SYNOPSIS: Eddie Murphy stars in this holiday comedy adventure about a man on a mission to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas home decoration contest and inadvertently makes a deal with a mischievous elf that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The best performance in Candy Cane Lane surprisingly doesn’t comes from Eddie Murphy but the meticulous wonderful production and design work that goes to making this holiday theme movie a feast to the eyes. It’s probably an achievement in itself since it has been a while since we see such detailing on the screen.

In this Christmas, family-friendly comedy, Murphy plays Chris Carver, a man who has recently been laid off from his job. Chris decides to focus his attention in winning the annual house decoration contest which comes with a top prize of $100,000. Together with his youngest daughter, Holly (Madison Thomas), the duo stumbles onto a mysterious Christmas pop-up store run by an equally mysterious woman, Pepper (Jillian Bell). Without looking at the fine print, Chris signed the long receipt and brought home a 12 days of Christmas theme tree.

It turns out Pepper is a rogue elf banished by Santa. She has cast a spell on the tree and in order to break it, Chris has to obtain five golden rings before he is turned into a porcelain Christmas figurine. A wild goose chase is set and the Carvers has to learn the true meaning behind Christmas before they can save Daddy Chris.

The plot of Candy Cane Lane while busy is all too familiar. There’s the usual holiday magic, lots of Christmas songs, family members coming together to learn about what is important and some silly slapstick humour. But those expecting Murphy’s trademark brand of improv comedy will come off disappointed as our man seems awkwardly subtle and restrained here. Jillian Bell is fine even though she gets a few funny lines. In fact, it’s the guys that play the cursed Christmas figurines that are genuinely more rib-tickling.

The momentum and silliness never quite match up to the enthusiasm of the cast as Candy Cane Lane runs close to two hours. As expected, Santa makes a grand entrance in the finale but the script by Kelly Younger does little to elevate the already exhausting ongoings of the ring hunt.

Despite being labelled as Murphy’s first holiday movie, Candy Cane Lane isn’t going to be remember as a classic Christmas movie down the road liked Elf or Miracle on 34th Street. Still, the overall CGI by ILM is remarkable and as prior mentioned, the production design team deserve a raise. At least MGM Amazon didn’t opt for the cheaply made route.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery
Director: Neil Burger
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Ben Mendelsohn, Garrett Hedlund, Caren Pistorius, Brooklynn Prince, Joey Carson, Yanna McIntosh, Gil Birmingham
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Violence)
Released By: GV
Official Website:

Opening Day: 30 November 2023

Synopsis: Based on the international bestselling, award-winning psychological suspense novel The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne, ‘Helena Pelletier’ leads an ideal life with a great husband and a young daughter but she is hiding a dark secret within: that her father is the infamous ‘Marsh King,’ the man who kidnapped her Mother as a teen, and that she was the product of the relationship between captive and tormentor. Helena has lived in the wilderness for 12 years, in a life carefully controlled by her kidnapper/father ‘Jacob,’ until he is caught and sent to prison. When Jacob escapes from prison unexpectedly, sensing the danger this monster poses for her husband and young daughter, Helena must confront her secret past and use the tools he equipped her with to hunt him down.

Movie Review:

If you, like us, had not read Karen Dionne’s 2017 bestseller before this, you’d probably think that ‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’ was a rugged survivalist thriller about a woman who uses the skills her father had taught her against him in the wilderness that she was raised. Yet as much as that is the pitch, it is only in the last half-hour of the movie that such a promise is realised, so those looking for it to be a lean, mean adrenaline-pumping exercise will be disappointed.

On the other hand, those who have read the book will probably be expecting a probing character study about the said woman Helena, whose first 10 years of her life revolved tightly around her father Jacob (Ben Mendelsohn) and whose world therefore crumbles after she learns that he had in fact kidnapped her mother Beth 12 years earlier to live with him off the grid in the remote marshlands of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. How would such a character confront the ghosts of her past when her father escapes from federal custody and returns to seek her out?

Somewhat disappointingly too, there is not enough emotional heft for this adaptation to be the compelling character study which the book promised. Though the first 15 minutes tries to detail the relationship between a young Helena and her father from her point of view, it isn’t gripping enough to sustain the subsequent unravelling of their relationship after Jacob is apprehended as well as the struggle she is confronted with later on whether to re-engage with him or detach from him completely.

That’s ultimately a pity, because it is obvious even from those who have not read the book that there is plenty of promise in its premise of someone who has had her world pulled out from under her feet, and then after rebuilding a new reality, forced to confront the one she had left behind. Having this play out against the dynamics of a father-daughter relationship would have made it all the richer. Yet director Neil Burger, working off a script by Elle Smith and Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), brings little depth to the characterisations or the situations.

Even with several flashblacks depicting Helena’s upbringing, it is not quite enough to fully express the intense yet cold relationship she shared with her father. Ditto the subsequent relationship between Helena and her stepdad Clark (Gil Birmingham), which is even more under-developed; and the same can also be said of the tension between Helena and her mother Beth (Caren Pistorius), whom Helena resented for a long while for causing her to be separated from her father.

To their credit, the cast make the best of their roles. Ridley brings a fierce intensity as Helena, especially when she resolves that the only way to protect her daughter is to take out her father. Though he is clearly capable of so much more, Mendelsohn is charismatically menacing as the titular Marsh King, and utterly convincing in selling his character’s delusion of reuniting with his ‘Little Shadow’. We’d wish there were more scenes of Ridley and Mendelsohn together, which would in turn further anchor the toxic bond between their characters.

As a formulaic suspense drama, there is really nothing off about ‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’; in fact, one might compliment Burger for moving things along at a breathless pace. Yet those looking for something more, of which the movie is clearly capable of, there is the unmistakable sense that something was lost in the transition from book to film – and we dare say, this is even for those who have not read Dionne’s novel. Were it not for the performances, the film would be even more unsatisfying, but thanks to Ridley and Mendelsohn, it is still a decent paperback-to-film adaptation..

Movie Rating:

(Not quite the compelling character study it could have been, this adaptation of Karen Dionne's bestseller is still a decent, formulaic suspense drama)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Sports/Comedy
Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Elisabeth Moss, Will Arnett, Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:

Opening Day: 7 December 2023

Synopsis: NEXT GOAL WINS follows the American Samoa soccer team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) hoping he will turn the world's worst soccer team around in this heartfelt underdog comedy.

Movie Review:

New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi returns to his filmmaking roots of doing a smaller intimate movie after the dismal response of Thor: Love and Thunder. Co-writing and directing this sports movie, Waititi employs his trademark approach at balancing both comedy and emotional weight in translating a real story to the screen. Yet it glaringly fails to materialize in this underdog sports movie.

Disgraced football coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) is given the impossible task of coaching the America Samoa football team, the worst team in history having lost to Australia 31 – 0 in 2001. Rongen’s task is to get them in shape for the 2011 World Cup qualifying match. But the lackluster performance and attitude of the players prove that it’s more than an uphill task for Rongen and his already low morale.

The writing is on the wall when the movie opens with a priest (played by Waititi himself) rambling. Not exactly funny or meaningful for a prologue to be honest. The entire narrative that follows plays like a casual drama without any surprise nor comedy beat. There’s no traces of Waititi’s offbeat humour that is really memorable here. You keep waiting for something laughable but honestly there’s nothing here that leaves one in stitches. Basically the writing feels like a first draft that is never vetted by the studio.

Strangely enough, none of the characters established in the story are that interesting either. We know nothing more about Thomas Rongen except his ex-wife Gail (a wasted Elizabeth Moss) and her now boyfriend, Alex (Will Arnett) are members of the FIFA board. What exactly happened to Thomas and his fiery temper? Don’t know. Then there is team head, Tavita (Oscar Knightley) who juggles a few jobs on the small island and a transgender player, Jaiyah (Kaimana) who supposedly provides a good opportunity to showcase some effective emotional themes. Sadly, none of it panned out in the end if you are curious.

Perhaps the biggest mistake is casting Fassbender. Not known for his comedic skills, the usually reliable Fassbender puts in a weak, unbelievable performance as the coach with rage and alcoholic issues. We can’t pinpoint the reasons behind this failure although we are going to point out the subpar writing again. Same goes to the motivational talks in the locker room which come across as weak and legitimate inconsequential. The football matches in the third act are also poorly handled. It’s choreographed so badly and shoddily shot that it defeats the purpose of doing a sports theme movie.

By now, this might seem to be a rather harsh review of Next Goal Wins. We are not going to mince any words because IT IS a piece of shoddy work coming from a filmmaker especially liked Taika Waititi. Jokes are straight out flat. Characters are not engaging. The American Samoa culture is handled haphazardly. When audiences don’t feel the urge to root for the misfits, you know your movie is in deep trouble. In fact, just watch the fictional Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story anytime at least this one deliver lots of laugh and heart. 

Movie Rating:

(Misses the goalpost by at least a yard, in other words, an absolute borefest coming from Taika Waititi)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Comedy/Romantic
Director: Meg Ryan
Cast: Meg Ryan, David Duchovny
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Drug)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 21 December 2023

Synopsis: Two ex-lovers, Bill (David Duchovny) and Willa (Meg Ryan), get snowed in at a regional airport overnight. Indefinitely delayed, Willa, a magical thinker, and Bill, a catastrophic one, find themselves just as attracted to and annoyed by one another as they did decades earlier. But as they unpack the riddle of their mutual past and compare their lives to the dreams they once shared, they begin to wonder if their reunion is mere coincidence, or something more enchanted.

Movie Review:

“It was a dark and snowy night”.

That’s probably how Snoopy is going to start his movie review of What Happens Later.

American’s sweetheart Meg Ryan co-wrote, directs and stars opposite David Duchovny in this romantic comedy based on Steven Dietz’s 2008 play, Shooting Star. It has been eight long years since we last saw her on the big screen. But we are confident boomers and Generation X will still be thrilled to see her in yet another rom-com.

Anyway, former lovers, Bill and Willa are stranded in a domestic airport after a storm of the century hits on a leap day where they both met again after a span of over 20 years. Before long, they starts to bicker and banter about what exactly happened to the downfall of their relationship while waiting for their flight out to Austin and Boston respectively.

Honestly, there isn’t much going on in the entire story. Basically for nearly two hours, it’s like watching two old friends chatting on the screen with the occasional interruption of the airport announcements. Topics range from their past dreams to their lost child to Willa’s supposedly promiscuous behavior that lead to their parting. And then it’s back to Bill’s current marital status which is kind of separated though he is more concerned about his teenage daughter’s welfare and future while Willa seems to be drifting in life as a freelance wellness practitioner.

It's a whole lot of relationship woes and a truckload of miscommunication and regrets. Stuff that we can certainly comprehend in our course of life. However despite the well-meaning story, there’s little to no significant happenings in the movie to qualify as either romantic or comedic. In fact, it’s pretty laborious and cumbersome by the first hour. There’s a cutesy scene where the leads rode an airport buggy to the tune of English rock band, The Lightning Seeds’ Pure though unlikely to invoke much romantic inclination.

Cinematically, it doesn’t even really help when the characters are stuck in a singular location with cartoonish CGI snowflakes in the backdrop as they continue their ongoing bantering from the gate area to a diner and then to a bar and vice versa. At least, The Terminal has an interesting story to tell and of course there is Tom Hanks. Speaking of the latter, Duchovny seems like a poor choice for the male lead because for the most part, he kind of dressed and behaved like Fox Mulder on his day off. Theoretically, Hanks probably fits the role better.

As a tribute to the late Nora Ephron (writer of rom-com gems, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and personal favourite, You’ve Got Mail), Ryan’s second directing effort is a complete misfire. There’s simply a lack of energy, a sense of playfulness to the reunion of two former lovers. Bill’s constant nagging of music choices from the airport speakers doesn’t help. Willa’s writings on her combat boot is weird. Transferring a stage play to the big screen simply doesn’t work unless you have a certain magic touch or skillset. Sadly, it’s a rejection slip for Ryan this time round not Snoopy.

Movie Rating:

(What Happens Later shouldn’t even happen)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: This Christmas, Damian Wayne wants to be a Super Hero like his dad—the one and only Batman. When Damian is left home alone while Batman takes on Gotham's worst Super-Villains on Christmas Eve, he stumbles upon a villainous plot to steal Christmas and leaps at the chance to save the day. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Merry Little Batman is the holiday DC animated movie that you sorely need after a series of lacklustre DC theatrical movies. Tailored for both kids and adults, it’s sweet, it’s frenetic, it’s light-hearted!

The only son of Batman (Luke Wilson), Damien Thomas Wayne (Yonas Kibreab) is a boisterous eight-year-old who can’t wait to take on his father’s mantle. Gifted a kid-friendly utility belt by his father, Damien starts his training as Batman on his own. And when his father is summoned by the Justice League for a mission, Damien has to stay home and safeguard Wayne Manor from two burglars not knowing the supervillains from Gotham City are also planning a big heist this Christmas.

In this less darker, grittier version of Batman, there’s lessons to be learn for the younger children such as taking responsibility and the importance of celebrating the festive season with family. Even the first half of the animation seems lifted from Home Alone where we follow the adorable Damien or Little Batman pulling pranks on the two goons who invaded Wayne Manor. It’s after all, a movie aimed at kids.

Things start to get busier when the Joker is introduced alongside Poison Ivy, Bane, The Penguin and Mr Freeze who ended up fighting Batman on a snowy mountain. Holy Cow! It’s a trap! In actual fact, it’s Joker’s evil plan to lure Batman away from Gotham City so that they can destroy Christmas. Merry Little Batman is jam-packed to the brim with Damien’s heroic acts and the non-stop compelling action sequences are a delight to sit through.

Notably, Yonas Kibreab’s boundless energy is perfect for the role. Surprisingly, Luke Wilson’s voice as the intimidating, bearded crime fighter added a soothing fatherly presence to the role while television actor David Hornsby voices the Joker with such glee and playfulness. See, you don’t really need Mark Hamill all the time. Also, keep an eye and ears on all the easter eggs littered around liked the wickedly named Damien’s pet cat and a brief mention of Damien’s birth mother among others.

A departure from the gothic, dark deco visual style of the much loved Batman: Animated Series, this 2D, sketchy animation style which looks kind of similar to the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem works perfectly here. Director Mike Roth who worked on Regular Show at Cartoon Network certainly knows a thing or two on creating a rousing animated movie. The first Warner Bros animation to be release by Amazon instead of WB is a great addition to the holiday season. Animated Batman sure rules!

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices — and two strangers appear at their door.

MOVIE REVIEW:

A star-studded cast in an apocalyptic movie? Sounds like a potential movie idea tailored for Roland Emmerich in the mid 90’s.

But Leave the World Behind has nothing to do with Emmerich. It actually comes from former U.S. President Obama’s production house and based on a book by Rumaan Alam and written for the screen and directed by Sam Esmail, creator and director of the acclaimed Mr Robot television series. That’s a pretty long list of who and whom.

For better or worse, Leave the World Behind isn’t that kind of end-of-the-world, VFX heavy action thriller that is full of cartoonish characters and scientific jargons you don’t care about. It’s a movie that touches on many themes for example our crumbling society, political instability, conspiracy theories, race and colour and more.

The story starts with Amanda (Julia Roberts), a marketing executive who booked an impromptu vacation to a luxury house in Long Island. Along with her is her husband, Clay (Ethan Hawke), her teenage son, Archie and overly mature daughter, Rose. However, the very rich owner of the house, G.H. (Mahershala Ali) and her daughter, Ruth (Myha’la) turned up the very night seeking refuge citing of blackouts in the city and they are kind of stuck.

Meanwhile, they experienced a lack of phone and Wi-Fi signals and a whole lot of mistrust as Amanda is highly suspicious of G.H.’s words and motives. The next day, Clay decides to go to town only to encounter a drone dropping leaflets in Arabic. Rose on the other keeps seeing deers roaming around their house. The entire family attempts to flee but finds the only highway back to the city is jammed with crashing Teslas on auto-pilot mode. Later on, Archie finds his teeth falling off which makes for a chilling sequence.

What’s exactly is going on? A terrorist attack? A cyberattack?

As intriguing as it sounds, this is a movie without a payoff so beware. It functions like a M. Night Shyamalan thriller. You expect a twist in the end but there isn’t. Not even a cheap one. Things are hinted and shown liked a crashing plane and an oil tanker stranded on a beach. There’s often loud ominous music and effects to emphasise the supposedly gripping apocalypse. To his credit, the setup by Esmail is often impactful to say the least. Alas, there’s no correct or direct answers to the happenings.

On the whole, it’s a very talky movie. A whole lot of themes are discussed throughout either between Amanda and G.H. or between G.H. and Ruth. Roberts deliver a compelling, maybe even consider irritable performance as the people hating, disgruntled Amanda. Mahershala Ali charms as the only man in the household with the righteousness and mentality to lead the group. Kevin Bacon cameos as a uncompromising survivalist although we love to see more of him.

Leave the World Behind certainly works better as a 4-part mini-series instead of a 2.5 hours movie. A lot is crammed into it but it’s abrupt ending and tedious study on human behaviour might be a turn off to most audiences expecting a rousing conclusion to all the mysterious build-up.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: David Ayer
Cast: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad, Jeremy Irons
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Some Violence)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 11 January 2024

Synopsis: After retiring from The Beekeepers, a covert elite organization, Adam Clay lives a solitary life caring for his bees. However, when his elderly neighbor is swindled out of her life savings with tragic consequences, Adam Clay is thrust back into action. Determined to seek justice for his neighbor, Clay uncovers a web of deadly scams orchestrated by a powerful organization preying on society's most vulnerable. As he battles FBI agents, 21st century con artists and even his own replacement within The Beekeepers, Clay's mission evolves into something larger: exposing a pervasive system of corruption that threatens society as a whole.

Movie Review:

In this David Ayer directed actioner, Jason Statham stars as literally a Beekeeper, Adam Clay. Aside from keeping his beloved bees from hornets, extracting honey, Clay’s only friend is an elderly woman, Eloise who happens to be his landlady.

Certainly, our dear beekeeper is no ordinary beekeeper and once Eloise kills herself after losing all her money in a phishing scam, Clay spring into action and sets out to burn down a data center and vows to destroy the organization and people behind it.

After writing the gigantic misfire called Expend4ables, Kurt Wimmer is back laying his hands on yet another Statham vehicle. Only this time, Wimmer did a far more serviceable job concocting a story about a mysterious group of agents operating out of the normal reporting chain of command known as the beekeepers. Their mission is to protect the hive at all costs and to take down the Queen bee if anything goes wrong.

It’s whole lot of bees analogy, metaphor and bee references liked “I’m a beekeeper. I protect the hive. Sometimes I use fire to smoke out the hornets”. Slick enough for Statham’s character to mouth the lines and deliver his kills but probably too silly for the much smarter group of audiences.

Anyway, if you are wondering who is the main baddie here. It’s a scumbag named Derek Danforth played by Josh Hutcherson who has sort of have a career revival in the recent box office hit, Five Nights at Freddy’s. Apparently, Danforth comes from a very wealthy and prestigious family. Very prestigious by the way. He has a protector of sorts, an ex-director of CIA, Wallace (played by Jeremy Irons) who is ready to pull some strings to steer Derek away from danger.

Together in the chase after Clay is FBI Agent Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman) who happens to be the daughter of Eloise and her fumbling partner, Agent Wiley (Bobby Naderi) and countless other disposable special agents and forces which leads us to veteran fight coordinator Jeremy Marinas (John Wick Chapter 4, Silent Night) who is here to ensure the various fight sequences and brawls are exhilarating and over-the-top. Frankly, for a 105 minutes movie, the action amounts to more than 80 percent of it. And that’s a lot considering the efficient runtime. Finally, it’s time to give the editor and cinematographer some credit for giving us some well-shot and edited visuals.

Statham who spent most of his early career in straight-to-videos, Luc Besson productions and other low-budgeted Lionsgate titles finally hit the big time in The Fast and Furious and The Meg franchise. However, its movies liked The Beekeeper who remains his bread and butter. Straight up, nonsensical actioners blended with his trademark gruff and dry humour that works mostly every time. Despite the unbelievable plotting and the inhuman power of Adam Clay, we strongly recommend you sign up for the Beekeeper program. Finally a David Ayer movie that comes without the off-screen dramedy.

Movie Rating:

(This Jason Statham action vehicles delivers! One “hive” of a fun trip)

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: REBEL MOON — PART TWO: THE SCARGIVER continues the epic saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to sacrifice everything, fighting alongside the brave people of Veldt, to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. On the eve of their battle the warriors must face the truths of their own pasts, each revealing why they fight. As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Zach Synder’s much maligned space opera epic, Rebel Moon finally releases its "concluding" chapter. And is it good enough to redeem the mediocre part one? However just like the Synder’s DC universe, the answer remains divided and barely satisfying on the whole.

If you can still vividly recall since it has been well four months since A Child of Fire. Kora (Sofia Boutella), the former Imperium soldier and the rest of the remaining motley crew of warrior, insurgent and nobleman returns to Gunnar’s (Michiel Huisman) village after defeating the evil supreme commander, Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein).

Obviously Noble isn’t dead but good for them, the entire Kora’s gang and the villagers under the leadership of General Titus (Dijimon Hounsou) continue their preparation to fight against the looming space nazis and their elaborate range of weaponries and machineries.

For a movie built on such shaky ground and generic narrative, it’s a miracle Rebel Moon needs a sequel to trash out the rivalry between a rebel and a mad commander. Scargiver is basically a rehash of the first. The characters are so shallow, uninteresting that Synder needs to throw in a round table introduction scene to give them a backstory each.

If you can survive the first hour which consists of boring exposition, the expected love affair between Kora and Gunnar and the issue on grain, the last remaining hour is a showcase of Synder’s trademark slow-mo, lens flares and lightsabre fights. It also saw the return of Anthony Hopkins who voiced Jimmy, a mechanical fighting robot which can easily take down numerous enemies at one time.

Let’s be frank about it. Scargiver is entertaining no doubt especially the later part of the movie. The visual effects seem more accomplished for the most part. And if you are big fan of Synder’s visual excesses, you will enjoy all the chaotic action set pieces and bombastic sound effects.

But hold your space horses, Synder has promised Directors cuts with longer, alternate scenes and some sexual tension. We are not sure how many of Netflix audiences or Synder fans will be keen on these. The biggest problem lies in Scargiver is not even the concluding chapter since well there is a slight twist in the end. Believe it or not, the writers have promised another four more chapters on the way assuming Netflix continues to provide the funds. Don’t be shock if our attention are waned by then.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Drama
Director: Benoît Delhomme
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Anders Danielsen Lie, Josh Charles, Eamon O’Connell, Baylen D. Bielitz, Caroline Lagerfelt
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 14 March 2024

Synopsis: Starring Academy Award winners Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, MOTHERS’ INSTINCT is an unnerving psychological thriller about two best friends and neighbors, Alice and Céline, whose perfect lives in ‘60s suburbia are shattered by a tragic accident involving one of their children. Marking the directorial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Benoît Delhomme (The Theory of Everything, Lady Chatterley’s Lover), we follow Alice and Céline as their familial bonds are gradually undermined by guilt and paranoia and a gripping battle of wills develops, revealing the darker side of maternal love.

Movie Review:

Set in the 60s, Mothers’ Instinct unravels with Celine (Anne Hathaway) meticulously picking a toy car ambulance burrowed amid dense lawn grass and is furtively watched on from behind the drapes by her neighbour, Alice (Jessica Chastain), with a suspenseful yet melancholic score in the background, setting the tone for the rest of the 94 minutes. A series of unfortunate events unfold and snaps everyone out of their white picket fence dream, paving the way for a powerful establishment of plot that gets everyone wondering if it’s just a banal accident or there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Based on the novel “Derrière la haine” (Behind the Hate) by Barbara Abel, the female-centric film by Benoît Delhomme hails as a gripping adaptation of its book and film forerunners with not just a plot that beckons the audience to the edge of their seats but also boasting gut- wrenching scenes, intense dialogues and, of course, a brilliant cast that has delivered their best.

Jessica Chastain who’s widely known for her prime roles in Crimson Peak, Interstellar and Mama is once again sharing some screen space with Anne Hathaway after a decade. Her co- star has inarguably come a long way from effortlessly being a Disney princess (Mia Thermopolis) to a femme fatale, embodying an emotionally-complexed character. The Academy Award winning duo nails it in this remake that can be safely dubbed as a descendant title of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle with their (Inter) stellar screen presence. The physical contrast between the leading ladies certainly gives a leg up in the representation of characters where one is a blonde and the other is a brunette, meekly suggesting a yin-yang dynamic at play. The hair, make-up and costumes offer an exclusive allure to the characters and the retro aesthetic of the set makes the American psychological thriller really easy on the eye. Interestingly enough, the timeline that the plot pivots on is made even more relevant with the JFK presidential campaign being discussed in the background, the fittings and fixtures, right down to the recipes even (think back to the birthday cakes).

The cast and their outstanding performance that completely augments the narrative, makes it a gem of a timeless thriller sans generic jump scares, crescendo background scores or other fictional devices that we’re much familiar with, such as red herring and predictable plot twists. What could have potentially been just another normal film in the French cinema has categorically snaked its way to becoming a magnum opus, even in years to come. One needs to, in fact, sit through this mother-off to experience the highly-charged drama’s intensity firsthand. And amping up the creepy quotient is the soundtrack, “Did You Ever See a Lassie” that leaves hairs standing up on the back of our necks with the catatonic vocals. Be prepared to get gooseflesh intermittently while at it!

If anyone’s feeling slightly bummed that the trailer has given it all away, cast your woes aside! What you see isn’t quite what you get. The makers of the film has decided to pull an uno reverse with a clever twist. Nothing is spoiled unless you’ve already devoured the pages of the book or watched the original book-to-film adaptation in French.

But if you are keen on spoiling it (without actually spoiling it) for yourselves, read on. As much as it’s an age-old adage - misery sure thrives on company and Mother’s Instinct portrays it faultlessly. This wo-mance/girl-mance mystery features gaslighting, guilt-tripping, trauma bonding and other sinister traits of what may even seem to be a healthy friendship. The malefic side of motherhood (or parenthood even) and femininity is best depicted in a couple of scenes that will leave you speechless.

Mothers are credibly mothering in this higher-order award-worthy page-turner that has to be sat through to discover the reticent je ne sais quoi that will leave your spines chilled.

Movie Rating:

(A necessary new evil that makes the cut to be crowned as the mother of all mummy films)

Review by Asha Gizelle Mariadas

SYNOPSIS: From Director Bradley Cooper, Maestro is the towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between cultural icon Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro, at its core, is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love.

MOVIE REVIEW:

After Maestro, sceptics will be assured that actor turned director Bradley Cooper is no one trick pony. With the support from famed filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, Cooper turned in a solid story based on the life of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.

Instead of going down the road of a conventional biopic, Maestro is mostly a love story between Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). You can even say it’s a marriage story despite Bernstein’s staggering amount of acclaimed musical works. The focus in Cooper’s story however is not on his career path or music but the struggles of a very talented homosexual man.

The story spanned decades. You can tell from the story moving from black and white to colour and the flawless make up design on the main characters. We first see Leonard getting the chance to conduct for the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall after the guest conductor came down with the flu. At that time, he is also having a romantic affair with clarinettist David Oppenheim (Matt Bomer). Shortly, he is mesmerised by aspiring Broadway actress Felicia and they went on to get married and Felicia bore Bernstein three children. His career is also booming having composing successful operas and musicals. But Bernstein’s constant openly affairs with men starts to take a toll on Felicia’s mental health and subsequently, they starts to drift apart after a heated argument.

If the name Leonard Bernstein is a blank to you, I’m afraid Maestro doesn’t do much to elevate things on the whole. There’s snippets of his famous works (West Side Story for example) being heard but that’s about it. Even his affairs with men liked Oppenheim, Tommy Cothran and numerous others comes across as fleeting and inconsequential. In fact, it’s Mulligan’s Felicia Montealegre that gets all the screentime as the suffering wife and muse of Leonard Bernstein. Montealegre relationship with her husband is complicated, far more complex than the musical scores he wrote and conducted. No doubt the man is bisexual or even a homosexual trying to hide his true self from the public eyes but Montealegre remains his only true love in the end after a poetic, touching TV interview he gave.

Apparently Cooper spent six years trying to get the biopic to the screen and the man certainly puts in a rousing performance as the charismatic, larger than life conductor. Comparing Cooper’s presence to archive footages of Bernstein, the mannerisms and sexual appeal are flawlessly nailed by Cooper (the notorious prosthetic nose indeed plays a part as well). English actress Mulligan is absolutely stunning as the suffering wife and the woman behind Bernstein, likely deserving a nomination comes award season.

While Maestro is definitely not a soaring account of Bernstein’s music career, it’s definitely an inspiring, passionate love movie about two complicated souls that love and hated each other, struggled with their respective demons throughout their 27 years of marriage. It’s genuinely more of a love story than a straight-forward biopic.

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Review by Linus Tee