SYNOPSIS: Welcome to Slumberland, the world of dreams! Jason Momoa plays “Flip” an eccentric outlaw on a mission to help a young girl (Marlow Barkley) travel through dreams and flee nightmares, in hopes of reuniting with her father.
MOVIE REVIEW:
In an alternate universe, Slumberland might be yet another Disney’s big budget CGI spectacle starring Johnny Depp as Flip, a devil horned outlaw who lives in the fantasy dreamland and teams up with a little girl, Nemo (rising actor Marlow Barkley who looks like a young Saoirse Ronan) to find a magic pearl. However, given that Depp is no longer the hottest commodity in town, Flip is played by Jason Momoa who gives his best impersonation of Depp’s Mad Hatter, Willy Wonka and Jack Sparrow.
Nemo lives with his father, Peter (Kyle Chandler) in a lighthouse until one day, Peter is lost at sea and Nemo is placed under the custody of his dad’s estranged brother, Philip (Chris O’Dowd) who lives in a fancy apartment in the city. Determined to reunite with her father, Nemo is transported to Slumberland where she meets Peter’s friend, Flip and they have to dream-hop through others subconsciousness, escaped the Bureau’s Agent Green and evil nightmare in order to reconnect with her dad.
In all honesty, the core of Slumberland is somewhat far more interesting than what it is portrayed on screen. The movie involves serious themes liked dealing with grief, the complexity of dreams and parenting tweens just to name a few. You got to give credit to the screenplay by David Guion and Michael Handelman for attempting to pull off a far more emotional and intelligent children fantasy flick. Although, notice we used the word “attempting”.
End of day, Slumberland fails to escape the curse of modern day Hollywood blockbusters. The constant reliance on CGI-heavy chase scenes and overdone green-screen doesn’t help in the storytelling department and this is especially so right here. From a ballroom filled with butterflies to a boy driving a gigantic truck to a man on a Canadian goose, the effects-laden sequences are exhausting and lacks an ounce of imagination despite its intended purpose.
The fantasy adventure works better during its quieter moments - most prominently, Philip's interaction with Nemo. Boring Uncle Philip who prefers to work with his locks is in fact a much more emotional, captivating character than Flip. Maybe it’s Momoa’s fault for not breathing more into the over-the-top character but we digress. Again, two hours of constantly facing a virtual reality world can actually put you into “Slumberland” if you get what we mean.
Netflix’s latest big budget CGI spectacle turns out to be a middling effort despite having Francis Lawrence at the helm. Lawrence no stranger to visually rich blockbusters (I Am Legend, Constantine and The Hunger Games) pays too much attention on the technological details that he forgot a magical adventure needs a captivating plot in the first place.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Musical
Director: Will Speck and Josh Gordon
Cast: Shawn Mendes, Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy, Winslow Fegley, Brett Gelman
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Sony Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 1 December 2022
Synopsis: Based on the best-selling book series by Bernard Waber, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, starring Academy Award-winner Javier Bardem, Constance Wu and Shawn Mendes, is a live-action/CGI musical comedy that brings this beloved character to a new, global audience. When the Primm family (Wu, Scoot McNairy, Winslow Fegley) moves to New York City, their young son Josh struggles to adapt to his new school and new friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle - a singing crocodile (Mendes) who loves baths, caviar and great music-living in the attic of his new home. The two become fast friends, but when Lyle’s existence is threatened by evil neighbor Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman), the Primms must band together with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti (Bardem), to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places and there’s nothing wrong with a big singing crocodile with an even bigger personality.
Movie Review:
This movie features a singing crocodile. That’s all you really need to know to enjoy this exceptionally cheery adaptation of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile and its prequel The House on East 88th Streetby Bernard Waber.
Oh, there’s also a singing and dancing Javier Bardem. And he’s a blast to watch.
