SYNOPSIS: After years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, a father hunts down the syndicate that kidnapped his baby daughter, seeking violence and retribution.

MOVIE REVIEW:

In just under 15 minutes, Organ Child grips you by the throat and doesn’t let go. Within that brief opening, we learn that our protagonist, Chang Chi-Mao (Joseph Chang), has lost his infant daughter to a kidnapper, his wife to suicide, and is now falsely accused of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

What has Mao done to deserve such a cruel fate? And more importantly, is there still justice in the world we live in?

You might not have heard of Taiwanese director Chieh Shueh-Bin, but his second feature film makes an immediate and powerful impression. This neo-noir revenge thriller plunges into the dark, brutal world of organ trafficking not in a poverty-stricken backwater but right in the heart of a modern, cosmopolitan Taiwan. It’s also worth noting that Taiwan’s creative freedom and lenient censorship laws allow filmmakers to explore themes and genres that might not see the light of day in places like Singapore.

Mao isn’t your typical avenging hero blessed with a “particular set of skills.” He’s an ordinary man, a humble baseball coach working at an orphanage. Compassionate and kind-hearted, he’s loved by the orphans he mentors, whose loyalty later becomes crucial to his mission. But when his infant daughter is kidnapped, Mao’s world collapses. Seventeen years later, he returns — a broken man driven by vengeance determined to hunt down everyone responsible: from a nurse to a middleman and ultimately, a powerful businessman named Xu, whose daughter Qiao (Moon Lee) may be the recipient of Mao’s daughter’s heart.

Despite its revenge premise, Organ Child isn’t your typical “eye for an eye” thriller. The story credited to at least five writers delves into broader social issues: the stark divide between rich and poor, and a morally decayed society where anything, even human organs, can be bought on the dark web. Xu’s justification that a father’s love transcends morality is both chilling and tragically believable.

The film is structured into four chapters, each with its own distinct tone and theme. While the final act veers into slightly convoluted territory, the emotional payoff, drenched in blood and heartbreak, is both cathartic and haunting. One noticeable shortcoming, however, lies in its rushed prologue featuring the shady head of the orphanage which hints at deeper corruption but leaves too many threads unresolved.

Though not a lavish production, Organ Child impresses with its striking cinematography and strong production design. It’s not a straightforward action film, nor does it indulge in gratuitous violence. Instead, it’s a thoughtful, slow-burn revenge drama that dares to explore moral ambiguity, grief, and the price of redemption proving that sometimes the darkest tales come from the most human of emotions.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Directed by Academy Award-nominee Paul Greengrass and inspired by real events, “The Lost Bus” is a white-knuckle ride through one of America’s deadliest wildfires, as a wayward school bus driver (Academy Award-winner Matthew McConaughey) and a dedicated school teacher (Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe Award-winner America Ferrera) battle to save 22 children from the terrifying inferno. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Paul Greengrass’ penchant for bringing real-life disaster dramas (United 93, Captain Phillips) to the screen translates once again in The Lost Bus- a survival drama inspired by the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California.

After a brief hiatus, Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey returns as Kevin McKay, a down-and-out school bus driver having perhaps the worst day of his life. His teenage son is sick and left at home with his disabled mother, while a raging wildfire rapidly closes in. Amid the chaos, Kevin is dispatched to evacuate more than twenty children and their teacher, Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera), from a local school.

The Lost Bus is one of those based-on-true-events dramas that impresses more through its visual spectacle than its storytelling. That’s not to say that writers Greengrass and Brad Ingelsby fail to inject drama into the two-hour runtime — far from it. Several side characters make a strong impression despite limited screen time, notably Cal Fire Battalion Chief Ray Martinez (Yul Vazquez), the central coordinating authority, and school bus dispatcher Ruby Bishop (Ashlie Atkinson), who does everything she can to send a rescue bus despite the encroaching inferno.

At its heart, however, the story belongs to Kevin and Mary as they struggle to navigate a bus full of terrified children through roads surrounded by fire. It’s a feat that borders on implausible given the fierce winds and spreading flames, yet McConaughey and Ferrera ground their characters with grit and authenticity. McConaughey’s Kevin is a flawed man seeking redemption — a weary soul burdened by mistakes but driven by compassion. Ferrera, though given less to work with, matches him with a spirited performance, especially in a tense, well-staged sequence where she risks her life to fetch water for the children.

On the technical front, The Lost Bus is top-tier. Greengrass and his team deliver a stunning combination of CGI, stagecraft and practical effects that recreate the terror of the wildfire with visceral realism. Many scenes unfold with the immediacy of a docudrama — another Greengrass hallmark — and the bus sequences are so claustrophobic you can almost feel the heat, tension and desperation of those trapped inside.

Ultimately, The Lost Bus is a disaster film that demands to be seen on the big screen. While its story occasionally veers toward Hollywood dramatization, it’s anchored by strong performances and superb craftsmanship. It’s a gripping, human-centered tale about everyday heroes and a stirring reminder of resilience and selflessness in the face of unimaginable catastrophe.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: War/Drama
Director: Ao Shen
Cast: Liu Haoran, Wang Chuanjun, Gao Ye, Yang Enyou
Runtime: 2 hr 17 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 28 August 2025

Synopsis: In the Nanjing Massacre of 1937, in order to save his life, postman A Chang pretended to be a photo developer in a photo studio and developed photos for the Japanese army. He also took in a group of Chinese soldiers and civilians, turning the studio into a temporary shelter. However, in the face of the Japanese army's cruel atrocities, A Chang risked his life to safely transfer the refugees and exposed the evidence of the massacre to the public.

Movie Review:

This is not an easy movie to sit through — and it rightfully shouldn’t be. Set against the backdrop of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, when invading Japanese forces slaughtered hundreds of thousands of civilians and committed widespread atrocities, the film forces us to confront one of history’s darkest chapters. It is one thing to imagine the suffering the Chinese endured, and an entirely different experience to witness those horrors unfold on screen.

In one harrowing scene, a baby’s cries interrupt as Chinese captives are forced to pose for staged “happy” photographs. To silence it, a Japanese soldier rips the infant from its mother’s arms and hurls it to the ground. As if that cruelty were not enough, the baby is lifted again and thrusted into the arms of a terrified couple, forcing the woman to cradle it for a grotesque family portrait. In the cinema, the female viewer seated beside this reviewer could not bear to watch — she kept her hands pressed over her eyes the entire time.

It is little surprise that the wartime thriller released to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan has dominated the domestic box office when it opened in China earlier this July. At the same time, it sparked debate for allegedly inciting anti-Japanese sentiments, particularly among younger audiences. One could argue at length about whether historical films should risk stoking such emotions by tapping into collective trauma. Yet, judged purely as a work of cinema, this film stands out as one of this reviewer’s favourites of the year.

The story follows a postman (Liu Haoran, at his earnest best) who survives by masquerading as a photo developer for the Japanese army. Beneath this façade, the studio he “works” in doubles as a precarious refuge — sheltering the Chinese owner of the studio (Wang Xiao), his family, a wounded soldier (Zhou You), and a struggling actress (Gao Ye). Hovering uneasily over them is a Chinese translator (Wang Chuanjun), reviled by some as a traitor, though he insists his collaboration is the only way to survive.

Their fates become entangled with a Japanese soldier (Daichi Harashima), assigned to photograph the supposed “triumphs” of the occupation. The film intriguingly frames him not as a one-dimensional villain, but as a man driven by his mission to capture the most striking images — his obsession with taking the “perfect” photograph becomes both his duty and his personal motivation.

One can see the immense potential for a stirring film here, and director Ao Shen seizes it fully — delivering a work that swells with emotion and is bound to move audiences to tears more than once. In his previous film No More Bets (2023), he gripped viewers with a tense, fast-paced tale about the dark world of online scams and human exploitation. This time, he achieves the same level of engrossing storytelling, but amplifies it further — tugging at our heartstrings with a haunting portrayal of survival, sacrifice, and the fragile humanity that endures even in the face of atrocity.

The film masterfully weaves the motif of photography throughout its narrative. Stark black-and-white photographs are juxtaposed with vivid, colour-moving sequences, creating a striking visual contrast. In one profoundly moving moment, the stoic studio owner unveils canvas backdrops of iconic Chinese landmarks during one of the group’s final gatherings. Perhaps most haunting is a voiceover sequence that juxtaposes studio portraits of happy individuals with the grim realities they later face. Some may call it sensationalism, but it is an undeniably powerful storytelling device—and this film wields it with precision.

Movie Rating:

(Not an easy movie to watch, but undeniably one of the most powerful and emotionally charged cinematic experiences in recent memory)

Review by John Li

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Michael Chaves
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy
Runtime: 2 hr 15 mins
Rating: NC16 (Horror and Violence)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 4 September 2025

Synopsis: The Conjuring: Last Rites delivers another thrilling chapter of the iconic Conjuring cinematic Universe, based on real events. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reunite for one last case as renowned, real- life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in a powerful and spine-chilling addition to the global box office-breaking franchise. Experience the case that strikes at the core of Ed and Lorraine’s mission and attacks the very heart of the Warren family… their daughter, Judy.

Movie Review:

It’s only a matter of time — like every movie universe, The Conjuring saga will eventually come to a close. Since its debut, the horror franchise has been a commercial powerhouse, drawing audiences into the chilling, “based-on-true-events” tales of Ed and Lorraine Warren, real-life paranormal investigators.

The husband-and-wife duo became synonymous with some of the most infamous — and controversial — haunting cases ever recorded. Beyond their investigations, the universe expanded with spine-tingling spin-offs, most notably featuring Annabelle, the cursed doll, and the terrifying demonic Nun, each adding fresh layers of fear to the growing mythology.

The ninth and final entry in the series is aptly titled Last Rites, bringing closure to the hauntings that have haunted audiences since 2013. Over the years, the franchise has delivered some unforgettable moments — who could forget the chilling clap in the dark from the very first film, a scene that still lingers in horror fans’ minds?

Of course, not every installment was flawless, but each contributed to the eerie legacy of the Warrens’ cinematic journey. While Last Rites may not strike every note needed to send shivers racing down your spine, it succeeds in a different way — by reminding us how far the Warrens have come, not just as paranormal investigators, but as a family.

The film opens with a near-tragedy during the birth of the Warrens’ daughter, Judy — an emotionally charged sequence anchored by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who once again bring gravitas to their roles. As the narrative progresses, Judy (played with quiet sensitivity by Mia Tomlinson) comes into her own, experiencing first love and a budding romance with a young man (Ben Hardy).

Interestingly, much of the dramatic weight comes not from supernatural encounters, but from the Warrens’ reactions to Judy’s growing independence. For long stretches of the 135-minute runtime, the film trades in haunted-house scares for domestic drama, blurring the line between horror and family melodrama. While this shift in focus may surprise audiences expecting relentless chills, it does lend the characters a grounded, human dimension rarely explored in the franchise.

The wholesome family moments are punctuated by chilling sequences drawn from the infamous Smurl hauntings in Pennsylvania, the real-life case on which the film is based. These set pieces are staged with unsettling precision — from a young girl violently expelling blood to a man overtaken by possession in the dead of night.

The tension escalates further when Judy herself begins to encounter the supernatural, with one particularly memorable scene trapping her inside a suffocating, mirror-lined changing room. Inevitably, the path leads the Warrens to the Smurl residence, where the film builds toward its climactic confrontation between the couple and the demonic entity.

The scares in Last Rites lean toward standard studio fare — slick, polished, and safely executed, which may explain why the film never feels as raw or unsettling as earlier entries. That said, it’s far from a disappointment (unless you’re firmly against horror altogether). As a finale, it works reasonably well, offering a fitting send-off for the Warrens, with the narrative framing this as their final case due to its devastating toll.

Of course, whether this truly marks the end of the Conjuring universe remains to be seen. Given the array of cursed artifacts still sitting in the Warrens’ occult museum, it wouldn’t be surprising if more stories eventually crawl their way onto the big screen.

Movie Rating:

(In the end, The Conjuring Universe closes not with a scream, but with the reminder that it’s family that lingers)

Review by John Li

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infinit
Runtime: 2 hrs 42 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 September 2025

Synopsis: From Warner Bros. Pictures comes One Battle After Another, written, directed and produced by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Academy Award and BAFTA winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, and Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti. Washed-up revolutionary Bob (DiCaprio) exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Infiniti). When his evil nemesis (Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.

Movie Review:

Paul Thomas Anderson has always been a director of fascinating contradictions. Across his wide body of work, he has given us the sprawl of Magnolia, the precision of There Will Be Blood, and the hazy dreamscape of Inherent Vice. For this writer, though, his most treasured film remains Punch-Drunk Love (2002), precisely for its oddball quirkiness and the way it found tenderness within chaos. That film felt like a reminder that Anderson, despite his reputation for high art, has always had an eye for the human heart. With his latest, he reaffirms this balance—delivering a film that is both grand and surprisingly accessible.

Of course, when Anderson sets his sights on something ambitious, he does not shy away from scale, and here he’s paired with Leonardo DiCaprio, an actor who continues to stretch himself in fascinating directions. DiCaprio has long since transcended the “leading man” mould, and in recent years he has become a master of portraying deeply flawed but compelling figures. In this movie that is also likely to be an Oscar bait, he takes on yet another layered role—an everyman turned reluctant combatant who finds himself swept up in conflicts both literal and personal. Watching him navigate Anderson’s world feels like witnessing a partnership that was overdue; the director’s precision and the actor’s intensity dovetail beautifully.

What makes the movie stand out is its accessibility. Anderson has a history of challenging his audiences with films like The Master (2012) and Inherent Vice (2014), works that divided viewers with their density and deliberate opacity. Those films had their admirers, but they were not easy entry points for the casual moviegoer. This new work, however, feels different. Its central themes—struggle, resilience, and the cost of conflict—are communicated in a way that is direct without being simplistic. The film invites viewers in rather than daring them to keep up, making it one of Anderson’s more approachable efforts in years.

The runtime, at 162 minutes, might raise eyebrows at first. It is no small commitment. Yet One Battle After Another earns every one of its minutes. Anderson structures the film in movements, with each “battle” functioning as both spectacle and metaphor. These sequences are not merely action for action’s sake; they serve to chart the inner terrain of DiCaprio’s character, marking his evolution from a man adrift to someone confronted with meaning, purpose, and sacrifice. The pacing is deliberate but never stagnant—Anderson understands rhythm, and he gives the audience space to breathe between the intensity. By the end, those two hours and forty minutes feel less like a test of endurance and more like the natural scope required to tell this story properly.

In short, the movie represents Anderson at his most generous: narratively clear, emotionally resonant, and anchored by a DiCaprio performance that is as riveting as it is human. It’s not the quirky gem that Punch-Drunk Love was, but it shares that film’s heart, marrying Anderson’s artistry with accessibility. For longtime fans and newcomers alike, it’s proof that even after decades of work, Anderson still finds ways to surprise us—one battle, and one triumph, after another.

Movie Rating:

(Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio join forces for an emotional saga that's surprisingly accessible and entertaining)

Review by John Li

Genre: War/Thriller
Director: Zhao Linshan
Cast: Jiang Wu, Wang Zhiwen, Li Naiwen, Sun Qian 
Runtime: 2 hr 6 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 2 October 2025

Synopsis: In 1945, in a desperate attempt to reverse their inevitable defeat, the Japanese Unit 731, which invaded China, secretly conducted inhumane research on biological warfare and extensively captured civilians for live human experimentation in the Pingfang district of Harbin. Vendor Wang Yongzhang and others were forcibly taken to a "special prison." The Japanese military deceived them with the false promise that "cooperating with health checks and epidemic prevention research would earn them freedom," subjecting them to extreme tortures such as frostbite experiments, poison gas tests, and live dissections...

Movie Review:

‘Wang Yongzheng, your story is terrible!’

So goes the final line of the historical thriller ‘731’, and indeed, some may very well feel likewise about Zhao Linshan’s movie.

It is a sombre fact that the Japanese had carried out biochemical experiments on the Chinese during their period of occupation; in particular, at the brink of losing the war, we are told that the Japanese grew desperate and decided to abandon moral and ethical safeguards in a bid to try to gain an upper hand over the Allied forces.

‘Unit 731’ is one such facility in Harbin, run by the sadistic Dr Shiro Ishii (Yasuyuki Hirata). This is where our protagonist Wang is brought to, after being arrested by the Japanese for stealing one of their revolutionary water filters that can apparently turn urine into drinkable water (I kid you not).

There, at the dreadful Unit 731, Wang quickly confesses that he is not the anti-fascist resistance hero Wang Yongzheng, but just someone with a similar surname; to his surprise, the prison official Yoshiko Inamura (Feng Wenjuan) gives him a new lease of life by assigning him to distribute the daily rations of food and apples to his fellow inmates, as well as take up janitorial duties along the facility’s corridors.

That privilege allows Wang to see firsthand the atrocities being committed at the facility, what with all sorts of experiments being conducted on its inmates. It is pretty gruesome stuff we warn you, including ripping the skin off arms, frozen arms being chopped off, gassing, electrocution, organs being cut out and left hanging, and last but not least, plague-infested fleas and rats.

Inspired by his fellow cell mate Du Cunshan (Wang Zhiwen), Wang musters his courage to devise a plan to break out his fellow inmates during the celebration of the Yamakasa Festival. Without giving away too much, let’s just say that it doesn’t go well for Wang, Du as well as their other cellmates Sun Mingliang (Du Ziye) and Gu Boxuan (Li Naiwen); even so, Wang’s actions turn him into an unexpected hero amongst his fellow inmates, so much so that he eventually lives up to the name of Wang Yongzheng.

If it isn’t obvious, Wang is a fictional character, created by Zhao and his co-writer Liu Heng for the sake of establishing a narrative arc for their movie. It is fortunate that they were able to convince veteran actor Jiang Wu to headline the movie, because he brings more gravitas than the role in fact deserves; like he did in ‘Let the Bullets Fly’, Jiang proves adept at juggling both comedy and pathos, and injects just the right dose of both to avoid turning Wang into a caricature.

The same however cannot be said of the movie, which often struggles to find the right tone. Is it meant to be a tragicomedy? Or a sober reminder of one of the darkest periods of the Japanese aggression? Perhaps in order not to come off too similar with other such historical epics, ‘731’ avoids being a straightforward portrayal but rather a stylised account of what happened. And perhaps because it had to appease the censors, Zhao’s true vision had ended up being diluted and diminished into something that never quite manages to find the right chord.

And that is ultimately what bedevils ‘731’, which as important as its subject matter is, comes off too artificial, embellished and trivial to make much of an impression. It is also not biting enough to be satire, and leans at times too heavily on gratuitous scenes of gore and violence in order to shock and awe. ‘731’ ends up being a Frankenstein of a movie, and frankly a frustrating watch that isn’t as terrible as some have proclaimed it to be, but nowhere near the blockbuster it promised to deliver.

Movie Rating:

(A stylised account of one of the darkest chapters of the Japanese aggression, '731' doesn't do justice to history nor to the artistic license that director Zhao Linshan hopes his audience will extend to this historical drama) 

Review by Gabriel Chong