Genre: Action/Comics
Director: Cate Shortland
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, Ray Winstone, William Hurt
Runtime: 2 hr 14 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website: https://movies.disney.com/black-widow
Opening Day: 8 July 2021
Synopsis:
Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Natasha/Black Widow in Marvel Studios' action-packed spy thriller Black Widow- the first film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Florence Pugh stars as Yelena, David Harbour as Alexei aka The Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz as Melina. Directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Kevin Feige.
Movie Review:
As far as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is concerned, ‘Black Widow’ isn’t a keystone by any measure. For one, we already know the fate of the titular former Russian spy from ‘Avengers: Endgame’; and for another, it is meant to fill the narrative gap between ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, which is technically inessential to Phase 4 of the MCU. And yet, this standalone adventure of Natasha Romanoff adds surprising breadth and depth to the latest MCU cycle, not just by playing it different as an espionage thriller but also by being a compelling examination of the very nature of family (no, not the way Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto likes to define it).
That emphasis on family is framed by a preface, set in Ohio in 1995, which finds young Natasha (Ever Anderson) seemingly living the all-American life with her mother (Rachel Weisz) and younger sister (Violet McGraw) – until suddenly they aren’t. In a moment, dad (David Harbour) returns home and gathers the ‘family’ to make a spectacular airplane getaway from US government (namely, S.H.I.E.L.D.) agents. By the end of that pre-credits sequence, we’d have learnt that they were in fact a Russian sleeper cell, and how Natasha and her sister Yelena are separated from their parents as well as from each other to be sent to a KGB training facility for elite assassins called Black Widows.
Flash-forward two decades later, Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) has now gone into exile in rural Norway following the disastrous events of ‘Captain America: Civil War’, hiding out from a team of federal agents led by Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt). On the other hand, Yelena is on a mission in Morocco to retrieve a mysterious box containing a number of glowing-red phials, which as we learn, are the antidote to releasing the Widows from the brainwashing technology of their programme masterminded by General Dreykov (Ray Winstone). Thanks to her target she unfortunately kills, Yelena is set free, setting in motion a series of events for Natasha and her to be reunited in a Budapest apartment for a knock-down, drag-out fight as they struggle to ascertain each other’s loyalties.
What ensues is a movie that unfolds both as domestic dramedy and as big-bang Marvel spectacle. The former sees Natasha and Yelena reunited with their ‘parents’ – their father Alexei a has-been Sovier-sponsored super-soldier nicknamed ‘Red Guardian’ whom they rescue from his languish in a moldering prison longing for his glory days, and their mother Melina the very biologist who had developed the mind control process for the Widows programme whom they search out at a remote farm in Russia. The reunion is both amusing and poignant at the same time, probing what constitutes a family in which children can or cannot be loved; and in its intimate examination of family, demonstrative of director Cate Shortland’s skill at intensely observant portraits of isolated young women.
In between the drama, Shortland offers up a steady stream of fights, chases and fireballs to keep Marvel fans contented, including the aforementioned smashmouth brawl, a breathless vehicular chase and a mid-avalanche prison evacuation. Most notably, the fight choreography – directed by Darrin Prescott of ‘Black Panther’, ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and the ‘John Wick’ trilogy – is impressively acrobatic, as Natasha and Yelena take turns facing off with a robotic killer known as the Taskmaster (whose identity is one of the brilliant turns in screenwriter Eric Pearson’s otherwise competent plotting). The extended finale set atop Dreykov’s aerial Red Room is appropriately intense and exhilarating, stuffed with explosions and gravity-defying stunts that cap the movie in typical Marvel fashion.
Amidst the action, Johansson gives her all to the movie her Marvel character has long deserved. As the main event, Johansson shows shades of vulnerability and self-doubt in Natasha that she’s rarely been able to before, what with the focus being on her one-fisted, hair-tossing superhero landing (which this movie is adroit enough to poke fun at). Johansson also deserves credit for letting Pugh bloom aside her, the actress expertly channeling her signature anxious-tough balance of feminine characters (from movies such as ‘Little Women’ and ‘Midsommar’) to Yelena’s wounded idealism. The supporting cast, especially Harbour, Weisz and Winstone, are uniformly excellent, and we dare say we would be pleasantly delighted to see Harbour get a spinoff of his own.
