SYNOPSIS: Four years after solving their first murder mystery, Nick and Audrey Spitz (Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston) are now full-time detectives struggling to get their private eye agency off the ground when they’re invited to celebrate the wedding of their friend the Maharaja (Adeel Akhtar) on his private island. But trouble follows the Spitzes again when the groom is kidnapped for ransom soon after the festivities begin — making each glamorous guest, family member, and the bride herself a suspect. MURDER MYSTERY 2 sends Nick and Audrey Spitz on a high-stakes case that finally gives them everything they’ve ever dreamed of: a shot at their detective agency finally becoming successful…and their long-awaited trip to Paris.
MOVIE REVIEW:
It’s that time once again when we have fun watching Adam Sandler having fun on Netflix as Jennifer Aniston joins him in their second outing, Murder Mystery 2.
No longer a low-ranking NYPD policeman, Nick (Sandler) who successfully solved a murder mystery while on a long-delayed honeymoon with his hairdresser wife, Audrey (Aniston) in the first one are now both freelance private detectives. While not exactly a hit in their new career path, the Spitzs decide to take a brief break and accept an all-expenses paid wedding invitation from the super-rich Maharajah Vikram (a returning Adeel Akhtar) who is marrying a supposedly French gold-digger, Claudette (Melanie Laurent).
However, Nick and Audrey’s happiness is short-lived when the Maharajah is mysteriously kidnapped on his wedding day. Trapped on the island with Colonel Ulenga (also a returning John Kani), Vik’s ex-girlfriend, Countess Sekou (Jodie Turner-Smith), Vik’s sister, Saira (Kuhoo Verma) and the CEO of Vik’s company, the lecherous Francisco (Enrique Arce), the Spitzs must find Vik and hand in the ransom with the help of an ex-MI6 agent, Miller (Mark Strong) before he is brutally kill by the kidnappers.
James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, Scream VI) resumes his screenwriting duties for the sequel and he wastes no time in setting up the crime scene and suspects making Murder Mystery 2 a brisk and silly affair. Unlike the intricate plotting of the Knives Out franchise or the Hercule Poirot outings, this murder mystery relies heavily on the chemistry of Sandler and Aniston to make things work instead of an engaging smart whodunit. How many times does Audrey needs to fall over the Eiffel tower anyway? By the third time, you know they have ran out of options.
There’s no doubt Sandler ad-libbed his way throughout given most of the lines are just random nonsense but at the very minimum, they did travelled to Paris to shoot a ridiculous car chase through the streets and a comedic confrontation at a huge lavish castle.
In an age where movies are on average over two hours long, Murder Mystery 2 runs at an efficient 90 minutes because frankly, Sandler needs more free time for his vacation break with his grown-ups buddies. The technical and production values are surprisingly top-notch unfortunately the rest of Murder Mystery 2 is so predictable and lazy that it cheapens the entire experience killing the likely possibility of a third one. Fingers crossed if this is yet another hit for Netflix.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Based on the true story of American video game salesman Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) and his discovery of Tetris in 1988. When he sets out to bring the game to the world, he enters a dangerous web of lies and corruption behind the Iron Curtain.
MOVIE REVIEW:
This reviewer isn’t much of a gamer but at least he knows about Tetris (the falling block puzzle videogame), Nintendo and Atari, names which are often mouthed by the various characters in Tetris.
Tetris is apparently not about how the popular beloved game is created but how the game was sold to millions around the world in this very enjoyable movie produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring his frequent collaborator, Taron Edgerton.
Henk Rogers (Edgerton), a video game salesman saw the potential of Tetris in a Vegas trade show and goes about asking for its licensing rights only to find out it’s actually created by a man named Alexey (Nikita Efremov) in communist Soviet Union. Realising the huge potential of Tetris and convincing the tops guys at Nintendo, Rogers travelled to USSR under the pretext of a tourist visa and approach ELORG, the agency Alexey worked for.
But things get a lot complicated when a shady software salesman, Robert Stein (Toby Jones) and a billionaire, Robert Maxwell and his son is also in negotiation with both the President of ELORG and a sinister dangerous KGB officer.
For a movie filled with argument about business contract, rights and licensing, Tetris for a lack of a better description is fast food filmmaking at its best. You don’t really need an excellent command of the corporate world or knowledge of videogames, handheld devices to know that Rogers is at his wits end dealing with unscrupulous competitors and KGB officer with his own hidden agenda.
