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Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Director: Tomohisa Taguchi
Cast: Ouji Suzuka, Marie Iitoyo, Tasuku Hatanaka
Runtime: 1 hr 23 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website:

Opening Day: 5 October 2023

Synopsis: Based on award-winning novel. Winner of the Paul Grimault Prize, Annecy Festival 2023. A mysterious tunnel can grant your fondest wish... but at a price.

The Urashima Tunnel can grant any wish…for a price. High school boy Kaoru, plagued by a troubled past, teams up with Anzu, a girl who struggles to place obligations before her dreams, to investigate the Tunnel. But the cost of their hearts’ desires may be too high to pay. This is an unforgettable summer story of nostalgia, young love and bending time itself..

Movie Review:

Comparisons with Makoto Shinkai’s record-breaking ‘Your Name’ are inevitable, given how both animes feature two high-school students falling in love with each other across time and space, but there is enough reason to regard Tomohisa Taguchi’s adaptation of Mei Hachimoku’s graphic novel on its own terms and merit.

The opening prologue explains the mechanics of the titular Urashima Tunnel, which has the power to grant your wishes, albeit at the expense of time. Because of a personal tragedy some years ago, high-school student Kaoru (voiced by Oji Suzuka) is intrigued by this local legend, and while running away from his abusive, alcoholic father one evening, stumbles upon it after a tumble down a slope.

Without giving away too much, let’s just say that Kaoru’s maiden encounter with the powers of the Tunnel sees him find his long dead pet budgie alive, which makes him determined to do the same for his younger sister Karen. Kaoru also finds an unexpected companion amidst this journey of discovery, Anzu (Marie Iitoyo), a new girl from school who had just moved to the rural mountainside town from Tokyo.

Though initially cold and reluctant to make conversation, Anzu warms up to Kaoru, and is just as intrigued as Kaoru is with the tunnel. Only midway through the movie does Anzu’s intentions become clear – despite her parents’ objections, Anzu yearns to be a manga artist like her grandfather, and hopes through the tunnel that she can reconnect with her grandfather to learn more about the craft.

It isn’t hard to guess that Kaoru and Anzu will each be confronted with the choice to live fully with the time given in the present or go back in time to recapture the past even if it means losing the time in the present. In particular, such a choice is especially difficult for those dealing with loss and regret, and both Kaoru and Anzu have to further contend with the discontent of their present realities.

To say anything more would be to give too much away – indeed, within a brisk but never rushed 83 minutes, Taguchi weaves a captivating story that combines the headiness of first love with the weightiness of such themes as grief, abandonment and self-doubt. Forgoing the numerous subplots in the original novel, Tagushi keeps the narrative squarely focused on the relationship between Kaoru and Anzu as well as their respective inner struggles, and in doing so, deepens the emotional bond that we build with the pair of characters.

It doesn’t hurt too that the animation is also consistently gorgeous, thanks to the superb team at CLAP. Particularly deserving of mention is the depiction of the tunnel itself, which brims with vibrant colours that add to the otherworldliness of this metaphysical dimension. It is also in that respect intended to be deceptively alluring, as the past sometimes does compared to the present.

Though it probably won’t achieve the same runaway success as ‘Your Name’, ‘The Tunnel to Summer, The Exit to Goodbyes’ is a sumptuously romantic anime that ought to be appreciated in own right. Don’t dismiss it as just another YA romance – its message about embracing the present, instead of running back into the past, is mature and even uplifting for both adolescents and adults alike. And thanks to that, we dare say it is a beautiful story that will connect to young and old alike visually, emotionally and psychologically..

Movie Rating:

(Gorgeously animated with a beautiful story and a poignant message, this sumptuously romantic anime holds its own against the inevitable comparisons with 'Your Name')

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Drama/Action
Director: Aya Matsuki
Cast: Ryohei Suzuki, Kento Kaku, Ayami Nakajo, Jun Kaname, Shinya Kote, Hayato Sano, Jesse Lewis, Anne Watanabe, Nanao, Riisa Naka, Yuriko Ishida
Runtime: 2 hr 8 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures and Encore Films
Official Website:

Opening Day: 2 November 2023

Synopsis: The 70th floor of a Yokohama skyscraper is ablaze with 193 lives trapped inside. MER rolls into action determined to save everyone. The protagonist is MER ("Mobile Emergency Room"), a team of emergency professionals on wheels formed by the Tokyo governor with one mission only: to prevent a single death. Tasked with rushing to the scene of major accidents, disasters, and crimes, MER is armed with state-of-the-art medical equipment, a mobile operating room, and an elite staff ready to risk all to save lives.

Movie Review:

When a TV series becomes a hit in Japan, it will spin off either into a movie or a TV special and so on and so forth. The 2021 TBS drama, Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room was such a hit with the Japanese that it has its own feature length movie starring the original cast members and backed by Aya Matsuki and Tsutomu Kuroiwa, veterans of the TV show.

The movie feature opens with an exhilarating rescue mission at the airport whereby an airplane is on fire and trapped, possibly injured passengers are in desperate need of an excavation. In comes Kota Kitami (Ryohei Suzuki), the chief doctor of the MER, a gigantic medically-equipped mobile truck that looks it can be transformed to an Autobot any minute. Buff, gung-ho and a heavy disregard for the authorities, Kitami is in control of the situation and his insistence to carry on an operation in the disaster scene sets the tone of the movie. This man or doctor is unstoppable when it comes to the sick, injured and helpless.

Before long, the team is sent on a mission to Yokohama whereby a burning 70th storey tower with over hundred visitors including Kitami’s heavily pregnant wife, Chiaki (Riisa Naka) who is having a lunch date with a MER nurse are trapped on the top floor. And besides Tokyo MER being deployed, their new opponent and competitor, the newly formed Yokohama MER is also on the scene led by rising star, Dr Kamoi (Anne Watanabe).

Expectedly, Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room the Movie is filled with many faces and story points that referenced back to the original TV series. One in particular happens to be the late sister of Kitami and the love interest of the current Ministry commander and also ex-MER member, Otowa (Kento Kaku). Fortunately, there’s no need to search the internet for the TV program and watch it before this movie event as the pacing is like a wild horse galloping through a raging fire. The energy is crazy and first time viewers will likely be caught in the developing crisis to care about the characters sad to say.

While there’s enough medical jargons and technology to speak of, there’s also a generous amount of political talking heads and backstabbing happening in the background. Even the finale boasts a steady amount of melodramatic and cheese with Kitami and his wife trapped and the former pondering if he should go ahead with the caesarean at his wife’s behest. Kento Kaku has his fair share of screen time as Dr Kamoi happens to be his ex-girlfriend although the stoic, always motionless Otowa seems to be a less interesting character compared to the chirpy Kitami.

With an obvious higher budget, the visual effects and production values are at least decent. The burning tower looks somewhat convincing from certain angles. If there’s a big complaint, it goes to the poorly done prosthetic effects that looks embarrassingly bad. Aiming for a zero-death casualty rate might be unrealistic in real-life and that includes Kitami’s unorthodox methods as well. For a medical drama and disaster movie, Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room the Movie remains a compelling watch throughout despite a few missteps.

Movie Rating:

(For MER fans and those who wish for an adrenalin rush in the theatres)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Drama/Adventure
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, Viola Davis
Runtime: 2 hr 45 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures and Encore Films
Official Website:

Opening Day: 16 November 2023

Synopsis: THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.

Movie Review:

For the uninitiated, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is a prequel to the earlier ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy that had Jennifer Lawrence in the lead. Set 64 years before the trilogy, it traces the corruption of one Coriolanus Snow, whom some may recall would eventually become the autocratic tyrant of Panem. If that somehow gives you pause, especially given the track record of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ trilogy, let us reassure you that it is a rare prequel that is as good, if not better, than its predecessors, by being not only more intimate and grounded but also placing a morally ambiguous character at its centre.

Indeed, it is important to keep in mind that it is ultimately Snow’s origin story, whom a prologue tells us was the only child of a once-wealthy and powerful family until his father General Crassus Snow was killed in action in District 12. As a 18-year-old (played by Tom Blyth), Coriolanus now lives with his cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer) and grandmother (Fionnula Flanagan) in a rented, run-down apartment. Determined to restore his family’s prosperity, Coriolanus is looking forward to winning the Plinth prize based on his academic excellence in the Capitol’s most prestigious institution, the Academy.

Alas, the Academy’s Dean Casca ‘Cas’ Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) announces that the year’s winner will be decided based on their mentorship of the tributes chosen for the upcoming 10^th edition of the Hunger Games. Coriolanus’ assignment happens to be a District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), who captures the Capitol’s attention when she sings defiantly during the district’s annual reaping ceremony and slips a snake down the dress of the mayor’s cruel daughter, whom we learn later on had arranged for her reaping out of jealousy over a boy. Notwithstanding the disappointment over his mentee, Coriolanus is determined to win the prize to buy back the grand apartment his family used to live in and to pay for his University fees.

His fourth time at the helm, director Francis Lawrence pays much detail building the first chapter of the movie. From the contempt that Coriolanus’ fellow classmate Sejanus (Josh Andrés Rivera) holds of the Games, to the disdain that Cas holds of Coriolanus, to the nefariousness of head gamemaker Dr Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis), and to the witticisms of the Games’ host Lucretius ‘Lucky’ Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman), there is a lot of ground that Lawrence covers diligently – and we might say, deftly – to lay the base for what is to come, and to remain faithful to author Suzanne Collins’ book.

Even so, Lawrence keeps a tight focus on the budding relationship between Coriolanus and Lucy, which is the beating heart of this two-and-a-half hour long saga. Heeding Tigris’ advice, Coriolanus goes all out to win Lucy’s trust, including waiting for her arrival to the Capitol at the train station, jumping into the vehicle that will transport her and other tributes to a caged enclosure where they will be held prior to the Games, and bringing her food as she requested. And to their credit, Blyth and Zegler are terrific together as the leading couple, especially in making us buy into their quiet defiance of the rules and mores that separate them.

Likewise, the Games proper – which forms the second chapter of the movie – is fascinating. The broad construct would be familiar from the earlier trilogy, but Lawrence goes for a grittier, more stripped down version of the Games that reinforces how they are ultimately a spectacle of de-humanisation. It is also rather ingenious how certain traits of the Games, such as the ability to sponsor gifts to the tributes, are exploited as tactics to enable Coriolanus to give Lucy an upper hand. Without spoiling it for those who haven’t read the book, let’s just say that Lucy’s ability to emerge as victor is no coincidence, and further underlines how the bond between Coriolanus and Lucy is strengthened over the course of the Games.

Views will be divided whether Lawrence should have followed the example of ‘Mockingjay’ to split the adaptation into two feature-length films, but here he and screenwriters Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie make the decision of a deliberate tonal shift in the third and final chapter, which sees Coriolanus confront his motivations, inclinations and allegiances. Though it is probably no surprise that Coriolanus will choose the Capitol, it is nonetheless riveting to see how he gradually turns against the people he had held dear for the sake of his own self-interest, revealing therefore a thirst for power that would define his presidency in the much later years. Be warned though, the pacing does become more deliberate than in the first two acts, so it will demand some patience for this character study to prove itself rewarding.

Like the earlier movies though, this prequel benefits from excellent casting. Blyth is superb as Coriolanus, especially how he reveals different shades of his character over the course of the movie. Though the focus is on Coriolanus, Zegler more than holds her own as Lucy, balancing both pluck and fear to deliver an edgy performance that grabs your attention. Against their younger fellow cast members, the veterans here seem to relish the opportunity to ham it up, whether Davis’ diabolical mad scientist act or Dinklage’s spiteful professor or even Schwartzman’s deprecating ‘50s-style host. None quite match the nuance that the late Philip Seymour Hoffman brought to the series, but this is as stellar a cast as it gets.

It’s been slightly less than a decade since the last Hunger Games movie, and though we left the series weary, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is an invigorating refresh that reminds us of what had made the dystopia so enchanting in the first place. Lest we forget, the totalitarian regime of the Capitol is after all driven by the view, however misbegotten, that humanity is fundamentally evil and barbaric. It is the struggle against that which gives meaning to our protagonists, whether Katniss Everdeen or Lucy Gray, and which also corrupts Coriolanus irrevocably by the end of this story. Thanks to Coriolanus and Lucy, and therefore Blyth and Zegler, this ballad doesn’t just hum, it resounds and resonates loud and bright.

Movie Rating:

(More intimate and grounded than its predecessors, this prequel soars on the back of a compelling character study, compelling performances and a poignant exploration of human nature)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Emma Tammi
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kat Conner Sterling, Matthew Lillard
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Horror)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:

Opening Day: 26 October 2023

Synopsis: Can you survive five nights? The terrifying horror game phenomenon becomes a blood-chilling cinematic event, as Blumhouse- the producer of M3GAN, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man— brings Five Nights at Freddy’s to the big screen. The film follows Mike (JOSH HUTCHERSON) a troubled young man caring for his 10-year-old sister Abby (PIPER RUBIO), and haunted by the unsolved disappearance of his younger brother more than a decade before. Recently fired and desperate for work so that he can keep custody of Abby, Mike agrees to take a position as a night security guard at an abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. But Mike soon discovers that nothing at Freddy’s is what it seems. With the aid of Vanessa Shelly, a local police officer (ELIZABETH LAIL), Mike’s nights at Freddy’s will lead him into unexplainable encounters with the supernatural and drag him into the black heart of an unspeakable nightmare.

Movie Review:

When we first saw the trailer for this movie, we thought it would be a gleeful slasher flick perfect for the Halloween season. Based on the video game franchise of the same name, the premise sees a security guard who takes on the job of a night security guard in an abandoned family entertainment centre.

We know things can get creepy in the middle of the night, but what makes the story even more exciting is that the animatronic mascots have the ability to come alive in the dark and become really nasty. Just imagine the bloody possibilities of these larger than life machines chopping human beings up with an evil grin on their metallic faces.

But we saw that the movie is rated PG13 (Some Violence and Horror) and knew that things won’t go too out of control, possibly because the studio’s priority is still to make big bucks at the box office. What this also means is that this movie directed by Emma Tammi is a family friendly horror movie for kids to enjoy.

The movie’s protagonist is Mike Schmidt (played by a very earnest Josh Hutcherson), a young man who just can’t seem to keep his job. When he is put in a situation where the custody of his younger sister may be taken away by their aunt (who is obviously up to no good), he accepts a job as a night guard in an eerie family diner which has closed down many years ago. As expected, strange incidents involving the animatronic mascots begin happening.

The first video game of the successful franchise was released in 2014, and the objective was simple – as the nighttime employee, players must defend themselves from the animatronic characters with various tools. The filmmakers might have felt that such a straightforward plot would not have worked in this era, so the story’s focus for this first movie adaptation is on Mike’s emotional trauma.

Thanks to repeated dream sequences, we know that the poor guy is haunted by the past. Mike lost his younger brother to a kidnapper when they were young, and the terrible incident has troubled him ever since. He becomes moody most of the time, and relies on medication and sounds of nature to fall asleep at night. It’s obvious that he is suffering from mental distress. It doesn’t help that his parents are dead and he may lose his younger sister.

The 109 minute movie handles the human drama well (kudos to Hutcherson for delivering a sincere performance), but we really wished more time was spent on the animatronic mascots Freddy Fazbear, Foxy, Bonnie, Chica and Golden Freddy. It’s a wasted opportunity, because the character designs by Jim Henson's Creature Shop are awesome, and we would really have loved to see these sinister beings in action. Just imagine the sight of these creatures stomping down the dark alley with their glow in the dark eyes, and cornering victims in a corner before they go on a slashing frenzy.

The movie tries hard to make things logical, and also introduces a policewoman character who conveniently shows up to make the story work. If you are watching the movie to be spooked or shocked, this supporting character is almost unnecessary in the bigger scheme of things. Ultimately, the fright factor is kept to a minimum, and although there are some fatalities, there is no bloodshed and it is a safe movie for kids to watch.

Movie Rating:

(Freddy Fazbear and his animatronic mascot friends are creepy as hell, and it would have been awesome if we could see them go on a killing spree)

Review by John Li

Genre: Comics/Action
Director: Nia DaCosta
Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Seo Jun Park, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Samuel L. Jackson
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website:

Opening Day: 9 November 2023

Synopsis: Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan, Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team-up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as "The Marvels".

Movie Review:

So much negative buzz has preceded ‘The Marvels’ that you wonder if indeed Marvel has hit rock-bottom. The good news is that it is hardly the disaster that some reports have exaggerated it to be; and the bad news is that it still barely matches up to any of the preceding movies in the ‘Infinity Saga’ that defined Marvel as a box office juggernaut. Indeed, the best praise we can offer is that it is an enjoyably diverting action comedy buoyed by the chemistry between its three female leads, namely Brie Larson as Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel), Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan (aka Ms Marvel) and Teyonnah Parris as Monica Rambeau (from WandaVision).

Some familiarity with the ‘Ms Marvel’ TV series is essential – after all, ‘The Marvels’ does pick up from the post-credit sequence at the end of its first season, which saw Kamala switch places with her hero Captain Marvel. Those who have seen the season will also recall that Kamala had acquired her powers after discovering an inter-galactic bracelet belonging to her grandmother, which turned this New Jersey-based Avengers superfan into a neighbourhood superhero. That also explains why Kamala cannot quite control gushing over meeting Captain Marvel in the flesh for the first time here, even though the same cannot be said of Monica, who resents Carol for never keeping her promise of returning back home after flying off into space to help the Avengers.

As it turns out, Khan’s bracelet is one of a pair, the other of which is unearthed by Kree warrior Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), who wants the power of the bracelet to restore her planet Hala after it was decimated by someone referred to as ‘the Annihilator’. Dar-Benn ends up ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time, which causes Carol, Kamala and Monica to switch places with one another every time they use their respective powers at the same time. Not surprising, that twist of events forces the trio to work together if they are to stop Dar-Benn from splitting the rest of the universe just so to restore Hala to its former glory.

It is a simple, straightforward story, and to her credit, director and co-writer Nia DaCosta keeps the affair zipping along pacily in just under two hours. Leaning in on the dynamics of her heroines, DaCosta lets their bonding take centre stage, whether through a number of cleverly executed fight scenes where they grapple, adapt and finally exploit their body-swapping technique, or through a training montage to exercise their coordination set to the tune of the Beastie Boys’ ‘Intergalatic’, or just plain heart-to-heart talk processing their feelings towards each other. And thanks to the terrific interplay by the actresses, there are genuinely fun and uplifting moments to be had.

Even so, we dare say it is Vellani who does most of the heavy-lifting throughout the movie. Channelling her own enthusiasm of leaping from the small to the big screen, Vellani gives Kamala an infectious giddiness that rubs off nicely on her relatively more dour co-stars. Ditto the other members of the Khan clan – played by Saagar Shaikh, Zenobia Shroff and Mohan Kapur – who alternate hilariously between reverence and resignation to inject both emotion and joy into the proceedings. On the other hand, whether because Captain Marvel was always a bit of a loner or because she is bored with the character, Larson comes off weary and somewhat disengaged, so it is a good thing Vellani has more than enough balls of energy to go around.

Yet we don’t blame Larson for looking disillusioned – whereas the earlier Marvel movies were motion picture blockbusters in their own right, ‘The Marvels’ comes off as a glorified extension of the ‘Ms Marvel’ series. That’s not because the story builds off from where the series left over; rather, the stakes feel smaller, the peril curiously absent and therefore the payoff a lot less satisfying. Sure, it’s still fun, delightful and wacky in parts, but one cannot quite shake off the sense that it is nowhere near the scale, spectacle or significance as its ‘Infinity Saga’ predecessors, even if it tries to be different in tone and treatment.

So even though it is hardly the disaster some critics have quickly made it out to be, there is no denying that ‘The Marvels’ barely matches the glory and grandeur of the best of Marvel. In fact, we dare say it is only because it is coming in the wake of such colossal disappointments like ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum-mania’ and ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ that ‘The Marvels’ feels like a triumph; otherwise, viewed against where Marvel has gone before and has accomplished, there is a distinct sense that as diverting as it may be, ‘The Marvels’ shows Marvel is in a creative black-hole that not even three female Marvels will be able to fully pull it out from.

Movie Rating:

(Thanks to the terrific chemistry between its three female leads and some cleverly executed fight scenes, 'The Marvels' is hardly the disaster some have made it out to be, though it also barely matches up to the best of Marvel from the 'Infinity Saga')

Review by Gabriel Chong

SYNOPSIS: During World War II, at the height of China’s war of resistance against Japan, a group of courageous citizens developed a top-secret underground espionage network right under the nose of the newly established puppet regime. At increasingly great peril to their lives, the double agents masterfully extract classified information deep behind enemy lines. This effort gives rise to the united front that will help turn the tide of the conflict.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Attention span and patience is a must for director, write and editor Cheng Er’s Hidden Blade, a film noir infused spy thriller starring the one and only Tony Leung and former K-pop star Wang Yibo (Born to Fly).

The story is set between 1938 to 1945 in Shanghai, an era where the Japanese army has pretty much taken control over China and planning to overtake the Manchurians. Mr. He (Tony) works for the current puppet government sniffing out communists and the underground resistance force. Joining him is young Ye (Wong) and his colleague, Wang (Eric Wang). Mr. He mostly reports to the Japanese army in charge, Watanabe (Hiroyuki Mori) while at the same time, a mysterious Ms Chen (Zhou Xun) and her partner, Zhang (Huang Lei) is secretly planning on their next attack on the Japanese.

Refusing to compromise to a straight-forward timeline, Cheng’s narrative can be a tad confusing for viewers as the drama tends to jump from one scene to another without making much sense or logic. Take for instance, Mr. He might be seen smoking and pondering in one shot for no reason and the movie switches to another shortly. After some brief moments, the same prior scene can be seen again and it then slowly expands to the viewers why or what the character is doing in that particular moment.

Comparing this to other spy thrillers liked Lust Caution and The Silent War which coincidentally also starred Tony Leung and the latter also with Zhou Xun, Hidden Blade lacks a certain urgency and nerve wrecking moments to justify its over two hours runtime. The numerous female characters also suffer from limited screentime including Ye’s supposedly betrothed wife (also a communist by the way) and Zhou Xun’s Ms Chen.

While the espionage aspect can be a bit weak, the production design of Hidden Blade is gorgeous. Like a fine Wong Kar-Wai arty drama, the colours and mood blended wonderfully onscreen. In addition, Mr. He and Ye can be seen frequently smoking, coolly staring into the horizon and mirrors. All the men talk in a leisurely manner punctuate occasionally by the sound of a gunshot although the violence we must say is brutal but not entirely gruesome.

Making sure he is worthy of his Golden Lion lifetime achievement award, Tony as expected is superb as the charismatic Mr. He and Wong Yibo unexpectedly tops things up as the equally unpredictable agent. Hidden Blade is a complex spy drama courtesy of Cheng Er’s overly ambitious story of history, espionage and propagandistic theories. It does have its flaws of course though it remains an interesting, satisfying tale to sit through if you have the attention and patience.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Action/Crime
Director: Danny Pang
Cast: Wallace Chung, Francis Ng, Eddie Cheung, Myolie Wu, Lily Ji Li, Cheung Kwok-Keung, Zhao Yan-Guo Zhang, Samuel K, Wang Ke-Ru, Zhou Kai
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Violence and Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:

Opening Day: 2 November 2023

Synopsis: Kwan Chit (Francis Ng) and his girlfriend travelled to Thailand. During the trip, she got violated by the Thai king of gamblers, Kunkka, and died. Kwan Chit hid the truth from her brother and his best friend, Man Fung (Wallace Chung). A few years later, Kwan Chit decided it was time to start his revenge plan and looked for Man Fung. The two friends agreed to revenge for their beloved one together.

Movie Review:

Danny Pang might be a big fan of Hideo Kojima’s playstation videogame, Death Stranding that his latest movie is shamelessly named after it. As a tribute or a cheap marketing gimmick, the title might be the only memorable thing we can remember after watching Pang’s uneventful and soulless venture.

Set in a fictional country named “Tiger City”, one of the local triad kings, Fourth Master (Eddie Cheung) is busy working behind-the-scenes trying to overhaul his illegal business and getting it ready once the government opened up the entertainment industry. His partner is none other than the Thai King of gamblers, Kunkka, a lecherous maniac who can easily transfer a container load of money as a gift for the Fourth Master.

In the meantime, Officer Jiang (Wallace Chung) is investigating the notorious Fourth Master, the guy who might be responsible for the death of his sister years back and has also married his ex-girlfriend played by ex-TVB actress Myolie Wu. Coincidentally, the current director of the commercial investigative department, Zuo (Francis Ng) happens to be the boyfriend of Jiang’s sister and surprisingly, he is also working alongside the Fourth Master.

As it turns out, Death Stranding is an embarrassing piece of unnecessary convoluted piece of writing. Pang who also co-wrote the effort tries every means and ways to inject elements of mystery and intrigue into the whole affair. But alas, all the talking, killing and betrayal (mainly carried out by Fourth Master’s minions) is a chore to even follow through.

The first act established the ruthlessness of Fourth Master which showcased the chairman of the marketing association being murdered and his subsequent replacement being sent to jail because he was getting greedy. And instead of making Zuo as an informer to Jiang or some sort of partner collaborating to bring Fourth Master down, Zuo for no reason works as his accomplice. That is until the finale when he found out the real reason how his girlfriend died that he decides to team up with Jiang to take on the Fourth Master and Kunkka in an airport no less.

With a story that is built on such shaky ground, there is little to expect from the always reliable Francis Ng and veteran Eddie Cheung. Ng’s role is basically a glorified cameo with almost zilch acting skill require from him. Cheung’s character is supposedly a bad, despicable man though he didn’t bring much bad-assness to the role except constantly smoking cigar. Wallace Chung’s last memorable onscreen role was in Three and he still looks decent enough to carry a movie. As expected, Myolie Wu is yet another recognisable HK actress making a decent paycheck in a short span of screentime.

Even the handful of action sequences are poorly handled with lame, unengaging gunfights and laughingly action choreography. Pang of course is no John Woo and Johnnie To when it comes to dramatic and frenetic gun play and that’s where a capable experienced action choreographer comes in handy. Unfortunately, there’s no budget for it I guess so Death Stranding ends up being a forgettable actioner of the week and a superb waste of time and life. Pang has been busy doing smaller-scale internet movies in Mainland China for a while and probably its best for everyone he should continue stick to it. Or maybe it’s time for Danny and Oxide to unite together.

Come to think of it, maybe not.

Movie Rating:

(A poorly, cheaply constructed TV-like revenge actioner that fails on every aspect)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Dreaming of a better life for her and her young daughter, Liza (Emily Blunt) lands a job from Pete (Chris Evans) at a failing pharma start-up, where Liza’s charm, drive, and guts catapult her into the high life and the company into the center of a criminal conspiracy with dire consequences.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Statistics have shown that one in five people in America is struggling with opioid addiction, drug deaths have also doubled and around 200 Americans are killed daily because of it. The crisis has been well depicted in the acclaimed Apple TV series, Dopesick and also the recent Netflix series, Painkiller. David Yates taking a break from the magical world helmed this drama with the same subject matter but without the gusto and competency.

Emily Blunt produced and stars as Liza Drake in this pharma-drama based on a 2018 New York Times article by Evan Hughes. While it’s based on a real case, all names and locations have been changed in the movie adaptation. Drake is a single mother working as a stripper in a night club. She lives in her sister’s garage and she is in need of money for her daughter’s brain surgery and practically everything.

When she met Pete Brenner (Chris Evans), a pharma salesman for Lonafen, a pain relief medication for cancer patients, Liza took up Pete’s offer to join his company to sell the drug to doctors. Armed with a PhD (in this case poor, hungry and dumb) and obviously, Liza is not dumb at all as she swiftly becomes the top saleswoman in the company owned by founder, Jack Neel (Andy Garcia). Paying doctors to speak to their peers and offering substantial bribes to them, Liza soon realizes the dangerous consequences surrounding the drug which can be addictive to non-cancer patients, Liza wants out and the only way is to get her hands on some concrete proof of the sleazy business antics of the company.

Primarily, the biggest problem lies with the direction of the story. Liza Drake is painted as a street smart and eloquent speaker who can convinced anyone within minutes. She is this decade’s Erin Brockovich per se so if you take away the story of opioid addiction and switches it to something else, the character of Drake still works in that particular premise. This is not to say Blunt did a horrid job in fact she is still as likeable and definitely watchable in the role.

Chris Evans on the other hand continues his journey of being a douchebag after The Gray Man and Knives Out though he didn’t exactly gets a lot of screentime to flash out his character because most of the attention is focused on Emily Blunt’s character. Old timers Andy Garcia and Catherine O’Hara shines in their respective roles as the eccentric billionaire and Liza’s slutty mother who has a fling with the former.

Again, the fault points back to Yates and screenwriter Wells Tower who has no idea how to make this movie works. Is it a dark comedy on a drug crisis? A mockumentary or a serious drama where you constantly have people talking into the camera about the deaths of their loved ones? To be fair, Pain Hustlers is a decent and entertaining watch. But for sure, it’s not a thinking man’s movie on the current drug crisis and the awful American healthcare system. It’s simply a negligible supplement pill to a more critical health issue.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Thriller/Crime
Director: Wong Ching-Po
Cast: Ethan Juan, Gingle Wang, Ben Yuen, Chen Yi-wen, Lee Lee-zen, Cherry Hsieh
Runtime: 2 hr 14 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Sexual Scene)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:

Opening Day: 2 November 2023

Synopsis: Fugitive Gui-lin found out that he had only 6 months left to live and he was only ranked third among the most-wanted criminals. He tracked down the top two criminals and eliminated both of them, thinking that he has become a modern-day hero. However, he never thought that greed, anger and ignorance were the sins and punishments he had to face at the end of his life.

Movie Review:

Taiwanese actor Ethan Juan has come a long way. The good looker first found fame during a time when idol drama series were popular, and charmed his way into fans’ hearts with 2008’s Fated to Love You. Then he shed his pretty boy image and played a tough gangster in the 2010 drama movie Monga directed by Doze Niu. Juan was named Best Actor at the 47th Golden Horse Awards, which was a testament to the rising star’s acting skills. More than a decade later, he is again playing a gangster in his latest work. Incidentally, he has also garnered a Best Actor nomination at the 60th Golden Horse Awards.

And if you ask us, Juan’s performance is even more impressive than the one he delivered for his breakout role 13 years ago, so we are rooting for him to take home the prize again.

Juan plays a mean gangster named Chen Gui-lin in this crime thriller inspired by a Chinese fable where a thug named Zhou Chu battled three adversaries – a tiger, a dragon and himself. The third antagonist Zhou Chu had to fight was himself because he realised that he has to change his lawbreaking ways.

In this modern version, Gui-lin finally decided to surrender himself to the police after being informed that his grandmother has died, and he himself has stage four lung cancer. The poor guy is also beginning to feel exhausted after being on the run for four years, after a showdown at funeral which ended with a cop losing his eye. But when Gui-lin sees that there are two other criminals who are ranked above him in the most wanted list, he goes on a journey to hunt them down.

You may start wondering the motive of the protagonist when he says “I’m not afraid of death. I’m afraid of being forgotten after death.” Looks like he isn’t as noble as Zhou Chu after all.

But you won’t have much time to ponder over the deeper symbolisms that the movie is trying to convey, because from the get go of the 134 minute film, you will be trying to catch up with the pace. The opening sequence is an exhilarating cat and mouse chase which is wonderfully choreographed. It ends with the cop played by Lee Lee-zen in a bloody (but alive) state.

Fast forward four years later, we see Gui-lin as a weary man with no friends and family, except an underground doctor (a fine performance by Cherry Hsieh) who updates him about his grandmother. Just as things get emotional, Gui-lin tracks down his first target (award winning Hong Kong actor Ben Yuen), who is a real menace and a creep who is in a relationship with his stepdaughter (Gingle Wang). There is a lot of tension between the three characters, and the violent action will keep you at the edge of your seat.

And when you think this movie directed by Hong Kong filimmaker Wong Ching-Po is going to serve up more stylised violence, the tone is drastically changed when Gui-lin arrives in a serene location to look for his next target. There, he meets a spiritual leader (played eerily by another award winning actor Chen Yi-wen). We won’t give too much of the story away, but this part of the film is one wild ride that you wouldn’t have imagined. There are scenes where you snigger uncomfortably, and you wonder whether this is a black comedy.

The film is nominated in seven categories at the upcoming Golden Horse Awards, and it should take home a couple during the ceremony held later this month. The attention is definitely on Juan, whose arresting performance anchors the entire movie. Amidst the action and drama that culminates in a thoughtful finale, you will be rooting for Gui-lin although you know he has done some very bad stuff. The actor gets to showcase his versatility in certain emotionally charged scenes, and these showstopping performances are what we hope will win the jury’s heart for him to nab a second Golden Horse Best Actor trophy.

Movie Rating:

(An arresting performance by Ethan Juan anchors this movie that promises a roller coaster ride that is beyond your wildest imagination)

Review by John Li