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JOHN SINGLETON (1968 - 2019)Posted on 01 May 2019 |
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Rocky Soraya
Cast: Jessica Mila, Bianca Hello, Sophia Latjuba, Nabilah Ratna Ayu Azalia, Jeremy Thomas
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: NC16 (Horror and Violence)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:
Opening Day: 16 May 2019
Synopsis: After her sister's death, ALIA decided to start a new life at an orphanage that belongs to MRS. LAKSMI and MR. FADLI. But Alia feels there is something wrong with the orphanage. Especially after NADIA, one of the orphans with an opened third eye like Alia, hears a mysterious voice. Alia and Nadia opened a mysterious room and accidentally release the vengeful spirit DARMAH. Together with MRS. WINDU, a paranormal teacher, Alia has to face Darmah and save the orphanage. THE 3RD EYE REOPENS is the sequel to THE THIRD EYE continuing the story of two sisters with the gift to see ghosts.
Movie Review:
Director Rocky Soraya is back with chapter two of his Mata Batin film series, and for those that enjoyed his first outing, you’ll find more of the same in this episode.
This means big sets, big houses, and big acting, along with a crazy soundtrack that refuses to die. You can probably already tell I’m not the biggest fan.
In the first movie, Alia (Jessica Mila) opens her third eye to help her sister Abel (Bianca Hello) combat a malevolent spirit in their new house, and the story ends happily enough, even if a few sacrifices were made.
We return to the sisters in MATA BATIN 2 at their peaceful home, until the ghost of Mirah (Jelita Callebaut) returns to haunt the pair again. The elder sister has now clearly become adept at dealing with ghostly sightings and missions, and even produces a book and starts reading off rituals like a seasoned witch doctor. But while all that is very useful, the hunt leads to the unfortunate demise of the younger Abel, with Mirah shrieking herself into oblivion at the crime site, looking mighty guilty. Mrs Windu (Citra Prima) counsels the distraught Alia away from obsessing over the unmotivated murder, and the surviving sibling manages to find some solace in her new role as an orphanage caretaker.
There she meets owners Mrs. Laksmi (Sophia Latjuba) and Mr. Fadli (Jeremy Thomas), but most shockingly, the mansion that she keeps seeing in her visions. She also quickly recognises the odd behaviour of orphan Nadia (Nabilah Ratna Ayu Azalia) as someone with the third eye, and she calms the girl by teaching her more about her powers. They soon join forces and investigate into a possible haunting within the orphanage itself. Just as this inevitably leads to more trouble, the script also begins to spiral out of control from here on out.
In all honesty, nothing is going to surprise you here if you are a regular horror movie watcher. The basic toolbox of tropes from western franchises like INSIDIOUS, CONJURING and multiple other possession titles will make their appearances here - ad nauseum.
There’s a rinse-and-repeat formula here for sure. Someone has a paranormal activity and scream; Alia runs to the scene. There’s an awful lot of the same tension tricks here too - namely the slow pulling back of some object or the timely creeping hands of the spirit. It gets old really fast. Don’t even get me started on that eye-zoom effect as the girls teleport between realms.
And while all this may still be acceptable if the story moves itself towards some sort of a conclusion, Soraya maybe had a compulsion to throw on more ritualistic obstacles to ante up his first film, and unwittingly creates a neverending morality tale that grates. The message of forgiveness isn’t a new one, and when you demonise flat characters and get the heavenly dead to return and preach, it’s all very detached and cheesy.
Probably the two most unforgivable sin is the awful makeup that child actor Darmah (Hadijah Shahab) has to contend with, that looks especially cakey and bad in brighter scenes, and the inclusion of Rayya (Nicole Rossi) and Malika (Yasmine Mahya) as flat characters introduced purely to extend the haunting. Actually make it three, Jeremy Thomas is hopeless in his performance here.