The Spanish actor plays Hector P. Valent, a magician who is constantly trying to find his big break on stage. Unfortunately, he constantly fails. He thinks his career is going to change when he chances upon a singing baby crocodile in a pet shop one day. The reptile whom Hector names Lyle sings really well like Shawn Mendes (the Canadian pop star makes his feature film debut by providing the vocals), but alas, it experiences stage fright during the duo’s big night. This leads to Hector leaving Lyle in the attic they have been living in to find other opportunities.
Fast forward 18 months and we see Mr and Mrs Primm (Scoot McNairy and Constance Wu) move into the apartment with their son Josh (Winslow Fegley). No prizes for guessing that Josh will make friends with Lyle and the whole family will enjoy its company. Yup, there will also be jovial song and dance sequences showcasing the
The musical comedy film is definitely one that will entertain the kids, but it is also extremely enjoyable for older viewers. When was the last time you watched a movie that is so wonderfully positive without any cynicism? There are no wise cracking characters and no references to pop culture. Instead of sniggering at self referential humour, you’d be smiling from ear to ear frequently during this 107 minute movie because of its tremendously positive vibes.
The musical features eight songs composed by Mendes and songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who are known for their work on La La Land (2016) and The Greatest Showman (2017). That’s why you can expect infectious tunes with lyrics that fit right into the movie, and these sequences will have you tapping your feet or even humming along. After watching the movie, you’ll likely put the soundtrack on repeat. The album also features songs by Stevie Wonder and Elton John (give yourself a pat on the back if you can guess song performed by the Rocket Man made it to the track list).
Bardem, who terrified viewers with his Oscar winning performance as the psychopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men (2007), is a joy to watch on the big screen. He croons with Mendes in his raspy coarse voice, and dances like there’s no tomorrow in “Take A Look At Us Now”. It would be wonderful to see a live performance with Shawn and Bardem if this song is nominated during the award season. We are pretty sure we’d be smiling from ear to ear throughout the performance.
Movie Rating:
(An absolute joy to watch, this delightfully positive musical comedy will have you smiling from ear to ear)
Review by John Li
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Hwang In-ho
Cast: Kim Rae-won, Lee Jong-suk, Cha Eun-woo, Jung Sang-hoon, Park Byung-eun, Lee Sang-hee, Jo Dal-hwan, Nam Tae-hoon
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures and Purple Plan
Official Website:
Opening Day: 1 December 2022
Synopsis: A former navy commander (Kim Rae-Won) receives a phone call from an anonymous man. The caller states that he has set up bombs in locations filled with people, including a soccer stadium and a water park. The bombs are "sound bombs" that will detonate when nearby ambient sounds surpasses 100 decibels. The former navy commander desperately tries to stop the terror attacks.
Movie Review:
As far as high-concept action thrillers are concerned, ‘Decibel’ has a former decorated Navy commander Kang Do-young (Kim Rae-won) race against time to stop a series of bombs planted by a former disgruntled colleague that are triggered by sound. No thanks to decibel meters attached to each one of these bombs, the countdown starts when the ambient noise exceeds 100 decibels, and the timer is halved whenever the same threshold is reached.
Former weapons officer Tae-song (Lee Jong-suk) had mailed the first of these bombs to Kang’s former fellow submarine commanding officer Kim, and has planted the rest at a football stadium, a children’s playground and a water park respectively. As we soon learn, each of the locations is meticulously chosen to exact personal revenge on those responsible for Tae-song’s grievance over a tragic incident a year ago which claimed the life of his brother Tae-ryong (Cha Eun-woo).
Without giving too much away, the incident has to do with a stray torpedo that had suddenly come alive and after the ROKS Halla, which had been returning home from Guam after the RIMPAC exercises with the United States. 22 of the ROKS Halla crewmen had allegedly died from bulkhead failure, though it is not hard to tell that there is more to that than meets the eye when each and every one of those who had lived seemed wracked a year later by survivors’ guilt.
Kang finds an unlikely ally in independent journalist Oh Dae-ho (Jung Sang-hoon), who has a run-in with Kang at the stadium where Oh had brought his son to watch the friendly match between Busan United and Road Tokyo FC. Not only will he prove to be an invaluable partner, Oh will also provide some welcome moments of levity amidst the tense and often relentless proceedings, what with Kang rushing from place to place to stop the bombs and save his kidnapped wife and daughter.
