SYNOPSIS: "Fresh" follows Noa, who meets the alluring Steve at a grocery store and- given her frustration with dating apps- takes a chance and gives him her number. After their first date, Noa is smiten and accepts Steve's invitation to a romantic weekend getaway only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusal appetites.
MOVIE REVIEW:
When modern dating goes wrong, you either go Dutch and swear never to meet your date again or continue to blame Cupid for not doing his job. That’s not the case with Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones). Apparently, she got drugged by her date and ends up as a victim of cannibalism!
Noa is an average looking, lonely soul who has no luck when comes to online dating. Just when she is about to give up, she met a charming, funny guy named Steve (Sebastian Stan) at a supermarket who wins her over with a pickup line about cotton candy grapes.
Of course, Noa is going to fall head over heels for Steve even before the opening credits dropped. To be fair, it came in only at the 30 minutes mark. Who is going to hate a plastic surgeon who is equally smart and engaging? Shortly after, we presumed days later. Steve invites Noa for a short weekend getaway which of course turned into something more sinister and horrific than she imagined.
There are many movies out there that featured psychopaths and sadistic killers but Fresh stood out because of Sebastian Stan’s portrayal of Steve whom we later learned is actually named Brendan. Stan is charismatic to the point of lovable even if he is seen harvesting his victims and packing his clients’ orders. He sings. He dances. His sense of humour. Damn the man is perfect in every way and so is Stan’s performance here. At the same time, the character is still an enigma right till the finale.
Mimi Cave making her directorial debut delivers a wicked, modern take on female empowerment without being forceful and pretentious. That in turn is assisted by a wonderful script by Lauryn Kahn who filled the plotting with enough satire and twists to keep viewers engaged for the whole duration. The only setback is the character of Mollie (Jojo T. Gibbs), Noa’s best friend who brilliantly deserved more screentime and wacky one-liners.
Despite the grossed-out theme, the violence displayed here is pretty much subdued as compared to Eli Roth’s Hostel series perhaps owing to cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski’s stylish camera work. He for the uninitiated is responsible for Midsommar and Hereditary so that helps a lot. Fresh while disturbing is a well-filmed and well-acted (the chemistry between Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan is sizzling) dark comedy. Just don’t chose pasta as a meal option when watching.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
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BOOK REVIEW #44: JURASSIC PARK: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL HISTORYPosted on 29 Apr 2022 |
Genre: Drama/Horror
Director: Alejandro Hidalgo
Cast: Will Beinbrink, María Gabriela de Faría, Joseph Marcell
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: R21 (Mature Content)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 28 April 2022
Synopsis: Father Peter Williams (Will Beinbrink), an American exorcist, becomes possessed by the Demon he was trying to expel from a young woman and is forced against his will to commit the most terrible sacrilege. Eighteen years later, trying to keep his guilt buried under charity work for the poor and the children in a small town of Mexico, Peter finds out that the demon has returned.
Movie Review:
Before you dismiss it as yet another rip-off of ‘The Exorcism’, you should know that Venezuelan director Alejandro Hidalgo’s follow-up to his well-received 2013 genre-bending haunted house feature has much more on its mind. Indeed, even though its lead protagonist is a clergyman of the Catholic church, we dare say ‘The Exorcism of God’ is intended as a scathing critique on the church and even religion itself, demonstrating how either can be easily subverted by those of impure heart who do not practise what they preach.
One such person in question is our lead Father Peter Williams (Will Beinbrink), who still carries the guilt of a grave sin after failing to summon the courage to do the penance for his confession. That sin is set right from the beginning, which sees a young Father Williams deciding to perform an exorcism on a nun at the orphanage that he looks after, despite being warned by a fellow priest Father Michael Lewis (Joseph Marcell) that he lacks both the knowledge and training. As we witness in full shocking glory, the ceremony does not go well, concluding with the demon leaping from the nun to Father Williams and possessing him to commit an egregious sin.
To avoid controversy, we shan’t mention the specific act Father Williams commits, but suffice to say he never fully redeems himself even 18 years after the incident. In present day, Father Williams has moved to a remote village in Mexico, where he is regarded as a saint by his flock. That tranquillity is broken when some kids in the village begin to fall ill to an unknown disease, the answer of which becomes clear when Father Williams visits a hellhole penitentiary to examine a disturbed prisoner Esperanza (María Gabriela de Faría).
