SYNOPSIS: When two Boston Police officers are murdered, ex-cop Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) teams up with his no-nonsense roommate, Hawk (Winston Duke), to take down criminals in this action-comedy. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

After Adam Sandler, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Ben Affleck, Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg is the latest A-list Hollywood actor to star in a Netflix production.

Wahlberg joined his frequent collaborator, director Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon and Patriots Day) in this revival of a 1980’s television character, private detective Spenser created by the late novelist, Robert B. Parker. In simpler terms, it’s not something as exciting as their previous collaborations.

Former Boston police officer Spenser (Wahlberg) has just got out of jail for assaulting his officer, John Boylan five years ago. Now all Spenser wants is a new life as a truck driver in Arizona. For the time being, he is living with his ex-boxing coach, Henry (Alan Arkin) and reluctantly, Henry’s new student, Hawk (Winston Duke from Black Panther) as his roommate. But before long, Boylan is found brutally killed and Spenser finds himself unofficially back in the game- to find out who murdered Boylan and why another innocent cop is killed as well.

Spenser Confidential fares liked a cheap TV pilot something Wahlberg and Berg probably took on to kill time before their next big-screen venture. Although co-written by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Mystic River), Spenser Confidential lacks originality or any form of witty twist. It’s strictly a predictable investigative drama peppered occasionally by some over-the-top bloody brawling by Wahlberg’s character.

Running close to two hours, Spenser Confidential never feels liked a buddy-cop comedy though it is no fault of Winston. Mark Wahlberg is clearly the star of this. However, the character of Spenser is no Jack Reacher. He seems destined to be beaten to a pulp for every piece of new lead retrieved and the most entertaining of all ironically happened to be Spenser’s no-nonsense ex-wife, Cissy (Illiza Shlesinger). Alan Arkin is fine, can’t really expect an 85-year-old to do much in an actioner do you? Bokeem Woodbine stars as Spenser’s ex-colleague, Driscoll, the kind of sleazeball you smell before you even finished half the flick.

There is in fact a sequel teased in the end. Do we honestly need more adventures of Spenser? More chances for him to right the wrongs? Perhaps Wahlberg and Berg deserve a second chance to churn out something better. But for now, there’s nothing spectacular or confidential to rave about Spenser Confidential.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Adventure/Drama
Director: Brenda Chapman
Cast: Angelina Jolie, David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Anna Chancellor, Michael Caine, Keira Chansa, Jordan A. Nash, Reece Yates
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 7 January 2021

Synopsis: Before Peter became Pan and Alice visited Wonderland, they were siblings (Jordan Nash and Keira Chansa) living in an idyllic country home with their parents (Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo) and their older brother, David (Reece Yates). In this magical place, they are free to play and let their imaginations run wild as they romp around the nearby forest. However, change is in the air as their priggish aunt, Eleanor (Anna Chancellor), who is extremely critical of how the children are being raised, has arranged for David to attend a prestigious boarding school. As the family strives to accept David’s imminent departure, a deadly accident shatters their wondrous lives. With their family falling apart both emotionally and financially, Alice and Peter decide to find a solution. They travel to London to sell a family heirloom and soon find themselves in a dark, mysterious, and dangerous underworld that propels them on an adventure that will change the course of their lives. Featuring terrific performances and storytelling, Come Away is a delightful origin story for two of the most beloved characters in literature.

Movie Review:

‘Come Away’ may promise an intriguing fantasy built upon the worlds of J.M. Barrie and Lewis Carroll, but this Christmas fantasy adventure is anything but transporting. Instead of a engrossing ‘what-if’ should Peter Pan and Alice (of Wonderland) be siblings, what we are presented with is a dreary melodrama that feels more like an indigestible lump of coal.

On paper, screenwriter Melissa Kate Goldhill’s premise must have sounded promising: an alternative origin story for both well-established fictional characters by way of Charles Dickens’ formula of family tragedy, grief and abandonment. Yet the plotting, as well as the execution by director Brenda Chapman (of Pixar’s ‘Brave’), proves disappointingly muddled, comprising random events cobbled together without much sense of coherence or purpose.

That first turning point comes when the oldest child of the once carefree Littleton household David (Recce Yates) dies in a freak accident, leaving both Jack (David Oyelowo) and Rose Littleton (Angelina Jolie) devastated. While Rose withdraws inwards, Jack externalises his grief by falling back into his old habit of gambling. On the other hand, the younger kids Peter (Jordan A. Nash) and Alice (Keira Chansa) land up meeting a hodgepodge of eccentric characters, while going on fanciful trips to Neverland and Wonderland.

