Genre: Comedy
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Feldman, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Matthew Broderick
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Nudity and Sexual References)
Released By: Sony Pictures
Official Website:

Opening Day: 27 July 2023

Synopsis: Jennifer Lawrence produces and stars in No Hard Feelings, a laugh-out-loud, edgy comedy from director Gene Stupnitsky (Good Boys) and the co-writer of Bad Teacher. On the brink of losing her childhood home, Maddie (Lawrence) discovers an intriguing job listing: wealthy helicopter parents looking for someone to “date” their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy, before he leaves for college. To her surprise, Maddie soon discovers the awkward Percy is no sure thing.  

Movie Review:

If you haven't been excited for a comedy, here's your chance with Jennifer Lawrence playing the glorious lead in this 103-minute R-rated romp. The humour launches with a tow truck that is on its way to whisk away Maddie Barker’s (Jennifer Lawrence) only source of income. Desperate times call for desperate measures and the Uber driver who's in her dirty thirties responds to a Craigslist ad posted by wealthy helicopter parents who’ve got their kid’s best interest at heart.

“Jennifer Lawrence in a comedy?” you may ask. The Oscar winner who is now free from The Hunger Games franchise commitments is back again following a brief hiatus from big screens. As jaw-dropping as it may seem, Lawrence, given her innate comedic flair and goddess-like energy was able to pull off the role of Maddie with such effortless grace.

A well-paced narrative offering refreshing character variation revolving a simple concept with absolutely no lags and potholes makes it a rarity in today's big screen hits. The character roles are heavily individualistic and that certainly contributes to the quirkiness of the sex comedy. The entire cast was gold. Not forgetting the commendable writing that reintroduces a classic theme in a superior way. No Hard Feelings almost instantly zaps us back to the noughties and lends vibes of an early Y2K movie where it can be safely dubbed as good ole days. And what’s not to love about the mad cool trailer and theatrical poster? Fret not! The trailer is (thankfully) not a watchbait. Not every single comedy sequence is laid bare in the trailer. A handful of bests that is meant to leave you in stitches are saved for last.

While this may be dubbed as Lawrence’s perfect comeback film, the 21-year-old breakout star, Andrew Barth Feldman matches energies quip for quip in delivering his role as an awkward virginal wallflower with impeccable comedy chops.

This cozy, fun, raunchy comedy that takes you as far back to the erotic 90s, unsuspectingly veers away from the it's-just-another-chick-flick notion midway through the plot. It delivers a fresh take even if it might feel like a reboot of Can’t Buy Me Love while oscillating between Superbad and I Love You, Beth Cooper.

J-Law's comedic genius paired with a superpower to work her magic on any role, backs up her versatility and makes her a force to reckon with. It's uplifting to see the Academy Award- winning actress let her hair down after what seems like ever, in contrast to her morose demeanour in The Hunger Games.

If you happen to be fatigued by recent multiverse franchises, comic heroes in skintight suits and flashy neon colours and have grown rather immune to dark and twisted plots, then No Hard Feelings is a must-watch!

Some movies are so easy to fall in love with and this is one such movie. The side-splittingly hilarious number isn’t just a legendary comeback for the 32-year-old, but it certainly calls for the celebration of the return of rude! It isn't necessarily shallow or ‘slapsticky’ as it looks. The rib-tickler has a little bit of everything from comedy (funny in deep ways), moral lessons to social commentary and loads of feelings. Not every film needs to check the cinematic masterpiece box. It hits just the same when movies are made from the heart too. And No Hard Feelings is of the same ilk.

Movie Rating:

(If you are all up for a flick that seduces you with comedy but hits you with emotions, then buckle up. An R-rated romp that promises a renewed faith in comedies)

Review by Asha Gizelle Mariadas

SYNOPSIS: A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx) onto the trail of a nefarious government experience conspiracy in this pulpy mystery caper.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Not any movie can call themselves witty, offbeat and funny. But They Cloned Tyrone so happens to fall into this category.

