SYNOPSIS: "A Noob’s Human Holocaust " directed by Eakasit Thairaat, is the introduction with an unexpected twist to pave the way to other parts with higher degree of haunting feeling. "The Gift Shop for People You Hate" directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri, is this director’s first time with Sahamongkol Film, with the same style of dark comedy that is his specialization. "The Night to Lose Your Mind" directed by Pawat Panangkasiri is probably the darkest and most serious part which will leave the audience stunned with a shocking end. "Who R Kong?" directed by Madiew Chukiat Sakweerakul is a combination of eccentric characters plus a unique storyline that results in a very entertaining way. These four stories with four different tastes of 4 have been written specifically for this project, under the theme of “losing your mind,” which means the horror and haunting feeling that play directly with people’s mind.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The success of ‘4Bia’ and ‘Phobia 2’ has no doubt fuelled Thai filmmakers to recognise the potential of horror omnibuses, especially since not many ideas for such movies have enough to sustain a full length feature. Ekkasith Thairath apparently had four of these ideas, and here Thairath is responsible for writing all four stories, as well as directing the first segment of the film. The choice to keep each short and sweet by combining them into one full length feature proves to be a wise one, for it ensures that every story doesn’t get its own unique flavour diluted by length.
Of the four, it is Thairath’s first segment that is the least convincing. Set around a group of guys who sit at a café and start talking about how humans are the cause of the earth’s slow death, it supposes a deadly virus spread through one’s handphone that would kill the person. Apparently, it’s all a plot to wipe out part of the human race so the rest do survive. While mounted with tension, the sheer ludicrousness of the premise outweighs any merits Thairath has in its execution- and we are thankful by the time it is over.
The second short turns out significantly better, based upon a gift shop that sells items you can give to someone you hate to cause them misery. The lead is a white-collar office worker just recently promoted to manager, who discovers that he may be the target of a disgruntled employee trying to get back at him through ‘The Gift Shop for the Ones You Hate’. Plenty of dark humour makes this easily one of the most creative of the shorts, even as the thought of losing control over one’s life is frightening to say the least.
Popular Thai actor Ananda Everingham anchors the third film that tells of a group of three criminals huddled in an abandoned hospital that may not be as vacant as they think. Filmed with requisite urgency, Phawat Panangkasiri’s effort is nonetheless underwhelming, as it emphasises too heavily on gore and violence than good old-fashioned storytelling. The nature of the premise also constrains the movie somewhat, and a lot of time is spent running to and fro trying to find this person and that.
The best of the lot however is the film’s last short, with Chookiat Sakveerakul (‘Love of Siam’) devising a horror comedy which pokes fun at the traditional values of filial piety. In ‘Hoo Aa Gong’, the extended family of a dying patriarch is drafted to keep watch over their recently deceased grandfather- though the night brings pranks, sudden sightings and (gasp!) walkabouts. Chookiat demonstrates his considerable talent for blending two separate genres, and his cast’s great comedic timing ensures that the jokes are delivered with maximum punch.
Of course, sitting through a horror omnibus like this means putting up the other three relatively lacklustre shorts to get to the best of them all. Fortunately, each of the first three are decent if unremarkable, and as a result, ‘Four’ turns out to be better than the average horror movie. Indeed, the strength of a horror omnibus lies in its sum being more than its parts, and this collection of four horror stories proves to be just that.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital audio is decent, but is noticeably without much surround effects. Visuals are clear and with good contrast between the bright and dark scenes.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Peaceful times in feudal Japan are threatened by the bloody rise to power of cruel Lord Naritsugu. Above the law because he is the Shogun’s brother, the sadistic young Lord rapes and kills at whim. Distressed by the Lord’s murderous rampage, top Shogun official Sir Doi secretly calls on esteemed samurai Shinzaemon Shimada to assassinate the evil Naritsugu. Together with an elite group of samurai including his nephew, Shinrokuro, devoted ronin Hirayama and a wild young mountain man, Koyata, Shinzaemon is up against his longtime nemesis- the ruthless Hanbei. The day has come for our fearless assassins to face death in a bloody showdown, a monumental battle of fiery explosions, showers of arrows and clashing swords.
MOVIE REVIEW:
There is nothing like a good old nauseous hara-kiri scene to begin a samurai movie. Not that we are a bunch of geeky sociopaths but filmmakers nowadays just don’t make these sort of stuff anymore.
A remake of the 1963 black-and-white movie of the same name, this 2010 version directed by the controversial and prolific Takashi Miike is surprisingly a tone-down affair consider Miike is famous for his ultra-violent movies such as “Audition” and “Ichi The Killer”. In a nutshell, “13 Assassins” tells a tale of a group of gung-ho men out on a mission to eliminate an evil warlord, Lord Naritsugu, the half-brother of the Shogun. Trust us, we already verified the 13 assassins are clearly portrayed on this DVD cover so if you have problem identifying all of them in the movie, fret not, you can always refer to the cover.
Miike spent at least 90 minutes of the movie’s running time carefully, slowly crafting his various characters and building up to 50 minutes of solid action. The first act can be quite talky to some but do pay attention to the necessary narration of the recruited men and why they are bent on carrying on the samurai code of honor.
The bunch of men assembled by the reclusive former decorated warrior, Shinzaemon is a colourful lot. One is his nephew who is trying to redeem himself, one is a young inexperienced samurai, samurais who are skilled in demolition and most importantly, all are ready to die an honourable death. The last addition to the group is a mysterious hunter, Kiga who might or might not be a demon in disguise. Never mind the last character since everyone is focused on the mission and Lord Naritsugu is truly psychotic to the point of raping and murdering his hosts and severing a woman’s limbs and tongue and still subject her to further humiliation.
Fortunately for the general audience, Miike generally shoots the violence and squeamish scenes off-camera perhaps to the disappointment of his hardcore fans. The crazy showdown involving explosives, non-stop slashing, hacking and insane setting of bobby traps in the town that will block Naritsugu’s route home will rock the minds of any action fans. Imagine flaming bulls on a wild rampage? I don’t think anyone can top that.
“13 Assassins” feature no prominent big names other than veteran actor Kōji Yakusho (Shall We Dance?) and a totally unrecognisable Goro Inagakai (from Japanese pop group SMAP). The former playing opposite another veteran cast, Masachika Ichimura, the loyal guard of Lord Naritsugu, Hanbei who in turn is an old classmate of Shinzaemon is a delight to watch. Goro is eerily frightening as the emotionless villain who finds nothing in his life exciting that the man simply kills without battling an eyelid.
In conclusion, this is overall a class act by Miike. Any movie about the forgotten era of samurais, brotherhood and honour not forgetting 50 minutes of continuous carnage is a must-watch.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
“13 Assassins” appear on DVD looking all murky and gritty. We can’t tell if this is intentional on the filmmakers’ part but there it is. The disc only features a 2.0 soundtrack thus the overall mix comes across as weak even though there is a massive battle happening on screen.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: At "Prom," every couple has a story and no two are exactly alike. For Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden), it's a classic tale of opposites attracting when she finds herself drawn to the guy (Thomas McDoonnell) who gets in the way of her perfect prom.
MOVIE REVIEW:
We have to caveat that we’re not in the target demographic for this title, so excuse us if we don’t share the same enthusiasm as the onscreen characters about that one special night in their entire high school lives. Sure we had our own fair share of ‘proms’, but we still found ourselves rolling our eyes whenever the characters took turns to gush about how important their ‘prom’ night was.
Call us a cynic if you wish, and maybe that is why we found this new Disney production a cringe-worthy exercise. It’s an exercise really, because screenwriter Kate Wech creates such thin caricatured characters that you barely know them except by that one singular quality that they were defined by when you first met them. After all, just because this is a movie about the time we used to view others in stereotypical fashion- like ‘jocks’, ‘overachievers’ or ‘losers’- doesn’t mean the movie has to label its characters in a similar manner.
Wech’s story revolves around Georgetown-bound class president Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden, who looked much more alive in ‘Scream 4’) and seemingly nowhere-bound school rebel Jesse (Thomas McDonell). One’s the school overachiever and the other’s the school’s underachiever, but the pair of opposites is brought together by the school principal when a fire destroys the decorations for the year’s prom celebrations that are to be held in three weeks. As convention would dictate, Nova and Jesse would realise that they are not so different after all and proceed to fall in love with each other.
It’s a high school fantasy remember, and they are not alone. Director Joe Nussbaum surrounds them with a host of other characters – including a couple who has to come to grasps with the guy’s attraction for another girl, another who has to deal with their imminent departure to different universities and a shy gawky guy who can’t quite find a date to go with him to the prom. That’s not the whole supporting list too, and it goes without saying that the overstuffed plot leaves little time for any meaningful character development.