If Soraya had spent less energy on stringing gimmicky scenes awkwardly together and more time on crafting a meaningful script without throwing beds around the set, MATA BATIN 2 would have been a great Indonesian piece. There’s some magical lore that can really unnerve, and the camerawork is quite good when it’s not shaking away for a desperate effect.
Movie Rating:
(More of the same, sadly. It’s time to close that pineal gland girls)
Review by Morgan Awyong
SYNOPSIS: Set in the midst of the 2009 US housing crisis, this darkly comedic story follows Sonny (Danny McBride – Pineapple Express, This Is The End), a disgruntled homeowner, and Cassie Fowler (Rosemarie DeWitt – Black Mirror, Poltergeist), a single mom and struggling realtor whose life goes off the rails when she witnesses a murder. When the unstable Sonny turns up at Cassie’s office, things quickly spiral out of control. Despite Sonny’s assertion that he’s “a really good person,” he knocks Cassie out’ kidnaps her, and drags her along on his impulsive spree of violence.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Not to be confused with Joel Coen’s 1987 brilliant crime comedy, Raising Arizona, Arizona is just a plain, pointless stupid thriller that squander the so-called housing crisis premise and the talent of leading woman, Rosemarie DeWitt.
Set during the real estate crisis of 2009, DeWitt plays divorced realtor Cassie Fowler who lives in a nearly barren neighbourhood in Arizona with her teenage daughter, Morgan. When Cassie witnessed the death of her boss, she is taken hostage by the killer played by comedian Danny McBride. Just when you thought it’s a dark comedy about anger and frustration while poking fun at the failure of the America economy, Arizona quickly turns into a serial killer thriller with McBride’s character killing practically everyone in sight.
Honestly, we don’t really want to spoil this movie for you but it’s indeed that bad. Arizona fails on every account as nearly every scene has McBride blabbering non-stop and committing stupid mistakes and unforgiveable sins. When your leading character deserves no empathy from the audiences and your female lead has nothing else to do except screaming her lungs out, your movie is in deep trouble.
McBride probably thinks he is Michael Myers confusing Arizona with Halloween (2018) if you forget he is the co-writer and producer for the latter. Even with a measly 85 minutes of running time, it’s a drag to sit through although one of McBride’s off-screen buddies, Seth Rogen makes an uncredited cameo together with Luke Wilson in a thankless role. So unless you are an ardent fan of McBride’s irritable motor-mouth humour and disturbing killings, Arizona will be a title tailored for you. For rest of us here, we stick to Raising Arizona.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The DVD delivers a rather good Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack which features clear audio and loud sound effects while the visual quality is commendable.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: David Yarovesky
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Intense Sequences)
Released By: Sony Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 9 May 2019
Synopsis: What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? With Brightburn, the visionary filmmaker of Guardians of the Galaxy and Slither presents a startling, subversive take on a radical new genre: superhero horror.
Movie Review:
The world has enough superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe. Do we need another being that can fly and shoot laser from his eyes? Apparently so, according to the folks who greenlit this movie production.
After an alien baby lands on Earth, a childless couple adopts him, names him Brandon Breyer and watches him grow up like a normal kid. After a sequence of events, you realise that there is a dark side to this boy. He is capable of doing unimaginable things with his mysterious powers, including murdering others in the most gruesome manner. People who offend him die horribly, and all hell breaks loose when his emotions go out of control.
Evil Superman, anyone? The elements are uncannily similar. There is a crashed spaceship containing a baby. He grows up being able to fly and fire off laser beams from his eyes. The twist here is that instead of becoming everyone’s hero, things take a very, very dark turn.
This horror thriller is directed by David Yarovesky and more notably, produced by James Gunn, the man behind Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel. With Gunn’s brother Brian and cousin Mark penning the script, this feels very much like a passion project.
The star of the movie is undoubtedly Jackson A Dunn, who plays the main character. His calm and somewhat disturbing expression will send chills down your spine. He convinces you that Brandon Breyer is in a conflicted position between being a normal boy and a scary villain. Dunn isn’t a stranger to the superhero genre – he played a 12 year old Scott Lang in Avengers: Endgame.
