HYUNDAI & SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Posted on 24 Nov 2021 Another car commercial that features an MCU character. This time, it's the amazing Spider-Man and his buddy Ned. When we last left our hero, Spider-Man’s true identity was revealed by the evil villain Mysterio. Now the world thinks Peter Parker was responsible for the attack on London, and the death of the “Greatest Superhero of All Time” Mysterio. How will Spider-Man ... more

Genre: Drama/Biography
Director: Longman Leung
Cast: Louise Wong, Louis Koo, Gordon Lam, Miriam Yeung, Ayumu Nakajima, Tony Yang, Fish Lew, Terrance Lau
Runtime: 2 hrs 17 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Sony Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 November 2021

Synopsis: A household name in Hong Kong, queen of Canto pop, Anita Mui was the very definition of a cultural icon during Hong Kong’s golden age in the eighties and nineties. With a career that began at the age of 4 in an amusement park, Mui dedicated almost her whole life to music. Behind stardom, her personal life, passion at work and the love for friends made her an irreplaceable role model of "The Daughter of Hong Kong". The film opens with her final concert and looks back on her life and legacy.

Movie Review:

‘Anita’ begins at the end, with the star, dressed in a stunning wedding gown, about to step on stage for the last time. Those who have had the privilege of experience what it was like when the late Cantopop icon dominated the Hong Kong entertainment scene would know that it was barely two months before she would succumb at a tender age of 40 to cervical cancer, triggering waves of sorrow among her fans all over the world, including in Singapore.

It would never have been easy to squeeze her entire life into a feature film, but over an engaging two-and-a-quarter hours, director Longman Leung and his co-writer Jack Ng do so with admirable nostalgia, restraint and poignancy. Indeed, it bears saying from the onset that Leung does not take her fans’ sentiments for granted; instead, he offers a dignified, vivid and sometimes piercing look at the much-revered singer, actress and philanthropist dubbed ‘Madonna of the East’ and ‘Daughter of Hong Kong’, aided by a spectacular lead performance by newcomer model Louise Wong.

In terms of narrative, the story covers the following moments in her life: first, as a six-year-old performing with her 10-year-old sister Ann in late-night bars, on the streets and then in the Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park, calling themselves ‘Yee-yee and Yee-na’; then, getting her big break after winning the inaugural ‘New Talent’ singing awards in 1982, while attracting the attention of top record producer Mr So (Gordon Lam) and stylist Eddie Lau (Louis Koo); and last but not least, her meteoric rise enjoying hit single after hit single before breaking out into acting with renowned Golden Harvest producer Leonard Ho (Waise Lee) as her godfather.

Amidst these discrete episodes in her life, the film also portrays her relationship with a number of key figures – Ann (Fish Liew), who graciously steps aside for Anita to enter the talent contest as a solo artist, a decision which will eventually spell the end of her singing career and her settling down into married life; her invaluable friendships with Eddie and Leslie Cheung (Terrance Lau), the latter of whom had starred with her in Stanley Kwan’s ‘Rouge’ which she won a Golden Horse Best Actress award for; and her doomed romance with fictional Japanese pop idol ‘Yuki Godo’ (Ayumu Nakajima), based upon that with 1980s J-pop idol Masahiko Kondo.

Much thought has gone into assembling the archival footage showcasing key highlights of Anita’s life, though both the selection and the plotting have been equally careful to avoid the more controversial stories in her life, including her political activism in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square event crackdown and the legal tussle with her mother and other siblings who wanted a share of her profits and estate. It is understandable why the filmmakers have avoided these subjects, but equally those expecting a less sugar-coated account of Anita’s life will inevitably be disappointed.

Yet these omissions ultimately do not diminish what is a mesmerising biopic that counts as one of the best of the genre from Hong Kong cinema in recent years. Thanks to superb work by production designer Pater Wong, the re-construction of old-school Hong Kong looks absolutely breath-taking, with careful attention paid to the skyline, the neon lights and such venues as the LCK Amusement Park and Lee Theatre; just as stellar is the detailed re-creation of Anita’s stage outfits by costume designer Dora Ng, blending real and reel to brilliant effect.