Those familiar with the stories of ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ will have a field day playing ‘spot the references’ – the obvious ones include the tea parties which Alice holds for her beloved stuffed rabbit, the make-believe swordfights that Peter and David have on board a pirate ship, a goofy mad hatter (Clarke Peters) spouting the Hatter’s riddles and famous lines, and a soon-to-be-handless Captain James (David Gyasi) whose fate would be handed down by a crocodile (get the Hook?).

There is no doubt the details were engineered specifically to provide clear origin points for the iconic elements of the stories, but the circumstances by which they are woven into the story are deliberate and ultimately contrived. It doesn’t help at all that they are too utterly blatant, as if the filmmakers were afraid that the discerning ones would be devoid of any ability to appreciate nuance.

That also results in a narrative begging for better continuity, than one which flits from vignette to vignette without developing each to any meaningful depth, even if these episodes are stuffed with such indelible talents as Peters, Michael Caine (as a shadowy underworld character from Jack’s past) and Derek Jacobi. Oyelowo and Jolie are seasoned enough performers to try to make the best of their thinly written parts, but both Nash and Chansa seem at a loss of what to do with their respective characters.

Despite a somewhat impressive Victorian-esque setting, including of London, ‘Come Away’ is an adventure sadly devoid of the sort of magic it promises. The proposed mash-up of ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ may sound fascinating, but what follows is dull, leaden and grim, offering little of the escapist pleasures that its inspirations did. You’re better off revisiting those classics, than waiting for anything wondrous to come from this awkward mix of fantasy and reality.

Movie Rating:

(There is little joy, wonderment or fulfilment to be found in this dreary mash-up of 'Peter Pan' and 'Alice in Wonderland' by way of a Dickens-style tale of tragedy, grief and abandonment)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Niki Caro
Cast: Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Gong Li, Jet Li, Xana Tang, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Ron Yuan, Yosan An, Jason Scott Lee, Chum Ehelepola, Jimmy Wong, Doua Moua, Ma Tzi, Cheng Pei Pei
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 4 September 2020

Synopsis: Acclaimed filmmaker Niki Caro brings the epic tale of China's legendary warrior to life in Disney's "Mulan" in which a fearless young woman risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest warriors China has ever known. 

Movie Review:

‘Loyal, brave, true.’

As earnest a reimagining of the classic tale as it gets, Disney’s live-action adaptation emphasises these three noble aspects of a plucky young girl who takes the place of her father to serve in the Imperial Army.

Gone are the musical numbers of the earlier 1998 animated version; gone too is Eddie Murphy’s jabbering dragon Mushu, as well as the “animal sidekick” Cri-Kee. These, to director Niki Caro, are unnecessary distractions in a story that would be better placed as inspiration for female empowerment.

There is no doubt that is the objective here, which takes a surprisingly character-driven approach to acquainting us with its titular character. Significantly expanding the first act to delineate the dynamics within the Hua family, the plotting illustrates the tension between Mulan’s loyalty to her family and to her own self; on one hand, she is called to demonstrate honour as a daughter to her family by being a good wife, and yet on the other, she knows she is ultimately a warrior by heart.

She is put to the choice when the Emperor (an almost unrecognisable Jet Li) issues a decree for each family to offer up a male conscript into the Imperial Army, in order to do battle with the invading Rouran tribes. You would know that Mulan chooses to put on her father’s (Tzi Ma) armour and join the army, disguising herself as a man so that her commanding officer Tung (Donnie Yen), second-in-command Sergeant Qiang (Ron Yuan) and fellow soldiers would not suspect otherwise.

With neither Mushu or Cri-Kee, it is up to Mulan and her interplay with these other recruits to hold the rest of the first hour together; among them are Honghui (An Yoson), a confident equal who becomes a firm ally, as well as Yao (Chen Tang), Ling (Jimmy Wong) and Chien-po (Doua Moua). Other than a one-on-one with Honghui, where Mulan (or Hua Jun as she goes while trying to mask her identity) demonstrates her inner ‘chi’, these warm-up scenes are frankly less engaging than you’d be expecting them to be, especially if your comparison is the earlier animation.

It is only in the second half that ‘Mulan’ truly soars. A forward offensive led by Commander Tung against the Rourans evolves into a thrilling horseback battle between Mulan and a small group of Rouran soldiers, before culminating in a mountain-set battle that is quite simply jaw-dropping. Liu handles the action as capably as she does the emotions in the earlier part of the movie, and proves without a doubt that she has been cast perfectly in the role.

By the time we get to the finale set in the Imperial City itself, you’ll be in awe at the sheer breathtaking scope of Caro’s vision, which recalls the wide-canvas historical epics of Ang Lee (think ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’) and Zhang Yimou (think ‘Shadow’). It is spectacular all right, with dizzying, gravity-defying wuxia action on rooftops, on stilts and even on a beam suspended in mid-air balanced at its centre; and thanks to Mandy Walker’s crisp cinematography, every glorious moment is beautifully captured.

