SYNOPSIS: "Be Water" is a documentary chronicling the life of legendary actor and martial arts master, Bruce Lee. The film takes a look at Lee's early life in San Francisco and Hong Kong and adulthood in Seattle while teaching Kung Fu. Lee would return to Hong Kong and become an international superstar. Interviews and archival film illustrate Lee's charisma, passion, philosophy and dedication to his art.
MOVIE REVIEW:
There will never be enough documentaries, books and discussion on the late martial-arts superstar Bruce Lee for he will always remained a legend, an enigma after passing at the young age of 32.
Directed by acclaimed Vietnamese American filmmaker Bao Nguyen, Be Water is the latest documentary on the iconic actor. Mostly narrated by Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce and his wife, Linda Cadwell, the documentary takes viewers on a somewhat subtle, nuanced journey recounting the life of the short-lived man who thinks of himself as just a plain human being.
Bruce Lee Jun-fan was born in 1940, San Francisco but spent most of his growing years in Hong Kong before being sent back to the States by his father to further his studies. Lee was once a famous child actor and very much a troublemaker but his time in the States slowly turned him into a young, sought after martial-arts master in the Bay area while slowly finding his way into Hollywood.
According to the long list of interviewees including his students, Dan Inosanto, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, producer Andre Morgan, film critic Jeff Chang and his younger brother Robert, Lee was a man with a purpose, a man of principle all his life. His aim was to penetrate into Hollywood bringing along with him the rich vast Chinese culture. He frequently turned down roles that demeans Asians and he was strongly against racism.
In an ironic turn, nothing much has changed in the Hollywood system decades after his unfortunate passing. Most of the time, you still see a white actor or actress playing an Asian-oriented role. Remember Scarlett Johansson in the live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell? If Lee is still alive today, he probably will be the first to stand up for this sort of unfair treatment. The final straw which led him to his eventual return to his native land came when Warner Bros refused to cast him in the leading role of Kung Fu (which subsequently went to the late David Carradine), a story idea that was initially conceived by him.
Beside discussion on racism, the documentary also touches ground on Lee’s philosophies which of course covers his famous Be Water analogy and his approach to martial-arts in general and his very own Jeet Kune Do. Despite Bao’s well-intention, the documentary seems more like a brief introduction and best-of compilation of the charismatic actor and martial-artist. Meaning to say, for long-time fans of Bruce Lee, they will not find anything new or exceptional right here while for those who are curious after watching Quentin Tarantino’s unflattering portrayal of Lee in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood will likely be surprised by the unfolding facts.
Perhaps hamstrung by the running time or out of respect for his love ones, Bao notably left out the discussion on actress Betty Ting, the actress who played quite a role on Lee’s last day on earth, We also got a fleeting glimpse at his son, Brandon who also tragically lost his life at the age of 28. Even the boss of Golden Harvest, the late Raymond Chow never received much running time even though he was the man that gave Lee his big break in Hong Kong.
Nevertheless, Be Water is a serviceable if not respectful documentary on Bruce Lee, a man whose legacy is cut short by his untimely passing in 1973. For more on Bruce Lee, we suggest you check out: Matthew Polly’s Bruce Lee: A Life.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Biography/Drama
Director: Shaka King
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Dominique Thorne, Amari Cheatom, Caleb Eberhardt, Lil Rel Howery
Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Some Violence)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:
Opening Day: 8 April 2021 (The Projector)
Synopsis: In 1968, a young, charismatic activist named Fred Hampton became Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, who were fighting for freedom, the power to determine the destiny of the Black community, and an end to police brutality and the slaughter of Black people. Chairman Fred was inspiring a generation to rise up and not back down to oppression, which put him directly in the line of fire of the government, the FBI and the Chicago Police. But to destroy the revolution, they had to do it from both the outside…and the inside. Facing prison, William O’Neal is offered a deal by the FBI: if he will infiltrate the Black Panthers and provide intel on Hampton, he will walk free. O’Neal takes the deal. Now a comrade in arms in the Black Panther Party, O’Neal lives in fear that his treachery will be discovered even as he rises in the ranks. But as Hampton’s fiery message draws him in, O’Neal cannot escape the deadly trajectory of his ultimate betrayal. Though his life was cut short, Fred Hampton’s impact has continued to reverberate. The government saw the Black Panthers as a militant threat to the status quo and sold that lie to a frightened public in a time of growing civil unrest. But the perception of the Panthers was not reality. In inner cities across America, they were providing free breakfasts for children, legal services, medical clinics and research into sickle cell anemia, and political education. And it was Chairman Fred in Chicago, who, recognizing the power of multicultural unity for a common cause, created the Rainbow Coalition—joining forces with other oppressed peoples in the city to fight for equality and political empowerment.
