SYNOPSIS: In this 'Exhilarating and Powerful' police thriller, Jonathan is a second-generation cop who gets in over his head when he's assigned to re-open a double homicide cold in his Queens neighbourhood. An anonymous source feeding new information regarding the long-unsolved murders to a local reporter leads to evidence suggesting a cover-up by the former lead detective. As Jonathan digs deeper into the assignment, a dark secret about the case emerges which threatens to destroy his life and his family.

MOVIE REVIEW:

2012 is a good year for Channing Tatum. The Step Up actor finally proved himself to be both a credible actor and star following a string of hits including “The Vow”, “21 Jump Street” and “Magic Mike”. If not for that, we probably won’t get a chance to see him in this indie cop drama, “The Son Of No One”.

Tatum is not alone here. Joining him is the great Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Juliette Binoche, Ray Liotta and Tracy Morgan. It’s a cast that even a Hollywood blockbuster would kill for. The excellent acting ranging from the usually wooden Tatum to the seldom seen dramatic side of Morgan is a plus. Pacino and Liotta on the other hand are no strangers to the roles they played here simply they had played it countless times before. French actress Binoche hardly leave much of an impression and Holmes dropped a couple of F-words to prove she is no longer that young teenage girl in “Dawson’s Creek” who married and unmarried Tom Cruise.

However it’s the script that lets everyone down in the end. Written and directed by Tatum’s frequent collaborator, Dito Montiel, the story suffers from gaping plot holes and loose ends that never quite tied up. Tatum plays Jonathan White, a married NYPD rookie cop who is assigned to Queens, a notoriously menacing neighbourhood in which he grew up. White has a dark secret unknown to many; he killed two drug junkies when he was a young kid. Though covered up by his partner of his deceased dad, the past came back to haunt him in the form of anonymous letters being sent to a small-time tabloid paper. That’s when Montiel’s own ambitious narratives with issues such as child abuse, drug abuse, mental illness start to clutter the whole cliché script.

The story takes audience back to 1996 and then back to 2002 constantly, there’s nothing repulsive about this arrangement in fact Montiel did a commendable juggling between two timelines. The child actors who portrayed the younger version of White and his buddy, Vinny is extremely convincing. What’s glaring is why an Inspector (played by Pacino) needs to cover up a crime involving a pint-sized underage boy killing two adult junkies. Seriously, who would believe that in the first place? Is Montiel trying to drive home the message of serving and protecting one another in the police force? And what is the motivational behind the letters? The movie opens up too many questions and rarely answered any of them. The gunplay in the finale just makes things even messier and murkier. It’s one movie that the numerous actors’ fine acting couldn’t save the day.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The DVD extras consist of seven minutes of Extended Scenes and a Trailer.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The intended wash-out colours and grittiness might be a problem on a large TV screen though it’s clearly not the fault of the manufacturer. Save for a couple of loud gunshots and a car crash, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is more than serviceable for the dialogue-based movie.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Kyungsung, 1938: Jun-shik (JANG Dong-gun) is a young Korean man who dreams of becoming the next SOHN Kee-chung, the Korean gold medallist marathoner. Tatsuo (ODAGIRI Joe) is Japan’s top marathoner. Having a strong sense of competition with each other since childhood, Jun-shik and Tatsuo grow up to be the greatest of national rivals, representing their native Korea and Japan. A year after an unexpected incident sees Jun-shik impressed into Japanese service, destiny reunites him with Tatsuo, now a colonel in the Japanese army. Thrown into the maelstrom of WWII, the two young men traverse the battle fields of China, the Soviet Union, and Germany, finally arriving in Normandy, France. They survive endless battles and 12,000km, slowly transforming into each other’s greatest hope… A Korean man and Japanese man meet as enemies, but become each other’s hope. And a drama of true humanity that transcends borders and nationality unfolds.

MOVIE REVIEW:

While we wait patiently for Jack Neo’s cinematic piece on National Service called “Ah Boys To Men”, the Koreans have been diligently churning out war movies to promote nationalism and patriotism. “My Way” coming from the hands of prestigious director Kang Je-Kyu is no exception.

