SYNOPSIS: “Juror #2” follows family man Justin Kemp (Hoult) who, while serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Nosferatu, The Order and now this. Let’s not talk about Garfield the Movie where he voiced Jon. Former child actor Nicholas Hoult truly has the best year in 2024. We guess it’s also a very big deal for anyone to be cast in cinematic living legend, Clint Eastwood’s last movie.

With a heavily pregnant wife at home, Hoult plays Justin, a recovering alcoholic writer who has been chosen to be part of the juror team of a high-profile murder case. Kendall, the girlfriend of James Michael Sythe (Gabriel Basso), a former drug peddler of sorts was found dead at the bottom of a bridge. Prior to that, they were found to be squabbling at a bar.

Then a flashback which is set in a rainy night tells us that Justin is also at the bar on the same night where the supposedly murder took place. Justin looks sad, distracted perhaps and while driving, he thought he hit a deer which in this case, might be Kendall although the movie didn’t specifically shows or states it is her or a deer.

So is Justin the real “murderer” or is he not?

The movie is as much a character drama as it is a legal, morality tale detailing the nature of truth and the selfishness of human beings. Perplexing questions abound as audiences are led to explore the truth as a politically ambitious prosecutor, Killebrew (Toni Collette) is bent on getting justice for the victim while Sythe’s lawyer, Resnick (Chris Messina) believes his client is innocent. Even a retired Chicago police detective turned florist, Harold (J.K. Simmons) believes it’s more of a case of hit-and-run than a cold-blooded murder.

Juror #2 promises lots of courtroom drama and dilemma. The screenplay spends most of its screen time on the various jurors as they argue if Sythe deserves a not-guilty verdict. Those accustomed to Eastwood’s movies will be familiar with his flair for flat visuals and straight-forward storytelling and the script by Jonathan Abrams does just that. No fancy twists, turns and violent happenings.

Like a vintage episode of Matlock, Juror #2 is both thought-provoking and engaging. Hoult and Collette is excellent in the leading roles and Eastwood again efficiently delivers the goods in his usual old school ways. While there were some disagreements over Warner Bros decision to pull this out of a wide theatrical release, we feel streaming might be the best platform given the title lacks a mass appeal despite being a taut legal drama.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Piece by Piece is a unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music's most innovative minds.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Comparing this to The Lego Movie (2014) or The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Piece By Piece is a Lego theme movie that came and went and very much a commercial failure. In other words, no one bother to check this out. 

Piece By Piece is a biography of American songwriter-producer Pharrell Williams told in Lego form. Brought to life by filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom) who also stars in the movie as an interviewer, the colourful animation features lots of talking heads liked Timbaland and Missy Elliot as they recount their childhood with Williams.

Indeed, the meta-documentary features lots of Williams’ other famous friends including Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani and Pusha T. Everyone has their few seconds of sound bites as they talks about making music with the talented man.

Interestingly, the movie has a far more uplifting message that is showcasing an aimless, young Williams who lived in the Atlantis housing project while struggling academically. His grandma was the one who encourages him to do what he loves and subsequently, Pharrell and his childhood friend, Chad Hugo ended up forming The Neptunes which caught the attention of famed record producer Teddy Riley. The rest they say is history.

The dreams come true or rags-to-riches plotting sure looks and sounds more attractive and cooler in dynamic-looking colourful animated bricks. And the Lego group truly did participate in the movie in creating new “moulds” and “bricks” for the animation.

Still, being a children-friendly title, we won’t get to know the dispute behind Williams and Hugo or why Williams became an overnight fashion designer for a luxury fashion house. But we did get to see the inspiration behind his hit song, “Happy”. There’s even a serious message about Black Lives Matter thrown in for good measure.

No offence to anyone out there, we are not exactly sure why Pharrell Williams deserved a Lego movie of his own. Is he that iconic and famous? While of course, the soundtrack is infectious, the Lego gimmick is amazing, the movie it seems is lost among the crowd. Adults obviously won’t be bother to check out a Lego-fied Williams and children prefers to sing along to “Happy” than finding out more about the man behind the tune.

Neither here or there is the main reason why Piece By Piece fails to make its budget back.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

MEET BATEMAN Posted on 13 Mar 2025 Check out the hilarious Jason Bateman as Bateman, like getting Bateman when you need the protection of Batman. Take a look at the video below: ... more

SYNOPSIS: Set in a retro-futuristic past, this blockbuster adventure from filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo follows Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), an orphaned teenager who traverses the American West in search of her younger brother. Joining her on the journey is a sweet but mysterious robot and an eccentric drifter (Chris Pratt).

MOVIE REVIEW:

Strictly speaking, the Russo brothers have not land a big hit since Avengers Endgames. Sure, they have dabbled in a little seen Apple TV+ drama, Cherry starring Tom Holland, directed a lukewarm, big budgeted spy thriller called The Gray Man for Netflix, other than these the brothers did had a hand in producing an Oscar winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Still, everyone is waiting for their next big winner not considering the upcoming Avengers outing.

Costing Netflix a mega sum of $320 million, the Russos’ latest directorial effort is adapted from a graphic novel by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag and written by their frequent collaborators, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Endgame). It’s CGI heavy, boasts a huge cast and a more than familiar plotting. In other words, it’s same old Russos pulling the same trick.

Taking place in an alternate USA in the 90’s, the story has it that the war between robots and humans has just ended. The humans won because of a device called neurocaster created by head of Sentre Technologies, Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci). And what exactly is a neurocaster? It’s simply an advanced version of Apple Vision Pro. Anyway, the main story is about teenage orphan Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) who embarked on a search for her brother, Christopher’s physical self after a robot, Cosmo that contains her brother’s consciousness came asking for her help one day.

Then they have no choice but to team up with Keats (Chris Pratt), a smuggler and his robot sidekick Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie) to venture to the dangerous and abandoned Exclusion Zone, where the robot survivors now live to look for a certain Dr. Amherst (Ke Huy Quan) who might know Christopher’s whereabouts.

Again, a large part of The Electric State relies on the imaginary of CGI. To be fair, the visuals onscreen is near faultless and photorealistic. Come on, you know the Russos have a keen eye for visual. The various robotic characters are amazing looking even though most are actually made of scraps. With talents liked Woody Harrelson voicing the leader of the robots, Mr Peanut, Alan Tudyk as Cosmo, Jenny Slate as Penny and Brian Cox, Hank Azaria in the game, you are genuinely entertained by their vocal energy.

Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt are fine. I mean, Brown as a Netflix regular feels that she is in an awkward period whereby she needs stronger material to elevate her acting career. Pratt on the other hand is mainly here playing a variant of Star-Lord. You know the cute anti-hero that somehow saves the world one day. Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci phones it in by playing some generic villains.

Then comes the most important of all, is The Electric State after all worth catching?

Somehow, everything onscreen seems to be lifted off somewhere. Well, mostly from Steven Spielberg’s A.I. and Ready Player One. The screenplay does little to distinguish itself as a thinking man, original sic-fi. Sure, there is discussion of advanced technology, the harmfulness of it and more. Yet the end results are very much sanitised and pedestrian that the talents assembled and money involved barely worth the final effort.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Action/Adventure
Director:  Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Javier Bardem, Sarah Niles, Lewis Hamilton, Kim Bodnia, Samson Kayo
Runtime: 2 hrs 25 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 26 June 2025

Synopsis: Dubbed “the greatest that never was,” Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team's hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition—and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.

Movie Review:

Fresh off reviving Tom Cruise’s iconic turn as naval aviator Maverick, Joseph Kosinski casts his sights on reviving our love for classic Hollywood megawatt movie star Brad Pitt. It has been a while since we’ve seen Pitt slide into the sort of Golden Age Hollywood rogue that defined his popularity, and it is such an unbridled joy to see Pitt bring his presence, persona and physicality to the role of veteran F1 driver Sonny Hayes, a would-be and has-been who gets one last shot at the chequered flag.

As far as comeback stories go, ‘F1’ hardly breaks new ground, but like ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, it is supremely satisfying as an old-school, summer blockbuster. Right from its opening scene of Hayes waking up in his beat-down van next to the speedway, firing up Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’, before running his section of the 24 Hours of Daytona his way, ‘F1’ settles into a sleek, sturdy and occasionally propulsive groove that keeps going throughout its speedy 156-minute running time.

Hayes is given a way back into Formula 1 by his old racing buddy Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) – once both up-and-coming drivers, Hayes’ promising career as the Next Big Thing was abruptly disrupted when he was involved in an accident during a big race against Ayrton Senna; and whereas Hayes had spent the next three decades drifting around, Ruben has since set himself up as the owner of a struggling F1 team known as APXGP. Not surprisingly, Hayes proves to be Ruben’s Hail Mary to save what is left of their season, thus ensuring that Ruben does not lose the company.

There is no secret why Hayes decides to take the gig – as he explains early on in the movie, it is his love and passion for racing that drives him, and not so much fame or glory; in short, Hayes is as honorable a leading man as it gets. On the other hand, his teammate Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) is a cocky but extremely talented rookie, and the verbal and physical sparring off and on the tracks between Hayes and Pearce is pulsating to watch, not least because both Pitt and Idris are so instantly compelling.

Besides some hotshot antagonism with Pearce, Hayes also finds romance in his comeback journey with Irish technical director Kate (Kerry Condon). Considering how easily her character could have been a romantic stereotype, Condon deserves praise for injecting more personality into her steely role than it was written out to be. Same goes for Kim Bodnia as team principal Kasper, as well as Sarah Niles as Pearce’s mother Bernadette; together, the supporting ensemble adds shades of narrative tension, humour and warmth into a story that could have been a lot less engaging.

Yet Kosinski, who co-wrote the movie with his ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ scribe Ehren Kruger, knows exactly how to make all the storytelling elements come together beautifully with the racing sequences. Oh yes, the latter has no doubt been touted as the highlight of the movie, with the production embedded within the actual Formula 1 circuit for a whole season. Besides being filmed at actual F1 events in Silverstone, Hungary, Mexico, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, the on-location shoot also allows F1 fans to be treated to a gaggle of real-life F1 personalities, including Lewis Hamilton (who is also credited as producer), Kevin Magnussen, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso.

The greatest achievement though is how the movie captures the authenticity and verisimilitude of the races themselves, putting you right on the tracks through the use of smaller IMAX cameras mounted on the cars – in particular, one such camera movement provides a 180-degree pan that goes from the driver’s perspective within the car to the interior of the cockpit, and let’s just say that it is absolutely immersive. Kudos to Kosinski, cinematographer Claudia Miranda and editor Stephen Mirrione for splicing together the viewpoints from the cameras all around the cars with a combination of wider shots for maximum dramatic tension and pow.

Despite all the whiz-whizzing, ‘F1’ never loses its heart thanks to Pitt. Inhabiting the role with confidence, ease and self-awareness, Pitt keeps the mood larky and buoyant throughout with plenty of wise-cracking. He also brings depth to the quieter, more intimate moments, adding layers of vulnerability that make his eventual victory on the tracks even more emotionally rewarding. Like we said at the beginning, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Pitt in a role like this, and we dare say extremely gratifying for those who have grown up with the Hollywood icon.

‘F1’ is also grand, old-fashioned entertainment that delivers on its promise of pure kinetic escapism. If it isn’t yet obvious, the dedication to accuracy here is impeccable, so fans of the sport can rest easy; for agnostics, there is just enough exposition to keep you intrigued about the physics and tactics of the game, and perhaps even by the end of it, convert you into an enthusiast. This is as real as it gets, with Kosinski and his team delivering yet another exhilarating cinematic experience packed with sheer thrills, action and emotion. It is F1 all right, a first-grade summer blockbuster that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen you can get.

Movie Rating:

(A first-grade summer blockbuster packed with sheer thrills, action and emotion, this is top-flight entertainment that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: David Ayer
Cast: Jason Statham, David Harbour, Michael Peña, Noemi Gonzalez, Arianna Rivas, Jason Flemyng
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 27 March 2025

Synopsis: From the Director of Suicide Squad, David Ayer. A WORKING MAN is an exhilarating and action packed thriller where Levon Cade (Jason Statham), a construction worker with military past goes on a mission to rescue his boss’s kidnapped daughter and uncovers a world of human trafficking far greater than he ever could have imagined.

Movie Review:

If the idea of a ‘Beekeeper’ reteam does not sound attractive to you, then you’re probably not the audience for ‘A Working Man’. Neither director David Ayer or his British star Jason Statham make any apologies for essentially rehashing the same formula of a reluctant vigilante whose moral code to help the helpless compels him to revive his uniquely lethal set of skills, but those who enjoy the simple pleasures of such familiar action vehicles need no such apologies anyways.

Not that it matters, but Statham here plays former Royal Guard veteran Levon Cade, who has turned in his uniform and weapons for a life of a construction foreman in Chicago. Following the suicide of his wife, Levon is locked in a bitter custody battle of his daughter Merry (Isla Gie) with his domineering father-in-law (Richard Heap); and in order to save up enough for the legal fees, Levon sleeps in his Dodge Ram that will also come in handy later on when he is tracking down the baddies.

That bit about his daughter is why Levon, while initially hesitant, decides to come to the help of his boss Joe (Michael Pena) when the latter’s college-age daughter Carla (Arianna Rivas) is abducted by a bunch of ruthless Russian gangsters while out celebrating her first semester in business school. If you’re wondering why, it’s because these gangsters are running a human trafficking ring where they spot young, nubile females and offer them up for sale to despicable buyers.

To be sure, it doesn’t take too long before Levon swings into action, setting in motion a series of nasty confrontations – starting with the bartender at the club where Carla disappeared, whom he subjects to a waterboarding session in the former’s own bathtub; then to a physically abusive Russian crime lord (Statham’s ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ co-star Jason Flemyng), whom he ties up, suspends and subsequently drowns in the latter’s own swimming pool; then to an eccentric twins in gaudy, silk tracksuits named Viper (Emmett J. Scanlan) and Artemis (Eve Mauro), whom he battles in the back of a van with his hands tied; and lastly with the entire outfit of one branch of the Russian mafia organisation led by the laconic and vampiric-looking Symon (Andrej Kaminsky).

It is an over-the-top collection of Russian goons all right, but the rogues’ gallery of deviant weirdos does indeed add to the fun. We should add to that list a ‘weapons sommelier’ in Levon’s former brother-in-arms Gunny (David Harbour), who not only still shoots (literally) like an arrow despite his blindness but also provides Levon with an impressive array of formidable guns and explosives for the all-out finale in an isolated Russian hideout somewhere in the woods where the moon looks comically enormous (I kid you not); and a ‘meth-dealing’ muscle daddy named Dutch (Chidi Ajufo), who similarly bonds with Levon over their military background. Oh yes, these touches are probably as much credit to Ayer as to his co-writer Sylvester Stallone (yes, the Balboa himself), who had originally intended to adapt the Chuck Dixon novel on which the film is based into a TV series.

Still, it is the genuinely and charmingly rough-hewn Statham whom we are here to see in badass mode, and in that regard, we will reassure you that Statham himself does not disappoint. As he had demonstrated in their previous collaboration, Ayer knows exactly what Statham excels at and what his fans want, and he delivers it with aplomb. What is puzzling though is why Ayer resorts to cutting up the action sequences more than he needs to, rather than just letting us watch Statham do his thing. Compared to ‘The Beekeeper’ too though, the storytelling is also a lot choppier, lacking in a strong, steady build-up that is one of the underrated qualities of the ‘John Wick’ franchise.

Like ‘The Beekeeper’, it is clear that both Ayer and Statham are laying the base for a potential franchise, in particular for future engagements with the Bratva organisation that has whiffs of The Continental. Over the years, Statham has carefully honed his brand into a gruff skull-cracker with simmering charisma, and as long as he keeps at it, we suspect he will continue to command a loyal following for his action thrillers (us included). Some of these movies will be better, some of them will feel like more of the same, and so even though it is formulaic, ‘A Working Man’ still offers up sufficient visceral pleasures to fall into the former category, which we suspect is enough to win over his legion of fans and followers to demand for a sequel and possibly even a franchise.

Movie Rating:

(Jason Statham does what he does best as a reluctant vigilante with his own brand of gruff, simmering charisma, and though formulaic, it is precisely this familiarity that makes this comfort food for Statham fans)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Drama
Director: Jirassaya Wongsutin
Cast: Kirana Pipityakorn, Fatima Dechawaleekul, Pakorn Chatborrirak
Runtime: 2 hr 9 mins
Rating: M18 (Some Homosexual Content))
Released By: Golden Village 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 20 March 2025

Synopsis: A coming-of-age story that depicts the love and friendship between two high-school girls, both daughters of police officers. Despite differing financial circumstances, the girls share a close bond. However, their relationship is tested when a young policeman moves into their flat. As the girls navigate the complexities of life, the story delves into the challenges of growing up.

Movie Review:

Long before ‘How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’ became a runway hit, GDH had been in the business of intimate, sensitive, coming-of-age dramas that have defined their brand over the past two decades.

‘Flat Girls’ is of the same mould, a coming-of-age story of two teenage girls, Ann (Fatima Dechawaleekul) and Jane (Kirana Pipityakorn), whose friendship over the course of the movie will be tested within and beyond. Not only will they have to deal with their feelings for each other, Ann and Jane will also have to contend with their feelings for the same guy, tensions between their mothers due to their respective financial situations, and their own hopes and dreams for their future.

On the surface, ‘Flat Girls’ is therefore exactly what the GDH brand has been built on; but halfway into the movie, you’d realise why this feature film debut by Jirassaya Wongsutin has struggled to find the same success as other GDH classics. Unlike its predecessors, ‘Flat Girls’ lacks focus, does not know what it eventually wants its audience to go away with, and comes off hollow and superficial.

That is somewhat a pity, because the first hour is sweetly charming. Over a series of seemingly ordinary day-to-day routines, we observe the dynamics between Ann and Jane – during their badminton sessions, Jane offers Ann her badminton racket knowing that Ann’s one is spoilt; during their sleepover at Ann’s place, they take turns putting their eyelashes on top of each other; and together with another close friend Nice (Wachirakon Raksasuwan), they break into a often empty flat to smoke, drink, watch the fireworks and talk about staying together come what may.

At first, it appears that Jane is the one who has more than platonic feelings for Ann, most notably when Jane tells Ann that she does not like her spending time with an older but still strappingly handsome police officer Tong (Pakorn Chatborrirak) who stays in the same apartment complex. However, as Tong shares a couple of one-to-one interactions with Jane, especially after Jane’s mother Nee asks Tong to take Jane exercising, we are also led to believe that Ann feels the same way about Jane.

To her credit, writer-director Wongsutin is perfectly comfortable juggling the ambiguity of Ann and Jane’s feelings for each other – suffice to say that it isn’t one-sided, or entirely reciprocal, which is also part of the appeal and intrigue. That ambiguity also allows Tong to complicate things in interesting ways, not just with Ann and Jane taking turns getting jealous, but also how a misunderstanding sets off a chain of events that will have irreparable ramifications for their friendship.

Unfortunately, these vagaries eventually prove too much for a first-time filmmaker to unpack. Amidst a number of emotional and familial upheavals, it is unclear what is truly bothering Ann, whether the debt-ridden circumstances of her mother Oom or her budding feelings for Tong; ditto for Jane, whether she is dismayed that Ann is settling for Tong or envious that Ann has ostensibly chosen Tong over her. Even more inscrutable is Tong’s motivations - whether he is in love with Ann or giving her money just out of goodwill – as well as his circumstances – in particular why he also needs to borrow money from Nee.

By the time things between Ann and Jane come to a head, you wonder just what the movie is trying to portray in the first place. Is it about how the simplicities of childhood friendship can sometimes inevitably by clouded by the complexities of adolescence and worse adulthood? Or is it about how we are bound by our socio-economic realities, which in turn colour the friendships we have and the futures we desire? And as intentional as it may be, leaving Ann’s fate open-ended ends up being symptomatic of the frustration we feel trying to decipher what the movie is trying to say, no matter how poetic it may have seemed to simply have Ann disappear from it all.

Because the plotting rambles, it is never clear what we are supposed to take away from it all – and that is despite a pair of committed performances from both our female leads. Proving she is a better director than she is a writer, Wongsutin coaxes genuine and heartfelt turns from newcomers Dechawaleekul and Pipityakorn, both of whom do their best to convey the twists and turns in their characters’ emotions. Credit also goes to the strong mise-en-scene, especially that of the police flat community, which brings to life both the simple pleasures and hard truths that Ann and Jane grow into.

We won’t go so far as to call this a misfire, but coming after one of the best examples of what GDH can do, ‘Flat Girls’ is inevitably disappointing. It is still an intimate, sensitive, coming-of-age drama, but there is no real emotional payoff at the end or a satisfying resolution to the growing-up journeys of our titular teenage protagonists. We hate to say this, but ‘Flat Girls’ comes off flat, and it is no wonder that the film hasn’t taken off like the rest of the GDH films have.

Movie Rating:

(What starts off sweetly charming becomes muddied in vagaries that struggles to find meaning, purpose or payoff, so in spite of being from the GDH mould of an intimate, sensitive coming-of-age drama, 'Flat Girls' never quite comes of age)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Director: Cho Jang-ho
Cast: Kang Ha-neul, Han Sung Yun, Choo Suk Young
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: NC16 (Mature Content)
Released By: Golden Village 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 27 March 2025

Synopsis: No.1 subscribed live streamer – ‘IDOL’, specializes in criminal profiling and covering crime-related mystery cases. One day, ‘IDOL’ streams about an unsolved serial murder case and ends up unveiling the truth to some dark secrets through his channel.

Movie Review:

This movie will make fans of South Korean actor Kang Ha-neul love him even more. The last time we saw the 35-year-old star, he was fighting to survive the brutal Squid Game in Season 2 of the hit series. Leaving a strong impression as Player 388, he also wowed audiences with his skills in the traditional Korean game of gonggi, which many of us fondly know as five stones.

Now, in this gripping thriller directed by Cho Jang-ho, Kang sheds his likeable charm to take on the role of a morally ambiguous online streamer who will stop at nothing to solve cold crime cases - all in pursuit of lucrative sponsorship deals.

Swapping his Squid Game signature green jumpsuit for a sharp suit, slicked-back hair, and striking tattoos, Kang transforms into Woo Sang, a popular online personality who uses a streaming platform to chase fame, glory, and profit.

The 91-minute movie first shows you how the platform operates before revealing that a serial killer is on the loose. In each unsolved case, the victims are found dead with a piece of their clothing cut off. Sensing an opportunity, Woo Sang vows to track down the so-called "hemline killer".

Teaming up with fellow streamer Mathilda (Han Sung Yun), he stages a roleplay of how the murders might have happened. But when things spiral out of control, Mathilda is abducted instead. As the mystery deepens, Woo Sang continues his livestreams, desperate to maintain his online popularity while racing to uncover the truth behind the killings.

In an age where we consume content effortlessly on our smartphones, this movie offers a unique experience - inviting you to watch its story unfold through livestreams on the big screen.

Much has been said about our shrinking attention spans when watching videos on social media, but this tightly paced thriller ensures your eyes stay glued to the screen. If you understand Korean, you’ll catch even more nuances, as the rapid-fire speech bubbles contain extra content - just like the flood of netizen comments (some more constructive than others) that appear during a livestream on your phone.

The tension is high throughout the movie, and it ramps up as Woo Sang gets closer to uncovering the killer’s hideout and unmasking his identity. In one particularly gripping moment, the location where Mathilda is hidden gets dramatically revealed through the real-time honk of a vehicle. This is an ingenious use of the cinematic medium that heightens the thrill.

Kang delivers an impressive performance as a high-strung streamer who must constantly keep his energy levels high to engage his viewers. While the story takes a dramatic turn with an exaggerated plot twist, it provides Kang the perfect opportunity to showcase an intense, gripping performance. You can almost feel your heart race as Woo Sang desperately tries to pull himself together. A word of warning—there will be blood.

While the movie may not be as clever as Aneesh Chaganty’s Searching (2018) or Will Merrick and Nick Johnson’s Missing (2023) - two standout screenlife mystery thrillers that take a similar storytelling approach - Kang’s enigmatic and compelling performance makes it well worth your time.

Movie Rating:

(Experience the thrill of livestreams on the big screen and be captivated by Kang Ha-neul's enigmatic and compelling performance)

Review by John Li

Genre: Adventure/Family
Director: Jared Hess
Cast: Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, Jennifer Coolidge
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:

Opening Day: 3 April 2025

Synopsis: Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits—Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen), Natalie (Myers) and Dawn (Brooks)—find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like Piglins and Zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Black). Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each of them uniquely creative…the very skills they need to thrive back in the real world. 

Movie Review:

We’ve always believed that Jack Black makes every movie better than it would have been without his presence, and nowhere is that truer than in ‘A Minecraft Movie’. He is the very life, zest and spirit of this enterprise, which we can attest, can be as enjoyable for someone who is new to the cultural phenomenon that has captivated over 300 million players (that’s the number of copies of the videogame sold) since 2011.

Black is also – for the uninitiated like us – the guide to the titular blocky world that offers its players limitless resources to discover and create in the Overworld. Everything is blockish, from the snow-capped mountains, to the bumblebees, to the pink sheep, to the shrubs and trees, to a wolf whom Black’s character adopts as his pet dog, to baby Frankenstein zombies, and to the hog-like denizens of the underworld known as the Nether.

After being denied as an 11-year-old boy the opportunity to work in the mines, Steve grows up to become a sad doorknob salesman in the town of Chuglass in Idaho; that is, until he decides once again to chase his dream, whereupon he stumbles onto a glowing orb that introduces him to the Overworld. As those familiar with the game will tell you, the theme at its core is about the importance of creative freedom; and whilst enjoying boundless amounts of that in the Overworld, Steve is taken prisoner by the pig lord Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House), who is determined to get her hands on the Orb to turn the Overworld into her own dominion of repression.

It should be obvious that the Orb is the MacGuffin of the story, alongside a not quite so imaginatively named box called the Earth Crystal, which when combined, opens up a portal for four mismatched individuals to return to Earth, after accidentally stumbling into the Overworld. Among them are a pair of recently orphaned teenagers Natalie (Emma Myers) and her younger brother Henry (Sebastian Hansen), their animal-loving real estate agent Dawn (Danielle Brooks), and former videogame champion turned washed-out videogame store owner Garrett ‘The Garbage Man’ Garrison (Jason Momoa).

Chemistry might be a science, but onscreen, it is often an art, and the pairing between Black and Momoa is testament to how surprising onscreen chemistry can be. Decked mostly in a pink-fringed jacket with heavy-metal locks, Momoa injects the Gen X boomer stereotype with herculean cartoonishness, and even brings unexpected poignancy when revealing his self-awareness of how much of a failure he has been in life. While initially competitive, Steve and Garrett come to forge a steadfast friendship over their similar circumstances chasing for purpose in life, and Black and Momoa prove not only perfect buddies but also perfect comedic foils for each other.

It is also to their credit that the movie rests almost entirely on their shoulders, especially in the CG-heavy sequences that would otherwise come across utterly derivative. Though now in his mid-50s, Black has never lost the child in him, and even though he reprises the same brash, high-octane persona in many other movies, there is no denying how thoroughly committed and therefore thoroughly enjoyable his irrepressibly unique comic energy is. Momoa is clearly cast against type here, but demonstrates his sharp sensibilities defining his own against Black; in particular, their ‘full man sandwich’ act (which has to be seen to be believed) is absolutely hilarious.

With Black, Momoa and plenty of world-building, it is somewhat inevitable that the rest of the characters as well as the story plays second fiddle. The former is especially true of Dawn, as well as Jennifer Coolidge’s Vice-Principal Marlene, who gets a fish-out-of-water subplot that has a nice payoff at the end but belongs only at the side. The latter also means that despite being credited to five writers, the plotting is hardly inspiring, serving merely to get the characters from Point A to Point B so that we can be wowed by the next CG-heavy sequence.

Although the writing hardly lives up to the creativity espoused in the game, ‘A Minecraft Movie’ gets some surprising creative sparks from its ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ and ‘Nacho Libre’ (which also starred Black) director Jared Hess. Those familiar with Hess will immediately recognise his brand of offbeat, absurdist and irreverent humour, and to his credit, despite taking on an expensive, IP-driven studio property, Hess still brings his distinct personality to the material. Thanks to Hess’ sensibility, this adaptation retains its own edge and flavour, even as it knows that it has to play fan service.

We cannot speak on their behalf, but for those who are new to ‘Minecraft’, ‘A Minecraft Movie’ has a goofy, off-kilter appeal that we found unexpectedly entertaining. We’d say upfront that we are superfans of Black, which is a big part of why we liked the movie; and of course, we dug Momoa’s self-skewering doofus act, which we hitherto never knew the action star had in him. You probably know as well as we do that video games have had a spotty track record from game to screen, so we’d actually count this silly but nonetheless quirky and eccentric crowd-pleasing block-buster as a win for the genre. Like Steve says in the movie – ‘first we mine; and then we craft’ – and thanks to Black, Momoa and Hess, you’ll be delighted by what they have mined from the game and crafted into this adaptation.

Movie Rating:

(Jack Black is the life, zest and spirit of this offbeat, absurdist videogame adaptation with ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ sensibilities, that also surprises with an against-type comic turn from Jason ‘Aquaman’ Momoa)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Sasha Rainbow
Cast: Joyena Sun, Jess Hong, Eden Hart, Jared Turner, Sepi To’a, Xiao Hu, Ginette McDonald, Gideon T Smith, Mark Mitchinson, Sam Wang, Mohan Liu, Phil Brooks, Andrew Munro
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene and Gore)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 27 March 2025

Synopsis: When a brilliant but disfigured Chinese scholarship student is shunned by her fellow classmates at a prestigious New Zealand university, she decides to achieve the popularity she so desperately craves by putting her science studies to a new and terrifying use.

Movie Review:

Coming so soon after Demi Moore’s ‘The Substance’, it is somewhat inevitable – though unfortunate – that ‘Grafted’ will be compared to that similar exercise in body horror. We say unfortunate, because Sasha Rainbow’s filmmaking debut is sadly a pale shadow in comparison, not because it is any less timid about being squelchy, but rather because it isn’t sure just what it wants to say or wants to be about.

Does it simply want to be a straightforward horror-revenge thriller, centred around brilliant but socially awkward biochemistry student Wei’s (Joyena Sun) comeuppance against her mean-girl cousin Angela (Jess Hong) and the caustic, Barbie doll-like Eve (Eden Hart)? Or does it want to be a satire about the cruelty of societal beauty standards, what with Wei’s newfound ability to apply her father’s skin-grafting invention to perform facial transplants? Or is it meant to be a metaphor about the horrors of assimilating into a new culture?

In truth, ‘Grafted’ is probably trying to be all of the above; but that same ambition ultimately proves too much for a first-time filmmaker like Rainbow to truly digest. Instead, it offers a menagerie of grotesque face-swapping sequences, that begins with a desperate attempt to cover up her accidental murder of Angela by assuming her looks and then soon turns into a series of clumsy plottings to get back at Eve as well as her sleazoid professor (Jared Turner) who steals her father’s work to claim it as his own (and oh, he also happens to be sleeping around with Eve).

Whether due to budgetary or other reasons, the movie hardly moves beyond these few characters or a number of familiar backdrops – including Wei’s estranged aunt’s house and backyard; the university laboratory where Wei and her professor spend their time advancing her father’s research; and last but not least, the professor’s own house that Eve frequents for their sexual dalliances – and while narrative simplicity isn’t always a bad thing, it here constraints the storytelling into a meandering chain of events without much build-up, rising danger or ensuing consequence.

That said, those looking for an old-school horror comedy will probably still enjoy the shlock-horror that ‘Grafted’ offers, with colourful style to keep it from losing your attention over the one-and-a-half hour it lasts. What it lacks though is substance, characterisation and ultimately purpose, and it is the lack thereof these attributes that make it fall short of ‘The Substance’ or for that matter, any well-deserved body-horror. It is a promising enough debut for Rainbow though, and let’s hope the New Zealander builds on this to go beyond the superficial the next time around..

Movie Rating:

(What it packs in squelchy body-horror, it unfortunately lacks in substance, characterisation or purpose, so 'Grafted' remains a genre outing that stays only skin-deep)

Review by Gabriel Chong