Movie Review:
In this biographical depiction of revolutionary Fred Hampton, director Shaka King condenses the events of his influential years as a chairman in the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, that inevitably led with his assassination in 1969. He was 21.
But the focus here is less on his incredible charisma that realised a “rainbow coalition” of divergent sub-groups to challenge capitalist oppression, or his enduring tenacity to make sacrifices for the people, but as the biblical allusion in the title suggests, about how the FBI instigated the deep betrayal by grooming one of his closest aids, William O’Neal.
Needless to say, this theme of police brutality and an unjust system strikes raw in today’s climate - not only evidenced by the many victims that birthed the Black Lives Matter movement, but even closer to home, by the actions of Myanmar’s military coup. The relevance here is what makes the film so necessarily disturbing.
Daniel Kaluuya is hard to fault. He saturates himself with the activist’s magnetism, and releases it with gusto in his stirring speech scenes. It’s impossible not to be affected, especially when the intensity here is paired with truth, sometimes abrasive and radical, but mostly just facts.
But it is Lakeith Stanfield as the informant William that holds the thread to this tale. King steers the film through this unfortunate character, letting his wavering commitment seed tension into the otherwise “regular” scenes that follow. It’s a motivation that leaks out of Stanfield brilliantly - in furtive glances and awkward bravado - if sometimes a little repetitive.
Because here’s a missed exploration - that Stanfield and his FBI agent handler Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) has a blatantly lopsided relationship. It doesn’t take much for Mitchell to leash Stanfield back to his duty, and much of the priming in the early (such as the KKK reference and role model inferences) doesn’t bear out much later on.
So while Stanfield does an excellent job of stretching emotional conflict in his scenes, they seem much too reactive - often triggered by external circumstances than internal reflection or emancipation. Even at the end of the film, we find it hard to determine the person that is William O’Neal, and his inner motivations beyond personal survivalism.
Thankfully, King includes nuance through the broader cast, opening up complex constructs in ideologies with more pragmatic and human concerns. It tempers the more simplistic over-vilification, and lets it sit more comfortably as a realistic drama.
Along with some arresting visuals from cinematographer Sean Bobbitt and flashes of imaginative editing from Kristan Sprague, the understated Mark Isham adds a richness to the film presentation with his plucky score, allowing the film and its characters to have a compassionate bold stroke running through it.
While the invitation to explore the story from William’s perspective may fall a little short, Judas and the Black Messiah remains an affecting watch - a worthy tribute to sacrifice and the fallen, and a timely reminder that the fight continues to this day.
Movie Rating:
(A stirring watch with a brilliant cast, the script falls short in areas but the production is nonetheless arresting and pertinent)
Review by Morgan Awyong
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NG MAN-TAT (吴孟达) (1951 - 2021)Posted on 27 Feb 2021 |
SYNOPSIS: The Hong Kong undercover genre gets a new entry with The Infernal Walker, the first in a planned trilogy of films. Directed by Ally Wong and produced by Billy Chung, this Infernal Affairs-meets-Line Walker crime thriller stars triad film regular Michael Tse (Turning Point) as an undercover officer embedded in the triad, and singer-actor Pakho Chau (77 Heartbreaks) as a triad mole embedded in the police force. The film also co-stars Shiga Lin, Ray Lui, Oscar Leung, Kenneth Chan, Benz Hui and Kenny Wong. Ting Cheuk Fei (Michael Tse) has been undercover in the triad for a decade. In order to hide his true identity, he has acted fiercer than the rest, and infiltrated the inner circle of the Fuk Wo syndicate. However, he is growingly increasingly tired of this life. On the other side, triad mole Tuen Yat Fan (Pakho Chau) has risen the ranks in the police force's anti-triad unit, and even has hopes of becoming the youngest chief inspector. Successful in both his career and in love, he yearns to shed his shady past and become a true policeman. Tuen plots to get rid of shadow boss Sung (Kenneth Chan) and his Tung Lei trading company. A drug trade between Fuk Wo and Tung Lei turns out to be a trap to find the moles.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Touted as Infernal Affairs meets Line Walker, this came out-of-nowhere HK crime drama stars “Laughing Gor” Michael Tse, singer-actor Pakho Chau and veterans Ray Lui, Benz Hui and Kenny Wong.
Tse plays an undercover cop, Cheuk Fei who has been working with his handler (Lui) to take down an underworld organisation led by Hei (Benz Hui). Chau on the other hand plays Yat Fan, a high flyer in the police force who is actually a mole raised since young by a powerful triad boss, S (Kenneth Chan). A massive drug deal between Hei and S is about to happen with Cheuk Fei and Yat Fan’s loyalties being tested by their respective bosses. Hei suspects there is a mole inside his organisation while Yat Fan begins to cast doubt over his alliance to S. He wants out since his police career is on the rise and his marriage is on the cards.
Will Yat Fan gets what he wants? And will Cheuk Fei manages to crack the case in the end?
Just to be clear, actors liked Michael Tse and Benz Hui are playing entirely different characters from their respective TVB Lives of Omission and Line Walker series although they are somewhat similar to the average viewer on the surface. Writer Sun Zirong and director Ally Wong tries hard to churn out a busy, thrilling crime drama but lacks the deep philosophical and religious tone of the original Infernal Affairs.
Cheuk Fei is supposed to be the main character but his storyline is often overshadowed by Yat Fan and thus relegated to more or less a glorified supporting role. Amusingly, Cheuk Fei spends most of the time acting tough, running around in circles and engaging in some intimate talk with his love interest. Chau gets the meat of the movie as his love partner is murdered halfway through thus triggering him into revenge mode in the later part of the movie. However, owing to the constraint of the plotting and runtime, the characters of Cheuk Fei and Yat Fan are never fully developed especially Chuek Fei who probably deserved another movie outing.
Tse has been playing the seemingly cool triad member/undercover cop persona for decades at least we know he is still the same “Laughing Gor” despite a change in name. For Chau, he has been in a couple of major TVB productions in recent times so his acting has been improving by leaps and bounds due to TVB aggressive “training”. The Infernal Walker can be easily mistaken as a TVB movie since it features lots of familiar faces from the tv circuit. And instead of Francis Ng and Anthony Wong, we get people liked Benz Hui, Ray Lui and the always menacing Ben Ng doing as little to earn a paycheck.
On an obvious limited budget, Ally Wong did delivered a mildly entertaining crime drama although it’s obvious a copy-and-paste effort. There are occasional shootouts, perfunctory footchases and a wide display of luxurious cars liked Porsche, Lamborghini because it’s a must-have item for a triad member it seems. By the way, this production came from Universe Entertainment who brought us Shockwave 2 recently and is rumoured to be the first in a trilogy. Since it’s also mainland financed, do expect an assuring, closing credit that explains that all the baddies are sentenced to life imprisonment for their crimes. How convenient for the scriptwriter.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The DVD delivers a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack which features a clear Cantonese audio track and surround effects when it calls for it. Visual quality is commendable for a DVD.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS 2021Posted on 01 Mar 2021 |
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Vincent Zhao
Cast: Vincent Zhao, Jiang Yiyi, Deigo Dati, Lu Peng, Song Hanhuan, Myra Mala
Runtime: 1 hr 28 mins
Rating: NC16 (Sexual Scene & Some Violence)
Released By: Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 March 2021
Synopsis: Lu Ziming, a security expert in Southeast Asia, was the only survivor from an accident caused by his boss Leon two years ago. According to a reliable source, terrorists may launch attacks on a bidding meeting for a Sino-Euro oil-gas plant project. Ziming is hired to safeguard the meeting as a security consultant. To his surprise, he encounters Leon who ought to have died two years ago and it occurs to Ziming the meeting might be a trap. Meanwhile, a female journalist Mo Lan accidentally witnesses the whole process and is involved as well. Thus, Ziming and Mo Lan join hands to find out the big boss and the conspiracy behind.
Movie Review:
The opening of the movie has Zhao’s character donning a jetpack and flying through the sky. Much liked Marvel’s Falcon, he uses his mechanical wings to soar across the clouds before diving in to kill his target with a machine gun.
Before we go on, let’s just pause briefly to analyze this fleeting scene, shall we?
Are we watching Zhao playing a Chinese comic book hero? Or is he playing an ordinary security expert out for hire? And why are we subjected to such dodgy CGI action sequence which obviously make no sense in a supposedly grounded action movie.
After appearing in more than a dozen movies and television serials since 1993, mainland martial-arts star Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo finally made his directorial debut in Counterattack, an embarrassingly copycat version of Wu Jing’s Wolf Warrior.
The prologue very well sets the tone of what to come confirming it’s both amateurish and cringing. Zhao plays Lu Ziming, a security agent being tasked to oversee an oil project in a fictional country named Kunlang. But before you even dipped your hands into the buttery popcorn, Lu is being framed for a murder by the country’s top man, an evil General who is involved in some shady oil deal with the Americans. Because simply put, Chinese are good, Americans are bad. Running along with Lu is a journalist, Mo Bai (Jiang Yiyi) who conveniently has proof of Lu’s innocence. Predictably, Lu needs to outfight and outrun his enemies before convincing to the world that he is innocent and that includes his ex-comrade in arms, Leon (Diego Dati) who is tasked to kill him.
Consider that Zhao has worked with the best in the HK film industry liked Tsui Hark, Yuen Woo-ping and Gordon Chan over the years, he seems to be at a loss in his directorial debut. The plot plays second fiddle so long the action suffices for this sort of movie. Man framed. Man on the run. Man fights to prove his innocence. Man wins in the end. A simple formula which explains why the HK action cinema in the 80’s and 90’s was such a success.
But Counterattack never delivers a single decent action sequence that is worth the admission ticket. The jungle chase scene is one prime example of why it lacks any innovation given that nature has blessed the action choreographer and director plenty to work on. Zhao needs to first refer to Sammo Hung’s understated Eastern Condors for ideas beside basic gun-firing and boy scout’s booby traps. It does however end with a pretty funny joke on using socks for a nice cup of tea though.
As ridiculous as it sounds, Mo Bai is later on trained to be a sniper by Lu which obviously puts many soldiers to shame as their training probably took months alone as compared to Mo who turned out to be quite a shooter within a couple of days. Since Zhao can’t afford the presence of Scott Adkins and Frank Grillo, he turned to Diego Dati (who had a bit role in Jackie Chan’s Vanguard) and Ukrainian stunt performer Myra Mala. Both are more than competent martial artistes sadly their sparring against Zhao is hampered by haphazard editing and unimaginatively poor choreography which makes it a bitter pill to swallow.
Zhao’s directorial debut is in fact a VOD release which went right to streaming in China. The narrative here is not exactly deep and most of the casts’ halting English doesn’t help in the storytelling either. Furthermore, none of the characters are particularly interesting. Even a one-note Wu Jing is way better than a one-note Vincent Zhao. The movie ends with a cheesy, laughable epilogue which hints of a sequel. If you think the Wolf Warrior series is bad and sells way too much patriotism, Counterttack takes it a notch up. At least the former offers lots of slick B-action fare, there’s nothing worth catching here.
Movie Rating:
(Awful story, bad hand-to-hand action- watch it at your own risk!)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Mike P. Nelson
Cast: Matthew Modine, Charlotte Vega, Emma Dumont, Adain Bradley, Bill Sage, Dylan McTee, Daisy Head
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 11 March 2021
Synopsis: Twentysomething Jen (Charlotte Vega) and five of her close friends are hiking in the Appalachians in West Virginia. When Jen’s boyfriend Darius (Adain Bradley) suggests they head off-trail to visit a Civil War fort, the group stumble upon a community of settlers called the Foundation who have been living off the mountain since the mid 1800s when they cut themselves off from the rest of the United States. Led by the imposing John Venable (Bill Sage), the Foundation will do anything to protect their existence from outside influences.
Movie Review:
There’s no reason you would be keeping count, so let’s begin with the fact that ‘Wrong Turn’ marks the seventh entry in the franchise that started with the 2003 original starring Eliza Dushku (‘Buffy’) and Emmanuelle Chriqui (‘Entourage’). The other direct-to-DVD films were never quite as scary and effective, which is probably why director Mike P. Nelson and writer Alan McElroy (who had also penned the very first movie) had decided to reboot the series entirely. It is a good thing they did, for this remake is just as good, if not better, than the original.
Like that film, the story revolves around a group of twenty-somethings who find themselves in peril after venturing into the backwoods, including app designer Adam (Dylan McTee), oncologist Milla (Emma Dumont), bistro owners Luis (Adrian Favela) and Gary (Vardaan Arora), non-profit worker Darius (Adain Bradley) and Jen (Charlotte Vega), an art/history student currently working as a barista. Except for Jen, not much else that happened before their hike is known about the characters, and for the most part, all that matters is there is an interracial couple – Jen and Darius – and a gay couple – Luis and Gary – within.
The title refers to Darius’ decision to lead the group off an Appalachian trail in search of a rare Civil War fort. A rogue tree trunk that suddenly barrels down the hill towards them is the start of their troubles, killing one of them and leaving the rest battered and bruised. Then there are the traps set up to ensnare both animal and human prey, which lead one of the members (we’re deliberating refraining from saying who) to act out in the worst possible way towards the hill-dwellers, triggering a series of retaliatory actions with horrifying consequences for both groups of individuals.
In ‘Midsommar’ fashion, the third act of the movie introduces us formally to the Foundation, a community of people who have lived in the mountains for hundreds of years, choosing to isolate themselves from larger society after disagreeing with the turns American civilisation has taken. It is credit to the filmmakers that they have refrained from casting the members of the Foundation as cannibals or barbarians; rather, they live and operate by a different system of rules and norms, overseen by their stern ruler (Bill Sage) whose judgments involve either darkness or death.
To be sure, it does get pretty brutal, so the squeamish ought to check if they have the guts (pun intended) for skulls getting crushed, heads bashed in, ribcages collapsed and general other mutilation; and yet there is method to the madness, as the storytelling takes some intriguing and surprisingly compelling turns in weaving together the fates of Jen, the foundation’s ruler, Jen’s father (Matthew Modine), and some other townsfolk whose unexpected appearance is clearly intended at challenging our own stereotypes. Oh yes, the Foundation and its people may be primitive by nature, but the plotting thankfully avoids that description.
As a remake, ‘Wrong Turn: The Foundation’ deserves credit for not sticking to its own formula, attempting a topical reinvention with subjects such as culture-war politics, racial tension and Appalachian stereotypes thrown in, while executing some tense and thrilling set-pieces. Look, this is ultimately still a B-grade horror thriller, with no illusion that it needs to deliver to its target audience or risk being irrelevant; but amidst satisfying its core demographic’s bloodlust, it at least tries to take some smart turns, and we dare say sets up the franchise in bold, exciting ways.
Movie Rating:
(A remake that we dare say is even better than the original, 'Wrong Turn: The Foundation' packs some intriguing and surprisingly compelling turns amidst some well-executed setpieces)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Director: Neil Burger
Cast: Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, Fionn Whitehead, Chanté Adams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Viveik Kalra, Archie Madekwe, Quintessa Swindell, Madison Hu, Colin Farrell
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: NC16 (Sexual Scene and Some Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 8 April 2021
Synopsis: With the future of the human race at stake, a group of young men and women, bred for intelligence and obedience, embark on an expedition to colonize a distant planet. But when they uncover disturbing secrets about the mission, they defy their training and begin to explore their most primitive natures. As life on the ship descends into chaos, they’re consumed by fear, lust, and the insatiable hunger for power.
Movie Review:
At this point, the career of filmmaker Neil Burger seems a bit spotty. Burger burst to the scene with the rather underrated The Illusionist which he wrote and directed. His follow-up was a dud called The Lucky Ones; then he struck the jackpot again with Limitless and Divergent based on the young adult novel of the same name. It has been more than a decade since he helmed a project he had written himself. And here he is, donning multiple creative hats to assemble a sci-fi fantasy that is clunkier than the SpaceX rocket.
Burger is the kind of filmmaker that can easily attract half of Hollywood talents to flock towards him. Voyagers boasts up-and-coming, young stars like Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One), Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny), Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Games of Thrones) and Colin Farrell. Trust us, there’s definitely some solid casting here to keep you engaged.
In a “what-else-is-new” storyline, it’s the year 2063, thirty lab-bred young men and women are sent deep into space in search of a new home because the human race is at stake. Their mission is going to take 86 years before reaching the habitable planet. Thus we are happily thrown into space with this group of youngsters, all looking hot, sultry and horny. Soon, two buddies, Zac (Whitehead) and Christopher (Sheridan) uncover some horrifying secrets behind this so-called mission. Not in the Event Horizon kind of way although there are frequent mention of an ominous Alien force; more along the line of manipulating their drinks in an attempt to control their deepest lust and desire.
Voyagers falls somewhere between an indie sci-fi flick and a YA based novel adaptation. The movie takes place mostly in an enclosed spaceship. Shot expertly by Enrique Chediak (Bumblebee, American Assassin) and basked in hues of metallic blue, it’s beautiful, cold and bleak at the same time. Liked a budgeted indie, Burger’s stylish touches make it a worthy cinematic experience, although we must add the script seems like paying tribute to the classic William Golding’s Lord of the Flies in an updated YA kind of manner.
At the heart of Voyagers is Christopher, the movie’s main hero and we are pretty sure you know who is the antagonist. Christopher simply wants to know what Richard (Farrell), their mentor and instructor is hiding from them. He is mere curious or rebellious, perhaps intrigued by why their drinks are spiked and why is there a mysterious room in the ship. Zac on the other hand takes things to the extreme. He craves power, lust after Sela (Depp) and has no qualms resorting to violence to achieve his aims.
Without giving much away, Voyagers is chock full of big ideas. Are humans born as savages or the opposite? Does a civilisation needs an authority to live harmoniously? Can lust and impulses be controlled? Burger is relentlessly in pursuing these themes using the various characters as tools to unfold the events. At times, the narrative does deliver a compelling message but with such advances in science, technology and the mission so important, it does seem ridiculous for a bunch of youngsters to govern themselves without anyone else onboard.
While Burger’s idea and direction is strong, the movie doesn’t really pick up steam until towards the second half. You can blame it on the not-so-interesting characters or the cast’ somewhat wooden performances. There’s no Katniss Everdeen, Tris Prior, Thomas or a particularly charismatic, memorable character to invoke any emotional attachment. Voyagers is a mixed bag in the end. Undeniably, Burger’s scripting offers lots of thoughts and questions. However, it’s greatest sin is how everything works in the end in the most predictable way ever.
Movie Rating:
(Stripped bare of any emotional connection but offers an intriguing idea, Voyagers is a slow-moving journey fuelled by the presence of up-and-coming stars)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Drama
Director: Chloe Zhao
Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Charlene Swankie, Bob Wells, Gay DeForest, Patricia Grier
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: M18 (Nudity)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 March 2021
Synopsis: Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The third feature film from director Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.
Movie Review:
‘Nomadland’ isn’t a film you should go into expecting to be wowed; those who do will undoubtedly find it a tough watch. Instead, this Golden Lion and soon-to-be-crowned Academy Award Best Picture winner from writer-director Chloe Zhao is a quiet, poetic and sobering portrait of personal and societal dislocation, a physical and psychological state which a growing number of American seniors find themselves in.
Adapted from Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction book ‘Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century’, it is built as a character study around Fern, a fictional former resident of the company town of Empire, Nevada, which was shut down in 2011 and its population evicted within a year after the local gypsum mine and the Sheetrock factory was closed. Fern’s husband has passed, and the film starts with the widow packing her belongings into a white van she christens with the name Vanguard, hitting the road to join a dispersed tribe of Americans who work as seasonal migrant labourers throughout the country.
Evoking the nature of Fern’s life, Zhao employs a loose, episodic structure to tell her story. Each of the individual episodes adds its own flavour to the film. One of the early ones has Fern learning basic survival and self-sufficiency skills while joining a desert rendezvous led by Bob Wells, who through his Youtube channel has built a network and support system for fellow nomads. Another sees her becoming unlikely friends with a crusty older woman Swankie (Charlene Swankie), who refuses to let her life be dictated by her cancer diagnosis and embarks on her own journey to Alaska. Both Wells and Swankie are playing fictionalised versions of themselves, and these real-life nomads ensure that these encounters are as authentic as it gets.
No less convincing is the quiet, sensitive traveller Dave (David Strathairn) whom Fern first meets at Bob Wells’ rendezvous and thereafter when she takes up a job as camp host at the Cedar Pass Campground in Badlands National Park. They strike up a friendship, but those looking for them to find love and settle down should probably not keep their hopes up – ‘Nomadland’ isn’t that sort of movie, or is Fern that sort of character. Who she is becomes clearer towards the last third, when she visits her sister’s (Melissa Smith) house out of necessity of borrowing money as well as when she opens up about her past life at a tribute for Swankie.
That we remain captivated by Fern even before we learn about what had led her to this journey of nomading is testament to Frances McDormand’s beautifully understated performance. Through a masterful combination of self-effacement and command, McDormand holds the screen with skill and sensitivity, reeling you into a character struggling to define her place in the world while holding her own with grit, independence and perseverance. There is absolutely no artifice to her portrayal of Fern, and it is indeed to her credit that she blends perfectly in with the rest of her nonprofessional actors as they tell their stories.
The accomplishment here belongs as much to McDormand, who also produces the film, as it does to Zhao. As with 2017’s ‘The Rider’, the Chinese-born, American-based filmmaker has once again demonstrated her grasp of a unique hybrid fiction-nonfiction form of storytelling, applying it to let the community of homeless and rootless people whom American society has failed to tell their story. While some have chosen to live such a life by choice, others have been cast into the itinerant lifestyle by circumstance due to unemployment, broken marriages, lost pensions and collapsing home values, getting by through seasonal work at Amazon warehouses during the winter holidays and national parks in the summer months.
So like we said at the start, ‘Nomadland’ isn’t meant to be gripping or compelling; rather, it aims to open your eyes, mind and heart to the dispossessed and left-behind in the modern American West. The geographic settings are magnificently captured by Zhao’s frequent collaborator Joshua James Richards, but against it is a simple, observant and contemplative piece of cinema that illuminates the plight of those left behind in the wake of the Great Recession. It is happy and sad, moving yet unsentimental, gentle yet powerful; it will stay with you long after the credits roll, because it ultimately is a reflection of how broken America is today.
Movie Rating:
(Poetic, elegiac and beautifully understated, this portrait of the dispossessed and left-behind in the modern American West is so real it will stay with you long after the credits roll)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted confidante Semmi(Arsenio Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began.
MOVIE REVIEW:
More than 30 years after its original, the sequel to Coming to America is finally here. It’s definitely a long wait for both fans of the original and Eddie Murphy. For the most part, the script should be edgier and funnier instead it’s far too safe in delivering a sequel that contains shades of the first. Nothing daring or refreshing after three long decades.
After the death of his father, Prince Akeem Joffer now King (Murphy) has to look for his long last son, Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler), or in their words, his so-called bastard son he sired years back with a woman named Mary (Leslie Jones) in Queens. Zamunda needs an heir desperately and Akeem and his loyal companion, Semmi (Arsenio Hall) has to travel back to New York once again to bring back Lavelle or faces a violent takeover led by an evil dictator, Izzi (Wesley Snipes). The plan is to let Lavelle marries Bopoto, the daughter of Izzi in an arranged marriage to seal the relationship of their two Kingdom.
However, in order to become a Prince, Lavelle must first pass a series of tests to see if he is worth the title although strangely none involved a scientific DNA test or whatsoever. But fate has plans of its own and Lavelle happens to fall in love with the royal groomer, Mirembe (Nomzamo Mbatha). With the plan of having Lavelle marrying Bopoto hanging by the thread, will Akeem managed to save his Kingdom in the end?
It’s certainly laudable that the script and direction deals with current hot-button issues such as female empowerment and such though you can’t help but feel a sense of laziness to all the narrative. Coming 2 America relies a lot on nostalgia. By a lot means there are lots and lots of it that referenced back to the 1988 original. Remember the bunch of foul-mouthed barbers and their Jewish customer? Well, they are back for more wise-ass crack. Reverend Brown and Randy Watson, the fictional soul singer is back as well for old time sake.
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall returns to recapture that old magic called movie makeup. And boy, it’s a winner yet again. Whatever Murphy and Hall is not in a particular scene, the movie turned into a completely different one. One that is filled with unfunny SNL sketches despite the inclusion of Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones and the return of John Amos and Shari Headley. By the way, Hall is criminally underused while Murphy seems tired and less enthusiastic after years of absence from the screen. Snipes on the other hand unexpectedly provides a cheesy comical performance as General Izzi.
Surprisingly, the humour here is tamer and gags are largely reduced to minor crude sexual innuendos and watching a lion fart. There are a couple of musical numbers that boast strong production design. It’s a sequel that keeps on reminding us that the original is way better. There’s even a line in the movie that takes a jab at Hollywood sequels. All in all, Coming 2 America is like a gathering of old friends in an once-familiar place. They reminisced about the past, delves on some funny old stories while introducing their offspring. For nostalgia sake, you probably enjoyed this more than you should. Paramount has been long gestating on another of Murphy’s famous franchise, Beverly Hills Cop, let’s pray that they completely forget about it.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
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