Supposedly based on actual events, “My Way” tells the story of two marathoners, Japanese Tatsuo (Joe Odagiri) and Korean Jun-Shik (Jang Dong-Gun) whom since young have been rivals in the running sports. An assassination which resulted in the death of Tatsuo’s beloved grandfather and a subsequent incident in an Olympic tryout caused the friendship to break apart. But ironically, the two men find themselves becoming each other’s hope to survive during World War II.

Director Kang has plenty of issues to deal with in this overlong movie. The narrative touches on the hostile Japan/Korea relation during World War as well as racial discrimination among others but somehow the constant loud carnage brought on by the allies, Germans and Soviets overshadowed the main theme of the movie by the first hour. Though the storytelling is as dizzying as the handheld shaky camera shots, the production values are superb owing to the massive budget greenlit for a Korea movie.

With China and Eastern Europe standing in for Mongolia, the Soviet Union and France for the production shoot, the ultra-violent battles which include air and sea bombardment, assortment of tanks and machine guns will send you cowing in fear. At times, the scenes are so overwhelming that it’s hard to differentiate between Jun-Shik and Tatsuo. Kang who has directed another war-theme box-office hit, “Taegukgi” proves he is an old hand choreographing brutal battles at ease and with the assistance of flawless CG, “My Way” is as almost as good as Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan”.

Mainland actress Fan Bing Bing who received a huge billing cameos as a Chinese sniper. While her role is a small one, it marks a far cry from her usual onscreen demure self. Jang Dong-Gun and Joe Odagiri turned in respectable performances as their bitter rivalry blossom into bromance. By no means the fault of the actors as it’s the script that has too much sugar coating in the end.

“My Way” is a decent tale about humanity, hope and survival. But the tedious journey undertaken by our two protagonists hopping from one war to another kills the emotional punch that makes the characters work. End of the day, the spectacular staged war sequences might impresses you more plus the rousing Andrea Bocelli’s theme song "To Find My Way".

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Visually, “My Way” is stylishly desaturated to achieve a war-torn look though images look detailed and solid throughout. Featuring a mixture of languages including Korean, Japanese and Mandarin, dialogue is sharp and sound effects during the combat sequences are aggressive and balanced.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Ethan Hawke, Joanna Kulig, Samir Guesmi, Delphine Chuillot, Julie Papillon, Geoffrey Carey, Mamadou Minte
Runtime: 1 hr 23 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes and Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films 
Official Website: http://womaninthefifth-movie.com/

Opening Day: 6 September 2012

Synopsis: Based on the best-selling novel by Douglas Kennedy. American writer Tom Ricks arrives in Paris to be closer to his daughter, Chloe, who recently moved there with her mother. Completely broke, he accepts a job as a night guard. Down in a basement, his only task is to push a button when a bell rings. The tranquility of the night, he hopes, will help him focus on a letter to his daughter. Soon, he starts a romance with Margit, a mysterious and elegant widow who sets some strange rules to their meetings: she will only see him at her apartment, at 5pm sharp, twice a week, and he's to ask no questions about her work, her past, her life... When the police accuses him of murdering his neighbour, Tom tries to use his weekly visits to Margit's apartment as an alibi, only to find that nobody has lived at the address for the past 15 years....

Movie Review:

If you’re the sort of viewer who needs a tidy ending to a movie, then avoid ‘The Woman in the Fifth’; but if you have a higher threshold for ambiguity and loose ends, then you’re likely to enjoy this enigmatic arthouse thriller a lot more. Adapted from Douglas Kennedy’s novel by Polish-born filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, it is a film of two halves that doesn’t coalesce as neatly as it should by the time it concludes, but has enough atmosphere along the way to hoodwink its audience.

Indeed, an eerie sense of dread pervades the entire film, beginning with American novelist and professor Tom Ricks’ (Ethan Hawke) arrival in Paris to presumably settle down with his French wife and daughter. But right after telling the immigration officer that, he barges into his wife’s apartment and demands to see his daughter – leaving only when his wife calls the police to enforce the restraining order that he’s been served with. Yes, despite his unassuming demeanour, it’s clear right from the start that there is something wrong with Tom.

And Pawlikowski keeps the focus squarely on Tom, as he moves into a flophouse whose thuggish owner Sezer (Samir Guesmi) fixes him up with a job as a night watchman in a dingy building where illicit activities are likely to be happening. In between his shifts, he stalks his daughter playing in a park and writes letters to her at work and in a café – these letters pretty much a surreal fantasy of father and daughter in a dense wooded forest. Though not deliberately said, Pawlikowski is drawing his audience into Tom’s fractured mind, and the picture he paints of a man calm on the surface but disturbed on the inside is disconcerting to say the least.