Writer Noah Pink and director Jon S. Baird maintains a breezy pacing by packing in addition to all the corporate stuff some dark themes about the cold war. Espionage, threats and the former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev also make an “appearance” in this intriguing drama. Despite touting this as a true story, we are pretty sure there’s no death-defying car chases involved in the whole Rogers and Alexey story.
Clearly, there’s lots of effort dedicated to the production values in making the entire flick looks like it’s its shot way back in the 1980s. Clever usage of CGI, all the costumes and props are authentic enough. Best of all, Edgerton ever the consummate performer makes this a highly watchable, underdog story. We are not even sure the origins of Tetris can be turned into a movie initially but judging by the end result, we are certainly not disappointed at all.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Drama
Director: Boi Kwang
Cast: Mark Lee, Sheila Sim, Shane Mardjuki, Gary Lau, Patricia Lin
Runtime: 1 hr 27 mins
Rating: M18 (Mature Content and Coarse Language)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 April 2023
Synopsis: A Neo-Noir crime thriller with lust, shame, passion, lies and violence – the lives of five individuals intertwine in an unyielding web under the red lights of GEYLANG. A desperate doctor searches for an organ for his daughter, a tormented prostitute paying off her lover’s debt, a social worker with political inclinations willing to cross the line, and a ruthless pimp with a dark secret. Nothing is quite what it seems as a long night awaits inside the underbelly of an otherwise pristine city-state of Singapore.
Movie Review:
Geylang is Singapore’s most well known red light district, and you’d expect a movie that takes place in this vice central would boast steamy scenes that push the boundaries of censorship. But this second feature by local director Boi Kwang isn’t going to satisfy viewers who are anticipating sex scenes on the big screen. What audiences would be getting instead, are some of the grittiest, most brutal and unflinching violence ever featured in a Singapore movie.
When the movie begins, we are told that it is the eve of the nation’s election nomination day, and a sex worker has been found dead. This is news worthy for sensational headlines in the tabloids, and one wonders whether there is a connection between the grisly murder and, gasp, politics. As the movie progresses, we are introduced to different characters who will cross paths and complicate the plot. There is a loud mouthed pimp (Mark Lee in a showy role that works to his advantage) a righteous social welfare worker (Sheila Sim whom we have never imagined spouting vulgarities), a doctor who is trying to get a kidney for his sick daughter (Shane Mardjuki), a sex worker (Taiwanese actress Patricia Lin), and her boyfriend who is a cigarette seller (Gary Lau).
The movie packs its plot tightly within its 87 minute runtime, and viewers will be fixated on what’s happening on screen. The story unfolds in a non linear manner, and there are flashbacks along the way to explain why certain characters are behaving a certain way, or to reveal certain twists that the writers have incorporated the screenplay. Not all of these sequences work well though, as some of them cause confusion instead of providing clarity. For a story intertwining so many characters, audiences also have to live with a certain extent of unrealistic setups – the most glaring is seeing a character who just had a kidney removed illegally can still escape the scene of crime and ask for help.
The abovementioned issues aside, the production values are top notch for this local production. The neon lights are aptly captured by the director of photography, and the sound design puts you in the dark alleys of Geylang where someone (or something) is always lurking in the corner.
As expected, Lee is the MVP of the movie. His portrayal of a man who is constantly cursing in Hokkien, but actually has a good heart, is one of the best characters we’ve seen in a local production. With his father who is suffering from dementia (veteran actor Steven Woon), the duo are kept busy throughout the night. One particular moment where Lee glances in Woon’s direction when he sees a phone recording of a father speaking to her daughter is especially moving. This is the guy who did Singaporeproud with a Best Actor nomination at the 57th Golden Horse Awards with his performance in Ong Kuo Sin’s Number 1.
Elsewhere, the other cast members deliver commendable performances, with Sim doing her best to be a streetwise social worker, Mardjuki as a father driven by desperation, Lin as a trapped sex worker living in a foreign land, and Lau as a man who would do anything for his love.
The movie also gets points for its no holds barred fight sequences. The action scenes are courtesy of Sunny Pang, who was recognised with a Best Action Choreography nomination at the 59th Golden Horse Awards. Depending on your stomach for violence, you will either find the scenes (especially the ones towards the end of the movie) gratifying or nauseous.
Kwang’s directorial feature The Days was released in 2008. Fifteen years later, he is back with this story that take place in Singapore’s underbelly. Let’s hope it doesn’t take him too long to make another movie, because it is refreshing to watch a Singapore production that isn’t a comedy that features an overload of product placements.
Movie Rating:
(A gritty movie that features some of the most brutal action you've ever seen in a Singapore movie, and also a brilliant performance by Mark Lee)
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama
Director: Liu Xiaoshi
Cast: Wang Yibo, Hu Jun, Yu Shi, Zhou Dongyu
Runtime: 2 hr 7 mins
Rating: PG13
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:
Opening Day: 4 May 2023
Synopsis: Talented pilot LEI Yu (WANG Yibo) has been rigorously selected as the new generation of test pilots. He will be trained under the leadership of captain ZHANG Ting (HU Jun) testing the most advanced fighter jets and pushing himself past the limits, which he gains resilience in the face of adversity.
Movie Review:
In the real world, China has been rubbing shoulders with every foreign nations out there, unfortunately in the wrong way as we speak. Squabbles over trade and Taiwan issues with the US, getting comfortable with Russia and resorting to making an assuring phone call to the Ukrainian President, China is no doubt making its presence felt as a “responsible major country”.
On the cinematic spectrum, China is not losing to its biggest competitor either that they are coming up with their own version of last year’s top grossing hit, Top Gun: Maverick since the latter was not shown in the People’s Republic. Originally scheduled to premiere in October last year but pulled in the last minute, Born to Fly has finally landed on our shore and is it yet another propagandistic title or a chance to give Cruise and company a run for their money?
If you can look past the flimsy prologue which details two unnamed enemies plans intruding into China’s airspace then you will certainly find Born to Fly worthy of your time despite the patriotic plotting. Popstar Wang Yibo stars as Lei Yu, a hotshot pilot who is recruited by a certain Commander Zhang (Hu Jun) to train as part of a squadron to test an up-and-coming, technologically advanced Made In China stealth fighter. As expected, Lei not only has to face a stronger competitor, Deng Fang (Yu Shi) but also his stubbornness to test every equipment to the limit which results him being grounded and reassign to pack and rollup parachutes with the ground crew.
You can breathe a huge sigh of relief when Born to Fly takes a different form of approach instead of plainly being a glorified air force commercial. Taking its time to craft a story which details the hardship and sacrifice of the numerous unknown individuals who got KIA during the course of testing the new generation of fighter jets for the next batch of pilots, the narrative is surprisingly emotionally moving and the topic treated with both respect and restraint.
Whether you believe it or not, the story paints the China military as an underdog. Without the cooperation from the West, most of their military gadgets, vehicles and jets are built by their very own engineers, mechanics and their own pilots have to risk their lives testing their functionality on the field. Born to Fly in many ways work as a major tribute to their trials and tribulations behind-the-scenes.
Of course, the movie won’t be that meaningful if you see Lei packing parachutes for the rest of the running time. Thus given his enthusiasm and knowledge, he is brought back to the team to work on the technical aspects of the stealth fighter with the rest of the engineers shortly after a flying test went south. Being the only (or second) female presence, Zhou Dongyu (Better Days, Under the Hawthorn Tree) cameos as Dr Shen, the love interest of Lei.
While there are aerial dogfights in the beginning and last act of the movie, fortunately it is also not a movie that is filled with lots of empty CGI spectacles. Still, we must also emphasised the technical aspects are certainly remarkably displayed here. All in all, the message behind the movie is well-executed and goes deeper than just visuals. Although there’s snippets of propaganda and simplistic writings, Born to Fly is genuinely well-done instead of being a Maverick copycat.
Movie Rating:
(A surprisingly well-made aviation drama that takes you up the sky!)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Lee Cronin
Cast: Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Nell Fisher, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols , Anna-Maree Thomas, Mirabai Pease, Jayden Daniels , Richard Crouchley, Billy Reynolds-McCarthy, Tai Wano
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: R21 (Violence and Gore)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:
Opening Day: 20 April 2023
Synopsis: Moving the action out of the woods and into the city, "Evil Dead Rise" tells a twisted tale of two estranged sisters, played by Sutherland and Sullivan, whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
Movie Review:
A random voice from the shadows of the cinema piped in over the end credits, "One of the best Mother's Day movie, lah!" There's nothing more flawed and perfect than families and the latest addition to the Evil Dead film series depicts it gorily well.
