Genre: CG Animation
Director: Garth Jennings
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Pharrell Williams, Letitia Wright, Eric Andre, Chelsea Peretti, Bono  
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 23 December 2021

Synopsis: This holiday season, the new chapter in Illumination's smash animated franchise returns with big dreams and spectacular hit songs as can-do koala Buster Moon and his all-star cast of animal performers prepare to launch their most dazzling stage extravaganza yet ...in the glittering entertainment capital of the world. There's just one hitch: They first have to persuade the world's most reclusive rock star-played by global music icon Bono, making his animated film debut-to join them.  

Movie Review:

Five years after koala bear impresario Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) saved his theatre by mounting a crowd-pleasing show from a bunch of amateurs selected through an ‘American Idol’-like singing competition, we find Moon and his ragtag cast performing a musical production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ at the same local theatre to sold-out crowds from their town.

Alas, that is not enough to impress canine talent scout Suki (Chelsea Peretti), who dismisses the show and tells Moon that ‘you’d never make it to the big leagues’. Never one to be culled into accepting a fate lesser than that of his dreams, Moon rounds up his performers to head to Redshore City, a Las Vegas-like entertainment capital in their world, to try to convince megawatt producer Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Carnavale) to let them put on a show at his Crystal Tower Theatre.

Those who loved the first ‘Sing’ will be glad that everyone is back for seconds, including the porcine pair Rosita (Reese Witherspoon) and Gunter (Nick Kroll), the gorilla prodigy Johnny (Taron Edgerton), the shy elephant Meena (Tori Kelly), and the punk porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson). Like the first movie too, each will have his or her own challenges to overcome over the course of this film, whether is it a fear of heights, self-esteem issues, or just plain old simple introversion.

But the most daunting test of all is to placate the irascible white wolf Jimmy, whom Moon had sold the idea of a science-fiction musical starring legendary lion rocker Clay Calloway (Bono). Unfortunately for Moon, Clay has not only retired but also become a recluse since the death of his wife 15 years ago, and it will take some persuasion by Ash before Clay decides to make the inevitable comeback.

To make matters worse, whilst trying to buy time with Jimmy, Moon pisses him off during rehearsals after deciding that Jimmy’s spoiled-brat daughter Porsha (Halsey) is not suitable for the role which he had originally intended for Rosita. And yet, there can be no doubt that Moon will go on to stage a spectacular extravaganza that Gunter calls ‘Out of this World’, comprising five big showpieces intended to give Johnny, Porsha, Meena, Rosita and Ash/Clay their due glory under the spotlight.

That it is predictable doesn’t make it any less charming. Even more so than in the first ‘Sing’, returning writer-director Garth Jennings concocts a delightful blend of gags, physical humour and stirring musical numbers within the span of two hours – among them, an early scene where Moon and the gang dress up as janitors to sneak into Jimmy’s audition is hilarious; ditto Johnny’s dance lessons with the obnoxious dance instructor Klaus Kickenklober (Adam Buxton); and so too Mrs. Crawley’s (Jennings) Nazi-like direction of the performers when put in charge of the production while Moon is away trying to recruit Clay.

Not surprisingly, the best is saved for the last, with the finale a true show-stopper featuring a heart-thumping warrior dance to Coldplay’s ‘A Sky Full of Stars’, a joyful number to Halsey’s own ‘Could Have Been Me’, a heartwarming duet to a remix of the classic Aretha Franklin’s ‘I Say A Little Prayer’, and a soaring routine to Ariana Grande’s ‘Break Free’. Say what you may about it about being a highly calculated musical sugar rush, but the song selections from both current and classic pop and rock talents such as Elton John, U2 and Prince are often eclectic and always smartly chosen to convey meaning and motivations.

Just as outstanding is the terrific voice cast which Jennings has assembled, who like in the original film, sing their own parts with feeling and aplomb; and whilst he doesn’t do any singing, McConaughey deserves special mention for lending Moon a sweet optimism that makes it impossible not to root for him. It should also be said that ‘Sing 2’ is probably Illumination’s most accomplished animation to date; not only are the visuals often colourful and eye-popping, they boast a real sense of scale and depth, especially in the scenes set within the cavernous Crystal Theatre.

Never mind that it has taken five years for this sequel to arrive on the big screen, ‘Sing 2’ is utterly endearing and thoroughly winning. It might not be terribly original, not least because it pretty much repeats the formula of its predecessor, but this wonderful combination of animation, choreography and action is as joyous and rousing as the first movie, if not more so. You’ll sing, dance and laugh along all right, and we dare say this is probably the most fun you'll have at the movies this year-end season.

Movie Rating:

(So utterly joyous it'll make you want to break into song)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Cast: Liam Neeson, Laurence Fishburne, Benjamin Walker, Amber Midthunder, Marcus Thomas, Holt McCallany, Martin Sensmeier, Matt McCoy, Matt Salinger
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Intense Sequences)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 15 July 2021

Synopsis: After a remote diamond mine collapses in far northern Canada, a ‘big-rig’ ice road driver Mike McCann (LIAM NEESON) must lead an impossible rescue mission over a frozen ocean to save the trapped miners before their oxygen runs out. Contending with thawing waters and a massive storm, they discover the real threat is one they never saw coming. Ice road veteran Mike McCann, along with his younger brother Gurty (MARCUS THOMAS), a gifted mechanic though impacted by aphasia from a war injury, join a hastily assembled team of skilled ice road drivers (LAURENCE FISHBURNE and AMBER MIDTHUNDER) who embark on a dangerous rescue mission. Mike and the team are forced to conquer stalled engines, cracking ice, violent pressure waves, deadly explosions, entire big rig trucks falling into the dark frozen waters, white-outs, an avalanche, and the death of their operation leader, all of which culminates in an epic showdown between Mike and the assassin, who seeks to bury them all beneath Lake Winnipeg.

Movie Review:

Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Liam Neeson’s second act as a grizzled action star had not lost its momentum: including this latest offering, Neeson has headlined three action thrillers since last year. Yet those who have kept faith with the Irish actor will know that not all of these films were of the same calibre; in fact, the later ones saw less of the ‘particular set of skills’ which Neeson had warned his enemies about in ‘Taken’, and were also therefore disappointing in that regard.

‘The Ice Road’ doesn’t come close to being anywhere as exciting as ‘Taken’, but it still is far more interesting and exciting than his previous two films, ‘Honest Thief’ and ‘The Marksman’. Its title refers to the paths over frozen lakes up in northern Canada that are only used in the winter months when the ice is thick enough; alas, when a methane explosion at a diamond mine in Northern Manitoba traps a clutch of miners, it becomes the only means by which 30-ton gas wellheads can be delivered in order to drill and cap the gas pocket and free the men.

Neeson’s Mike McCann is one of the veteran drivers who signs up for the treacherous rescue mission; besides Mike, the other two big rigs which will attempt the journey are driven by local contractor Jim Goldenrod (Laurence Fishburne) and a Native American girl Tantoo (Amber Midthunder). Whereas Mike is in it for the pay, it is a lot more personal for Jim and Tantoo: Jim knows the miners who are trapped, and Tantoo’s brother is one of the men trapped in the mine.

As Tantoo explains, it isn’t just any plain drive. If the 65,000 lb. rigs travel too slow, the pounds per square inch on the tires will cause the ice to crack; but if the rigs travel too fast, they risk creating pressure waves that will also crack the ice. An early montage sequence shows each driver placing a bobblehead on his or her dashboard, the significance of which becomes clearer later on when the team has to confront such a wave. It is nail-biting stuff all right, especially for those who aren’t yet acquainted with the profession through the History Channel’s reality TV series ‘Ice Road Truckers’.

Though the CGI could do with more polish, the location shooting delivers some spectacularly real vistas. Indeed, credit goes to writer/ director Jonathan Hensleigh for a taut build-up against the awe-inspiring landscapes in and around Winnipeg, emphasising the conditions imposed by nature that the big-riggers are forced to contend with; one particularly harrowing scene sees Mike and his pals try to outrace a crack in the ice sheet while two of their trucks are tethered together, and it is as thrilling as you can imagine.

It is somewhat unfortunate that Hensleigh turns what could have been a tense survivalist thriller into a more conventional cat-and-mouse game fuelled by corporate greed. We shan’t say more to spoil the jackknife plot turn that should not come unexpected from a filmmaker who had written such Michael Bay classics as ‘The Rock’ and ‘Armageddon’, but nevertheless ruins what could otherwise have been a perfectly fine dramatic film. Still, those expecting Neeson to start punching people will probably let out a cheer when he hisses ‘Now I’m angry!’ halfway through the movie, marking when the movie becomes yet another Neeson action vehicle.

Those looking for Neeson to kick ass will probably still be somewhat disappointed though: besides a mano-a-mano on the ice, most of the action with Neeson takes place with him behind the wheel trying to outdrive the baddies in jeeps, bikes and snowmobiles. Hensleigh keeps the pace tight, but the chases are standard action fare that will inevitably pale in comparison to the recent ‘F9’. Neeson remains a gruff pleasure, perfectly comfortable in a by-now familiar role that requires him to be careworn and wiry.

‘The Ice Road’ may not break new ground (pun intended), but it is one of Neeson’s better action movies in recent time. Even though it does veer a little off-course at the halfway mark, the premise is solid, the direction competent, and the action largely credible and rousing. With age catching up, we may never see Neeson reprise the sort of action hero he was in ‘Taken’, but if this is the new norm for such mid-budget, old-school beat-em-ups, we’re more than happy to continue embracing him as the Charles Bronson of our generation.

Movie Rating:

(Though it veers a little off-course with a jackknife plot turn involving corporate greed, this latest Liam Neeson action vehicle remains one of his more interesting and thrilling entries in recent time)

Review by Gabriel Chong 

Genre: Action
Director: Navot Papushado
Cast: Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Chloe Coleman, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino, Paul Giamatti
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence And Gore)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 22 July 2021

Synopsis: Sam (KAREN GILLAN) was only 12 years old when her mother Scarlet (LENA HEADEY), an elite assassin, was forced to abandon her. Sam was raised by The Firm, the ruthless crime syndicate her mother worked for. Now, 15 years later, Sam has followed in her mother’s footsteps and grown into a fierce hit-woman. She uses her “talents” to clean up The Firm’s most dangerous messes. She’s as efficient as she is loyal. But when a high-risk job goes wrong, Sam must choose between serving The Firm and protecting the life of an innocent 8-year-old girl - Emily (CHLOE COLEMAN). With a target on her back, Sam has only one chance to survive: Reunite with her mother and her lethal associates, The Librarians (MICHELLE YEOH, ANGELA BASSETT and CARLA GUGINO). These three generations of women must now learn to trust each other, stand up to The Firm and their army of henchmen, and raise hell against those who could take everything from them.

Movie Review:

If you’re looking for originality, you’d probably be disappointed by the lack of it in ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’. In more ways than one, director/ co-writer Navot Papushado’s over-the-top, candy-coloured shoot-em-up owes its plotting, style and structure to ‘John Wick’, with perhaps the most glaring difference being that it is a female-centric ripoff.

The uber-assassin here is Sam (Karen Gillan), a second-generation contract killer who followed in the footsteps of her absent mother Scarlet (Lena Headey). As the lazy voiceover explains, Sam works for a group of men called the Firm, who call upon her whenever they need someone to clean up their mess. Sound Continental-familiar?

Then how about the fact that the Firm, represented by the officious executive Nathan (Paul Giamatti), decides to disown Sam after the latter accidentally kills the son of powerful crime boss Jim McAlester (Ralph Ineson), leaving her to fend for herself against the countless thugs sent after her for vengeance?

Or how Sam finds allies in a trio of fellow female assassins named Anna (Angela Bassett), Florence (Michelle Yeoh) and Madeleine (Carla Gugino), who belong to the group known as the Sisterhood and work under the cover of a grand library which books are just hiding places for various kinds of weapons, including guns, knives and even bars of gold?

As the story goes, Sam develops a conscience when she runs into the 8-year-old daughter Emily (Chloe Colman) of the man she is sent to kill, and with the help of Anna, Florence and Madeleine, vows to protect Emily from the Firm as well as Jim’s cold henchmen. Over the course of a single evening, Sam will also be reunited with her mother, whom she realises has been watching over her over the past 15 years following the latter’s abrupt disappearance.

It should come as no surprise that the story is just window-dressing for a series of deeply stylized set-pieces, which Papushado designs in the form of slo-mo shootouts and neo-noir visuals. One of the first sees Sam take on three male assassins in a neon-lit bowling alley, going after these fellow employees of the Firm with a bowling ball and capping the fight by grabbing the shiny bowling jacket from behind the counter which she will wear for the rest of the movie, establishing the kitschy but unapologetically brutal tone that the rest of the sequences will reinforce.

At least in the action sequences, there is some semblance of inspiration. A subsequent sequence along the brightly lit corridors of an underground hospital with the same three men sees Sam paralysed in both arms and making do by taping weapons to her hands. The film’s piece de resistance turns the aforementioned library into a battleground, with the Sisterhood using hammers, chains, knives, gas grenades and even a tomahawk to dole out punishment on their attackers. Still, Papushado’s indiscriminate use of slo-mo shootouts gets increasingly tiresome, especially the final panorama in a diner that brings Sam face to face with Jim.

Pity too that the focus is on Gillan, and less on the stellar supporting ensemble – especially Bassett and Yeoh – that we would dearly love to see more of. While we loved the charismatically affectless turns by Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron in ‘Wick’ and ‘Atomic Blonde’ respectively, Gillan’s performance here is curiously vacant, even if the role does give her plenty of opportunity to showcase her butt-kicking skills. In particular, the supposedly poignant reunion between Sam and her mother falls flat, given how Gillan chooses to keep up her character’s rough exterior at the expense of conveying any deeper emotions.

You can probably guess that, like ‘Wick’, the ending is a franchise-baiting one that leaves the door open for sequels. Yet even as ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ may still be entertaining to watch as a frivolous diversion, we suspect there is barely enough to justify any attempt at further world-building, not least if what follows is yet another ‘Wick’ ripoff. Papushado’s filmmaking favours all sorts of cool – from the soundtrack to the showy flourishes such as slow motion dollies and split diopter shots – but we’d wish that he had put in more thought to make the material a lot more compelling than just a nutrition-free sugar-rush.

Movie Rating:

(An over-the-top, candy-coloured shoot-em-up that owes its plotting, style and structure to 'John Wick', this female-centric ripoff boasts a stellar supporting ensemble that it sadly underutilises)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Jo Ba Reun
Cast: Sung Joon, Kim Bo Ra, Kim Hong Pa, Kim Jae Hwa, Park So Jin, Seo Hyun Woo
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: NC16 (Horror)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 15 July 2021

Synopsis: Horror webtoon writer Ji-woo (Sung Joon) arrives at a shabby apartment called Gwanglim Mansion in search of ideas. The middle-aged caretaker with an expressionless facial expression unravels a bundle of strange events that happened in the apartment, and rooms 504, 708... The more Ji-woo hears the story, the more he becomes obsessed with the Ghost Mansion.

Movie Review:

Webtoons are having their day in the sun in Korea’s entertainment industry, as seen by their popularity in titles such as Itaewon Class and Sweet Home. Though it isn’t an adaptation, Ghost Mansion does tap into this cultural phenomena by pitching the protagonist as a webtoon artist who digs a little too far into the wrong places to score success.

After a dismal showing for his last title, writer and artist Ji-woo (Sung Joon) is desperate for inspiration. To fuel his horror content, he visits Gwanglim Mansion, fuelled by rumours of its sordid past and ongoing tragedies. From a doomsday cult to a fire that consumed children abandoned by their parents… suffice to say, he’s not disappointed. As he pushes the groundskeeper for more stories, he gets lured into the mansion’s web of influence.

The film bears some similarities to the grim television series Hell is Other People. From the dingy corridors to its unpleasant residents, Ghost Mansion wraps the stories effectively in dread. Told through the residents of different apartments in an omnibus format, the short stories do thankfully introduce different genres of fear.

In part, this is because producer Kwon Ji-yong and director Jo Ba-reun had intended this to be an 8-part series, thus explaining the many chapters loosely linked by overlapping characters. But Jo had also wanted to pay homage to his many influences including horror filmmaker James Wan and master toon artist Junji Ito in his work.

Ghost Mansion is very much a product that shows up the sum of its parts. Tapping into everyday scenes of flickering lights, strange noises in the house and persistent mold, Jo pulls in jump scares, creepy build-ups and disturbing imagery into his creation. It works well at times, such as the second chapter with the female pharmacist who can’t seem to differentiate her deja vu from reality, and in the following chapter where a realtor has plumbing and matrimonial problems. But there is a sense of overreaching with some of the other episodes, where the fear feels more formulaic than the rest.

Unfortunately, it is the last episode that suffers the most, dragging the otherwise decent thrills into a tired presentation overly drawn out. And when the film prepares for its reveal, it isn’t something that entirely makes sense.

If I were to suggest anything, it would be to pull out the human stories from these chapters even more, rather than resorting too much into the tropes. Between the third-party mistress frantic to cover up for her lover and the writer hungry for success, there is a lot more one can tease from these characters than to resort to having them play out their temptations so simply.

If one is looking for visual thrills and spills, Ghost Mansion covers good grounds. But just set aside investing into a narrative for this film - you’ll then enjoy the scares that much more.

Movie Rating:

(Promising work from young director Jo, with content to make you squeamish and disturbed but a story that can afford a more mature handling)

Review by Morgan Awyong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, Anthony Michael Hall
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Gore)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 28 October 2021

Synopsis: In 2018, David Gordon Green's Halloween, starring icon Jamie Lee Curtis, killed at the box office, earning more than $250 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing chapter in the four-decade franchise and setting a new record for the biggest opening weekend in history for a horror film starring a woman. And the Halloween night when Michael Myers returned isn't over yet.

Minutes after Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie's basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie's trap, his ritual bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael's first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all. Evil dies tonight.

Movie Review:

After a lean, mean, franchise-invigorating reboot, ‘Halloween Kills’ threatens to suck the life out of the series once again. Those who have followed the continuations of John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic will certainly be familiar with such disappointments – not including the last movie, there have been two other valiant reboots, namely ‘Halloween H20’ and Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween’, both of which were followed by uninspiring sequels that ended up necessitating yet another restart. Even so, that doesn’t reduce the frustration watching David Gordon Green fumble so spectacularly here, especially given how smart and savvy his redo was.

Picking up right after the events of the last film, ‘Halloween Kills’ opens with Laurie Strode (the inimitable Jamie Lee Curtis) bleeding profusely from a stomach wound as she is rushed to hospital in the back of a speeding truck with her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). ‘Let it burn!’ she screams at the firefighters in the fire truck headed towards the blazing house where she had trapped her arch-nemesis Michael Myers. It should come as no surprise that each and every one of the firefighters will pay for their bravery with their lives; what we did not expect however, is that Laurie would spend most of the film languishing in a hospital bed, waiting for the already promised third movie to continue her showdown with Michael.

Green, who reteams with actor-comedian Danny McBride, further digs into the original’s roster of characters for this movie – the kid Tommy whom Laurie was babysitting; the retired former assistant Marion to Michael’s psychiatrist Dr Samuel Loomis; the former town sheriff Leigh who had lost his daughter to Michael’s killing spree; and the bully Lonnie who used to taunt Tommy back in the day. Frankly, all but the series’ most loyal fans would care about any of these supporting characters, so as admirable as Green’s reverence is of the original as well as its actors (Nancy Stephens and Charles Cyphers reprise their roles as Marion and Leigh respectively), we’re not quite sure how creatively inspired the decision to bring them back was.

Certainly, Green’s execution of this part of the narrative falls way short. Tired of living in fear, Tommy (Anthony Michael Hall) decides to rally the surviving townsfolk to hunt Michael down; these comprise the alums Marion, Leigh and Lonnie (Robert Longstreet), as well as their descendants including Lonnie’s son Cameron (Dylan Arnold) and Allyson. Green tries to fashion the resultant pandemonium of an unhinged crowd into social commentary of what happens when we allow fear to get the better of us, but does not quite have the directing chops to make it convincing or compelling; instead, what is supposed to be a sobering tragedy turns out laughably contrived, and further proof that Green is quite simply out of his league here.

Green fares much better with the murders, though even in that regard, we cannot say we were particularly thrilled. A scene with Michael taunting three hapless victims trapped in a car is terrifying; so too when Michael returns to his former childhood home, now the residence of a gay couple Big John (Scott MacArthur) and Little John (Michael McDonald). However, the finale, which sees Michael proving that he may truly be immortal, is haphazardly put together and oddly anti-climactic, even with the supposed death of one of the key lead characters of the movie. Compared to the creative kills of its predecessor, this sequel is simply content to indulge in extravagant moments of gore, without the accompanying build-up in suspense or scares.

While it is to be expected that ‘Halloween Kills’ would be the weakest entry of the trilogy, it is quite shocking just how inferior Green’s follow-up is compared to his earlier film. The narrative is chaotic, the dialogue cringe-worthy, and the acting embarrassingly histrionic. Worst of all, the terror sags and then descends into caricature. There is no doubt Green had bigger conceits in mind, not least because Laurie bloviates at the end about how Michael’s immortality is built on our collective fear of him, but neither Green or the film ultimately has the dramatic heft to make them work. We’re still holding our breath for ‘Halloween Ends’ next autumn, but ‘Kills’ comes close to erasing every ounce of goodwill that its predecessor had amassed for the franchise, so here’s hoping that the ominous title of the next film does not ultimately become its death knell.

Movie Rating:

(Like the follow-ups in the franchise which followed after successful reboots, this sequel to David Gordon Green's lean, mean 2018 redo is an utter letdown, no thanks to a chaotic narrative, laughable dialogue and histronic performances)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abbey Lee, Aaron Pierre, Kathleen Chalfant, Alexa Swinton, Nolan River, Kylie Begley, Embeth Davidtz, Eliza Scanlen, Alex Wolff, Emun Elliott, Thomasin McKenzie
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Disturbing Scenes and Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 12 August 2021

Synopsis: This summer, visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan unveils a chilling, mysterious new thriller about a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly … reducing their entire lives into a single day.

Movie Review:

Perhaps one of the most intriguing trailers to come out of 2021 is M. Night Shyamalan’s Old. It begins with a couple and their children visiting the Hollywood definition of a luxury resort - tropical palms, overly decorated drinks and too much linen - and quickly goes for WTF when they start rapidly aging after relaxing at a private beach.

This premise, originally raised by Sandcastle graphic novel authors Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters upon which the movie is loosely based on, should have produced priceless fodder for a good scriptwriter. Old could have gone exciting with a family action piece, and have the protagonists frantically digging their way to a solution or escape. Or maybe a paced-out philosophical examination of relationships, time, grievances, values perhaps?

Instead, Shyamalan flounders between tone and tropes, and falls victim again to his own ingenuity - one that sparks brilliantly but peters out because no one tended to the wood - and somehow comes up with a film that embodies the sense of a ricochet - there’s a lot of bouncing around but it still misses the mark.

The director centres the story around the photogenic family of Guy (Gael García Bernal) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps), bringing their 11-year-old Maddox (Alexa Swinton) and 6-year-old Trent (Nolan River) on a vacation. Little do the young'uns know, their parents are on the verge of divorce, and this holiday is a ceremonial agreement between the two adults before they part ways. But hey, if the hotel manager offers you an invitation to their private beach because he finds you have a very special family, then disagreements can wait, right?

The family arrives awestruck by the dramatic coast, if slightly miffed at being joined by another family, but they soon find themselves with more pressing issues to deal with. When the said beach begins turning up supernatural aging effects (a year goes by in 30 minutes), the family and other holiday goers wind up spending much of the film trying to understand the phenomena, trying to escape, having breakdowns, and dealing with the consequences of this mercurial hourglass - in no particular order.

And that’s where Old falls apart - the sequencing here is manic. Shyamalan’s intent on telling us something here, but I’m not exactly sure what that is. Is it a sense of urgency from the debilitating effects? Or is it some group dynamic that he’s trying to explore and make tense? Well, having characters shout at each other or revealing their occupation through clunky exposition is not making it happen.

In fact, the lines here - so basic in nature - give us nothing of the stranded victims, making it impossible for us to feel much when anything untoward happens at all. This shows up the worst in the scenes when the camera pans around as the characters deliver their lines. I feel like I’m at the first script-reading between the cast - that’s how awkward it was.

That’s not to say the camerawork was shabby. On the contrary, the visuals gave me some of the best sort of discomfort, with off-subject framing serving tension and mystery in spades. But given how the story simpers, the film doesn’t manage to keep the suspense, and the thrills grow old way too very quickly.

Movie Rating:

(What a premise! Sadly, none of its potential was delivered in a script that feels more like a treatment than a polished work)

Review by Morgan Awyong

Genre: CG Animation/Live Action
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Cast: LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, Cedric Joe, Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Zendaya
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 15 July 2021

Synopsis: Welcome to the Jam! NBA champion and global icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny with the animated/live-action event “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” from director Malcolm D. Lee and an innovative filmmaking team including Ryan Coogler and Maverick Carter. This transformational journey is a manic mashup of two worlds that reveals just how far some parents will go to connect with their kids. When LeBron and his young son Dom are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of professional basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before. It’s Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even “King” James by playing the game their own way.

Movie Review:

25 years after the live-action/ animation mash-up comedy ‘Space Jam’, which teamed Michael Jordan with the studio’s Looney Tunes crew, Warner Bros has decided to reboot the movie with this generation’s basketball legend LeBron James.

Yet the star of ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ isn’t so much James as it is the studio itself, who for less creative than commercial reasons has decided to jam-pack this film with every other character ever featured in a Warner Bros movie, including King Kong, the Iron Giant, Willy Wonka, Beetlejuice, Austin Powers, Pennywise, the Mask, and characters from The Matrix, Mad Max: Fury Road, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Flintstones, the D.C. Universe, The Wizard of Oz and even Casablanca.

We kid you not, and even though most are no more than fleeting ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss’ appearances, one truly wonders what the studio had thought would be the appeal of trotting its entire IP library. Kids will hardly be able to recognise these characters, while adults who do will find that these distractions offer little cheer in an otherwise frenetic and way overstuffed film which goes on for far too long.

Indeed, clocking in at just under two hours, director Malcolm D. Lee lets the ridiculously chaotic game between James’ Tune Squad (including Bugs Bunny, Lola Bunny, Porka Pig, Road Runner and other Saturday morning favourites) and an evil algorithm’s Goon Squad (comprising bizarrely digitalized versions of actual NBA and WNBA athletes) drag on for almost the entire second half, and let’s just say it is as tedious as it gets.

Most fundamentally, Lee styles the game called ‘Dom Ball’ as a no-holds-barred, free-wheeling video game riff on basketball, what with gravity-defying special moves that earn you extra points, a bonus round of a rap battle fronted on the Tune squad by Porky Pig, and power-ups that transform well-known, real-life players like Anthony Davis, Diana Taurasi, Klay Thompson, Nneka Ogwumike and Damian Lillard into digital mutants.

As much as such games hardly need to obey the laws of physics, Lee seems equally content to forgo any sense of logic at the same time, so much so that there are barely any stakes in the game itself, not least because this is the sort of movie that you know the Tunes will win in the end.

It is unfortunate that the big game itself is ultimately a wash-out; the set-up is, after all, intriguing.

After a prologue where a 13-year-old LeBron James is faulted by his coach for missing a potential game-winning buzzer-beater, we are introduced to the present-day James, who faults his younger son Dom (Cedric Joe) for being more interested in video games than working on layups on the court.

In an effort to connect with Dom, James brings him to a meeting with the digital team at Warner Bros (played by Steven Yeun and Sarah Silverman) where they pitch the ability for James to be digitally inserted into every single Warner Bros franchise. James is less than impressed with the idea, which enrages the egotistical leader of Warner’s ServerVerse, personified in the form of Al G. Rhythm (Don Cheadle).

Just like that, Rhythm sucks James and Dom into the ServerVerse. Whilst Dom is courted by Rhythm to enhance his own basketball video game to his happiest imagination, James is thrown into Looney Tunes World, and is hence forced to train Bugs Bunny and gang into a crackerjack basketball team in order to play in Dom Ball and win the game to save his son.

Those who grew up with characters such as Bugs, the leader of the pack, along with favorites such as Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Foghorn Leghorn, will relish the opportunity to see them in glorious 2D animation once again, brought to life with the same maniacal energy as you’d have remembered.

Not so much the 3D transformation when these characters step into the game though – as impressive as the live-animation is, the 2D renditions are somehow a lot more charming, and a lot less weird. More lamentable is the fact that the Looney Tunes get relegated to a side show once the game begins, and a whole host of Warner Bros corporate IP are thrown into the picture for no good measure.

That’s a pity though, for we can genuinely see why James was Warner Bros’ best shot at a sequel/reboot to the original ‘Space Jam’, especially after multiple failed attempts at a successor over the years, whether with Michael Jordan returning or with other athletes including Jeff Gordon, Tiger Woods and Tony Hawk in spin-offs. Not to pit one against the other, but James displays a natural charm playing himself here, albeit with a fictionalized family.

To be sure, as much as its predecessor did become a cult favourite, it wasn’t a classic movie – and time will tell if ‘A New Legacy’ will be fortunate enough to enjoy the same storied legacy. That aside, it plays more like calculated corporate synergy than anything else; and by the time you sit through an hour of video games-inspired nonsense, what was off-putting would have simply been headache-inducing. It’s a jam all right, less the kind that you groove along than that which resembles a messy, confusing and vexing pile-up.

Movie Rating:

(Jam-packed with every single Warner Bros corporate IP you can and would not imagine, this sequel/ reboot is a corporate exercise in headache inducement)

Review by Gabriel Chong 

SYNOPSIS: In The TOMORROW WAR, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.

MOVIE REVIEW:

If The Tomorrow War was made 20 years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger might be the one starring in it. You know The Terminator who fought the Predator. In the present day however, his son-in-law Chris Pratt has taken over his duty of fighting aliens since the former is in quasi-retirement mode and Pratt is now a much demand star, a far cry from his TV days.

Pratt also being a first-time producer here teams up with The Lego Batman Movie’s helmer, Chris McKay in this major outing besides being Star Lord and handling raptors.

Dan Forester (Pratt) is an ex-military veteran turned biology teacher, not the ideal job which he craves but it is financially enough to support his family of three. When a group of soldiers are beamed down from the future, (the year 2030 to be exact) to request assistance to fight a war against alien creatures known as “whitespikes”, Dan is shortly being drafted to be send to a battlefield in Miami beach via a wormhole device known as a jumplink to rescue a group of lab personnel. Armed with minimum knowledge of the “whitespikes” and a bunch of inexperienced civilians acting as soldiers, will Dan survive in the end or risk endangering the fate of mankind?

There’s a high chance that writer Zach Dean is inspired by movies liked Battle: Los Angeles and Edge of Tomorrow because the story is strewn with bits and pieces from the aforementioned titles. It’s essentially a war movie to say the least but fortunately, it also has some important messages to tell. Just when you thought there’s nothing interesting coming up after the intro of Dan, his family and all the alien invasion hogwash, in comes a buff up J.K. Simmons playing Dan’s estranged father and shady anti-government war veteran, James. Well, James is an interesting character who probably has lots of epic war stories to tell and from what we know, he is trying to amend his relationship with Dan by writing to Dan’s daughter, Muri for a start. It’s always nice to have J.K. Simmons around and The Tomorrow War is a better movie partly because of him.

And just when you assumed it’s going to be a by-the-numbers action piece, Dean delivers a prominent stake in the form of Muri without giving the twist away. The time travel concept doesn’t always work still it’s credible enough to provide a few emotional beats in addition to the fancy effects. There’s also some comic relief courtesy from Charlie (Sam Richardson), a PhD science expert who manages to survive the first mission and Dorian (Edwin Hodge), a sombre, all too serious cancer stricken soldier who vows to die in the most honourable way. It’s a simplistic movie after all.

For a title which is originally meant to be seen on the big screen, it’s never short of frenetic action and mayhem. The sequence in Miami Beach is a standout for its tension-filled sequence which is largely set in a building. McKay delivered a good mix of mindless action and CGI for his first live-action debut. While there’s potential to be more edgy, brutal and less predictable, The Tomorrow War is still an enjoyable solid popcorn movie in spite of its flaws. Pratt should consider teaming up with his father-in-law in the next alien invasion pic.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: After Lilly (Melissa McCarthy) suffers a loss, a battle with a territorial bird (the Starling) over dominion of her garden provides an unlikely avenue for her grief and the courage to heal her relationships and rediscover her capacity for love. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Although she is mostly seen as a comedian than a serious dramatic actress, it had come to a point that Melissa McCarthy should be seen in more dramatic movies than the stuff she did with her hubby.

McCarthy joins hands with fellow comedian, Chris O’Dowd in this drama about grief and loss. After the death of their infant daughter, Lilly (McCarthy) continues to work in the local supermarket while her husband, Jack (O’Dowd) is admitted to a mental facility after failing to kill himself. Week after week, Lilly drives an hour to visit Jack who doesn’t seem to improve a bit until Lilly is advised by Jack’s counselor to visit a former psychologist turned veterinarian, Larry (Kevin Kline) who attempts his best to impart some life lessons.

Without much of a fanfare, The Starling is a heartfelt drama tailored to keep the audiences in tears and mostly, touching on mental illness and the after effects of losing a child. The themes are heavy but the occasional interaction between Lilly and Larry help to keep things light and upbeat.

The bulk of The Starling lies in the broken husband-and-wife relationship which drives the story forward. Jack obviously tormented by the death of his young child finds it hard to carry on in life while Lilly fought on to live a normal life, all the while keeping her grief and suffering to herself. It’s emotionally heartbreaking especially in a teleconversation scene between Jack and Lilly in which they finally bare their thoughts to one another.

Humans are fragile and so are birds. For the uninitiated, the starling is a species of bird which is highly territorial aggressive and Lilly encountered one of them in her small plot of garden. Screenwriter Matt Harris uses the starling as a form of metaphor or a symbol of hope throughout. The attempt however hardly serves the story in general especially when you have a bunch of impressive actors on hand.

McCarthy is great when she is not trying too hard to be funny. Personally, we would like to see more of her in dramatic stuff as she is more relatable playing a grief-stricken wife and mother than a lame superhero. Chris O’Dowd has come a long way since the IT Crowd and he is fantastic as the shattered husband and father. It has been a while since we saw Kevin Kline onscreen and he shines even with his limited role. He plays a psychologist with a haunted past of his own and we rather indulged in that than the CGI bird honestly. Deadwood’s Timothy Olyphant appears as Lilly’s sort of goofy supervisor, a small negligible role to be frank.

If not for the bird and Lilly’s countless comedic falls from the bird attacks, The Starling should be a much better piece on loss, grief and tragedy. The tone at times is uneven unfortunately. But given the strong performances from the various leads, you should give The Starling (the movie not the bird) a chance.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Based on Koei Tecmo's namesake game. The Yellow Turban Rebellion breaks out in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. With the help of his trusted right-hand men Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, militia leader Liu Pei successfully suppresses the revolt. The calculating warlord Dong Zhuo takes advantage of the situation and takes control of the court, stirring further unrest.

MOVIE REVIEW:

We’ll be honest: the only thing that kept us going was our curiosity of how bad this video game-to-film adaptation could be. Lest you think this be some respectable movie about the ‘Three Kingdoms’, you should know from the get-go that it is instead an adaptation of the single-player tactical role-playing games which allowed players to assume one of the notable characters in the ‘Three Kingdoms’ mythology and make use of the character’s magical destiny weapon to kill off countless numbers of his enemies.

Probably assuming that they could build a franchise from the games, director Roy Chow and his screenwriter wife Christine To have chosen to bookend their film with the Yellow Turban rebellion and the siege of Hu Lao Gate (for the uninitiated, these two battles are at the start of the game, as well as the prologue to the story of the Three Kingdoms novel). Between those battles is some utterly clumsy storytelling of the tyranny of General Dong Zhuo (Lam Suet), the rise of Cao Cao (Wang Kai), the alliance between Cao Cao and three travelling warriors named Liu Bei (Tony Yang), Guan Yu (Han Geng) and Zhang Fei (Justin Cheung), and their showdown with the indomitable Lu Bu (Louis Koo).

Frankly, those without prior knowledge of the story or these characters will be utterly lost and frustrated: not only does Chow fail to give the characters any meaningful backstory, his plotting goes off in all sort of random and unresolved directions, including how Lu Bu falls in love with Dong Zhuo’s soon-to-be wife Diao Chan (Nezha Coulee), how Cao Cao accidentally murders the whole family of a loyal friend Lu Boshe (Law Kar-ying) but just simply gets away scot-free, and how Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei come to realise the power within the weapons forged by the Master of the Sword Forge Castle (Carina Lau).

It is a hot mess all right, devoid of logic or coherence. We cannot say we are surprised though; this is the same couple who was behind one of our most-hated Hong Kong films of all time, the Aaron Kwok murder thriller turned unintentional comedy “Murderer”. What is truly surprising is how Chow has managed to assemble such an ensemble cast, which besides the aforementioned, includes Eddie Cheung, Ray Lui and Philip Keung in notable supporting roles. Not that these actors could have saved the movie though; indeed, we wonder if the draw for them was being able to participate in the HK$300 million production which went all the way to New Zealand for some admittedly spectacular location shooting.

Much time is also devoted to the action set-pieces credited to veteran choreographer Dion Lam; yet, though Lam does a credible job directing these sequences, they are ultimately let down by sub-par special effects which look puzzlingly like they were done by a 12-year-old in his home basement. Amidst other Mainland Chinese period fantasies with similarly lavish effects, you’d be wondering if Chow had demanded his money back from whichever studio was responsible for the laughable CGI; and no, just to be sure, even the fact that they are designed to look video game-like does not take away how cheap and fake they look.

Is curiosity good enough motivation to sit through two hours of this atrocious movie? Not really. Consider therefore the fact that we have done so a favour to everyone else to stay away from this muddle that is neither a respectable Three Kingdoms movie or a thrilling adaptation of the video game. Like we said, it is clear Chow had franchise ambitions in mind, but seeing how this first chapter has turned out, we’d say this is probably the end, than the start of, the story of the Three Kingdoms as far as this retelling is concerned. And truthfully, we’re all better off not having to waste any more time on such drivel. 

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Gabriel Chong