Genre: Thriller
Director: Claudio Fäh
Cast: Sophie Mcintosh, Colm Meaney, Phyllis Logan, Will Attenborough, Jeremias Amoore, Grace Nettle, Manuel Pacific
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 January 2024
Synopsis: Ava (Sophie Mcintosh), the daughter of the Governor of California, is hoping for a peaceful getaway with friends in the resort town of Cabo, Mexico – with her faithful minder Brandon (Colm Meaney) in tow. But when the plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean and comes to rest on the edge of an underwater ravine, Ava and a handful of survivors, including a former army nurse, Mardy (Phyllis Logan), and her granddaughter, Rosa (Grace Nettle), are trapped in the airlocked cabin. Against the odds, Ava must fend for herself, contend with bloodthirsty sharks, and find the courage to step up and lead the crash survivors to safety.
Movie Review:
From the producer of 47 Meters Down comes No Way Up, a survival thriller that combines both disaster and shark attack into a one boring affair. Kind of unbelievable given the potential of a cheesy dumb entertaining movie.
With pressing time for character development, we are shortly introduced to Ava (Sophie Mcintosh), her boyfriend Jed (Jeremias Amoore), their jerk of a friend, Kyle (Will Attenborough) and Ava’s personal bodyguard, Brandon (Cole Meaney). She is the daughter of a Governor of California after all.
Adding to the shark’s selection of food as well is gay flight crew member, Danilo (Manuel Pacific), a young British girl, Rosa (Grace Nettle) and her grandma, an ex-British nurse, Mardy (Phyllis Logan).
Expectedly, the plane they are on crashes shortly after some dumb birds fly into the engine. The other big bird hits the water and sinks deep down. Eventually, our small group of survivors manage to hurdle at the back of the plane in a small confined area hoping to be rescue. What they didn’t know is hungry sharks are already lurking around looking for their supper.
For a slim runtime of 91 minutes, No Way Up struggles to stay afloat (pun intended). The thrills on the whole are poorly conceived especially with the CGI sharks appearing for a grand total of probably 10 seconds. The attacks come fast and furious in a way that it’s hard to comprehend the entire carnage. Perhaps it’s to hide the crappy CGI creature thus cutting down on the costs or director Claudio Fah has no idea to come up with an effective one. However, a couple of cheap jump scares and excellent sound effects help to keep audiences awake.
The various characters are typical stereotypes. The smart alec who turned up to be a coward. The bravest and most gripping character somehow has the shortest screentime. The old folk who sacrificed for the love one and the pampered girl who happens to be the most gung-ho of all. No one in this sluggishly paced thriller makes the movie any interesting unfortunately.
Undoubtedly, there’s no reason to catch this on the big screens. Well, Snakes On A Plane is silly but fun. The Shallows has only one actress and a shark and it’s a menacing affair from start to finish. No Way Up has nothing on the plate to make it a worthy bloody affair.
Movie Rating:
(No Way Up ranks extreme low for a shark-killer movie)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Action/Crime
Director: Marc Ma
Cast: Nick Cheung, Ethan Juan, Darren Wang, Danny Chan, Andrew Lien, Lawrence Ng, Jordan Lee, Paul Chun
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence & Some Drug Use)
Released By: Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 4 January 2024
Synopsis: Amid the transfer of power at the Hongtai Group, which wields influence in both the lawful and unlawful worlds, a mysterious assassin named Chen An suddenly enters this vortex of confusion and throws the Hongtai Group into chaos. Mai Longwen from the police and Ma Wenkang from the gangs both have their eyes on him... Various forces are waiting for the opportunity to strike. Who is the mastermind behind the scenes? A fierce battle is about to break out.
Movie Review:
If you think you were seeing double, you’re not alone. Barely weeks after reuniting with Dante Lam for the latter’s return to the gritty crime thrillers that Lam is best known for, Nick Cheung is in yet another such thriller with ‘Wolf Hiding’. In fact, we suspect director Marc Ma may have been inspired by some of Lam and Cheung’s earlier genre collaborations, given how ‘Wolf Hiding’ boasts similar themes of justice, brotherhood and vigilantism as well as how it is similarly prone to bursts of brutal, over-the-top violence.
Like several of its recent Mainland counterparts such as ‘Lost in the Stars’ and ‘The Last Suspect’, ‘Wolf Hiding’ is set in a fictional Southeast Asian country plagued by corruption within both its enforcement and legislative ranks. In particular, the crimes here are sexual exploitation and organ trade, which the much feared and revered Hong Tai group is guilty of given the lucrativeness of the black market business. With its titular chairman Hong Tai (Paul Chun) deciding to run for city councillor elections, the group is forced to confront who would take over as chairman as well as whether it would purge its illegal activities.
Amidst a potentially explosive power struggle between the chairman’s biological son Ovalon (Lawrence Ng) and his adopted son Ugo (Marc Ma), a mysterious assailant (Nick Cheung) sparks suspicions of treachery within the Hong Tai ranks. Not only does he claim to have kidnapped Ovalon, the assailant also attempts but fails to kidnap Hong Tai himself, leading to a citywide manhunt by both the police and Hong Tai’s men. Oh by the way, there is also tension between the former led by Mai (Ethan Juan) and the latter led by Wenkang (Wang Talu), which threatens to boil over even as they race against time to catch the assailant before things spiral out of control.
Ma, who co-wrote the movie with Gu Haoran, keeps the narrative gears spinning at a fast, and even frenetic, pace. Within the span of two hours, Ma packs plenty of twists and turns, as he unveils not just the motivations of the mysterious assailant Chen An, but also the power struggle within the ranks of the Hong Tai group. In the latter regard, Ma stacks the movie with a long list of supporting characters, including Hong Tai’s right hand man (Danny Chan), an Eastern European pair of brothers who do Hong Tai’s dirty work, and the city’s police chief as well as chief procurator.
This is Ma’s first time behind the camera, so it should not come as a surprise that ‘Wolf Hiding’ is pretty raw in some respects. For one, not all of the storytelling turns are quite convincing enough, especially how Chen An manages to evade the manhunt out for him and yet turn up so neatly in front of those after him to purposely taunt them. For another, despite packing the movie wall to wall with action scenes, none of them are particularly memorable, whether is it in terms of choreography or just sheer coherence. And like most first-time filmmakers, Ma is also prone to overdo the sentimentality, which is most apparent in a lengthy series of flashbacks in the third act.
Still, despite the rough edges, ‘Wolf Hiding’ does enough to keep you engaged throughout. Much of that is credit to Cheung, whose chameleon-like ability to slip into roles is unparalleled. While Juan tends to over-act and Wang is too subdued for his own good, Cheung finds just the right balance between subtlety and theatricality, and singlehandedly elevates the material. So even though it is Cheung’s second genre movie in less than two months, ‘Wolf Hiding’ won’t leave you leaving more of the same, simply because Cheung turns what could have been cliché into a class act – and for Cheung alone, ‘Wolf Hiding’ is worth hunting.
Movie Rating:
(Amidst over-the-top storytelling, violence and histrionics, Nick Cheung is the one reason 'Wolf Hiding' is still worth hunting)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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GOLDEN GLOBES WINNERS 2024Posted on 08 Jan 2024 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Hsiao Ya-chuan
Cast: Bai Run-Yin, Liu Kuan-Ting, Akio Chen, Eugenie Liu, Mugi Kadowaki, Chien-Wei Huang
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 January 2024
Synopsis: In 1989, Eleven-year old Liao Jie and his father have been saving money, hoping that they will be able to buy a home of their own in three years. However, they fail to notice that the world is rapidly changing. The property prices have rockets and in the blink of an eye, their savings are not enough. In frustration, Liao Jie comes to release the harsh reality of being poor. In contrast with his father, their landlord who people call “Old Fox”, emerges as a winner and seems to be a better mentor to Liao Jie. Old Fox teaches Liao Jie how to survive in society, and that is something his father has never taught him. Nonetheless, Liao Jie ends up hurting Old Fox what he has learnt from Old Fox. On the other hand, like his father, Liao Jie is someone who always empathizes with others, and it is this quality that stops Liao Jie from being another “Old Fox”.
Movie Review:
For a large part of this Taiwanese movie, you may be wondering what story the filmmakers are trying to tell. We first see Liao Jie (Bai Run-Yin), an 11 year old boy leading what seems like a frugal and simple life with his father Liao Tai-Lai (Liu Kuan-Ting). They stay in a rented apartment, where the water from their leaking tap is collected and used for showering. To save power, the gas from the water heater will be switched off once they are done with the hot water. Amidst this, the single father and his son are happy living with each other.
As the 112 minute film progresses, we learn that Liao Jie is bullied in school. Tai-Lai works in a restaurant and brings home leftover food for dinner. We also see that Tai-Lai plays the saxophone and knows how to sew clothes. He has a down to earth personality and wants to make an honest living, so that he can buy a home to call their own. This is something that Liao Jie is looking forward to as well, and he is sensible enough not to complain about the less than comfortable life he is leading.
Things take a turn when he trustingly hops onto an old man’s car. The man, known as Boss Xie (Akio Chen), happens to be his landlord and has the nickname “Old Fox”. This is where you also wonder where the story is headed, as the titular tycoon appears and shares his worldviews with the gullible child. It is not a bad thing though, because you will be captivated by the film’s production values to replicate what Taiwan looked like in 1989. The sets are intricately built, and you will feel nostalgic seeing the interior décor in the apartment, and how the Chinese restaurant is dressed up.
The performances from the ensemble cast are commendable too. Liu comfortably slips into his role as a man who is trying his best to make ends meet while showing his son how to live a righteous life. Bai’s wide eyed wonder anchors the film as we are reminded of how things were simpler when growing up. Chen’s charismatic portrayal of the mysteriously sly but wise “Old Fox” won him the Best Supporting Actor prize at the 60th Golden Horse Awards last year. The film was nominated in seven categories, and took home the Best Director (Hsiao Ya-chuan), Best Makeup & Costume Design (Wang Chih-cheng and Shirley Kao) and Best Original Film Score (Chris Hou) accolades. With four trophies, it was a big winner at the awards.
When the film comes to a point where Liao Jie becomes aware of what he has to do to achieve his dreams, you realise this is a coming of age story. The film succeeds in narrating an engaging father and son tale, and in the process, reminding us that there are certain events earlier in our lives that shape who we are today. The last scene in the film is especially effective and poignant in proving this point, and you will leave the theatre reflecting on how your own personality has changed since you were a child.
Movie Rating:
(This slow-burn drama boasts ourstanding production values and tells an affectionately engaging coming-of-age story)
Review by John Li
Genre: Fantasy/Thriller
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, John Cena, Dua Lipa, Bryan Cranston, Sofia Boutella, Ariana DeBose, Catherine O’Hara, Samuel L. Jackson
Runtime: 2 hrs 20 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:
Opening Day: 1 February 2024
Synopsis: The greater the spy, the bigger the lie. From the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman franchise, Kick-Ass) comes Argylle, a razor-witted, reality-bending, globe-encircling spy thriller. Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World franchise) is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books—which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate—begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aidan (Oscar ® winner Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.
Movie Review:
Matthew Vaughn has proven he is capable of pulling off entertaining espionage action thrillers given his excessive Kingsman franchise. And with Argylle, he has taken a step further in expanding his spy-centred universe- giving audiences an original spy movie based on the work of a fictional writer.
The opening act showcases Argylle (Henry Cavill), a suave looking, James Bond-like spy working on a case in Greece with his partner, Wyatt (John Cena) when they realised their boss is double-crossing them.
But wait. Argylle and Wyatt are not exactly real spies or even real physical persons at all. They are just characters lifted out of a spy theme novel by American writer, Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard). Conway has ended her latest novel on a cliffhanger. She is an introvert who only has a cat named Alfie as companion and her mother, Ruth (Catherine O’Hara) to talk to and seems wary of any romantic liaisons.
On a train ride to visit her mother in Chicago, Conway encountered a real spy, Aiden (Sam Rockwell) who saves her from being kidnapped by a group of assailants. Later on, Aiden told her that the organisation believes that Conway can predict the future because whatever she writes in her books happened in real-life. What exactly is going on with Conway? Is Aiden a good guy or bad? Questions and more questions.
Intriguing is the word when it comes to the script written by actor and writer Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman, Pan). There are mainly two stories going on at once. The fictional portion showcases Argylle and sometimes with Wyatt in action. And then it switches effortlessly to Aiden fighting off the impending enemies in the real world. In the eyes of Conway however, she keeps seeing Argylle in action, handsomely fending off the attackers in his slick suit and hair.
Clearly, everyone is having a lot of fun especially Cavill who is rumoured to be one of the forerunners to play James Bond decades ago if not for his tender age. Argylle probably marks Rockwell’s biggest role to date besides Moon and surely he doesn’t disappoint given his sizzling chemistry opposite Howard who in turn manages to be both threatening and vulnerable. There’s also Bryan Cranston and Samuel L. Jackson who adds to the shaken and stirred madness.
If you are familiar with Vaughn’s works liked the Kingsman and Kick-Ass franchise, you will know the latter is fond of delivering outrageous, over-the-top action set pieces. While the entire movie is not as violent (it’s PG13 after all) as the church massacre scene in the first Kingsman, there’s an ice-skating on crude oil sequence here that is downright cringe-worthy and silly.
While the tagline warns us not to let the cat out of the bag, we can say that Argylle is full of twists and turns with the plotting more cartoonish than witty. There’s enough action to keep audiences engaged but they are mostly play for fun. The jokes about cats and dogs stand out as the funniest. Still, the mid-credits show there is more to Argylle and Vaughn has promised he is going to launch a franchise with this big budget extravaganza. Pray hard.
Movie Rating:
(Vaughn continues his quest for outrageous spy romp and Argylle more or less achieves his goal)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Director: Chen Xiaoming, Zhang Pan
Cast: Qu Chuxiao, Karlina Zhang, Fu Jing, Chiang Yunlin
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 January 2024
Synopsis: After the college entrance exam, Zhang Wansen plans to confess his long-standing crush on Lin Beixing, but a sudden concert accident turns everything into an irreversible tragedy. Unexpectedly, helpless Zhang Wansen restarted this summer and returned to Lin Beixing before the tragedy. The secret of restarting summer seems not as simple as imagined. Can Zhang Wansen make up for the unforgettable regrets this time?
Movie Review:
The audience who attended the preview screening of this fantasy romance seemed to be really excited the movie. The film distributor also kindly prepared star light sticks to give away, which made this reviewer wonder whether people are going to wave them in the theatre like concert glow sticks. He did a quick search online, and realised that the movie is adapted from a very popular 2022 drama series of the same name. This writer confesses that he is not the biggest fan of the romance genre, and he was stepping into the cinema with no expectations. One thing he knows though, that the movie is going to be very pretty to look at, and that includes both the cinematography and the leading stars.
The story starts off unassumingly with a high school student named Zhang Wansen (Qu Chuxiao from Anthony Chen’s The Breaking Ice) rushing to get tickets to an upcoming concert, only to find out that the last two tickets were bought by someone moments before him. This someone is Lin Beixing (Karlina Zhang), whom Wansen tries very hard to resell the tickets. Eventually, the two find themselves volunteering at the concert venue (Beixing’s mother had unfortunately confiscated the tickets) and a relationship expectedly blossoms.
If you, like this reviewer, did not watch the original drama series, would begin wondering where this story is going. It is soon revealed that the Wansen is actually travelling across a parallel universe (thanks to the countless superhero movies recently, we are no strangers to the concept) to prevent a tragedy from happening. This is where things get intriguing because you would want to know whether these endearing star crossed lovers will get a happy ending.
Throughout the 107 minute movie directed by Chen Xiaoming and Zhang Pan, there are supporting characters played by Fu Jing and Chiang Yunlin, who reprise their characters from the drama series. These characters may not mean much to the storyline if you did not follow the 2022 series. Adding star power is veteran filmmaker Tian Zhuangzhuang, who shows up as a wise bookstore owner and has the job of narrating some of the movie’s best lines.
Qu and Zhang are naturally eye candy and fans would no doubt love every minute they are on screen. Qu is earnestly likeable as a guy who is finding the right opportunity to confess his love to the girl, while Zhang’s girl next door persona works pleasantly. The series was about how Beixing journeyed back in time to her high school days after her fiancé cancels their engagement, and how an accidental encounter with Wansen sparked a new romance. It is nice how the movie adaptation shifts the spotlight to Wansen’s perspective – a mid credit scene in this movie even provides closure to a plot line which the series left open.
And as compared to a drama series, one can expect a movie adaptation to provide a more cinematic experience. Some sequences are truly breathtaking to see on the big screen, like the glowing blue sea which illuminates the scene when the couple visited a beach at night, and several other dreamlike landscapes where the couple are enjoying the best summer of their lives. Remember the light sticks which were mentioned at the beginning of this review? They were spontaneously lit up when the credits rolled during the preview, and the blue lights in the dark theatre ended screening on a magical note.
Movie Rating:
(A fantasy romance that is as beautiful as it gets on the big screen)
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: An international heist crew, led by Cyrus Whitaker (Kevin Hart), race to lift $500 million in gold from a passenger plane at 40,000 feet.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Lift is yet another generic heist movie despite having F. Gary Gray, the director behind the brilliant remake of The Italian Job (2003).
Comedian Kevin Hart dons a producer hat and also stars as Cyrus, the leader of an international heist team specialising in stealing art and NFT. In exchange for immunity and their criminal records being erased, Cyrus agrees to work with Interpol agent Abby (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and her superior, Commander Huxley (Sam Worthington) to steal $500 million in gold from an evil crime boss, Jorgenson (Jean Reno).
Their plan is to steal the gold in mid-air out of a commercial airline in which Jorgenson’s henchmen are onboard guarding the loot. All the while with Cyrus’ teammate, Camila (Ursula Corbero) piloting a private jet underneath the airline not knowing the henchmen are planning a surprise hijack detouring their original plan.
Probably a feeble attempt to steer himself away from his usual comedic outings. Kevin Hart is not even funny here. It’s definitely a wrong move, buddy. For a movie liked Lift, it sure going to benefit from Hart’s comedic talents and timings. Alas, most of the gags relied on Billy Magnussen who plays Magnus, a safecracker and Vincent D’Onofrio who is supposed to be some sort of master in disguise. Unfortunately, both are not exactly comedians especially the latter who is totally wasted in the role.
Same goes to Sam Worthington and Jean Reno who are underused in the whole endeavour. Just because the movie needs some love to move things along, there’s some forced romance brewing between Abby and Cyrus which is dull and inconsequential.
The rest of the movie is mostly tried-and-tested with passable action sequences (apologies to veteran stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong), passable CGI and hardly passable screenwriting by Daniel Kunka. The villain is weak, unconvincing and his motive even weaker. We expected more from Hart and especially F. Gary Gray but it’s yet another disappointing action flick from Netflix. Hart is no Danny Ocean for sure.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Dave (David Oyelowo) and Emma (Kaley Cuoco) have the seemingly perfect life - two kids, suburban house, good jobs - but they just want a little more fun. In fact, they need it. Looking to shake things up, they decide to ROLE PLAY. The rules are simple - they meet as strangers for one night to rekindle their relationship. While waiting for her 'stranger' at a hotel bar in New York, Emma attracts the attention of a mysterious older man (Bill Nighy), who stays to buy her and Dave drinks long into the night. 24 hours later, the man is found dead and a murder investigation is launched. Emma and Dave's role play game now becomes a case of mistaken identity that leads to Emma disappearing and Dave being questioned by the police for murder. As disguises unravel, Dave uncovers the unbelievable truth: his wife Emma is a professional assassin who has been living a double life for years.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Streaming platforms have fast turned into dumping grounds for generic, forgettable movies even though it more than often features familiar movie, television stars and decent production values.
Role Play stars Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) and David Oyelowo (Selma) as a suburban New Jersey married couple who decides to spice up their marriage with a little role play in a fancy hotel.
As it turned out, Emma (Cuoco) the mother of two kids is no ordinary woman. She is a contract killer and her supposed supervisor, Raj (Rudi Dharmalingam) is her handler. For whatever reasons, there’s a bounty on Emma’s head and another contract killer, Bob Kitterman (Bill Nighy) wants her dead before even Emma and Dave (Oyelowo) begins their “role play” at the hotel bar.
Role Play unfortunately copies and paste from many other espionage theme movies liked Mr and Mrs Smith, The Long Kiss Goodnight and many more but fails to make it any better or enjoyable. The promised premise of a clever satire of an assassin living a dual life is abandoned after the first act (which is kind of comical especially with the presence of Nighy). Making things worse, the narrative can’t really make up its mind to be a comedy or a serious action thriller.
With the appearance of Gwen Carver (Connie Nielsen), the leader from Emma’s killer organisation who wants her back on the team, the movie transformed itself into an unconvincingly dull, talky spy movie for the third act with Emma and Dave discussing their problematic marriage and Carver, a one dimensional villain trying to convince Emma into killing Dave.
There’s an obligatory brief shootout, car chase and some hand to hand combat but nothing that makes Kaley Cuoco stands out as the next female action heroine. The only saving grace is the fresh pairing of Cuoco with Oyelowo that at least makes the whole viewing experience bearable.
Well as mentioned, Role Play is just another generic streaming actioner, so uninspiring, so formulaic.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Carrie Preston
Runtime: 2 hr 13 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Nudity and Coarse Language)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:
Opening Day: 11 January 2024 (The Projector exclusive)
Synopsis: A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam..
Movie Review:
Two decades after their corkscrewing caper in Wine Country, Alexander Payne reunites with his ‘Sideways’ lead Paul Giamatti for a bittersweet dramedy of three lost souls stuck in a tony Northeastern prep school during Christmas break. The result – as fans of Payne’s movies should take note – is a welcome return to form for the acclaimed director whose last outing was the unfortunately underwhelming 2017 shrinking-people drama ‘Downsizing’. It also gives Giamatti’s one of his most poignant roles to date, and those familiar with his oeuvre will also recognise such an accolade is no small feat indeed.
Slipping effortlessly into the role of a curmudgeonly professor at the fictional Barton Academy, Giamatti plays Paul Hunham as only the 55-year-old actor can. When we first meet him, Hunham is hunched over his desk grading papers, and the first word we hear out of his mouth is ‘Philistines!’. Single and wall-eyed, you’d probably regard Hunham at first as a pathetic creature. And yet, by the time he runs into an old Harvard schoolmate at the beginning of the third act (where we learn why he’s been stuck at Barton for all his teaching career), you’d already be won over by the man who harbours both vulnerabilities and compassion beneath his irascible exterior.
To his dismay, Hunham is assigned babysitting duties for the “holdovers”, the kids who won’t be going home for the holidays and are thus forced to stay on campus. Chief among them is Angus Tully (newcomer Dominic Sessa), who was set to go to St. Kitts before his mom disinvites him so she can honeymoon with her deep-pocketed new husband. To his credit, Tully is one of the smarter students in Hunham’s class (and therefore gets less grief from the professor), but there is hardly any joy in his predicament. Though Tully isn’t the only one left behind at the start, he will eventually be the lone student stuck on campus.
While it is only until Hunham and Tully are left with each other that we begin to learn much of anything about either of them, Payne – working off a script by David Hemingson – gives more time for us to acquaint ourselves with the school’s resident cook Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). Having just lost her son in the Vietnam War, it isn’t surprising that Lamb is still grieving, and when we finally get to see how profoundly that loss has affected her, it is truly moving. It is also when the movie turns into a three-hander with Hunham, Tully and Lamb that it truly settles down into something with unexpected meaning.
Payne’s best movies have found humanity in unlikeable characters, and ‘The Holdovers’ is no different. Hunham is the most obvious of them – besides the aforementioned, his other affectionations include functional alcoholism and a bodily inability to break down trimethylamine that causes him to smell like rotting fish towards the end of each day – but you’ll find yourself sympathizing with the man whose life of promise as a teenager was cut short by those in positions of wealth and power. While Hunham has come to terms with the hand he has been dealt with in life, Tully is still struggling to do so, and a third-act trip to Boston reveals how his smart-mouthed nature is ultimately a façade to conceal his deeper insecurities.
There is no doubt Giamatti holds the movie together – in particular by his talent at finding pathos in the most cantankerous personalities we would otherwise dismiss if not detest – but the Golden Globe winning thespian is also a generous lead who gives both space and depth for his fellow supporting members to shine. Led by Giamatti, both Sessa and Randolph play every beat with just the right comic or tragic nuance, infusing every scene with the perfect balance of comedy and sadness. Thanks to the stellar cast, though their unlikely trio of characters may go on a familiar trajectory, the journey is never cheap, formulaic or contrived.
Even though it is best enjoyed in the spirit of the Christmas season (over which it is set), ‘The Holdovers’ is funny, heartfelt and moving enough to be enjoyed at any time of the year. Like we said, it is one of Payne’s best works that is charming, grounded and poignant without ever trying to be any. You’ll love how Payne reveals new layers and confounds expectations about each of his characters, some funny, some tragic but all engaging. It’ll hold your attention all right; it’ll probably also have your heart in the palm of its hand by the time the credits roll; and it’ll have you feeling okay to be held over by your foibles and failings in life, because it is through our imperfections that we learn to find good company.
Movie Rating:
(Funny, heartfelt and deeply moving, 'The Holdovers' reunites Alexander Payne with his 'Sideways' star Paul Giamatti for a beautifully bittersweet tale of life's foibles, failings and fullness)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
Cast: Tye Sheridan, Sean Penn, Katherine Waterson, Michael Pitt
Runtime: 2 hr 5 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Scenes and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 9 May 2024
Synopsis: Upstart paramedic Ollie Cross (Tye Sheridan) courses through adrenaline-fueled nights in an ambulance for the New York City Fire Department in Brownsville, Brooklyn while spending days studying for med-school exams in a Chinatown hovel. Working alongside seasoned first responder Gene Rutkovsky (Sean Penn), Cross discovers firsthand the chaos and awe of a job that careens from harrowing to heartfelt, and occasionally stretches into ethical ambiguity. French filmmaker Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (A Prayer Before Dawn) concocts a visceral and immersive thriller out of the complex and grueling lives of emergency medical technicians and the everyday people they live to save.
Movie Review:
Retitled after its premiere in competition at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, ‘Asphalt City’ (or ‘Black Flies’ as it was previously known) follows rookie New York City paramedic Ollie Cross (Tye Sheridan) as he traverses the mean streets of Brooklyn while studying to get into medical school. As you can imagine, it ain’t pretty, and over the course of an indeterminate number of days and weeks, Ollie will come across gunshot victims, drug dealers, drug addicts, domestic abusers and even a HIV-positive woman who used heroin at the precise moment she was delivering her newborn.
At least at the start, that Ollie manages to hold himself together after losing a gunshot patient in the back of an ambulance on his first day on the job is thanks to gruff veteran Gene Rutkovsky (Sean Penn), who takes Ollie under his wing as his partner and subsequently shows him just how to get through each shift without losing his sanity. As jaded as he may be, Rutkovsky slowly but surely becomes Ollie’s exemplar, and each successive episode reinforces the bond that develops between these two unlikely emergency medical workers.
Like the 2008 novel of the same name it is based on, ‘Asphalt City’ paints an unvarnished look at the life of an EMT. Employing an episodic structure, it bounces our two protagonists from one trauma to the next, conveying vicariously the physical, mental and emotional toll it takes on any normal individual. Though repetitive, it is never boring, vacillating between gang members bleeding out, addicts passed out on laundromat floors, abused wives being screamed at by their husbands and purple babies born to bleeding moms; in fact, the most normal patient is probably an Arab man suffering from an asthma attack inside a slaughterhouse.
Comparisons with Martin Scorsese’s ‘Bringing Out the Dead’ are inevitable, but director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire holds his own bringing his stylized vision of New York as a crime-ridden hellscape. We will admit that those looking for nuance will find little, and it is eminently understandable why some would call it overwrought sensationalism, but there is no denying how it does get under your skin, even though you may not like how it makes you feel. It may not be representative of the lived experience of every single New York City EMT, but it is of the officers assigned to the poorest and most crime-ridden section of the city.
Over the course of two engaging hours, it is also effective a character drama of both Ollie and Rutkovsky, both well-played by Penn and Sheridan. Penn is an old pro at a role like this, but it is still quiet spectacular work how he conveys with a lean and mean manner and a thousand-yard stare the weariness that his character’s paramedic work has on him. On the other hand, Sheridan gives a quiet, unfussy performance, but it is fascinating to see how he gradually loses it, especially when a series of unfortunate events lead Ollie to be paired with bad shift partner Lafontaine (Michael Pitt).
Though it could do with a little more subtlety, this is nonetheless an absorbing study of the lives of paramedics, whose business of saving the lives of others could end up breaking their very own. It is rather unrelentingly sombre from start to finish, and for that reason, may lead some to question its very realism. Yet like we said, the fact that it unnerves and unsettles is precisely why it is so successful, even though you may not like how it feels. For fans of Penn, it is also a joy to watch the veteran’s effortless understatement, and a reminder of why he remains one of the greatest actors of our generation. .
Movie Rating:
(Grim and sombre, this unrelenting study of two paramedics fighting to hold themselves together as they save lives is an absorbing study of the physical, mental and emotional toll of such roles)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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