Genre: Drama
Director: Han Yan
Cast: Ni Dahong, Kara Wai, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Cecilia Yip Tung
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:

Opening Day: 21 September 2023

Synopsis: Chang Weijie (played by Ni Dahong) an empty-nest elderly man and Li Huiru (played by Kara Wai) a widowed elderly woman who collects scraps, are bound by a misunderstanding. Having a mutual affection for each other, they are, however, hesitant to make the next move. A clumsy statement of "I love you" ties the hearts of the two old people who are approaching the end of their lives, defying worldly prejudices and roaming in a sweet and romantic love. On the other hand, Xie Dingshan (played by Leung Ka Fai Tony) and Zhao Huanxin (played by Cecilia Yip Tung) are a loving couple who support each other throughout their lives. When the wife suffers from Alzheimer's disease, the husband takes on the burden of caring for her alone. His heartfelt words, "I love you", marks the commitment to be together until the very end of their lives. Through two stories of intense twilight love, the film portrays the different undertones of love, and also the best form of love – to love until life ends, yet love will never end. This story is based on the comic “I LOVE YOU” by Kang Full.

Movie Review:

Warning: this Chinese drama is a tearjerker. Directed by Han Yan, the movie based on “I Love You”, a South Korean web comic by Kang Full has the premise of a melodrama featuring extremely sad stories that will please fans of the genre, but put off cynical viewers. But thanks to the competent cast headlining the title that opened the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival earlier in June this year, this is a movie that will have you appreciating the elderly loved ones in your life.

The first character we are introduced to Chang Weijie (Ni Dahong), a widower who can get grumpy when things don’t go his way. In one scene, we see him taking out a whip to threaten people in a park. It is also in that location he meets Li Huiru (Kara Wai), a widow who collects scraps for a living. She is also a caretaker and a tenant of an old lady in a wheelchair, and they spend time in a very old unit in the neighbourhood.

You can almost predict the sad plot developments that are going to take place throughout the 116 minute movie. Of course, Weijie will have feelings for Huiru and the two will get closer, but we aren’t sure whether a tragedy is lurking in the shadows. But as audiences, we celebrate the happy moments they share along the way. You smile when Weijie formats an old smart phone and gives it to Huiru, so the two can communicate on social media. Like teenagers who spend time at night looking at TikTok videos on their phones, Weijie chats with Huiru and asks her to like his old postings. It’s cheeky but very sweet.

Elsewhere, we also meet another couple Xie Dingshan (Tony Leung Ka Fai) and Zhao Huanxin (Cecilia Yip), who is suffering from Alzheimer’s Diease. Dingshan is a devoted husband who will do anything for his wife. They may not lead a luxurious life, but it is admirable how the man is committed to stand by the woman he married. It doesn’t help that their children do not live with them in the old and rather cluttered apartment. One sequence where Dingshan invites his children and their spouses, together with their kids, over for a meal to celebrate Huanxin’s birthday is memorably heartbreaking. It may remind you of some of the family gatherings you had in real life, and make you wonder about your own perspective on family values.

The movie sees the four individuals spending time with each other in their twilight years, and it is heartwarming to see what good company can do to lift one’s spirits. As Weijie is a retired zoo attendant, he manages to bring his friend into where he used to work, and the scenes are lighthearted and almost inspiring when the characters share conversations about the animals, which are reflections on their lives.

We don’t want to spoil the ending here, but you will want to get ready some tissue papers. This is one of those movies where the main cast delivers strong performances, and sends a reminder that showbiz may not be fortunate to have them around forever. 

Movie Rating:

(A bittersweet movie about old age that features strong and admirable performances from the main cast)

Review by John Li

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Jason Yu
Cast: Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sun-Kyun
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Violence & Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 21 September 2023

Synopsis: A pregnant wife who becomes worried about her husband's sleeping habits. What starts out as some light sleep-talking soon escalates to unexpectedly grotesque behaviour. They consult a sleep clinic without success and as his nightmarish behaviour escalates, they desperately seek help from a shaman.

Movie Review:

Sleep is but a normal part of everyday life. But what if your partner’s sleep turns out to be so deadly that it affects even the basis of your livelihood? Is it really a disorder or something more?

Sleep is about a young couple, Hyun-Su and Soo-Jin, living a supposedly pleasant life until Hyun-Su starts talking and walking in his sleep, with no recollection of his traumatic- inducing doings the night before and despite seeking professional help, his condition worsens and Soo-Jin ended up being left worried about

Coming to the cinema with not much expectations and not fully comprehending the rather ambiguous trailer, I did not expect myself to be taken on quite a ride. And boy, was I really taken on a ride!

The film started off with what seems like an innocent scene of a young couple having a good night’s sleep and the husband sleep-talking, while the wife wakes up upon a little disturbance. Little would they that it would be the start to all the drama that they will be facing.

The pacing of the film was really good and comfortable. Although it was a little strange that the film was divided into 3 chapters despite only running for slightly more than an hour and a half, it set the tone for the film and give the viewer a clearer idea of what to expect. With each minute, the film gets slightly more and more thrilling and exciting, and one would really feel on the edge with each new development with every minute passing.

The plot was overall simple and linear for comprehension, yet intriguing and complex enough to give some sort of excitement. There were, however, quite a bit of loopholes that although were not too major to disrupt the film entirely, felt a little suspicious and possibly confusing to the viewer, creating a few scenes that were questionable and possibly not too realistic. It does feel like not much was fully explained at some point in time.

There were small minute parts in the film that were ambiguous. It feels like some of the nuances of Korean culture was not fully explained and might lead to one feeling a little lost, although overall it did not entirely affect the experience of the film.

The character development between the 2 leads is strong and evident, and also extremely interesting, how their relationship started off very well and sweet, and then ended very shaky and uneasy. Not much is known about the other characters and despite them not playing a major role in this film, one cannot help but feel that they might have contributed in the explanation of some of the loopholes in the film.

Despite that, the cast did well in their delivery and performance, giving believable emotions laced with conviction.

It is also amazing how about 60% of the film was filmed within the house and how despite that, each scene seems more and more exciting and how the cinematography creates the moment is quite an achievement on its own.

All in all, Sleep, despite its possibly predictable ending (and yet underwhelming ‘conclusion) and slightly questionable plot, gives the right amount of thrills and excitement throughout the 1 hour 35 minutes of its run and induces the right amount of emotions for the ride.

It may left you slightly puzzled at some point in time, but at least you would still be able to sleep after the film has concluded, just like how the female protagonist can finally sleep well after sorting out her husband’s sleeping issue.

Movie Rating:

(A well-paced film with the right amount of thrills and shocks. Not the most conclusive of films, but definitely one that will keep you on the edge)

Review by Ron Tan

SYNOPSIS: The true story of Jose Hernandez. A man with a dream to reach the stars.

MOVIE REVIEW:

In A Million Miles Away, Michael Peña (Ant-Man, The Martian) stars as NASA flight engineer and astronaut José Hernández, one of the few Latinos who went to space. No surprises, this is a straightforward biopic on José and it’s based on his memoir, “Reaching for the Stars: The Inspiring Story of a Migrant Farmworker Turned Astronaut”.

Born into a migrant family, José Hernández has dreamt of being an astronaut since young. The beginning of the movie shows a young José helping his parents picking produce in various farms as they relocate from place to place and having a hard time staying awake in schools. That is until an intervention by a teacher called Ms Young, only then José parents decide to settle down in Stockton, California for good so that their children can have a proper education.

José manages to do well enough academically to be an engineer for an energy research facility and he married Adela (Rosa Salazar), a car saleswoman whom he had five kids. But all the while, José never gives up on his dream of being an astronaut despite being turned down by NASA 12 times. With the constant strong support from Adela, José finally went into NASA, fulfilling his childhood wish and shaping the impossible dream.

A Million Miles Away is a good old underdog story along the line of the recent Flamin’ Hot which is about the man who supposedly invented hot cheetos. There’s obviously no compelling twist or added dramatics just a simple tale about family, love and support ranging from his father’s recipe to success to his beloved cousin, Beto’s belief in him to his wife constant pushing to make him a better man.

