Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Evan Spiliotopoulos
Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Katie Aselton, William Sadler, Cricket Brown, Diogo Morgado, Cary Elwes
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: NC16 (Horror)
Released By: Sony Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 15 April 2021
Synopsis: Be careful who you pray to.... On the holiest weekend of the year comes The Unholy, which follows Alice, a young hearing- impaired girl who, after a supposed visitation from the Virgin Mary, is inexplicably able to hear, speak and heal the sick. As word spreads and people from near and far flock to witness her miracles, a disgraced journalist (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) hoping to revive his career visits the small New England town to investigate. When terrifying events begin to happen all around, he starts to question if these phenomena are the works of the Virgin Mary or something more sinister. The Unholy is produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Evan Spiliotopoulos, written for the screen and directed by Evan Spiliotopoulos, and is based upon James Herbert’s best-selling book Shrine.
Movie Review:
Sam Raimi’s production outfit, Ghost House Pictures has produced no more than twenty horror thrillers in the past decade or so. From mid-budget horrors liked Drag Me To Hell, 30 Days of Night to relatively low-budget thrillers liked Don’t Breathe and The Possession. Most are terrible to say the least but nevertheless, it’s one of the easiest formula in Hollywood to bring in the dough. Everyone it seems loves a cheap scare.
In yet another supernatural horror produced by Raimi and directed by Greek-American filmmaker Evan Spiliotopoulos, a disgraced journalist, Gerry Fenn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan from The Walking Dead) hoping to revive his career decides to visit a small New England town to write about a case of mutilated cows. But after stumbling upon a creepy doll buried under an oak tree, he learnt that a hearing-impaired woman, Alice (newcomer Cricket Brown) is cured after claiming to see visions of the Virgin Mary. Soon after, she is performing her own miracle healing powers on those who are sick. Not exactly a man of faith, Gerry soon learns that he has an amazing story happening before his eyes. No more fake stories.
Virgin Mary or not. Gerry and Father Hagan (William Sandler) who happens to be Alice’s uncle soon believes otherwise. Besides having Gerry poking his nose all over, the cast also includes the town doctor, Natalie (Katie Aselton), a local bishop (Cary Elwes) who managed to get Rome to send in Monsignor Delgarde (Diogo Morgado), a church inquisitor out to disprove this so-called miracle. A story always needs characters regardless of their relevancy to fill up and The Unholy is no exception. Will Gerry manages to tell the truth, sell a lot of papers and revive his flagging career or will he find himself consumed by the devil?
While the source materials points to a 1983 novel called Shrine by James Herbert which explored themes of demonic possession and faith healing, the adaptation by director Spiliotopoulos is more of a subdued version of the literary work. It has a few interesting ideas littered throughout but unfortunately, concepts remains as just pure concepts. Even though the story promises something sinister is in the works, the entire game is already given away in the prologue in which we see a woman being hammered and hanged alive in 1845 for using witchcraft. You know for sure that’s not the Virgin Mary behind the miracles.
The question lies in why the entity is back. What is that ghostly cloaked figure with talons haunting those sceptical folks? And it’s up to Gerry to embark on his investigation. Liked Negan in the later seasons of The Walking Dead, Gerry is trying to redeem himself in the process. He has a chequered past of fabricating stories but now he is determined to find out the truth behind Alice’s visions. As it turned out, The Unholy is more of an investigative thriller than an all-out horror fest. Spiliotopoulos knows how to build the mood and intensity though his constant reliance on jump-scares and loud sound effects can be quite a turnoff. The overall CG effects are modest not particularly awful considering it’s a low-budget outing.
Perhaps it’s just a cautionary tale about miracles and false prophets or perhaps it’s a religious detective thriller but it’s the charming presence of Jeffrey Dean Morgan that makes the watching experience bearable at the very least. The latest offering from Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures has a similar theme as The Nun, a demonic film rooted in Catholicism and church. Both offering a demon in disguise and an investigative figure and both being too mediocre to leave much of an impression.
Movie Rating:
(Not much of a scare nor contains any genuine chill, quite possibly a weak contender for horror of the month)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Crime/Drama
Director: Zhang Yimou
Cast: Zhang Yi, Yu Hewei, Qin Hailu, Zhu Yawen, Ni Dahong, Liu Haochun, Li Naiwen, Fei Fan, Yu Ailei, Sha Yi, Lei Jiayin
Runtime: 2 hrs
Rating: NC16 (Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures and Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 30 April 2021
Synopsis: Set in the puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, Cliff Walkers follows four Communist party special agents who return to China after receiving training in the Soviet Union. Together, they embark on a secret mission code-named "Utrennya." After being sold out by a traitor, the team find themselves surrounded by threats on all sides from the moment they parachute into the mission. Will the agents break the impasse and complete their mission? On the snowy grounds of Manchukuo, the team will be tested to their limit.
Movie Review:
A Zhang Yimou film is always an event.
As one of this generation’s most iconic Asian directors, Zhang has been able to transition from more independent efforts to commercial titles with great success, receiving critical acclaim for his earlier works Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern and popular appeal with Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower.
His running theme of oppression and repression may have something to do with his allure. There’s nothing quite like fighting for the underdog and downtrodden, and his stories really dig deep into situations that are horrifyingly human.
Zhang lights up 2021 with the espionage thriller Cliffwalkers, setting us in the early 1900s to follow four agents as they attempt to rescue a fugitive from the Japanese. Dubbed codename “Utrennya” - Russian for “dawn” - the Soviet-trained spies parachute into Japanese-held Manchukuo to extricate this prisoner as the rare witness that can report the atrocities committed in the compound during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The director quickly establishes the brutality with an early scene of execution from the puppet government, where one prisoner caves and reports on the operation. This quickly complicates the operation, as the two pairs find themselves in murky grounds with their supposed comrades they meet on the ground.
The chess play here is intriguing if uneven. Because the agents are made up of two couples who split up early upon landing in Manchukuo, it creates an invisible emotional bond between the two sets, working beautifully in sequences like the one aboard a train when one group has an important tip to pass on to the other, but less so in scenes like the ones where they more manipulatively milk the audience for sympathy.
The shuttling between the two groups do wear out halfway, but thankfully the cast performances and introduction of a new spy (Yu Hewei) lifts the repetitive hide-and-seek. With one group baited and the other on the run, the mousehunt here is bridged by this new member, making for some of the movie’s more tense moments.
Because the film is draped in the snowy season of Harbin in Manchukuo, our characters are mostly dressed in black, which throws visual aids for character identification out of the window. What we get in return, are silhouettes instead, often marked by a fedora or a scarf, but otherwise, one could get confused as to who’s who in some scenes. This might be a double whammy for some of the viewers, especially when the covert spy-upon-spy layering gets mixed in in the middle. But gosh, does it make for some lush visuals, in a way only Zhang can, without resorting to overt techniques.
Zhang Yi and Qin Hailu stand out the best, for their motivation and sacrifice, and both exhibit a presence that bears the mark of a proud Chinese on a mission for the country. A missed opportunity are Zhu Yawen and Zhang’s newest ingenue Liu Haocun. As spies chosen for their highly-tuned specialisations, both don’t get much of a chance to showcase their “superpowers” in the operative.
Cliffwalkers will likely not become one of Zhang’s classics, but the skill at kneading tension out of every minute, supported by his poetic visuals, moody soundtrack and thrilling action sequences still make this a worthy watch.
Movie Rating:
(Beautiful no doubt, for its cinematography and homage to sacrifice, the film would be top fare if only the characters had a richer story to give gravitas to their contributions)
Review by Morgan Awyong
Genre: Romance
Director: Gavin Lin
Cast: Michelle Chen, Bryan Chang, Rhydian Vaughan, He Hao Chen, Michael Kai Sui, Bruce Ho
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/atripwithyourwife/
Opening Day: 6 May 2021
Synopsis: Ah Cheng (played by Bryan Chang) and Ah Zhi (played by Rhydian Vaughan) were both roommates and best friends in college. In a school performance, Ah Cheng fell in love with the beautiful girl Xiaoya (played by Michelle Chen) from the guitar club at first sight. Being a good friend, Ah Zhi vowed to help Ah Cheng to win Xiaoya's heart. However, when Ah Cheng finally got together with Xiaoya, Ah Zhi disappeared... After graduating from university, Ah Cheng married Xiaoya and started his own business. A few years later, Ah Cheng's company faced a crisis of bankruptcy due to a lack of funds. He went around to raise funds and even tried to sell Xiaoya's cake shop which she has worked hard for. This crisis has put their relationship to test. Unexpectedly, Ah Zhi appeared, and he is willing to give 10 million to Ah Cheng. The price was: Xiaoya to accompany him to go on an overseas trip! Ah Cheng was moved by this absurd request! Seeing that Ah Cheng doesn't care about her feelings, Xiaoya frustratedly followed Ah Zhi on a trip abroad.
Movie Review:
What if your best friend offers you $1 million to bring your wife on an overseas trip?
Will you agree to this “indecent proposal”? Or will you reject him outright despite needing the money to salvage your ailing business?
Ah Cheng (Bryan Chang) and Ah Zhi (Rhydian Vaughan) are best friends in college. Knowing that Ah Cheng is mesmerised with Xiaoya (Michelle Chen), the pretty lass from guitar club, Ah Zhi went all out to help his buddy win the heart of Xiaoya. A decade later, Ah Zhi returned to look for Ah Cheng and Xiaoya after abruptly leaving for England after their graduation. It turned out that Ah Zhi is suffering from stage 3 cancer while Ah Cheng and Xiaoya is hitting a bad patch in their marriage. Ah Cheng needs money to turn his company around and to the dismay of Xiaoya, he plans to mortgage their house and her bakery shop.
Knowing that Ah Cheng’s financial is in dire straits, Ah Zhi offers to give him a million dollars if Xiaoya can go on a trip with him to see the world. In a fit of anger, Xiaoya decides to go to Canada with Ah Zhi which leads to her panicky husband to follow them secretly behind. What exactly is Ah Zhi and Xiaoya brewing and what is Ah Zhi’s true intention in the end?
A Trip With Your Wife boasts three leading cast members that are easy on the eyes and terribly charming to say the least. “Goddess of Nation” Michelle Chen is back in a romcom genre after a brief hiatus. Time flies and that was exactly a decade ago when we first noticed her in You Are The Apple of My Eye. Yet, Chen can still convincingly plays a college student at a ripe age of 37. Half English, half Chinese Rhydian Vaughan (Girlfriend, Boyfriend) effortlessly and undeniably is an eye candy although we are sure he has no issues tackling a far beefier character than this. Bryan Chang with a Best Actor Award under his belt is relegated to more of a comic relief role providing some funny gags with China-based comedian Mike Kai Sui who plays Ryan, an unlicensed taxi driver.
In an attempt to deliver a romantic/friendship comedy with heart, director Gavin Lin and writer Hermes Lu delivers a final product that is very much less consistent than their last box-office hit, More Than Blue. The movie for the most part is light and breezy often packed with lush visuals and slapstick despite the fact that Ah Zhi is suffering from lung adenocarcinoma which is more than serious. For whatever reason, the duo decide to throw in a gimmicky plot twist in the middle to garner some unnecessary tears. Perhaps to prolong the running time since the source material is actually a short film. Anyway, we try our best not to spoil it for you but all we can divulge is, it never really propel the narrative in any way.
Thanks to the wonderful soundtrack which contains songs from Jam Hsiao, Chang Chen-yue, Ashin (Mayday) and a catchy English number from Rhydian, A Trip With Your Wife is more likeable as a result. Although the comedy highlights the importance of platonic love, friendship and also love after marriage, it never creates anything unconventional along the way. Worse, it awkwardly manoeuvres it’s way in and out of tear-jerking territory unable to make a decision on which way the story should ends. Though flawed, it’s collective fun watching the three leads. Fans of Taiwanese rom-com and dramas will still lapped this up.
Movie Rating:
(If you don’t mind a mediocre rom-com, then prepare to laugh and shed some tears)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Action/Comics
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast: Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, Zhang Meng'er, Florian Munteanu, Ronny Chieng, Andy Le, Yueh Wah, Benedict Wong, Ben Kingsley
Runtime: 2 hrs 12 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website:
Opening Day: 1 September 2021
Synopsis: Marvel Studios' "Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings" stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.
Movie Review:
Shang Chi isn’t the most obvious Marvel character to receive the standalone blockbuster treatment, but mark our words that you’d be blown away by this standout entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Before this, Shang Chi was little more than a half-forgotten, stereotypical martial artist who first appeared in 1973 to cash in on Bruce Lee mania and the Kung Fu television series, certainly not the sort of role you might have hoped to headline the MCU’s first Asian-led superhero film. And yet, thanks to the inspired vision of co-writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton as well as an excellent cast including Simu Liu, Awkwafina and Tony Leung, ‘Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ is quite possibly the most enjoyable MCU film we’ve seen.
In part, that is because ‘Shang Chi’ isn’t like any of the other MCU movies which have come before it. It isn’t just because of its mostly Chinese setting and cast (and therefore its large amount of dialogue in Mandarin), but also its infusion of martial-arts action and fantasy, grounded in Chinese mythology as well as Asian American culture, which sets it apart. In fact, we would even go so far as to call it a modern-day Wuxia movie, packed with balletic fight sequences that rank as the most outstanding yet we have seen from the MCU.
That distinction is apparent from the get-go, which start not with our titular hero but of the film’s villain Wenwu (Leung). Amidst a voiceover which paints a portrait of Wenwu as a brutal conqueror whose power lies with the eponymous ten rings, we learn of how he had gone looking for a mythical land called Ta Lo and had met a woman from the village named Jiang Li (Fala Chen); though she effortlessly disarms him, Wenwu is less offended than enamoured, and over a dance of stolen glances and sensual touches within a pale-green bamboo forest, ends up falling in love and starting a family with her.
Borne out of their love are two children, Shang Chi and Xialing, who will grow up estranged for years after the death of their mother, but reunited eventually under their father’s plan to bring them back into the fold of his terrorist organization. By then, Shang Chi (Liu) has already started over in San Francisco, working as a valet parking attendant with his girlfriend Katy (Awkwafina) and enjoying the loafer lifestyle drinking and karaoking the nights away; on the other hand, Xialing (newcomer Zhang Meng’er) is the boss of an underground fight club in Macao operating out of the top floors of a half-constructed skyscraper.
Those who had jumped to the conclusion that Leung had sold out for Hollywood would do well to reserve their judgment; as we soon discover, Wenwu is quite possibly the most nuanced Marvel villain ever to grace the screen, and Leung is an absolute class act. Without giving too much away, let’s just say Wenwu’s motivation isn’t world domination, but something a lot more tragic and deeply personal. Oh, he’s charismatic and menacing as befits a villain all right, but in the hands of a legendary actor as Leung, Wenwu transforms into an antihero that is surprisingly heartfelt and haunting.
Given how Shang Chi’s origin story is intertwined with Wenwu’s devastation, it should not be surprising that Leung anchors the film. That doesn’t mean he dominates the film; rather, the actor gives plenty of space for other cast members to shine, while grounding his fellow performers especially in the film’s quieter moments. Liu plays Shang Chi with the right balance of bluster and heart, and his palpable chemistry with Awkwafina enlivens the comedic moments, but Leung’s layered performance provides the emotional ballast that Liu would have otherwise struggled to muster. Yeoh is always a welcome addition, and here lends gravitas as the matriarch of Ta Lo; but between the two, Leung is the veteran who does the heavy lifting.
That ‘Shang Chi’ proves to be a character-driven movie is also credit to Cretton’s co-writers Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham, who have conceived a story with unexpected pathos and poignancy. Like we said, this isn’t some stereotypical story about world domination, but one driven by very human desires of loneliness, loss and reminiscence. Despite unfolding across different time periods, the plotting is impressively deft, skipping across time and worlds and throwing up a fascinating mélange of genres and influences along the way.
Perhaps the most discernable yet noteworthy of these influences is the acrobatic fight choreography from the recently deceased second unit director and supervising fight coordinator Brad Allen (to whom the film is dedicated), staged against inventive settings such as a speeding bus careening pell-mell over the hills of San Francisco, on the scaffolding beside a skyscraper, a moving bamboo-forest maze, and last but not least the lush majesty of Tai Lo. Each of these set-pieces is awe-inspiring in its own right, and except the climactic showdown, refreshingly devoid of the sort of CGI in typical superhero blockbusters.
Indeed, we’d like to reiterate just how enthralled we were by ‘Shang Chi’, so much so that we would already rank this as the most uncharacteristic, but equally the most worthy, MCU standalone movie to date. As proud as we are to see a Marvel superhero of Asian descent, the reasons why we loved ‘Shang Chi’ go far beyond representation, and are as simple yet universal as humour, heart, family and pure adrenaline-driven thrills. We loved it from start to finish, and if this portends what we can look forward to in Phase IV, let’s just say it is as fresh and fascinating as it gets.
Movie Rating:
(One of the very best Marvel Cinematic Universe entries ever, this uncharacteristic yet utterly worthy origin story is well-plotted, beautifully choreographed and brilliantly acted, especially the inimitable Tony Leung)
Review by Gabriel Chong
|
ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS 2021Posted on 26 Apr 2021 |
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Hoult, Jon Bernthal, Tyler Perry, Aidan Gillen, Medina Senghore, Finn Little, Jake Weber
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 May 2021
Synopsis: Oscar winner Jolie (“Girl, Interrupted,” the “Maleficent” films) stars as Hannah, a smoke jumper still reeling from the loss of three lives she failed to save from a fire when she comes across a traumatized 12-year-old boy with nowhere else to turn.No matter how fast you are, no one outruns their past.
Movie Review:
It’s not hard to see why Angelina Jolie had decided to sign on for this survival action thriller – not only does the part of an emotionally scarred smokejumper who has to overcome her past in order to save a vulnerable young boy seem perfectly balanced between action and drama, the movie is co-written and directed by acclaimed actor-turned-filmmaker Taylor Sheridan. In fact, if you ask us, it is probably the latter which convinced Jolie to make this her first live-action movie in six years.
For the uninitiated, Sheridan has made his name in the neo-Western genre after such critically acclaimed works as ‘Sicario’, ‘Hell or High Water’ and ‘Wind River’. Sheridan is also the creator of the Kevin Costner series ‘Yellowstone’. And though based on a book by Michael Koryta, it is clear there is affinity between the material here and Sheridan’s trademark Westerns, so much so that he decided not only to re-write the adaptation but also to direct the movie itself.
Yet it is for this same reason that ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ cannot help but be slightly disappointing. Despite the promise of a compelling female lead in Jolie’s PTSD-suffering Hannah Faber, there is much less character depth here than you would be expecting from his previous works. Nor for that matter is the cat-and-mouse plotting as exciting as say ‘Sicario’ or ‘Wind River’, not least because the narrative gets distracted from what was supposed to be a bond between kindred ‘broken’ spirits with father-and-son partners in sociopathy (Aiden Gillen and Nicholas Hoult, playing the villains) and fellow survivalist couple (Jon Bernthal and Medina Senghore).
Not enough time is spent developing the relationship that is forged between Hannah, who amidst a raging forest fire a year earlier had failed to ‘read’ the wind and therefore to save the lives of three young boys caught in the middle of the flames, and Connor (Finn Little), who had just witnessed his father being shot dead by the pair of assassins sent by those that had wanted to silence the forensic accountant. That both of them are reeling from trauma is supposed to unite them, but like we said earlier, the kinship is diluted by subplots which ultimately do not count for much too.
Without the benefit of character, ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ becomes little more than a B-movie set against a somewhat unique backdrop (that is, the forests of Montana) with the added urgency of a deadly blaze thrown in for good measure. As with his earlier works, Sheridan had filmed his latest close to the land, and the authenticity lends the film a rugged realism. So devoted is he to authenticity that besides the natural environs, Sheridan had erected a faux forest and set it aflame for the scenes in the latter half of the movie, which for the most part come off terrifying and humbling at the same time.
On her part, Jolie has said to have drawn from her own real-life pain to give emotional weight to her role, and there is never any doubt despite the screenplay’s disservice that the actress is fully in her element. Jolie and Little share some beautiful moments together in the film’s quieter scenes, and the latter complements Jolie with a keenly felt, empathetic performance. The rest of the supporting ensemble is well-cast, but even more so than Hannah and Connor, their characters are too thinly written to be any more than stock roles in a B-movie.
So even though there are inevitably high hopes that Sheridan would bring his signature blend of rugged heroes, resilient women and ruthless villains to this Western, ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ is at best a mediocre action thriller. As she should not, Jolie doesn’t turn this into the sort of ass-kicking role some may be expecting from the star of ‘Wanted’ or ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’, but is let down by the by-the-numbers plotting that does the rest of the characters as well as Sheridan in. It is well-paced enough not to bore, and there are a couple of tense set-pieces, but otherwise, you’ll be wishing much more from this neo-Western.
Movie Rating:
(Lacking the character depth you'd be expecting from a Taylor Sheridan production, this neo-Western is no more than a mediocre survivalist action thriller with a couple of tense set-pieces)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Jaume Balagueró
Cast: Freddie Highmore, Liam Cunningham, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Sam Riley, Luis Tosar, Axel Stein, Famke Janssen, Jose Coronado
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Rating: PG13 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 May 2021
Synopsis: The Bank of Spain is like no other. An absolutely impenetrable bank. A bank that nobody could ever rob. With no blueprints, no data and no living person knows the monumental engineering work used to build the safe more than a hundred years ago. An absolute mystery. This thrilling challenge ignites the curiosity of Thom (Freddie Highmore), a genius determined to discover the vault’s secrets and make it into the depths of the bank. The target is a long-lost treasure that will be held inside the bank for only ten days. Led by charismatic art expert Walter (Liam Cunningham), Thom and his team have just ten days to prepare the heist and pull off a once-in-a-lifetime escape plan. Ten days to plan, but only 105 minutes to carry out that plan: the 105 minutes of the Soccer World Cup final that will draw hundreds of thousands of fans to the door of the Bank of Spain. The countdown begins.
Movie Review:
Except being mostly funded by Spain and shot in Spain, Way Down or otherwise known as The Vault in the States is a generic well-acted heist flick no different from any other big Hollywood titles.
Shady deep sea salvager Walter (Liam Cunningham) and his partner in crime, former British operative James (Sam Riley) has just recovered some 1600’s sunken treasure from below the sea. But before they can cash in the cheque, the loot is seized by the Spanish authorities and later on declared them to be theirs since they are found in Spanish waters. So Walter decides to pull off a “Danny Ocean” and assembled a motely crew to penetrate the most secure bank in the world, The Bank of Spain hoping to retrieve his treasure.
Walter’s crew or bank robbers in this case includes handyman Simon (Luis Tosar), computer hacker Klaus (Axel Stein) and the only rose among the toxic white males is master of disguise Lorraine (Astrid Berges-Frisbey). But Walter lacks a genius engineering expert and for some reason manages to recruit brilliant Oxford graduate Thom (Freddie Highmore) who decides to be a thief instead of putting his brains into better causes. Passion as what Walter and Thom calls it.
Unfortunately, Way Down is never as thrilling as it should be. Never as witty or funny as the Ocean series or The Italian Job original and remake. The plot devotes a decent amount of time in the prologue introducing Thom, a young man who supposedly helms from a reputable family and turning down job offers from the world’s biggest oil companies. Within minutes we know he is the smartest guy in the room yet we never really know what’s up with main guy Walter or his associate, James. Even Jean Gray aka Famke Janssen appears in a small role as a dodgy MI6 agent who seems to know or worked with Walter before.
The plotting however does a good job explaining the heist which in short, needs to get into the vault to retrieve Walter’s coins without activating the mechanism that will filled up the vault with water and drowning them. The solution on how to resolve this lies in the hands of Thom. But before that, there is a prolonged sequence where we see Thom, Simon and Lorraine trying to steal some keys from the bank with Walter, James and Klaus panicking and glue to the screens watching them in action. Obviously this is carried out both to compensate for the thin plot and generate some excitement and perils. Somehow it just feels rather stale and lifeless overall. There’s really no real tension to speak of despite director Jaume Balaguero’s best attempt to serve up a huge commotion.
Soderbergh's movies know how to mix fun with tension. The camaraderie among the crew are insane. There’s an explosive expert, conman, pickpocket and acrobat. Each bringing their own set of skills to the heist. Way Down on the hand relies mainly on one person – Thom. Walter despite being the leader has no real leadership skills or knowledge except his precious treasure. James seems jealous of Thom’s capability, casting doubts on his newly-found life as a criminal. There’s more to James but we don’t really see it for most of the runtime. Predictably, Lorraine serves sort of as a love interest for Thom while Simon and Klaus are not even consider as comedic sidekicks.
As a so-called distraction, the heist which is set during the 2010 World Cup final adds nothing to the material. Same goes to huff-and-puff Gustavo (Jose Coronado), the bank’s head of security and his group of heavily armed guards. The actors tried their best to liven up the sparse script but there’s only so much actors can do. Though Way Down fails to be a sharp fun crime caper, there’s no denying that the movie is well-shot and slick in general. This is definitely not an ensemble piece, Freddie Highmore gets to have all the fun. He is the leading man who gets to play smart and he speaks Spanish. Oh, did we forgot to mention he is also one of the producers.
Movie Rating:
(Way Down fails to manifest into something extraordinary)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Drama
Director: Sally Potter
Cast: Javier Bardem, Elle Fanning, Laura Linney, Salma Hayek
Runtime: 1 hr 26 mins
Rating: PG13 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 May 2021
Synopsis: Sally Potter’s film follows a day in the life of Leo (Javier Bardem) and his daughter, Molly (Elle Fanning), as she grapples with the challenges of her father’s chaotic mind. As they weave their way through New York City, Leo’s journey takes on a hallucinatory quality as he floats through alternate lives he could have lived, leading Molly to wrestle with her own path as she considers her future.
Movie Review:
Coming after the excellent character drama ‘The Father’, it’s hard not to compare this similarly-themed chamber piece by writer-director Sally Potter. Both deal with the subject of dementia, and both unfold from the perspective of the lead character struggling to cope with the disease. But whereas Florian Zeller opted to demonstrate such a patient’s slips of memory, confusions of identity and conflations of place and event, Potter fractures the narrative to show her character’s present as well as two alternate realities which could just as easily have come to pass.
As its title suggests, ‘The Roads Not Taken’ is a meditation on how differently a person’s life could have been lived, had he or she chosen a certain path in life. Leo (Javier Bardem) is a writer suffering from dementia, who now lives in a grim New York apartment while being attended by a carer. The only family that is around is his daughter Molly (Elle Fanning), who over the course of a single day, escorts him to the dentist, the eye doctor, and when he wets his pants, a big-box store to buy new trousers. But alongside his reality, Leo is in fact entertaining two other alternate presents.
One of them imagines that he is back in Mexico with his first wife and childhood sweetheart Dolores (Salma Hayek); alas, that episode is marked by tragedy as we later on discover, and without giving too much away, let’s just say that it is the reason why he had decided thereafter to emigrate to the United States. The other imagines him on an idyllic Greek island, and we soon learn that he had indeed travelled there when Molly was just a baby, although why he did so and the consequences of it is only revealed towards the end of the movie.
It should not be surprising that those two alternate presents are neither coincidental or simply a figment of Leo’s fractured mind; indeed, these are in fact his regrets surfacing at a time when his consciousness is unable to suppress them further. We would add that they lend unexpected poignancy to the relationship between Leo and Molly, not least in illustrating how the latter has decided to remain by her father’s side in his time of need in spite of the former’s behaviour before, which is in stark contrast to how unsympathetically Molly’s mother Rita (Laura Linney) treats him.
Notwithstanding the sentiments at the end, we’d be frank that ‘The Roads Not Taken’ is not an easy watch. For its good first hour, you’d be less intrigued than frustrated at the multiple storylines that you are unable to immediately make sense of next to one another. It is also challenging to fully empathise with Leo, who unlike say Anthony Hopkins’ similarly afflicted character in ‘The Father’, shuffles around throughout the film being mostly uncommunicative, either grunting or hardly speaking at all in his dysphasia.
That is not to dismiss Bardem’s performance, which is often intense and fervent as you would expect of the veteran Spanish actor. The same goes for Fanning, who builds a charming rapport with Bardem with a emotionally honest and spirited act. Their scenes together anchor the film with heart and purpose, so it is in the stretches that Bardem is alone as Leo that the movie loses its focus and its pull. There is also a subplot involving Molly’s work situation, and Fanning nails the role by illuminating the tension between work and life that any working adult will be able to identify with.
Like we said at the beginning, it is inevitable that ‘The Roads Not Taken’ will be compared with ‘The Father’, and between the two, we must admit that we liked the latter a lot better. There’s no denying Potter has technique, but equally it is hardly as compelling as a chamber piece and rather vexing in its experimentalism. Don’t get us wrong – this is still a road worth taking, but we suspect some may find the journey a lot less fulfilling than what you may be expecting.
Movie Rating:
(Not quite as compelling as 'The Father', this experimental drama of suffering, piety and regrets thrives on Javier Bardem and Elle Fanning's illuminating performances)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Van Han
Cast: Greg Hsu, Zhang Ruo Nan, Kevin Yan, Ding Guan Sen, Wang Sha Sha, Caesar Guo
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 May 2021
Synopsis: MY LOVE is a heart-warming film about a 15-year love story between Zhou Xiao Qi (Greg Hsu), a swimming student and You Yong Ci (Zhang Ruo Nan), a transfer student. In high school, Zhou Xiao Qi fell in love with You Yong Ci at first sight, only for her to leave suddenly without saying goodbye. 15 years later, they meet again. Will love be the same?
Movie Review:
It is easy to see why this romantic comedy topped China’s Labour Day opening weekend box office, beating Zhang Yimou’s spy thriller Cliff Walkers starring Zhang Yi and Leste Chen’s mystery drama Home Sweet Home starring Aaron Kwok.
Adapted from the Korean flick On Your Wedding Day, this Chinese production tells a story which takes place over 15 years. It probably speaks to many of us – our first time falling in love, the silly but laughable things we did to spend time with our crushes, the naïve promises we made to be with someone forever, and the seemingly harmless words which might have hurt our loved ones.
Well, except that in our real life versions, we are not as perfect looking as Greg Hsu and Zhang Ruo Nan.
When we first meet the protagonists, they are in high school. The guy Zhou Xiao Qi (Hsu) is a happy go lucky dude who finds more joy getting into fights than studying for exams. The girl You Yong Ci (Zhang) is a new student on campus, and it was love at first sight for Xiao Qi, who happened to be in the midst of being beaten up – how’s that for a memorable and romantic way to fall in love.
The movie then progresses to develop the relationship between Xiao Qi and Yong Ci. There are saccharine sweet moments that you might have experienced yourself, bittersweet sequences that may trigger the heartaches from previous break ups, and that eventual closure from letting go and accepting the fact that some things aren’t meant to be.
The 115 minute movie is an easy watch, but everything is predictable and may bore viewers who are looking out for something special. It feels like sitting through a two hour idol drama featuring relatable life episodes, some comedic scenes (Xiao Qi’s decision to join the cheerleading team to be near Yong Ci is chuckle worthy), some dramatic sequences (watch out for a scene where Xiao Qi sets off fireworks to comfort the sick Yong Ci, which got the whole campus waving their mobile phones and singing along to Michael Wong’s radio friendly hit “Fairy Tale”), and some tear jerking moments (are Xiao Qi and Yong Ci not meant to be, after their on and off relationships over the years?).
Most importantly, the film is a breeze to sit through because the leads are eye candy. Xiao Qi is on the school swim team, which gives Hsu plenty of opportunities to show off his lean bod. Yong Ci is perfectly personified by Zhang, whose sweet demeanour is impossible to fault. Supporting characters played by Mainland Chinese actors Kevin Yan, Ding Guan Sen and Wang Sha Sha are forgettable, although the cast deliver memorable performances.
This is a movie that will appeal to the younger couples who are basking in love. They may walk out of the theatre cherishing each other more. For the older viewers, it is simply a fairy tale with incredibly good looking movie stars.
Movie Rating:
(No surprises here: this formulaic romantic comedy unfolds like a teen idol drama with its good-looking leads)
Review by John Li
Genre: Mystery/Drama
Director: Wayne Peng
Cast: Chuando Tan, Nanyeli, Chang Tzulei, Xiang Yun, Chen Yixin, Tay Ping Hui
Runtime: 1 hr 20 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes and Some Violence)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:
Opening Day: 29 April 2021
Synopsis: A 30-something doctor (starring Chuando Tan) is caught in a web of deceit, sex, and lies. The murder drama, set in 1960's Singapore, revolves around the doctor making house calls to a mysterious and wealthy family.
Movie Review:
If you have it, flaunt it. That’s exactly what this film seems to be all about. Helmed by Wayne Peng, who has received accolades for his slick commercials, this movie is a sight to behold. Every shot is mesmerising to a fault – carefully lensed, perfectly framed and oozing with lush. You feel like you are watching a commercial for a very expensive product, an ad on the big screen that runs for 80 minutes.
You can’t take your eyes off the screen because everything looks gorgeous. If you are looking for a house, you’d want to hunt down the residence the film is set in, just to feel the magnificence of the architecture. If you are an antique collector, you’d want to own every piece of prop showcased in the movie, from the traditional typewriter and the nostalgic radio, to the sewing machine that your mother used to mend your torn clothes. If you are into vintage cars, there is one on display which is ten times better looking than the hordes of vehicles on the busy expressway.
And there are the humans. Photographer and social media hottie Chuando Tan (most of us still can’t get over the fact that he is 55 years old and can still maintain a ripped physique and youthful looks) is a sight to behold in his feature film debut. The slow mo sequence of the hunk showering (with droplets of water dripping off his well toned body, no less) is totally uncalled for, but you know female fans would totally lap this up and wished the scene can go on forever.
Elsewhere, Taiwanese model Nanyeli, who is also making her first big screen appearance, gets to put on very pretty cheongsams and strut around from room to room, trying her best to outdo the equally attractive film set around her. Although fellow Taiwanese Chang Tzulei doesn’t get to don very pretty outfits, she gets to shoot dagger stares to send chills down your spine. Chen Yixin (Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun’s daughter) also has a meaty role in the film, where her innocent and naïve looks are put to good use.
Other moments in the movie that will have you going “ah…” include Xiang’s cameo appearance as a very fierce woman and Tay Ping Hui who shows up in shadows for most of his limited screen time.
Oh, we nearly forgot to mention the ants. There are a few extreme close up shots of ants crawling. We think they are supposed to symbolise something, but the first thing that came to mind was how exquisite these ants look.
The film was deservedly nominated in the Best Cinematography and Best Makeup & Costume categories at the 57th Golden Horse Awards (it lost to Your Name Engraved Within and Number 1 respectively). It is quite a feat for Peng’s team, considering the movie largely takes place within a mansion.
It seems like we have not mentioned much about the storyline. Well, there isn’t really much to talk about here because the plot is thin and all you need to know is that Tan plays a writer who is constantly typing (wearing a tight fitting singlet to show off his physique), and he is obsessed about the deaths of a doctor (also played by the hunk so that the film can have more of him) and a repressed woman (Nanyeli). In the supposed murder mystery are two maids (Chang and Chen), a fiery first wife (Xiang) and a brutal master (Tay).
You won’t care how the story unfolds or where it leads to, because you’d be too distracted by the striking visuals.
Movie Rating:
(With visuals that are perfect to a fault, you may just be able to ignore the fact that the story is badly told)
Review by John Li
| « Prev | 432 | 433 | 434 | 435 | 436 | 437 | 438 | 439 | 440 | 441 | 442 | Next » |
Most Viewed
No content.