oh yes, the HFR realism and digital fakery are novel probably for the first 10 minutes, but soon wears off and reveals instead the artificiality and superficiality of the whole enterprise. It may sound appealing to have two Smiths in the same movie, but you’d wish they’d went right back to the genesis of this project and change up the whole DNA of this dull, almost lifeless, big-budget failure.
Movie Rating:
(Neither Ang Lee's innovative HFR technology or Will Smith's digital de-aging can save this lame, inert and frustratingly pointless thriller from being an utter high-concept misfire)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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THE 38TH HONG KONG FILM AWARDS 2019Posted on 15 Apr 2019 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Adrian Kwan
Cast: Andy Lau, Lowell Lo, Vin E, Loletta Lee, Hugo Ng, Paulyn Sun, Eddie Kwan, Mark Lui, Tse Kwan-ho, Wan Yeung-min, Lawrence Cheng
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: PG (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/moviefindyourvoice/
Opening Day: 3 December 2020
Synopsis: In the eyes of his teachers, secondary school student Hei is a typical delinquent student - full marks on bad temper and zero on personal conduct. After his latest offense, the principal decides to give him one last chance on one condition: He must join the “passion choir” pilot program. With no other choice, Hei reluctantly agrees to the deal. The nine-month pilot program brings together students from three underperforming schools. They will form a classical music choir and participate in an inter-school choral competition. The choir is brutally mocked by others as a “rock bottom choir”. However, Yim Tsz-long (Andy Lau), a renowned conductor known as the “Nightmare Maestro”, suddenly agrees to lead the choir after spending a year in seclusion. Just as every person has a different story, every choir creates a unique piece of music that represents its journey. What happens when 30 “problem students” meets a demanding, emotionless instructor? Will the “passion choir” and Maestro Yim overcome the obstacles in their lives and complete this seemingly impossible mission? Will they be able to stand on the stage with their heads held high and unleash their voices?
Movie Review:
Andy Lau is known to be a workhorse in the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Despite suffering a serious injury while shooting a commercial years back, the 59 year old isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Assuming everything goes smoothly, we are probably going to catch him on the big screen again in the coming months.
Find Your Voice marks Lau’s self-produced effort, an inspirational drama that was delayed due to COVID-19. Isn’t that the case with Hollywood titles as well?
Andy Lau plays Joseph Yim, an acclaimed fame Chinese music conductor who found success in the States. After a setback in a competition, Yim is invited by his ex-principle, Lo (Lowell Lo) back to Hong Kong to lead a new choir who consists of a bunch of problematic students. Lo’s primary intention is to make use of the opportunity to bring their lives back on track. Thus the bunch of misfits are given a nine months period to make it to the annual choir contest under the tutelage of Yim or risk losing their chance to continue their studies in their respective public schools.
Helmed and co-written by Adrian Kwan (Little Big Master, If U Care…), Find Your Voice is filled with too much familiar plot points that are shamelessly exploited to unclog your tear ducts. One of the students, Sun-hei is the typical troublemaker whose mother (played by 80’s iconic actress Loletta Lee) is suffering from domestic violence. Another boy, Sui-long has to resort to stealing in order to support his mother (our very own Paulyn Sun). And then there is Be-kei, a suicidal girl who has a habit of wrist cutting, her classmate Queenie who suffers from mild autistic and Pok-man, a smart rich boy who join the choir to escape his pressuring father (Tse Kwan-ho).
Kwan who worked for years as an assistant director under the late Benny Chan has the penchant to deliver intimate drama involving social issues just liked Little Big Master. Unfortunately, the story arc in Find Your Voice on the whole is too convenient and utterly predictable. Kwan isn’t quite sure on how to make every story element fall nicely into place that every thorny problem seems to resolve by itself within minutes. The editing seems bluntly haphazard at times and the out-of-place Mandarin dubbing simply enhanced the awkward amateurish acting of the young actors even more.
But the glaring unforgiving part happens to be the undeveloped character of Joseph Yim, the supposedly leading man of the entire movie. While Lau certainly lends some need be gravitas to some of the scenes, the character of Joseph Yim remains very much a mystery by the time the credits rolled. There is hardly any insight to Yim except a clumsy prolonged epilogue that unveils the ultimate reason why Yim returns to HK and why he couldn’t face his failure as a choirmaster.
For a movie about choir music, Find Your Voice abashedly features reworks of Roman Tam’s classic 狮子山下, George Lam’s 谁能明白我 and Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up. However if you are expecting some melancholy notes and nice vocal performances, please be aware that the dubbing is too atrocious to make much of an impact.
Find Your Voice happens to be a disappointing effort from Lau and Kwan although much of the fault honestly lies in the latter. It wants to be both an uplifting drama that delves into the poor fallen demographics in Hong Kong and also a motivational tale for the young HK generation but it never reaches the height of the recent I’m Livin’ It or Donnie Yen’s Big Brother which also talks about delinquents. Simply put, it’s not a title that Heavenly King Andy Lau can salvage.
Movie Rating:
(Forgive Andy Lau who gave his best here. Blame it on the all too average, choppy drama which leaves a lot to be desired)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Animation
Director: Kenji Kodama
Cast: Akira Kamiya, Kazue Ikura, Marie Iitoyo, Koichi Yamadera
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Nudity)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 23 May 2019
Synopsis: The number-one private eye Ryo Saeba and his partner Kaori Makimura receives a new job assignment in Shinjuku. The client is a model, Ai Shindo, who wants a bodyguard because she has been targeted and followed. Ryo agrees to the pretty model’s request immediately, and is excited when he visits the changing room at the photo studio… Ai is a campaign model for the IT company whose CEO, Shinji Mikuni, is the childhood friend of Kaori. The two childhood friends meet up again after a long time at the photo studio, and Mikuni asks Kaori out for dinner. However, Ryo appears expressionless about the date, and goes out with Ai… On one hand, Umibozu and Miki received news that the mercenaries are gathering in Shinjuku, and their target is after Ai… While going after the mercenaries, Saeko from the police department discovers a great secret! The massive weapon dealer Vince Ingrado is in Japan, together with the arrival of a new weapon. Will the “City Hunter” be able to protect both Ai and the Shinjuku city!?
Movie Review:
City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes is the fourth feature movie of the City Hunter series written by Tsukasa Hojo. The movie revolves around Ryo Saeba, a private detective who is hired to protect a model Ai Shindo. It seems like she got targeted because she holds the key to the information that the aggressor wants. Together with his partner Kaori Makimura, Ryo goes on the mission to protect Ai, and unveil the secret behind it all.
While the City Hunter series has been widely popular since the 1980s, this movie is set in modern Shinjuku, Japan. It became the talk of town when it was showed in Japan, and attracted many movie-goers to watch it at the heart of Shinjuku where the movie is set in. Familiar sights of Golden Gai, Kabuki-cho, Lumiere Shinjuku and the Shinjuku station were all part of the backdrop of the movie. What was interesting and got many people fascinated was also modern gadgets and technology the characters used in the movie e.g. use of drone, and having a digital message board by scanning QR code (note: the message board was traditionally a blackboard at the station, which was a trademark thing of the City Hunter series).
The pace of the movie was good, not wasting a single moment in it. The narrative was a little predictable, but storyline was packed. The characters were also distinct and interesting. For instance, while Ryo has his pervy inclinations, he goes all out to ensure he could fulfill his mission. His humorous interactions with Kaori are sure to evoke laughter as well. The exaggerated weapons (Kaori’s hammer!), fight scenes and side characters will keep you entertained too!
Other than these, there is also a special appearance of Cat’s Eye characters in the movie. That is yet another classic manga series by the same creator. They appear in their classic leotard outfits, and bring out the Showa (70s/80s) taste. The nostalgic atmosphere, coupled with the original sequences developed for the movie, capture both your sight and attention.
In closing, this movie is the first digital production for a City Hunter movie, so some of it would look quite different from the previous movies. As compared to other digital produced movies, it may look a little unnatural for some parts. But nonetheless, the movie stayed true to the City Hunter style, and possibly has everything you know and like about the City Hunter series! Even for a non-fan, it’ll be a satisfying watch.
P.S.: Stay behind for the post credits!
Movie Rating:
(There’s not a single dull moment in this 96-minute feature film. Enjoyable for fans and non-fans alike!)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: Jenny Gage
Cast: Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Josephine Langford, Inanna Sarkis, Shane Paul McGhie, Pia Mia, Khadijha Red Thunder, Dylan Arnold, Samuel Larsen, Swen Temmel, Selma Blair, Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, Meadow Williams
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 April 2019
Synopsis: Based on Anna Todd’s best-selling novel which became a publishing sensation on social storytelling platform Wattpad, AFTER follows Tessa (Langford), a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart, as she enters her first semester in college. Armed with grand ambitions for her future, her guarded world opens up when she meets the dark and mysterious Hardin Scott (Tiffin), a magnetic, brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself and what she wants out of life.
Movie Review:
It’s only April 2019 and we can safely say After is going to be one of the nominees for next year Razzie awards. If you think Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey is bad, wait till you watched After. Hey at least we have a sparkling vampire, werewolves and a hanky-panky Christian Grey for entertainment in the former, here we have none.
What we have unfortunately is a torturous teenage romance affair between Tessa Young (Josephine Langford) and Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) that drags on and on. Young is a studious, goody two shoes who is starting university while Scott liked any leading male character is a brooding, James Dean-look alike young man whom Tessa falls in love in a rather short span of time. Maybe it’s because Scott is a fan of literary classics such as Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights or maybe it’s simply because of his cool leather jacket and weird tattoos. But keep in mind that Tessa actually has a boyfriend, Noah in the first place.
Thus, began a series of plot developments that are likely plucked from soap operas of yesteryear (you don’t want to know the details, let’s just say it’s just mostly scenes after scenes of Tessa and Scott looking endearingly at each other in slow-mo), a game of Truth or Dare being the most “exciting” of all, a nice swim in a lake to break the monotony and a brief but far more interesting subplot that introduced Peter Gallagher as Scott’s dad and Jennifer Beale as his soon-to-be wife. Even mean girl Molly (Inanna Sarkis) who threatens the duo relationship is as predictable as ever. She could at least torches Tessa’s dorm to get back at her but the $20 budget probably couldn’t afford it.
Accompanied by an irritable seemingly never-ending romance soundtrack, this has bad, dull writing written all over and you can’t really blame Susan McMartin for adapting the original material by Anna Todd as Afteris actually inspired by her fondness for British pop band, One Direction. Touted as the most talked about book in the internet,After is a tale of first love and self-discovery and has since spawned to a series of five books! It’s amazing what youngsters are reading these days. You mean clichéd and stilted dialogue is still a thing?
The biggest, laughable and ironic of all ought to be the local rating for it. In fact, IMDA deems same sex kissing and less-than-steamy, touch-and-go sex scenes as M18. And After obviously is targeted at those below the age of 18 who probably will appreciate it a lot more.
While Hero Fiennes Tiffin might helm from the prestigious Fiennes family and Josephine Langford makes a good enough performance, these two young actors deserved better material for a lasting acting career and this also applies to first-time feature film director Jenny Gage who needs a better agent.
Movie Rating:
(There are plenty of promising coming-of-age romances out there, After aka Innocent girl falling in love with a bad boy is not one of them)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Family/Adventure
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Eric André, Keegan-Michael Key, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, James Earl Jones
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Rating: PG (Some Intense Sequences)
Released By: The Walt Disney Company
Official Website: https://disney.com/lionking
Opening Day: 18 July 2019
Synopsis: From Disney Live Action, director Jon Favreau's all-new The Lion King journeys to the African savanna where a future king is born. Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cubs arrival. Scar, Mufasas brother-and former heir to the throne-has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simbas exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his. The all-star cast includes Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Billy Eichner as Timon and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa.
Movie Review:
The year was 1994. This reviewer remembers faithfully visiting a certain fast food joint every week to collect the free toy from The Lion King that came with a kid’s meal. The toys were adorable, and definitely not a true reflection of how lions, meerkats, warthogs and hyenas look in real life.
Twenty-five years later, it is time for the grown-up in this writer realise how Disney’s animated classic would look like if it took place in real life. Bring on the tech wizards to create photorealistic animals with some movie magic.
Is there a need for Disney to adapt its classic animated films into live-action movies? While they may hold a special place in most of our hearts, these adaptations are perfect tools to introduce the Disney brand to a whole new generation. For older viewers, these imperfect products may never live up to the original, but they serve as a trip down memory lane.
You probably already know quite a bit about the Oscar-winning movie featuring Simba, a lion cub who runs away after Dad gets murdered by a villainous uncle. Eventually, the adult Simba returns home to claim his throne, taking his place in The Circle of Life.
How does Jon Favreau’s live-action version of the masterpiece compare with the original? There’s much to feast on visually, but there aren’t many surprises – simply because maybe there isn’t a need for die-hard fans. The producers probably didn’t see the need to reinvent the wheel since there are already hordes of fans.
From the opening scene where the animals of Pride Lands celebrate Simba’s birth, to the finale where he takes his rightful place before a grand coronation ceremony, there is much to marvel at throughout the movie’s 118-minute runtime. The
What stands out from the crowd are the very funny Timon and Pumbaa. If you don’t already know, the comic duo of a meerkat and warthog will teach Simba how to live life without worries by singing “Hakuna Matata”. Voiced hilariously by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen,, you can feel the spontaneity between the comedians. They are easily the best parts of an otherwise measured movie.