The brutal deaths caused by Brandon Breyer are bloody and disgusting: a woman pulls a glass shard out of her eye, while a man’s jaw drops off his mangled face. You will squirm in your seats, and hope that no one else will piss this kid off.
Elsewhere, adult actors Elizabeth Banks (The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) and David Denman (13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi) play the infertile couple who thought that they received a gift from the skies when the baby appeared in their backyard. As the film progresses, you realise even the people who brought up Brandon Breyer are not going to be spared from his extreme emotions and violence.
With a very agreeable runtime of 91 minutes, there is a sad tale in this movie. A kid is bullied by the people around him, and he begins using his powers to take revenge. The dark spin to a familiar superhero origin story is fresh, and will keep viewers glued to their seats. Can the boy still be good after causing chaos? Are the dire consequences reversible? The last sequence of the movie suggests that there is potential for a follow up instalment, and we are interested to find out how Brandon Breyer will make a mark in the somewhat congested world of superbeings.
Movie Rating:
(A much-needed dark spin on the familiar superhero genre, complete with some disturbingly gruesome scenes)
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama
Director: Max Minghella
Cast: Elle Fanning, Rebecca Hall, Zlatko Buric, Agnieszka Grochowska
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Rating: PG (Some Scenes of Intimacy)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 9 May 2019
Synopsis: Violet (Elle Fanning) is a shy teenager who dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion to sing. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a local singing competition that will test her integrity, talent and ambition. Driven by a pop-fueled soundtrack, Teen Spirit is a visceral and stylish spin on the Cinderella story.
Movie Review:
Being a teenager can be difficult at times. Especially if you are shy and quiet and if you live in a quiet town with a mundane and challenging life.
But what if you have the opportunity to come out and explore by joining a singing competition that gives you the chance of winning a recording contract and be recognised for your talent?
Teen Spirit is about a shy teenager called Violet (Elle Fanning) whom, upon chancing upon an advertisement on a singing competition, goes against her mother’s wishes and joined the competition with an unlikely help in a form of a retired opera singer. Through her journey, she fights against all odds and discover more about herself and life than just her desire to sing.
Teen Spirit tries to move away from the typical cliché box-office worthy format that you would expect from films of the same genre. So, there is much lesser theatrical-like drama and it is rather toned-down and slightly relaxed, giving it a much more ‘indie’ feel to the film. The director instead chooses to focus fully on the lead’s journey from plain Jane to underdog talent and on other elements of the plot.
The shift in focus is actually a refreshing take and gives the opportunity for the main characters to fully develop without too much ‘noise’. It helped that the setting was based in an idyllic town on the Isle of Wight, just off southern England, adding on to its rather indie appeal.
Playing with visuals like lighting and sounds and the modern approach to the filming direction makes up for the toned-down drama and ‘tranquillity’ of the film. Although the plot is simple, it is still slightly layered with a little complexity and depth to make the film less ‘flat’. The plot is also more realistic and not fairy-tale like, so what you see is a protagonist that is not your typical ‘extremely’ talented individual but someone who can be groomed and moulded, thus this element makes the film more accessible to viewers.
The film, however, suffers from trying to keep the viewers interested throughout the duration of the film. The slow pacing makes it really challenging for one to fully appreciate the beauty of the content and the true essence of the film. Thankfully, it was able to pick up halfway through the film, but it might have been slightly too late for some.
Apart from the protagonist and a few other characters, the cast in general were not given much of a chance to fully develop their characters and become slightly forgettable in a film that dares to explore a different style against many predecessors.
Still, the film still leaves viewers with a feel-good and encouraging ending that is unlikely, yet doable and imaginative. And with a playlist that includes songs that are re-engineered to fit the scenes, accompanied by pleasant voices, it is without doubt that Teen Spirit still lives for the music, an important element of its genre and demographic.
Teen Spirit tries to inspire and despite its nonchalant beginning and slow pacing, the gradual pick up and pleasing storyline, alongside reformed covers of selected modern hits, makes the film a pleasant one.
The film will definitely leave one feeling at ease, knowing that in the end, the protagonist has found a certain inner peace and came out of her little shell with her newly-developed potential. Like the title of the film, “Teen Spirit” is truly a celebration of change and coming-of-age and dealing with life and the true meaning of winning during the developing years.
Movie Rating:
(A surprisingly pleasant film that is sure to gain the likes of indie followers and other viewers, if you have the patience to wait for it to warm up fully)
Review by Ron Tan
SYNOPSIS: The Wandering Earth tells the story of a distant future in which the sun is about to expand into a red giant and devour the Earth, prompting mankind to make an audacious attempt to save planet. The multi-generational heroes build ten-thousand stellar engines in an effort to propel Planet Earth out the solar system, in the hope of finding a new celestial home. During the 2,500 year-long journey, a group of daring heroes emerge to defend human civilization from unexpected dangers and new enemies, and to ensure the survival of humanity in this age of the wandering Earth.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The Wandering Earth easily beat out Stephen Chow’s The New King of Comedy and Jackie Chan’s The Knight of Shadows when it started screening in China during the Lunar New Year period. In fact, it just concluded its theatrical on May 6, nearly three months after it was first screened making it the second highest grossing movie as at now.
In the near future where the sun is dying and our mother earth is freezing, all surviving humans are forced to live underground instead on the surface. Led by the United Earth Government (so don’t worry about propaganda and politics), the only solution is to propel the planet away from harm by giant rocket thrusters. But the solution it seems can only last a mere 17 years before disaster decides to strike again as due to a gravitational pull, earth is going to be soon destroy by Jupiter.
The only help earth can get is from a young man named Liu Qi, her adopted sister Duoduo, Qi’s estranged father, Liu Peiqiang who is an astronaut stationed in a remote space station and a small team of rescue soldiers.
Based on a novel by Chinese writer Liu Cixin and adapted to the screen by no less than six writers, The Wandering Earth is an astounding piece of work directed by the lesser known Frank Gwo. While the plotting might resemble some of Hollywood’s disaster flicks liked Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow and the aesthetics of Edge of Tomorrow and Geostorm, the first major commercial sci-fi flick from China is not going to disappoint fans of the sci-fi and disaster genre.
For one, the movie moves at a breakneck pace which might result in the audiences having an issue digesting all the details and information coming your way. But Gwo has a way of cushioning the effect that is to fill every sequence with marvelous CG effects that you probably forgot to pay attention to what the characters are saying anyway. Of course, we meant it to be a good thing because the special and visual effects are really that spectacular and top notch that watching it in IMAX might deliver a far better experience.
The only glaring flaw is the relationship between Liu and Senior Liu which can be a bit sketchy and the various onscreen characters pretty much forgettable. Probably action star Wu Jing is enlisted for his star power and ex-funny man Ng Man-Tat puts in a commendable dramatic performance as Liu’s maternal grandpa.
For a Chinese sci-fi movie that excel in all technical aspects, promotes heroism, hope and saving the earth, it’s a pity that The Wandering Earth wasn’t brought in to theaters locally. Solid entertainment and totally engaging for two hours, we highly recommend watching this on Netflix.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Lee Won-tae
Cast: Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee), Kim Moo-yeol. Kim Seong-kyu
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence)
Released By: Clover Films and Cathay Cineplexes
Official Website:
Opening Day: 23 May 2019
Synopsis: Fierce and feared Zeus gang boss Jang Dong-su gets attacked without warning, ending up with several severe wounds. After fighting back, he barely kept his life but his reputation as a gang boss is damaged beyond repair. Determined to track down his attacker for revenge, he team up with Det. Jung Tae-Seok, who believes that Jang’s attacker is none other than a serial killer. Despite what Det. Jung believes, his boss downplays his evidence because there isn’t any evidence to begin with, as the killer does not leave anything behind. At their wit’s end, he’s forced to use Jang’s resources in order to track down the serial killer. The two men pool their talents and resources at their fingertips to slowly find a serial killer simply known as “K”.