But besides its visual splendour, ‘Mulan’ also gains surprising emotional depth in its heroine’s scenes with the shape-shifting Xian Lang (Gong Li). Though it may seem like she would be just another insignificant supporting character to Jason Scott Lee’s glowering Rouran chief Bori Khan, Xian Lang emerges at the end bearing poignant similarities to Mulan herself, as women whose innate gifts were (at least initially) rejected and scorned. Li is a consummate performer in every regard, playing Xian Lang with as much grim ferocity as tragic sadness.

Indeed, Mulan’s journey remains at the heart of the film, and the extent that her story leaves you moved and stirred is ultimately Caro’s credit. This is the New Zealander’s biggest project to date, and she handles it with absolute confidence. Together with production designer Grant Major, Caro breathes energy, colour and symbolism into the storytelling, giving the film both scope and intimacy. Like we said, this is a story of rising to confront who you really are, and Caro makes every one of those three oft-repeated words – ‘loyal, brave and true’ – felt in her earnest and rousing remake.

As far as Disney’s live-action remakes go, ‘Mulan’ belongs unreservedly in that group of successes such as ‘Aladdin’, ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Than the animation itself, this adaptation draws more from the 5^th or 6^th-century Chinese poem ‘The Ballad of Mulan’, eschewing all manner of frivolity to deliver a sombre, grounded and realistic imagining of a woman who ventures into battle in her father’s place disguised as a man. It is a tale ripe for retelling in the current zeitgeist, and ‘Mulan’ gets the message across with sweeping and swooping intensity.

Movie Rating:

(Breathing energy, colour and symbolism into a familiar tale, this live-action remake is an epic in its own right, with as much intimacy as it has sweep)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action/Comics
Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Maisie Williams, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga, Alice Braga
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website: https://www.foxmovies.com/movies/the-new-mutants

Opening Day: 27 August 2020

Synopsis: 20th Century Fox in association with Marvel Entertainment presents “The New Mutants,” an original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where a group of young mutants is being held for psychiatric monitoring. When strange occurrences begin to take place, both their new mutant abilities and their friendships will be tested as they battle to try and make it out alive.

Movie Review:

There are different ways to approach a comic book movie adaptation. Marvel has demonstrated they can turned any of their properties into million-dollar franchise. DC on the other hand has managed to crash and burn several of their iconic characters. Sony at the moment only has Spider-man and Venom to play around with while Fox for the record has produced a very successful, very dark, mature Logan in 2017.

After facing lots of delays including shifting of release dates, rumours of the director being removed, additional reshoots, the acquisition of Fox and an ongoing pandemic, Josh Boone’s The New Mutants is finally released. Like last year X-Men: Dark Phoenix, it’s doubtful long-time X-men fans will find Boone’s outing enjoyable or even satisfying for that matter.

Often dreary, ominous and desperately in need of a torchlight, The New Mutants starts with a young native American, Dani (Bu Hunt) who lost her family in a tornado and is subsequently sent to a hospital run by a doctor named Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga). At this eerie facility (definitely not Xavier Institute and no Professor X in sight), we are told that the youngsters staying here are mutants with special powers and they need to control their manifesting abilities before they can qualify to be X-Men or so they believe. In the meantime, they are preserved by magnetic force field which prevent them from leaving at will.

Besides Dani, there’s Rahne (Maisie Williams), a Scottish mutant who can turn into a wolf, Illyana (Anya Taylor-Joy), a Russian sorcerer of sorts with a purple dragon puppet, Sam (Charlie Heaton), a mutant who can fly and Roberto (Henry Zaga), a manipulator of solar energy. Each equipped with more than enough suffering and sad backstories to fuel the plot for an hour before we see anything remotely exciting happens.

Boone who did The Fault In Our Stars and Stuck In Love is obviously out of his comfort zone here. He is too preoccupied delivering his alternate version of the X-Men but it just ends up more liked a moodier, creepier pilot episode of The O.C. and Gossip Girl. Without inputs from Kevin Feige and Marvel, The New Mutants is just an uninspired mess.

Anyone recall Sucker Punch? The Zack Synder’s psychological fantasy adventure that involves the sanity of a group of young ladies that are being committed to an asylum. Yup, The New Mutants is more akin to an alternate version of Sucker Punch, just less fun and more dour. Somehow, Boone is unable to maintain the same kind of emotional intensity displayed in his romantic dramas. We don’t really know deeper into Dani’s power, struggles or her romance with Rahne nor the sinister plan of the corporation behind Reyes. Heck, it doesn’t even achieve half of its potential despite more than an hour of build-up.

