Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Cast: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Mae Whitman, Kate Walsh, Dylan McDermott, Nina Dobrev, Paul Rudd
RunTime: 1 hr 30 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: NC-16 (Some Drug And Sexual References)
Official Website: http://perks-of-being-a-wallflower.com/
Opening Day: 11 October 2012
Synopsis: A funny and touching coming-of-age story based on the beloved best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is a modern classic that captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope—and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.
Movie Review:
Countless stories have been told of growing pains, but few are as sincere and heartfelt as ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’. Adapted by Stephen Chbosky from his own novel, it is the coming of age story of quiet and shy Charlie (Logan Lerman in a beautiful performance, but more on that later) as he embarks on his high school journey with two seniors – Sam (Emma Watson) and her irreverent stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller) - that leads to his transformation of mind and heart.
Not often does a successful novelist get to translate his own book for the big screen, let alone direct it, but the creative liberties that have been accorded Chbowsky in this case truly pay off. Here, he has wisely retained the narrative device of his novel, introducing his audience to Charlie via the letters he writes to an unknown recipient, addressed only as ‘Dear Friend’ – and it is through Charlie’s voiceover that we learn that he has recently lost his best friend, Michael, to suicide.
It is also from his perspective that we learn he has been haunted by the death of his Aunt Helen – whom he believes he is responsible for – and how that traumatic memory has left him in bouts of crying fits. But the self-effacing teenager who keeps a low profile in the hallways and never volunteers the answers in class even though he has them gets a change of fortune when he meets Michael and Susan at a football match.
Quickly assimilating into their clique of friends – which includes a vegan punk Buddhist Mary Elizabeth (Mae Whitman) and a chronic shoplifter Candace (Nina Dobrev), Charlie begins hanging out with them at high school parties, all the while falling even more deeply in love with Sam. In turn, they introduce Charlie to The Smiths (an English alternative rock band), “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” screenings and marijuana brownies – and though the concoction of sex, drugs and rock n roll isn’t new, it’s depicted with so much fond nostalgia that you feel as if Charlie’s discoveries were your own.
Yet Charlie’s journey is somewhat different from the typical cautionary tale – too precocious to live life in heady abandon, Charlie instead assumes the role of the titular wallflower, observing the goings-on of Patrick and Sam. In particular, Chbosky details Patrick’s doomed relationship with closeted football quarterback Brad (Johnny Simmons), the consequences of that fallout significant not just for Patrick but also Charlie, who is forced to confront deeper and darker secrets from his past towards the end. Charlie also stumbles unknowingly into a relationship with Mary, watching helplessly as Sam gets attached to an older university student.
As expected, none of their relationships end well, and within their unfortunate encounters is a lesson that is deeply poignant. “We accept the love we think we deserve,” says Charlie, and it is such a heartbreakingly honest confession that you can’t quite help but be profoundly moved. Yet the reason these words resonate is not only that they are true, but also that they have proven to be familiar when we look back at the anguish of one’s own adolescent years – and indeed, Chbosky hasn’t just made a teen drama but a drama about adolescence that anyone who’s been through that phase will be able to identify with.
Chbosky also trusts in the maturity of his audience to understand the emotional scars within Charlie, old wounds laid bare just as he begins to participate more fully in the lives of the people around him. This is as much a universal tale as it is an individual one, and Chbosky draws us into the very specific mind of a troubled teen who has over the years learnt to go through life by repressing his childhood insecurities. Rarely has a final scene touched us as much as this one, and we guarantee you that when Charlie finally learns to let go to the tune of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, it is a transformative experience that will stay with you.
It’s not easy to play such a complicated teen as Charlie, but Logan Lerman nails it on the head with a sensitive and empathetic performance that is among the best he has ever done. Watson also shines in her best post-Potter role yet, her radiant performance allowing her audience to fall in love with her character as Charlie does. And Miller is pure electricity in the supporting role of Patrick, bringing both warmth and woundedness to portray his character’s wit and sensitivity.
With generous help from his committed teen cast, Chbosky smartly observes the all-too familiar pangs of adolescence in a film that has both heft and heart. There is a distinct sense one gets from watching the movie that it is also a deeply personal tale, and it is to Chbosky’s credit that he has managed to distil his own feelings and experience into a story that anyone can relate to. Even if life hasn’t always gone according to what we intended to, there is always this moment in our teenage years that we can proclaim as Charlie does – “and in that moment, I swear we were infinite”. Chbosky’s film does the unthinkable – it makes us feel infinite, and it makes us feel young again.
Movie Rating:
(Witty, humourous and deeply poignant, this sincere and heartfelt portrait of a troubled teen’s adolescent years will make you feel young again)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Mary Harron
Cast: Sarah Bolger, Sarah Gadon, Lily Cole, Scott Speedman, Melissa Farman, Laurence Hamelin, Valerie Tian
RunTime: 1 hr 22 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes and Suicide References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/moth-diaries
Opening Day: 21 June 2012
Synopsis: A modern gothic coming of age story set in a world of obsessive teenage girl friendship. Haunted by a family tragedy, Rebecca returns to the safe haven of her all-girl boarding school expecting a happy year with her friends. When a new girl arrives, Rebecca finds her friendships torn apart and her sanity threatened by this mysterious newcomer.
Movie Review:
Helming from the button pushing acclaimed success of American Psycho, The Moth Diaries was rather a great disappointment when it turned and developed the “i-don’t-know-how-to-end this” syndrome. The brooding longing of the folk stories has so far been tainted by the rise of movies that one shall not be named has geared most of the sense of what makes a vampire film real essence is. may alliteration of what a vampire is has been mixed, diluted and throw up in the air for interpretation. As for this variation in The Moth Diaries, at least this one doesn’t sparkle. Well, nor does it draw blood from others. Nor was it conjured up by a bite from another. You may be asking, “What kind of vampire is this. This sucks (pun there)!”. Well for the record, this version does drain the life out of you and it might just be the scariest one to haunt you without you knowing.
In a nutshell, The Moth Diaries follows Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) a young teen heading back to an all-girl boarding school. While still recovering from her father’s tragic suicide, the one thing that has helped her through the difficult time is her friends in school. Delighted to see all of her best girlfriends at the start of the school year, she assumed everything would be fine. However, her joy is short-lived as a new student, Ernessa (Lily Cole). who moved in across the hall comes into the picture. One by one her friends come to be the victim of malice, either as mild as expulsion from school or as fatal as death.
So what didn't work? Upon further replay in my head, what was delivered should have worked but thats just my taste and understanding the overall tone of such a macabre wrap of a topic. But the main suspect i should have foreseen should be the following. The slow undertone of horror to unfold. Slow as a Loris, the crawling drama which sometimes doesn’t make sense much sometimes serves as a distraction rather than a catapult to forward the development of the story. With that in mind, it seems like a screenplay that fell into a hasty wrap-up which totally threw me off. Was terribly saddened to have seen the audience to go through such turmoil. Not only did it end badly, it made no sense of the ease of closure. Despite an interesting, hushed atmosphere, scenes start arbitrarily in various locations throughout the school ended up with no real sense of place or time. Although they repeated reminded us of the history of the location, they failed to capture its essence.
I’ve got to admit that throughout the whole film, i’ve been bugging my head of where i’ve seen Sarah Bolger. I could have sworn i’ve seen her in action in Grey’s Anatomy but alas, i was wrong. That was Ellen Pompeo i was mistaken with. Both having a similiar doe like quality, vulnerability and inner strength that seem to ooze out seductively makes her role as Rebecca an apt judgement of casting. But nothing steals the silver screen then the presence of Lily Cole, the strange weird female cast that’s perfect for the role as Ernessa. With her first introduction to the screen, her aura of strange attraction did blew my expectation. Oh and by the way, welcome back Mr Scott Speedman.
There is, ultimately, a reason that vampire fiction continues to be so popular; it's a resilient metaphor, one that can be applied to any number of situations. It's not that there wasn't potential in this film but at best, The Moth Diaries could generally be described as a vampiric take on a TV teen series, with about the same level of depth and filmmaking excellence.
Movie Rating:
(Much like a vampire, this will thrill you for a while but ultimately without you knowing, suck the life out of you)
Review by Lokman B S
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Rich Moore
Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Brandon T. Jackson, Stefanie Scott, Scott Menville, Jack Angel
RunTime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Walt Disney Motion Pictures
Official Website: http://disney.go.com/wreck-it-ralph/
Opening Day: 20 December 2012
Synopsis: Wreck-It Ralph (voice of Reilly) longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix (voice of McBrayer). Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes… so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-asnails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan— win a medal—but soon wrecks everything, and accidently unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade. Ralph’s only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Silverman), a young troublemaking “glitch” from a candy-coated cart racing game who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it’s “Game Over” for the entire arcade?
Movie Review:
This reviewer had his fair share of fun in his younger days, hanging out at arcade centers, thinking it was hip to tap furiously on buttons to kill video game villains. Then there was what he termed as “home entertainment” – video consoles which you could gleefully set up in the comfort of your living room before setting on a quest to eliminate pesky baddies before facing “The Boss”. Ah, such nostalgia. It is with such sentiments that this reviewer has been anticipating this latest production from The House of Mouse since the first teaser trailer was released.
And this 108-minute animated feature does not disappoint. In fact, it is easily one of the top 10 movies, in this reviewer’s humble opinion.
The titular character is an arcade game villain who decides to rebel against his role and sets out on a quest to become a hero. He travels between games in the arcade, and ultimately must eliminate a serious threat that could close the entire arcade down, something which he may have inadvertently started.
Sounds like your average “underdog yearning to be recognised before saving the day” tale? Essentially, it is (honestly, which movie screenplay surprises you nowadays with originality these days?) – but what works in this case is Disney’s very smart move of infusing nostalgia and entertainment into a briskly colourful adventure that will engage the whole family from start to finish. And most importantly, there are affecting moments where both kids and adults can identify with.
Without giving too many spoilers (you would already know which characters to expect if you had been closely following the materials that Disney has released online), there are countless delightfully joyful moments when you smile to yourself at how smart the filmmakers are. Whether it’s the 8 bit arcade game characters of “Fix It Felix Jr.” (kudos to the animation team who kept to the jiggery movements after the characters step out of their “on screen” mode), the hypnotically adrenaline scuttles in the racing game world of “Sugar Rush” (a genre which proved to be popular amongst girls in the 90s), or the state of the art military machinery in the Michael Bay inspired “Hero’s Duty” (the villainous bugs are frightfully real), there is never a dull moment in this movie.
Clever references to your favourite childhood snacks are also evident in this Rich Moore directed animation. Watch out for Willy Wonka’s Laffy Taffy candies, Oreo cookies, Mentos and that comfort drink known as Nesquik. Smartly weaved into the screenplay by Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee, these again are moments which are spot on in the nostalgic department. Henry Jackman’s score for the movie brings together wistfully familiar midi music, saccharinely sweet poppish tunes and bombastic action cues to reflect the different worlds depicted in the movie.
The voice cast must have had a blast being part of this production. John C. Reilly makes you emphatise with Wreck It Ralph; Sarah Silverman channels her girlish energy into Vanellaope con Schweetx, a young racer with a glitch; Jack McBrayer is your everyday nice guy Fix It Felix Jr., while Jane Lynch makes sure you don’t fool around with Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun, a fearless military leader.
As the end credits roll, you’d want to go home to your storeroom to dig up that long forgotten video game console to revisit the good ol’ days.
Movie Rating:
(A clever animated delight with heart and soul)
Review by John Li
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"SADAKO MOVIE MARATHON" EXCLUSIVELY AT GOLDEN VILLAGE!Posted on 08 Jun 2012 |
SYNOPSIS: Oscar® winner Denzel Washington plays the most dangerous renegade from the CIA, who comes back onto the grid after a decade on the run. When the South African safe house he’s remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative (Reynolds) escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.
MOVIE REVIEW:
“Safe House” is like a mash-up of other CIA-related movies such as “The Bourne Identity” and “Body of Lies” that you are unlikely to remember it after 115 minutes despite featuring the ever reliable Denzel Washington and the dashing Ryan Reynolds.
Espionage, double-crossing, chaotic mayhem, you name it and “Safe House” has them by the truckloads. Problem is they are so predictable that you can foresee their next step assuming you missed 10 minutes of it while in the loo or happen to have a quick power nap in the middle of the movie. Washington channeling his “Training Day” aura plays a wanted rouge ex-CIA operative agent, Tobin Frost. After acquiring a secret file, Frost is attacked by mercenaries and he surrenders himself by entering an American consulate. Before being deported for further investigation, Frost is brought into a safe house manned by an inexperienced agent, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds). But soon, the safe house is compromised and Matt finds himself on the run with Frost. With his own people abandoning him and with mercenaries hot on their heels, Weston discovered a truth that is far beyond his own comprehension.
Even though the material is less than flattering, Washington delivers yet another watchable performance as the ultra, evil-grinning Tobin Frost. As Frost, he is cool as cucumber, dangerous and ambiguous. Good guy or bad guy? He keeps you guessing though the result is obvious. Reynolds is far more exciting than his Hal Jordan’s incarnation and “Safe House” demonstrates why he is the hottest star in Hollywood right now alongside Bradley Cooper. Other notable names include Vera Farmiga (Source Code), Brendan Gleeson (Green Zone), Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down) and Robert Patrick (The X-Files) round up the supporting cast as CIA agents.
Swedish director Daniel Espinosa filled his first time Hollywood feature with enough gritty car crashes, hand-to-hand combat, exhilarating foot chase in and around Cape Town, South Africa. Gun fires within a packed stadium and a shantytown chase served as minor highlights. Unfortunately all thanks to The Bourne Trilogy’s DP Oliver Wood, the sequences are hampered by nauseating shaky-cam and close-ups that you can’t really make out whose car are flipping or whose fist is swinging along the way.
“Safe House” tries to outsmart the audience but it mainly ends up as a safe action thriller. While it may not surprise you with the plotting, it packs enough adrenalin and handsome production values to qualify as no-brainer popcorn treat.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Behind the Action of Safe House is an 8 minutes segment that focuses on the car chase sequence and stunt that is shot on the streets of Cape Town.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visually, the DVD is presented in its intended grainy, gritty format. Colours and textures are fine while the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio impresses with its vast display of explosives, shootouts and deafening sound effects.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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BOOK REVIEW: "SIMON PEGG'S NERD DO WELL"Posted on 10 Jun 2012 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, Jeremy Irons, Ben Barnes, John Hannah, J.K. Simmons, Nora Arnezeder
RunTime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://thewordsmovie.com/
Opening Day: 4 October 2012
Synopsis: When Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) publishes his first book it is that rare, once in a generation event that takes the literary world and the public imagination by storm. Friends breathlessly recommend it, critics rave about it; it's everywhere- from book clubs, to airplanes, to college campuses. With a voice that's fresh, and a wisdom about life that somehow seems to be timeless, Rory becomes an instant literary star. Charismatic, talented, intelligent, the young author seems to have it all: a beautiful life, a loving wife (Zoë Saldana), the world at his fingertips- and it's all because of his words. But whose words are they? And whose story is this, after all? At the height of his success, a mysterious Old Man (Jeremy Irons) tracks Rory down and confronts him with the revelation that he is the true author of the novel. The Old Man recounts the beautiful yet tragic memories of his own youth in post World War II Paris that led to the creation of the book. Seeing that another man has paid the price for the stories' truth and vision, Rory is left to confront the essential questions of creativity, ambition and the moral choices he has made at the mercy of these drives. Written as a story within a story, Rory's life is itself a fictional creation. Behind it all is the real life literary lion, Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid.) Seduced by a beautiful and cunning Grad Student (Olivia Wilde) into talking about the true meaning of his novel, he cannot help hinting at the connection between the story and his own secret past.
Movie Review:
With its numerous epic pretensions,The Words is a film that sets a high bar for itself and for it to be judged. Yet, despite an intrigue-heavy trailer, rousing soundtrack and multiple Hemingway references, The Words misses a certain X factor. An amateur effort by first-time directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, The Words is a film that announces its predictable plot at every scene, twist and turn. Playing it too safe, the directors’ excruciatinglydirect narration, pacing and editing are awkward approaches to building a riveting psychological drama.
In Limitless (2011), Bradley Cooper playsan aspiring writer who turns to drugs for “inspiration.” He reprises a similar role in The Words, but this time, as desperate writer Rory Jansen who plagiarises by passing off an exemplary manuscript he finds in a vintage briefcase as his own. By putting out performances any decent film or theatre graduate can muster, Cooper is boring in the role, and doeslittle to salvage an already lacklustre script.
Many years later after “The Window Tears” becomes a bestseller, and Rory shoots to fame, he meets a strange old man (played by Jeremy Irons) who tells him that he is the true author of the novel. The old man shows up unexectedly à la John Shooter (played by John Turturro) in a Secret Window (2004), but with less menacing gestures and creepiness.
As he recounts the “stories behind [his] stories,” the old man’s flashback scenes make up the more enjoyable moments of the film. He recalls his days as a young American soldier [played by Ben Barnes, who starred as Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia series (2008 and 2010], who falls in love with a French woman [played by Nora Arnezeder from Paris 36 (2008) fame]. These are the two characters that really stood out in the film, and the couple confirms the age-old Hollywood formula that a pretty cast and set mask many flaws.
Thankfully, as the film progresses, it gets a bit more “interior,” or artistic and subtle, in the words of its own protagonist, Clay Hammond (played by Dennis Quaid). What starts off as a simple mise en abîme, or “story within a story,” becomes a three-tiered story within a story within a story towards the end, as a nicely-layered dialogue between a famous author (Hammond) and snooping, aspiring writer Daniella (Olivia Wilde)reveals Hammond as the real-life Rory Jansen and author-impostor.
This is where the film finally plays its cards right, as directors Klugman and Sternthal (who also wrote the script) shuns the typical course of the ultimate exposé. There is no comeuppance for Rory nor revenge for the old man. Instead, the film spotlights Rory’s scars of guilt and his desire for forgiveness that uncannily manifests in Hammond. This twist at the end almost redeems the film, and I say almost because the thematic blurring between author’s actual lives and their works of fiction has been explored countless times, and The Words comes nowhere near the satirical brilliance of Spike Jonze’s Adaptation (2002). The central theme about living with one’s choices also becomes repetitively didactic.
It takes patience to sit through the first half of The Words, which, summed up in two, is “indulgently clichéd.” The film’s lack of originality is painfully apparent, but seems to have been puzzlingly lost on the directors and producers. Thoroughly average, The Words uncomfortably teeters between the earnest, point-blank simplicity by which it frames its moral lessons and the distant complexity required of a psychological drama.
Movie Rating:
(Indulgently clichéd and thoroughly average, the debut film by directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal falls short on many levels)
Review by Tay Huizhen
SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and an animal-loving volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Everybody loves whales. So do we.
In addition, we love Drew Barrymore as well ever since she appeared in a little movie called "E.T". The bubbly actress together with three whales will likely warmed your hearts again in “Big Miracle”.
First discovered by his television news reporter ex-boyfriend, Adam Carlson (John Krasinki), a gung-ho Greenpeace activist, Rachel Kramer played by Drew Barrymore travelled to Alaska to coordinate a rescue mission to free three trapped California gray whales. Based on a true story and a 1989 book, “Freeing the Whales”, the rescue effort involves international parties, the National Guard, the President of the United States, entrepreneurs, the Inupiat whale hunters and the influx of media circuses.
Despite the scale of the premise, “Big Miracle” scores high on sentiments and aim to please the general audience instead of being an ambitious, educating title on the environment. Sure, there are some speeches of that by Barrymore’s character though mostly director Ken Kwapis (He’s Just Not Into You, License to Wed) and his writers took a light-heartened approach and rather amusing takes on the story that is set in 1988. For examples, a helicopter pilot getting his eye glued because of the icy cold wind and taking audience back to the days where families spend their family time glued to the goggle box for the latest news development before media technology took the world by storm.
The large cast assembled never disappoints and they include the beautiful Kristen Bell as a gutsy up-and-coming news reporter but the one that really caught our attention is Ted Danson (3 Men And A Baby) as an enterprising oil baron cashing in on all the media attention. The “Cheers” actor is so charismatic and goes to show how we missed his screen presence. Barrymore and “Office” John Krasinki on the other hand makes a cute, instantly likeable onscreen couple.
“Big Miracle” is a predictable family-affair. If you love “Free Willy”, “Flipper” or the recent “Dolphin Tale”, you will surely adore “Big Miracle” despite knowing the whales are CG and puppeteer by some handy crew. Yet, be prepared for some emotional moments that is aimed squarely at your tear ducts.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The visual is filled with gorgeous images with deep black levels for the darker scenes. The surround track is rich with active ambient sound effects such as the swimming whales and rowdy swarm of reporters.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: A decade after defeating the monstrous Kaken, Perseus (Worthington) attempts to retire to a quiet life as a fisherman and the sole parent to his young son, However a great war has erupted between the gods, weakened by humanity's lack of devotion and the long imprisoned Titans who are led by their ferocious Kronos. Betrayed by Hades, Zeus is captured and brought to the Underworld and Perseus must once again become a hero in order to find Zeus and end the Titans' struggle to rule the earth.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Like its predecessor, “Wrath of the Titans” fails to leave much of an impression after 99 minutes of onscreen presence. Director Jonathon Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles) who took over the reins from Frenchman Louis Leterrier has promised a better titan yet it ended up as an empty spectacle that even with two Oscar winners as Greek Gods couldn’t salvage it.
After defeating the gigantic Kraken in “Clash of the Titans”, Perseus (Sam Worthington) has returned to his life as an ordinary fisherman and together with his 10-year-old son led a peaceful life in a village. When Zeus’s (Liam Neeson) power is drained by Hades and Ares to revive the evil Kronos and with monsters loose in the world, Perseus with nicely perm hair must join hands with Poseidon’s demigod son, Agenor (Toby Kebbell) and Queen Andromeda’s (Rosamund Pike) army to save the world once again.
The weak plotting is propelled by plenty of sword and monster fights beginning with an exhilarating Chimera attack on Perseus’ village. If you are a fan of non-stop, computer-generated action violence then “Wrath of the Titans” offers plenty of these including an attack by ugly one-eyed giants in the forest. Unlike “Lord of the Rings” which you care very much for the characters, “Titans” offers little in this aspect. Nobody really cares much about the demigods because we all know somehow they are going to make it through without much of a scratch. It’s not all the actors’ fault actually; I blame it on the poor scripting and abuse of Greek mythology by the writers and Hollywood execs who crave for easy money.
Fortunately, newcomer Toby Kebbell offers a few light moments in an otherwise depressing show about a bunch of greedy Immortals. Bill Nighy’s on the other hand deserved a longer screentime while Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson really hams it up big time in this sequel. Liebesman is more at ease choreographing massive CG action sets and directing digital artistes than his cast members. No one looks exactly motivated to be part of this chaotic mess as every character is undercooked especially with Danny Huston’s Poseidon being wasted for the second time. Hopefully he is paid well for all his spilt-second appearances.
If you are a fan of the first Titan, you will definitely love this one. As for loyal fans of Greek mythology, I suggest you head to the library than suffer another bout of uninspiring big-budget fest.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Three Deleted Scenes lasting 11 minutes are included.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The audio and visual quality is first-rate. The sound effects are dynamic, dialogue is clear and image presentation is solid with plenty of digital enhancement.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
Synopsis: Akane is a high school teacher who hears a rumor from her students that there is actual footage on the Internet of someone's suicide. The footage is said to drive anyone who sees it to also commit suicide. Akane does not believe the rumor at first, but when one of her female students dies after viewing the footage, she and her boyfriend Takanori are fatefully drawn into the horror that has been created by the man who appears in the suicide footage, Kashiwada. Kashiwada's intention is to create chaos in the world by bringing back Sadako and the power of her curse. This reminded Akane of an incident which happened during high school when she saved all her fellow classmates lives with a scream, from then on, everyone started outcast her. What special powers does Akane have to overcome the horror from Sadako? This triggered off a battle between Akane and Sadako, now Akane has to fight against Sadako and Kashiwada to save the lives of herself and Takanori.Will Akane overcome all difficulties to save her boyfriend Takanori and the world?
Movie Review:
Back when the world was first introduced to the creepy long-haired girl in white that came after a viewing of a cursed videotape, the goggle box in the living room was probably the only device one needed to fear. Today, the invasion of the electronic screen into every nook and cranny of our lives is so pervasive that we’d probably be staring at fear itself no matter where we turn- and it is precisely this reality that ‘Sadako 3D’, the fifth official entry in the ‘Ring’ series, exploits.
In one of the more effective sequences of the movie, our protagonist Akane (Ishihara Satomi) flees the all-girls school she is teaching at to get away from the multitude of computer screens within, only to be confronted on the street by electronic billboards above and around her. It is a clever reflection of the world we live in today, dominated by second, third and fourth screens of different sizes and dimensions. Speaking of dimension, an additional dimension of fear has also been added in the form of depth, another phenomenon that ‘Sadako 3D’ gladly takes advantage of.
Yet despite these virtues, director Hanabusa Tsutomo’s adaptation of original creator Koji Suzuki’s newest addition to the series is a hugely disappointing entry that sullies the reputation of the franchise. Instead of the grippingly eerie atmosphere of Hideo Nakata’s first film, we get cheap ‘boo’ scares that dissipate as quickly as they appear. Instead of a genuinely spine-tingling central character in Sadako, we get a young teenage girl with superimposed red eyes and inexplicably numerous spider-like ‘Sadakos’ that end up unintentionally amusing. And instead of some intriguing village folklore surrounding Sadako, we get some lame excuse in the form of a limp revenge plot concocted by a vengeful artist.
Yes, Tsumoto’s ‘Sadako 3D’ is such a deeply flawed movie that one can’t help but lament at the caricature the central character has become at the hands of a clearly inept director. Tsumoto was also behind the screenplay and he and co-writer Fujioka Yoshinobu are just as incompetent in sustaining any dramatic momentum in the storytelling. Despite hewing closely to the template of the original movie in having a female protagonist on the hunt for Sadako, the duo fail to replicate the former’s riveting buildup of fear or dread, chiefly because Akane isn’t given much of a mystery to decipher in the first place. Couple that with a haphazard manner by which various supporting characters chance upon the said cursed footage and meet their death, and you have a narrative that basically makes little sense.
But none of that compares to the appalling CGI employed for Sadako. It says a lot when the Sadako of fourteen years ago looks more realistic than the Sadako here- and that is apparent right from the opening shot with a woman falling down a well. Even if we are willing to overlook the perspective issues of this oft-repeated shot, the use of CGI in Sadako’s appearance from a computer screen or smartphone is simply awful, driven solely from the perspective of the third dimension with little thought of other spatial considerations.
Most dreadful- and worthy of reiterating- is the laugh-inducing climax where tens of Sadako-wannabes go after Akane in pure arachnid fashion. For no other reason other than the fact that it must have been hard crawling out of smaller modern-day screens, our supposedly fear-inducing character has suddenly been reduced to a long-legged creature monster that moves with extraordinary speed. Not only that, Akane also makes the transformation from scared schoolteacher to spider-buster, vanquishing her pursuers with a simple wield of a metal rod. Humour was probably not Tsumoto’s intention for this drawn-out ending, but there’s little else it offers.
Regrettably then, this seemingly prescient entry into the ‘Ring’ mythology is a complete letdown. Instead of offering a new dimension in horror, it careens into unintentional humour and just about erases any lasting memory of why Sadako was so terrifying in the first place. Like most franchise entries with ‘3D’ prominently displayed within its title, it is no more than a cash-grab attempt at exploiting the extra dimension with a lame rehash of a previously successful horror that did just fine in 2D. With such a feeble return, this Sadako might as well have stayed in the well- which is where you want to kick it under after you’ve seen it.
(A pointless attempt at revisiting a classic horror with the addition of 3D, this poorly conceived return of Sadako is missing everything that was good about the original)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa
Cast: Satomi Ishihara, Koji Seto, Tsutomu Takahashi
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Frightening Scenes)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://www.sadako3d.jp/index.html
Opening Day: 21 June 2012
Movie Rating:
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