It should come as no surprise that Esperanza has everything to do with that fateful night 18 years ago, and that the demon possessing Esperanza is the same one that had possessed the nun previously. It should also be clear that Father Williams is the target of the possession this time round, and as we learn later on in the film, its intention is ultimately to get Father Williams to renounce God and to allow the devil to reside in his body. We won’t spoil the surprise at whether the demon known as Balban succeeds, but it’s a harrowing journey filled with unexpected twists and turns.
Oh yes, those expecting a straightforward exorcism picture may either be delighted or frustrated that the proceedings turn out a lot more complex than watching a pair of priests (one of the better judgments Father Williams exercises his second time round is to get Father Lewis to join him in the exorcism) trying to grapple with a vulgar, aggressive and manipulative young woman in the throes of an evil spirit. To be sure, it isn’t that the film ends up with more exposition than exorcism; rather, it plays with some of our assumptions behind the rite and goes to the heart of what is absolutely necessary in order for it to work.
Most intriguing is how it examines the role of the priest in the rite of exorcism – is the priest a vessel for God to triumph over Satan or is the priest acting as God? We’d admit that the script by Elik Alvarez and Yoncarlos Medina could be sharper in this regard, but it is fascinating watching Father Williams come to terms with what is needed for him to successfully perform the rite as it is to finally see the level of conviction required of God’s nature either way; and without giving too much away, we’d only reveal that one should bear in mind how Easter has shown that to truly live, one must first be willing to die for God.
So as overly predictable as the exorcism subgenre is, ‘The Exorcism of God’ digs deeper into the role of the priest in the ritual as well as the state he must necessarily be in. There is both method and purpose why the film offers us an imperfect man of God as its protagonist, and in Father Williams, we see not only our flaws but also our fears of having these flaws laid bare. More than the requisite jump-scares therefore, it is such fears that make this movie more terrifying than your typical exorcism horror. Its subject matter may prove offensive to some religious people, but there is no doubt about the deeper message that Matthew himself wrote in his Gospel – no one can serve two masters.
Movie Rating:
(Spiritually more complex than your typical exorcism horror, 'The Exorcism of God' examines what it takes to be the man in the cloth in order to defeat the devil)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Thriller
Director: Howard J. Ford
Cast: Brittany Ashworth, Ben Lamb, Louis Boyer, Nathan Welsh, Anaïs Parello, David Wayman
Runtime: 1 hr 27 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Disturbing Scenes and Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 28 April 2022
Synopsis: Having retired to bed early to prepare for a dawn ascent, Kelly (Brittany Ashworth) is woken by the screams of her co-climber Sophie (Anaïs Parello), who had stayed up to enjoy a smoke with a group of men they had met earlier. Desperate to get to her friend, Kelly runs deep into the forest using her camera to guide the way. She arrives just in time to see Sophie’s lifeless body being thrown over a ledge, a horror she captures on camera. Terrified, she turns to escape but the men give chase. Running through the camp she grabs whatever camping gear she can and begins free-climbing in order to escape the pack. As days turn to freezing nights, she finds herself both mentally & physically exhausted. But she must dig deep, do all she can to survive, and climb…
Movie Review:
For better and for worse, ‘The Ledge’ is exactly what you would expect out of a B-high-concept movie.
As the premise goes, Kelly (Brittany Ashworth) is on a climbing holiday in the Dolomites with her friend Sophie (Anaïs Parello) when they meet a group of four American guys on their annual get-together. Whilst Sophie is keen to hang out with them, Kelly prefers to hang back at their cabin, given how she is still grieving from the death of her fiancé a year ago.
When Sophie rejects the advances of alpha dick Josh (Ben Lamb), the latter chases her through the nearby woods. After she accidentally falls off a cliff and hits her head on the rock below, Josh convinces the rest of his buddies that the only way out for them is to finish her off and dump her body.