That however seems to be the least of Nussbaum’s concern, since he appears content with making a movie as superficial as the occasion itself really is- no matter how polished it may seem. And because none of the characters and their high-school troubles go any further than skin-deep, there’s no way one shares in their excitement or zeal despite their gushing, exclaiming and screaming. Yes, there are many occasions to remember in life, and if ‘Prom’ wants to make a case about prom, it has to make a much better case than what it has presented.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There’s basically only one extra on this DVD, which is a standard making-of featurette consisting of cast and crew interviews entitled ‘Putting on Prom’. Otherwise, we’d advise you to skip the not-so-funny ‘Bloopers’.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio uses the surrounds only barely for atmosphere; most of the time, you’ll get the dialogue track from the front and centre speakers. Visuals are sharp and colours are dynamic.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: When Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past, he's not sure if it's love or if she's a ruthless con artist using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. Forced aboard the ship of the most feared pirate ever, Jack doesn't know who to fear more - Blackbeard or the woman from his past.
MOVIE REVIEW:
If Johnny Depp carries on with his Captain Sparrow gig, he will earn enough greenback at the end of next decade to not just buy an island but probably buying over the whole of the United States government which at this point is still in a state of doldrums.
Currently, the third highest-grossing film of 2011, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” continues the madcap adventures of Captain Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). While the second and third instalments of the franchise are filled with convoluting plotting and exploding runtime, this standalone instalment is a straight forward attempt at storytelling though the duration still clocks in at 137 minutes, at least 45 minutes longer than an average movie.
Anyway, Sparrow is forced on a journey to find the Fountain of Youth (a potion believed to extend one’s life) together with his ex-lover, Angelica (Penelope Cruz) and her father, the dreaded pirate of all, Blackbeard (Ian McShane) on board the Queen Ann’s Revenge. Barbossa on the other hand who has a grudge against Blackbeard decides to join forces with Sparrow to defeat him. Will our favourite hero reached the Fountain of Youth or is there even one in the first place?
While many critics have lashed out at the movie, I for one feel that Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) has returned the series to its roots with all the dark supernatural powers and campy humour seen in the original. Marshall however is not the best candidate for choreographing swash-buckling affairs though he manages to retain the lush visual flair of his predecessor Gore Verbinski. Despite being pretty handicapped at wham-bang action stuff, Marshall delivers a beautiful stunning Mermaids attack sequence which most will agree is the highlight of the entire movie. And the amazing on-locations shooting in exotic places liked Hawaii, Puerto Rico is simply breath-taking.
Depp’s rumored US$55 million paycheck is indeed worthy of Disney’s effort considering the man is the soul of the franchise. From the opening sequence of rescuing his former first mate, Gibbs (Kevin McNally) from the palace to the streets of London, we are glued to the screen. Despite the appearance of bosom Penelope doing her version of pirate antics, we are still mesmerized with Depp’s performance. McShane is passable as the sinister Blackbeard and pitifully his character possessing of supernatural powers is weakly scribed. On the other hand, the mermaid played by newcomer French actress, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey is shockingly lovely, at the end of the day, we still can’t forget everyone’s favourite loopy Captain Sparrow.
“On Stranger Tides” fits the mould of a summer blockbuster perfectly. While lacking in the department of wit and imagination, it has huge action pieces, believable visual effects with a wonderful cast and crew manning the sails not forgetting of course Johnny Depp’s charm and his bucketload of goofy fun.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
This single-disc edition DVD only offers a few minutes of Bloopers of the Caribbean and two cute LEGO Animated Shorts: Captain Jack's Brick Tales.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The DVD visual quality is excellent. Flesh tones and backgrounds are as natural as you can get and the audio quality which is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 offers tremendous amount of ambient and sonic sound effects that will please most audiophiles.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Documentary
Director: Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey
Narrator: Samuel L. Jackson
RunTime: 1 hr 29 mins
Released By: Walt Disney Motion Pictures
Rating: G
Official Website: http://disney.go.com/disneynature/africancats
Opening Day: 22 September 2011
Synopsis: An epic true story set against the backdrop of one of the wildest places on Earth, "African Cats" captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. The story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother's strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a once banished lion. Disneynature brings "The Lion King" to life on the big screen in this True Life Adventure directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill ("Earth"). An awe-inspiring adventure blending family bonds with the power and cunning of the wild.