There is false comfort in the arrival of the enigmatic Margit (Kristin Scott Thomas), whom Tom meets at a gathering of literary folks and starts making regular visits to her apartment in the titular arrondisement. Margit suggests that his present circumstances could very well be inspiration for him to write an even better novel than his first, and just like that, becomes his muse. This is however not meant to be a reaffirming story, and what hope you may have of Margit helping Tom to find his groove back dissipates when his bullying neighbour (Mamadou Minté) turns up dead and the investigation leads to an even more disturbing truth about Margit.

As we had warned at the beginning, there is not much of a payoff at the end –if you have to know, the truth behind said neighbour’s murder is never revealed. The open-endedness will certainty frustrate many viewers, but Pawlikowski is of course not a daft filmmaker not to know this, so it’s a creative decision you’ll either respect or dislike. Nonetheless, it is clear that he loses his grip towards the end as scenes become more random and even confusing, leaving probably even the most patient viewer annoyed.

Through it all, it is the cast that makes this subdued psychodrama work. Ethan Hawke gets probably his meatiest role in recent years, and rewards the confidence with a riveting portrayal of a man tortured by inner anguish and disillusionment. Kristin Scott Thomas is mesmerising as always, but her vaguely drawn character does her no favours. One wishes Pawlikowski would have given Hawke and Thomas more screen time together though, just so that their unusual relationship can get fleshed out more.

Like we’ve said, ‘The Woman in the Fifth’ isn’t your typical mystery thriller. It’s more an arthouse drama all right, offering more questions than answers, and certainly not recommended for viewers who need neat resolutions at the end of the film. But for the more open-minded, it packs a tight sense of paranoia and intrigue and leaves you thinking about its psychological undertones. Liking the film is a bit of a stretch, but you’ll respect what Pawlikowski has attempted. 

Movie Rating:

(This intriguing psychodrama that offers more questions than answers is – we warn you – a challenging film to watch)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Director: Pete Travis
Cast: Karl Urban, Lena Headey, Olivia Thirlby, Jason Cope, Warrick Grier, Langley Kirkwood, Kevon Kane
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://www.dreddthemovie.com/

Opening Day: 20 September 2012

Synopsis: The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge - a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of "Slo-Mo" experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan's inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound's control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.

Movie Review:

Comparisons with perhaps this year’s best martial arts film ‘The Raid: Redemption’ are inevitable, given how both movies employ essentially a ‘Die Hard’ premise to deliver relentlessly brutal action. But despite the similarities, this big-screen reboot of the cult 2000AD comic book icon is every bit as solid a B-action movie as ‘Raid’ – grim, intense and most importantly, delightfully violent. And yes, if you have to know, it erases all nightmares of Sylvester Stallone and Rob Schneider from our minds.

Adapting John Wagner’s creation is no easy feat, given Dredd’s personality as a dour, laconic, and uncompromising upholder of justice. Yet screenwriter Alex Garland (best known for’28 Days Later’) accomplishes the unlikely task of making Dredd engaging – and that is even without Dredd removing his signature helmet. Instead, his Dredd is unexpectedly appealing thanks to some blunt charisma and a dash of deadpan humour, without ever tipping into camp or caricature.

The opening sequence where Dredd is seen on his motorbike pursuing a trio of wanted criminals on the run, simultaneously on a drug called Slo-Mo which makes the brain think that time is moving at one per cent its normal speed, establishes unequivocally the Dredd of this adaptation. Fully embracing his role as judge, jury and executioner, Dredd shoots an incendiary flare into a baddie’s mouth just five minutes into the film, causing him to combust from within.

And the good news for fanboys is – that’s just the tip of the iceberg compared to the mega-violence that Garland and director Pete Travis have lined up. Applying a veteran-rookie setup, Dredd is immediately paired with the psychic newbie Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirby) – though the former is none too impressed by her underachievement at the Academy. Both are unwittingly thrust into the field when called to investigate a triple homicide in a 200-storey high-rise slum called Peachtrees, where all manner of lowlifes reside.