Evil Dead Rise shadows a maladjusted family that goes about their day-to-day life and their monotonous evening is interrupted by a guest and an earthquake before the Book of the Dead, also known as Necronomicon, is discovered. Road-weary Beth (Lily Sullivan) pays an overdue visit to her big sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) who’s a single mom with three kids (Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols and Nell Fisher) residing in a cramped LA apartment.
Let’s delve deeper to deliberate if it’s a mediocre horror or balls to the walls kind of horror?
The evil unfurls in a cabin in the woods where the entire mood of the quick-paced family gore fest is established, before moving into the city. Looks like horrors are now rooting for an upgrade where they move out of the woods and into the city, endorsing a closer-to-home feel which we absolutely have no qualms about.
Many horror movies present an underlining subtext that covers real world issues. This fifth generation of the 1981 horror classic reflects on the hardships faced by a single mother and how the head of the household can be mentally, emotionally, physically and, ahem, spiritually taxed. It’s no joke that even in a possessed state, mothers would take the time out to whip up a meal for their darling kids. Now, that’s a mother! But with the price eggs now, that one scene in the kitchen was extra disturbing to be honest. So, if you have been complaining about your mum as of late, think again.
Speaking of which, Alyssa Sutherland kicks it out of the park when embodying the mother's role. The Vikings actress’s sinister smile and uncanny demeanour accentuated by her elfin features make her the pick of the bunch to play this particular role. Lily Sullivan does an equally outstanding job in slipping on the final girl's boots and not forgetting Nell Fisher who steals every scene that she's part of. Big props to the rest of the cast who execute remarkably well in fending off the deadeds. Coming to which, Morgan Davis who plays Danny, an intuitive teen that sights the Necronomicon in the depths of a bank vault, is the first transgender in a mainstream horror film.
Even though this latest instalment of the iconic horror by Sam Raimi doesn’t come with chock-full of horrific jump scares, it has the perfect measure of possession, gore at its core and light-to-moderate humour set in a new city scape to satiate a true-blue horror fan, thus making it still an Evil Dead movie at its core. And in the same vein, you can’t possibly have an Evil Dead film without the chainsaw, can you?
While the plot predominantly unfolds in the apartment building that once housed a bank, thankfully it doesn’t get too claustrophobic. The dark and dingy interiors of the LA apartment lends an urban decay feel with the colour tones that set the moods up for some ominous, not- your-everyday event.
What makes this 96-minute American supernatural number stand out from the rest of the Evil Dead franchise is, it tugs at our heartstrings and makes us feel bad for the family, which we aren't related to in any way, shape or form. Why? That’s because, if it can happen to an unassuming person coming from a broken home trying to make ends meet, then neither of us are safe. And that sticks with us even after the movie.
On a somewhat lighter note, let's take a moment to appreciate the title card. Evil Dead Rise has one of the dope title card that boasts unsettling imageries combined with sounds that pierce right through us.
Another note-worthy aspect of the requel would be, although it may appeal to both first time casual fans and franchise ‘loyals’, they've used more than 1700 gallons of fake blood in the making of this film and if you aren't good with blood and puke-inducing scenes, it would be best to show yourself out. That's because you need to buckle up for truckloads of haunting convulsions, projectile vomit and bloodbaths.
With the shaky POV cam, blood-soaked recreational activities with glass, bizarre-coloured bodily fluids and the elevator scene, Lee Cronin definitely understood the assignment. It doesn’t exactly take us back to the other Evil Dead movies for comparison purposes, but it does pay homage to the previous instalments.
If you haven’t clapped for a trailer in a long time, now’s the right time to put your paws together for this one. The timeless classic, Que Sera, Sera that plays in the background sets the tone for the entire runtime by offering us a hint of the subject matter. And if you feel that everything is spoilt for you in the trailer itself, you stand absolutely corrected!
And whoever wrote the dialogues need a bloody (pun intended) cookie, for they were dripping heavy with sarcasm, wit and pure evil. There is a difference between good horror and evil horror and this intense flick has straight-up savage demonic lines (with some feeling Stephen-Kingy) interweaved into the plot that best represents the latter. If you are craving a horror number that will snap you out of clichés once in a bloody moon, this is it!
Movie Rating:
(Invite yourself to the reunion of the ill-fated sisters and meet the mother of all evils. The gorier the merrier, isn’t it?)
Review by Asha Gizelle Mariadas
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RICHARD NG (吴耀汉) (1939 - 2023)Posted on 10 Apr 2023 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Ben Affleck
Cast: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, Jay Mohr, Marlon Wayans, Matthew Maher
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 April 2023
Synopsis: From award-winning director Ben Affleck, AIR reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time.
Movie Review:
Who would have thought that a movie about how Nike came to create Air Jordan basketball shoes could be this entertaining? Certainly not us, before we stepped into the cinema to see Ben Affleck’s latest directorial effort, which also sees him step in front of the camera as Nike CEO Phil Knight, not least because the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
But Affleck, who works from a well-judged script by first-time screenwriter Alex Convery, has created what we think will be one of our favourite films of the year, a funny, moving and surprisingly poignant David-and-Goliath tale about how the upstart Oregon-based footwear company with the swoosh logo beat out its deeper-pocketed rivals Converse and Adidas to score a game-changing partnership with a then-rookie Michael Jordan to revolutionise the world of sports and contemporary culture.
At the heart of that story is the company’s veteran talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), whom we are introduced to working college games while nursing a compulsive gambling habit. A snappy montage set to Dire Straits’ ‘Money for Nothing’ catapults us right into the 1980s era; besides Rolodexes, Rubik’s Cubes and Reagan, it was also shortly after Nike had gone public, and despite leading in the athletic shoe market was flailing in the basketball arena.
Compared to other executives at Nike, Sonny possessed a keen understanding of the game and its players, and rather than accept their lot going after the lower-ranked players, decides to persuade his colleagues – including marketing executive Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) and field rep Howard White (Chris Tucker) – to bet their entire budget on signing Jordan. It is Sonny though who does most of the heavy-lifting, in particular flying out to North Carolina to meet with Jordan’s mother Deloris (Viola David) to ask that she give Nike a chance, despite the vehement objections of Jordan’s potty-mouthed agent David Falk (Chris Messina).
It is also credit to Sonny that the Air Jordans are what they are; had it not been for Sonny’s gumption, the Nike shoe wizard Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) would not have had the derring-do to design them in all its prototypical Chicago Bulls red-and-black glory, especially given how NBA regulations require at least 50% of the shoes to be white. Instead of getting the person to fit the shoe, Sonny was sure from the very beginning that he wanted the shoe to be built around the person and therefore to represent what Jordan embodied.
Even though there is never a doubt if Sonny would succeed in convincing the Jordans to place their future with Nike, the fact that the to- and fro- remains just as engaging is credit to Affleck and his superb ensemble cast. Damon is at his most affable and relatable; Bateman switches effortlessly between being quippy and sincere; Tucker has lost none of his motormouthed comic gusto despite being away from the big screen for seven years; and last but not least, Davis is triumphant channeling maternal fire and feeling into a standout supporting act. The chemistry between the actors is extremely rewarding, whether the well-worn rapport between Damon and Affleck or the heartfelt, thoughtful exchanges between Damon and Davis.
Affleck’s achievement behind the camera is impressive on many counts. Besides the performances he draws out from the cast, Affleck’s grasp of pacing and poignancy is sharp and confident. He keeps the energy of the movie pulsing from start to finish, and finds unexpected pathos in ruminating about the ephemeral nature of fame and fortune, legend and legacy. Those who have lived through the 80s will also enjoy the trip down memory lane through the needle drops and various minutiae like chunky computer hardware and bright jogging shorts.
Five films in as director, ‘Air’ shows how Affleck’s craft has matured and deepened. Like we said at the beginning, it is indeed an accomplishment to turn a story about the contractual intricacies of how Nike convinced then-NBA rookie Jordan to sign an endorsement contract into an across-the-board charming endeavour. Whether you are a fan of the sport or someone utterly ignorant to it, ‘Air’ possesses such winning universal appeal by turning its tale of corporate triumph into a well-told, scrappy underdog story. And for those who belong to the former, you’ll appreciate when we say that ‘Air’ is unequivocally a three-point win.
Movie Rating:
(Thanks to a superb ensemble, smart script and sharp direction, 'Air' successfully turns a tale about corporate triumph into a winning underdog story)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/War
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Alexander Ludwig, Antony Starr, Jonny Lee Miller, Emily Beecham, Bobby Schofield, Rhys Yates, Jason Wong
Runtime: 2 hr 3 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:
Opening Day: 27 April 2023
Synopsis: Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant follows the story of US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). After an ambush, Ahmed goes to Herculean efforts to save Kinley’s life. When Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family were not given safe passage to America as promised, he must repay his debt by returning to the war zone to retrieve them before the Taliban can hunt them down.
Movie Review:
Inserting Guy Ritchie’s name into the title of his latest movie sounds like a marketing ploy to differentiate ‘The Covenant’ from other similarly-themed films about the US’ war in Afghanistan which ended ignominiously back in August 2021, but we suspect after seeing it that it is really to reassure audiences that it is indeed Ritchie behind the camera. Indeed, this war thriller stands apart from the usual stylistically flamboyant action work which Ritchie is known for, but for that same reason, is in fact his most outstanding yet, inspired by real-life recent history about the mostly forgotten and unsung Afghan allies who served the US mission as interpreters.
It is not hard to see why Ritchie had sparked to this story which he co-wrote – notwithstanding their contributions, the US government broke its promise to thousands of Afghans who believed that they had earned Special Immigrant Visas to escape from the inevitable recriminations they and their families would suffer at the hands of the Taliban. As morally outraged as he feels, Ritchie exercises utmost restraint in not pontificating at any point in the movie; instead, he lets the film speak for itself, trusting that its discomforting subject matter would tug at his audiences’ heartstrings long after the lights in the cinema have come on.
Though packed with many notable supporting parts, this is at its core a two-hander between US Army Special Forces Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and former mechanic-turned-interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). A quick prologue shows how Kinley’s unit lost one of its men as well as their interpreter after a truck bomb goes off at a vehicle checkpoint, leading to a quick selection process back at base where Kinley picks the straight-talking but bull-headed Ahmed. Though he has no interest in the American cause, Ahmed’s son was killed by the Taliban, and his wife is pregnant, so he has reason to turn on the Taliban and to aim to start a new life in America one day.
Structured as three acts, the first establishes the understanding that Kinley and Ahmed forge out in the field, as the latter proves to be more than just a translator, but an interpreter with context, insight and nuance. Ahmed advises the owner of an opium joint to let Kinley’s unit in without resistance, because the alternative would be a lot less pretty. He also decides on his own accord to up the payment to a snitch they kidnap off the streets, in order not to provoke a worse confrontation. And en route to a supposed Taliban IED factory, Ahmed calls out a suspicious detour suggested by one of the local Afghan soldiers tagged to Kinley’s unit as an ambush.
That understanding evolves into a bond between the pair after they end up fleeing on foot for their lives from swarms of heavily armed Taliban gunmen following a raid on an abandoned mine that turns into a fierce firefight with only the two of them left alive. That second act works as a nerve-wracking survival adventure, with Kinley getting badly wounded at one point, leaving Ahmed with the arduous charge of traversing miles and miles of mountainous Taliban-controlled terrain to bring Kinley back to the Bagram air base where the US forces are stationed. Lying, negotiating and improvising all of the way, we come to be humbled by Ahmed’s resourcefulness and determination to help Kinley make it safely home to Santa Clarita.
Though extended, there is never a dull moment in this middle section, with Ritchie proving his worth as a filmmaker in this incredibly tense sequence. In particular, Ritchie switches thoughtfully every now and then to Kinley’s point of view as he drifts in and out of consciousness after suffering a concussion. These dreamy, wordless scenes also follow through to the third act, which finds Kinley suffering from post-traumatic stress as he learns how Ahmed was left in the lurch and struggles helplessly thereafter against the military bureaucracy to secure Ahmed the visas he was promised. Whilst Kinley heading back to Afghanistan himself to get Ahmed and his family out offers Ritchie just the sort of excuse to stage an action-packed finale, the film has more than made its point by then about the covenant since forged between our heroes.
In Gyllenhaal and Salim, Ritchie has found an electrifying duo to play out two men from different worlds bound by a code of honour. Some may recall that the last time that Gyllenhaal had played a US Marine sniper in ‘Jarhead’ nearly two decades ago, but Gyllenhaal is even more compelling here as a man trying to do right by someone he owes his life too. On the other hand, Salim may be a relative unknown, but the Danish actor best known for his supporting role in ‘Game of Thrones’ gives a completely authentic and riveting performance in his first Hollywood outing. Together, they make you root hard for Kinley and Ahmed to survive that one last and seemingly impossible mission to make it out safe.
And with ‘The Covenant’, Ritchie demonstrates that he can be much more than the visual stylist we know him for through ‘Snatch’, the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ movies and ‘The Gentlemen’. Compared to his oeuvre so far, this movie is probably his most down-to-earth yet, eschewing any flourishes to deliver a straight-up war thriller. It also manages to be topical, suspenseful and moving because of its plucked from real life setting, reminding us in the end credits that more than 300 Afghan interpreters and their families have been killed by the Taliban, with thousands more in hiding, despite initial assurances from the US government. If it isn’t yet obvious, this is one of our favourite Guy Ritchie movies, and we’d recommend whether you’re fan or not of his works to see it for its gripping tale of brotherhood and survival.
Movie Rating:
(The most unlikely Guy Ritchie film you'll see, this gritty, gripping and gut-wrenching tale of brotherhood and survival is one of the best war thrillers in recent time)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Director: Grace Wu
Cast: Ya Hui, Ayden Sng, Xuan Ong, Henry Thia, Peter Yu, Doreen Toh, Regina Lim, Liow Shi Suen, Brian Ng, Jasmine Sim
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 12 May 2023
Synopsis: Aishi is a ghost who has been wandering in the world for 20 years until she accidentally occupies her brother’s body and embarks on a 7-day unbelievable journey.
Movie Review:
Fans of Ya Hui and Ayden Sng rejoice, because the two popular TV stars have made their way to be big screen to headline this local production, which also had its world premiere by opening this year’s Singapore Chinese Film Festival. The celebrities don’t portray a couple though (Ya plays the eldest sister in the family, while Sng plays the youngest brother), so don’t expect them to share any romantic sequences together. What you’d get instead, is a heartfelt scene as their characters reflect how far they’ve come as a family, as regrets and secrets are revealed.
The movie has an interesting premise. We are introduced to Aishi (Xuan Ong), a ghost who has been wandering the world (in this case, Singapore) for the past 20 years. She makes friends with another ghost (Henry Thia), who has also been around because of unresolved family matters. In a twist of fate, Aishi occupies her brother’s (Sng) body and in the next seven days, she gets to find out how her family members are really doing. This includes her sister (Ya), as well as her parents (Peter Yu and Doreen Toh) who are not getting any younger as the years go by.
Director and writer Grace Wu, who was born in Chongqing, is the first Chinese director to shoot a movie produced in Singapore. Expectedly, the story includes flashbacks and viewers are given glimpses of what might have caused Aishi’s death. It’s nice that the movie isn’t exploitatively melodramatic, and there are comedy elements in the 101 minute movie. While the results are a mixed bag of laughs, it is still a welcome approach. The storytelling structure doesn’t work all the time, but the ensemble cast’s commendable performances make up for it.
As the lead character, Sng has enough charisma and screen presence. Playing a character whose body has been taken over by a young girl, he gets to display the softer side of his personality. Ya does a fine job portraying a career minded woman who has no time to take care of herself, and the vulnerabilities show. Ong’s bubbly persona and youthfulness is infectious, and we hope to see more of her on TV or film in the future. Maybe it’s how we are familiar with Thia’s on screen personality as a comedian, some of the sequences which require dramatic chops come across as funny instead of emotional. With his experience, Yu pulls off the character of a father effortlessly.
One notable aspect of the movie is how it sheds light on postnatal depression. Besides the abovementioned main characters, there is also a side plot featuring a woman who is managing her emotions while trying to grapple with her newborn, her busy husband and a somewhat overbearing mother in law. Played by Regina Lim and Brian Ng, the characters are relatable in today’s society and it is a nice inclusion in the movie for increased awareness about this pertinent issue.
This is a family friendly movie which has just the right amount of entertainment and social values to take away when the credits roll.
Movie Rating:
(A wholesome movie that will remind you to tell your family members how much you love them)
Review by John Li
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THE 41ST HONG KONG FILM AWARDS 香港電影金像奬 2023Posted on 16 Apr 2023 |
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