There are so many elements that are strangely out-of-place. Is it Boone’s ideas to include some horror themes? Well, that’s simply weird and unnecessary. Who are the Smile Men? Are they just metaphors for the mutants’ psychological well-being or real-life creatures at the command of Reyes? And then there is Demon Bear who appears in the finale. A half-baked treatment of a character that appears in the comic book series, The New Mutants and X-Force.

For sure, we are looking at a much tamer compromised version of The New Mutants. It’s an interesting concept on paper but the final product fares liked its slapped together by constant studio interferences and Boone’s lame, angsty treatment that all energy are sucked out by the time it reaches the big screen.

Movie Rating:

(A somewhat tepid and boring superhero flick that puts a tragic end to the X-Men franchise before the next reboot)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Director: Yu Irie
Cast: Takao Osawa, Kento Kaku, Alice Hirose, Takanori Iwata, Masahiro Takashima 
Runtime: 2 hrs 11 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 19 March 2020

Synopsis: In 2030, the AI suddenly starts to select citizens for termination. The termination will commence in 24 hours. A genius researcher Kiryu develops AI only to save his wife with intractable disease. However, the AI doesn’t get authorized by the government, and Kiryu quits his research after his wife's death. 7 years later, Kiryu's AI was developed further by his brother in law, and has become an integral part of people's life as the infrastructure. One day, the AI suddenly starts to run out of control, which causes the worst-ever catastrophe, and Kiryu gets falsely accused as the terrorist. Can he prove his innocence? The desperate escape begins... 

Movie Review:

Like its tech industry, Japanese cinema seems to be in the doldrums for the past decade or so. With the occasional rehashed horror, live-action anime adaptations and of course anime, there’s not so much of a breakthrough in terms of genre offering, storytelling and production value. On the contrary, their immediate rival- the Koreans have been improving by leap and bounds over the years. Anyone heard of Parasite? 

AI Amok is the latest original sci-fi thriller from director and writer Yu Irie (Confession of Murder). No doubt it features an all-too familiar storyline but does it live up to its name of highlighting its theme of artificial intelligence or is it yet another disappointing effort from Nippon cinema?  

Set a decade from now, a revolutionary artificial intelligence system dubbed NOZOMI is created by Dr. Kosuke Kiryu (Takao Osawa) initially to cure his cancer-stricken wife (Takako Matsu in a cameo). As time goes, the system advances to the stage of assisting to run the lives of people be it their health status, bank accounts, home appliances, transport and many more. Because Kosuke forgot to watch the never-ending Terminator franchise, his AI system somehow turned haywire one day and threaten to eliminate every citizen who is deemed a liability in society including Kosuke’s only daughter, Kokoro (Sora Tamaki).  

Instead of the authorities turning to him for help, Kosuke becomes a wanted fugitive on the run. Pursued by an obligatory good-looking Commissioner, Makoto (Takanori Iwata) and a righteous old-school detective, Kyoichi (veteran Tomokazu Miura), Kosuke must fight against time to save both his country and his beloved daughter. 

For a movie that talked about state-of-the-art technology and a terrifying concept, there’s little to showcase how Japan has advanced given the existence of NOZOMI. Much of the budget I guessed is given to the server room where the AI system resides. It’s a commendable effort on the production designer for giving it such a cool, futuristic look and aura although that can’t be apply through the rest of the movie. A handful of scenes which featured a few fanciful nanobots are impressive for a while. 

Very much of the happenings took place indoors with most of the cast striking cool poses, staring at computer screens and talk. By talk, it’s full of unnecessary exposition, painfully boring information being conveyed and lots and lots of running by Takao Osawa. Even Harrison Ford didn’t cover that much distance in The Fugitive although both suffer the same fate of jumping in icy cold water. 

To be fair, Yu Irie does make good use of the limited budget and technology on hand to hold our attention and making it a race against time thriller. There is primarily a battle of wits involved. One that has Dr. Kiryu trying to outwit Makoto and his own 100EYES surveillance system where every dashcam, CCTV around the country is deployed to track down the whereabouts of Kiryu. Thus, instead of Alex Proyas’ I, Robot which served a generous amount of CGI and wham bang action, AI Amok is more concerned in driving across one message- Is technology merciless and evil or is it mankind in the end? 

There is however something odd about AI Amok. Take away the theme of artificial intelligence and AI Amok functions just as well as a mystery action thriller. It’s definitely not in the league of Steven Spielberg’s epic Artificial Intelligence or Alex Garland’s riveting Ex Machina. It’s clearly a modestly-budgeted movie that ran out of new ideas by the second half. Glaringly, it also poses questions about the human race’s heavy reliance on artificial intelligence but never really get to answer it in the end.