Unfortunately for them, Kelly videos the entire episode, thus triggering a chase that leads her up the vertical face of the mountain. Josh suggests that they try to cut her off at higher ground, such that Kelly finds herself pinned on a ledge 10,000 feet above ground, with Josh and the other guys directly above her on an outer crop.
Over a tight 90 minutes, director Howard J. Ford makes the best out of a thin script. Other than a brief mention of how Josh had defended them against schoolyard bullies when they were kids, there is no explanation why the rest of the guys would simply follow Josh’s bidding; indeed, the only believable one among them is Reynolds (Nathan Welsh), who tries, albeit in vain, to get the other two to see Josh for the narcissistic monster that he really is.
First-time writer Tom Boyle also does our female protagonist Kelly any favours. Besides the occasional flashbacks showing how her fiancé had thought her the ropes of climbing, there is little else to keep us emotionally invested in the character. And while Ashworth looks perfectly athletic for the part, she struggles to make the best out of an underwritten role.
To Ford’s credit, there is rarely a dull moment in the movie. Ford makes good use of the location shooting (in Serbia, standing in for the actual cliffs in Italy) to put us on edge as Kelly scales the vertical. He also stages a number of (literally) cliff-hanging sequences – one such sequence sees Kelly wrestling with one of the guys Nathan (Louis Boyer) who ambush her while she is sleeping in an abandoned tent suspended mid-air by a carabiner attached within a crevice; another sees Josh tussling with Reynolds after the latter confronts him with murdering the rest of their buddies; and then there is the climactic showdown between Kelly and Josh, which ends just how you would expect it to.
So even it never fully realises the potential of its premise, ‘The Ledge’ is reasonably diverting B-movie fare that will probably satisfy those looking for some undemanding thrills. As long as you keep your expectations in check, and not nitpick its obvious shortcomings, you won’t find yourself left dangling by this mediocrely entertaining actioner.
Movie Rating:
(Straightforward B-movie fare that won't disappoint those looking for undemanding thrills - as long as you keep your expectations in check, you won't be left dangling)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Edward John Drake
Cast: Bruce Willis, Timothy V. Murphy, Rob Gough, Johann Urb, Anna Louise Morse, Johnny Messner, Cullen G. Chambers, Janet Jones
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 5 May 2022
Synopsis: Washed-up Sheriff Ben Watts (Bruce Willis) guards the secrets of the wealthy residents of Fitzgerald, a quiet town buried in the south of Georgia. When three outlaws take a prominent town doctor, John Keats (Cullen G. Chambers), hostage inside his sprawling lakeside home, Sheriff Watts is called in to handle the situation before the FBI arrives. In a race against time, the mayor, Charles Routledge (Timothy V. Murphy) pressures Sheriff Watts to launch an assault on the hostage-takers, but Sheriff Watts realizes Dr. Keats is at the heart of conspiracy surrounding missing the town’s missing residents. As the Sheriff’s loyalties are tested, Charles Routledge enlists a former Soldier of Fortune, Silas (Johnny Messner), to eliminate all witnesses. When the Sheriff sides with the hostage-takers, he’s forced to confront his own failings as a leader and must carve a bloody warpath to expose all of the town’s dark secrets.
Movie Review:
A new month. A new Bruce Willis movie. The trend unabashedly continues in American Siege, the latest from Willis’ frequent collaborators, Edward Drake (Apex, Cosmic Sin) and Corey Large (Deadlock).
Willis plays a washed-up, alcoholic Sheriff, Ben Watts who is called upon to investigate a hostage situation whereby siblings, Grace (Anna Hindman), his brother Toby (Johann Urb) and their friend, Roy (Rob Gough) has taken a pharmacist, John Keats (Cullen Chambers) hostage. Grace is keen to find out the truth behind the mysterious case of her missing sister, Brigit (Sarah May Sommers) since John is the last person on earth to see her.
Things get even more complicated when a local businessman, Charles Rutledge (Timothy V. Murphy) is actually involved in the running of an illegal drug operation in the basement of John’s house. Apparently, everyone in town seems to be on Charles’ payroll and that includes Sheriff Ben. And now Charles wants the trio dead before FBI descends on the small town.
