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MARVEL + REEBOK = AVENGERS SHOESPosted on 13 Jun 2012 |
Genre: Thriller/Adventure
Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Cast: Erika Toda, Ryo Kase, Chiaki Kuriyama, Atsushi Ito, Saki Fukuda, Chiaki Kuriyama, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Takahiro Miura, Kippei Shiina
RunTime: 1 hr 59 mins
Released By: Encore Films and Filmgarde
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Official Website: http://www.encorefilms.com/spec
Opening Day: 2 August 2012
Synopsis: A cruiser yacht, with all aboard mummified, is discovered drifting out at sea. Toma and Sebumi suddenly face a series of spec-holders controlled by a mysterious ‘Ninomae’, who turns out to be Toma’s younger brother...except that he’s supposed to be dead. Ninomae tries to enlist Toma among the specs using whom he plans world domination, but she refuses, saying she wants to live a normal life. Cursing Toma for getting him into this, Sebumi nonetheless does his utmost to protect her. Toma’s left arm is in a cast: what is she hiding there? The case grows in scale, eventually involving the government. What is the ‘simple plan’ going on behind the scenes? And what is the course of the future traced out by the person who recorded ‘the Third Prophecy of Fatima’?
Movie Review:
Japan has always been known for its detective fiction, and all those mystery solving stories. Their popularity is not only restricted to Japan, but they have also gained popularity in other parts of the world. Like Kindaichi Case Files, Death Note, 20th Century Boys; just to name a few. Over the recent years, the popularity of these detective fiction series has not gone down at all. SPEC, the TV drama series, is one of the most outstanding ones you can find these days. SPEC is an award winning TV drama series, bagging three awards that season for Best Actress (Toda Erika), Best Screenwriter and Best Director. Although the television viewership was not the best of the season, it has created a lot of conversation and reaction among viewers who follow this drama. Hence, the decision to make a drama special and the subsequent movie sequel was made.
To orientate viewers who are not familiar with SPEC, it is basically a crime solving series featuring criminals with special abilities, also known as SPEC holders. SPEC holders are a result of the evolution of men, and SPEC: Heaven focuses on the war between them and the police force. In all honesty, this set-up does seem unfamiliar at all. In fact, many mega blockbusters have worked their story based on the premise of rebel (in this case the mutant race) fighting against the bureaucracy, which seems to be conspiring something underneath the sheets. That being said, SPEC: Heaven still has its unique appeals.
Firstly, the two main leads of SPEC, namely Toda Erika (plays Toma Saya) and Kase Ryo (plays Sebumi Takeru), have awesome chemistry. Their chemistry has developed much further than the TV drama series, and both of them have shown powerful performance of their characters. Kase Ryo began his acting career in stage plays, and subsequently took on roles in movies, such as Shimuzu in Letters from Iwo Jima (award winning film directed by Clint Eastwood). On the other hand, Toda Erika has also proved that her acting matured over the years. She landed her first movie role of Misa Amane, from the popular manga adaption movie, Death Note. Henceforth, she was cast with similar character roles, with her classic pouting face. However, SPEC is a key turning point in her career. Even the actress herself has recognized that SPEC’s Toma has changed how she is as an actress. Thanks to the role as Toma, she is able to break off from the typecasting and bring forth a new Toda Erika, ‘never seen before’.
Another factor that sets this apart from similar movies of this genre is the fact that it is so uniquely Japanese; from the slapstick humor, to the tako attacks, to the play with yin and yang. At times it gets a little sadistic and masochistic, yet at other times, it does its part to deliver the poignant hard truths we tend to forget. For instance, how helpless the minority can be and how people are forsaken for the sake of progress. The strong characterizations of Toma and Sebumi value add this aspect as well, working an appeal that works not only in Japan.
However, the main storyline can be a little baffling, as it tries to fit itself into Catholic imagery and the revelation of a prophecy unnecessarily. But fret not, you need not try to painfully figure out the missing pieces; be assured that you will be equally entertained.
As much as this movie is trying to answer some unanswered parts in the drama, it gives rise to a whole series of questions all over again. It seems to be only riding the success of the TV drama series, and did not exactly out do it. It does require a lot more to win more viewers. That being said, the mind boggling mysteries and unorthodox charm are still worth a watch.
Movie Rating:
(The wacky Japanese are doing what they do best: crime solving mysteries with a space of ambiguity and imagination. Breathtaking and as wicked as it can get!)
Review by Tho Shu Ling
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WE WANT YOU...to be our movie reviewer!Posted on 14 Feb 2023 |
Genre: Thriller/Sci-Fi
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Li Bing Bing, Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Kevin Durand, Shawn Roberts, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb, Boris Kodjoe
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website: http://ResidentEvil-Movie.com/
Opening Day: 13 September 2012
Synopsis: The wildly successful film franchise adaptation that has grossed nearly $700 million worldwide to the popular video game series, Resident Evil, returns in its highly anticipated fifth installment, RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION in state-of-the art 3D. The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, ALICE (Milla Jovovich), awakens in the heart of Umbrella's most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.
Movie Review:
Unless you're a die-hard fan of the video game, you're unlikely to recall much of the details or for that matter, the fate of the various supporting characters in the previous four instalments of the undying 'Resident Evil' franchise. Nonetheless, a significant part of how much you'll enjoy 'Retribution' depends on your memory of key ones like Jill Valentine from 'Apocalypse', Albert Wesker from 'Apocalypse' and 'Extinction', and Rain Ocampo from the very first 'Resident Evil' – a tall order, in our opinion, from anchor writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson considering how unremarkable and repetitive most of the instalments were.
The reunion of these beloved video game characters should portent well for this fifth movie, but unfortunately the joy of their reappearance is short-lived. On one hand, Anderson doesn't bother to help neophytes understand their history with Alice and the Umbrella Corporation; on the other, his film is just too dreadful to give any of these characters the welcoming party they deserve. Yes, if you were disappointed with 'Afterlife', be prepared to relive that same dejection with 'Retribution' - which like the former is a loud, dumb and ultimately pointless exercise.
Picking right up after the events of the last film, Alice is once again recaptured by the Umbrella Corporation after her escape to Arcadia, a cargo tanker that was meant to be a last safe haven for what was left of the humans. Brought to an large underground secret facility where each cavernous section is made to resemble one f the major cities of New York, Moscow and Tokyo, Alice finds an ally in Ada Wong (China actress Li Bingbing in her Hollywood debut), a survivor captured by Jill – and by the way, Jill is now an Umbrella agent after being brainwashed using a mind-control device attached at her chest.
The plot of any of the Anderson-scripted 'Resident Evil' movies tend to be simple to the point of being simplistic – an apt reflection in fact of the measure of his scriptwriting abilities really – and 'Retribution' is no different. Here, Alice and Ada are teamed with five rogue members of the resistance led by Leon (Johann Urb), who infiltrate the facility with the intention of detonating it from within. Evade the Red Queen's (oh yes, she makes a return as the ultimate villain here) armies, rendezvous at the place called the 'submarine pens' and get to the surface before the bombs go off – that's about as complicated as the story goes.
Of course, the point of these 'Resident Evil' movies was never story or perhaps even character – but one will be hard pressed to find the action sequences redeeming too, and that is regardless of whether you have been a fan of Anderson's slo-mo stylistics. Yes the slo-mo accompanied with rock music shots are still here (and if it's any consolation, toned down a little from 'Afterlife's' excess); what however disappoints is the tempo and the choreography, which going by how lacklustre both are here, seems to suggest Anderson and his team are fast running out of imagination.
Indeed, the somewhat innovative camera angles by Glen MacPherson that maximise the third dimension where possible fail to disguise the fact that there is not one single memorable action sequence. Most disappointing are Leon and his team's confrontation with an entire hooded army in Moscow's Red Square (especially considering how the area was shut down for the first time just for shooting), as well as theirs and Alice's subsequent run-in with the huge beast known as Licker – there are no shortage of guns or ammunition in both these sequences all right, but simply pumping both out relentlessly without any measure of restraint or strategy isn't exactly exciting or interesting.
The best Anderson manages to achieve is an extended one-on-one showdown between Alice and Jill on one hand, and Leon and a Les Plagas-infested Rain on another – but even in what is supposed to be the highlight of the film, the seen-it-done-that combination of slo-mo weapons, slo-mo bullets, slo-mo dodging and a dash of CG-ed anatomy display fails to raise our pulses as much as we had hoped that it would. And like the instalments that have come before it, this one ends on another cliffhanger with Alice restored and another fight looming – not to mention a shoo-in for what could be the title of the inevitable next film, 'The Last Stand' (not to be confused with Schwarzenegger's next movie).
As always too, Milla Jovovich remains one of the few – if not the only – reason to watch the movie. Anderson knows just that, which is why within the first ten minutes, we get to see Alice naked save for two white cloths over her front and back – but the real disservice he does to his real-life wife is trying to build more emotion into her character through a contrived subplot revolving around a motherly bond she develops for a hearing-impaired child Becky (Aryana Engineer). Given how stilted the dialogue is, the less is said in the film the better – and nowhere is this truer than in Li Bingbing's case, coming off stiff and wooden no matter how admirable her effort at enunciating her English lines.
If even the action fails, then you can pretty much surmise that there is very little reason to catch this. It is also disappointing considering how unambitious Paul W.S. Anderson continues to be with what is the most successful video game to screen franchise thus far, content to rehash the same formula from his last films again and again. No matter how his name has been synonymous with the 'Resident Evil' films, the only hope of an 'Afterlife' that will save this series from 'Extinction' is really a new writer/ director – only that alone is 'Retribution' enough for the lacklustre films both fans and non-fans of the video game have been made to endure. .
Movie Rating:
(Loud, dumb and pointless – if even the action fails to thrill, then you know this franchise is well past its ‘Afterlife’ and close to the point of ‘Extinction’)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Jonah Hill, Kerry Washington, Laura Cayouette, M.C. Gainey, Don Johnson, RZA, Tom Savini, Anthony LaPaglia, James Remar, Tom Wopat, James Russo, Rex Linn
RunTime: 2 hrs 45 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website: http://unchainedmovie.com/
Opening Day: 21 March 2013
Synopsis: Set in the South two years before the Civil War, DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Academy Award®-winner Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive. Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Academy Award®-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival…
Movie Review:
So Quentin Tarantino’s latest work took home two Oscars at the recent Academy Awards. Austrian German actor Christoph Waltz received his second Best Supporting Actor accolade, and Tarantino was honoured with the Best Original Screenplay prize. Both works which earned the 66 year old Waltz his Oscars were directed by Tarantino, and we think he is deserving of them. Having watched all of Tarantino’s feature length movies, we were expecting a lot from this one, and while it isn’t a bad film per se, we feel that there could be a lot more to this action western drama film.
The film takes place in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West (trust Tarantino to explore this setting after tackling the bloody times in Nazi occupied France in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds), and the hero is a freed slave who journeys across the United States with a German bounty hunter to rescue his wife from a sadistic plantation owner in Mississippi.
Sounds like a simple and straightforward enough plot? Trust the American filmmaker (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) to churn out a somewhat lengthy 165 minute film, with an abundance of self indulgent sequences which can, well, be easily edited for brevity. Good thing then, that Tarantino knows how to stylise his production and keep viewers engaged with some very bloody fun throughout the film’s two hour and forty five minute runtime.
Fans who are familiar with Tarantino’s style will be pleased to know that it is still present here, despite us having doubts about how it will fit into the Western genre. With Robert Richardson’s (Hugo, The Aviator) cinematography, and a kick ass soundtrack, viewers are taken on another visual and audio treat, where flashily appealing camerawork complements the madcap music chosen by Tarantino himself.
This is Tarantino’s second Best Original Screenplay prize after 1994’s Pulp Fiction, but we cannot but help think that it is the Academy’s way of recognising the director’s efforts, especially when we think he has produced more interesting and innovative screenplays before this. The tale of vengeance is well told here, but it somewhat lacks a punch which we were hoping to see.
Luckily then for the filmmaker, the three leads gave uniformly wonderful performances. Jaime Foxx (Dreamgirls, Ray) plays the titular Django, and besides being wowed by his toned physique, you’d empathise with the anger he is experiencing as a black slave. Waltz is nothing short of scene stealing in his role of the smart and fast talking bounty hunter, while Leonardo DiCaprio delivers another career defining performance as the villain of the show. It is really quite a pity the guy (who has come a long way since Titanic) hasn’t been recognised at any major awards. Samuel L Jackson shows up in an almost unrecognisable role, and without giving away too much, his character will have your eyes glued to the screen for the last half every time he appears.
Besides the bloodily fun finale (yes, it involves a shootout, lots of deaths and lots of blood), watch out for the powerhouse acting from the leads in a scene at a dinner table, where they play their wits against each other just by chatting. It is scenes like that which make us keep our faith in cinema.
Movie Rating:
(Quentin Tarantino delivers yet another bloodily fun movie which joins the ranks of his previous well acclaimed works)
Review by John Li
It’s been a good 15 years since Agents J and K first made an impression on the big screen with their too cool to be true black suits and shades. Director Barry Sonnenfield is back with the third installment, and back with him is composer Danny Elfman’s wacky score which revisits the signature themes which, like Agants J and K, are too cool to be true.
Kicking off the 53 minute album is “Men in Black 3 – Main Titles”, a cue that wastes no time in reintroducing the familiar theme which brings to mind a snazzy 60s backdrop setting. The five minute track indulges listeners with its unabashed guitar arrangement, the tune blaring in your ears in the least subtle way possible.
Following that are action cues which Elfman fans are no strangers to (especially if you have heard his compositions for blockbuster movies like Batman and Mars Attacks!), “The Setup”, “Big Trouble” and “Time Jump” being very good examples. The frantic cues busily turn and twist their ways through the brief runtimes, manically bringing listeners on a frenzied adventure.
The third film in the trilogy explores some rather emotional themes, which allows Elfman to come up with tracks like “Griffin Steps Up”, an enchantingly lyrical cue which evokes lush images in the mind. “Under the Bridge” is a tender composition which is innocently childlike. “A Close One” is also a moving track which begins with a warmly touching tune, before it launches into a bold finale.
If there is one gripe we must raise about this soundtrack, it would be the lack of surprises Elfman brings to the music. Sure fans of the beloved Men In Black series would have no problem falling in love with the score, but we get a nagging feeling that the four time Academy Award nominee is capable of so much more.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: : (1) Men in Black 3 – Main Titles
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: In the epic action-adventure, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the Evil Queen (Oscar(r) winner Charlize Theron)who is out to destroy her. But the one girl threatening the wicked ruler's reign has been training in the art of war with the very huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) dispatched to kill her. Evil now fights with destiny.
MOVIE REVIEW:
An ominous dark shadow has been cast over “Snow White & the Huntsman”. And nope it’s not the Evil Queen who is casting spells. Our dear leading lady, Kristen Stewart has admitted to having an affair with the director, Rupert Sanders and it’s definitely not good news for a franchise potential.
This reimagining of the classic fairy tale has Stewart playing Snow White and on the run from the Evil Queen (Charlie Theron) after years of being detained in a solitary cell. Sent by the Queen to capture the escaped Snow White, the huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) ends up being White’s escort and protector. Along the way in a quest to bring down the Evil Queen, the duo encounters a mischievous gang of eight Dwarves, mysterious creatures and alliances long thought lost.
Comparing this to the similar themed “Mirror Mirror”, “Snow White & the Huntsman” backed by Universal Pictures is an edgier, darker take on the material. First of all, the production values ranging from medieval set pieces, lush costumes and beautiful visuals are top notch for that matter and probably the main reason to catch it. You can throw in the mighty Chris Hemsworth as well if his biceps is a pulling factor for you but for the rest of us, the dazzling visual provides much of the enjoyment.
Storywise, with a credited team of three scribers including Hossein Amini who wrote “Drive” and John Lee Hancock who did “The Blind Side”, the writers fails to generate much vibrancy to the lackluster script. It’s more of getting the characters from point A to B and those hoping for a Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy will be sorely disappointed with the generic material. However for a full-length feature helmed by a first-time director, “Snow White & the Huntsman” actually breathes new life to an aging fairy tale on one hand and Sanders confidently pulls off a couple of major sequences like a seasoned filmmaker. Some of the location shoots which took place in Scotland and UK are simply breathtaking. A gigantic troll attack sequence and a journey through a fairy sanctuary proved that visual effects have indeed reached a new height.
While I have nothing against Kristen Stewart’s dull expression and phony ‘wake-up-your-idea’ speech, it’s Charlie Theron who stole the limelight with her delicious, scenery-chewing performance as the Evil Queen. The bunch of seasoned veteran Brit actors, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris and Brian Gleeson (son of Brendan) who play the dwarves with the clever combination of doubles and CG is an absolute blast. Hemsworth fresh from his role as Thor once again gets to showcase his machismo and the role of the huntsman is more of a walk in the park for the Aussie.
“Snow White & the Huntsman” is not your typical Disney adaptation. It’s dark, gritty and filled with spectacular action pieces. If you don’t complain much about the story department, it’s a pretty entertaining tale to behold. With that, I wouldn’t mind a sequel.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Meet the motley crew: the Dwarves is an interesting look at the British cast members and their dwarve doubles.
Director Rupert Sanders, visual effects supervisor Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and co-editor Neil Smith partake in a noteworthy audio track that provides interesting behind-the-scenes information. If you are keen to know where they shot certain scenes, cast peformances and which of the magpie or crow is CG then turn on this Feature Commentary.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Black levels are balanced, colours are sharp and the fine detailing makes this DVD a wonderful presentation. The Dolby Digital 5.1 has no lack of dynamic sound effects and with a superb surround mix, this is an overall engaging watching experience.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: From Disneynature, the studio that brought you Earth, Oceans and African Cats, comes Chimpanzee - a remarkable story of individual triumph and family bonds. Journey deep into the African rainforest and meet Oscar, an adorable young chimp with an entertaining approach to life. The world is a playground for little Oscar and his fellow young chimps who love creating mayhem. Full of curiosity, a zest for discovery, joy, and a love for mimicking others, they are some of the most extraordinary personalities in the animal kingdom. Stunning hi-definition images bring you up close and personal as Oscar and his family navigate the complex territory of the forest. It's an inspiring and life-changing adventure that overflows with courage and charm. And it will capture your heart.
MOVIE REVIEW:
“Chimpanzee” is the latest title released under the Walt Disney Company, Disneynature and marks the third to feature land animals after “The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos” (2009) and “African Cats” (2011).
Directed by two veteran documentary writers/producers/directors, Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, “Chimpanzee” is a light-heartening tale detailing the life of a young chimpanzee, Oscar and his growing years in a loving tribe. Young Oscar is nurtured and protected by his mother, Isha since the day he was born but when a powerful, rival tribe launched a ferocious attack on them, Oscar’s fate suddenly took a change. Will young Oscar survives in the ruthless forest?
True to Disney’s family-friendly nature (and of course to hold the attention of the little ones), we have Buzz Lightyear aka Tim Allen to narrate this adventure. Some viewers might find Allen’s narration overly too cute, slightly corny even. But without Allen, some of the scenes simply don’t work. Perhaps to cater to the younger audience, more extreme and disturbing scenes like the killing of another primate species for food and the unfortunate passing of Isha is heard rather than seen. Thus parents can ensure their kids are in safe hands and these trauma-inducing sequences are best left to their imagination.
Still, “Chimpanzee” remains an impressive piece of work. The inhabitable African rainforest is wonderfully captured on camera. The frequent insertion of time-lapse photography adds to the beauty of it all. The captivating visual of the chimps grooming one another, using ‘power tools’ to feast on nuts and army ants are examples of the few amazing footages captured here. Of course, the highlight of the movie is that Freddy, the alpha-male team leader of the tribe becomes sort of a surrogate father to the orphaned Oscar. Who says a documentary about chimps can’t have its gripping and warm moments.
With a light score by Nicholas Hooper and catchy pop songs, the 78 minutes documentary is digestible for both the younger ones and adults, most importantly a visual feast to the eyes. Though it lacks a certain insight into the decreasing population of the chimps in the world and all so seriousness of other similar themed documentaries, many will be enchanted by the cheeky adorable Oscar.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
See Chimpanzee, Save Chimpanzee is a brief 3 minutes segment that details the difficulties faced by the crew.
Disney’s Friends For Change has the McClain sisters (American pop group) talk about protecting wildlife and the environment.
Disney’s Conservation Legacy is a promo reel for Disney’s ongoing conservation program.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Chimpanzee chimps into DVD with an awesome, brimming transfer, colours are rich and the images as real-life as it gets. Environmental sound effects are clearly captured and Tim Allen’s narration is distinct. To sums up the audio and visual in one word: stunning.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Jonah Hill rides out one outrageously wild night in this hilarious comedy from the director of Pineapple Express. Suburban slacker Noah (Hill) is watching a neighbor's kids when he gets a booty call from his horny girlfriend in the city. To hook up with her, Noah takes to the streets, but his urban adventure spins out of control as he finds himself on the run from a maniacal druglord. Raunchy laughs and insane action - it's all in a night's work for The Sitter.
MOVIE REVIEW:
He has been playing small roles for years before everyone noticed his appearance in a little movie called “Superbad”. Since then, the pudgy young man known as Jonah Hill has made it big. Seriously with an Oscar-nominee performance in “Moneyball” and a box-office hit with “21 Jump Street”, 2012 is a great year for Hill. On the other hand, no one notices he had a dud in the form of “The Sitter” released end of last year and skipped the theatrical release locally.
Directed by David Gordon Green who helmed the successful “Pineapple Express” (which skipped a release here as well) and “Your Highness”, “The Sitter” has Hill playing a student, Noah Griffith who stands-in for his mom’s friend as a babysitter. Tasked and motivated by his supposed girlfriend, Noah must bring along three brats under his charge in a minivan to pick up some coke from a dealer and bring them to her party. What seems like an easy errand turns out to be a disastrous night out for Noah.
Noah is the kind of laid-back, foul-mouth, stoner characters that Hill has playing for years although Noah doesn’t really touch drugs here with the exception some mouth exercise he likes to give. There’s just mere mention of Noah as a school dropout, getting a DUI and had a rather rich estranged dad unfortunately the script has limited running time for character developments and we are treated to a slim 84 minutes of slapstick violence, silly gags and a pointless subplot involving a maniacal drug dealer, Karl (Sam Rockwell). You see, one of the kids Noah is babysitting has stolen Karl’s drugs (stored in a beautiful dinosaur egg no less) and he wants Noah to bring back his drugs or $10k as compensation.
The biggest problem is setting up the character of Karl. There’s an unnecessary prolonged scene where we see Karl’s drug lair filled with some weird experimental ongoing and near-naked bodybuilders, transsexual and a roller-skating ladyboy roaming around. Is it meant to be a chuckle-inducing gag because sorry to say, I don’t get it. This is no exploitation movie and this scene stands out as a sore oddity. Rockwell plays the madness well but this is not a movie for him I guess.
The performances of the three young actors are flawless. Max Records (Where The Wild Things Are) is great as a young man, Slater who is struggling with his sexual orientation. Kevin Hernandez (How I Spent My Summer Vacation) is simply creepy as the adopted child of the family who loves making bombs while Landry Bender plays a girl who is obsessed being a celebrity and make-up. There are some life lessons to be learnt in the end but this is hugely shadowed by vulgarities and a truckload of desperate sounding, unfunny drug and poop jokes.
“The Sitter” probably won’t mark the end of Hill’s career. Of course, it doesn’t. It just marks the end of pudgy Jonah Hill. You can check out his successful weight-loss in “21 Jump Street” and “The Watch”. If you don’t really have the time, you can consider sit out on this one.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The only extra feature is you get to choose between the unrated or the theatrical version. It’s only like 5 minutes difference so no harm selecting the former.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Not exactly referenced material but “The Sitter” on the whole looks great on DVD. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is surprisingly active and robust when it comes to pumping hip-hop music, explosions and energetic surround mix.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: In a world connected by YouTube, iTunes, and Facebook, Miley Cyrus stars a teen girl navigating through the peer pressures of high school romance and friendship while dodging her protective mother in the fresh coming-of-age comedy LOL.
MOVIE REVIEW:
We’re not sure who had wanted a Hollywood remake of Lisa Azuelos’ ‘LOL: Laughing Out Loud’, the 2008 French teenage comedy that was at best a slick forgettable diversion – but here we are, with an American version that essentially transports the Gallic version to Chicago and recycles lock, stock and barrel the original’s plot points. Oh wait, no wonder, it is none other than Azuelos who is at the helm once again.
At the heart of the tale is once again a high-school girl named Lola (played here by former teen star Miley Cyrus), whose on-off relationship with best friend Kyle (Douglas Booth) becomes both the source of her happiness as well as her frustrations later on. Initially, she grows closer with Kyle to recover from her boyfriend Chad’s (George Finn) indiscretions; but just as Lola and Kyle seem like they might have a chance at a relationship, a misunderstanding causes the former to think that the latter might also be cheating on her.
Meanwhile, Lola starts getting into trouble with her mother Anne (Demi Moore), who suddenly realises that her darling girl has become quite a handful. Not to say that Anne’s much of a good example herself – the single parent is sneaking around with her ex-husband (Thomas Jane), while exploring possibilities with a hunky narcotics cop (Jay Hernandez). The mother-daughter relationship is supposed to be the core dynamic in the movie, but don’t expect anything substantial when too much time is spent trying to set up the other characters around Lola.
There’s Emily (Ashley Hinshaw), a close friend of Lola’s from school who’s not only going through the same teenage pangs, but develops an even messier crush on their Maths teacher; there’s Kyle’s father, who forbids him from playing in a rock band until he gets his grades up; and then there’s Emily’s mother, who is even more conservative than Anne is on Lola. Azuelos and her co-screenwriter Kamir Ainouz try to pack a lot within just 90 mins, but the result of saying more is really ending up saying very much less.
By that we mean all the subplots are pretty much undercooked, following narrative formulas to a T. Ditto for the central relationship between Lola and Anne, which is supposed to be modelled after the real-life struggles mothers have to go through to relate to their teenage daughter – unfortunately for us audiences, Azuelos is once again a stickler for convention, right down to the leadup to the climax which predictably begins with Anne accidentally reading Lola’s confidential diary. Of course, Azuelos packages all these clichés slickly, but there’s only so much one can do with reheated elements.
The same can be said of the cast, who largely give unremarkable performances. It’s been a while since Demi Moore has been seen in the leading role, but this undemanding portrayal of a mother trying to get a grip on her precocious daughter is hardly the welcome shot we hoped. But nothing can quite compare to Cyrus, the once star performer on the Disney channel who has fallen far from grace into this dreck of a movie. She wears pretty much the same one-note expression throughout, and there is absolutely no depth to her portrayal of Lola.
Certainly, the fault isn’t entirely Cyrus’ or Moore’s – ‘LOL’ is too content to recycle its French template, which itself was cobbled together from various Hollywood clichés about teenage angst. It’s little wonder then that there was little fanfare locally or in the United States when this remake opened, which only cements its fate as a pointless, charmless, and soulless teenage dramedy that is best summed up with the following reaction – ‘WTF’.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio reproduces the dialogue clearly, but does little else. Visuals are clear enough, showing no visible grains or defects. Colours and tones are also pretty much well balanced throughout.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
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