So even as ‘Black Widow’ isn’t a necessary canon in the MCU, it still is a marvellous start to Phase 4. More than the set pieces, it focuses on the human being behind the shield of a superhero, with due emphasis on character dynamics to make it a suitably gripping origin tale of family trauma, identity crisis and sibling rivalry. If indeed this is Johansson’s last spin around the track as the titular superhero, it is as distinguished a send-off as both the actress and her character should get. And as the first MCU movie in two years, it is a reminder of just why each film is a cinematic experience that should be seen on the biggest screen possible.
Movie Rating:
(A befitting sendoff for the titular superhero, this standalone adventure adds surprising breadth and depth to the latest MCU cycle, playing it different as an espionage thriller and compellingly examining the very nature of family)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language & Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/FreeGuyMovie/
Opening Day: 12 August 2021
Synopsis: In the vein of hits such as Wreck-It-Ralph, Free Guy will follow a background character who discovers he lives in a video game and works to prevent the makers of the game from shutting it down with the help of an avatar.
Movie Review:
Amidst a summer season of superhero movies, sequels and reboots, ‘Free Guy’ stands out as a delightfully original surprise. Sure, it does contain elements of films from ‘Ready Player One’, ‘Wreck-It-Ralph’ and ‘Tron’, but the sheer wit and ingenuity that is on display makes whatever seems familiar feel fresh all over again.
As its name suggests, the movie is anchored by Guy, or more precisely Ryan Reynolds. Dialing his nice-guy charm all the way up to 11, Reynolds plays the titular happy-go-lucky bank teller, whose routine every single morning is to greet his pet goldfish, change into a blue button-down shirt and khakis, stop by the neighbourhood barista, and deliver a joyous ‘Don't have a good day, have a great day’ to every customer he meets. Oh, and when a rotating cast of armed robbers turn up at the bank, Guy and his security guard Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) simply shrug their shoulders, drop to the ground, and chat about their after-work plans until the raid is over.
Guy’s obliviousness stems from his very existence: he is but a non-player character or NPC in an open-world, first-person shooter game called ‘Free City’. That Guy is so endearing is credit to Reynolds, who perfectly embodies the sweet innocence of his character. Reynolds also nails perfectly Guy’s subsequent awakening, following a serendipitous encounter on the street with the girl of his dreams. That girl is the leather-clad biker chick Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer), who is after an artifact within the game which apparently holds the key to what has been kept out of sight of ‘Free City’.
Thinking that those with sunglasses get the girl, Guy snatches a pair off the next bank robber, and after putting them on, is suddenly able to see the world as the players in the game do, what with power-ups, loot and missions. Guy’s fish-out-of-the-water experience is hilarious, especially how it stands in stark contrast to his earlier nonchalance to the anarchy happening around him. Treading a fine line between being self-aware and being cavalier, Reynolds and director Shawn Levy have a hoot conjuring all sorts of mayhem in the background, with skydiving, car chases, bazookas, explosions, shootouts and melees boasting all kinds of weaponry.
We’d say as much that Molotov Girl’s mission has to do with the power-hungry mogul Antwan (Taika Waititi) behind the game’s virtual world, whom a pair of coders Millie (also Comer) and Walter (Joe Keery) accuse of stealing their code and bastardising it into a soulless franchise. That parallel real-world subplot gains prominence in the film’s second half, with the real and virtual worlds intersecting with increasing urgency, meaning and action.
To say more would certainly spoil the fun of discovering it for your own self, given how director Shawn Levy and co-writers Zak Penn and Matt Lieberman have assembled the story as well as the entire construct with a surprising amount of depth. Guy’s journey as well as that of the other NPCs invoke a ‘Truman Show’-style commentary about the nature of existence for AI-based creations, though Levy deliberately keeps the tone light and jaunty. Just as unexpected is how much we end up caring for these virtual characters, not only for Guy to grow into his own person but also for his budding romance with Molotov Girl.
All of this moves by with brisk efficiency under Levy’s confident direction, who injects it with such infectious energy and verve that you cannot help but be fully immersed. Despite switching frequently back and forth between the worlds, Levy navigates his audience deftly through them; in particular, Levy and his production designer Ethan Tobman deserve credit for designing two visually fascinating worlds with their own distinct characteristics. Levy has also packed his movie from start to finish with plenty of in-jokes and pop-culture references, and without spoiling anything, let’s just say we loved the one with a self-deprecating Channing Tatum and that of a certain MCU hero with a red, white and blue shield.
Yet the whole enterprise is held together by none other than Reynolds, who is perfectly cast in this video-game action comedy. Reynolds is both endearingly beguiling and ceaselessly charming as Guy, combining his trademark nice-guy charisma with just the right amount of snark from ‘Deadpool’ to fashion a refreshingly original character. The chemistry between Reynolds and Comer is a joy to behold, and why we care so deeply about how Guy and Molotov Girl will turn out next to each other as they embark on their respective journeys towards self-fulfillment. The supporting cast is equally excellent, including an entertainingly over-the-top Waititi in full megalomaniac mode and Rel Howery as Guy’s BFF at the bank who also eventually comes into his own.
We’ll admit that we did not think much about ‘Free Guy’ before, not least because of its seemingly nondescript title; and yet, we’re exhilarated to have been blown away by the utter delirium of the adventure, one that blends charm, wit, action, romance, emotion and comedy into a genuinely appealing experience filled with unabashed sweetness and goofy enthusiasm. Among all the crowd-pleasing movies we’ve seen this summer, we dare say this is by far the most fun you’ll have in the cinema.
Movie Rating:
(Funny, delightful and even thrilling, this refreshingly original video-game action comedy is a crowd-pleasing blend of unabashed sweetness and goofy enthusiasm)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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2021 IS THE NEW 2020Posted on 17 May 2021 |
Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Romance
Director: Scott Speer
Cast: Alexandra Shipp, Nicholas Hamilton, DeRon Horton, Ian Tracey, Catherine Lough Haggquist, Eddie Ramos, Zoë Belkin, Famke Janssen
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: PG (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 26 November 2020
Synopsis: When madly in love high school graduates Riley (Alexandra Shipp) and Chris (Nicholas Hamilton) are separated by a tragic car accident, Riley blames herself for her boyfriend’s death while Chris is stranded in limbo. Miraculously, the two find a way to connect. In a love story that transcends life and death, both Riley and Chris are forced to learn the hardest lesson of all: letting go.
Movie Review:
The YA market is potentially huge but never really take off except for the success of Twilight, The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner franchise with the occasional hit liked The Fault In Our Stars. Still, that doesn’t really deter filmmakers from dipping their hands and toes into the teens market which explains why a movie liked Endless emerged out of nowhere.
Although Endless is not based on any existing novel or comic property and is credited to writers Andre Case and Oneil Sharma, it feels very much liked a less mature, rehashed version of Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze’s 1990 hit, Ghost. Sadly, exactly three decades has gone by and no other movies with similar themes has topped the supernatural romance drama and that includes Endless.
Ten minutes into the movie, leading man Chris (Nicholas Hamilton) is killed in an automobile accident in a car driven by his girlfriend, Riley (Alexandra Shipp). We have probably watched less than ten minutes of prologue to know how madly in love our two young lovers was. Chris is the typical chiselled bad boy who comes from a single parent family while Riley is aiming to be a lawyer although deep down, she has a penchant for art. And guess what, she is the only daughter of a pair of snobbish rich parents who wants her to study law just liked them.
Before the story can delve into the economic disparity of their families, the huge differences in terms of career path between the young love birds, Chris is dead and he is stuck in limbo on earth with a fellow helpful ghostly presence, Jordan (DeRon Horton). Chris is definitely not having an out-of-body experience by the way, he is really DEAD. So at some point, Riley realised she can communicate with Chris after googling for some information on the supernatural. The catch is the longer Chris linger around Riley, he is going to indirectly “kill” her. Thus is letting go the best way to prove your love?
Endless is basically a teen movie made for teens. It is shamelessly engineered to be a tearjerker but fails to do so. One obvious reason is simply the audiences do not get enough time with the couple before Chris is gone. It is often cliched, heavy-handed and filled with banal dialogue. The filmmakers intended the movie to be sort of a title to cope with the loss of a love one but the message never really comes off as sincere or believable.
There’s a recurring subplot of Chris dealing with the absence of his father and Jordan concealing the actual truth behind his death. Interesting developments that are far more interesting than the supposedly weepie romance. Again, these are plot fillers before jumping to the next sequence of Riley trying hard to communicate with Chris once again, whispering sweet nothings and getting misty-eyed.
Alexandra Shipp who also produced the effort is a talented young actress having appearing as a young Storm in X-Men: Dark Phoenix and movies liked Love, Simon. Capable of displaying a range of convincing emotions, Shipp is utterly wasted in a forgettable effort. Her fellow X-Men alumni, Famke Janssen appears as Chris’ mom, Lee. You can conclude Janssen has very little to do here except crying her heart out in one scene and screaming her head off in another.
It’s easy to predict how this movie is going to end. Everyone lives happily ever after, Chris magically returns to life and Riley goes to law school. No, we are not going to spoil the movie despite the hackneyed narratives. If you are a teen or preteen, you might find Endless endlessly engaging. The rest of the people please proceed with caution.
Movie Rating:
(Only the youth crowd will find this appealing)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zenday, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem
Runtime: 2 hrs 26 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:
Opening Day: 16 September 2021
Synopsis: A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Movie Review:
In the media world, Frank Herbert’s Dune is well-regarded as the sci-fi equivalent of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings - unfilmable. Peter Jackson surprised everyone with his production, even as it took almost an entire country’s worth of talent to realise the vision of the latter. Hoping to capture the other corner is Denis Villeneuve.
First, let’s set things straight - Dune is beyond pretty. In an era where space titles have mostly opted to go bigger or resort to gimmicky design, Villeneuve’s sophisticated sense of scale and the visceral truly explode as an opus on screen.
Much like his earlier Arrival, the elegance in which he expresses the future is mesmerising and refreshing, yet holds an odd sense of believability that draws you in like a siren. But Arrival is clearly the quieter cousin, because Dune is full-blown pageantry. The desert here is creamy. The steel here hums. Every texture here is decadent, thrummed to life by the score from Hans Zimmer.
The composer is clearly a strong partner to Villeneuve’s canniness for the intrinsic. The multi-award winning Zimmer seems to be having fun with experimentation - zipping through anything from folk-centric panels to lush synth rollers, and the effect is quite profound if at times pompous. The ethno vibes in particular have been used to mark the houses of Dune’s universe, and additions of inner Asia’s throat-singing to a more stoic bagpipe anthem enriches Dune with an unspoken history.
But for all the spectacle that is Dune, Villeneuve’s final effect does have clear lapses. This could be because this chapter, meant to be part one of two films, stays too long in prequel territory. It’s like the well-meaning friend who can’t wait for the reveal of your surprise, and in the meantime drops you not-so-cryptic clues on what’s to come. It just gets a tad annoying after a while.
Through distracting visions and disembodied voices, Villeneuve and his writing partners Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth remind the audience that our dashing ducal heir Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) is meant for bigger things. And even as the film dives into the main arc of House Atreides’s new political assignment, the writers never fail to interrupt the scenes with his supernatural comas. Thing is - it can come across as manipulative, especially when the setup for the first act was well-finessed.
As the noble House Atreides takes over the assignment of harvesting Spice on planet Arrakis, as decreed by the Emperor, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) vows to build an alliance with the native Fremens, choosing to differ sharply from the former usurpers from House Harkonnen. Villeneuve lays out the foundation well here, introducing the world in clever ways to avoid obvious exposition. Even as the second act unfolds the political schemes of each party, there is the element of discovery and realisation to keep the audience rapt - even if some of the characters remain sadly banal in this chapter (a sad waste of Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, and Zendaya).
It is at the final leg that Villeneuve and his team falters. The pacing lacks rhythm and at its worst parts, even listless. And because characters were left underdeveloped with toe-dip relationships, some hard decisions in the story left me cold. With the sporadic spurts of scenes at the end, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the theatre to wonder if the movie will ever end. It feels like it doesn't know what to do with itself, and by the time it does, the grandiose send-off is rather anticlimactic.
But with one eye closed for the fact that this is a self-conscious first-parter, Dune is still well-worth a ticket down to the big screen. Partially to immerse yourself in its filmic extravaganza - probably the closest thing to travelling you’ll get for now - and also to witness the otherwise skillful visual and aural manifestations of the incredible team. There are heart-stopping moments and jaw-dropping action enough to satisfy, and those scenes of the iconic sandworm making an appearance, is delicious movie magic.
Movie Rating:
(An impressive entry into the Dune universe, with a cerebral approach to production. It suffers from flat characters and an indecisive third act, but is a spectacle worth shelling out for)
Review by Morgan Awyong
Genre: Action/Disaster
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Cast: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, David Denman, Scott Glenn
Runtime: 2 hrs
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Encore Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 13 August 2020
Synopsis: A family fights for survival as a planet-killing comet races to Earth. John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and young son Nathan make a perilous journey to their only hope for sanctuary. Amid terrifying news accounts of cities around the world being levelled by the comet’s fragments, the Garrity’s experience the best and worst in humanity while they battle the increasing panic and lawlessness surrounding them. As the countdown to global apocalypse approaches zero, their incredible trek culminates in a desperate and last-minute flight to a possible safe haven.
Movie Review:
There’s nothing like timing a disaster film to coincide with a similar real-life event - minus the devastating consequences of course.
Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland has been released just as the comet Neowise is coursing through our skies. The astronomical phenomena was at its brightest on 22 July, becoming as bright as the North Star and visible without visual aids, creating a stir around the world. The comet in Greenland however, had a very different idea.
Dubbed ‘Clark’, the cosmic entity was announced to be a spectacular and harmless viewing event. Then it became that a rogue piece had entered the atmosphere, but would mostly burn itself out and land in the ocean. Everyone was thrilled, until the piece made landfall… in Central Florida.
Greenland follows the Garrity family as they make their way to safety. Gerald Butler and Morena Baccarin are estranged couple John and Allison, who work together to bring their son Clayton (Scott Glenn) to their ordained government shelter.
Replete with catastrophic events as the urgency builds up, the film’s visuals are worth looking out for, both for its terrifying scale yet surreal beauty. It is one of the highlights, even as an extinction-level fragment is making its way within 48 hours of the first impact.
Waugh’s focus is on the family and their tribulations, so don’t expect it to be all smooth sailing. But part of the film is also used to showcase a bitter side of humanity, as people disregard the greater good for the sake of self-preservation. Other than Neowise, the messaging also hits home with the pandemic, as the world struggles to cope with errant behaviour from the public. It’s extremely disturbing in that expect.
That said, the way it is executed comes across a little trite at times. From a scene of some strangers partying (the hedonists), to a couple that hijacks a situation (the false samaritan), writer Chris Sparling’s vignettes are much too cliche for the seasoned audience. Waugh also directs these scenes with little depth, often over delivering on the messaging as characters stir up their motives. Trust me, it’s very clear who’s good or bad in this film.
When the family gets separated, these episodes get even more pronounced. And worse still, the situations they run into veer dangerously into caricatures themselves. There’s only that many stalled highways and hitchhikes you can take, and the way people drop in and out of the main thread discourages any emotional investment from the viewer.
It’s not that Waugh doesn’t try, but the episodes are repetitive in formula and so after a while, you just know what to expect. And for a disaster movie, that’s not very exciting.
But while the side characters are bland, Greenland’s biggest lack comes from its main cast - they’re not very likeable at all.
Throughout the film, the family ditches friends, emotionally-blackmails officers, and at parts even endangers everyone else for the sake of saving their family. While this ode to family loyalty is admirable to a point, the situations start to make the Garrity’s seem entitled. And no one really wants to root for entitled folks.
From non-stop badgering for information from officers trying to do their job, to allowing exceptional waivers for their case, they throw the greater good out into the wind without so much as a blink of an eye.
Waugh tries to negate this with some scenes of the Garrity doing good to a random stranger, but they are so random that you’ll be more puzzled than convinced that these are people you should be cheering on.
So while Greenland still wins for its premise and effects (minus the incredibly flat orange color grading), the lack of endearment to the characters leaves the title without much impact.
Movie Rating:
(Eventful disaster film turns into a bumper car ride - full of intentional crashes but without any real purpose from the cast)
Review by Morgan Awyong
SYNOPSIS: A hardened mercenary's mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he's sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Reuniting ‘Thor’ star Chris Hemsworth with part of the Marvel team, ‘Extraction’ is first and foremost a directorial showcase for second unit director and stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave, who had worked on not just Hemsworth’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ but also the last two ‘Avengers’ movies. Hargrave must surely have hit it off with the Russos, so much so that one of them had written the script off a 2014 graphic novel and both are producing this movie.
That amount of big-name talent behind the scenes no doubt raises expectation of what this Netflix film would offer, but ‘Extraction’ is ultimately no more – and certainly, no less – than a high-octane action thriller. The highlights, if not yet apparent from having Hargrave at the helm, are the set-pieces, set against the claustrophobic quarters and messy streets of the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, but choreographed, staged and shot with utmost Hollywood professionalism.
The piece de resistance is a spectacular 12-minute single-take sequence which has Hemsworth’s gruff mercenary Tyler Rake go from car chase to gun battles to hand-to-hand combat without so much as stopping to catch his breath. It is jaw-dropping stuff all right, and we guarantee you won’t be able to take your eyes of the screen for the entirety of that impressive accomplishment, although the squeamish can be excused for averting their gaze from the balletic violence.
Though the aforementioned scene would likely be the most memorable, the rest of the action is just as well done. Hargrave’s emphasis is ensuring the fights feel alive, visceral and exciting, and the effect is a gut-punch experience every time Hemsworth comes face-to-face with someone out to kill him. Hemsworth’s commitment is in every punch, kick and kill, and he exercises both his muscular physicality and his star power in equal measure to ensure you’ll be invested in the mayhem.
Just so you don’t forget its raison d'être, there is only just enough story to fill in the gaps between the fantastically steroidal action sequences. Tyler’s backstory is reduced to a few cutaways to his dead son, while his mission is simply to rescue the teenage son of an imprisoned drug lord in Mumbai from the said criminal’s rival in Dhaka. Oh yes, it isn’t hard to guess that Tyler will put aside reward to protect the life of his subject Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), or that both Tyler and Ovi will eventually develop some quasi father-and-son relationship.
Aiding Tyler in his mission is his liaison Nik (Golshifteh Farahani), especially against his ex-Special Forces nemesis Saju (Randeep Hooda). Tyler’s former colleague Gaspar (David Harbour) shows up briefly to provide shelter, but the movie is more or less built on Tyler’s shoulders. Besides carrying the action, Hemsworth also delivers the emotion, conveying with little exposition a portrait of someone who is now a shell of a man running on fumes. Hemsworth’s chemistry with Jaiswal illuminates their budding relationship onscreen, and adds some much welcome humanity into the proceedings.
Yet, this is through and through intended as a pulsating action thriller, and you’ll do well to adjust your expectations accordingly. The storytelling isn’t particularly smart or inventive, but the shoot-outs, chases, explosions and other fiery encounters will keep you on the edge of your seat. Moving the setting to Bangladesh also proves to be an inspired choice, allowing for some fine location-based action. As long as you enjoy the thrill of a action thriller, you’ll find it hard to extricate yourself from this two-hour wild, explosive ride..
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
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IRRFAN KHAN (1967 - 2020)Posted on 29 Apr 2020 |
SYNOPSIS: Shy, straight-A student Ellie is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul, who needs help winning over a popular girl. But their new and unlikely friendship gets complicated when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl.
MOVIE REVIEW:
To label writer-director Alice Wu’s ‘The Half of It’ as a rom-com is doing it an enormous disservice; while it does centre around boy-girl relationships, it is ultimately so, so much more than just a romance, or a comedy for that matter.
Wu may have been absent from directing for the past 15 years, but those who have seen her directorial debut ‘Saving Face’ will probably still remember it indelibly. Not only was it one of the very few films to explore the queer Asian-American experience, it did so with such rare tenderness, warmth and sensitivity. Many years later, Wu’s sophomore film possesses these same qualities, but also clarity and maturity that probably comes with age.
To be sure, the characters in this movie are much younger. Its heroine is the bookish Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), who is juggling the loneliness of adolescence growing up in the Pacific Northwest-flavored town of Squahamish. Now in her senior year at high school, Ellie is grappling with the choice of staying behind to care for her widowed father (Collin Chou) or seizing the opportunity of going to the renowned liberal arts Grinnell College; certainly, she is not short of the talent or the recognition for it, seeing as how she writes term papers for her classmate with the full knowledge of her English Literature teacher (Becky Ann Baker), who would rather read her six essays on Plato than endure five other substandard pieces.
Her cottage industry attracts the attention of the dim-bulb football player Paul (Daniel Diemer), who offers to pay her to ghost-write letters to the object of his affection, Aster (Alexxis Lemire). Ellie initially refuses, but after a one-to-one awkward encounter with Aster as well as a reminder of the bills her father needs to pay, accepts the proposition. One letter becomes another; pretty soon, Ellie goes as far as to help Paul reply her texts and prepare him for their dinner dates together at some secluded diner (so that neither Aster’s self-absorbed quarterback boyfriend Trig (played by “Sierra Burgess” alum Wolfgang Novogratz) or her religiously devout family will notice).
Long before Paul realises it, it is clear to us that Ellie is doing it because she is secretly attracted to Aster. Over personal reflections and literary sharings, Ellie’s feelings for Aster deepen, while Aster tries to reconcile the incongruity between the guy in front of her during their dates and that behind the messages. To make things more complicated, Paul starts to develop feelings for Ellie, putting to proof that love isn’t just about whoever looks pretty or even finding the perfect other half.
There is genuine compassion in how Wu treats each of her characters, especially their feelings, longings and insecurities. Ellie has feelings for Aster, longs for companionship, but is unsure of how any relationship with Aster can work. Paul had feelings for Aster, realised they were ephemeral when he longed for Ellie, but doesn’t quite know how to confess to them or react later on when he finds out Ellie is queer. And last but not least, Aster has feelings for the one who has been texting her, longs for something more than a married life with Trig, but isn’t yet sure of whether she is bold enough to give up her commitments to family and religion.
Amidst the honest feelings and sharp dialogue, there are intriguing issues of identity – ethnic (Ellie being a victim of casual racism in the town), gender, sexual, socio-economic (the Chus moved to America with the hope of a better life, now dashed) and religious (‘It’s a sin,’ Paul says, after finding out about Ellie’s attraction towards Aster). Wu handles each of these without the slightest hint of condescension, which makes the film even more poignant and thoughtful.
But more than the film’s construct itself, Wu injects her movie with such delicacy of feeling that you’ll embrace it many times over. We’re not just referring to the periodic chapter breaks, delineated by musings on the nature of love by Oscar Wilde and Jean Paul Satre among others; and it isn’t also just about the way Wu embellishes the screen with words, pictures and text messages. Rather, it is about the intimate moments her characters share, be it over games of ping pong, movie dinners between Ellie and Paul and Ellie’s dad, or a dip in a local hot spring with Chicago’s ‘If You Leave Me Now’ playing on an old-school radio.
It is also to the credit of the actors that their characters are so endearing. Behind owlish-glasses, a standoffish gaze and a uniform of sweats and jeans, Lewis seamlessly inhabits a character full of conflicting emotions. Diemer is full of goofy charm and even surprising sweetness, and Lemire is absolutely luminous as the centre of attraction who refuses to be typecast as just a pretty face. Just as she did with ‘Saving Face’, Wu gives her actors plenty of space to shine, and they reward her generosity fabulously.
We dare say that ‘The Half of It’ is the most we have enjoyed and loved about a Netflix offering for some time. It is tender and thoughtful, sweet and smart, and astute and adorable. Wu has indeed grown as a filmmaker in the years since her memorable debut, and we especially love how she eschews the sort of resolutions we have come to expect in favour of one that is true to how ‘love is messy and horrible and selfish… and bold’, emphasis here on bold.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
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The 39TH HONG KONG FILM AWARDS 2020Posted on 08 May 2020 |
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