Movie Rating:

(Takao Osawa is a serviceable hero in an adequate crime thriller which is pathetically disguised as a sci-fi flick)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Nareubadee Wetchakam
Cast:  Mario Maurer, Ploypailin Thangprapaporn, Kidakarn Chatkaewmanee, Akkarin Akaranithimetrath, Sriphan Chunechomboon  
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: Clover Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 13 July 2020

Synopsis: Lin, a young girl who can see the dead broke up with her boyfriend and decided to leave the city for a break. She heads to the faraway resort in the North alone during the so-called “Low Season”, confident that she won’t have to meet the ‘tourists’ that will get on her nerves. Ironically, she meets a group of ‘weirdos’ from different walks of life. They share a common aim – to heal their ‘wounds’ during the low season period. Lin’s plan of ‘lonesome chillin’ out’ is hindered by their company. Lin is joined by Put, a young screenwriter who seeks inspiration for a horror story. Unknowingly, Lin becomes the source of material for his writings. They embark on an adventure to escape from the ghost and gradually falls in love…. But is it love? Lin can see ghosts but can she see Love for what it is? 

Movie Review:  

This is a Thai rom-com that talks about the relationship between a girl who can see ghosts and a boy whom she has just known for days.    

Lin (Ploypailin Thangprapaporn), a city girl who works at a call centre decides to head to a mountainous resort in Chiangmai to clear her head after she broke up with her superstar boyfriend, Tor. There, she meets a young man named Puth (Thai heartthrob Mario Maurer from Pee-Mak and Jan Dara: The Beginning), an aspiring screenwriter who is in the process of writing a mainstream horror story.

Though the two don’t see eye-to-eye initially, Puth starts to fall in love with this quirky girl with a mismatched fashion sense after a few misadventures together. But when Tor calls to patch up with Lin, will Lin grant her former flame a second chance?

Low Season is first and foremost a rom-com rather than a ghostly thrilling love story. The so-called ghosts are mostly setup for a few funny laughs. Take for example, the eerie prologue which has Lin being nearly scared to death by a ghost who ended up helping her to catch a lizard in her room. And a couple of quiet ghostly figures who turned up here and there to generate some unnecessary loud jump-scares. But liked mentioned, the ghosts are merely here to assist with the storytelling and essentially a tool to shape the character of Lin, a girl who has to supress her ability to see ghosts in order to be with the man she loves.

Is Lin’s strange ability part of a psychological condition? Or is it because she is exceptional sensitive to the environment? Given Low Season’s goofiness, we probably will never know more about Lin’s true condition. But director Nareubadee Wetchakam sure knows how to get the plotting going especially a sequence which has Lin and Puth getting stuck overnight at a fellow villager’s creepy hut. We don’t really want to spoil the fun for you but trust us, Wetchaka has what it takes to stir up some wacky fun with his cast.    

And talking about cast, Thangprapaporn who makes her first big screen leading feature here is very much likeable as the vulnerable Lin. Part goofy, innocent and harebrained, Lin is a joy to watch opposite Maurer who is kind of stuck playing the all-so good looking and all-so perfect male character. Similar to Lin, Puth is dumped by his long-time girlfriend and is now nursing a broken heart by immersing deep into researching his script. Sad to say, Lin is a much more interesting character to watch as not much is said about Puth except he makes a living as a beauty blogger. 

Yet you can’t deny that the two of them actually exudes plenty of charisma to melt our hearts along the way. Be it their clumsy attempt at riding a bike, losing their way in a dense forest or simply staring sweetly into each other’s eyes. Besides Thangprapaporn and Maurer, Low Season is also supported by a bunch of wholesome cast members who plays the group of lovelorn people who stayed at the “Low Season” resort. They might not be familiar faces to us but their lively banter and antics wins us over everytime they get a chance to be onscreen.

Of course, no rom-com is complete without the inclusion of sappy catchy pop tunes. Yet there is a sweet appeal to them despite the language barrier. Since the movie is released by Sahamongkol Film, the leading Thai movie company who awed the world with Tony Jaa’s Ong Bak, the flick is blessed with excellent cinematography though the cheap-looking makeup and shoddy visual effects are intended more for laugh than scare.

If there is one lesson to take away from Low Season, it is to accept whatever flaws the person you love has. In this case, Lin is not a sick person, she just needs someone to accept her for what she is. There’s nothing complicated about the narrative nor is it a horror comedy. At a time where the world is consumed by the existence of a terrible virus, perhaps watching how Lin and Phut falls in love might makes you feel at ease and happier.

Movie Rating:

(A romantic comedy that has ghosts in it? Sign us up because the chemistry between Mario Maurer and Ploypailin Thangprapaporn is far more consuming than ghosts!)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Thriller
Director: Craig Zobel 
Cast: Ike Barinholtz, Betty Gilpin, Emma Roberts, Hilary Swank
Runtime: 1 hr 30 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence & Coarse Language)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 13 August 2020

Synopsis: Blumhouse Productions presents a terrifying real world nightmare, a suspense thriller set in modern America that feels a bit too close to reality for comfort. Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are, or how they got there. They don't know they've been chosen... for a very specific purpose ... The Hunt. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of elites gathers for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt ordinary Americans for sport. But the elites' master plan is about to be derailed because one of The Hunted, Crystal (Betty Gilpin, GLOW), knows The Hunters' game better than they do. She turns the tables on the killers, picking them off, one by one, as she makes her way toward the mysterious woman (two-time Oscar® winner Hilary Swank) at the center of it all.

Movie Review:

There should not be any doubt, right from the get-go, that ‘The Hunt’ is taking aim at the Trump-era political culture in the United States. Oh yes, even though there may not be a MAGA hat to be found, everything about this Blumhouse thriller is screaming at relevancy, beginning of course from its premise of a bunch of liberal elites who kidnap 12 conservatives – referred to as ‘deplorables’, in direct derogatory reference to Trump’s supporters – in order to hunt them for sport.

That said, those looking for sharp social satire will ultimately be disappointed, given how the plotting by ‘Lost’ alumni writers Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof seems content to indulge in name-calling and woke-speak than engage with incisive commentary; in fact, it chooses gleefully to mock both conservatives and liberals, without any desire to dig deeper into the issues that divide them, whether on racism, economic inequality, climate change, gay rights etc.

To their credit, as well as that of director Craig Zobel, the movie skilfully keeps its viewer off balance. That playfulness is on full display from the elaborate opening sequence, which opens with a shot of Emma Roberts waking up in a field with a gag locked onto her mouth and ends with her and the only other recognisable actor (namely, Ike Barinholtz) unceremoniously killed off; only later do we meet the real protagonist of the story, a no-nonsense Mississippian with impressive combat skills named Crystal (GLOW’s Betty Gilpin).

Over a series of set-pieces, Betty will come to confront her hunters, culminating in a womano-a-womano against the very (female) mastermind of the sport. It is in these slickly designed set-pieces that the filmmakers reveal their true intention, i.e. to deliver a hyper-violent, hyper-gory exploitation movie that wants its audience to delight in scenes of self-entitled people getting impaled, injured and even eviscerated by bullets, grenades, booby traps and arrows.

As a sign of just how proud the movie hangs its R-rated credentials on its sleeve, the aforementioned opening sequence sees a woman being blown apart, another falling into a pit trap with spikes, a man getting shot by multiple arrows, and another two escapees choking on a poisonous gas bomb. Betty is no less violent, and a later sequence where she unblinkingly takes out every single one of her hunters cloistered in a bunker is specifically choreographed for her to show off her notable military skills as well as demonstrate how vicious she can be.

That it is more accomplished in its bloodletting than satirising is proof of where the movie’s priorities lie, even as it tries to sell itself as a contemporarily relevant social critique. Neither end of the political spectrum is spared, but much as it highlights the ironies inherent in the actions and positions taken by both sides, the movie is equally guilty of reducing Left and Right to caricatures; worse, it never quite figures out just what it wants to say by the end, leaving one surmising that it is only keen to mock and not much more.

Perhaps the best thing it has going for it is Gilpin, who seems completely at ease oozing old-fashioned machismo and holding her own against Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank in the extended finale. She also has a gift for deadpan humour, and a huge reason for why you’ll enjoy watching her doling comeuppance to her hunters is how she does so in such a completely cool and unflappable manner. Because everyone else is pretty much collateral damage, it is up to Gilpin to hold the entire enterprise together, and she does so with aplomb.

As much as it tries to be a socially relevant thriller, ‘The Hunt’ is ultimately too blunt to make a statement. It’s one thing to poke fun at the zeitgeist, but quite another to have something smart to say about it. Those who love their violence raw will no doubt savour the scenes of graphic mayhem and gore, but those looking for smart social commentary will be disappointed by this mediocre Blumhouse offering. It’s no ‘Get Out’ for sure, but as long as you’re just here for some wicked subversive fun, you’ll lap up the sheer anarchy.

Movie Rating:

(There's no smart social commentary to be found here, but as far as wicked, subversive, gory fun is concerned, it's a blast)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Thriller
Director: Nareubadee Wetchakam
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Ian Hart, Daniel Webber, Nathan Page, Mark Leonard Winter, Ratidzo Mambo
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 13 July 2020

Synopsis: Escape From Pretoria is the true story of Tim Jenkin (Daniel Radcliffe) and Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber), young, white South Africans branded “terrorists”, and imprisoned in 1978 for working covert operations for Nelson Mandela’s banned ANC. Incarcerated in Pretoria Maximum Security Prison, they decide to send the apartheid regime a clear message and escape! With breath-taking ingenuity, meticulous surveillance, and wooden keys crafted for 10 steel doors, they make a bid for freedom... Beyond a thrilling will-they-won’t-they-escape, this is the story of an oppressed majority’s struggle, and two ordinary men who stood-up to be counted in the pursuit of equality for all.

Movie Review:  

After the success of Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe continues to challenge himself in numerous indie projects over the years. For sure, he might be dirt rich but you can’t deny his passion for acting. In this movie funded and shot in Australia, Radcliffe plays Tim Jenkin, a political prisoner who managed to pull a prison break in 1979 after being sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for being an anti-apartheid activist. 

In short, Escape from Pretoria is based on Jenkin’s memoir published back in 1987. However, director Francis Annan has no desire to give audiences a lengthy lesson on the dark history of South Africa, a time where racial discrimination is focused heavily on non-whites and a time when Nelson Mandela was still in jail after being labelled as a terrorist.    

Again, the movie lacks any significant backstory to the past regime except some brief archival video footages in the opening scene. Some of the shots might be brutal but if you are not a historical buff, it doesn’t have much effect on you, isn’t it? So what’s left for Escape from Pretoria the movie? Instead of some rousing history, what we have in the end is the detailing of how Jenkin together with his best friend, Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber) and a fictional Frenchman, Leonard (Mark Leonard Winter) escaped from prison using nothing but wooden-made keys.

Inevitably, the narrative is too simplistic to have an emotional punch. We knew neither Jenkin or Stephen before they are thrown into prison. All we saw was their act of planting leaflet bombs in the heart of Cape Town. What motivates them to fight for the underprivileged blacks? What’s their roles in the African National Congress (ANC)? 

We got none of the satisfying answers we want instead what we have are a lot of closeup shots of keys and keyholes. In an era where surveillance cameras are nowhere to be seen or yet to be invented and security in prisons are lax, Jenkin begins to study keys hanging on the prison officers and keyholes on gates and doors. Thus he begins to replicate them in wooden forms hoping to one day navigate out of the complex layout. 

While Escape from Pretoria is definitely not an edge-on-your-seats type of thriller, it does have a couple of tense moments such as Jenkin dropping his key along the hallway and the officers trying hard to find what he is up to in his cell. The heavily-accented fake South African accents might be hard to figure out at times but the often jittery, sweaty body language are enough to convey the overall uneasiness. 

Putting on a horn-rimmed specs and a bushy moustache, Radcliffe is totally immense in his role as Tim Jenkin. The movie needs a marquee name liked him to sell and he is totally wonderful right here. Harry Potter fans will sort of recognised Professor Quirrell (Ian Hart) as fellow old-timer prisoner, Denis Goldberg who acts as the guys’ protector and advisor.  

Escape from Pretoria is not exactly a bad movie. It works effectively as a harrowing jailbreak tale but dig deeper, it lacks the nuances of a political thriller. Of course, it does feature a very solid Daniel Radcliffe unfortunately the rest of his co-stars are too plain to serve any purpose.

Movie Rating:

(It might look liked a stiff politically-inclined movie but it’s actually a simple jailbreak tale)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Biography
Director: Liesl Tommy
Cast: Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Tate Donovan, Heather Headley, Skye Dakota Turner, Mary J. Blige
Runtime: 2 hrs 25 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 14 October 2021

Synopsis: Following the rise of Aretha Franklin's career from a child singing in her father's church's choir to her international superstardom, RESPECT is the remarkable true story of the music icon's journey to find her voice.

Movie Review:

When it comes to singing, folks usually find praise in technique and tone, but singing as an artform can also find greatness in authentic expression. While every genre of music has its fans, soul music has an incomparable effect to move any audience - and you can’t talk about soul music without mentioning the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin.

In Respect, Jennifer Hudson plays the diva, embodying not just the heft and talent of the Aretha most know, but also the fragility that not many are familiar with. Though this biopic is by no means accurate - because after all, how is one to condense 20 years into two and a half hours - the screenplay by Tracey Scott Wilson does highlight a few forces that have shaped the late dame into the icon that she is.

Liesl Tommy places these episodes fairly evenly, moving us through her childhood pregnancy through to her volatile relationships with her family and her lovers in her adult life. Though the title speaks to the theme of someone seeking validation and later emerging as her own, there are times that it doesn’t unpack fully.

Most of all is her early motherhood. Little is said of her relationship with her sons, and whenever she returns to her family home, it’s more about her relationship with her father. Although this does weigh in heavily to her circular return to gospel roots, a richer Aretha could have emerged if we saw her in parts as a mother.

Nonetheless, the movie does pair up her tribulations to her music, letting us flow through her evolution as a forgettable musician to soul beacon in the industry. There’s plenty of purposeful drops (such as the kids in early scenes shouting out “sock it to him!”) to illustrate her inspirations, but it is clear every new song emerges as an anthem to her most recent personal epiphany. So from the jazzy ”Nature Boy” and bluesy “I Never Loved a Man (The Way That I Love You)” to the titular “Respect”, each hit ends up like a badge of honour in a somewhat repeated formula.

It does come across that the team is more about paying homage than telling a compelling biopic story, but who can fault them when a legend is being featured - and therein might lie the issue. Thankfully, Jennifer Hudson with her equally impressive vocals are a joy to witness, and is certainly of enough calibre to suit the queen.

With 75 million records sold worldwide in her career, Aretha Franklin can count many achievements, and even though Respect does a decent job, it might not really be the hit that one is hoping for.

Movie Rating:

(If one is looking for a musically sound biopic, Respect grants it to you. But a deeper study and more tangible relationships between Aretha’s loved ones would have made this a more moving tribute)

Review by Morgan Awyong

Genre: Drama
Director: Carlo Mirabella-Davis
Cast: Haley Bennett, Austin Stowell, Elizabeth Marvel, David Rasche, Denis O'Hare
Runtime: 1hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene)
Released By: KinoLounge by Shaw Theatres
Official Website: https://kinolounge.shaw.sg/film/swallow/

Opening Day: 3 July 2020

Synopsis: A provocative and squirm-inducing psychological thriller, SWALLOW follows one woman’s unraveling as she struggles to reclaim independence in the face of an oppressive system by whatever means possible.
 

Movie Review:

This is a difficult film to watch. Sure, we have seen movies about women who are emotionally stifled and try their best to lead a normal life. But this one takes it further and has its female lead developing an impulse to consume inedible objects. Imagine swallowing a marble. Or a thumbtack. Or metal figurines lying around the house. You wonder why the oppressed woman does it, until this film explains that it is a psychological disorder.

Giving Jennifer Lawrence a run for her money, Haley Bennett (The Girl on the Train) takes on this role of Hunter, a woman who marries into a rich family. She was once an artist with dreams, and those dreams have become material ones where her rich husband (Austin Stowell) is willing to provide anything she wants. Some of us yearn to live such a lifestyle. Who doesn’t want to be the life partner of someone who is going to become the CEO of a Manhattan corporation?

As you’d expect, this fairy tale doesn’t last and the film reveals that Hunter has pica, a psychological disorder that propels individuals to eat inedible objects. To complicate matters, Hunter is pregnant and we know this wouldn’t (pardon the pun) go down well. The anguish doesn’t end here – the story goes on to tell you about Hunter’s haunted past which involves a man who raped her mother.

The 95 minute film is an impressive directorial debut from Carlo Mirabella Davis. It is also notable that he penned the disturbing but poignant story It makes you think about the possible perversity beneath the seemingly picturesque lives we lead. When Hunter tells her therapist that she enjoys the texture of the inedible objects in her mouth, it is truly spine chilling.

Bennett delivers a remarkable performance which will captivate your senses from beginning to end. You know there is something wrong behind her polite smiles and pretty wardrobe. There is something waiting to explode in the nice apartment she lives in. Yet, she tries her best leading a ‘normal’ life, and being the perfect wife to a man she isn’t sure whether she loves.

This is a very stylised film which relies heavily on visuals to accentuate the emotions of the protagonist. Hunter is often framed alone in large and empty spaces. The cold and stark colours of the film reflect the character’s sentiments, and you wish someone would give her some warmth. Kudos to cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi for creating a look that is arresting and desolate. Coupled with Nathan Halpern’s, it is unlikely that you will lose interest during the 94 minute duration of the film. 

But you also know there won’t be a happy ending for Hunter as she tries to find closure in her life. The last sequence would leave you thinking: after you’ve made a difficult decision, will the world stop and see things from your perspective? Likely not.

The human soul can be very fragile, and each individual has different ways of holding up. It can be distressing to know what some of us do when no one’s looking, and this film boldly takes a peek and leaves you to unfold the deeper layers after the credits roll. 

Movie Rating:

(An impressive directorial debut by Carlo Mirabella Davis, although it takes guts to stomach Haley Bennett’s bold performance)

Review by John Li