As the movie opens, we follow Fontaine (John Boyega), a small-time drug dealer going about his business including visiting a pimp named Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) and one of his sex workers, Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris). Shortly after, Fontaine is fatally shot in his car by a competing drug dealer, Isaac. The next minute, we see Fontaine waking up the next morning, good as new and going about his business as usual.

Before we go on, let’s pause for a moment. So is this a déjà vu, groundhog day kind of thing going on for Fontaine? Or is there some sort of sinister conspiracy happening in the neighbourhood?

If you can endure the first 15 minutes or so, you will find much to like about They Cloned Tyrone. First, it pokes fun at the Black communities but also cleverly create a convincing narrative about the unfairness and mistreatment of the race. Director and writer Juel Taylor makes good use of social commentary and pop cultural references to create an accessible, entertaining commercial flick.

Nothing associated with the Black communities are spared including fried chicken, perm cream, churches and even names liked Michael Jackson and President Obama are thrown into the dialogue. Be warned, you probably need to rewind to catch some of the jokes mouthed by Slick Charles though. Talking about the character, Foxx is so ridiculously funny as the pimp character that it deserved his own spin-off.

As for the story, it certainly turns wilder and funnier as the trio go further down the rabbit hole. We shall not spoil it for you but a certain reputable actor from 24 also appears as one of the movie’s antagonists. The production design is sort of a live-action, classic Scooby Doo episode given the almost retro costume and sets. For that matter, you don’t even spot a contemporary smart phone, a modern car or a computer on screen.

Boyega, Parris and Foxx generates so much chemistry together that it’s always a delight to watch whenever the trio is together. All in all, They Cloned Tyrone is an unexpected surprise treat given Netflix’s atrocious record of producing middling to subpar originals.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Mystery/Comedy
Director: Justin Simien
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto
Runtime: 2 hr 3 mins
Rating: PG13 (Frightening Scenes)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website:

Opening Day: 9 August 2023

Synopsis: Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, “Haunted Mansion” is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so - called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.

Movie Review:

If you don’t already know by now, there are countless ways Disney is making money. Besides the animated and live action movies (plus the direct to video sequels), the company has various theme parks around the world. And the attractions in these theme parks have been the basis of numerous movies, with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise being the most notable of them all. There have also been movies like The Country Bears (2002), Tomorrowland (2015) and Jungle Cruise (2021) which were based on actual Disney Park attractions.

Back in 2003, Rob Minkoff directed The Haunted Mansion based on the theme park attraction of the same name. Despite getting bad reviews from critics, the movie starring Eddie Murphy performed well at the box office and gained a cult following over the years. It is probably due to business considerations (and the popularity of the dark ride attraction) that Disney greenlit a reboot directed by Justin Simien. And so, here we have the supernatural horror comedy for today’s viewers two decades on.

The movie is a star studded affair. LaKeith Stanfield plays an astrophysicist who used to embrace life until his fiancée died. Now, he leads ghost tours in New Orleans and looks like he is ready to pick a fight with any enthusiastic tourist. He gets a paid job to photograph ghosts for a single mother (Rosario Dawson) and her son, who are staying in a supposed haunted mansion. What started as a money making stint turns into an investigation of the supernatural, and a motley crew comes together for this adventure.

The members include a supposed exorcist (Owen Wilson), a fumbling professor (Danny DeVito) and an aspiring psychic (Tiffany Haddish). It is nice to see the ensemble cast together delivering funny one liners (mostly from Wilson and DeVito). It does feel like the actors had an enjoyable time filming the scenes.

The humans spend time in the haunted mansion, and come face to face with a helpful medium whose disembodied head appears in crystal ball (Jamie Lee Curtis) and a vengeful ghost in a cloak and top hat holding a hatbox (Jared Leto), among countless other supernatural beings. The ghosts are a visual treat, and you'd expect nothing less from Disney.

Viewers who have been on The Haunted Mansion ride will know Madame Leota and the Hatbox Ghost, two very identifiable features when of the attractions’ ride-through tour where visitors are experience hauntings on vehicles known as Doom Buggies. If you have been on the ride, you will a fun time identifying easter eggs which are inspired by the attraction. It may even inspire you to book a ticket to visit a Disney Park with your family soon.