Their opponent is the ruthless drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), a former prostitute with a sadistic streak that now owns the entire Peachtrees property and runs her narcotics dealings from it. Afraid that Dredd’s capture of one of her henchmen might lead to unwanted attention from the authorities, she orders Dredd and Anderson dead. The ensuing war is pure carnage – numerous heads smashed, countless bullets fired and an entire floor of the building levelled by an almost unrelenting stream of gunfire for five minutes – and Paul Leonard-Morgan's throbbing bass score makes the destruction even cooler.

By now, you can see why ‘Dredd’ was branded a futuristic copy of ‘The Raid’ – though the subsequent dismissal by some was rather unfair in our opinion. Despite the structural similarities in both stories – including the chief villain’s use of a building-wide intercom –the phenomenon is really mere coincidence. For one, while ‘Raid’ opted for an ultra-realistic tone to its violence, Travis and his British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (who also worked on Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionnaire’) goes for a more stylistic approach, exploiting the powers of the narcotic drug to create dreamy hallucinatory sequences punctuated by slo-mo shots of bullets ripping through flesh - which when viewed in 3D makes it even more dazzling.

Garland’s pairing of Dredd and Anderson also proves different from the sibling duo in ‘Raid’ – while Dredd remains from start to finish a man of few words not unlike what a ‘Dirty Harry’ of the future would be, Anderson is shown wrestling between the cold-hearted justice required of her profession and the compassionate empathy needed for her psychic gift. Though not played up, it’s clear that both the impartial Dredd and the merciful Anderson actually complement each other – and the ending is a particularly sweet reminder of that dynamic.

As Dredd and Anderson respectively, Karl Urban and Olivia Thirby are nicely matched. Urban goes for a minimalist portrayal, staying grim and appropriately badass all the way as the upright law enforcer. Thirby brings as much heart into the movie as she can, but a nice touch is when her Anderson reveals herself to have just as much inside her to take out the bad guys one by one. Headey is suitably diabolical as Ma-Ma, and together the triumvirate of Urban, Thirby and Headey pretty much carry the entire movie through its brisk duration.

And within that one half hours, ‘Dredd’ essentially delivers what the fanboys have been looking for in a big-screen incarnation of their beloved character. Indeed, this Dredd is as much removed from the campy cartoonish Stallone version as can be – terse, tough and no-nonsense like how the books have made him out to be. It is also just as graphically violent, perhaps even more enhanced in 3D, so if you’re one of the squeamish ones, then you’re probably better off checking out the 1995 dud. For everyone else, this delivers the hard-hitting goods as it promises, the effect of which on your mind and heart is ironically just the opposite to that of the drug Slo-Mo in the movie. 

Movie Rating:

(Grim, intense and delightfully violent, this Dredd reboot goes back to the hard-hitting roots of the comic and delivers an adrenaline-pumping experience fanboys will enjoy)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: David Ayer
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera, Natalie Martinez, Cody Horn, Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Candace Smith
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language And Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 18 October 2012

Synopsis: A drama centered on the long-term friendship and partnership between two cops.

Movie Review:

No one in the last decade has made them gritty cop dramas quite like David Ayer, whose name you will find behind genre classics like ‘Training Day’, ‘Harsh Times’ and ‘Street Kings’. At the risk of being typecast, Ayer returns to the genre once again with ‘End of Watch’, a buddy cop movie set in one of the toughest precincts of Los Angeles’ South Central neighbourhood – and his return to familiar ground (more so given that he had grown up in the hood) sees him at his personal best, delivering a searing cop story that is riveting and heartfelt.

Too many Hollywood fictionalisations of the LAPD have portrayed it as corrupt and inefficient – even Ayer’s ‘Training Day’ is guilty of the same cliché – but ‘End of Watch’ thankfully doesn’t fall back on the same narrative conventions. Indeed, its two protagonists whom we watch as they go about their daily patrolling duties – Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaall) and Mike Zavala (Michael Pena) – are just regular cops on mean streets, the latter’s lethal concoction of dope running, gang wars and rampant poverty making it one hell of a job for even two street-smart officers like Brian and Mike.

They represent the unsung heroes of the LAPD, and Ayer’s portrait of them here is dignified yet realistic. He deliberately avoids playing up their heroics even when he can – a daring rescue of three children trapped in a burning house is an excellent case in point – but isn’t afraid to show them bending the rules – in one notable scene, Mike removes his service weapon and dukes it out mano-a-mano with a belligerent citizen (Everton Lawrence) who refuses to play easy. Rather, Ayer aims for a straightforward, almost documentary-like, telling that lets his audience be the judge.

Central to the tale is the camaraderie between Brian and Mike – the former an ex-Marine with a tendency to take charge and barrel into any situation; the latter a born and bred home boy more easygoing but no less ready to dive into the thick when the situation demands – and a lot of time especially in the first two-thirds of the movie is spent listening to the back and forth between the pair while cruising in their squad car. Their conversations revolve around anything and everything, and through their banter, we come not just to care and fear for them but also to respect the bond that exists between them – not just a simple one of brotherhood, but one strong enough to make either lay down his life for the other.  

Like real cops too, both have families to go back too, and Ayer spends some time acquainting us with their personal lives as well. While Mike is looking forward to the birth of his first child with his teenage sweetheart of a wife Gabby (Natalie Martinez), Brian is looking to tie the knot with Janet (Anna Kendrick) – and some of the more heartfelt talk between them has the former sharing his experience as a married man with the latter.

We should warn you at this point therefore that this is a film as much about action as it is about talk, and like we said earlier, the best parts of the movie are not when Brian and Mike are pulling out their guns, but when both are just kicking back inside the cruiser, razzing each other on the day’s watch. We should probably also warn you that this isn’t a plot driven film where there is some bad guy both go rogue hunting down – instead, the movie finds its rhythm chronicling the day-in and day-out of police work. True to the unpredictable nature of the job, Ayer takes an organic approach to the storytelling – and just as Brian and Mike aren’t quite sure what will happen this day or the next, so too are we kept largely unaware of what comes next for the duo.  

Only during the last third does Ayer fall back on more familiar tropes, as Brian and Mike become targets of a ruthless Latino gang with links to Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel after repeatedly stumbling upon their myriad criminal activities – in particular drug and human trafficking. Yet even as the movie barrels towards a heart-thumping finish, Ayer stays true to the low-key nature of his heroes – and we watch with our hearts in our mouths as Brian and Mike are outnumbered and outgunned by the fearsome crew with names like Big Evil (Maurice Compte), Wicked (Diamonique), La La (Yahira Garcia) and Demon (Richard Cabral).

The resolution is only as powerful because Gyllenhaal and Pena have made it so. Both actors easily put in their one of their best performances here, going as far as to inhabit their respective characters with gusto and fervour. They also share great chemistry with each other, and it is to their credit that this exploration of their friendship turns out deep and utterly convincing. Speaking of authenticity, Ayer also injects realism into the narration with jittery cinematography that draws his audience into the hyped-up everyday reality of his characters – and a particularly nifty plot device is Brian’s insistence on documenting their happenings on the beat for his night school film study classes using a small handheld HD camera, allowing therefore a first-person perspective of what he sees on the job.

So often, the faux found-footage technique is employed as a stylistic gimmick, but Ayer manages not only to utilise it effectively but to justify its use as part of the story element. From the filming to the scripting to the acting, every part works together like clockwork to deliver a gritty visceral experience of what it means to be a cop up against some of the toughest inner-city crime-infested neighbourhoods. It is a must-watch not only because it honours the real men and women who place their lives on the line every day, but also because it corrects that misperception of the force that Hollywood has perpetuated time and time again. 

Movie Rating:

(Gripping, visceral and unexpectedly heartfelt, this searingly intense cop drama both sharply directed and electrifyingly played is one of the best of its genre)

Review by Gabriel Chong

SYNOPSIS: Former high school foes turned rookie cop partners can’t catch a break – until they’re assigned to pose as students and bust a drug ring inside their old alma mater. Living like teenagers again, they slip back into their adolescent selves and risk the case – and their friendship - with hysterically disastrous results! Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube star in this outrageously hilarious action-comedy!

MOVIE REVIEW:

This one really caught me by surprise. At first glance, a remake of an 80’s cop show headed by Jonah Hill who has a hit-and-miss records and Channing Tatum who is critically panned for his acting can’t be that good. But I was so wrong.

“21 Jump Street” reminds me more of the 1991’s Stephen Chow’s comedy, “Fight Back to School” than the original TV show starring Johnny Depp. In Chow’s movie, he was an ace SWAT team member who infiltrates a school to recover a missing pistol with the aid of Ng Meng Tat as a cleaner. The jokes and gags were crass and extremely funny. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and writer Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim Vs the World) seem to pull off the whole thing in the vein of “Fight Back to School” and the results are hilarious.

In short, Hill and Tatum plays Schmidt and Jenko respectively, two rookie cops who are being assigned to pose as students to investigate a drug ring in a school after fumbling a drug bust in a public park. Bacall’s scripting rather than one dimensional gives audience much to like about these two characters liked how their feud in high school gradually turned them into best friends in the police academy and transforming back to rowdy high school students for the case. Hill is a geek but lacks the physicality while Jenko possess the muscle but lacks the brains. The combination of their virtues become subjects of recurring jokes and testament of their friendship as the story goes.

The bulk of the success goes to the perfect chemistry and comic-timing of Hill and Tatum. Hill of course is no stranger to raunchy comedies, this slim down version of the comedian proves he can still be funny given the material and Tatum of course is the big surprise here. The actor known for his romance and action movies finally shows the world he can act and guess what in a comedy. His dumb laugh-out-loud antics provide the energy and totally rule it. Together with Dave Franco (elder brother is James Franco) as a smartass student, Rob Riggle as a sports teacher and Ice Cube playing a foul-mouthed Captain, the movie is a hoot though it’s gets repetitive and sags a little in the middle. Did I mention good old Captain Sparrow gets a cameo as well?

Considering no one was expecting the remake of “21 Jump Street” to be this good, Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s first live-action debut turned out to be the year’s funniest. It has a playful sort of tone, an over-the-top action finale and a breakout star in the form of Channing Tatum. Awesome.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

A lively track that is as funny as the movie, directors Phil Lord, Christopher Miller with main leads Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum contributed a zany Commentary with Directors and Cast.

Back To School is a brief insight into the making of the movie and a peek into the transformation process for Hill and Tatum.

These 4 Deleted Scenes are slightly excessive but most of the time pretty funny.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

While not exceptionally outstanding, the DVD transfer offers a decent amount of colour balance and image details. The soundtrack features clear dialogue, strong sound effects during the finale and a pumping music track to go along.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Samuel L. Jackson and Luke Wilson star in MEETING EVIL, an intense psychological thriller that will bring you face to face with pure terror. Jackson is Richie, a mysterious stranger who shows up at John’s (Wilson) door asking for help with his car. All too soon, the mild-mannered John discovers he has become an unwilling passenger, trapped in a murderous ride through town and deep into the countryside. When Richie decides to pay a visit to John’s wife (Leslie Bibb) and kids, John has no choice but to confront this sadistic and unpredictable killer - But saving his family will ultimately come at a terrible price!

MOVIE REVIEW:

Samuel L. Jackson is one badass and he appears in nearly every movie of his as one. In “Meeting Evil”, he plays Ritchie, a mysterious man with a fedora who appears at the doorstep of real-estate agent John (the younger bro of Owen, Luke Wilson). John is facing foreclosure, just lost his job and a mountain of debts awaits him. But his bad luck has not ended as he is forced on a road trip with Ritchie who turned up to be a ruthless killer on a murdering spree.

At this point, you will be asking so is Ritchie a psychopath? A demon in disguise? A contracted killer perhaps? Unfortunately, director Chris Fisher who wrote the script based on a Thomas Berger novel offers no satisfying conclusions to the audience ultimately Ritchie’s intentions remains a mystery. Ritchie spent the entire time egging John to defend for himself and to stop being a meek while he carries on with his killing of anyone including a kid, his grandma and some cops who gets in his way because according to him everyone is evil anyway and as he constantly reminds John, “We are in it together”. Probably a great motivational crash course for someone liked John who has earlier received a nasty treatment from a rude saleswoman in a cell phone shop.

Fisher generates enough tension along the way and even has the time to throw in Peyton List who plays John’s colleague and supposedly mistress, Tammy. In addition, we have another beautiful actress Leslie Bibb (Iron Man 2) playing John’s tough-as-nails wife, Joanie. While the character of Tammy is negligible, Joanie on the other hand has a sinister side which the ambiguous ending again fails to explore further except leaving clues all over for your own interpretation. There are two cops hot on the case and a little girl with a dog that appears sinisterly providing some need be distraction in case you get too bored staring at Wilson and Jackson all the time.

Together with the stylized directorial effort of Fisher and slick production design, the cinematography and editing on the whole is top notch for a direct-to-video title. Instead of some exploitative cheap bloodshed, much of the violence is kept offscreen, thank God. Of course, if you can’t get enough of Nick Fury on the big screen, you can always rely on Jackson pulling off yet another role that simply requires him to strut and rant menacingly for 89 minutes.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

“Meeting Evil” looks reasonably good on DVD except for some scenes which appear too soft and a tad unfocused. The dialogue is at times overwhelmed by the loud sound effects and accompanied music but otherwise another fair transfer.   

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: Josh Hutcherson, Dane Cook and Spencer Locke star in Detention, a hipster, teen horror-comedy where the local students of Grizzly Lake must survive their final year of high school. Standing in their way is Cinderhella, a slasher-movie killer who has seemingly come to life and is preying on the school’s student body. As the clock ticks and the bodies pile up, the likely suspects are embroiled in a race against time to stop Cinderhella and ultimately save the world… if only they can get out of detention.

MOVIE REVIEW:

If you can survive the first 15 minutes of “Detention” without switching it off then there’s a probability you will stayed till the credits rolled. Especially for those audience for are 18 and below who live and breathe on social media such as facebook and twitter will surely LIKE this.

A combination of slasher movies, teenage romance, time travel, and body swopping and everything your mind can imagine, “Detention” ought to be one of the weirdest movies I have seen this year so far. In a nutshell, a serial killer dubbed Cinderhella from a popular horror movie franchise is on the loose in Grizzly Lake. A teenager from the local high school is killed (she’s a BITCH is all I can reveal) and the Principal (Dane Cook from “My Best Friend’s Girl”) decides to round up the suspects for a Saturday detention to flush out the murderer. But before the serial killer is revealed in the third act, there are a bunch of subplots which may or may not be related to the crux of the plot.  

Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) plays Clapton, a carefree high school student who is in love with the beautiful cheerleader, Ione (Spencer Locke). The school’s nerd, Riley (Shanley Caswell) has a crush on Clapton but she too has an admirer in the form of another school nerd, Sander. But all these characterizations concocted by director Joseph Kahn and his co-writer Mark Palermo is just the tip of an iceberg. This movie is overstuffed with pop-culture references, bizarre happenings and everything seems to move at the speed of light so please have a clear mind before popping in the disc.

The story doesn’t make much sense unless Kahn is trying his best ridiculing the various genres he could think of, what’s up with the school bully being some sort of mutated being liked “The Fly”? And why does Ione needs to change minds with her mom to go back to 1992? Other than showcasing a few moments of stylized violence and over-the-top humour, the plotting just becomes weirder and weirder. Just feel free to guess what’s up with the school’s mascot, a gigantic furry bear. The dig at “Saw” and the torture porn genre is funny I must add.   

Boggling is the word to conclude this movie. You might love it for all the random visual and quick cuts because Kahn is more well-known for his Britney Spears MTVs than his feature film debut, “Torque” years back. Made on a shoestring budget, “Detention” is one exercise to test your patience and also your appetite for creative, original movies. I must say I did love the credits opening sequence though.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Unlike a boring commentary track, the director, writer and cast members appear in pop-ups talking about making the movie in Cheat Mode: The Feature Length Mind Melting Making of Detention. A very interesting featurette.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

“Detention” is shot on digital and the details, colours are perfect. Sound effects and the galore of music tracks are clear and excellent.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: The balance of power in four couples' relationship is upset when the women start using the advice in Steve Harvey's book, Act Like A Lady; Think Like A Man to get more of what they want from their men. When the men realize that the women have gotten a hold of their relationship "playbook", they decide that the best defense is a good offense and come up with a plan to use this information to their advantage. Let the battle of the sexes begin!

MOVIE REVIEW:

Movies that have mostly African-Americans as their leads are unlikely to get theatrical releases on our little island unless of course you are Will Smith or Denzel Washington. Just take a certain Tyler Perry for example; his movies grossed millions in the States but all we get is a delayed showing of “Good Deeds” earlier this year. Thus it comes to no one surprise a romantic comedy liked “Think Like A Man” went straight to DVD here.

Based on an ex-comedian Steve Harvey’s self-help book, “Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man” (last we checked it’s still selling on Amazon) and directed by Tim Story who helmed the two Fantastic Four, the movie boasts a strong cast of African-Americans including Michael Ealy (Barbershop), Regina Hall (Scary Movie), Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Gabrielle Union (Bad Boys II) and Romany Malco (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) just to name a few. Like the Harvey’s book that dishes out advice on relationship problems, the movie condensed the material into 2 hours of fun and feather-light romance featuring an ensemble cast.

To begin with, this particular rom-com actually offers nothing new; we have a guy who is unable to commit to a relationship, another one in the midst of a messy divorce, one is a mama’s boy, a single mom looking for love, a girl who is enduring a 90 days relationship without sex and a lonely career-minded woman meeting a guy who is less successful than her. There are at least five couples right here and each has their own side of a story to tell. Fortunately, the humorous sharp bantering and chemistry between the cast members make it a lot easier to enjoy that you can’t stop rooting for the couples to be together. It’s all crass but not totally offending. Men’s talk, girl’s talk, all the conversations revolve around the conflicts between the genders which makes it lot more interesting to both male and female audience alike.

“Think Like A Man” not only entertains but educates for example you will get a whole lot of new meanings to the words, “cookie” and the “cookie jar”. Ironically the most annoying thing here is watching Steve Harvey appearing as himself plugging his book. Nevertheless, the movie on the whole is much better than another self-help adaptation, “He’s Just Not That Into You” even both suffer from the same scattershot approach to storytelling. Among the annual crops of modern day romances, “Think Like A Man” is a winner. And remember if your man collects vintage Star Wars posters or action figures, don’t simply throw them away, check out this movie or Harvey’s book first. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The DVD extras consist of Six Deleted Scenes and a 5 minutes Gag Reel.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Like any other recent Sony titles, “Think Like A Man” looks perfect on DVD delivering natural skin tones and balanced colours. Sound transfer remains audible and clear throughout together with catchy pop songs and nice ambient sound effects such as in a pub and basketball court environment.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee

SYNOPSIS: A powerful and thoughtprovoking true story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds—and the system—stacked against them.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Just Mercy comes at a time where the world is struggling with the unjust death of George Floyd. Whether it's the flawed policing procedure or the actions of Floyd, the death of the latter has triggered demonstrations, protests and lootings across the states. And it’s still ongoing as at now. Perhaps watching Just Mercy will get you a brief glimpse of the unjust treatment faced by the black communities,

Walter “Johnny D” McMillian (Jamie Foxx), an African-American pulp worker was committed of a murder of a young white teenager and was sentenced to death row. A crime he never committed despite having more than ten locals witnessing his presence at the time of the murder. In comes young Harvard law graduate, Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a non-profit organization who aims to fight for the poor, wrongly convicted and Bryan is determined to prove Johnny D’s innocence.

Based on a true story by the real-life Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy can feel like a cheap TV-movie at times even the script mostly forgo the usual complex legal proceedings. Mind you, these are pretty minor flaws actually to begin with. On the whole, it’s a genuinely well-made drama although most will find the narrative being somewhat conventional and the courtroom scenes few and far.

There are moments showcasing the vulnerabilities of being a black such as Stevenson being body search during a prison visit to an insulting car search at gunpoint. Even the so-called cops and prosecutor has no sympathy or heart to thoroughly investigate a murder case except coercing another felon to put up a false statement. Moments liked these made you appalled at the amount of racism and abuses happening at the U.S. judicial system.

One thing for sure stood out in the entire movie- Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx delivered wondrous, subtle performances as Stevenson and Johnny D respectively. Both men constantly keeps audiences glued with their subtle, nuanced interactions. Another noticeable name, Brie Larson has a small role as Stevenson’s colleague, Eva Ansley and character actor Tim Blake Nelson has a scene stealing presence as the felon who is accused of giving a false statement.

In the end, this is a modest movie that delivers big messages. It’s definitely a slow burn for some but it’s sure worth the time. The injustice faced by Johnny D might seems far-flung for some of us. But if part of the world is fighting for the same cause, we shouldn’t take things for granted.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Just Mercy is a short segment featuring interviews with some of the main cast and crew.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Audio and visual is decent for a title that doesn’t showcase bombastic sound effects except clear audio dialogue, ambient effects and overall a decently rendered video transfer. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee