SYNOPSIS: Forever is harder than it looks. Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it’s up to Andy and Nile (Kiki Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Greg Rucka and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (LOVE & BASKETBALL, BEYOND THE LIGHTS), THE OLD GUARD is a gritty, grounded, action-packed story that shows living forever is harder than it looks. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Charlie Theron has been working damn hard since her acclaimed performance as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. She is not just being busy in front of the camera but her schedule includes producing her own movies and that means her latest Netflix offering, The Old Guard as well.

Based on the comic book by Eisner-winning writer Greg Rucka, it’s a story of a group of immortal soldiers led by Andy (Theron) who roam the world offering their special set of skills to those who can afford to hire them. In their latest mission, Andy, Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) are hired by former CIA operative, James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to rescue a group of kidnapped children in South Sudan.

Unfortunately, it’s just a ruse to showcase the group’s abilities to a pharmaceutical CEO, Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) who hopes to harness their DNA and genes for medical use. At the same time, a US Marine, Nile Freeman (KiKi Layne) discovered she too possessed the same healing powers as Andy and gang. Andy must then persuade Nile to join them and also fight off the advances of Merrick and his henchmen.

To be frank,The Old Guard is a mixture of Wolverine, Deadpool and Highlander and offers nothing new specially to seasoned movie fans of Marvel and DC. There’s plenty of flashbacks and newspaper clips that hints of how Andy and gang fought their way in historical wars and events but the movie never delivers a solid stand as to how and when it all started. Again, Andy and Booker keeps lamenting about their struggles of being an immortal, it’s clearly repetitive, obvious and remains a narrative filler until the next action sequence comes up.

Theron of course is excellent as the tortured immortal. An immortal who no longer trust humankind and also constantly torment by the loss of her sister-in-comrade, Quynh. The filmmakers even sneaked in a LGBT romance story that lacks a certain believability factor consider how abrupt it was. Relatively newcomer, KiKi Layne puts in a stunning performance opposite seasoned actress Theron. Both delivers strong acting and action chops and their sparring sequence on a moving plane is a solid testament to it.

The action sequences on the other hand are shot mostly with quick edits, fast blurry camera moves despite the cast’ best efforts in performing their own stunts. There’s hardly a standout sequence in the end despite a handful of seemingly badass sequences. At the end, rather than a CGI heavy popcorn action flick, Gina Prince-Bythewood delivered a character-driven comic book hero movie instead. It can be sluggish at times, lacks the fun and thrills of Deadpool and even Blade. It’s all too serious and despondent. But hey it’s Netflix, you can pause and rewatch some other time. Best of all, it’s still watchable because of Theron if you love her in Atomic Blonde. (There’s even a closing scene that hints of a sequel!).

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: Kevin Ko & Peter Tsi
Cast: Kai Ko, Ariel Lin, Wang Ta-Lu, Vanness Wu, Zhang Xiao Long, Kate Tsui, Louis Koo
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Sexual References)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/AChoomovie

Opening Day: 23 July 2020

Synopsis: As a boy who had grown up in an orphanage, EJ (Kai Ko) met Hsin-Hsin (Ariel Lin), the one girl who’d care and hold him close to heart. Blossoming into a deep, mutual affection, Hsin-Hsin became the single most cherished soul in EJ’s young heart. For some reason, whenever Hsin-Hsin thought of EJ, she couldn’t stop sneezing. As they grew up, Hsin-Hsin left the orphanage to work in the city. EJ on the other hand, swore to be “the bravest man” to earn Hsin-Hsin’s love, and devoted himself to become a boxer. Through his unyielding love for Hsin-Hsin, EJ became a legend in the boxing ring as the “man who could not be knocked-out”. Yet as the evil Dr.Cube schemed in the shadows, threatening Hsin-Hsin’s life with all sorts of dangers, EJ will soon learn that his true purpose lies not in becoming some superhero, but to be the one-and-only superman for the person he cares most in the world. 

Movie Review:

It took almost six years for A Choo to make its way to the big screen. The trouble began when Kai Ko was embroiled in a drug case with Jaycee Chan shortly before the movie was due to release in October 2014. Since the scandal, Ko has basically dropped out of the radar and A Choo has been stuck in limbo. News has it that Ko’s rich dad and producer Giddens Ko has bought over the rights, which explains why audiences in Taiwan and Singapore gets to see it first.

Before we get to the movie proper, we wonder does a six years delay actually make a difference for a movie that co-stars Wang Ta-Lu, Ariel Lin, and Hong Kong actress Kate Tsui? For a start, Wang Ta-Lu’s star power of course has risen over the years. From a co-star to a leading man as seen in Our Times and Fall in Love at First Kiss. Ariel Lin has sort of went into semi-retirement mode, while Tsui has officially announced her exit from showbiz. And what about Kai Ko then? Let’s just say his acting and persona here is stuck between the year of 2011 and 2014.

In this romcom which include a superhero twist - yes you read that right - the superhero theme is not a metaphor nor is it a dream sequence. EJ (Ko), Hsin Hsin (Lin) and Chieh Han (Wang) are good friends growing up in an orphanage. EJ has a soft spot for Hsin Hsin and vows to marry her when they grow up. Whenever Hsin Hsin thinks of EJ, she will sneezes unwittingly. It’s cute and also explains the movie title. Then comes the bongus part. An evildoer, Cube (Vanness Wu) is aiming to retrieve a powerful energy source called Hypermatrix and two superheroes, Flash (Louis Koo) and Sonic (Zhang Xiao Long) are out to stop him. First that is really Louis Koo in an uncredited cameo and Sonic is later revealed to be dating Hsin Hsin.

To fully enjoy A Choo, you probably need to first buy into Giddens Ko’s way of telling this unconventional love story. Realistically, both narratives are too contrived to be brought to life in a same movie. Maybe in a Marvel movie but definitely not a Taiwanese romcom. What does EJ’s determination in being an undying boxer got to do with winning Hsin Hsin’s love just because she declares she loves brave men. And what is the purpose of Flash’s entire presence other than providing a few cheap laughs? And where is Sonic when Cube appears to hold Hsin Hsin as hostage in the end?

The relationships between the numerous characters are simply not well-written; even the romance between EJ and Hsin Hsin appears weak and delicate like a piece of forgettable puppy love. Comparing this to Giddens Ko’s box-office hit, You Are the Apple of My Eye, this is a massive letdown. Giddens toys with the idea of using “superhero” as a theme to illustrate the power of EJ’s determination and undying love for Hsin Hsin. But unfortunately the end results just comes across as childish and unintentionally mushy. There’s a bit of goofball humour thrown in though a bit more of that would have done wonders.

In a fast moving world where audiences are constantly distracted by social media and numerous movie releases a year, a six-year gap indeed makes a lot of difference. If following its planned release in 2014, A Choo probably will be a huge hit given Kai Ko’s sky-high popularity at that time. However with the success of Our Times and Café Waiting Love, A Choo simply doesn’t cover enough ground to capture the emotional require to immense oneself in EJ and Hsin Hsin relationship. Sadly, even Ko’s last romcom, the mediocre When Wolf Falls in Love with Sheep fares better.

Movie Rating:

(Feels ambitious but falls flat in terms of execution, A Choo is a romcom with ironically a superhero twist)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: In a thrilling story inspired by actual events from the Battle of the Atlantic, Tom Hanks stars as a first-time captain who leads a convoy of allied ships carrying thousands of soldiers across the treacherous waters of the “Black Pit” to the front lines of WW2. With no air cover protection for 5 days, the captain and his convoy must battle the surrounding enemy Nazi U-boats in order to give the allies a chance to win the war.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Tom Hanks is no stranger to WWII dramas and movies. Having starred as Captain John Miller in Steven Spielberg’s iconic Saving Private Ryan, producing the much-loved Band of Brothers and The Pacific TV series. Hanks certainly is a huge fan when it comes to historical military warfare. In his latest starring role in which Hanks also wrote the screenplay, Greyhound is inspired by events during the Battle of the Atlantic and it never loses steam the moment Hanks character walked into the picture.

Hanks plays Naval Commander Ernest Krause who is on his first ever mission to protect a convoy of Allied transport and supplies ships from the United States to Great Britain. For five days, the convoy will be without air support and this is the time where they will be vulnerable to attacks from German submarines or otherwise known as U-boats.

With the exception of a brief moment of meeting Krause’ love interest (Elizabeth Shue in a cameo) in the opening sequence, Greyhound has no time for any backstories or unnecessary flashbacks about the religious Krause or his bunch of heroic men onboard their codenamed “Greyhound” destroyer. Well depending on your preference, this might be the weakest link or the best judgment call ever made for a movie set in World War II.

Hanks’ screenplay is focused solely on the mission. Instead of war movies liked Crimson Tide and U-571 which took place mainly inside a claustrophobic submarine, the action of Greyhound revolves around and in-and-out of the destroyer occasionally intercuts with wide shots of the vast Atlantic Ocean. Director Aaron Schneider does a great job maintaining the tense action without sacrificing the naval jargon and marine accuracy. As most of the U-boats are not visually visible, the battle of skill and ammunition against the enemies is often aided by the use of sonar and human sightings (which can be a little too late at times).

Ton Hanks never fails to entertain with his on-screen performance. As Ernest Krause, Hanks portray the man with much nuance and allowing the audiences to see a character that is both equally stoic in front of his trembling men and fearful of the unknown deep in his heart. Once again, we seen yet again another top-notch performance from the Oscar winner after Sully and Captain Phillips. If Hanks fumbled at his role, Greyhound probably sinks with it as well. English actor Stephen Graham (The Irishman) is the only familiar face here besides Hanks as the latter plays Charlie, Krause’s trusted Lieutenant Commander.

Despite some less than stellar CGI which is kind of disappointing since the movie was due to be release in theatres until the Covid-19 pandemic hit hard. Greyhound is a compact, action-packed WWII title that is perfectly enjoyable on the small screen with a Dolby Digital surround certified soundbar. Unless you mind the absence of character development or even putting a face on the Nazis, this is pretty much a compelling watch from the get go.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Disaster/Drama
Director: Setsuro Wakamatsu
Cast: Koichi Sato, Ken Watanabe, Riho Yoshioka, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Narumi Yasuda, Shirō Sano, Mitsuru Hirata, Yuri Nakamura, Shigeru Izumiya, Shōhei Hino, Naoto Ogata  
Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min
Rating: PG (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: https://fukushima50.jp

Opening Day: 30 July 2020

Synopsis: March 11, 2011, 2:46 pm. Japan’s Tohoku Region. At a magnitude of 9.0, the strongest earthquake in Japan’s history struck, triggering a huge tsunami and carnage to the effect of more than 19,000 people dead. It mercilessly swallowed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture. The nuclear reactors were unable to be cooled because of a crippling station blackout, causing hydrogen explosions in building after building. If the power plant was abandoned, Japan’s destruction was assured. Facing such a life or death situation, workers known as the “Fukushima 50”, including shift supervisor Izaki and plant manager Yoshida, remained on the site of the nuclear power plant on the brink. As the world held its breath and watched, they fought for their hometown and their families.

Movie Review:

Natural disasters are a common occurrence in Japan. Earthquakes ranked on top of course. Recently, torrential rain hit the southwestern region of Kyushu resulting in flooding and mudslides. Over the years, the Japanese film industry has churned out inspiring disaster theme dramas and animations but only this one, Fukushima 50 is based on a recent real-life event.

On March 11, 2011, a catastrophe that nearly crippled or even destroyed half of Japan happened at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Fukushima prefecture. After an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 struck Japan, a huge tsunami is shortly triggered, crippling the plant’s power supply and in turn, causing the inability to cool down the reactor and resulting in hydrogen explosions and radiation leakage.

A small group of plant engineers led by Izaki (Koichi Sato) spearhead a suicidal mission to cool down the reactor units. Gung-ho Plant Manager Yoshida (Ken Watanabe) on the other hand has to deal with the incompetent higher authorities at the Tokyo Electric Power Company in Tokyo and the increasing pressure by the Japanese government led by a fuming Prime Minister (supposedly based on PM Naoto Kan).

Based on a 2012 book by author Ryusho Kadota who complied more than 90 interviews with the staff at the plant, Fukushima 50 is a talky drama (featuring many talking heads) that devotes itself to commemorate the bravery and contributions of the men who stayed behind to save Japan from being swallowed by explosive nuclear power rather than being Chernobyl the second.

Thus instead of a massive commercial entertaining action flick that features copious amount of CGI and explosions, it’s more of a well-made drama that showcases some of the best on-screen performances from Koichi Sato and Hollywood’s go to Japanese actor, Ken Watanabe. Sato delivers a quiet, subtle performance as a man who loves both his family and job dearly. Yoshida is a man not afraid to question the higher-ups and Watanabe surprises with his perfect take on the character who is acknowledged as the only character in the movie that is based on a real-life person. Perhaps due to privacy issues and running time, the rest of the characters are a composite of several actual persons.

The most enjoyable part of the movie is it no-holds-barred in insinuating the incapabilities of the higher-ups at Tokyo Electric Power Company and the government to take swift remedies to resolve the thorny situation. Without giving much support in terms of resources, they have to in turn rely on a bunch of onground engineers and the Plant Manager to bravely avert the disaster while the clock ticks. It has to be said the engineers are mostly willing to sacrifice their lives not just for the greater good but for their immediate families who have been evacuated to nearby makeshift centres.

Fukushima 50 is a well-made drama documenting the chaotic happenings at the plant after the earthquake strike. It takes you behind-the-scenes of how bureaucracy works in real-life and the comparison between the ability of a ground worker and the suits and ties. While the reactors are somewhat controlled and Fukushima is still on the path to recovery given it has been nearly nine years since the tragedy, we hope nothing of that scale will happen again. Ironically, given the current COVID-19 pandemic happening round the globe, this seems to be the next best material to be adapted to the big screen.

Movie Rating:

(A wordy love letter to the resilient Japanese)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Thriller
Director: Derrick Borte
Cast: Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Jimmi Simpson, Gabriel Bateman
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 30 July 2020

Synopsis: A mother leans on her horn at the wrong time to the wrong guy. Road rage doesn't begin to describe what he's about to do to her and everyone she knows.

Movie Review:

If your mental image of Russell Crowe is as the Roman general Maximus in ‘Gladiator’, you’ll be shocked just how much of a difference two decades have made.

As an aggrieved divorcee whose name in the credits is simply ‘The Man’, Crowe is more obese than you have ever seen him before. And just so you feel how all that weight is treating him, Crowe looks perennially sweaty, huffing and puffing throughout this lean and effective B-movie thriller.

Oh yes, much as it touts the Academy-Award winning Crowe, ‘Unhinged’ is ultimately a pulpy B-movie whose main pleasure is in watching Crowe go absolutely… unhinged.

It is nasty all right, and it makes no attempt to disguise that fact with an opening sequence which sees Crowe marching up with an axe to the house where his ex-wife and lover lives, hacking open the front door and setting the whole house on fire.

Indeed, neither director Derrick Borte or writer Carl Ellsworth seem too much bothered about humanising Crowe’s character; rather, they move quickly to set up the circumstances by which his path will cross with that of single mum Rachel (Caren Pistorious), so that he can quickly get to unleashing his anger in a couple of brutal set-pieces.

En route to Rachel and her son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman), Crowe will chart a bloody path through Rachel’s divorce lawyer, her teenage brother Freddie (Austin P. McKenzie) and his girlfriend Mary (Lucy Faust), and even a good Samaritan at a gas station. You’ll loathe The Man all right, but it is testament to Crowe’s weight as an actor (no pun intended) that you feel so intensely about the character he plays.

On the other hand, Pistorious doesn’t overplay Rachel’s vulnerabilities, even as the plotting clearly sets us up to empathise with her situation – an ex-husband who wants half of her house; getting fired by her biggest client; and being stuck in a snarling traffic jam all in the same morning. Neither for that matter does she exaggerate her comeuppance against Crowe, ensuring that her character preserves her credibility throughout the movie.

But like we said, the point of the movie is about watching Crowe’s homicidal psychopath play cat-and-mouse with Rachel. Of particular note is a freeway chase with unmistakably real carnage, which Borte and his team deliver with impressive kineticism. After a deliberately paced build-up, the film never loses its momentum as it cranks into sheer overdrive, but those who love their thrillers pulpy are not likely to mind at all.

So no matter the busy opening credits which hints at social commentary of an angry and divided society, this is a road-rage revenge thriller whose sole ambition is to deliver B-movie thrills. And thanks to a thoroughly committed performance by Crowe, it is viscerally intense and heart-thumpingly executed. Comparisons with ‘Duel’, ‘Falling Down’ or ‘Joy Ride’ are inevitable, but ‘Unhinged’ is true and through about Crowe doing exactly what it says on the title.

Movie Rating:

(There's only one reason to watch it - Russell Crowe going 'Unhinged')

Review by Gabriel Chong

SYNOPSIS: Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox star in this whimsical family comedy about a boy and his dog, and a science project that will change all of their lives forever. Think Like a Dog follows 12-year-old Oliver, a tech prodigy whose middle-school science fair experiment goes awry, creating a telepathic connection between him and his furry friend, Henry. The bond brings Oliver and Henry even closer as they join forces to comically overcome complications at school, and help Oliver’s parents rekindle their marriage along the way.

MOVIE REVIEW:

What? Another dog movie? You must be kidding me. Dog movies it seems are kind of an evergreen thing in Hollywood so much so you can always find a new one round the corner.

Netflix’s Think Like A Dog revolves around a young tech genius, Oliver and his dog named Henry. Oliver managed to form a telepathic connection with Henry after an experiment went wrong. But Oliver’s latest gadget caught the attention of an evil technological head, Mills (Kunal Nayyar from The Big Bang Theory) who wanted the equipment for his own use. At the same time, Oliver’s parents (played by Transformers alumni Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox) are facing marital issues and it’s up to Henry to dispense some family and love advice to Oliver to help resolve the thorny issues in his life.

It’s a shame that Gil Junger, the man behind 10 Things I Hate About You wrote and directed Think Like A Dog. You will think there’s more to a dog comedy besides a few fart jokes, a one-dimensional villain and touch-and-go adult problems. Likely to please the Chinese backers, there’s even a subplot involving a Chinese hacker and operative agents investigating the hacking of a satellite.

The script is so busy going from one character to another and from one location to another (a handful of sequences shot in Beijing) that the tone is all over the place. Despite having relatively big names in the cast, Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox didn’t even have much chance to convince audiences about their failing marriage before expectedly reconcile in the end. If Junger could have make it more down-to-earth and the narrative simpler, this family movie would have been much more enjoyable and satisfied.

Still, younger kids will appreciate the quirky relationship between Oliver and his best friend, their amusing bantering or Oliver’s shyness towards his crush. There’s an obligatory scene of having different breed of dogs led by Henry running heroically towards the camera. Consider it job well done. It’s overall a mediocre adventure action comedy for the entire family who ran out of kid-friendly titles on the streaming giant.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Tony Cervone
Cast: Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, Tracy Morgan, Simon Cowell, Frank Welker
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 30 July 2020

Synopsis: The first full-length animated Scooby-Doo adventure for the big screen is the never-before told stories of Scooby-Doo’s origins and the greatest mystery in the career of Mystery Inc. “SCOOB!” reveals how lifelong friends Scooby and Shaggy first met and how they joined with young detectives Fred, Velma and Daphne to form the famous Mystery Inc. Now, with hundreds of cases solved and adventures shared, Scooby and the gang face their biggest, most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this global “dogpocalypse,” the gang discovers that Scooby has a secret legacy and an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined. 

Movie Review:

Scoob! is part origin, part tribute to the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons that ironically forsakes Scooby-Doo’s usual crime mysteries which normally has a villain in rubber mask. Most of the time, it attempts to update the Mystery Inc gang for the new generation with its generous display of high-tech gadgets and vehicles but never a moment that truly showcases the true spirit of the original cartoons. To have a team of four screenwriters crafting out such a mediocre effort is a mystery itself.

Besides a brief prologue that introduces us to how Shaggy and Scooby meets and subsequently how the gang comes together after solving a crime at a supposedly haunted house, we are then introduced to the now grown up Fred (Zac Efron), Shaggy (Will Forte), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried), Velma (Gina Rodriguez) and Scooby (Frank Welker) with their plans to set up their Mystery Inc.

Shortly, Shaggy and Scooby is saved by the Blue Falcon (Mark Wahlberg) and his robotic canine, Dynomutt (Ken Jeong) after being attacked by a gang of killer bots sent by Dick Dastardly (Jason Isaacs). Apparently, Scooby is wanted by Dick to help opened up the gates to the Underworld so that he can steal the riches from the tomb of Alexander the Great and rescue his dog Muttley who is trapped inside the dimension.

Like any contemporary movies out in the market, Scoob! is sewn together by several loud, high-octane action sequences and has the onscreen characters travelling from one place to another looking for some artefacts. This is no Avengers Endgame but you get the drift. For the uninitiated, the animated flick actually features a couple of Hanna-Barbera favourites like the Blue Falcon (although Wahlberg voices Brian, the dim-witted son of the original Falcon), Dick Dastardly the resident HB’s villain and Muttley, recognizable for his distinctive laugh and Captain Caveman making an out-of-place appearance. Likely this is the sole bright spot in this otherwise forgettable flick.

The Mystery Inc gang doesn’t even come together until the third act of the movie which is surprising considering this is a Scooby-Doo movie. Shaggy and Scooby is mostly stuck with the egoistic Blue Falcon while the rest of the gang are captured by Dick. The animation generally is serviceable, though definitely not on the level of Disney Pixar or Illumination though. While the flick is packed with enough silly gags, we do get a few adult-oriented jokes involving Tinder and Chris and Liam Hemsworth.

Often loud, silly and unoriginal, Scoob! is best watched with low expectations. This is quite possibly the wrong way to reboot the beloved franchise. Given there are more than enough animation titles to occupy the kids elsewhere, this simply doesn’t stand out from the crowd. For long-time fans, you can revisit the 2002 and 2004 live-action franchise which on hindsight isn’t that bad after all. 

Movie Rating:

(Arriving late due to the covid-19 pandemic and with a distinct lack of story and creativity, Scoob! is ultimately a letdown)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Drama
Director: Chai Yee Wei
Cast: Mark Lee, Peter Yu, Xenia Tan, Wei Xiang
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 8 August 2024

Synopsis: An amusement park that’s closing. A man that’s dying. A choir director who’s hiding. Loke has just sold his house to finance his daughter’s education in America and moved into government housing, where he meets a group of older oddballs. When Loke needs help translating correspondence with his daughter and vice versa, Tan and Loke form a reluctant friendship.

Movie Review:

What makes a Singaporean film local? We believe we have found the answer with Chai Yee Wei’s love letter to our beloved nation – dedicated to a specific time in history that existed during the 1980s.

Life was simpler back then. Loke (a fantastic Mark Lee) is a widower who wants nothing but the best for his only daughter (Xenia Tan), who is about to travel to New York to further her studies. He scrimps and saves, moves out of his kampung home, and also works hard in his incense shop. Meanwhile, he continues to mourn his late wife. Life may be a little hard for Loke, but he has a purpose.

Elsewhere, Tan (Peter Yu, who is just as terrific) is a divorcee who works in a church as a choir director. A former gambling addict, he has turned to religion to sought solace. He stays alone in a small HDB apartment and spends his time with his neighbours, all of whom seem to be individuals with no family members living with them. Life isn’t the best for Tan, but he has a community for support.

And this is a story of how the two men, each struggling with demons from the past, become friends.

The story progresses in an unhurried yet sure handed manner. The 125 minute movie takes its time to let characters interact with each other in the different scenes, while you admire the filmmakers’ efforts in meticulously recreating an era that viewers who are at least 40 years old have fond memories of. Kampung houses, soft drinks in glass bottles, old letter boxes and the karung guni (rag and bone) trade are just some of the elements of the film that will have older viewers remembering what life was like in the past.

Then there is the titular Wonderland Amusement Park which adds a fantastical touch of charm to the story. The amusement park situated in Kallang was closed in 1988 and later demolished. The filmmakers reportedly made a trip to Malaysia to film the scenes.

But what’s most notable about the movie is its use of Hokkien – almost the entire film’s dialogues are spoken in Hokkien. Seeing characters converse comfortably in a dialect that conveys the right emotions is like watching life unfold on the big screen. More importantly, this is a realistic reflection of Singapore in the 1980s. Allowing the theatrical release of this production which was at the 35^th Palm Springs International Film Festival is definitely a commendable decision from the regulatory board. Credit also goes to the filmmakers for not churning out a movie that falls neatly within the language policy boundaries.

Lee and Yu deliver flawless performances in the film. Each actor excels in his own right, and brings unspoken sentiments of grief, loss and that slight glimmer of hope with their exceptional acting. At the 2024 Ho Chi Minh International Film Festival, Lee took home the Best Actor Award, while Yu clinched the Best Supporting Actor Award. We hope that the two men will do Singapore proud by getting recognised with more accolades at other film festivals.

Chai’s latest feature film after That Girl in Pinafore (2013) is a sincere piece of work that shines – there is depth, emotion, and most outstandingly, an authenticity that speaks volumes.

Movie Rating:

(This sincere local film is a love letter to 1980s Singapore, and you will be moved by its depth, emotion and authenticity)

Review by John Li

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Michael Polish
Cast:  Mel Gibson, Emile Hirsch, Kate Bosworth, David Zayas, Stephanie Cayo
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language and Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 30 July 2020

Synopsis: Fighting nature, greed, and the sweeping power of the past, two police officers find themselves in the eye of a dangerous storm in the action-drama FORCE OF NATURE. As a once-in-a-generation hurricane threatens Puerto Rico, a police officer (EMILE HIRSCH) trying to recover from a tragedy in New York, goes on evac duty with a new partner (STEFANIE CAYO). At an apartment complex, they arrive as a dangerous criminal called John the Baptist (DAVIDZAYAS) begins blasting bodies to get to a trove of priceless art. But when a cranky ex-cop (Oscar winner MEL GIBSON) and his daughter (KATE BOSWORTH) reluctantly enter the fray, the police find themselves ascending the building to maintain the high ground in a concrete death trap. As floodwaters rise, nothing but firepower and fierceness can survive this FORCE OF NATURE.

Movie Review:

For a start, I still can’t tell the difference between Kate Bosworth and Rachel McAdams at times. Okay one is an American and the other one is a Canadian. The former was in the ill-fated Superman Returns and the latter known for romancing Ryan Gosling in The Notebook. Never mind the blabbering but Bosworth stars in this action thriller that is directed by her real-life hubby, Michael Polish who normally makes indie films.

Other than Bosworth and Polish involvement, former A-lister actor and director Mel Gibson also has a starring role together with once promising young star turned troubled actor, Emile Hirsh (Into the Wild, Speed Racer).

Force of Nature is set in Puerto Rico amidst a category 5 hurricane where a gang of thieves led by their trigger happy leader, John (David Zayas) is out to steal valuable paintings from an apartment building. Rookie police officer Jess (Stephanie Cayo) and her suicidal depressed partner Cardillo (Hirsch) are assigned to evacuate the few remaining tenants from the building including a sick retired cop, Ray (Gibson) and a stubborn old man. At the same time, Ray’s daughter, Troy (Bosworth) is trying hard to persuade her father to check in to a hospital. But before any evacuation happens, the group of them needs to first team up to fight against John and his well-armed henchmen.

Honestly, if you handover a movie liked Force of Nature to an experienced HK action filmmaker or the guys behind The Raid, you are probably going to have a wild night of fun watching asses being kicked hard and people being blown off. The production companies might even save up half of the US$23 million budget for another flick. Unfortunately, what you have in the end is ninety minutes of boring generic shoot-em-up and absurd uninspiring flashback and narrative for the main characters. Even a supposedly attack by a wild cat happened off-screen. They can’t really afford a CGI animal it seems.

Did we also mentioned it’s from the same backers behind VOD releases that frequently starred Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage and Josh Duhamel. Well, a grizzled Mel Gibson finally joined the club and he is having a scene-stealing time as an ex-tough cop although expectedly he doesn’t last "long" enough to watch the rolling credits. Of course, Kate Bosworth tried her best to match her hubby’s expectations but we are sure her performance is not going to spice up her career anytime soon. Hirsch on the other hand is miscast as the cop who has a tragic past while newcomer Stephanie Cayo is perfectly serviceable in her debut.

This is genuinely a B movie that fared much worse than the more than two decades old Hard Rain and even the recent, Rob Cohen’s The Hurricane Heist. The torrential downpour adds nothing to the story, the fistfights are dull and there’s too little Mel Gibson. At least we caught this so that you can proceed to catch something else. Move on, people. Nothing much to see here.

Movie Rating:

(The Force of Nature here belongs to Mel Gibson, too bad he came and went away too soon)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Nia DaCosta
Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo 
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Gore)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/CandymanMovie/

Opening Day: 23 September 2021

Synopsis: This October, Oscar winner Jordan Peele unleashes a fresh take on the blood-chilling urban legend that your friend's older sibling probably told you about at a sleepover: Candyman. Rising filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) directs this contemporary incarnation of the cult classic.

For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago's Cabrini-Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO's Watchmen, Us) and his partner, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials. With Anthony's painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini-Green old-timer (Colman Domingo; HBO's Euphoria, Assassination Nation) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.

Movie Review:

Like ‘Halloween’, ‘Candyman’ is both a sequel and a reboot at the same time.

As sequel, it references the elements of its predecessor, including the tragic events surrounding graduate student Helen Lyle (played by Virginia Madsen), who had gone on a killing spree before attempting to sacrifice a baby in bonfire, and the legend of Candyman (reprised here by Tony Todd), a Black artist in the late 1800s who was lynched to death by a White mob after falling in love and impregnating one of the female subjects of his paintings.

As reboot, it ignores the two forgettable sequels which came after the classic original, also starring Todd as the titular Candyman. But perhaps more significantly, while the cult classic centred around a white female protagonist (i.e. Helen Lyle), this latest is told from the lens of the Black community, who as victim of racism over the ages, spawned the original vengeful spirit of the Candyman and continues to perpetuate that same spirit of anger and injustice even till today.

Indeed, more than the original, director and co-writer Nia DaCosta’s film is pointedly political. It is no coincidence that the characters live in a gentrifying Chicago neighbourhood, or that the neighbourhood used to include the infamous towers of the Cabrini-Green public housing project. It is also no coincidence how the figure at the heart of the movie, an up-and-coming painter called Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), eventually transforms into the legendary figure of Candyman that he develops an obsession with.

It is not hard to see why she and fellow co-writer and producer Jordan Peele sparked to the material – those which recall the 1992 original will know that the reason why the residents of Cabrini-Green were so fearful of Candyman was that it tapped into their real-life fears of law enforcement. Like Peele’s ‘Us’, the real horror here is allegorical, covering such topics as Black identity, class mobility and police brutality. It is sobering all right, and like we said, deliberate in its candidness of using the genre to explore race as well as playing around with our expectations of who is the hero and villain.

That’s not to say though that it forgets being a slasher movie at the end of the day. The first time the Candyman claims a victim is at an art gallery run by Anthony’s girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris), in front of a mirrored exhibit called ‘Say His Name’ which Anthony had conceived based on the legend, and the bloodletting will dispel any doubts of its commitment to gore. By the time the movie gets to its finale, DaCosta fully and unapologetically unleashes the violence, not least by fulfilling Anthony’s transformation into Candyman in a bodily manner.

At the front and centre of this journey is Abdul-Mateen, who anchors the titular role with aplomb. It comes as no coincidence that the actor’s booming voice and physical presence bears resemblance to Todd, but Abdul-Mateen turns Anthony’s mental unravelling into a riveting portrait of social disillusionment. DaCosta has also assembled a fine supporting cast, including a stylish Nathan Stewart-Jarett as Brianna’s brother Troy, who gets to set the context with a chilling retelling of what happened to Helen Lyle, and Colman Domingo as a laundromat operator whose past is intimately and intricately linked to Cabrini-Green.

More so than the typical horror flick, ‘Candyman’ uses the genre to deliver sharp social critique. Her Candyman is the very expression of rage against racism, whose identity is also being shaped over the ages as cathartic fiction by the collective unconscious. Certainly, some of that topical relevance would be lost on us, but you’ll appreciate how DaCosta has reinvented the 1992 cult classic effectively. Truth be told, we were pleasantly surprised by how much more this ‘Candyman’ went beyond saying the name five times in front of a mirror, and if the commentary gets a little too shrill at times, we would hardly begrudge it for being a lot smarter than your average sequel cum reboot.

Movie Rating:

(Smarter than your average sequel cum reboot, 'Candyman' digs deep into topical subjects like Black identity, class mobility and police brutality to deliver sharp sociopolitical critique)

Review by Gabriel Chong