To be less critical and judgemental for a start, American Siege is at least tolerable and watchable than any of the earlier stuff churned out by Drake and Large. Although this is not saying much, the cinematography and editing is far more professional. And genuinely, Drake seems to know what he is doing. Although familiar and predictable, there’s a decent central story which involves a mysterious missing person, corrupted wealthy folks and cop. What could go wrong in a generic, action flick starring Bruce Willis?
Of course, the answer lies in Willis who as usual appears in less than 15 minutes of the entire duration but received a massive credit on the poster. His sickness issue aside, this might be a better movie without his participation. Given that the money from his paycheck can be channel to the entire production or to his much more deserving co-stars liked Timothy V. Murphy and Anna Hindman. The only memorable act for Willis’ character is of him laughing hysterically at a destroyed flying drone. At least the man is still old-school.
As mentioned, Timothy V. Murphy is excellent as the movie’s antagonist. Cool, menacing and giving Willis’ a run for his money with frequent over-the-top dialogue and posturing. His character even has a son who is the deputy sheriff to act as a cover for his sins. The man is evil all right. The relatively new Hindman on the other hand is scene-stealing as the movie’s sole female redneck. These two performers are probably the only thing you remember out of this otherwise tepid production.
Drake spent a whole chuck of the movie on talky dialogue forgetting about the tension of the situation which basically took place in a single location. There’s of course the occasional shootouts between Anna and Charles’ bunch of incompetent henchmen. Seriously, we are pretty sure Charles can afford to hire better mercenaries than a group of goons that can’t even outwit three civilians. Willis predictably turned up in the finale to fire some obligatory shots which are seemingly more cringy than exciting. If this movie is about ground-breaking revelations, small-town conspiracies and crimes, we don’t see them here in Drake and Large’s premise.
Movie Rating:
(Another forgettable, underwhelming Bruce Willis’ flick of the month)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone, Ethan Hawke
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language and Some Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:
Opening Day: 21 July 2022
Synopsis: Director Scott Derrickson returns to his terror roots and partners again with the foremost brand in the genre, Blumhouse, with a new horror thriller. Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer's previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Finney.
Movie Review:
We look at Ethan Hawke and we are truly impressed with how far he has come. The 51 year old actor was quite the heartthrob in his younger days, appearing in Dead Poets Society (1989), Reality Bites (1994) and Gattaca (1997), playing characters that will make young girls swoon. Then came the Before trilogy directed by Richard Linklater, where the American actor portrayed a man in three very different stages of life in Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013), opposite Julie Delpy. It was an embodiment of what every guy yearns to be – a good looking idealist who ages like fine wine into a mature middle aged romantic. To top it off, he has been nominated for various awards, directed feature films and plays, appeared in theatre productions, authored novels and a graphic novel.
Then Hawke joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a baddie in Moon Knight, became a Viking king in The Northman (2022) where the character took psychedelic drugs for a royal initiation ceremony, and took on the role of a serial child abductor in Scott Derrickson’s horror flick. And he does a good job as a really scary psychopath that will make kids cry.
Based on a 2004 short story of the same name by Joe Hill, the thriller takes place in 1978, where a kidnapper nicknamed The Grabber (Hawke, whose limited screen time has extra impact a scary mask because of his creepy horned mask) has been prowling the streets to capture kids when they least expect it. Enter Finney (Mason Thames), the protagonist of the movie, a boy who is often bullied in school. He and his psychic sister live in the suburb with their abusive and alcoholic (but of course) father, and the siblings have seen better days when their mother was alive.
Finney soon becomes a victim and is trapped in The Grabber’s basement, where he begins to hear the voices of the other kids who were abducted and sadistically killed by the mad man. The movie then sees Finney communicating with them through the titular black phone and figuring out how he can survive this terrible ordeal.
The movie is as straightforward as it gets. There are no clever twists and complicated storylines. There is no reason for The Grabber’s cruelty, and he has no sad backstory to tell. When we first see him, he is a menace that you won’t want to meet in your dreams. One scene where he sits on a chair, silent and shirtless, is especially unsettling because you have no idea how brutal he is going to be – he doesn’t seem to have any qualms chopping up kids into pieces for no particular reason. And this says a lot about Hawke’s acting as he delivers an impressive performance with his eyes and intimidatingly frightening body movements.
This is also a supernatural movie, with a large part of the film where Finney talks to the dead boys. Understandably, he is startled and confused at first, and it is nice to see his emotions turning to anger and determination as the story progresses. There are some funny moments to lighten the mood. Thames does a fine job portraying a good natured and timid young boy who picks up confidence due to the circumstance he is in.
Running at 102 minutes, the movie is a thrill to sit through, right up to the finale where you’d be at the edge of your seat, rooting for Finney to make it out of the dark basement alive.
Movie Rating:
(Ethan Hawke is gleefully intimidating and menacing in this solid supernatural horror flick)
Review by John Li
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KENNETH TSANG (曾江) (1935 - 2022)Posted on 28 Apr 2022 |
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Ter Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
Cast: Nat Kitcharit, Yaya Urassaya Sperbund, Potae Anusara Korsamphan, Primmy Wipawee Patnasiri, Pleng Keetapat Pongruea
Runtime: 2 hrs 12 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 12 May 2022
Synopsis: Kao, a thirty-something-year-old man, is the world’s fastest sport-stacking champion who is being challenged by kids around the world trying to break his world record. In the midst of this, Kao’s long-time girlfriend, who has taken care of him and everything else in his life, decides to end their relationship. Like Batman without his Alfred, the king in the world of sport stacking becomes a complete loser in real life. While Kao must keep up with up-and-coming stacking challengers, this glorious champ also needs to learn basic daily life skills. Whether it be laundry, mopping, ironing, grocery shopping, fixing the water pump or other trivial daily tasks. These simple chores for general people become uphill struggles for this sport-stacking master. Yet, the most difficult task of all for him is to figuring how to win back his girlfriend’s heart.
Movie Review:
Everyone has a dream that they believe in. But how do you convince someone to believe that you can succeed with your dream if yours is one that is obscure and uncommon? Would one be able to grow and succeed despite the circumstances that one is in? Does one follow their dream or hold on to responsibilities that are essential?
“Fast and Feel Love” is about a thirty-plus year old man called Kao, who achieved to be the world’s fastest sport-stacking champion through sheer determination and great support from his girlfriend. When his girlfriend decides to break up to pursue her dream of leading a regular family life, he is now faced to maintain his world record with an upcoming competition and kids who are trying to break the record, while maintaining a regular life that he took for granted by learning regular household chores and basic stuff, and in the hope of regaining the love of his life.
One would look at the film’s poster and trailer and feel like that there is so much going in. And it is true. With a typeface of the film title looking suspiciously like a famous film franchise and a varied cast looking out intensely, one would definitely know that they would be taken on a long 2 hour ride of fun, madness and hilarity.
This romcom feels like it came out from a random action comic strip, with its extremely exaggerated and bombastic actions and lines, tastefully well-paced across the film’s entire duration, making the film easier to digest and less overwhelming. Yet, amidst this, time is taken with the plot, which is intriguing and detailed. While there were parts that seem slower, which nearly throws the pacing altogether, what was amazing is that care is taken to ensure that no detail is lost in all of the action.
What is even more amazing is that the storyline had many elements that engaged the viewers in many ways. From the love between the protagonist Kao and Jay, his girlfriend, to Kao feeling helpless and learning to be an adult, to finding help in the most unexpected way, the film’s storyline is liken to boiling soup, where despite the soup being hot, the flavours only come out after time has passed, and it is the slower pace of storytelling that makes the film appealing. What was also clever is the ‘introduction’ of sports stacking, which itself is a novelty and definitely one of the film’s pull factor, adding on to the hyped action and humour to the film and creating relevance to the plot.
Yet, it might slightly seem that “Fast and Feel Love” is sort of trying too hard to make one ‘feel love’ (or any emotions in the film for that matter) and be highly entertained within a certain span of time.
The film does very hard to connect with a wider international audience with multiple [mainly American] pop culture references, ranging from various comic universe to popular classic songs and even slight references to the rise of K-Pop popularity. While the references does add on to the humour on some levels, the extreme number of references within the 2 hours of the film seem a little like a desperate attempt to be likable on all grounds.
And like its pop culture references, jokes have been injected at so many moments, that what was supposed to be quite a comedy somewhat nearly turned a little stale, in its possible attempt to make the film as hilarious as possible.
Still, there is definitely no dull moment and so much feels with “Fast and Feel Love”. And with a lovable cast playing extreme characters, the film is made palatable and entertaining. Despite its questionable continuity and ‘lapses’ in the storyline, it still entices and engage the viewers in unexpected ways, through its novel and clever storytelling.
Overall, this feel-good, slightly over-the-top film exaggerates, yet entertains and educate. One would leave the cinema reflecting a little about life’s choices and the importance of having great support. Because, after all, like in the film, you need the right place grows and future. And maybe our dreams, no matter how big or small, and how long we take to achieve it, there will eventually be growth somehow.
Movie Rating:
(A fun action-packed romcom that does not bore even the most jaded of audience. Worth watching if you want to have fun and not think too much.)
Review by Ron Tan
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Angus MacLane
Cast: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, James Brolin, Uzo Aduba, Mary McDonald- Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Efren Ramirez, Keira Hairston
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/PixarsLightyear
Opening Day: 16 June 2022
Synopsis: A sci-fi action adventure and the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, “Lightyear” follows the legendary Space Ranger after he’s marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth alongside his commander and their crew. As Buzz tries to find a way back home through space and time, he’s joined by a group of ambitious recruits and his charming robot companion cat, Sox. Complicating matters and threatening the mission is the arrival of Zurg, an imposing presence with an army of ruthless robots and a mysterious agenda.
Movie Review:
No one faults a Pixar movie. Ever. But the first thing that came to this reviewer’s mind after watching the 26th feature film from the studio was – why didn’t the much more superior productions before this (Pete Doctor’s Soul, Enrico Casarosa’s Luca and Domee Shi’s Turning Red) get a theatrical release? The three titles were screened in cinemas in countries without Disney+, but were released direct to the streaming platform in countries where the service was available.
Then this writer remembered, this spin off of the beloved Toy Story film series, which also serves as an origin story for Buzz Lightyear, features the voice of Chris Evans. And we know getting such a big name on board isn’t going to be cheap. Plus, this is the Toy Story franchise we’re talking about, and you can be sure marketing folks will be going all out to get people to watch the movie on the big screen. In fact, this is the first Pixar film to be filmed in
We aren’t saying that this isn’t a good movie (it’s from Pixar, remember?), because it is a solid animated film that does what it’s supposed to do. The filmmakers set things straight at the beginning of the 105 minute movie. The opening title card reads: “In 1995, a boy named Andy got a Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday. It was from his favorite movie. This is that movie.”
And then we plunge into a space where we see Buzz Lightyear (Evans) and his partner Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) on a special mission for space rangers. No thanks to Buzz’s stubborn personality, an incident happens and everyone is stuck on a hostile planet. Buzz then makes it his responsibility to uncover a mysterious energy source (but of course) that will get the crew off the planet. Things get interesting when we realise every failed attempt to achieve hyperspace (which supposedly takes four minutes) means four years would have passed back on the planet. Are we talking about multiverses in space here?
When Buzz finally succeeds, Alisha has passed on and this is a bittersweet moment we loved. The next segment of the movie sees the space ranger teaming up with a team of rookies. They include Alisha’s granddaughter Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer), a naïve recruit Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi channeling effortless humour) and a paroled convict Darby Steel (Dale Soules). There is also a robotic cat Sox (Peter Sohn) which serves as Buzz’s companion, who is easily the star of the movie – you’d want to own any Sox merchandise, and wonder why Andy didn’t pester his mother to get him one.
The planet is now controlled by a bad guy named Zurg, and we get to find out who he really is towards the end of the movie. While the story tries to inject a twist that sounds conceptually cool, there seems to be something missing, something that has made us love Pixar titles like WALL-E (2008), Up (2009) and Inside Out (2015).
Angus MacLane, who co-directed Finding Dory (2016), directed and co-wrote this technically competent movie, and it features a wonderful score by Michael Giacchino. There are also fun references to the Toy Story movies. But because we have been spoilt by the emotionally relatable films that Pixar has made, we wished this sci fi adventure could have contained more heart and magic.
Movie Rating:
(Plunge into a space adventure that is entertaining and fun, but could have gone to infinity and beyond if there was a bit more heart and magic)
Review by John Li
Genre: Biography/Drama
Director: Barry Levinson
Cast: Ben Foster, Vicky Krieps, Billy Magnussen, Peter Sarsgaardm Dar Zuzovsky, John Leguizamo, Danny DeVito
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Some Nudity)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 21 April 2022
Synopsis: Based on the book “Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano” by Alan Scott Haft. THE SURVIVOR is based on the true story of Harry Haft (Ben Foster), who is driven by his love of a woman to survive the unimaginable horrors of the German concentration camps. An SS Officer (Billy Magnussen) forces Harry to fight to the death against fellow prisoners in gruesome gladiatorial boxing matches. Harry finally escapes and makes it to New York. Haunted by his memories and guilt over his survival, he fights boxing legends, like Rocky Marciano (Anthony Molinari), in the hopes that his name will get noticed and he will find his first love again.
Movie Review:
It is easy to celebrate the tenacity of a Jewish survivor from the concentration camps, perhaps even more so one from the most infamous of them all, Auschwitz. Though so named to refer to its lead character’s escape, veteran director Barry Levinson’s drama doesn’t so much laud his triumph than to question at what cost that came at for Polish Jew Harry Haft.
Best known for being a lightweight boxer in post-World War II New York who had introduced himself as ‘the pride of Poland, the survivor of Auschwitz’, Haft’s biggest accomplishment was withstanding three rounds against future champ Rocky Marciano. That this climax of Haft’s boxing career comes right smack in the middle of the film demonstrates how it really isn’t the focus of ‘The Survivor’; rather, as we learn, boxing was ultimately a means of coming to terms with his past.
Over the course of two hours, Levinson and screenwriter Justine Juel Gilmer outline the depth of Harry’s guilt. On one level, Harry feels obliged to find out just what happened to Leah (Dar Zuzovsky), a girl he loved as a young adult whom he was powerless to stop from being taken by the Nazis. On another level, Harry is haunted by how he had fought other Jews in bouts held for the entertainment of Nazi officers in Auschwitz, after being handpicked by a young S.S. officer Schneider (Billy Magnussen) who had watched him come to the rescue of a friend Jean (Laurent Papot) in the camps against a German guard.
Through interlocked flashbacks from a family vacation in Tybee Island, Georgia, whose significance will only be apparent late into the film, Levinson reveals the layers behind Harry’s grief and remorse. Both on Harry’s shell-shocked countenance and on the faces of the fellow prisoners watching the gladiatorial fights in horror, Levinson portrays the gravity of Harry’s decision to brutalise his comrades in order to survive the camps, as well as the visceral and mental toll it inevitably exerts on him.
As Harry, Foster is phenomenal, committing not just physically but emotionally to bring to life one of the most challenging roles of his career. Foster’s physical transformation is humbling, first losing about 40 pounds to play the nearly-emancipated Auschwitz incarnation of his character, and then bulking up to play Harry as a professional boxer after the war. And proving himself once again as one of this generation’s finest character actors, Foster brings across Harry’s guilt, anger, loss and hope with absolute candour and poignance. Foster has great assist from the likes of Danny DeVito, John Leguizamo and Peter Sarsgaard, but this is Foster’s show and he carries the show from start to finish.
It is also equally true that ‘The Survivor’ is probably Levinson’s finest work in a while. Granted that the director of ‘Rain Man’ and ‘Wag the Dog’ hasn’t been as prolific in recent years, but this Holocaust drama offers the sort of complex and nuanced character study which he does beautifully and affectingly. That he refuses to follow convention as either a sports drama or a romantic saga is ultimately to the film’s benefit; in choosing neither to idolise or demonise its lead character, Levinson stays true to his intent to tell the story of Harry Haft as a survivor, for better and for worse.
Movie Rating:
(Appriopriately intimate and sobering, this Holocaust drama of one Auschwitz survivor examines the cost of staying alive amidst terror and atrocity)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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