Movie Review:
It seems like a convenient choice to cast Korean American actor Ma Dong Seok, also known as Don Lee, as the brute gangster in this action crime movie. The 48 year old, with his towering physique, pulls off the role effortlessly as he glares, swears and beats people up. He is not a good guy, but you will be rooting for him as the movie progresses.
Ma plays the boss of a gang who is stabbed by an elusive man early in the story. He survives the fight but ends up in hospital with multiple stab wounds. Meanwhile, a detective hears of this and believes it is the work of a serial killer that the police has been hunting down. The two men, who are on opposite ends of the law, team up to track down the killer.
The straightforward plot is executed with breeze by director Lee Won Tae, who only has one other film (Man of Will) under his name. The biggest draw of this 112 minute movie are its leading men who are oozing with charisma.
Ma, who has made the world pay attention since his memorable performance in Train to Busan (2016), is a joy to watch on screen as he straddles between being a good guy and a bad dude. Kim Moo Yeol (Illang: The Wolf Brigade) is also perfectly cast as a cocky officer who is brash and charges his way through the story. The actor’s good looks help with the role as well. Rounding up the trio is Kim Sung Kyu (The Outlaws) who is creepy as the bloodthirsty serial killer.
The engaging sequences (containing violence, of course) are great to watch as the action unfolds on screen. You will be at the edge of your seats wondering whether the titular gangster and cop will get their hands on the devil.
There are many generic South Korean thriller movies, and this offering stands out above the crowd. The dynamics between the gangster and the cop is interestingly played out as the two unlikely allies team up to hunt down a common enemy. While the devil’s identity is made known early in the story, you will go along for the ride as both camps round up their men to embark on the manhunt.
There is even a portion of the movie dedicated to courtroom drama, and just as it seems like the devil may get away, the story delivers a decent twist that leaves guys all pumped up to be as suave as the protagonists of the show, and ladies swooning over the movie’s leading men.
How do we know that this movie is a success? There is already a Hollywood remake in the works, with Sylvester Stallone spearheading the production and Ma reprising his role. We can only hope that the English version will deliver as much punches and grit as the original.
Movie Rating:
(Headlined by its charismatic leading men, the South Korean action drama stands out from the crowd because it delivers enough punches and grit)
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Director: Neil Jordan
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Chloë Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 16 May 2019
Synopsis: A sweet, naïve young woman trying to make it on her own in New York City, Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz) doesn’t think twice about returning the handbag she finds on the subway to its rightful owner. That owner is Greta (Isabelle Huppert), an eccentric French piano teacher with a love for classical music and an aching loneliness. Having recently lost her mother, Frances quickly grows closer to widowed Greta. The two become fast friends — but Greta’s maternal charms begin to dissolve and grow increasingly disturbing as Frances discovers that nothing in Greta’s life is what it seems in this suspense thriller from Academy Award®-winning director Neil Jordan.
Movie Review:
In the vein of psycho-stalker thrillers like Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, and Misery, Neil Jordan directs Ray Wright’s script of an updated tale of obsession set in the bustling streets of New York.
Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz) is the city newbie, getting adjusted to the lifestyle after the passing of her mum. Spotting an abandoned bag on the subway, she makes her way to the address listed within and meets Greta (Isabelle Huppert), a sweet and charming French piano teacher.
The two seem to share an easy sense of camaraderie, and their introverted personalities ease them quickly into becoming fast friends. Frances’s roommate Erica (Maika Monroe) picks up on this as a surrogacy situation and warns her friend about it going overboard. She had no idea.
After Frances accidentally discovers a cabinet filled with replicas of the handbag she picked up, each tagged with a post-it of a girl’s name and number, she quickly realises Greta isn’t the kind madame she thinks and cuts off the relationship abruptly. And as we have educated by the earlier movies, that can only end badly.
Greta runs a decent story with some inventive sequences and twists that serve to upend expectations. But there’s the slight problem of how the movie really tests your believability, laying blank loopholes that take away from the tension of some scenes.
Stacked against her seeming illustrious history in baiting other young women, it seems crazy (even for Greta) to go to the lengths she did for Frances, leading to several situations which could have ended her obsession prematurely. It’s wildly careless and doesn’t seem in line with the meticulous older hermit.
The terror that comes from stalker thrillers is how the predator creeps into every crevice in your life, and Greta achieves this somewhat, and frequently in a haphazard manner. This becomes even campy at parts, especially in the scenes where she takes images of Erica in public settings without getting caught. It suddenly moves the movie into slasher-villain-teleporting territory.
Another area of contention is Frances’s captive period. It’s not exactly played out very well because the period feels brief if undeterminable. This kills off the audience investment as there’s no real time frame and there are gaps unaccounted for. And when the larger-framed Frances visually seems like she can overpower the older lady anytime she wants, even with the drug-induced circumstances, it is hard to believe she chooses to huddle in a corner or trembles like an adolescent. The missed opportunities are just quite hard to swallow.
While Moretz struggled, Huppert seemed to thoroughly enjoy her role as the psychotic villain. This gives the film some of the more memorable (if unintendedly funny) moments, with her delivering her mental prognosis on our poor Frances, or spouting prose while prancing around with a syringe. Her scenes of discipline are especially chilling and disturbing, as is her method of punishment.
Through all the drama, Greta keeps itself in mediocrity largely because it doesn’t draw us in with any real back story. Frances’s loss of her mother and Greta’s own failure as a parent is outlined just barely, with some wistful looks at old photographs. And Erica and Frances’s estranged father are peripheral satellites that don’t do much beyond expressing what the audience wants to say.
Jordan may have some good tricks up his sleeves with clever turns in the second half of the film, but it’s not enough to make this into a harrowing journey.
Movie Rating:
(Crazy gets a little campy, but Huppert’s performance and some inventive twists keep this watchable)
Review by Morgan Awyong
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Director: John F. Leonetti
Cast: Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, John Corbett, Kate Trotter, Kyle Breitkopf
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 23 May 2019
Synopsis: When the world is under attack from terrifying creatures who hunt their human prey by sound, 16-year old Ally Andrews (Kiernan Shipka), who lost her hearing at 13, and her family seek refuge in a remote haven. But they discover a sinister cult who is eager to exploit Ally’s heightened senses.
Movie Review:
Unfortunately for ‘The Silence’, a certain movie called ‘A Quiet Place’ came before it, leaving an indelible impression on critics and audiences alike with its deft use of silence to generate tense moments of white-knuckle suspense. Notwithstanding the fact that it isn’t a rip-off of John Krasinski’s movie, the parallels between the two movies are impossible to ignore. Both derive their horror from deadly creatures with enhanced hearing, therefore necessitating the need for quietness; and both feature a deaf child fleeing with her family to a country refuge.
Sadly too for ‘The Silence’, it isn’t quite as effective as its genre predecessor, even though it is a perfectly competent movie in its own right. Oh yes, as helmed by genre specialist John F. Leonetti (whose credits include the first ‘Annabelle’ movie), it is a gripping one-and-a-half hours survivalist thriller with a couple of choice nail-biting sequences, premised upon said deaf teenager Ally (Kiernan Shipka) and her family – including her parents (Stanley Tucci and Miranda Otto), grandmother (Kate Trotter) and little brother (Kyle Harrison Breitkopf) – trying to escape from pterosaur-like critters known as ‘vesps’.
A quick prologue at the start establishes the origin of these creatures from deep inside an underground system which cavers have recently unearthed; the next we know, there are news reports and emergency broadcast warnings of these flesh-eating creatures which hunt by sound. It should be apparent that the reason why Ally would be able to survive longer than others is her ability to communicate in sign language, though it is a little strange that her family largely still insists on whispering the very words that they are signing, perhaps so that we will be spared the inconvenience of understanding the movie through subtitles.
Together with Ally’s father’s tough-guy best bud (John Corbett), they set off into the countryside to avoid the din of the city where the ‘vesps’ have first descended upon. As you would expect, there are sacrifices to be made along the way; and one of the film’s best sequences sees one of them (we’re not saying who) encounter an accident while travelling on a rural road, and the rest having to endure their very first up-close encounter with the ‘vesps’. Just as veteran a cinematographer, Leonetti knows his way around such taut action, and it is to his credit that the film is ultimately better than what its otherwise middling script would suggest.
You’d wish the plotting were more sophisticated, than say having one of them getting hurt and therefore requiring a fateful trip to town to get drugs. You’d wish too that more thought were given to the dynamics among the family, so that the relationship between Ally and her father wouldn’t be so vanilla. You’d wish too that there were more depth to the religious cult which emerges in the last third of the movie, sparked by end-of-the-world fears and driven by sheer lunacy. Without having read the 2015 John Lebbons novel on which the movie is based, we still think that writers Shane and Carey Van Dyke could have done much, much more with the high-concept premise.
Yet, like we said, the movie does have its moments, including a riveting confrontation between the family and the aforementioned cult in the middle of a thunderstorm. The movie also has an excellent cast to boot, especially Tucci’s sympathetic portrayal of a loving father who is forced to make certain hard choices in order to keep his family alive. Tucci has warm chemistry with each one of the actors playing his kin, and that bond pays off particularly in the climax where every one of the family ends up being tested on how far they would go to preserve each other’s lives.
So while it most certainly will be compared and will pale in comparison to ‘A Quiet Place’, there are still thrills to be had with ‘The Silence’. At the very least, it certainly deserved better than to be left on the shelf for a year before being picked up for release by Netflix in the United States and other local distributors around the world. We doubt there’ll be a sequel which the epilogue portends, but if you’re needing a fairly brisk and engaging watch at the cinemas (and do not mind a retread of ‘A Quiet Place’ if you’ve seen that one), then you’ll do no wrong with ‘The Silence’. After all, Thanos won’t be demanding yours at the end of this one.
Movie Rating:
(It isn't as effective as 'A Quiet Place', but some gripping sequences and a solid ensemble make this a competent indie horror)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/Biography
Director: Joe Berlinger
Cast: Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, John Malkovich, Angela Sarafyan
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/ExtremelyWickedShockinglyEvilAndVile/
Opening Day: 23 May 2019
Synopsis: Single mother Liz (Lily Collins) thinks she’s found the man of her dreams in Ted (Zac Efron). But their seemingly perfect life is turned upside down when Ted is arrested on suspected kidnapping charges, then linked to murders in multiple states. Adamant that he's being framed, the former law student theatrically defends himself in America’s first nationally televised trial while Liz struggles to come to terms with the truth. Adapted from the nonfiction memoir by Elizabeth Kendall (aka Liz Kloepfer) EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE recounts how she was manipulated for years by a seemingly adoring boyfriend, yet future death row inmate, Ted Bundy.
Movie Review:
If you’ve heard of the name Ted Bundy, you’ve probably seen a documentary or film about him. Arguably one of the most notorious serial killers in the 20th century, Bundy’s story has been retold in no less than seven feature films, so it is only reasonable to ask if writer/ director Joe Berlinger’s tale would offer anything new. Thankfully, the short answer to that question is yes, although we suspect some viewers may not be entirely comfortable with how Berlinger has approached this real-life tragedy.