The star-studded voice cast also includes Danny Glover and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as adult Simba and Nala (their rendition of “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” feels a little too modern), John Oliver as the bossy hornbill Zazu, Alfre Woodard as the motherly lioness Sarabi, and James Earl Jones (Star Wars fans will know him as the voice of Darth Vader) reprising the role of Mufasa.
Chiwetel Ejiofor takes on the almost impossible task of voicing the wicked Scar (Jeremy Irons did a wonderful job in the animated version), but the British actor managed to make the villainous character his own. His version of the bad guy anthem “Be Prepared” is to die for.
Composer Hans Zimmer returns to score the film, and the majestic orchestral music infuses familiar themes with new arrangements. Watch the movie in a cinema with an awesome sound system and you will be awed by how much the music carries the story. Disney wouldn’t miss the chance to bait the Oscar voters: Beyoncé and Elton John each contribute a new song to the soundtrack.
Should Disney continue churning out remakes of our childhood favourites? For fans who want to indulge in nostalgia, the answer is a definite yes.
Movie Rating:
(Ignore the cynics and get ready to embrace The Circle of Life)
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama
Director: Lee Jong-eon
Cast: Sul Kyung-gu, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Bo-min-I, Yoon Chan-young, Kim Soo-jin-IV, Lee Bong-ryeon
Runtime: 2 hrs
Rating: PG
Released By: Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 16 May 2019
Synopsis: Inspired by the 2014 sinking of the MV Sewol ferry, director Lee Jong-eon uses the tragedy as the backdrop to tell the story of a family coping with the loss of their son in his debut film BIRTHDAY.
Movie Review:
Birthday is inspired by the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster (which killed 304 people on board, mostly involving the students from a local secondary school) in South Korea. It follows the story revolving a Korean family who have lost their eldest son in the disaster. They learn to cope with the loss and grief, together with their friends and support group.
Knowing what motivated the story of the movie would already guarantee a sob movie. With the combined prowess of Sol Kyung-Gu and Jeon Do-Yeon, you’ll definitely need some tissues for this melodramatic movie. Jeon Do Yeon plays the role of the mother, who mostly handles the household alone while the husband works overseas. Sol Kyung-Gu plays the role of the father, who is seemingly absent, even when the disaster happened. Amongst K-movie fans, this was a highly anticipated movie just for the casting alone. As expected of any award winning acting professionals, their acting didn’t disappoint.
Effectively, the narrative of the story is about how everyone goes through grief. From the closest family, to friends, to the ones who were there and witnessed the disaster unfolding before their eyes and survived, to fellow families who are also dealing with their own loss; it follows the emotional journey that each of them go through. It can get quite heartbreaking towards the end, in particular when the focus was on the daughter of the family - on how a young person cope with possibly the first loss of a family member.
Sol Kyung-Gu and Jeon Do-Yeon both nailed their roles. Be it Sol Kyung-Gu’s passport scene or Jeong Do-Yeon’s scene in her son’s bedroom, both were equally emoting and emotional (there was lots of sobbing in the cinema), which was pertinent for a melodramatic drama like this. The way they layered their emotions was also testament to their veteran acting.
While most of the story flowed well, it could feel a little laborious and slow, especially during the earlier part of the story where the background of the story was set up. But it was still relatively easy to follow, even when different characters were introduced.
As already suggested by the title of the movie, it concludes with the celebration of the victim’s birthday. While it’s hard, everyone learns to live with the ones they have lost, going through stages denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Everybody grieves differently, and that’s okay. Life is dynamic, so it will not be a linear journey after all. The movie ends off with a positive note, which is a fitting tribute to all who have lost their sons, daughters, friends, siblings, during this tragedy.
Movie Rating:
(They’re moving forward, but maybe they’ll not move on)
More about grief: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=669879150139006
Review by Tho Shu Ling
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Kelly Asbury
Cast: Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monáe, Pitbull, Wanda Sykes, Emma Roberts, Gabriel Iglesias, Wang Leehom
Runtime: 1 hr 27 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 June 2019
Synopsis: In the adorably different town of Uglyville, weird is celebrated, strange is special and beauty is embraced as more than simply meets the eye. Here, the free-spirited Moxy and her UglyDolls friends live every day in a whirlwind of bliss, letting their freak flags fly in a celebration of life and its endless possibilities, occasionally looking to the sky, where a new UglyDoll will appear and be embraced by the community. Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) loves her square-peg life in this round-hole town, but her curiosity about all things leads her to wonder if there’s something – anything – on the other side of the mountain which nestles Uglyville. Moxy gathers a group of her closest friends and sets off to find what’s on the other side. They discover another world – Perfection – a town where more conventional dolls are trained in protocols before they graduate and are sent to the “real” world to find the love of a child. In Perfection, Moxy and her crew are subject to the manipulations of Lou (Nick Jonas), the perfect doll in charge of training recruits. Here, the UglyDolls will confront what it means to be different, struggle with their desire to be loved, and ultimately discover that you don’t have to be perfect to be amazing because who you truly are is what matters most.
Movie Review:
If you knew the story behind how David Horvath and his then-girlfriend Kim Sun-min created what would become a line of goofy-looking stuffed animal/ humanoid characters, you’d probably think how charming that may be material for a live-action movie about the genesis of UglyDolls. But clearly, the people behind this animation had something else in mind, which we discern to be ultimately about how to boost the sales of them colourful blobby plushies among kids; so in turn, they have recruited animation vet Kelly Asbury to craft a family-friendly musical about love and acceptance that would make the plushies even more appealing and likeable.
With a ‘story by’ credit to producer Robert Rodriguez, writers Alison Peck and Erica Rivinoja imagine a community where these plushies live together named Uglyville, after being pushed off the assembly line due to production defects. While most live in ignorant bliss, one of them, Moxy (Kelly Clarkson), wakes up each morning yearning to feel a child’s affection. After the latest arrival to the community from a hole in the mountain, Moxy decides to discover for herself just where they come from, bringing along a gaggle of quirky pals along for the adventure, including Lucky (Wang LeeHom), Ugly Dog (Pitbull), Wage (Wanda Sykes) and Babo (Gabriel Iglesias).
Their adventure leads them to the Institute of Perfection, a finishing school for dolls where they are put together a rigorous training programme in order to learn how to navigate such obstacles as dogs, vacuum cleaners and even babies. There, they meet its leader Lou (Nick Jonas), a perfectly coiffured doll adored by the females and admired by the males; though on the surface he seems to embrace Moxy and her band of misfits, Lou has no intention of letting them graduate, and instead makes use of the so-called lessons at the institute to tear them down. At the same time, Lou sends his trio of henchgirls (voiced by Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX, and Lizzo) to find out more about Uglyville where they came from, in order to obliterate the community of rejects.
It isn’t difficult to guess that Moxy will find the determination and tenacity to overcome Lou’s taunts and prove to herself, as well as the rest of the trainees at the institute, that their imperfections make them perfect as they are. This is as life-affirming stuff as it gets, what with the entire Uglyville community coming around to rally for Moxy as she faces Lou in a showdown within a stimulated house meant to test how ready the dolls are to face the real world. Lou’s selfish motivations are revealed, everyone at the institute realises how wrong they were to idolise him in the first place, and the communities of Uglyville and Perfection are integrated into one that is named Imperfection.
Did we mention too that the journey to happily-ever-after involves a whole lot of singing? As forgettable as they are, these peppy songs – most of them performed by Clarkson – help to liven the storytelling and do what they ought to in terms of telling the story. Given how this is aimed squarely at kids, there is no attempt to try to make the proceedings any more complicated than they need to be in order to endear to the younger ones. Ditto the self-positivity message, which is as clear and unequivocal as it gets, so that the kids will get it. We’re almost certain that they will lap it up, together with the vivid visuals and the lively pace at which the narrative moves.
And really, as long as you’re not expecting the sort of depth or nuance that Pixar’s films are often held up to, ‘UglyDolls’ works just fine for the kids. There is sheer visual appeal to the dolls themselves, each with their own physical and emotional idiosyncrasies; their banter is often amusing, with special mention to Sykes as the most cautious of Moxy’s gang and to the trio who gamely lend their ditsiest selves to Lou’s spies; and last but not least, there is the whole storytelling itself, which most, if not all, parents will approve, given the simple but uplifting message that kids will easily take away. It’s harmless fun all right, and even if that comes at the expense of being true to its title, we suspect its target audience will be perfectly alright with this piece of pretty (slick) entertainment.
Movie Rating:
(There's nothing ugly about this perfectly pretty slice of kids' entertainment that packs colourful visuals, peppy singing and an uplifting message into a brisk one-half hours)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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