Movie Review:
Ever wondered what the world would be like if we could fully understand how the world looks like from animals’ points of view? Every bark, purr and growl would make sense to us. Every pounce, sprint and flight would carry with it an emotion. Every stretch, yawn and scratch would also mean something. But as it is, humans can now only try to interpret how animals feel (there probably won’t be a day when animals started conversing with us), and make nature documentary films like this which inject a storyline to filmed footages.
Samuel L Jackson narrates this 89 minute production about lions and cheetahs who try their very best to survive in the wild African savannah. At one end of the grasslands is Mara, a lion cub who is inspired by her mother’s strength. Her life changes when a group of lions from another camp takes over her homeland. At the other end is Sita, a cheetah who happens to be a single mother (so, animals face social problems like humans too). She brings up her five cubs and teaches them the way of life in the savannah.
The plot does make this G rated documentary sound like a drama with proper protagonists and antagonists. Developments in the story’s narrative should please younger audiences and serve as an educational tool to how animals survive in the wild. For the older viewers, this may feel gimmicky at times, but there’s nothing stopping you from marveling at the breathtaking visuals on screen.
Directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill, this is a fourth release under the Disneynature label (after the equally beautiful Earth, Oceans and The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingoes), and it is comforting to know that part of the film’s proceeds were donated to the African Wildlife Foundation and their efforts to preserve Kenya’s Amboseli Wildlife Corridor, a National Park in the country. Such commendable efforts to conserve Mother Nature’s wildlife should be supported by any caring member of the community.
Filmed on the Maasai Mara National Reserve, a major game region in southwestern Kenya, it is a stunning sight as we are treated to this location in Africa where these cats live in large numbers and in close proximity. We can also be sure that the story incorporated into the film isn’t bogus as experts were recruited to ensure scientific accuracy.
It is also interesting that the documentary reminds us of one of Disney’s greatest animated classics, The Lion King (1994). Scenes of the lions, wildebeests, and warthogs bring back wonderful memories of the Oscar winning film made 17 years ago. Jackson’s engaging narration complements the production as audiences hold on to their seats, wanting to find out the eventual fates of these African cats.
The real life footages captured in this charming film aren’t merely visuals to wow urbanites obsessed with chasing the material dream. It is a relevant reminder of the way of life, and how this circle of life will always make man and nature a part, not apart.
Movie Rating:
(An engaging nature documentary that gives us a glimpse of what life is like in the African savannah)
Review by John Li
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Sneak peek at AMERICAN PIE: REUNIONPosted on 07 Sep 2011 |
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DreamWorks Animation's Jennifer Yuh Nelson Becomes Highest-Grossing Female Director Of Worldwide Box Office FilmPosted on 06 Sep 2011 |
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Maria Bello, Jason Isaacs, Sigourney Weaver, Alfred Molina, Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth Rohm, Denzel Whitaker, Michael Nyqvist, Antonique Smith, William Peltz
RunTime: 1 hr 46 mins
Released By: GV
Rating: PG13
Official Website: http://www.abductionthefilm.com/
Opening Day: 22 September 2011
Synopsis: Taylor Lautner stars as a young man unwittingly thrust into a deadly world of covert espionage in Lionsgate's action-thriller, "Abduction", directed by John Singleton.
Movie Review:
Five minutes. That was how long it took before Taylor Lautner took his shirt off in the purportedly gritty action thriller ‘Abduction’- and depending on how you took to that fact, you may find yourself enjoying every minute of it or cringing in disbelief. Right from the start, this Taylor-made vehicle makes no excuses for being a breakout role for the ‘Twilight’ star- after all, if Team Edward (or Robert Pattinson) can do it, then there’s no reason why Team Jacob can’t do likewise.
Nonetheless, it seems that Team Jacob should have just stayed in the woods of Forks, Washington, for this insipid Bourne-wannabe does him nor his fans no favours. Rather, (and we may be risking our life and limb by saying this) it only demonstrates his limitations as an actor, especially since he practically recycles the same angsty broody expression throughout the film that he had already put forth umpteen times in the ‘Twilight’ movies. And no, being a teenager who discovers that the people you have been calling ‘mother’ and ‘father’ aren’t in fact your real parents isn’t much of an excuse too.
That’s the predicament Lautner’s character Nathan finds himself in one day, after stumbling across a website with photos of missing children and using some software to approximate what one of those kids could look like as a teenager. Though that’s the very premise of the movie, the least we expected was for debut feature film screenwriter Shawn Christensen to come up with a better lead in than just some stupid research assignment Nathan and his girl next door Karen (Lily Collins, daughter of singer Phil) was assigned to work on together.
Logic and coherence are however evidently too much to demand, as one would have to suspend both to believe that Nathan is suddenly at the centre of global espionage with both the good guys (led by ‘Spiderman 2’s’ Alfred Molina) and the bad guys (led by Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist from ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’) in pursuit. Apparently, Nathan is the son of a top secret CIA undercover operative whose ‘parents’ (Jason Isaacs and Maria Bello) are fellow CIA agents sent to protect him while his father is away. As with all chases, the aim is for something that Nathan has in his possession- some encrypted code with the names of dirty CIA agents.
It takes almost half an hour before the action kicks in, the introduction that sets up Nathan’s adolescent issues and his secret high-school crush on Karen pure tedium that is definitely not director John Singleton’s forte. Thankfully, the pace picks up considerably once Nathan is thrust into that implausible situation, with Singleton clearly at ease setting up the film’s various action sequences. One of the first that sees Nathan’s ‘parents’ murdered is shot and edited for maximum thrills, and the climax set in a packed stadium with a live baseball match also packs suspense.
To Lautner’s credit, the action also looks good because he performs most, if not all, of the stunts by himself- whether tackling a bigger-sized guy MMA-style or fleeing from the bad guys with parkour. Singleton doesn’t go for the shaky-cam technique, allowing his audience to appreciate Lautner’s physicality in its full glory. Even so, taking on the lead role requires Lautner to perform some serious acting in order for us to identify with his character’s inner distress, but the square-jawed actor with his one-note performance fails to inspire any empathy.
The fault doesn’t lie with Lautner entirely- to appeal to the teenage demographic which the producers are relying on to turn up for this movie, they have decided to amp up the obligatory romance between Nathan and Karen, even to the extent of letting the two teenage characters engage in some heavy making-out that stops just before it crosses the PG13 boundary. It is distracting and laughable, although the latter seems to be in line with most of the awful dialogue in the film.
Not even veteran stars like Isaacs, Bello, Molina, Nyqvist and Sigourney Weaver (who plays Nathan’s psychologist) can redeem this at-best made-for-TV thriller that tries to be the younger version of the Bourne series. So as much as Team Jacob may wish for Lautner to be their Matt Damon, or even Tom Cruise, it is clear from his debut headlining movie that once the ‘Twilight’ phenomenon fades, the same can probably be said of Lautner’s acting career as well.
Movie Rating:
(Bland action thriller that tries- but fails- to be the younger Bourne, no thanks to Taylor Lautner’s hammy acting)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Chris Renaud
Cast: Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle and Betty White
Runtime: 1 hr 27 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.womaninblack.com/
Opening Day: 8 March 2012
Synopsis: From the creators of Despicable Me and the imagination of Dr. Seuss comes the 3D-CG feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, an adaptation of the classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.
Movie Review:
If Dr. Seuss were alive, he would have been 108th on March 2nd, and this colourful adaptation of his 1971 illustrated children’s book that’s been timed to be released on this date in the United States is just the befitting tribute to him. Not only is it joyous hilarity for the whole family, but it preserves the cautionary message at the heart of its source, combining the artistry of modern-day animation with the weird and wonderful elements of what was apparently Dr. Seuss’ favourite book for a delightful and unexpectedly thoughtful experience.
And that is really no small feat, as fans of the author can attest- Hollywood has had a hit-and-miss record with the Seuss, bungling terribly in recent years with Mike Myers’ ‘The Cat in the Hat’, before redeeming itself with the 2008 animated ‘Horton Hears A Who’. It’s no coincidence therefore that the writers of ‘Horton’- Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul- are once again the creative scripting force behind this adaptation, and once again the duo demonstrate their sharp Seussian sensibilities in what is possibly the author’s most controversial work.
Indeed, the story of a reclusive hermit known as the Once-Ler (voiced here by Ed Helms) who recounts his encounter with a strange orange creature known as the Lorax that had huge yellow eyebrows and a moustache like Yosemite Sam was also a pro-conservation and anti-consumerist fable that courted its fair share of detractors when it was first published and still does so today. Of course, these are also different times today, when concerns about climate change and the environment have crept into both the social and political sphere in countries worldwide- and if anything, this is as good a launchpad as any to get the little ones to think about an issue that will impact them sooner or later.
To expand the short story to feature-length, there is now a backstory to the 12-year-old boy who visits the Once-Ler- named Ted (Zac Efron) as a nice nod to the Dr. Seuss (whose real name was Theodor Grissel), this jolly teenager has but one purpose, to get a living tree and win the affection of his sweet high-school age neighbour Audrey (Taylor Swift). Both Ted and Audrey live in the totally artificial town of Thneedville, where everything including the trees is made of plastic and the people are oblivious to the gray desolate wasteland outside of their cocooned city.
With some handy advice from a surprisingly sprightly Grammy Norma (voiced by Betty White), Ted sees firsthand the grim polluted world outside of Thneedville on his way to visit the Once-Ler. Once there, the Once-Ler recounts his folly as a young and ambitious entrepreneur who stumbled upon the beautiful Truffula Valley abounding with candy-coloured lollipop-style Truffula trees, Humming-Fish and cub-like Barbaloots. It’s as far from the Truffula Ted’s seen as can be, and director Chris Renaud pulls out all the stops to make sure that it is a gorgeous eye-popping visual feast.
The first tree Ted falls summons the Lorax, a guardian of nature who tells Ted that he speaks for the trees and implores him to spare a thought for the forest creatures whose livelihood depends on them. “Everyone here needs the trees, and you’re choppin’ em down,” he says, and for a while, Ted appears to pay heed to the Lorax. But when his knitted garment he calls the thneed becomes an unforeseen sensation in town, greed takes over and it isn’t long before the entire valley is decimated.
It is a cautionary eco-fable all right, one that is perhaps even more relevant in this consumerist age where luxuries are seen as essentials- and there is a clever metaphor here in how something so sought after like the thneed can be so quickly and easily forgotten. There is also added relevance in what happens after, as another entrepreneurial mind quickly takes over by supplying bottled fresh air to the people of Thneedville and becoming the town’s unofficial mayor in the process- even as his factories continue to add to the pollution. Opportunity presents itself in calamity, but how we make use of it is yet something else altogether- that is the lesson Daurio and Paul make as they set up O’Hare (Rob Riggle) and his two bulky bodyguards as the nemeses Ted has to defeat in a thrilling action-packed finish.
The additions will no doubt entertain the kids, but older audiences familiar with the books will be glad to know that the Seussian spirit is well and alive in this zany rollicking adventure. Reverential too is the visual cues that the movie takes from Seuss- both in terms of the curvy undulating lines and shapes as well as the bright colours- and like “Horton”, you’ll know when you see it that you’re in his world. There is also a nice tip of the hat to another Seuss character when the Once-Ler in his old age finally reveals himself to Ted- we won’t spoil the surprise here; suffice to say that you’ll recognise it as soon as you see him.
Deserving of mention as well is the excellent voice cast assembled for the film. Efron conveys youthful naivety as much as Swift, while Helms gives the Once-Ler its necessary idiosyncrasies as well as an unexpected depth lamenting the folly of his past. But the true firecracker here is DeVito, returning after some years of being sidelined in Hollywood to tip-top form as the Lorax. There is verve and edge in every line of DeVito’s delivery, crackling and popping as much as the colours do in every frame.
Less lively- despite Paul and composer John Powell’s best efforts- are the rock musical numbers that pepper the film. While it’s clear they were going for tongue-in-cheek wit, the lyrics and the music just don’t gel very well with the overall tone of the film; except for the rousing number ‘Let It Grow’ at the end. Nonetheless, there is plenty for the kids to embrace, especially the minion-like creatures of the forest courtesy most likely of Renaud- we dare you to resist falling in love with the three aptly named Humming-Fish and the Barbaloots, especially the one with the hair on his chest shaved off.
The stereoscopic treatment here is also a treat for younger audiences (and even more so in IMAX where we caught this), lending the Seussian-scapes a lush vibrant feel and the action sequences an added dimension of excitement. But of course this is nary just harmless diversion for the kids, and the true weight of this animation is its environmental message of conservation told in a simple- but not simplistic- manner to be understood by audiences of all ages. It is an adaptation Dr. Seuss would very likely be proud of if he were still around, in no small measure because it echoes Seuss’ essential plea summarised right at the end: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not.”
Movie Rating:
(Bursting with colour and life, this witty, entertaining and unexpectedly thoughtful adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ environmental fable is great family entertainment)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Ah Min visits her grandmother’s photo studio one day before it shuts for good. There, she discovers four old photographs. Intrigued by the people in the photos, Ah Min embarks on a journey to find out who they are. Her first stop – an old friend of her grandmother’s Ah Meng, who reveals through four unforgettable stories that the people in the photos all worked and played at the legendary Great World Amusement Park once upon a time…
MOVIE REVIEW:
The Americans have Disneyland for amusement since the early fifties while ordinary Singaporeans back then has Great World Amusement Park or Tua She Kai in Hokkien. MediaCorp Raintree Pictures finally hit the jackpot with “It’s A Great, Great World”, a particularly touching drama set in the long-gone amusement park after a long sabbatical from the local scene.
The unpredictable Kelvin Tong’s (The Maid, Rule #1) seventh full-length feature after last year, “Kidnapper” consists of four short stories that stars practically the whole lot of MediaCorp stars, local artiste Olivia Ong making her debut and even foreign artistes such as Nancy Sit and Zeng Guocheng. Imagine people like Gurmit Singh and Chen Tianwen appearing for a blink of a screen-second and you get the drift. Well, the starload of stars is nothing but a mere gimmick or should I say, icing on the cake, the mixture of local dialects sans vulgarity and the nostalgic feel atmosphere created by Tong and crew are the factors that sealed its success.
Henry Thia and Malaysia veteran actress, Lai Ming spearhead the first story about Thia’s character trying to get close to Elizabeth Taylor for a photograph at the grand gala of Taylor’s new movie screening. It’s largely a comedic affair even Taiwanese TV host, Zeng Guocheng manages to squeeze in a role that fits his command of Hokkien perfectly.
The second segment obviously is targeted at the younger audience. With the pretty Joanne Peh and up-and-coming handsome Zhang Zhen Huan as two young lovers who cross paths at the amusement park, Peh operates a game stall while Zhang is a helper to his father’s medicine peddling business. This is yet another light-heartened affair with a tacky ghost train sequence and the absolutely uproarious J-Team regular, John Cheng as Zhang’s father hamming it up as the Teochew drug peddler. The only downfall here is Peh and Zhang’s halting command of dialects that will raise almost everyone’s goose bumps.
Set in the Flamingo night club in the park, the third segment which caters more to the aged group, sorry to say is a dramatic affair involving a cabaret singer (Xiang Yun) and her long-lost lover played by Guo Liang. Not forgetting Huang Wenyong as the manager of the Flamingo who carries a torch for Xiang Yun’s character. Xiang Yun and Huang Wenyong without a doubt probably are one of the best veterans in the industry and though their collaboration here is nothing spectacular, it lends the movie the credentials it need.
Tong reserved the best and the highlight of this movie for the last segment which took place on the wedding night of the narrator of this movie played by Chew Chor Meng, a food seller in the park and his marriage to his mute wife played by Apple Hong. Chen Shucheng, Kym Ng, Bryan Wong, Zhang Yao Dong, Ben Yeo, Dennis Chew and Marcus Chin partake in a grandeur mixture of Teochew, Hainanese, Hakka and Cantonese in this bittersweet segment that will probably warm your heart and send tears flying simultaneously.
You might argue the weak, fleeting characters and the made-for-television production values, negative aspects that I must agree. But “It’s A Great, Great World” remains a solid piece of work that showcases our past history and a long-forgotten landmark beneath the fictitious stories. Nothing against the typical Jack Neo’s social comedies or the in-thing, hormedies, “It’s A Great, Great World” speaks for itself why it’s this year most successful local production. It definitely has the potential to be developed to a 20 episodes serial too.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Great World Once More is a 20 minutes feature that has Chew Chor Meng, Chen Shucheng, Kym Ng and Marcus Chin talking about the food, happenings and their past memories of the Great World Amusement Park.
Amazing Great World is another 23 minutes feature hosted by Ben Yeo and Apple Hong that traces the history of Great World.
With the audio of the movie off and despite the occasional short pauses, director Kelvin Tong delivers an informative Full Length Audio Commentary by Director in English that offers buckets of behind-the-scenes anecdotes such as the difficulties of getting the amusement park rides, making the props more authentic and even removing John Cheng’s coloured tattoos during post-production.
The DVD is supplied with plenty of stills from the local Gala Premiere, Press conference and the movie itself. A Theatrical Trailer & TV Spots rounded up the disc extras.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The visual quality is passable with images appearing a tad soft at times and dialogue remains clear though the DVD is only equipped with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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