Even though it takes its title from the description of Bundy offered by the judge at his sentencing verdict, ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’ isn’t a blow-by-blow account of his heinous crimes; rather, Berlinger chooses to base his reading on the memoir of Bundy’s girlfriend Elizabeth Knopfler (Lily Collins). A single mom living in Seattle, Liz had met Bundy in a bar, fallen in love with him, and invited him to move in with her and her young daughter; in fact, he had so charmed both mother and daughter that Liz was prepared to marry him, until of course their lives were changed irrevocably when Ted is first arrested in Utah.
From that point on up until the very last day before his execution, Liz would not see Ted again, and their only contact would be through Ted’s occasional phone calls or letters while in jail. But these years would prove to be a living hell for Liz, who would struggle with reconciling the disconnect between the man she loved and the killer that the police and media were making him out to be. The truth is that he was both, and it is this seemingly inexplicable dichotomy that the movie explores, without ever demonstrating a single act of Bundy’s violent nature, save for punching a police officer to escape a traffic stop.
As peculiar as that may sound, Berlinger hews as closely to Liz’s perspective as possible in his storytelling. At no point was Ted aggressive towards Liz, which made it even more difficult for her to understand how he could be the perpetrator of the terrible acts of violence which he was accused of. Even when the narrative switches inevitably to tell of how Ted escapes custody by jumping out of an open window during a trial recess, or cutting a hole in the ceiling of his prison cell to break out of prison, or sweet-talking an old friend Carole (Kaya Scoledario) into joining his defence efforts, Berlinger stridently avoids portraying any of Ted’s crimes in their monstrosity, so as not to prejudice the point of view through which the story is intended to be told.
The focus here is instead on Ted’s charisma, manipulative nature and bad-boy good looks, which the casting of Zac Efron as Bundy is a master stroke. Putting his good looks to great use, Efron is magnetic, belligerent and self-aggrandising in equal measure, convincing you of the spell that Ted must have cast over countless women that he had met, both the ones whom could not live without them and the ones whom could not live past him. It is a scene-chewing performance all right, and Efron commits fully to it (he has an executive producer credit no less) without ever turning it into caricature or lionising Bundy.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the film’s final third, which depicts Ted’s murder trial in Florida in its absurdist glory. In the Tallahassee judge Edward T. Cowart’s (John Malkovich) courtroom, Ted seizes the opportunity to try to turn the tide of public opinion in his favour over the first nationally televised trial in American history, by dismissing his state-appointed counsel and assuming his own defence in a blue blazer and big dark bowtie. These scenes are juxtaposed with Liz’s anguish watching Ted on live television, for which she finds comfort in a loyal co-worker Jerry (Haley Joel Osment), who eventually coaxes her to forgive herself for an instinctive act many years ago that led the police to Ted in the first place.
We won’t deny that some viewers may find it frustrating, even upsetting, that Liz is in such denial, or that the film seems to bask in Ted’s smooth-talking charm; yet, it is also this same artistic choice that Berlinger has taken which gives a fresh spin to an otherwise familiar retelling. Though there was little subtlety in his crimes, Berlinger chooses an utterly nuanced way of conveying Ted’s evil, through a penultimate scene that sees Liz visiting Ted in prison right before he is set to go to the electric chair begging him to tell her the truth.
So for a film about Ted Bundy titled ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’, you’ll probably be surprised that it never does go to any sort of extremities in portraying its subject. Yet, like we said, the very deliberate decision to withhold depiction of Ted’s crimes is intended to reinforce the perspective through which this real-life horror is being seen, and let’s just say it is no less justified or realistic. You should know too that Berlinger had simultaneously shot a four-hour Netflix documentary named ‘Conversations with a Killer’, which should be your choice if you prefer a more straightforward chronicle; otherwise, you might find this narrative feature a refreshingly alternate lens into a fascinating but deeply troubling character.
Movie Rating:
(Coupled with a mesmering turn by Zac Efron, this alternate view on one of the most notorious serial killers in recent memory is a fascinating chronicle of evil in disguise)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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