In his first film in eight years, writer-director Hwang In-ho largely keeps the pace taut by keeping the focus tight on the cat-and-mouse game between Kang and Tae-song. Their rivalry has a compelling moral dimension to it, and to Hwang’s credit, the extended flashbacks to the ordeal which the ROKS Halla had to endure reinforce the impossible choice which Kang had faced as the ship’s commander. The subplot of a Government cover-up is thankfully kept brief, and through the addition of a key supporting character in the form of Defense Security Command officer Cha Yong-han (Park Byung-eun).
It should come as no surprise that ‘Decibel’ needs to be enjoyed with a fair amount of suspension of disbelief, but this nail-biting thriller is for the most part credible enough for you to buy into its high-stakes scenario. Though it doesn’t boast a heavyweight cast, ‘Decibel’ is no lesser an action blockbuster that will get your pulse racing and keep you at the edge of your seat. We don’t take the execution of such high-concept thrillers for granted, so consider it generous praise when we say we enjoyed ‘Decibel’ much more than we expected ourselves to, and we see no reason why you won’t feel likewise.
Movie Rating:
(Largely taut, intense and compelling, this high-concept action thriller succeeds at being a breathless nail-biter from start to finish)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Director: Mark Mylod
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo, Judith Light, Hong Chau
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence & Coarse Language)
Released By: Walt Disney Pictures
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/TheMenuFilm
Opening Day: 17 November 2022
Synopsis: A couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
Movie Review:
At Hawthorne, the fictional restaurant that does a single multi-course service each evening, only a dozen guests are allowed per seating. Yet despite the fact that it costs US$1,250 per head, reservations are notoriously hard to get. That is credit to its chef Julian Slowik, whose reputation as a culinary artist, an innovator and a perfectionist far precedes him.
Likewise, if there is one reason to watch Mark Mylod’s deliciously mean ‘The Menu’, it is Ralph Fiennes. As Chef Slowik, Fiennes sinks his teeth into a fiendish turn that sees him have probably the most fun in a long while. Alternating between warm benevolence and cold psychopathy, Fiennes is utterly fabulous as the ringmaster at Hawthorne, lording not only over his obsequious underlings in the open kitchen but also over the drooling one-percenters gathered to partake in Slowik’s fabled tasting menu.
Among the one-percenters gathered for the night’s occasion are three finance bros (Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, Rob Yang), a preening food critic (Janet McTeer) and her editor (Paul Adelstein), a fading movie star (John Leguizamo) and his assistant (Aimee Carrero), an older married couple (Reed Birney and Judith Light), and last but not least a simpering foodie (Nicholas Hoult) and his last-minute date (Anya Taylor-Joy). Notwithstanding the ensemble, it is Margot who stands out amongst the diners.
Without giving too much away, let’s just say that except for Margot, none of the other guests are there by accident – in fact, as we will discover just three courses into the night’s menu, Chef Slowik knows what each and every one of the guests has been up to, whether is it manipulating tax returns, engaging in the company of female escorts or phoning in a performance in an obviously bad movie. The exception of course is Margot, and a good part of the first hour has Chef Slowik challenging Margot which side of the room she belongs to.
Working off a surprisingly layered script by ‘Onion’ alums Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, Mylod fashions a stylish critique of elitism, capitalistic excess and fetishized food culture. It isn’t hard to tell that most of the guests in the room are guilty in their everyday lives of being entitled, rude and self-satisfied people, not least in how they treat the restaurant captain Elsa (Hong Chau), and it is precisely such despicable behaviour which Chef Slovik has decided to mock, chide and punish over the courses of his thoughtfully designed menu.
Like a degustation, the movie is structured from amuse-bouche to dessert, with each course carefully designed to pace out the revelations and escalate the punishments. The reckoning though isn’t just for the guests; as it turns out, the wild card of the night (i.e. Margot) will also force Chef Slovik to confront how he has been party, privilege and prisoner to the demands of the one-percenters, and it is their series of scenes together that help the movie find its emotional core.
To be frank, we went in not knowing what to expect of ‘The Menu’ and came out impressed and satisfied with this elaborate opera of humiliation, self-loathing and revenge. That it works so beautifully is also credit to Fiennes, who embraces his role as an arbiter of vengeance as well as the film’s chief villain. As counter-programming against both ‘Black’ superheroes dominating the cinema screens, ‘The Menu’ is tart, thoughtful and tasteful.
Movie Rating:
(Dark comedy laced with social commentary, this deliciously mean thriller gets its bite from a smart script, sharp direction and an utterly fiendish turn by Ralph Fiennes)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: A righteous mercenary leader seizes his destiny as he wages war against the armies of the Teutonic Order and the Holy Roman Empire.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The name Jan Zizka may not ring a bell, but to Czechs, the Bohemian military leader was a storied legend still regarded as one of the greatest commanders of all time. This latest attempt by director Petr Jakl at portraying the legendary figure does so through an English language feature with a cohort of notable actors – including Ben Foster, Matthew Goode, Michael Caine and Til Schweiger – but ends up letting down both its audience and its talents with scene after indistinguishable scene of brutal swords and splatter combat.
As with such period epics, ‘Medieval’ begins with a bit of history: following the death of Charles IV, Wenceslas IV was to ascend to the throne of Bohemia and Roman emperor, but his weak reign has both nobleman Henry III of Rosenberg and Wenceslas’ half-brother Sigismund try to topple him. In order to get Henry III (Schweiger) to keep his word and help Wenceslas be crowned emperor, Lord Boresh (Caine) tasks Jan (Foster) and his band of rough-hewn warriors to kidnap Henry’s fiancée Lady Katherine (Sophie Lowe) as leverage.
After a brisk half-hour of scene-setting, the rest of the movie essentially unfolds as a cat-and-mouse game among various players. There is Henry’s men, who have been sent to rescue her for fear of crossing her uncle, who happens to the King of France. There is Sigismund’s men, led by the ruthless Torak (Roland Moller), who quickly sets up a personal feud with Jan after murdering his nephew and kidnapping his brother Jaroslav (William Moseley). And last but not least, there are the local rebels, whose hideouts in the dense forest provide refuge for Jan and Katherine.
At more than two hours, the back and forth can get exhausting to say the very least. Much of the combat unfolds in the same grimy, gory and grotesque fashion, deliberately filmed in over-exposure and hyper-stylised mode. Aside from which body parts are smashed to bits, there is little distinction between the non-stop battle scenes, notwithstanding the fine stunt work and period weaponry. ‘Medieval’ is a big step up for Jakl after the 2010 true-crime drama ‘Kajinek’ and the 2015 found footage horror ‘Ghoul’, and it is manifestly clear that Jakl cannot quite juggle the demands of such a blockbuster epic.
It doesn’t help that the character drama, despite the heavyweight acting talent assembled, is lamentably weak. Other than being a man of honour, there is little we learn about Jan, except a childhood incident told in flashbacks which continues to haunt him. Katherine doesn’t fare much better, and besides emphasising how she cannot in good conscience stand by while her betrothed commits acts of savagery, she is relegated to a damsel in distress. The rest of the supporting characters are given little definition other than whether they stand with or against Jan, and even a pivotal role like Lord Boresh that has the privilege of the 89-year-old Caine’s performance is sorely under-written.
So despite boasting a pedigree that could equal that of Ridley Scott’s ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, this expensive Czech historical epic falls short in many respects, whether action, character work or even just plain storytelling. It is handsomely mounted no doubt, but one wishes that the filmmakers had spent more time on the details, instead of say filling the time with wall to wall combat. As much as the actors try, there is little they can do to save the movie from its own tedium. But thanks to Netflix, you can and will probably skip out after the first act..
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Adventure/Action
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Bailey Bass, Giovanni Ribisi, Jemaine Clement, Jack Champion
Runtime: 3 hrs 10 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website:
Opening Day: 15 December 2022
Synopsis: Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
Movie Review:
More than a decade after wowing audiences around the world with his vision of a distant moon named Pandora with majestic floating mountains and verdant rainforests, James Cameron is finally ready to open up a fresh new horizon of imaginative possibility. ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is undoubtedly not just bigger in every regard than its predecessor, it is also probably the most ambitious film that Cameron has ever done, and that is saying a lot given his illustrious track record comprising such timeless classics as ‘Titanic’, ‘Terminator’ and ‘Aliens’.
Like the first movie, this instalment is told from the point of view of Jake Sully, a paralysed former US Marine chosen to operate Na’vi-human hybrids called ‘avatars’, in order to blend in with the native 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned, sapient humanoids that inhabit the planet. After falling in love with the daughter of the previous chief of the Omatica tribe, Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are now parents to four Na’vi children: two teenage sons, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton); a rambunctious 8-year-old daughter Tuk (Trinity Bliss); and an adopted teenage daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), born in mysterious fashion to the dormant avatar of Dr. Grace Augustine (or Weaver’s late scientist character from the previous film).
Much of the first act is intended to establish the threat that Jake and his family will face, otherwise known as the ‘sky people’ (or humans that belong to the Resources Development Administration, who are seeking to create a new home on Pandora now that Earth has become uninhabitable). In particular, the ‘sky people’ have resurrected Jake’s old nemesis Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), whose consciousness has now been reimplanted into a genetically engineered Na’vi body. After almost losing his children to Quaritch and his kill team, Jake decides to take his family to a far-flung corner of Pandora where the Metkayina reef dwellers live.
This narrative turn allows Cameron to unveil a distinctly different experience of Pandora hitherto unseen. From gorgeous underwater vistas of corals, undulating filaments, neon-coloured plant life, shimmering schools of bioluminescent fish, and sentinent whale-like creatures called tulkun, Cameron transports us into a big blue marvel of aquatic wonders. This paradise unfolds against Jake, Neytiri and their family’s adaptation to an entirely new way of life, while dealing with such tensions as outcast anxiety, warring cliques, intertribal romances and domineering parents. It is utterly dazzling to say the very least, and even though the conflict with Quaritch takes a back seat for this second act, you’ll be enraptured by the awe-inducing visuals that bear testament to Cameron’s towering achievement here of having successfully pioneered and mastered underwater performance-capture.
To Cameron’s credit too, the middle section also boasts a significant degree of character work. It is especially gratifying to see Neteyam, Lo’ak, Tuk and Kiri come into their own, whether the gentle friendship between Lo’ak and the daughter of the Metkayina clan chief Tsireya (Bailey Bass), the unexpected bond between Lo’ak and and an exiled tulkun named Payakan, or Kiri’s discovery of her ability to connect to the creatures of the sea. Jake and Neytiri also find their complement in Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet), who have to overcome their distrust of the Sullys as well as their pacifism to defend their way of life against a common ruthless enemy. No doubt the character emphasis here is also thanks to co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, not unlike the sort of colony-building work they did on the two ‘Planet of the Apes’ entries.
The sheer visual cornucopia is never less than intriguing, even though the pace of the storytelling does slow, and the emphasis on character-building ultimately pays off in a jaw-dropping third act that reaffirms Cameron as the master of action spectacle. Beginning with an absolutely stirring scene of tulkun slaughter, Cameron forges a finale with a series of exhilarating set-pieces, including a heart-pounding chase on a whaling vessel and an extended sinking ship sequence that will have your heart in your mouth while awaiting the fate of the characters you would come to realise you’ve grown to love and embrace. Cynics will say that he’s been there and done that, but the truth is the action is no less thrilling, especially when staged and filmed with such clarity and purpose as Cameron does.
To say that ‘Avatar’ is Cameron’s passion project is an utter understatement – you can see in each frame just how much attention, care and devotion Cameron has placed into the endeavour, lavishing it with so much minutia from the environments, to the flora and fauna, and to the characters that form this intimate drama of family conflict and survival. It also embodies Cameron’s celebration of nature, the scenes of wanton destruction of Pandora’s habitats intentionally designed to jolt us into inchoate rage at the devastation of the natural world. And last but not least, it is proof that Cameron remains a visualist, a futurist and an innovator, whether in his use of motion-capture or to reinforce the potential of high-frame rate 3D at a time when Hollywood is at a loss what to do with the technology.
Put simply, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is what cinema is meant for – to open our eyes to worlds unknown; to remind us of the humanity we belong to; and to delight, excite and touch us all at once. It is an excellent sequel in every respect, deepening and expanding the first film in both subtle and obvious ways, and also providing the foundation for the franchise to evolve. It is a motion picture event all right, with scope, scale and skill that is almost, if not at all, unparalleled. Catch this on the biggest screen possible, or better still, make an appointment to do so in IMAX 3D, where you can fully appreciate the HFR; mark our words, this is an experience you won’t want to miss.
Movie Rating:
(An absolute motion picture event you should watch on the biggest screen possible, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' will delight, enrapture, excite and thrill you all at once, and is as grand, wondrous and befitting a return to Pandora as you deserve)
Review by Gabriel Chong
|
DINO SIGHTINGS IN OUR WORLDPosted on 17 Nov 2022 |
SYNOPSIS: It has been more than ten years since Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) wed, but Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so they move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. Unfortunately, it isn’t the quick fix she had hoped for. Suburbia has a whole new set of rules and a local queen bee, Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph), who makes Giselle feel more out of place than ever. Frustrated that her happily ever after hasn’t been so easy to find, she turns to the magic of Andalasia for help, accidentally transforming the entire town into a real-life fairy tale and placing her family’s future happiness in jeopardy. Now, Giselle is in a race against time to reverse the spell and determine what happily ever after truly means to her and her family.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Giselle (Amy Adams) finally returns to the screen after an absence of 15 years although the events in Disenchanted is set 10 years after the original where Giselle and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) lives happily ever after in New York city after defeating the evil Queen Narrisa.
It goes without saying that there is no such thing as “happily ever after” and Giselle finds it so stressful juggling a new baby and a rebellious teenager, Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino) in the household that the entire family decides to relocate to a suburban called Monroeville.
When Giselle uses the wand gifted by King Edward (James Marsden) and Queen Nancy (Idina Menzel) from Andalasia to wish her life to be the perfect fairy tale, things went haywire when Giselle starts turning into an evil stepmother while the town’s unofficial mayor, Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph) became the evil Queen. And now, Giselle has only till midnight to reverse her wish before everything becomes permanent.
While many praised the original for poking fun at Disney’s animated Princess movies with a cheery soundtrack and hand-drawn animation to go along, Disenchanted takes on a more formulaic approach as compared to its predecessor. The premise and idea is less clever this time as the story mainly focused on the stepmother trope and the question of is there a thing such as happily ever after in reality.
But whatever other ingredients that make the original work, they are mostly transported to the sequel. Disney-go-to composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz returns to charm listeners with more musical numbers including “Even More Enchanted”, “Love Power” and our personal favourite “Badder”, a rousing number between the movie’s two evil queens, Giselle and Malvina.
Talking animals are a must for Disney titles although there’s less of that here. What we have is Pip the chipmunk and a talking scroll voiced by Disney regular, Alan Tudyk. There’s a decent 2D animated sequence in the final act, once again nostalgic enough to wish Disney should continue making these. Director and dance choreographer Adam Shankman took over the directing reins from Kevin Lima and blessed the production with a handful of well-choreographed dance sequences unfortunately underperformed if you consider that amazing Enchanted “That’s How You Know” sequence in Central Park.
Amy Adams remains as enchanting as always, making the long-delayed sequel a worthwhile wait mainly because of her flawless performance. Without Susan Sarandon, Maya Rudolph is deliciously wicked as the movie’s main antagonist. Patrick Dempsey gets to fight a dragon and a giant troll despite his limited screentime while James Marsden is criminally underused. This show it seems belong to the ladies.
We know Disenchanted lacks the wittiness of the first and not even consider a worthy satire comedy. Still, magic is very much present as Disney delivers a charming follow-up on the small screen. When you can’t have everyone living happily ever after at least you can sprinkle some magic to sweeten the days.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
|
59TH GOLDEN HORSE AWARDSPosted on 19 Nov 2022 |
SYNOPSIS: Imagine Charles Dickens’ heartwarming tale of a scrooge visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve—but funnier.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Twenty years later, ‘Elf’ remains one of the favourite Christmas movies of all time, so it isn’t surprising that Apple has decided to cast Will Ferrell in its big-budget holiday blockbuster built on the same mix of child-like awe and adult-friendly gags. But if that is not reason enough to make you want to watch ‘Spirited’, how about the fact that it pairs Ferrell with one of Hollywood’s most charming actors, Ryan Reynolds?
As imagined by director Sean Anders, who co-wrote the script with his ‘Daddy’s Home’ collaborator John Morris, ‘Spirited’ sees Reynolds play the glib, opportunistic marketing magnate Clint Briggs, whom the Ghost of Christmas Present played by Ferrell takes a personal interest to redeem. Whereas Charles Dickens had envisioned the haunting by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future to be a one-off occasion, ‘Spirited’ reinvents it as an annual event overseen by the ringleader Jacob Marley (Patrick Page).
Despite Marley’s initial objections, Present is convinced that Clint is who they need to convert in order for their hauntings to truly make a difference in the world. Undeterred by the initial assessment that Clint is irredeemable, Present sets out with his colleagues Past (Sunita Mani) and Future (voiced by Tracy Morgan) to revisit the formative moments in Clint’s life, with the hope that hindsight will lend perspective to this ‘perfect combination of Mussolini and Seacrest’ and lead him to admit the error of his past and present ways.
Each of Clint’s life moments becomes a set-piece in and of itself, including his public breakup with ex-girlfriend Nora at a shopping mall and the death of his older sister Carrie whose daughter Wren he is now the legal guardian of; in particular, the latter matters because Wren’s decision to post an incriminating video of a schoolmate she is running against for class president will ultimately come not just to define the boy’s life but also Wren’s conscience.
Had ‘Spirited’ decided to be about Clint’s redemptive journey alone, it would probably be a lot more poignant; alas, it is too distracted for its own good, weaving in a subplot about Present’s own past as Ebenezer Scrooge, on the justification that Present was the other irredeemable to have successfully gone through the programme. Between Scrooge’s own dastardly ways and his unexpected romance with Clint’s right-hand woman Kimberly (Octavia Spencer), there is just too much going on for any of it to be emotionally compelling.
And so even though it clearly had that ambition, ‘Spirited’ falls short from a true Christmas classic, never quite finding enough heart to warm that of its audience. What it does well though is offer exuberant enough entertainment for two hours, thanks to several Broadway-worthy musical numbers penned by dynamic duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (from ‘The Greatest Showman’ and ‘La La Land’) and choreographed by Chloe Arnold that combine tap, hip-hop and jazz into some dazzling show-pieces.
To their credit, Ferrell and Reynolds are good company as unlikely bros, their repartee carrying the movie in between the numbers. Though neither are natural singers, both actors try their best at crooning and dancing, and demonstrate true showmanship from start to finish. Same goes for Spencer, who not only gets the chance to be a romantic lead in a movie but also the opportunity to show off her considerable pipes and makes good use of both.
True to its title therefore, ‘Spirited’ is mostly energetic through and through, even though it does lack that magical quality to be timeless. Indeed, it is no ‘Elf’ and hardly comes close, despite recruiting Ferrell for his first Christmas movie since then and roping in Reynolds for the ride. Like we said, its key flaw is that it really cannot decide whose story it wants to tell, resulting in a digressive narrative that has little resonance. At least though it is jolly and bouncy, and for the most part will leave you with plenty of seasonal good cheer..
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
| « Prev | 472 | 473 | 474 | 475 | 476 | 477 | 478 | 479 | 480 | 481 | 482 | Next » |
Most Viewed
No content.