This is a movie meant for everyone in the family, which is everything is family friendly. The scares are just right without being exploitative, there is no blood and gore (even Leto’s antagonist character delivers just the right amount of menance without giving kids nightmares), and there is a wholesome message about coming to terms with loved ones who are gone. Adults and teenagers who want to be shaken by a scary movie should look elsewhere.

Movie Rating:

(This outing to The Haunted Mansion is a family-friendly affair, and will please fans of the famous Disney Park ride)

Review by John Li  

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, Sienna Guillory and Cliff Curtis
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG13 (Intense Sequences)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:

Opening Day: 3 August 2023

Synopsis: Back for seconds! “Meg 2: The Trench” is the summer’s highly anticipated next chapter of the global blockbuster that returns to the big screen with Jason Statham once again headlining and now partnered with Wu Jing, star of five of the ten highest-grossing films in China. Our unstoppable heroes battle a frenzy of ferocious Megs, led by the biggest Meg ever, along with new, never-before-seen creatures in a monstrously-sized action thriller. Featuring jaw-dropping effects, edge-of-your-seat thrills and high-octane battles, “Meg 2: The Trench” is a summer joyride at its combustible best!

Movie Review:

A movie about a group of scientists fighting a 75-foot-long megalodon shark probably wasn’t developed with the intention of getting rave reviews from critics, but if it delivers thrills and spills for the viewers, why not?

Better still, if it makes a splash at the box office, there is a reason for the movie to exist. Back in 2018, The Meg starring Jason Statham and Li Bingbing. Made with a budget of USD 130 to 178 million, the movie earned USD 530.2 million at the box office. Who cares if the movie directed by Jon Turteltaub garnered mixed reviews? Bring on a sequel!

And so, five years later, we have a second movie in the franchise. What other story can be told for a shark movie? Well, there isn’t one – and we weren’t expecting a sophisticated plot to begin with. Directed by Ben Wheatley from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris, it is surprising to know that the movie is actually based on a 1999 science fiction horror novel The Trench by Steve Alten.

Statham returns as Jonas Taylor, a diver who specialises in deep sea search and rescue. Of course, we know him as the guy who fought a megalodon shark. Together with his crew and some other new characters, the good guys have to prevent the bad guys from doing some bad deeds, and also fight off not one, but many megalodon sharks plus other carnivorous creatures (simply because the sequel can afford more CGI shots). Along the way, some members of the ensemble cast will get eaten up. Needless to say, when the creatures wreak havoc on a human infested resort, countless people will become shark food.

Like the first movie, this 116 minute sequel is a Chinese co production, which is why action superstar Wu Jing shows up as Zhang Jiuming, who is the brother of Li Bingbing’s deceased character. Besides getting to pull some punches against the baddies, he gets to combat the CGI creatures with a believable intensity.

Because of the source of financing dollars, audiences also get to know how protecting the ocean is crucial for China and all of mankind, and hear Mandarin dialogues from Wu and Sophia Cai, who Zhang Meiying, Jonas’ stepdaughter. Other returning characters include Cliff Curtis’ James "Mac" Mackreides (an operations manager) and Page Kennedy’s DJ (an engineer). The two have some fun scenes together fighting off bad guys on a vessel.

The first half of the movie takes place in the titular trench, and we get the feeling that the filmmakers are trying to use the rather dull scenes to set up something that’s going to be insanely jaw dropping. Unfortunately, that is not the case and what we got instead are characters in exosuits trekking carefully in the depths of the ocean. Nothing terribly exciting happens, although there are fatalities.

What viewers want are probably monster sharks chomping on terrified humans, and we only get that when the action shifts to a nonsensically named location called Fun Island. There, you will get what you came for – ridiculously fun sequences where humans fleeing the shark infested waters, and Statham putting a stop (with the help of Wu and Curtis) to the blood thirsty monsters.