Because of it, the story suffers from being slightly too bland and predictable. We know audiences complained if there’s too much creative alterations being made to a true story but when a narrative becomes so predictable, it can be quite a slog to sit through. Pardon us, we are just nit-picking a little here, A Million Miles Away is in no way a bad movie, trust us. That bit on José’s Indian America colleague, Kalpana could be explore further though.

On the bright side of things, Michael Peña and Rosa Salazar showcases tremendous chemistry together as the main leads. While not exactly eye-catching, the production values are fine and serviceable to the story. There are lots of inspiring messages and fulfilling the American dream sprinkled here so no denying, it makes for a wholesome educational, family movie.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: From 20th Century Studios, “No One Will Save You” is an action-packed face-off between Brynn and a host of extraterrestrial beings who threaten her future while forcing her to deal with her past. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

You need to seriously increase the volume of your sound system before you watch No One Can Save You because the entire movie is essentially dialogueless and primarily, relies on clever sound design to make its point.

Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever from Booksmart) is a young lady staying on her own in a big house in rural America. She seems to be suffering from social anxiety issue, the townies seem to bear a grudge against her and she seems content spending her time listening to oldies, visiting her mom’s grave and building her little doll houses.

In addition, there are some strange circles burnt on the lawns and before long, Brynn encounters an alien invasion late one night. A creepy creature with saucer eyes is out roaming in her house forcing her to fight for her life against the intruder.

Written and directed by Brian Duffield (Love And Monsters, Underwater), No One Can Save You kept things to the minimum making the entire ordeal menacing and thrilling without a single line of dialogue uttered as mentioned prior. It’s as if Duffield has lifted the last 30 minutes of Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds and make it his own. But the surprises doesn’t stop there as Brynn has another close encounter on a bus while other relatives of the creepy creature, big and small awaits her.

Similarly to A Quiet Place, there are plenty of jump scares amid the quietness of it. While personally not a fan of cheap scares, the tactics work tremendously effective here resulting in an often taut, tension piece.

Kaitlyn Dever deserved lots of credit for portraying a character that is entirely not verbal but the rising star delivers an exhilarating, emotional performance that makes you both empathised about her character’s plight and what actually transpired in her past.

Despite being slick and well-executed, No One Can Save You suffers from a less than satisfactory conclusion. The last part of the story feels like a stretch and you wonder exactly where it is heading. I wish Duffield could have work more on the ending given the superb setup. Yet for what it is, the alien home invasion thriller is an impressive watch even if you don’t buy into the ending.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: DEATH NOTICE is adapted from the original novel of the same name by famous suspense writer Zhou Haohui is a detective thriller and deadly game of catand-mouse. In the story, Darker, a mysterious killer who calls himself a "judge", is behind several murders that caused a sensation in the city. All those who received the "Death Notice" will be brutally killed according to the date stated in the notice. Detective Luo Fei (Julian Cheung) with the only witness, disfigured witness (Louis Koo) and the task force head (Francis Ng) to joined in the game together to find out who Darker is!

MOVIE REVIEW:

A who’s who of the Hong Kong film industry gathers in Herman Yau’s twisty vigilante thriller, which is pretty much the cinematic equivalent of a potboiler. Adapted from an actual potboiler called ‘Death Notice – The Darker’ by Zhou Haohui, the film counts Francis Ng and Julian Cheung as its leads, with such notable supporting acts as Louis Koo, Myolie Wu, Simon Yam, Chrissie Chau, Danny Chan, Babyjohn Choi, Charmaine Sheh, Waise Lee, Law Lan and Philip Keung. Not surprisingly, with the exception of Ng, Cheung and Koo, the rest are mostly glorified cameos, but it is a joy seeing the ensemble Yau has gathered here.

Like most thrillers, ‘Death Notice’ is largely plot-driven, primarily centred here around a vigilante going by the name Darker who targets criminals whom he claims the police and judiciary have failed to bring to justice. Darker’s modus operandi is to send his prospective victims a ‘death notice’ – hence the title – stating the sin for which they are being punished for as well as the date of their death sentence. Besides sending the notice to his victims, Darker also broadcasts the same to the police and on the Internet, thereby setting off a race against time to prevent an impending death as well as to uncover Darker’s true identity.

Darker’s first victim so happens to be a former police regional commander turned property agent (Lee), on the night he asks to meet former colleague Law Fei (Cheung) for dinner. Lo had left the police force 10 years ago, after failing to save his fiancée Mang Wan (Wu) and buddy (Chan) from a bomb strapped to the latter’s chest planted by Darker. After failing to apprehend Darker following an intense foot chase across rooftops of one of Hong Kong’s dense residential neighbourhoods, Lo asks to join the task force led by chief superintendent Hon Ho (Ng) to catch Darker; and much to Hon’s dismay, is granted that wish by deputy commissioner Tsang (Yam).

Teaming up with ace forensic Yam (Chau), Lo zeroes in on a disfigured survivor of the explosion from a decade back, namely a homeless man named Siu-ping (Koo) who happens to live in the village that is at the centre of a bitter fight with the property developer Kong Wah whose chairman Tang Wah (Lui) had also received a death notice. That Siu-ping is played by such a notable actor as Koo is probably clue enough that there is more to the character than meets the eye, and true enough, the last-minute twist confirms what most viewers would probably have guessed all along.

Those familiar with Yau’s style will recognise all his usual trademarks here, including his efficient if not particularly outstanding execution, a furiously paced narrative and solid action sequences. Indeed, enjoyed on Yau’s terms, ‘Death Notice’ is a guilty pleasure, especially for fans of Hong Kong cinema. Together with screenwriter Toni Shum Sek-yin, Yau crafts a densely plotted if not always logical or realistic mystery whose way of staying ahead of its audience is to pile on ever more far-fetched twists and turns, reserving its most ludicrous for the finale where Darker is revealed to be Siu-ping and then a lot more.

Like we said, this is ultimately the cinematic equivalent of a potboiler, and needs to be appreciated and enjoyed as such. Character building has never been Yau’s strong suite, and it is therefore prudent that he refrained from trying to turn this into some sort of study on either lead or even Siu-ping; instead, Yau keeps the wheels turning for an engaging one and a half hours, only leaving enough room at the end to continue the story with Darker’s mastermind. No matter that it didn’t make a lot of sense – with such a stacked up cast, and such a competent director at the helm, ‘Death Notice’ is easily one of the most entertaining Hong Kong thrillers we’ve seen in a while.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Kim Jee-won
Cast: Song Kang-ho, Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se, Jeon Yeo-been, Jung Soo-jung, Jang Young-nam
Runtime: 2 hr 12 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:

Opening Day: 5 October 2023

Synopsis: COBWEB is about director Kim (Song Kang-ho), who is obsessed with the fact that the ending of the movie Cobweb, which was filmed in the 1970s, would be better if re-filmed. It is a film that depicts the sad and funny things that happen while filming under conditions.

Movie Review:

It’s always welcoming to watch a film about filmmakers and filmmaking, knowing that if the director had all the creative liberty in the world, the end product can be a stark take on how the movie business works. The friendly persona you see in celebrities during red carpet galas and press tours? It’s probably a façade painstakingly planned by the PR folks. The awkward plot development that doesn’t seem to gel well with the rest of the movie? That’s probably mandated by the studio financially backing up the production. Let’s not even talk about the product placements that are too jarring to ignore. We don’t know much about how the film industry in South Korea, but if this film directed by Kim Jee-won is anything to go by, it is comforting to know things are probably not much different in that part of Asia.

Set in the 1970s, the story’s protagonist (played by the ever reliable Song Kang-ho) is a once promising director who is now making forgettable genre movies that indie filmmakers and self righteous reviewers would scoff at. Although production has wrapped on his latest work, he goes on a quest to reshoot the ending because he is determined that the revised version will be so out of this world, it will regain his status as an artistic filmmaker.

For that to happen, he has to gather his actors. The problem is, the cast members have since gone on with their lives and aren’t too thrilled about the reshoot. We get to see the different personalities which are a recipe for comedy and drama. There is the confident leading lady (Im Soo-jung), the womanizing lead actor (Oh Jung-se), the popular but secretly pregnant starlet (Jung Soo-jung) and the veteran senior (Park Jung-soo) who has more experience than anyone in the ensemble cast. As if there aren’t enough drama on camera with this motley crew, there are many problems happening behind the scenes too.

It definitely does not help when there are other issues that involve the honcho of the studio, the regulators from the censorship board, and even the different crew members that are necessary to a production.

While not entirely accurate, the movie presents a view for the audience to get a glimpse of what might have seen on the film camera preview screen during the shoot. The use of black and white versus colour cinematography keeps viewers adequately engaged throughout as all.

The director has made competent titles like A Bittersweet Life (2005). The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008) and I Saw the Devil (2010), and his latest work could have benefited with a bit more focus. While each episode is entertaining enough, you may wonder where the film is headed. One sequence where the protagonist hallucinates and sees his dead mentor feels rather oddly bewildering – but it does add a sense of quirkiness to the story. We also get to see the finale of the reworked ending, which is satisfying but may not be entirely necessary. Maybe this is where a little control from the studio would have helped keep things on track. 

Movie Rating:

(There is much to be entertained by in this movie about what happens both in front of and behind the camera during the production of a film)

Review by John Li

Genre: Comedy
Director: Craig Gillespie
Cast: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Some Mature Content)
Released By: Wait Disney
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 12 October 2023

Synopsis: Dumb Money is the ultimate David vs. Goliath tale, based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (yes, the mall videogame store) into the world’s hottest company. In the middle of everything is regular guy Keith Gill (Paul Dano), who starts it all by sinking his life savings into the stock and posting about it. When his social posts start blowing up, so does his life and the lives of everyone following him. As a stock tip becomes a movement, everyone gets rich – until the billionaires fight back, and both sides find their worlds turned upside down.

Movie Review:

In case you’re wondering, ‘dumb money’ was a derogatory phrase coined by Wall Street brokers to describe non-institutional or non-affiliated investors; and if you’re hearing that for the first time, chances are that you probably had not heard of the GameStop stock craze back in 2021 when most of the world was still obsessed over the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As context, GameStop is a somewhat fusty chain of shopping mall retail stores that sell new and used gaming hardware and software. Whether out of blind faith or just counting on beginner’s luck, Keith Gill (Paul Dano), a middle-class young adult who works as a stock analyst by day and online financial pundit by night, decides to invest his life savings of $53,000 in the company, just because “I like the stock!”

Under the monikers ‘RoaringKitty’ and ‘DeepFuckingValue’ on Youtube and Reddit respectively, Keith urges his followers to also invest in GameStop – among them are Jenny (America Ferrara), a struggling single mother and nurse in Pittsburgh; Harmony and Harmony (Talia Ryder) and Riri (Myha’la Herrold), two college students in Austin, Texas; and Marcos (Anthony Ramos), a GameStop employee in Detroit who has to endure the sneering demands of his boss (Dane DeHaan).

As the stock rises, it also attracts the attention of hedge fund managers who see an opportunity to short sell the company – namely, Gabe Plotkin of Melvin Capital Management (Seth Rogen); Steve Cohen (Vincent D’Onofrio)of Point72 Ventures, and the owner of the New York Mets; and Ken Griffin (Nick Offerman) of Citadel LLC. Their predatory behaviour in turn attracts more disgruntled retail investors frustrated with Wall Street types like them, eventually building a mini-revolution who band together under the sub-reddit ‘r/WallStreetBets’.

It is a modern-day David-versus-Goliath tale all right, and in adapting Ben Mezrich’s book ‘The Antisocial Network’, director Craig Gillespie and screenwriters Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo retain the former’s farcical tone and treatment. That said, Gillespie himself is no stranger to telling real-life tales with satirical verve and wit, and here applies the same to keep the proceedings sharp, funny and bold.

Though the similarities are undeniable, Gillespie isn’t just out to cash in on Adam McKay’s 2015 box-office hit ‘The Big Short’; rather, he brings his own passion for the underdog to deliver what is ultimately a more sincere tale of comeuppance. There is also a lot more authenticity here than in McKay’s movie, what with Gillespie weaving in footage from business news channels, including a clip from Stephen Colbert that nicely captures the forces at play here.

And even without Margot Robbie explaining mortgage-backed bonds in a bubble bath, ‘Dumb Money’ makes sure that the common viewer understands the jargony financial terms– like call options, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation and stonks (slang for stocks) – with layman ease. That’s not to say that they intentionally dumb down the material; instead, they lay out what happened, why it happened, and why it mattered in a most audience-friendly way.

To its credit, ‘Dumb Money’ never does hide whose side it is on, and is hardly shy about arousing outrage against the bad guys and admiration for the underdogs. It does come up short though (pun intended) in treating the characters rather superficially – not even to explain why Keith believed so much in GameStop to invest in it in the first place – and in that respect, fails to get any of them to truly connect. But in portraying a phenomenon and tapping our righteous anger, ‘Dumb Money’ hits the proverbial nail on its head.

Movie Rating:

(Often sharp, funny and bold, this irreverent take on the GameStop stock craze of 2021 is a crowd-pleasing modern-day David versus Goliath tale)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Crime/Drama
Director: Ma Yongxin
Cast: Zhou Dongyu, Zhang Yu, Zhang Youhao
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 21 September 2023

Synopsis: Directorial debut feature by Spain-based female director Ma Yingxin narrates a woman’s search for truth after suffering from romance fraud. The star-studded cast jointly carries out the psychological hide-and-seek between the victims and offenders. The traumatic experience leads the woman to a small town for an answer, she meets two oddly familiar men who might be connected to the scam. Clung to the obstinate questioning of the authenticity of the romance, she must make her own choice in the face of another crisis.

Movie Review:

No, you ain’t seeing double – that indeed is Zhou Dongyu headlining ‘Tainted Love’, barely weeks after taking us on a heady jaunt to the border city of Yanji in Anthony Chen’s ‘The Breaking Ice’. Though both films are thematically and narratively dissimilar, it is somewhat inevitable that they be compared against each other, and in that regard, we can say the latter is the relatively more compelling one.

Instead of a disenchanted young adult in her 20s, Zhou here plays a 30-year old single woman from Beijing named Zhou Ran, who journeys to a seaside town in search of the man she had met online who had cheated her feelings and of her money nine months ago. Said person whose real name is Lin Zhiguang (Zhang Yu) had said that he was working in Singapore no less, and after she had transferred her life savings to his bank account, promptly disappeared without a trace.

Accompanying her on her search is fellow love scam victim Ning (Li Meng), who is likewise looking for the guy who had cheated her. That guy turns out to be none other than Zhiguang’s buddy Xu Zhao (Zhang Youhao), though Ning will only find that out much much later, and way after Zhao develops a crush on Ran. That also doesn’t stop Zhiguang from falling in love with Ran, and Ran to reciprocate Zhiguang’s affections for her, threatening a fallout between the two scammers who were once part of a network proliferating such crimes.

It's clear that writer-director Ma Yongxin intends for her audience to keep guessing if Ran has truly fallen for Zhiguang yet again or if she is ultimately playing the same game he did on her before in order to teach him a lesson. Likewise, we are also supposed to wonder if Zhiguang is simply trying to scam Ran yet again, especially given how we are told he is still heavily indebted. And then there is Zhao, who remains curiously ignorant about how Ran and Zhiguang have been going on with each other behind his back for most of the movie, before suddenly realising how he’s been played out by Zhiguang.

Were the three characters less inscrutable, the suspense would have been interesting; alas, the ambiguity gets increasingly frustrating, as it becomes clear that the characters are not deliberately, but inadvertently obtuse. It doesn’t help that Zhou’s performance is too restrained, so much so that you’ll feel exasperated by the end of it all. Even if Ran and/or her fellow characters are meant to be conflicted by their greed and their feelings for one another, the film just lacks the finesse to portray these nuances with the right degree of precision.

So for the most part, ‘Tainted Love’ remains deeply unsatisfying. It isn’t clear who is playing who, or for that matter, if these characters are even clear about their own personal motivations. As well intentioned as it may be to shed light on the victims of such love scams, it ultimately feels like a scam itself, leading you on without knowing where exactly it wants to bring you to or what it is trying to say. And that is why between this and 'The Breaking Ice', we’d rather be spending time with the latter than trying to break down what this trio is really up to.

Movie Rating:

(You'd rather be 'breaking ice' than trying to break down what this muddled trio are playing with one another)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Fantasy
Director: Wuershan
Cast: Kris Phillips, Li Xuejian, Huang Bo, Yu Shi, Chen Muchi, Naran Fong
Runtime: 2 hrs 28 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website:

Opening Day: 28 September 2023

Synopsis: The first installment starts the story with the collusion of villainous King Zhou and his consort fox spirit Su Daji, which causes the wrath of heaven. The mystic sages at Kunlun Mountain are aware of the coming chaos and send Jiang Ziya down the mountain with the “Fengshen Bang” (a list that empowers him to invest in the gods of Heaven) to find the lord of the world and save people. Prince Ji Fa, a diplomatic hostage of a client state trained by King Zhou from an early age, gradually discovers the true colors of King Zhou, though King Zhou used to be his hero. Ji Fa decides to escape the capital Chaoge to his hometown and plans an attack on King Zhou with the help of Jiang Ziya. The forces of all parties are surging, and the situation is changing.

Movie Review:

This epic fantasy film is one of those movies where a character’s name is flashed on screen whenever someone you’ve not seen before is introduced in the story. Are you going to remember all the names? Unlikely, because there are really too many of them in this 148 minute movie (new characters are still appearing in the post credit scene). Does it matter? Probably not, because the story is engaging enough for you to be emotionally invested throughout the two and a half hours runtime.

The movie is based on the 16th century Chinese novel The Investiture of the Gods (more affectionately known by its Chinese names “Fengshen Yanyi” or “Fengshen Bang”), the work attributed to Xu Zhonglin and Lu Xixing has elements of history, legends and fantasy, and consists of 100 chapters. No way this writer is going to read the novel, so he is thankful for the many TV and movie adaptations of the novel which have allowed him to enjoy the story’s rich folklore and history.

The latest version directed by Wuershan focuses on the rise and fall of Yin Shou (Kris Phillips), the tyrannical final ruler of the Shang dynasty. He is a man who yearns power, and this ambition is fueled by the appearance of an evil fox spirit who has possessed the body of his concubine (Naran). Elsewhere, his son Yin Jiao (Chen Muchi) is trying to get him to see that he is being manipulated. The young man is aided by his friend Ji Fa (Yu Shi), Yin Shou’s hostage son (yes, this is a thing in history) and royal guard.

The deities are not going to let humans mess things up and destroy themselves. Along comes Jiang Ziya (Huang Bo) and his two disciples Yang Jian (Cisha) and Nezha (Wu Yafan), who descend upon the mortal realm to deliver a sacred investiture scroll to restore order and prevent a curse from happening. Alas, Yi Shou realises the power of the scroll and becomes even more maniacal in his ways, causing a series of riotous incidents that involve humans, immortals and spirits.

Drawing from his experience in directing Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012) and Mojin: The Lost Legend (2015), Wuershan has delivered a very entertaining first instalment to the Fengshen trilogy, the most ambitious and expensive production in Chinese movie history, and definitely China’s answer to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Despite the heavy use of CGI, the story succeeds in showcasing the human stories of good versus evil, filial piety and the destruction that can be brought about by power and lust.

Phillips, the 62 year old Chinese American pop star and singer delivers a solid performance as the deranged ruler. His towering physique commands screen presence and serves the brutal leader’s personality well. With his well built physique, thks Daddy isn’t going to let his younger co stars Chen and Yu steal the limelight just because they appear topless in some scenes. With his experience in formal vocal training and musical theatre, Phillips is the right person to cast as Yin Shou, and his enigmatic charisma will definitely leave a strong impression.

This first instalment of the trilogy also features a heartfelt performance by veteran actor Li Xuejian, who plays Ji Fa’s aged father. A sequence of the old man realising a horrible truth may leave viewers teary eyed. There are also blink and you miss it appearances by well known actors like Chen Kun, Feng Shaofeng and Wu Hsing Kuo.

The movie is a promising start for the trilogy, with the sequel due for in 2024 and 2025, and we can’t wait to see the mythological showdown gods and humans.

Movie Rating:

(A visual spectacle featuring an unapologetically charismatic performance by Kris Phillips, this breathtaking blockbuster is a promising entry to the Fengshen trilogy)

Review by John Li 

Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Pierre Morel
Cast: John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Marton Csokas, Alice Eve, Christian Slater
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 26 October 2023

Synopsis: An ex special forces operator takes a job to provide security for a journalist as she interviews a dictator, but, a military coup breaks out in the middle of the interview, they are forced to escape into the jungle where they must survive.

Movie Review:

Sitting through this abysmal excuse of an action comedy, we wonder if ‘Freelance’ was outsourced to freelancers, notwithstanding the billing of director Pierre Morel and writer Jacob Lentz. It is otherwise not clear to us how Morel, who had built a reputation as an action cinema journeyman with ‘District 13’, ‘Taken’ and ‘Peppermint’, and Lentz, who spent seven years as a writer on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, could be responsible for such an unfunny, unexciting and downright unwitty misfire.

On paper, the idea of a former United States special forces veteran who has to reluctantly put his former skills back into action must have sounded quite attractive, especially with John Cena in the role. Alas, beyond that logline, it seems that neither Morel or Lentz quite knew what to do with the character; that probably explains why Cena struggles throughout the movie to try to define ex-operative Mason Pettits as a husband who’s still in love with his estranged wife (Alice Eve) or as a reluctant bodyground or as a former soldier relishing the unexpected opportunity to exercise his particular set of skills.

Nor for that matter is Allison Brie any better off as a disgraced celebrity gossip journalist Claire Wellington hoping to regain her credibility by securing an interview with the dictator of the fictional South American country of Paledonia, Juan Venegas (Juan Pablo Raba). No thanks to Lentz’s lack of character definition, Brie – who is best known for headlining Netflix’s ‘Glow’ – struggles with whether Claire is simply an opportunist or a journalist with her own ethical scruples or a minx looking out for the chance to seduce Mason (and choosing to do so with a striptease one evening while hiding out in a village in the jungles).

It is somewhat ironic that the most interesting character is neither Mason or Claire but Venegas, whom the movie paints as a ruthless autocrat at the start and who is eventually revealed to be a savvy leader motivated to protect the interests of his people against greedy corporate types looking to exploit the natural resources Paledonia is blessed with. Without giving too much away, let’s just say it is intriguing how Venegas has carefully calibrated the image he projects to the public as well as to the outside world, including setting up opposition to his autocratic rule just to make the whole charade more credible.

Unfortunately, ‘Freelance’ is not quite sharp enough as political commentary to disguise its other all-too obvious shortcomings, not least as an odd-couple screwball adventure. The chemistry between Cena and Brie is awkward at best (and we don’t mean this in a good way), made worse by the fact that both are clearly struggling with their respective characters in the movie. Thankfully, Raba is often around to enliven the atmosphere with a playful shrug, a broad smile and occasionally a rousing (and often self-absorbed) speech.

Just as disappointing is how Morel handles the handful of action sequences in between the dull exchanges – from the initial bazooka ambush, to a jungle pursuit against helicopters and mercenaries on foot, to a raid on a village, and lastly to a showdown at the presidential palace, Morel treats each with little inspiration, barely expending any thought or effort to craft a memorable set-piece. It is an utter waste of Cena’s natural-born action star talent too, and given both Cena and Morel’s track record, even more frustrating.

So despite a somewhat unexpected political turn of events, ‘Freelance’ is through a through a letdown. It is evidently clear the filmmakers knew not what sort of movie they wanted to accomplish, so much so that it turns out a hideous mix of different genres. We’re not sure what Cena or Brie were sold on to sign onto this vehicle, but we’re quite sure both stars would probably wish that it were quickly lost in the dungeon of some streaming service. It doesn’t matter if you’re free or freelancing; there is surely a better use of your time than this lifeless mess.

Movie Rating:

(Probably one of the worst movies you'll come across this year, 'Freelance' is an utter misfire and absolute embarrassment for everyone involved)

Review by Gabriel Chong