Certainly, no amount of dressing can make up for an authentic performance, or the lack thereof; and in this regard, it is extremely fortuitous that the filmmakers had identified Wong for the role. Not only does she resemble Anita, she carries the role with suitable aplomb, dancing and singing with the sort of fearlessness and raw emotion which came to define her both onstage and off stage. Whilst she does not convey the same intensity of brazen insouciance which Anita came to embody, Wong does her darnest best with the role (and that is kudos to the late Liu Kai-chi, who was her acting coach on the set).

Frankly, we were skeptical when we heard that Leung, who is best known for co-directing the ‘Cold War’ movies, was chosen to helm this; yet, the filmmaker makes an impressive solo directorial debut here, channelling expectation and nostalgia into a lively yet elegiac portrait of the superstar. Without saying the obvious, ‘Anita’ is also a love letter to a very different era in Hong Kong’s history, and while the neon signboards may still be around, there is no doubt that Hong Kong has changed irrevocably in political, social and cultural terms. That, symbolic in the passing of Anita, makes the film even more profoundly moving and a must-see for those fortunate enough to live through such defining times.

Movie Rating:

(Told with restraint, nostalgia and poignancy, this biopic of the late superstar is a mesmerising recount of a once-in-a-lifetime icon and of a Hong Kong that has since changed irrevocably)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action/Comics
Director: Jon Watts
Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, J.K. Simmons, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans, Charlie Cox, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire
Runtime: 2 hrs 28 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing Singapore
Official Website:

Opening Day: 16 December 2021

Synopsis: For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. 

Movie Review:

Picking up right after the events of ‘Spider-Man: Far from Home’, director Jon Watts’ conclusion to his Spider-Man trilogy finds the teenage webslinger dealing with the consequences of having his identity exposed by Mysterio, no thanks to J Jonah Jameson, the editor and presentor of the conspiracy-based news website DailyBugle.net. Those who recall the very first live-action ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire will recognise that J K Simmons reprises the role here; and we’re delighted to say that it is but the first of numerous surprises that Watts has constructed for those who have stayed loyal to the various iterations of the series over the years.

Probably the worst-kept secret of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is how both Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprise their versions of the character here, teaming up with Tom Holland’s spin to take on an assemblage of villains from two decades of ‘Spider-Man’ movie lore, including the crazed Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) from Maguire’s first Spider-Man film, the haughty Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) from his second, and the insecure Electro (Jamie Foxx) from Garfield's ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’. The cynical will quickly dismiss this as blatant fan service, but it is to the credit of Watts as well as his writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers that their movie lets the characters live, breathe and interact with one another in unexpected ways.

To say anything more would do the filmmakers severe disservice, but suffice to say that these villains are given more texture than you would imagine. Indeed, their roles here isn’t to simply cause mayhem and destruction, or for that matter to give each of the three Spider-mans foes to spar with; rather, the plotting digs into the identity complex of each of these characters, respecting how every single villain is ultimately a flawed individual driven to wreck havoc by their respective weaknesses. Than simply deporting them back to their universes, Holland’s Peter Parker is compelled by his very nature to “cure some ass”, not “kick some ass”.

That innate motivation to help others is the central theme which runs through the entire movie, starting with how he approaches Marvel’s resident wizard Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a spell that would make the whole world forget his identity, to how he struggles with Doctor Strange to stop the latter from casting another spell to reverse the earlier one, and right down to a poignant personal loss that would test the limits of his own empathy. More than the two earlier instalments, Watts’ latest gets to the heart of what makes Peter Parker tick, and ultimately what sets Spider-Man apart from the other Marvel superheroes.

Speaking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what also makes this entry significant in the grander scheme of Phase IV is how we are introduced for the first time to the multi-verse in live-action form (so the earlier animated Spider-Man movie doesn’t count). Not only do we glimpse how the universe could fracture along space and time – including and especially an end-credits scene which teases the return of Doctor Strange in the upcoming ‘Multi-Verse of Madness’ – we are also treated to a mesmerizing show of what Doctor Strange conjures called the ‘mirror dimension’, which is just as, if not more, fascinating than the scene of worlds folding onto each other in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’.

Amidst the ambition in weaving the new and the old into a coherent whole, Watts keeps a firm grasp of the action and emotion throughout the two-and-a-half-hour runtime. The former is always exciting to watch, even as it tends towards the fast and frenetic and could at times do with more balletic choreography; but the latter is consistently sharp and on point, whether is it in portraying his jolly naivety at the start or the weight of grief in the latter scenes. There is a lot that Watts tries to do at the same time, and for the most part, we’re glad to say that he succeeds for the most part.

The same can be said therefore of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, which carries the weight of being the eighth live-action Spider-Man movie in the last two decades and honours that legacy with humility, inspiration and vigour. It isn’t simply about seeing Maguire and Garfield back in their suits, but also partaking in their ruminations of just what exercising great power with great responsibility means for them as well as their loved ones. We’re not so sure this is the last we’ll see of Holland in a Spider-Man movie, but this is as fine and glorious a trilogy capper as it gets. We dare say too it opens up new and exciting possibilities for the MCU, so if this is indeed the way forward, then we’d doubt anyone would mind if there is truly no way home.

Movie Rating:

(The best Spider-Man film across the eight live-action movies within the last two decades, this final chapter of Jon Watts trilogy with Tom Holland in the title role is thrilling, surprising, and unexpectedly moving)

Review by Gabriel Chong

TRAILER WATCH - MARRY ME Posted on 19 Nov 2021 Packed with original songs by Jennifer Lopez and global Latin music star Maluma, Marry Me features Lopez starring as musical superstar Kat Valdez and Owen Wilson as Charlie Gilbert, a math teacher-total strangers who agree to marry and then get to know each other. An unlikely romance about two different people searching for something real in a world where value is based on likes and followers, ... more

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Lou Ye
Cast: Gong Li, Mark Chao, Joe Odagiri, Pascal Greggory, Huang Xiangli, Tom Wlaschiha, Zhang Songwen
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
Rating: NC16 (Sexual Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 18 November 2021

Synopsis: 1941. Since the Japanese occupation, China had become a wartime intelligence battlefield for the Allies and the Axis Powers. Iconic actress Jean Yu (Gong Li) returned to Shanghai, ostensibly to appear in the play "Saturday Fiction" directed by her former lover. But what was her true aim? To free her ex-husband? To gather intelligence for the Allied Forces? To work for her adoptive father? Or to escape from war with her lover? As she embarked on her mission and as everything spiralled out of control, Jean Yu started to question whether to reveal what she had learnt about the imminent Pearl Harbor attack...

Movie Review:

Two years after it was unceremoniously yanked from domestic release, iconoclastic Mainland Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye’s arthouse spy thriller ‘Saturday Fiction’ finally finds its way onto the big screen. That alone would likely attract some curious audiences eager to find out why the infamous national censors took umbrage at this movie, although we would caution the casual viewer from simply thinking that it is some companion piece to Ang Lee’s ‘Lust, Caution’.

Despite boasting a star-studded cast including Gong Li, Mark Chao and Joe Odagiri, ‘Saturday Fiction’ is not intended for the mainstream; rather, Lou’s emphasis remains on the artistic, weaving two novels – namely, ‘Death of Shanghai’ by Hong Ying and ‘Shanghai’ by Yokomitsu Riichi – into a black-and-white drama filmed in digital, edited disjunctively and through a roving handheld camera. Together with Zeng Jian’s slick cinematography, Lou has fashioned a gorgeously evocative chamber piece that is great to look at but somewhat impenetrable to less artistically enamored viewers.

The setting is 1941 Shanghai, or more specifically a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. There, within the part of Shanghai known as the ‘Solitary Island’ where the British and French concessions still retained wide autonomy (despite the Japanese controlling the rest of the city), the famous film actress Jean Yu (Gong) returns to star in the titular play at the Lyceum Theatre. Her director Tan Na (Chao) is delighted at reuniting with his former partner, but it suffices to say that things are hardly as simple as they look.

Demanding no less than utter patience from its viewer, the events which unfold shed light not just on Jean’s hidden agenda but also on that of the others close to her, including the play’s producer, an obsessive fan (Huang Xiangli) whom she agrees to let in for rehearsals, and a French father figure (Pascal Gregory). Although the pieces do largely fall into place over the course of the film, you’ll firstly need to be ready to let the dense plot befuddle you, particularly as every single character proves more deceptive than what he or she may first appear to be.

At the risk of stating the obvious, you should also know that the plotting hardly leaves any room for action right up till the very end, so those looking for gunfights for a change in momentum will have to wait for the finale. In the lead-up though, Lou packs the movie with plenty of hushed intimate exchanges and play-within-a-film scenes, setting the stage (pun intended) for the string of revelations over the latter half of the movie. Like we said, it demands patience all right, but those who do will probably find themselves rewarded at the end with a palpable lesson on identity, loss and betrayal.

If there is one thing that would keep you watching, it is Gong Li’s magnetic performance as the character around which the espionage unfurls. Reminding us yet again why she is the most luminous actress of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema, Gong owns the screen with her trademark sensitivity, and is simply mesmerizing transforming in the final reels into a gun-wielding firebrand. The other actors are competent in their own right, but Gong easily outshines and outclasses all of her fellow performers to reinforce her status as nothing less than a screen legend.

Truth be told, we wish there were a bit more urgency to the storytelling, but we’re glad we preserved till the very end. Like his other film ‘Shadow Play’, Lou uses a pivotal moment in the history of China to ruminate on how these events have ultimately had a bearing on the identity of postmodern China. Because Lou isn’t fond of being straightforwardly patriotic, that message may have been lost on the censors, which therefore resulted in its two-year hiatus; still, for the sheer joy of seeing Gong Li in a major film role, as well as to bask in its vivid depiction of wartime Shanghai, you’d find the wait was quite worth the while.

Movie Rating:

(For the patient viewer, this arthouse spy thriller will prove rewarding for its slow-burn byzantine plotting, as well as a simply magnetic performance by screen legend Gong Li)

Review by Gabriel Chong

SYNOPSIS: Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his feature directorial debut with tick, tick…BOOM!, an adaptation of the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, who revolutionized theater as the creator of Rent. The film follows Jon (Academy Award nominee and Tony Award winner Andrew Garfield), a young theater composer who’s waiting tables at a New York City diner in 1990 while writing what he hopes will be the next great American musical. Days before he’s due to showcase his work in a make-or-break performance, Jon is feeling the pressure from everywhere: from his girlfriend Susan, who dreams of an artistic life beyond New York City; from his friend Michael, who has moved on from his dream to a life of financial security; amidst an artistic community being ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. With the clock ticking, Jon is at a crossroads and faces the question everyone must reckon with: What are we meant to do with the time we have?

MOVIE REVIEW:

You’ll need to be a fan of Broadway musical theatre to fully appreciate ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’, which for the uninitiated, was Jonathan Larson’s semi-autobiographical musical about a young composer struggling to make something great before he turns 30. Initially conceived as a one-man ‘rock monologue’, the meta-musical gained unexpected depth following Larson’s early death at age 35 of aortic aneurysm, and has been hailed as a poignant reflection of the artistic process, not simply of its thrills and trials but also of its sacrifices and sorrows.

Those familiar with Lin-Manual Miranda will understand why the creator of Broadway’s ‘Hamilton’ and ‘In the Heights’ would choose it as his feature filmmaking debut; after all, Larson had profoundly influenced a whole generation of theatre artists with his breakthrough smash ‘Rent’, including Miranda. It should therefore come as no surprise that Miranda intends for his adaptation to be both an ode to his idol Larson and an inspiration to those who are bold and brave enough to chase their big dreams, especially those in the arts.

Together with screenwriter Steven Levenson, Miranda stays true to Larson’s production of ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ as a stage performance, while expanding it for the big screen by recreating key moments of Larson’s real-life struggles as he is prepping his first original musical theatre piece known as ‘Superbia’. The former acts as a framing device for the various episodes we glimpse in the latter, which have been distilled to his preparation for a workshop staging of the high-concept futuristic space-set musical, as well as his relationships with his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) and his gay childhood friend Michael (Robin de Jesus).   

For the most part, the decision to alternate between the on-stage and on-set scenes is inspired and invigorating. In particular, Miranda tends to use the stage for more intimate expressions of Jonathan’s feelings as he navigates the ups and downs of his life, and the sets to stage a number of elaborate music-and-dance sequences which we would come to expect of movie musicals; and in regards to the latter, the standout ones include a duet between Jonathan and Michael called ‘No More’ on the perks of an upscale lifestyle, especially that of living in a luxury apartment-complex, a Sondheim homage called ‘Sunday’ packed with cameos of Broadway legends, and last but not least the ‘Superbia’ showstopper called ‘Come to Your Senses’ that juxtaposes Vanessa Hudgens’ performance of it at the workshop staging with Jonathan’s imagination of Susan singing it for him.

Those familiar with the source material will probably recognise the creative choices which Miranda has taken with his adaptation, including reintroducing the musical number ‘Boho Days’ staged as an energetic routine around Jonathan’s cramped apartment where he is holding a party attended by Susan, Michael and his fellow waiters Freddy and Carolyn, and setting up a scene of Jonathan and Susan quarreling about his indecisiveness and obsession with his career as contrast with the staging of the song ‘Therapy’ performed by Larson and Hudgens. Miranda’s love for Larson’s work is obvious, but his is more than just a slavish recreation for the big screen; instead, Miranda expands it in impressive ways to make sure that it is more than just a three-person black-box theatre piece.

Whilst there is much to love about the playful and energetic first half, we must say it is only in the second half that we truly came to embrace the movie. A scene where Susan realises that Jonathan is using her moment of anguish to channel into a song for Superbia is heartbreaking; so too Jonathan’s discovery that Michael has AIDS, after the pair have a heated argument about Michael’s decision to give up on performing and take on a white-collar advertising job. Miranda lets Jonathan’s emotions rise to the fore during several one-on-one scenes in the latter half, and by doing so, gives Jonathan’s endeavour added emotional heft.

That ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ is such a blast is testament to Andrew Garfield’s brilliant performance, whose achievement is all the more profound given how he had until now not done any musical work in film. Garfield digs deep into Jonathan’s creative struggles and conflicted emotions, brimming with enthusiasm, sincerity and commitment at every turn. The supporting ensemble is excellent in their own respective ways, but as the very subject of the movie, Garfield acquits himself in such a wonderful and engaging way that carries the film effortlessly from start to finish.

We must admit that we thought Miranda had taken the easy way out by choosing to make his motion picture directing debut on ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’; and yet, after seeing what he has accomplished, we must say it is ultimately an inspired one. It is deeply personal in more ways than one for Miranda, not least for having played the role of Jonathan in a stage production before, and it offers new possibilities to tell the story about believing in your passion, preserving despite the odds, and making a life that matters. Like we said, it will take a Broadway fan to fully grasp the nuances and details in Miranda’s film, but even if you’re not, there’s no reason you won’t be moved by this portrait of grit, determination and passion..

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Ivan Kavanagh
Cast: Andi Matichak, Emile Hirsch, Luke David Blumm
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Gore)
Released By: Mask Studios
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 November 2021

Synopsis: Having escaped from a cult as a child, a mother must face her past when its sinister members break into her home and attempt to steal her eight year old son, David. Now the two are on the run pursued by a detective determined to save them both. Since the aborted kidnapping, something has changed in David and they boys has succumbed to a mysterious illness. Following her maternal instincts to save him, his mother commits unspeakable acts to keep him alive but is losing the battle. Soon, she has to decide how far she’s willing to go to save her son.

Movie Review:

Is Laura, the single mother of an 8-year-old child named David who is suddenly stricken with a life-threatening disease, mentally unsound? Or is she truly the vessel for a demonic entity, whose offspring is her very son?

For a good part of its tense 98-minute runtime, writer-director Ivan Kavanagh teases us with either possibility, saving the revelation right till the very end. He also has a chillingly effective lead in Andi Matichak, who as Laura portrays keenly the dilemma faced by a mother of how far she would go to save her child.

As a horror thriller, ‘Son’ may not have the most original premise, but its execution is solid and gripping. It grabs you right from the start with its opening scene, where a pregnant woman, fleeing in a car from two faceless men, pulls over to deliver her child that she vows to end the life of but fails to after feeling a surge of maternal love. Not surprisingly, her past will come back to haunt her, though what that means exactly is gradually and intriguingly unveiled.

Laura’s happy suburban life with David is disrupted one evening when she wakes up one night to find an entire group of people gathered ominously around his bed. However, when the cops arrive, they find no sign of forced entry or any strange fingerprints anywhere in David’s room. One of the two cops though, Paul (Emile Hirsch), gives her the benefit of the doubt, and soon becomes a key supporting figure when David falls mysteriously ill.

It should come as no surprise that David is more than just a cop with a kind soul, or one with a soft spot for Laura for that matter, but you’ll be kept guessing just when he will show his true intentions. In the meantime, much of the story focuses on Laura’s harrowing race against time to save David, not just to avoid the same faceless men from her past from laying their hands on him, but also to catch up with the ghosts from her past soon enough so she can conjure up a specific demonic spell which she believes will keep David alive.

Without giving anything further away, let’s just say the truth behind David’s transformation isn’t for the faint of heart; in fact, we’d advise those who don’t have the stomach for gore to steel yourselves mentally, for there are a number of truly terrifying scenes which involve some severe bloodletting. Yet amidst the gore, it is the love that a mother has for her child as well as the bond between mother and son which keeps the story engaging and even compelling, and differentiates this from yet another exercise in genre shlock.

Indeed, thanks to Kavanagh’s deft direction, ‘Son’ plays too as psychological horror, exploring the depths to which a woman would go for love of her child, even to the point of becoming irrational and dangerous. Across bleaker corners in small-town America, including Kansas, Mississippi and elsewhere, ‘Son’ conjures up a suitably bleak atmosphere to complement its palpable dread. Like we said earlier, it may not be terribly original, but it does get under your skin slowly and surely; as long as you’re in the mood for an unnerving genre piece, you’ll find this quite the skin-crawling surprise..

Movie Rating:

(Familiar yet surprisingly effective, 'Son' plays beautifully as a psychological horror that is not afraid to get under your skin, literally and figuratively)

Review by Gabriel Chong

TRAILER WATCH - JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION Posted on 14 Feb 2022 This summer, experience the epic conclusion to the Jurassic era as two generations unite for the first time. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are joined by Oscar®-winner Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill in Jurassic World Dominion, a bold, timely and breathtaking new adventure that spans the globe. From Jurassic World architect and director Colin Trevorrow, Dominion takes place ... more

SYNOPSIS: Tin Yen was born with a superpower of foreseeing one second ahead, but it didn’t bring him any luck so far. Now a middle-aged man, he is still a loser who needs to take care of a young son with partial hearing loss and has no respect for his superpower. One day, a boxing-holic, Shun, witnessed how Tin Yen defeated a loan shark gang by himself. He is determined to hire Tin Yen as his training assistant to beat the local boxing champion, Joe. During the preliminary round, Shun had to withdraw from the match due to an asthma attack. Tin Yen had no choice but to stand-in for Shun. Out of expectation, Tin Yen won with his one-second power. Tin Yen realized that in order to gain back his son’s respect, he had to get himself together. Thus, he agreed to be properly trained by Shun. Suddenly, Tin Yen turned into this new sensation, “One Second Boxing King”, who is on his way to the finals. However, due to an accident, Tin Yen lost his superpower. Will he be able to beat the killer champion, Joe, on his own and will Tin Yen be able to win his son’s respect in the end? 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Why do we watch sports dramas? Mainly for the feel good takeaway message that it pays to be determined and give your one hundred per cent in whatever you do. Then depending on the type of sports drama, viewers ogle at the good looking cast. If it is a movie about basketball, you can expect perspiration from the sweaty players glistening attractively in the sunlight. If it is drama about tennis, you will be looking out for ladies and gentlemen rocking the courts in their sporty skirts and shorts. If it is a film about boxing, bare bodied dudes with an impressive six pack await

But wanting to see this Hong Kongmovie to merely check out its male leads Endy Chow and Chanon Santinatornkul fighting each other in boxer shorts would be superficial. There is a surprisingly affectionate human story in this movie that is worth your 95 minutes.

The story has a unique touch and worth mentioning. The protagonist Chow Tin Yan (Chow) is a single father who has the special power to see one second ahead, thanks to a childhood incident. As a kid, he experienced fame by appearing on TV but things took a turn in adulthood - life got cruel and he leads a slack life working in a bar. The plot wouldn’t be interesting if a series of events lead him to a training assistant for a boxer. Our man soon finds himself in the ring fighting a renowned boxer (Santinatornkul).

It is also noteworthy that this movie with a relatively small budget made an impressive HK$16 million after 20 weeks in Hong Kong cinemas. Touted as a success story, especially because its theatrical run was during the height of COVID-19, the real life story is as motivational as the protagonist’s reel life story.

There are numerous genuinely heartwarming scenes between Chow and his hearing impaired son. Be it the sequences where the father is trying to impress his junior, or the moments where the boy is cheering his old man on, the father and son bond will make you smile. There is also a side plot involving Chow and his boxing partner’s Taiwanese cousin (Lin Min Chen). Having the exchange of Cantonese and Taiwanese Mandarin is a fun touch from the filmmakers, and there are some chuckle worthy moments.

The highlight of the movie is undoubtedly the boxing scenes which do not disappoint. Director Chiu Sin Hang, who also plays Chow’s boxing partner, delivers in his debut feature film. While there are some tried and tested approaches of uplifting the viewers’ spirits through Chow’s determination to strive after being a disappointment for such a long time. The action scenes are grippingly edited and engaging enough for you to keep your eyes glued to the screen to cheer our underdog on.
 

MOVIE RATING:

Review by John Li

Genre: Action/Horror
Director: Johannes Roberts
Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, Hannah John-Kamen, Neal McDonough, Tom Hopper, Donal Logue, Avan Jogia
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Gore)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing Singapore
Official Website:

Opening Day: 2 December 2021

Synopsis: Returning to the origins of the massively popular RESIDENT EVIL franchise, fan and filmmaker Johannes Roberts brings the games to life for a whole new generation of fans. In RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY, once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland…with great evil brewing below the surface. When that evil is unleashed, a group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night. 

Movie Review:

Long held as a Milla Jovovich franchise, the newest revival of Resident Evil takes a hard game reboot and erases 15 years and six film features’ worth of history with a new title that caters to game loyalists, but quite frankly, amounts to little for the average viewer.

Setting the film in 1998 and harkening back to the first few chapters of the actual game, director Johannes Roberts attempts to invoke nostalgia with appearances that gamers would enjoy while adding generational highlights such as a snake game on a Nokia phone to satisfy the rest. I belong to the latter camp, and sadly, there’s just that much throwbacks and era-specific soundtrack to sustain interest.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City reminds me of my health nut of an auntie who reduces the seasoning from my grandmother’s chicken rice recipe, so much so that it’s like eating plain rice with boiled chicken in the end. The focus on paying homage to the games with familiar game characters like protagonist Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario) has made the other parts of the film obviously empty and wanting.

Lines are flat out insipid and formulaic, often having one party ask questions and the other not answering. In measures, this builds tension, but Roberts rinses and repeats this so much that it just becomes pure lazy script-writing.

This happens when Claire returns to town and barges into her brother’s home. Chris (Robbie Arnell) would then ask her a few questions (to none of which Claire would answer), before both separate for most of the movie - funny, because she supposedly made the long trip back to warn him to get out of town.

The rookie cop Leon (Avan Jogia) receives the same with the town police chief Brian (Donal Logue) when he hastily exits the police station. STARS Alpha team member Jill (Hannah John-Kamen) also just receives looks when her fellow member Albert (Tom Hopper) urges them from the station to the Spencer Mansion. It all makes for the wrong kind of mystery, especially when we know the reason why. Maybe it’s no surprise that Greg Russo, who also worked on the limp Mortal Kombat (2021), is writer here - giving the tired old runaround.

At least with Jovovich, we can anticipate a thrilling action piece. With Roberts’ version, it’s a hacked up mix of horror and action, with game-scene inclusions that are woefully lame. The most “memorable” being the scene where Chris repeatedly flicks his lighter to see a zombie coming closer. Too many cliches just goes to show that the production is dated in the wrong way, and that the vision here is less steered than stirred. While some of the monster bits and in-game character Lisa Trevor (Marina Mazepa) hold interest, they don’t contribute much to the story at all - which really is a waste given there’s some nice design there.

If you’re looking to fill in an hour plus with some mindless monster fun, have a go at the film. If not, you’re better off just replaying the games - at least there’s some form of direction there.

Movie Rating:

(This reboot is an empty homage. Game fans might enjoy the perks of easter eggs, but as a film, this is braindead)

Review by Morgan Awyong