Movie Rating:

(You'll have to get past the first murky hour before being treated to a series of ridiculously fun sequences where monsters eat humans while Jason Statham and Wu Jing fight megalodon sharks)

Review by John Li 

Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Kim Yong-Hwa
Cast: Sul Kyung Gu, Do Kyung Soo, Kim Hee Ae, Park Byung-eun, Jo Han-chul, Choi Byung-mo, Hong Seung-hee, Shim Young-eun, Jo Seung-yeon
Runtime: 2 hr 9 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Intense Sequences)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 9 August 2023

Synopsis: Kim Yong Hwa, one of the most prominent directors in Korean cinema, returns with his most ambitious and spectacular film to date. In the near future, Korea’s first manned mission to the moon ends in a tragiv disaster when an exploision occurs on board. 7 years later, a second human spaceflight is launched successfully but a strong solar wind causes it to malfunction. One astronaut Sun-Woo (DO) is left stranded in space. Facing another fatal catastrophe, the Naro Space Center turns to its former managing director Dr Kim (SUL) to help bring Sun-woo back home safely.

Movie Review:

Fans of popstar D.O. aka Do Kyung Soo will be delighted with the release of The Moon. It not only features the return of their idol after a brief mandatory stint in the army but also marks director Kim Yong-hwa’s return to the big screen after the massive success of his Along With the Gods series.

Five years ago, Korea’s first mission to the moon ended disastrously. As a result, the space engineer in charge, Hwang blamed it on himself and committed suicide. The flight director, Dr Kim (Sul Kyung Gu) left to work at a weather station up in the mountainous region probably out of guilt. It’s the year 2029 and Korea is sending yet another team of astronauts to the moon comprising of Commander Li, his engineer and lastly, Hwang Sun-woo, a navy seal turned astronaut.

The mission is simple enough. Reach the moon, gather some samples and travel back to earth. Of course, things aren’t that straight-forward in space. Midway, a solar flare causes their shuttle to malfunction and the subsequent death of Commander Li and his engineer. Sun-woo becomes the sole survivor on the ill-fated mission. Trapped inside the shuttle, the crew at the control station has to brainstorm ways to bring Sun-woo safely back and Dr Kim is once again activated to help in the rescue mission since he is the one who designed the initial version of the space shuttle.

Expectedly, The Moon springs no surprises in terms of narrative unlike Kim’s prior Along With the Gods where heaven, hell and the complexity of celestial realms are explored. In short, The Moon is very much alike to Gravity, the 2013 award-winning space thriller from Alfonso Cuarón except that it’s 30 minutes too long. While Cuarón keeps things to the minimum focusing mainly on the characters of Bullock and Clooney and the occasional appearance of the mission controller, Kim throws in a dramatic arc whereby Hwang happens to be the son of Dr Kim’s colleague who died.

As the story unfolds, The Moon packs a lot of emotional damages along the way making YouTuber Steven He proud. Hwang is persistent to make his father proud and also in an attempt to honour his late teammates, he decides to go ahead and descend to the moon using a Lunar roving vehicle to collect samples from the moon surface as per the mission. Again, the unlucky young lad encountered a deadly meteor shower and Dr Kim has to enlist the help of his ex-wife, Jennifer (Kim Hee-ae) who works at NASA to help rescue him to the nearby shuttle station from the U.S.

Meanwhile in some kind of gender, colour biases or political entanglement, Jennifer is being criticised by her superiors in NASA making the rescue mission more challenging as it is. Director Kim tries his best to keep the momentum going switching from Hwang’s dire situation to the various talking heads at the control station and vice versa. Unfortunately, the scripting lacks the humour of The Martian, the one where Matt Damon has to grow potatoes in space to survive and the tension of Gravity to keep things going for another 30 minutes or so.

Confined by the limits of the script, D.O. is not given much to work with and he spends most of his screentime hurtling and bouncing around in the enclosed shuttle like a trapped hamster on a running wheel. Though veteran Sul Kyung Gu and him shared a few emotional scenes, it’s apparently not enough to fully immerse the viewers in their predicament.

Still, The Moon is a stunning piece of work, showcasing the talents of the visual effects artists responsible for bringing the space environment, equipment, vehicles and very much everything to life. The effects can be summed up in one word- “flawless” especially for a non-Hollywood production. While the human drama is fairly predictable, the impressive technicalities is one reason why you should catch it on the big screen.

Movie Rating:

(Although an outstanding visual spectacle, it functions overall as a rather boring and familiar survival space drama)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: FLAMIN’ HOT is the inspiring true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn the iconic Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry and became a global pop culture phenomenon.

MOVIE REVIEW:

You might know the snack, flamin’ hot cheetos but I doubt you know the story behind the man who helped created it.

Son of immigrants, Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia) is a lowly-ranked janitor at the Frito-Lay factory. Despite having a decent job, Richard and his supportive wife, Judy (Annie Gozalez) still fails to make ends meet. With the economic downturn, Frito-Lay faces retrenchment and closure. Inspired by CEO Roger Enrico (Tony Shalhoub), Richard decides to pitch to the latter about the new flavour he came up with, spicy flavoured Cheetos tailored to the Latino market which successfully propels him from a janitor to a marketing executive with the brand.

Flamin’ Hot for the most part is a simple story about a man who tries his best to provide for his family. Instead of peddling drugs on the street, Richard is eager to learn and aims to work as a mechanic at the factory in the future thus he befriends a smart African-American Clarence (Dennis Haysbert) who works as an maintenance engineer.

There’s no overly dramatic treatment of the material. It’s genuinely a feel-good family movie with the exception of some tense moments between Richard and his religious father, Vacho. The debut directorial feature from Eva Longoria (Gabrielle from Desperate Housewives) is a breezy watch filled with lots of Latino cultural bits and dialogue. Basically, you can feel the non-stop energy from the direction and the cast especially Garcia who turns in a very likeable performance.

While there are some commentary about racism against Latinos, drugs and crimes in the beginning, there’s no meaningful discussion in the end because Cheetos is the main takeaway of this flick. To be honest, the whole experience is like a feature-length television special with serviceable, passable set designs and production values.

Everybody loves a good old rags to riches story. The catch however is Frito-Lay’s official documents state that Richard is not the one responsible for it. It’s supposedly invented from a lab in Midwest. If you are not one who is particular on fact checking then Flamin’ Hot definitely hits the right spot with its classic underdog theme and inspiring narrative.  

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast:  Leslie Odom, Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Ellen Burstyn
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: NC16 (Horror and Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:

Opening Day: 12 October 2023

Synopsis: Exactly 50 years ago this fall, the most terrifying horror film in history landed on screens, shocking audiences around the world. Now, on Friday, October 13, a new chapter begins. From Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green, who shattered the status quo with their resurrection of the Halloween franchise, comes The Exorcist: Believer. Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar(r) nominee Leslie Odom, Jr.; One Night in Miami, Hamilton) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, Good Girls) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (newcomer Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.

Movie Review:

We cannot help but wonder – was the purpose of David Gordon Green’s direct sequel to the very first ‘Exorcist’ intended as homage or sacrilege?

At least in the first hour, we can say with some confidence that it was the former. Eschewing the tendency to pile on the jump scares, Green instead fashions an atmospheric, quietly unnerving, well-constructed supernatural mystery.

What exactly had happened to Angela (Lidya Jewett) and Katherine (Olivia Marcum), two teenage girls who disappeared after school into the woods and turned up three days later in a barn 30 miles from their last-known location with no memory of how they had gotten there? Or perhaps more specifically, what entity did they end up summoning after trying to contact Angela’s late mother via a séance?

With the focus on Angela’s father Victor (Leslie Odom Jr), Green paints the agony of a single parent confronted with the loss of his only child and then by fear that there is something very wrong with her despite her re-appearance. Though Katherine’s parents are no doubt feeling the same, Green invests emotional mileage in the bond between Victor and Angela, and therefore Victor’s struggle when Angela deteriorates both physically and mentally.

To his credit too, Green builds up a strong and effective sense of dread in the first hour. From a series of unsettling moments, to the undeniable symptoms of possession, and to the very outright utterances of blasphemy, Green charts a foreboding descent as he sets up the showdown between good and evil.

Just as intriguing is the struggle and importance of faith, which Victor has to overcome in order to rescue Angela. Green sets that up firstly through Victor’s next-door neighbour nurse Ann (Ann Dowd), who was a former novitiate nun before needing to step back from taking her vows, and then through Chris (Ellen Burstyn), who following the events of the first movie, had apparently travelled the world to study every religion’s form of exorcism and written a best-selling book about it.

It is therefore even more disappointing when we find out in the second hour that Green has no intention of seeing these ideas through; instead, perhaps out of studio pressure or otherwise, Green abandons the carefully constructed build-up thus far and piles on the shlock, violence and every other excess the genre is guilty of – and that is even before a pitiful titular climax that is just plain silly, ridiculous and laughable.

Oh yes, there are many reasons to be exasperated with Green at this point. For one, fans anticipating Burstyn’s return will be livid at how quickly and irresponsibly she is sidelined (similar to how Jamie Lee Curtis was in 'Halloween Returns'), rendering her presence to no better than a cameo. For another, it disregards the Catholic grounding of the series not only with an unsanctioned priest but also by throwing in other useless types such as an oncologist turned voodoo practitioner and an evangelical minister. And last but not least, it commits the ultimate sin by turning the big exorcism sequence into a joke, by getting the girls to writh, drool, spit, scream, wail and expectorate black goo.

To even have to pen down Green’s sins at this point is enough to make our blood boil. We’re not sure just why Blumhouse had decided to shell out US$400mil for this franchise, and why after doing so, they would let Green get away with such an atrocious supposed franchise starter. Never mind the token bits of fan service (like how Katherine mutters 'the power of Christ compels you') - by the time the movie confirms that it isn’t Pazuzu that is the demon, we’ve come to the inevitable conclusion that ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ is really sacrilege. Don’t deceive yourself by stepping into this mess.

Movie Rating:

(No amount of writhing, screaming and expectorating can redeem this infuriatingly anaemic sequel from being sacrilege)

Review by Gabriel Chong 

Genre: Drama
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Jeff Goldblum
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Nudity)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:

Opening Day: 10 August 2023

Synopsis: Asteroid City is a dot-on-the-map desert town in the American Southwest. The year is 1955. The town’s most famous attraction is a gigantic meteor crater and celestial observatory nearby. This weekend, the military and astronomers are welcoming five science award-winning children to display their inventions. Not far away, over the hills, mushroom clouds from atomic tests are seen. The scene has been set for Wes Anderson’s newest film, both a rollicking comedy, dazzling in creation, and packed to the brim with images for one to dart their eyes to and from, and also as deeply felt as any of Anderson’s previous works. What begins as a celebration to honor the achievements of the Junior Stargazers receives an unexpected visitor: an alien. Asteroid City is locked down and a fake cover story is concocted by the Army, but the precocious geniuses, in a way that calls to mind the youngsters of Spielberg classics, have a plan to get the word to the outside world. Yet, in Anderson’s inimitable way, the story is bigger than that. Back east, the characters of Asteroid City are on-stage, preparing a play that is called “Asteroid City.” It is here that we venture backstage and into the lives of performers circa 1955. Theater actors polishing their craft, soon to become stars. As funny as any of Anderson’s works, to be sure, but more cosmic; an inward, personal examination of complex family relationships and new romances, parents and children, secrets, discoveries, and outwitting adults; the wide West and gray East, all in a perfect emotional balance that no one can strike better than Wes Anderson.

Movie Review:

You may have seen all those wannabe Instagram reels mimicking the visuals of Wes Anderson’s films some time back, and wonder what the whole fuss is about.

Watching a Wes Anderson movie is like going to an art exhibition. Every frame in the American filmmaker’s works looks like a painting – and a very carefully composed one at that. It asks you to pay attention to every corner of the frame, telling you how clever the entire visual is. You can’t help but praise the aesthetics, despite feeling that this seems to be an act from a kid who desperately wants to show off.

Anderson’s movies are also a showcase of HollywoodA listers. If you were an actor, you may only feel complete if you have starred in a Wes Anderson movie. His latest work is no different. It stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Steve Carell, Willem Dafoe and Margot Robbie, just to list a few big names in the ensemble cast. Even Jeff Goldblum shows up an alien.

What about the story, you ask. Most of the movie shows viewers the happenings at a Junior Stargazer convention in a location known as AsteroidCity, where atomic test sites are situated nearby. Clever kids (and their parents, of course) have gathered, and an extraterrestrial shows up unexpectedly, sending the officials into a frenzy.

Before you think Anderson’s screenplay is straightforward, the plot is actually staged as a play, and we are seeing the creation of the play. Sounds clever enough for Andersonfans? Do not fret if you are worried about not getting the story, because this isn’t even meant to be a plot twist. From the get go, things are put in context so you can admire the movie’s whimsical cinematography and music score, courtesy of Robert Yeoman and Alexandre Desplat respectively.

You have to give it to Anderson for sticking to his unique visual style all these years, with live action movies like his earlier works (2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums and 2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) to his recent hits (2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and 2021’s The French Dispatch). Fans would point out that his greatness is seen in animated films like Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Isle of Dogs (2018) as well.

We find that character’s in Anderson’s movies often feel detached from feelings, and the ones in this 145 minute film exude the same vibe as well. They seem to be merely delivering lines in a deadpan manner. Not that it is a bad thing, because there are certain sequences which work wonderfully. And when some characters show the slightest emotion, the impact on viewers can be felt.

We are referring to Schwartzman, who plays a confused father bringing his three daughters and award winning son to the convention. He is still grieving his dead wife, and is bugged by his father in law (Hanks). At the same time, he meets another parent who happens to be famous actress (Johansson). One can only imagine how his emotions are being tossed around. To top things off, we see him as an actor pondering what his role in the play is, and the sequence where he interacts with the actress (Robbie) who is supposed to play his wife (until her scene got cut), is brilliant. Visuals aside, it has been a while since we felt for a Wes Anderson movie (2012’s Moonrise Kingdom struck us emotionally), and this one about a troubled playwright penning a story named Asteroid City hits the right notes.

Movie Rating: 

(Like all his movies, Wes Anderson's latest work is visually brilliant. On top of that, it has an emotional connection which we haven't felt since Moonrise Kingdom.) 

Review by John Li 

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Jeff Rowe
Cast: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, Nicolas Cantu, John Cena, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Natasia Demetriou, Ayo Edebiri, Giancarlo Esposito, Post Malone, Brady Noon, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 31 August 2023

Synopsis: After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Movie Review:

We need to get this thing out of our chest first i.e. the animation style of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Instead of being a photo-realistic animation, this latest TMNT adventure is done in a doodle-sketch, 2D/3D kind of way. To simplify, if you love the chaotic, vibrant style of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel then you should embrace this Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg produced, Jeff Rowe’s (co-director of The Mitchells Vs The Machines) helmed and written animation.

You can ignore the 2007 animation and the earlier live-action series because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem after all is an origin story. We meet the teenage turtles namely leader, Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), spec-wearing Donatello (Micah Abbey), comedian-wannabe Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr) and an always angry Raphael (Brady Noon) on their regular grocery trips at night, away from the humans as advised by their rodent dad, Splinter (Jackie Chan).

As per any human teenager, the turtles yearn for both acceptance and freedom in the real world and they are basically tired of staying hidden in the sewer. When they encounter and befriend a human, April (Ayo Edebiri), they decide the only way for mankind to accept them is to take down Superfly (Ice Cube), a mutated housefly whose evil plan is to mutate all animals and destroy humanity.

Instead of making Shredder and its lame ninja foot soldiers as the villains of the movie, Superfly is actually the adopted “son” of mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Giancarlo Esposito), sort of a slight twist here. The humans incur his wrath by murdering his father and Superfly vows to rid the world of human beings. By pairing the turtles and Superfly together, the story makes an interesting argument over their predicament and identities. Will humans accept the turtles as normal teenagers? Will it be better for the turtles to team up with Superfly instead? What’s there got to lose if Superfly conquered the world?

While the screenplay is downright simple, it did manage to get the intended messages across. Maybe the metaphors are referring to colour and race, who knows. Hidden heartfelt meanings aside, the animation is filled with lots of pop-culture references and trivia. BTS, Avengers, Attack of the Titans, you name it, they got it. The jokes often come fast and furious so you probably need to extend those ears of yours. The filmmakers even include a tongue-in-cheek sequence of training montages from old classic HK martial-arts flicks, one consisting of none other than Jackie himself.

The turtles are voiced by real-life teenagers this time round and their improvisation skills here are top notch. Jackie Chan for the first time voices an animated character with a lot of depth (and dialogue!) and given ample screentime to showcase the endearing, overprotective fatherly figure of Splinter. The voice talents assembled here are more than impressive with Rogen himself voicing Bebop, John Cena as Rocksteady, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Paul Rudd as Mondo “Bro” Gecko and Post Malone as Ray Fillet. See what I mean? Mutant Mayhem not only features the usual TMNT gang but also little seen characters from the comic lore.

If there’s one thing to nitpick, it’s the usual messy loud final confrontation between good and evil which Superfly termed as a Godzilla attack. Other than that, this adventure with our favourite kungfu fighting anthropomorphic amphibians is in many aspects a fresh, joyous ride filled with ground-breaking animation style, laugh-out-loud gags and good music tracks.

Stay for the mid-credits for an obvious hint of the sequel’s villain.

Movie Rating:

(Oozing with enough charm and witty banter to reboot the franchise to win over another generation of fans)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. “The Beanie Bubble” is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn't appear on the heart-shaped tag. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

From Air to Tetris to Flamin’ Hot, 2023 is a good year for corporate biopics. Barbie is not in case you are wondering. Prime video isn’t resting on its laurel after the success of Air and Tetris thus their third biopic for the year happens to be The Beanie Bubble, a story about billionaire creator Ty Warner and his shenanigans.

The Beanie Bubble expectedly is more about the people behind them than the beanie babies. You know those miniature, understuffed animal soft toys that come with a Ty tag. Ty Warner (Zach Galifinakis) and his partner, girlfriend Robbie (Elizabeth Banks) first came up with the Beanie toys in early 90s and became a sensation years later. But later on, we learned that Robbie is screwed out of the company’s fortunes and legacy by none other than Ty.

Then Ty also left his long-time girlfriend, Shelia (Sarah Snook) whose two daughters helped inspired some of the product lines and he also side-lined another of his part-time employee, marketing whiz, Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan). All in all, Ty is painted as a ruthless, narcissistic corporate honcho who is also obsessed with face-lifts.

The story is based on Zac Bissonnette’s 2015 nonfiction book “The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute” but the movie fails to deliver justice to the three main female characters who supposedly are composites of several real people. The narrative unnecessarily shifts and jumps across timelines making it rather confusing to follow at times.

For a character that plays such an important role in the starting of the company, Robbie is not given much screentime except portraying her as a smart woman that knows how to navigate her place in the corporate world. Shelia is another frustrating character that somehow comes and goes in Ty’s life. Of all, Maya’s has the best character development, not that it’s a consolation. At least we know Maya’s disapproving immigrant parents and her desire to strike out on her own rather than being a doctor following her parents’ wishes.

That leaves Ty Warner. Zach Galifinakis delivers a magnetic performance as the supposedly, reclusive real-life billionaire. All the while, the movie never paints him in a positive light. Egoistic, wacky and emotional, you can name all the unflattering characteristics in the dictionary and Ty probably fits right into it.

For a corporate biopic about beanie babies, their creators and the eventual bust of their popularity, the material presented is as understuffed as their beanies. Yet strangely, The Beanie Bubble is an easy to digest, occasionally funny flick despite the flaws.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee