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IAN HOLM (1931 - 2020)Posted on 20 Jun 2020 |
SYNOPSIS: Facing a murder charge, a genius mechanic with a criminal past must track down a missing car containing the proof of his innocence: a single bullet.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Lest we forget that the French don’t just do romantic dramas, ‘Lost Bullet’ is as good a reminder as any that they were behind such solid B-movie staples as ‘Taxi’, ‘Taken’ and ‘District 13’. Co-written and directed by first-timer Guillaume Pierret, it is a lean and unfussy crime thriller that emphasises practical stunts over visual effects, and delivers the action goods in capable and confident fashion over its one-and-a-half hour duration.
Starring former stuntman Alban Lenoir as a former criminal turned mechanic for the French police’s ‘go fast’ task force, the movie has Lenoir’s Lino caught in a cat-and-mouse game with the crooked cops who had framed for a murder he didn’t commit. The only means to clear his name is a bullet which the real culprit Arehad inadvertently left embedded in the dashboard of the victim’s car, a red Renault which will feature prominently in the film’s final chase.
Than get bogged down in exposition, Pierret keeps the set-up simple. The opening tells of how Lino ended up in jail after getting stuck in his jacked-up Renault Clio that has just rammed into the window of a jewellery shop; the next scene shows how Lino is recruited as a mechanic for the ‘go fast’ taskforce by its chief Charas (Ramzy Bedia); and right after a sequence establishing how the said taskforce goes after drugmongers, the following scene shows how Lino is framed for Charas’s murder after going to visit his younger brother Quentin (Rod Paradot) with news of his early release.
From that point on, it is plenty of running, as Lino is picked up by the police, manages to escape, hooks up with Quentin and Charas’s former lieutenant Julia (Stefi Celma) to try to clear his name, and then retrieves the Renault to confront Charas’s killer and his henchmen. Like we said, Pierret’s emphasis is on real effects than CGI, so don’t be expecting the sort of outrageous sequences in the ‘Fast and Furious’ movies; instead, Pierret keeps it down-to-earth and lets Lenoir prove that he has what it takes to be the next Jason Statham.
It is exhilarating stuff all right, especially the piece de resistance set in a police station where Lino executes a him-versus-a-dozen-cops brawl that isn’t as brutal as ‘The Raid’ but intended to be just as heavily physical. Lenoir keeps the pace tight yet measured, and while you’ll have to wait till the very end for the next actual set-piece, there are a number of chases and shootouts shot legibly and edited fluidly that will keep you rooting and cheering for Lino.
On his part, Lenoir carries the part with both low-key charisma and genuine physicality. What he may lack in crowd-pleasingness, Lenoir certainly makes up for in earnestness, such that you’ll be hard-pressed to dismiss his character’s redemption story amidst the chases and fisticuffs. Lenoir had also boarded the project early to design the film’s action next to Pierret, and that collaboration pays off in how the actor ensures that he performs most of the stunts within by himself.
That commitment is part of the reason why ‘Lost Bullet’ ultimately proves highly watchable. It may lack the sort of grandiose action which Hollywood does, but in keeping it real and keeping it tight, this French thriller manages to hold its own in the same way as its other Gallic genre predecessors. Lenoir says the movie was written with sequels in mind; seeing what he and Pierret have pulled off here, we hope it may see the same longevity as the ‘Taxi’ franchise did.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: When aspiring musicians Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) are given the opportunity of a lifetime to represent their country at the world’s biggest song competition, they finally have a chance to prove that any dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Like ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’ and ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’, ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ has an equally overstuffed title as well as similar man-child buffoonery. Oh yes, those familiar with Ron and Ricky Bobby will recognise the same traits in Will Ferrell’s Lars Erickssong here, a middle-aged overgrown loser living in the obscure Icelandic fishing village of Húsavík whose dream is to enter and possibly win the Eurovision Song Contest.
Lars is not alone in his dream though; he is joined by fellow dreamer Sigrit Ericksdottir (Rachel McAdams), his childhood friend and partner in song who has been in love with the oblivious Lars since young. Both have written and performed a number of original pop ballads together – including the opening number ‘Volcano Man’, which is both cheesy and catchy at the same time, complete with a Bjork-like music video with dramatic Icelandic vistas – although the local crowd at the bar only wants to hear them play the supposedly traditional folk song (it isn’t) ‘Jaja Ding Dong’.
Unsurprisingly, Lars’ stern fisherman father (Pierce Brosnan) disapproves of his son’s ambition, calling the latter an “idiot” and even going to the extent of selling away his house in order to force Lars to do something more with his life. As fate would have it, the ‘Fire Saga’ duo – as Lars and Sigrit call themselves – are called upon to complete the line-up for Söngvakeppnin, the requisite national pre-selection programme whose organisers already have in mind to choose Katiana (Demi Lovato in Khaleesi cos-play); but after a horrific boat explosion which kills the rest of the contestants, they find themselves on the way to Edinburgh where the contest that year is being held.
For the uninitiated, the Eurovision Song Contest is an actual annual phenomenon; created by the European Broadcasting Union, it pits each country on the continent against one another and counts among its distinguished alumni such successes as ABBA, Lulu and Celine Dion. In fact, the movie is produced by its organisers, which explains how it manages to assemble real-life winners and contestants as John Lundvik, Anna Odobescu, Bilal Hassani, Loreen, Jessy Matador, Alex Ryback and Netta Barzilai into an epic ‘song-along’ blending songs from Madonna, Cher, ABBA, Celine Dion and The Black Eyed Peas.
As co-written by Ferrell and Andrew Steele, the plot follows a familiar underdog narrative, as Lars and Sigrit make their way towards Eurovision glory while contending with distractions like the smug Russian billionaire crooner Alexander Lemtov (Dan Stevens). Misunderstandings, self-doubt and temptations will threaten to tear Lars and Sigrit away from each other just as they need one another the most, but equally, you’ll not expect anything less than a triumphant homecoming for the Fire Saga by the time the credits roll.
But thanks to director David Dobkin, it is still a riotous tale. There are sequences of true inspired lunacy, including a disastrous semi-finals stage performance of the duo’s composition ‘Double Trouble’ comes with wind machines, hamster wheels and a scarf that nearly strangles Sigrit, and Lemtov’s signature operatic number ‘Lion of Love’ that has the over-the-top singer prowling the stage like a zoo cat in heat with nearly naked chorus boys as his backup. It isn’t exaggerated extravagance though, as those familiar with the song contest will attest, but it is to Dobkin’s credit that he successfully channels the mix of glitter and glam into such a vivid approximation.
This isn’t the first time Dobkin and Ferrell have teamed up, and the results here are just as hilarious as their previous ‘Wedding Crashers’. Say what you will, but Ferrell has by now perfected his man-child routine, filling out the role of Lars with such theatricality that you cannot help but be entertained. McAdams proves a surprisingly effective comic foil, providing the perfect counter-balance to Ferrell’s extremes with a sunny and sincere performance which will melt your heart.
Frankly, it’s been a while since we’ve had as much fun with a Ferrell movie as this one, and we dare say this is right up there with some of his best like ‘Anchorman’, ‘Blades of Glory’ and ‘Talladega Nights’. It has uproarious moments, an infectious mix of cheese and cheer, and a delightfully campy spirit true to the Eurovision institution. Those who follow will know that this year’s version to be held in Rotterdam was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this Netflix movie is as timely a substitute as any; indeed, it is a perfect antidote for a world which desperately needs consolation.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Director: Lester Hsi
Cast: Summer Meng, JC Lin, Vera Yen, Ning Chang, Ruby Chan
Runtime: 1 hrs 28 mins
Rating: NC16 (Horror and Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 13 July 2020
Synopsis: In the leap month in 2016, six Tunghu University students, who were running a camp, held a test of courage on the (in)famous Female Ghost Bridge. The Female Ghost Bridge is a forbidden spot on campus since rumor has it that years ago, a girl jumped off the bridge and drowned herself for the man she loved. Ever since then so many ghost stories about the tragedy have been circulating. In order to promote the test of courage, a group of students daringly did a live stream on the bridge late at night. To their astonishment, they caught the female ghost on camera, and it went viral with millions of viewers online. However, the group of students went missing soon afterwards... No one knows what happened, and the ghost stories about the Female Ghost Bridge keep spreading. Exactly four years later, an investigative journalist Lien Shu-yu (played by Summer Meng) comes to the Female Ghost Bridge with a cameraman, trying to find out about the truth. They can never expect that they would stumble upon the hell underneath the bridge, in which several spirits are forever trapped.
Movie Review:
Like ‘The Tag-along’ and ‘The Rope Curse’, this latest Taiwanese horror is based on a real-life legend, which has it that a female ghost haunts the bridge of Taichung’s Tunghai University, such that those who climb the stairs immediately after the bridge at the stroke of midnight will encounter an extra step and go missing if they dare look back before reaching the top. That ghost is apparently of a female student who was supposed to meet her lover at the bridge to elope; but when her lover doesn’t show, she decides to take her own life and drowns in the lake below.
If the opening scenes have you worried that the movie will be told through shaky cell phone footage, we can reassure you that it isn’t; instead, director Lester Shih mixes first-person recordings with conventional shots to tell an intriguing tale of six university students who tempt fate by holding a ‘test of courage’ on the bridge. Without giving away too much, let’s just say that tragedy befalls two separate groups of students who attempt this foolhardy dare in 2012 and 2016 respectively, the significance of the years being that they do so at midnight on each of the leap days.
Four years after the tragic events of 2016, an investigative journalist Shuyu (Summer Meng) visits the eponymous bridge and its campus with a cameraman in tow in the hope of finding the truth. For the first hour, the plotting would have you believe that she is a mere exposition device, but writers Chang Keng-ming and Hao Po-hsiang pull a sleight-of-hand in the last third that gives her a pivotal role in unravelling just what connects the earlier two groups of students to one another; in fact, just so you don’t dismiss the parts with her around, we would tell you that Shuyu will reveal herself to be the connective tissue from this movie to its (highly likely) sequel.
Though the first hour may seem like standard haunted-school fare, complete with a ghostly female figure in long hair, the late twist will have you regretting if you had not been paying sufficient attention to the earlier two acts. Oh yes, you’d be advised to pay special attention to the desirable Wen De (JC Lin), who had just broken up with Hui Qiao (Ning Chao) and is seeing fellow friend Ru Meng (Vera Yen); for that matter, you should pay attention to each of these three individuals, whose connection with each other and to one another forms the backbone of the unexpectedly intelligent story behind the scares.
Certainly, it’s not often you come across a horror movie that is smart, but ‘The Bridge Curse’ packs a couple of shrewd twists you probably had not seen coming. At the same time, there are also a couple of standout skin-crawling sequences, including one where Ru Meng encounters the ghost in a design workshop lined with mirrors and mannequins, one where a fellow student among the six meets his death in the washroom while taking a dump, and last but not least a reckoning on the bridge itself where Wen De is confronted by Hui Qiao for his supposed indiscretions.
Told over a lean 88 minutes, ‘The Bridge Curse’ takes a real-life legend and turns it into a surprisingly intriguing tale that sets the stage for future instalments. If you enjoyed any of its earlier genre predecessors, you’ll surely take to this as well; in fact, we would argue that the storytelling here triumphs that of ‘The Tag-along’ and ‘The Rope Curse’, especially in how it links what unfolds across three timelines. As far as horror thrillers go, this is one worth making sure you’re mentally prepared for its twists and terrors.
Movie Rating:
(Like 'The Tag-along' and 'The Rope Curse', this Taiwanese horror based on a real-life legend packs a surprisingly smart story alongside an effective line-up of scares)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Based on true events, in this military thriller, a small unit of U.S. soldiers, alone at the remote Combat Outpost Keating, located deep in the valley of three mountains in Afghanistan, battles to defend against an overwhelming force of Taliban fighters in a coordinated attack. The Battle of Kamdesh, as it was known, was the bloodiest American engagement of the Afghan War in 2009 and Bravo Troop 3-61 CAV became one of the most decorated units of the 19-year conflict.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The Outpost might be a little too late to join the “Afghanistan war movies” party but it certainly deserved a watch if you are a fan of contemporary war drama. And don’t worry, it’s definitely not a bad VOD release. Ideally, it should even be watch on the big screen if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on a 2012 book called “The Outpost: The Untold Story of American Valor” by American journalist Jake Tapper, the movie depicts a platoon of heroic U.S. soldiers who has to battle hundreds of Taliban in a trapped camp base. Combat Outpost Keating is located at the bottom of three mountains and is constantly being attacked by Taliban fighters despite the army’s best intent to engage the locals in community improvement projects.
Rather than viewing it as propaganda material, this in fact is a simple war drama that pays tribute to the brave men who either KIA or survived the brutal attack with consequences in case you are expecting an insightful, historical-based flick. Even though it’s based on a real event, The Outpost never strives to be a great sensationalised drama. It’s more of a celebration of how young American soldiers risked their lives to protect a cause they firmly believed in.
Similar to Black Hawk Down, The Outpost is yet another team-effort. There’s too little character development to speak of and too many characters walking in and out of every scene. Every marine looks exactly as the one before except their name tags. The picture however is largely told from the viewpoint of Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood) though his character is often surrounded by brave men played by Orlando Bloom, Milo Gibson and Caleb Landry Jones as Specialist Carter (Banshee from X-Men: First Class) who played a bigger, prominent role once the battle starts.
The first hour is kind of a hit-and-miss. Director Rod Lurie (Straw Dogs) attempts to showcase the camaraderie of the brave men in the camp whose daily routines are constantly disrupted by unseen, surprise attacks and half-witted decisions from the top. And there’s the usual messages of missing their partners and families with crude and racism jokes thrown in. It’s not until the last hour or so where the brilliantly staged battle sequence starts to kick in. The fight against terrorism is handled wonderfully by both Lurie and cinematographer Lorenzo Senatore resulting in a visceral, exciting watching experience. The battle might be bloody, harrowing with shots and explosions coming all over but it’s not exactly gruesome if you have a weak tolerance for gratuitous violence.
The Outpost does more than a decent job recreating the Battle of Kamdesh, recounting the bravery and heroics of 53 U.S. soldiers who fought on the fateful day. It’s a solid effort from Lurie and team though it’s quite a pity to catch this on the small screen. Most of the faces might be unfamiliar to audiences but it boasts a cast that are sons and grandsons to famous actors and musician. The movie also ends with heartfelt tributes to the real-life servicemen. It’s a must-watch for fans of this genre.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Thriller
Director: Sohn Won-pyung
Cast: Song Ji-hyo, Kim Moo-yul, Ye Soo-jung, Choi Sang-hoon, Park Min-ha-I, Heo Joon-seok
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 23 July 2020
Synopsis: You-jin (Song Ji-hyo) returns home after going missing 25 years ago. As their family gradually begins to change after her return, her older brother Seo-jin (Kim Moo-yul) grows suspicious and seeks to uncover his sister’s secret, which leads him to a shocking truth.
Movie Review:
If you’re expecting ‘Intruder’ to be “the most intense Korean mystery thriller of 2020”, you’re likely to be sorely disappointed. Not only is it barely intense, film critic and novelist-turned filmmaker Sohn Won-pyung’s debut is laughably ridiculous, especially in the latter half where it veers into the occult.
The premise is intriguing – a recently widowed architect Seo-jin (Kim Moo-yul), still grieving over the loss of his wife and struggling to be parent to his young daughter (Park Min-ha), is confronted by the return of his sister Yu-jin (Song Ji-hyo). Her return revives Seo-jin’s guilt over Yu-jin’s disappearance 25 years ago, when he had failed to look after her while they were visiting a theme park with their devastated mother.
Unsurprisingly, the woman claiming to be Yu-jin isn’t who she says she is. Not only does she replaces the family’s loyal caretaker with her own manservant, Yu-jin slowly places both Seo-jin’s parents under her spell, even as Seo-jin grows increasingly suspicious of her identity and intentions.
To her credit, Sohn does a decent job building up the suspense at the start, unveiling the cracks in Yu-jin’s façade gradually through a mysterious tattoo at the back of her neck and an unexpected encounter with a former acquaintance, as well as Seo-jin’s unsteady mental state through a string of incoherent dreams and angry outbursts. There is also a nice metaphorical twist in line with the film’s title, as Yu-jin slowly displaces Seo-jin as the intruder within the household.
But the plotting soon comes apart with one too many ludicrous turns, mostly to do with the occult, as it tries to dig deeper into just who Yu-jin is and what she wants with the family. There is suddenly a sinister presence at every corner, watching and waiting to thwart Seo-jin’s attempt to unmask her. Worse, the last third of the film sees it overreaching to the point of going off the rails, especially as it tries to tie the events of Yu-jin’s appearance and Seo-jin’s wife’s death together.
It doesn’t help that Seo-jin’s behaviour is illogically erratic, so much so that you feel less sympathy than annoyance at his plight. Ditto the rest of the supporting characters, including a police detective investigating Seo-jin’s wife’s death who ends up being frustratingly gullible and a psychologist whom Seo-jin sees that is probably one of the most utterly unconvincing practitioners we’ve seen. In turn, Kim seems lost trying to get a grip at what Seo-jin ought to be like, while Song’s performance gets more and more excessively theatrical.
We’d like to embrace ‘Intruder’ a lot more, but in trying to be smarter than its audience, the movie ends up being a lot sillier. What is a decent set-up is eventually squandered in implausible revelations that are contrived at best and cringe-inducing at worst, leading up to an unsatisfactory finish which is strangely anticlimactic. ‘Intruder’ has gotten some buzz for being the first commercial release in South Korea following the reopening of cinemas there, but that is probably the only distinction this poorly conceived thriller is ultimately worthy of.
Movie Rating:
(Too many ludicruous turns squander an otherwise decently intriguing set-up for a home invasion thriller, so don't go in expecting "the most intense Korean mystery thriller of 2020")
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Cast: James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, Peter Sarsgaard, Joseph Mawle, Kenneth Cranham, Celyn Jones, Krzysztof Pieczynski, Beata Pozniak
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Rating: M18
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 13 July 2020
Synopsis: Academy Award® nominee Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa, Spoor, In Darkness) brings to the screen the extraordinary untold story of Gareth Jones, an ambitious young Welsh journalist who travelled to the Soviet Union in 1933 and uncovered the appalling truth behind the Soviet “utopia” and Stalin’s regime. Initially a regular news investigation, Jones’ quest quickly turned into a life-or-death journey… helping inspire George Orwell’s famous allegory Animal Farm.
Movie Review:
If you haven’t yet heard of the Holodomor, we urge you to Google it. While much has been said about Adolf Hitler, far less has been told about Josef Stalin’s horrific misdeed in engineering a famine which starved millions in Ukraine by taking their grain to sell abroad to stuff Soviet coffers. That was how Stalin managed to achieve economic expansion even amidst global recession in the early 1930s, which earned the admiration of Western nations – notably, that of former British prime minister David Lloyd George and his cabinet ministers.
‘Mr Jones’ is the real-life story of foreign advisor-turned-journalist Gareth Jones (James Norton), who had journeyed to Moscow in a bid to interview Stalin and find the truth behind the Soviet Union’s purported economic vitality. There, he senses the reality may be far less rosy than what the world believes, and eventually decides to make a daring escape to Ukraine, where he encounters the mass starvation that had been hidden from the global community. Jones’ expose of Soviet atrocities would pit him against the New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize winning bureau chief Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard), but more significantly, cost him his life before the age of 30.
There is a compelling tale to tell here, but it takes about an hour before the film finds its focus. Oh yes, the first half is somewhat wasted in scattershot fashion, beginning with an introduction by English author Eric Blair (better known as George Orwell) writing his allegorical novella ‘Animal Farm’ and then later on with sequences of Jones’ encounter with Russian bureaucracy; in particular, while the latter introduces us to the duplicitous Duranty, it also serves up an unnecessary distraction in the form of circumspect British journalist Ada Brooks (Vanessa Kirby), whose personal and professional relationship with Jones never builds to anything substantive.
Thankfully, director Agnieszka Holland finds her footing once Jones gets to Ukraine. Holland, who has handled such Oscar-nominated wartime dramas as ‘Europa, Europa’ and ‘In Darkness’, portrays the bleakness of the brutality starkly – among the standout scenes include one where Jones is surrounded by five children singing about their loyalty to Stalin amidst their cold and hunger, before robbing Jones of what food he had brought along for the trip; another has Jones quelling his hunger with tree bark, which is what most of the Ukrainians had for food; and another sees Jones repulsing in horror over the supper he had shared with a family of three children. It is haunting all right, and given a searing yet sobering showing by Holland.
As the eponymous character, Newton brings his A-game to the film, giving the role generous passionate commitment. His character pretty much carries the movie from start to finish, and it is testament to his muscular performance that we remain engaged and invested throughout. Sarsgaard is at his slithery best as Duranty, but Kirby is otherwise wasted in a role that is fictional in the first place and too thinly written to be of any consequence. That is among one of the flaws of first-time writer Andrea Chalupa’s script, whose best intentions of bringing her grandfather’s ordeal to the screen is somewhat dulled by a distracted narrative.
Still, the potency of Jones’ struggle for the truth as well as the very horror of the Holomodor itself makes this a worthwhile film. The contemporary relevance in how both an autocracy and the ‘fake news’ media aimed to quash a fearless crusader’s account only makes it even more resonant, reinforcing the emotional impact of a flawed but nonetheless powerful biopic. There is a Lean-ian sweep to the way it uses images than dialogue to convey meaning, and ‘Mr Jones’ is a poignant witness of the brutality that millions of Ukrainians were forced to live through.
Movie Rating:
(Despite a somewhat unfocused narrative in the first hour, 'Mr Jones' rides a compelling real-life story to deliver a poignant biopic of its titular character, as well as bear searing witness to the Holomodor)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Theo Conroy (Bacon) is a successful middle-aged man whose marriage to his much younger actress wife, Susanna (Seyfried), is shredding at the seams, frayed by her secretiveness, his jealousy, and the shadow of his past. In an effort to repair their relationship, Theo and Susanna book a vacation at a stunning, remote modern home in the Welsh countryside for themselves and their six-year-old daughter, Ella (Avery Essex). What at first seems like a perfect retreat distorts into a perfect nightmare when Theo's grasp on reality begins to unravel and he suspects that a sinister force within the house knows more than he or Susanna have revealed, even to each other.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Another casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic and originally scheduled for a theatrical release, You Should Have Left comes from acclaimed screenwriter, director David Koepp and horror outfit, Blumhouse. While all three are based on novellas, You Should Have Left is closer to Secret Window than Stir of Echoes in terms of watching experience.
Koepp reunites for the second time with his Stir of Echoes star Kevin Bacon. Bacon plays a successful former banker, Theo Conroy who is now remarried with a young daughter, Ella after the unfortunate passing of his first wife. The much older Theo is seen suffering from nightmares and acting edgy right from the start. Could it be an underlying medical condition? Or just outright jealousy and suspicious at his much younger wife, Susanna (Amanda Seyfried) who happens to be a Hollywood actress?
Anyway the Conroys decide to go for a short vacation in the outskirts of Wales staying in a spacious modern villa. There’s definitely no serial killer lurking around except the house comes equipped with some terrifying dreams-within-dreams nightmares and mysterious manifestations which constantly torment the sanity of Theo and the safety of Ella.
You Should Have Left is filled to the brim with loud jump scares and plenty of shadowy camera work if you are a big fan of this sort of gimmicks. Koepp however is no James Wan when you compare this to a similar possessed house horror thriller liked The Conjuring. There’s no particularly memorable scene nor a specific worthy scare that makes this flick stands out from the rest. While Koepp certainly knows how to do things the old school way, planting creepy town folks to add on to the mystery aura of the house still it doesn’t add up to anything decent in the end.
Koepp could be too busy behind the camera to notice the lack of substance and compelling elements in his script despite Bacon giving a serviceable performance as Theo Conroy, a character that struggles to differentiate between what is real and what is in his dreams just liked the audiences. Amanda Seyfried on the other hand needs a better agent or script because Susanna is not a role to showcase her talent. In fact, Ella or the child actress plays a more prominent role than her.
You Should Have Left is an unremarkable mystery horror thriller (whichever you want to call it). It’s a slow boiler that doesn’t contain a satisfying payoff despite the talents involved. All the while, the story seems to be hinting of something more sinister and supernatural. Eventually, it’s just a disappointing stay.
Should I stay or should I leave?
You Should Have Left.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Director: Dave Franco
Cast: Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand, Jeremy Allen White, Toby Huss
Runtime: 1 hr 28 mins
Rating: NC16 (Sexual Scene and Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 23 July 2020
Synopsis: Two couples on an oceanside getaway grow suspicious that the host of their seemingly perfect rental house may be spying on them. Before long, what should have been a celebratory weekend trip turns into something far more sinister, as well-kept secrets are exposed and the four old friends come to see each other in a whole new light. Alison Brie, Dan Stevens, Jeremy Allen White, and Sheila Vand star in this unnerving and sophisticated debut thriller from Dave Franco (Neighbors, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Disaster Artist).
Movie Review:
‘The Rental’ really wants to be a ‘Friday the 13th’ for the AirBnB crowd, even if its ambition may not be that obvious at the start. That is deliberate, for actor-turned-director Dave Franco and his co-writer Joe Swanberg wants to first immerse you in the tension, secrets and insecurities of the two couples at the heart of their story.
Among the quartet, we are first introduced to Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Mina (Sheila Vand), two co-workers who are looking over a beautiful house on the Oregon coast to celebrate the launch of their new start-up. But just as quickly as you may think they are an item, Charlie’s younger brother Josh (Jeremy Allen White) steps in and kisses Mina. The awkwardness is written on Charlie’s face, and immediately you know things won’t be as simple between Charlie and Mina.
Together with Charlie’s wife Michelle (Alison Brie), the two couples head up to the cliffside AirBnB property. Bit by bit, we get the hint that the weekend isn’t going to be quite so idyllic – much to Charlie’s chagrin, Josh decides on his own to violate the no-pets rule by bringing along his French bulldog Reggie; Mina suspects the caretaker Taylor (Toby Huss) to be a casual racist, believing that the latter had not picked her application after seeing her Middle Eastern name; and an evening walk by the beach reveals that both Josh and Michelle have reservations over the obvious chemistry between Charlie and Mina.
Throw in some MDMA, an open-air hot-tub and you can pretty much can guess that the foursome aren’t going to stay wholesome for much longer. Things however really go downhill when Michelle decides to call Taylor over to fix the hot-tub on their second evening, not before Reggie’s dog goes missing and Mina discovers a tiny camera embedded in a shower head. It does take an hour to build up to that point, but trust us when we say that you do want to stay with the plotting all the way through.
No spoilers here, but we will say it does move quickly in the last third, which will surely satisfy horror aficionados. No matter whose side you are on (Charlie or Michelle’s/ Josh’s or Mina’s), let’s just say it won’t quite matter by the time the killer makes his appearance known and felt to our four protagonists. Those who love a good comeuppance should also be prepared – there is none to be found here, especially since we learn at the end of it that how our couples came to meet such a cruel fate was ultimately just bad luck.
To be frank, the change in pace from a slow-burn character drama to a full-blown slasher thriller is somewhat jarring, so much so that you’ll be wondering if it could not be stayed the former all the way through. Notwithstanding, it is a fine build-up, demonstrating Franco’s excellent grasp of character interplay, especially as he lets the conflict among them simmer and stew until it reaches boiling point. Franco has a talented cast to thank for that too, each of whom pull their weight to make the four-hander in the first hour thoroughly engaging.
It is clear with this debut that Franco is similarly aiming for a career behind the camera, just like his brother James, but if this diabolically smart feature debut is anything to go by, he probably has much sharper instincts. At a lean and efficient one-and-a-half hours, ‘The Rental’ is a surprisingly effective house horror that aims and succeeds in being less shlock- than character-driven. As terrifying as the masked killer within is, it is the human betrayals that pack the more lasting chills, and make this ultimately worth checking in.
Movie Rating:
(Building up as a character-driven drama in betrayals, secrets and lies before going into full-blown slasher mode, 'The Rental' packs both emotional and visceral chills in a lean and efficient package)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Documentary
Director: Benjamin Ree
Cast: Barbora Kysilkova, Karl-Bertil Nordland
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Nudity)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: https://kinolounge.shaw.sg/film/the-painter-and-the-thief/
Opening Day: 10 July 2020
Synopsis: Desperate for answers about the theft of her 2 paintings, a Czech artist seeks out and befriends the career criminal who stole them. After inviting her thief to sit for a portrait, the two form an improbable relationship and an inextricable bond that will forever link these lonely souls.
Movie Review:
This documentary has a premise that sounds like a tale lifted from a fictional screenplay. An artist creates two paintings that would have otherwise cost a lot to procure. They get stolen almost effortlessly from the gallery. The artist gets to know the thief, and the two individuals form an unlikely bond. People who steal aren’t exactly a likeable bunch, but we have heard enough stories to know that they did it for a reason. This film goes beyond that, and adopts an engaging approach for viewers to get to know not just the thief, but also the painter in an in depth manner.
In fact, this writer has never seen a story told like this before. That’s probably why the independent production was recognised with the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The titular painter is Barbora Kysilkova, and the documentary wastes no time in setting up the story arc. Within the first few moments of the 102 minute film, we see her paintings get whisked off an art gallery, and the culprits were identified in no time. She comes in contact with Karl Bertil Nordland, the man who stole her artwork, and makes an odd request to paint him. He agrees, and what follows is an interesting dynamic between the two people, where we get to learn their painful past, what’s important to them at that point in time, and what they hope life has in store for them.
Initially, one would think that the film is about uncovering Nordland’s life story through Kysilkova’s eyes. But as the documentary progresses, you hear Nordland sharing what he has learnt about Kysilkova. At that moment, you realise the painter is also revealing things about herself that she may not have shared with others or is unaware of. This is where you witness a friendship forming out of the most unusual circumstances.
The film does not sugarcoat the protagonists’ lives. You wonder whether Nordland will head back to a life of crime, and through how Kysilkova’s romantic relationship with her partner will be affected due to this new friendship. The soundbites reflect hard and gritty truths about life, and you may take a moment to think about others who are going through trying times. As a viewer, you feel like you are right beside the protagonists as they go about their lives. The camerawork is not intrusive, and you almost feel like a guest in the duo’s presence.
Directed by Benjamin Ree, the documentary brings viewers to Norwayto get a glimpse into the lives of middle class, and how a talented individual and a drug addict criminal come together during a time when they are facing challenges. The result is a sensitive and beautiful portrayal of human to human interaction. Amid Nordland’s harsh tattoos and unruly brawn, Kysilkova’s presence brings out something delicate. Similarly, despite Kysilkova’s acquired taste for fine art, Nordland brings out the survival instinct inside her. The unlikely individuals, as different as they are, complement each other perfectly.
This is a film that we need now – a piece of work that will make us appreciate human relationships.
Movie Rating:
(A delicate and sensitive film that makes you appreciate the dynamics of human relationships)
Review by John Li
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