Genre: Drama
Director: Steve Cheng
Cast: Edwin Goh, Ian Fang, Phua Yida, Elizabeth Lee, Kimberly Chia, Joeyan, Li Nanxing, Chiang Chu Ping, Li Pei Hsu, Liu Kai Zhi
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence)
Released By: Clover Films & Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: www.facebook.com/imperfect2012
Opening Day: 30 August 2012
Synopsis: He Jianhao is realeased from the Boys’ Home and his mother, Huifang, is worried that he would be led astray again. Thus, she wants him to look after her stall in Bugis under her stepsister’s, Yiyi, supervision. Nuoge, who is a effeminate fellow stall owner at Bugis village, has a crush over Huifang for many years.
Because of his work, Jianhao becomes good friends with Fang Dafang, the nephew of Nuoge. He also gets to know a girl, Shanshan, and has a crush on her. Out of curiosity, Shanshan secretly hangs out with Jianhao and his friends despite her parents opposition.
Jianhao’s another good fren, Zach, joined a gang of to get protection as he is always bullied by Alex. Wang Guodong is a gang leader and also the father of Alex. Jianhao joined the gang after much incitation from Zach.
Zhang Tianlong, who is the ex-husband of Huifang, owes the loanshark a huge amount of debts and they look for Huifang to settle them. Nuoge stood up for her and the secret that Nuoge was once a triad member was known. After knowing Jianhao join the gang, Nuoge always advise Jianhao to leave the gang.
Zach and Jianhao have a fight with Alex in a Disco to protect Izzy, Zach’s love interest. Jianhao and Zach injure Alex accidentally and cause him to be paralysed. Guodong vows to revenge for his son. Zach and Jianhao go on a run to escape from his clutches.
At the same time, Nuoge and Huifang seek Jianhao’s gang leader for help. To Huifang’s horror, Hong Zhihua, who is Jianhao’s biological father, is the leader. She blames him for leading his own son astray.
The police, Huifang, Zhihua and Guodong are all looking for Jianhao and friends. With the help from Yiyi, Huifang manages to find him before the others. Guodong makes the preparation for Jianhao and friends to smuggle abroad as he knows that Guodong is a vengeful person. However, Guodong manages to hunt them down.
A fight between the triads will break out soon but who will emerge the winner?
Movie Review:
First things first, ‘Imperfect’ is quite simply the big-screen iteration of the MediaCorp Channel 8 drama series ‘On the Fringe’. The former probably wouldn’t exist without the latter – not least for the fact that the casting of the two are largely similar, but also because the success of the latter made a gathering of the relatively unknown adolescent cast possible. To compare the two are therefore inevitable, especially since the Hong Kong born director Steve Cheng was also helmer of several episodes of ‘Fringe’, though the audience – as well as the filmmakers in fact – would do well to remember the difference between the two.
Indeed, there is a distinct sense that credited story writer YY has attempted to condense material that could have made a five-episode miniseries into the span of 90 minutes. So from the start, we are introduced to the multitude of characters in the fastest way possible – a voiceover, delivered this time by Yiyi (Joeyan), the step-sister of lead character Jianhao (Edwin Goh). With Jianhao are his buddies Zach (Ian Fang) and Squeeze (Phua Yida); his antagonisers the arrogant Alex, son of brash gangster Guodong (Hong Kong actor Liu Kai Chi), and two other cocky followers.
Their first run-in results in Jianhao’s arrest and subsequent sentencing into the Boys’ Home for six months, where upon his release the impetuous teenager once again places himself on the edge by joining a triad led by Zhihua (Li Nanxing) much to the chagrin of his helpless single mother (Chiang Chu-Ping). You know things will only get worse before they get better, and true enough, the leadup to the climax involves a fatal clash between the same two teenage gangs, which leaves Alex permanently paralysed and his father Guodong in a vengeful rage.
That’s more than enough characters for a movie – and it only gets more bloated when Nuo-ge (Taiwanese celebrity Li Pei-Hsu), an effeminate gangster who helps out at Jianhao’s mother’s stall and is secretly in love with her, is added into the mix. Overstuffed too is the plot, that in addition to what is described above, tries to highlight the rivalry between Zhihua and Guodong’s methods as well as the supposedly clandestine relationship between Zhihua and Jianhao - the latter in particular is a cliché the movie could very well do without. Cramming too much plot and too many characters sadly results in the opposite, too little subplot development and too few well-rounded supporting acts.
Yet for these imperfections, ‘Imperfect’ turns out to be a surprisingly gripping drama. Credit goes to the young cast – especially Edwin, Ian and Yida – who perform their respective roles with gusto and charisma. Fans of the trio from ‘Fringe’ won’t be disappointed with their acting here, and the uninitiated will understand why they have built up a sizeable fan base after just one drama series. If the teenage cast is good, their adult counterparts prove to be even better.
Most prominent of them all is Kai Chi, the character actor clearly relishing the role of the villain. Eating up the scenery every time he appears, his every little gesture oozes menace, and you can tell that the camera loves him by the number of closeups of his expressive countenance. Kudos too to director Steve Cheng for introducing an unexpected scene where he mourns the vegetative state his son Alex has been left in – not only does it add layers to what would otherwise be a one-note character, it also is, more than any of the other melodramatic scenes, easily the most moving of them all. And next to Kai Chi, our own Nanxing’s more subdued performance pales in comparison – though a good complement in the form of a more broadly entertaining role is that of Pei-Hsu’s Nuoge.
Speaking of melodrama, you’ve got to be prepared that it does get rather heavy-handed along the way. While these specifically crafted emotional scenes don’t get cringe-worthy the way some Channel 8 soap operas do, Cheng doesn’t handle them with enough subtlety or elegance. In fact, both of the earlier mentioned elements are sadly absent in an over-stylised climax filmed in slo-mo and with a sudden downpour – and you can probably very well picture how that looks like.
The overwrought finale and some of the heavily manipulated scenes don’t go down well with the rest of the movie, which actually unfolds with surprising verve. Yes, some of the film’s better sequences are those that Cheng allows his teenage cast to bond and interact freely with one another, and even the more measured ones where he sets up the workings of the triad family that both Zhihao and Guodong are members of. It is in these that he is removed from the trappings of making a television drama, and the inclusion of dialect and more adult themes (even a disturbing scene where Guodong tortures Squeeze) give the film its most distinct identity apart from ‘Fringe’.
Like its title therefore, this youth drama has its flaws, but ultimately strong performances, good pacing and assured direction (for most parts) make this a solidly entertaining watch. It is also the best local film after ‘The Wedding Diary’ earlier this year - which means a lot especially since dramas aren’t the forte of the Singapore movie industry – and a big step-up for Corner Stone Pictures, whose disastrous debut ‘The Ultimate Winner’ could easily have rendered it irrelevant. Perfect it may not be, but watch it with an open mind and you’ll find that it has enough redeeming qualities to more than make up for its imperfections.
Movie Rating:
(Solid acting from its cast young and old make this a gripping and entertaining drama that is likely to be one of the best local films you’ll see this year)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Comedy
Director: Pang Ho-cheung
Cast: Chapman To, Ronald Cheng, Simon Lui, Susan Shaw, Dada Chan, Fiona Sit, Hiro Hayama, Matt Chow, Lam Suet
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Content)
Released By: Shaw & Festive Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 13 September 2012
Synopsis: To (Chapman To Man-chak), a long-time film producer, has yet to produce anything resembling a hit. Beset by financial troubles, he has become desperate for money – so much so that he is unable to pay the alimony to his ex-wife (Kristal Tin). Despite his former spouse’s bitterness, their daughter still clings onto her faith in him – and wishes to see him on TV once his new movie premieres.
To is soon introduced to a potential Mainland Chinese investor, Tyrannosaurus (Ronald Cheng), by his buddy Lui Wing-shing (Simon Loui Yu-yeung). But Tyrannosaurus is not only the head of a Guangxi triad gang, he turns out to have very particular tastes in food and sex. Regardless, To is determined to woo this investor, even if it means giving into his every demands. Tyrannosaurus eventually tells them to cast his childhood idol Yum Yum Shaw (Susan Shaw) in a remake of a classic pornographic film. He even gives the film the title Confessions of Two Concubines. After receiving funding from Tyrannosaurus, To then successfully casts the sexagenarian Shaw to act in Confessions of Two Concubines, with pseudo-model Tsui Ka-yan (Dada Chan), famous for her oral skills, acting as Shaw’s younger body double. He also casts Hiro Hayama (Hiro Hayama), who is currently suffering from an incurable phobia after starring in his last erotic film, to be the lead actor.
Things begin to turn awry when director Blackie Tak (Matt Chow) makes unreasonable changes to the original script, which results in the production going seriously over budget. Even more bizarrely, Tyrannosaurus makes a special request to have his girlfriend play a role in the film. But his girlfriend is no ordinary gal, thus resulting in plenty of madcap mayhem as everything soon goes out of control… As a last-ditch attempt to save the film, and also to fulfil his daughter’s wish, To plans to publicly confess all the weird, outrageous and vulgar practices that went into the process of making Confessions of Two Concubines…
Movie Review:
The one gesture of decency enfant terrible Edmond Pang Ho-Cheung extends to his audience is in inserting a frank piece of consumer advice before his latest film begins proper. You have been warned - the film you are about to watch goes beyond the bounds of ‘Parental Guidance’; in fact, you’ll quite surely be reprimanded by your parents if they find out you’ve been watching such a film with coarse language and despicable behaviour. For the more sensitive members among the audience therefore, you have ten seconds to leave the cinema.
Everyone else who has stayed behind however will be in for a real treat – ‘Vulgaria’ is every bit as lewd, crude, low-brow, offensive, and deplorable as it promises to be. It is also very very funny, and though it may appear otherwise on the surface, very very smart. You see, Pang has here wisely exploited the inside-out perspective he has gained from his own personal experience and crystallised these observations into a flat-out lampoon of the current state of the Hong Kong- China film industry – and depending on which side of the territory you belong to, he has either hit a very raw nerve or a really sweet spot.
The numbers surely attest it – despite being shot on a shoestring budget over just 12 days, the movie has since surpassed Pang’s own earlier mainstream romance ‘Love in the Buff’ to become the highest-grossing local movie in Hong Kong this year. Certainly, ‘Vulgaria’ has become something of a cultural zeitgeist given the current social climate on the island, especially the increasingly negative attitude that a large majority of the Hong Kong people hold against Mainland Chinese – and Pang’s reflection of their effect on the local film industry is but a microcosm of the frustration and resentment that the locals feel in almost every tangible area be it jobs, transport and housing.
But rather than outrightly supporting his fellow Hong Kong citizens, Pang has deftly crafted a dark satire using the challenges faced by a mock struggling film producer To Wai-Chen (Chapman To) as he tries to find the right material and financing for his next project. On the one hand, To finds himself grovelling for sponsors to put their products inside his movie; on the other, his cut-rate go-to director Blackie Tak (Matt Chow) vehemently refuses any form of product placement. Help comes in the form of his best buddy Liu (Simon Loui), who hooks him up with a Mainland businessperson called Tyrannosaurus (Ronald Cheng) looking to invest in a new motion picture.
To his horror, Tyrannosaurus turns out to be a connoisseur of exotic animals and animal genitals, but dinner is only the start of To’s nightmare when he and Liu are forced to have sex with a mule after for their host’s amusement. Inspired by his favourite childhood porn film, the 1976 Shaw Brothers’ ‘Confessions of a Concubine’, Tyrannosaurus insists To remake the movie and get the original’s star Yum Yum Shaw (Susan Shaw playing herself) to reprise her role - no matter what most, if not all, other Cat III film audiences would think of seeing the 60-plus year old Shaw nude.
To’s solution? Using CGI to superimpose Shaw’s face onto the body of a young busty aspiring model/ actress Popping Candy (Dada Chen, best known for ‘Lan Kwai Fong’), the latter’s unusual name in fact alluding to her most extraordinary skill of fellatio. That in itself is one of the film’s highlights, and so is Hiro Hayama’s cameo appearance that riffs on his infamous ‘Sex and Zen 3D’ leading act as well as an extended gag involving accusations of sexual harassment brought upon To by his assistant (Fiona Sit) that is only half as funny in Mandarin.
Besides the film industry, Pang also references other social phenomena, such as the relentless pursuit for academic excellence that parents put their children through (sound familiar?) and, by a clever twist towards the end, the pervasiveness and influence of social media in today’s interconnected world. Admittedly, the sum of all these parts do not cohere as well, but the scattershot nature of the film – a consequence of filming on an incomplete script and a rushed production schedule – fits the rawness and crudeness of its content perfectly. Pang holds it all together with an overarching setting that sees To sharing his experience with a group of film students at a lecture, and even manages to pack in a moving emotional arc of To’s estranged relationship with his wife (Crystal Tin) and daughter.
With ‘Vulgaria’, Pang has also given Chapman To one of his best roles in recent roles that take advantage of his spot-on comic timing to propel him firmly into leading-man status. To plays his character with just the right mix of incredulity and resignation, and the few scenes he shares with his real-life wife Tin also manage to be surprisingly touching. Cheng shines too in an over-the-top role as Tyrannosaurus, and the rest of the ensemble supporting cast (that were probably all willing to do Pang a favour considering his rising clout) also add much life to the parody.
But the bulk of the credit should be Pang’s, this being his second movie to be released this year, both of which – ‘Love in the Buff’ and this – happen to be our picks for the best Hong Kong films you’ll see this year. It’s no coincidence that the socially conscious filmmaker has found both critical and also commercial success with both films, considering how socially heightened Hong Kong society has been in recent months. Even though its off-colour ribald jokes may give the impression that Pang is pandering to the lowest common denominator, ‘Vulgaria’ is really much more clever and much more ingenious than it appears – and this is one sharp skewer of the current state of the local film industry that any discerning moviegoer will definitely enjoy.
Movie Rating:
(Lewd, crude, and – as its title suggests – vulgar, Pang Ho-Cheung’s satire of today’s Hong Kong film industry is incisive, entertaining and very very funny)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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EXPERIENCE THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY IN IMAX FOR ONE DAY ONLY!Posted on 24 Aug 2012 |
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THE END OF FILM FOR GOLDEN VILLAGEPosted on 24 Aug 2012 |
SYNOPSIS: Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
MOVIE REVIEW:
While many young adult novels’ adaptations have sink into obscurity, Lionsgate’s late venture into the scene with “The Hunger Games” proves to be as successful as MBS in Singapore. You get the drift.
Obviously a herculean task to adapt a popular source material to please fans and non-fans, author Suzanne Collins, Billy Ray (State of Play) and director Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) delivers a smart, provocative and compelling movie experience that never for a second attempts to dumb down the controversial premise.
In the spirit of “Battle Royale”, “Lord of the Files” and reality shows such as “Survivor” and set in a post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, “The Hunger Games” tells the story of 24 young participants from 12 different districts being selected annually to participate in a game of life-and-death in the wealthy capitol run by President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to replace her younger sister and together with a fellow participant, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) from District 12 travels to the capitol for the 74thannual Hunger Games. Facing ruthless competitors in a lavish world they have never known and their own emotional turmoil, will the duo survive and bring glory to their district?
With her acclaimed performance in “Winter’s Bone” and as Mystique in “X-Men: First Class”, Jennifer Lawrence has since attracted quite a lot of attention and now she has attained megastardom with a commanding presence as Katniss, the heroine and voice for District 12. With a solid cast that includes Woody Harrelson as her mentor, Elizabeth Banks as the escort, Stanley Tucci as the games host, Liam Hemsworth as Katniss’ love interest, Wes Bentley as the gamemaker and of course Sutherland as the President, the cast list is already a winner on paper let alone their spectacular performances on screen.
Maintaining a PG rating in a violence-inciting movie is no easy task. Ross made good use of shaky-cam effects and excessive quick cuts to tone down the screen violence while not sacrificing the excitement and adrenalin pumping. The CG effects are seamlessly used as a tool for storytelling and we really appreciate Ross and his crew walks a fine balance between both elements. The movie runs at a massive 137 minutes but it doesn’t drag on unnecessarily in fact the last act could have better structured or at least deserved further exploitation as the relationship between Katniss and Peeta is haphazardly concluded.
The end product ultimately delivers to the fanbase and won over non-fans liked us who can’t wait for the second instalment. A good movie can be both smart and entertaining and “The Hunger Games” is a solid answer to that.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The World Is Watching – Making The Hunger Games is a detailed eight part documentary that goes in-depth into the scripting, stunts, visual effects, production design and costume design of the movie.
Author-Editor David Levithan from Scholastic Books, teachers and students talk about the popularity of the novel inGame Maker: Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Game Phenomenon.
Actor Donald Sutherland wrote a powerful letter to director Gary Ross about his onscreen character inLetters from the Rose Garden.
Controlling The Games takes viewers behind-the-scenes in creating the control centre.
A Conversation with Gary Ross and Elvis Mitchell is a 14 minutes interview session that covers the making of the movie between a film critic and director.
Preparing For The Games: A Director’s Processcompares the writing, storyboarding with the actual shoot.
Narrated by Donald Sutherland, Propaganda Film is a public service announcement about the importance of having The Hunger Games.
A slew of marketing materials including Biographies, Photo Album, Scrapbook and Theatrical Trailers round up the extra features for Disc 2.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 is a wonderfully active track that boasts lots of loud, bombastic sound effects while dialogue remains clear throughout. The shaky cam effects don’t affect the overall visual quality, images are crisp and colours generally are solid despite the existence of night scenes and intentional washed-out palette.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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OLD IS GOLD AT THE BOX OFFICEPosted on 25 Aug 2012 |
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Peter Ramsey
Cast: Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, Dakota Goyo, Dominique Grund
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Released By: UIP
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://www.riseoftheguardians.com/
Opening Day: 22 November 2012
Synopsis: "Rise of the Guardians" is an epic and magical adventure that tells the story of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost - legendary characters with previously unknown extraordinary abilities. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children everywhere.
Movie Review:
Almost without fail, every holiday season brings an animated film that bears the iconic character of Santa Claus with the candy-coated Hollywood message of embracing your inner childlike sense of wonder. This year’s honour belongs to DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Rise of the Guardians’- the first big screen adaptation of children’s author William Joyce’s book series ‘The Guardians of Childhood’ – but instead of just relying on Santa, ‘Guardians’ brings along with it other mythical childhood figures like Tooth Fairy, Sandman and Easter Bunny to reinforce the message.
To be sure, the Santa here isn’t your typical bearded old man in a red suit; instead, this Santa (voiced by Alec Baldwin) is a burly muscular Norse god-like figure with ‘Naughty’ tattooed on one forearm and ‘Nice’ on the other. For that matter, none of the other figures are depicted quite the way you would expect them to be – Bunny (voiced by Hugh Jackman) looks almost like a kangaroo with a perpetually gruff attitude; Sandman is gold, tubby and always smiley; and Fairy (voiced by Isla Fisher) resembles a hummingbird with a chirpy delightful demeanour.
Even more surprising perhaps is how none of these aforementioned characters are in fact the lead; that goes to Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine), a less well-known figure in this part of the world who is most commonly associated with his ability to turn anything he touches into snow. The playwright and occasional screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire opens the movie with Jack’s voiceover, as he wakes up to consciousness staring at the moon to discover that he has magical powers. His origins prior to waking up as an immortal creature is not only key to his journey from mischief-maker to hero, but also form the crux of the movie’s emotional core.
Admittedly, that journey pretty much follows the standard Hollywood formula of an irresponsible miscreant discovering his destiny as a noble hero, so much so that you can predict that Jack will fall out with the rest of the Guardians before finally emerging at the end to prove his worth. Nonetheless, Jack’s transformation that begins when he is chosen by the Man on the Moon to help the existing Guardians fight the scourge of fear and disbelief is still a thoroughly magical one- thanks to Abaire’s deft scripting and some gorgeous visuals that look absolutely stunning in 3D.
Under the helm of first-time feature filmmaker Peter Ramsey, both the former and the latter perfectly complement each other. Using Abaire’s liberties with the characters as a starting point, Ramsey creates a unique fantasy world utterly impressive in its detail. Instead of elves being Santa’s reliable toymakers, the Yetis are in fact the ones in his workshop, with the former decked out in pointy hats acting as mere minions not unlike those in ‘Despicable Me’. Assisting the Tooth Fairy are innumerable tiny fairies modelled after hummingbirds in both size and speed; and the Easter Bunny’s lair is one colourful garden guarded by giant stone eggs and filled with little eggs with legs of their own - oh and did we mention these eggs can candy colour coat themselves to become his gifts to children?
But most visually striking is Sandman, both in the way he glides around with trails of golden sand behind him and in the way he conjures up whips of gold against the blackness that is Pitch (voiced by Jude Law) - the diabolical figure depicted in shades of black whose plan to overthrow the Guardians is to get the children of the world to stop believing in them. The contrast of black and gold is breath-taking (especially under the guidance of veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins who is billed here as visual consultant), and the amount of imagination and thought that has gone into each frame is simply amazing.
The amalgamation of the magical and the human world must also have gotten a definitive boost from executive producer Guillermo del Toro, borne out particularly in the exhilarating action sequences. Notwithstanding the fact that each one feels like a theme park rollercoaster ride in itself, what astounds is how each never fails to be a distinctive visual spectacle in itself, brimming with its own singular details and colour palette. It is nothing short of a pure feast for the eyes, and totally worthy of the extra dollars just to enjoy the aesthetics in the third dimension.
Yet the cornucopia isn’t meant as a distraction from the storytelling; rather, it elicits beautifully the power of belief, of hope and of wonder that is sure to resonate with young tots, as well as the lesson of conquering one’s fears for the more mature of audiences. A note of caution to parents though – there will be some imagery which may frighten the little ones, but the use of light and shadows to depict the fight between good and evil is so compelling that it will ultimately leave them ecstatic. Revisionist fairy tales rarely come as lively and inspired as this, and this one that reimagines Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Sandman and Jack Frost as guardians of childlike hope and wonder is a definitive holiday classic.
Movie Rating:
(With spectacular 3D visuals, inventive takes on classic childhood figures and an delightfully enthralling story, this revisionist fantasy is a truly magical experience that reaffirms the power of hope and wonder)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Kim Jee-Woon
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Peter Stormare, Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega, Luis Guzman, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, Harry Dean Stanton, Genesis Rodriguez
RunTime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: http://www.thelaststandfilm.com/
Opening Day: 21 February 2013
Synopsis: After leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation, Sheriff Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car along with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for one of the most daring face-offs in cinema history.
Movie Review:
Bruce Willis’ ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ might be the box-office winner among the three new movies from Hollywood’s most enduring action icons – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis – within just the last two months, but we are willing to put our heads down to guarantee that you’ll find Schwarzenegger’s ‘The Last Stand’ the most entertaining one among the lot. Fast, funny and exciting, it is an excellent example of a star vehicle by a director who knows exactly what buttons to press and what gears to shift in order to get maximum mileage out of his lead actor.
Such a skill presumes that the director would be someone intimately involved with Schwarzenegger’s body of work in the past, so it does come as somewhat of a surprise that the person at the helm here is Kim Jee-woon, best known (and probably hired on the basis of) for his outlandish Western ‘The Good, The Bad and the Weird’. Though some parts of ‘The Last Stand’ do play like a modern-day Spaghetti Western, Jee-woon’s familiarity with the genre isn’t simply the reason why it works like a charm – rather, the Korean director understands not simply his audience’s expectations of Schwarzenegger, but also his star’s strengths and limitations, delivering ultimately a movie that plays handsomely to both.
Chief among Schwarzenegger’s traits is his age, this being the 65-year-old actor’s first major starring role since ‘T3: Rise of the Machines’ a decade ago. The lines on his face are indisguisable – ditto for his diminishing physicality – and both Jee-won and his screenwriter Andrew Knauer acknowledge it upfront in the dialogue and then work around it in the various action setpieces. Indeed, Sheriff Ray Owens is a role well-suited for Schwarzenegger, his backstory being an elite officer in the LAPD and the DEA before retiring honourably with five bullet wounds to show for it as the top lawman of a sleepy Arizona border town named Sommerton.
“I know what's coming,” Owen says before the chaos descends, “because I have seen enough blood and death.” The same can of course be said about Schwarzenegger’s own legacy, which Jee-woon honours by giving the actor an arsenal of high-powered artillery to supplement his waning bodily strength. Most impressive among them is a 1939 Vickers repeating gun owned by the goofball proprietor of a backyard gun museum, Lewis Dinkum – played by Johnny Knoxville for comic relief. Whereas the old Schwarzenegger might have gone at it alone, he now has a motley crew of deputies to help him along– the scowling veteran Figgie (Luis Guzman), the bumbling newbie Jerry (Zach Gilford), the dependable Sarah (Jaimie Alexander) and two last-minute additions in Sarah’s ex-boyfriend Frank (Rodrigo Santoro) and Lewis himself.
All that to stop the fugitive drug lord Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), who’s escaped from Federal custody (led by Forest Whitaker’s Agent John Bannister) in a souped-up Corvette headed towards Sommerton to make a crossing into Mexico with some help (including Peter Stormare’s resident baddie Burrell). The premise is nothing to shout about, but Jee-woon pads out the buildup to that climactic showdown in the main street of Sommerton with some nifty sequences that make excellent use of the New Mexico locations – especially the finale where Cortez plays cat-and-mouse with Owens in their Corvette and Chevrolet respectively within a yellowed dried-up cornfield.
But more than just integrating the locations with the action, Jee-woon brings a certain leanness and discipline in staging the mayhem that few Hollywood directors have been able to accomplish. There is both rhythm and momentum to the unfolding chaos, not merely just noise and fury, and that precision with which the action is staged lends the proceedings a certain elegance that elevates it above genre B-movie fare. Jee-woon also balances the destruction with offbeat humour – courtesy of Schwarzenegger’s deadpan delivery and Knoxville’s eccentricities – and the combination of sting with zing is pure action-comedy escapist pleasure.
Of course, those expecting Schwarzenegger’s comeback to be something along the lines of ‘Terminator’ will likely be disappointed. This isn’t meant to be a film on that level, nor for that matter is the role of Sheriff Ray Owens designed to be something as iconic as that. Rather, this is both a movie and a character that embraces Schwarzenegger as leaner but also older than before – less invincible, more vulnerable but ultimately still able to kick ass when he needs to. Is Schwarzenegger the Action Star still relevant in this new decade? The answer after ‘The Last Stand’ is an emphatic yes, especially if he keeps making such vicariously enjoyable action movies for the adrenaline freak in all of us.
Movie Rating:
(A rollicking blend of high-octane action and deadpan humour, this modern-day Western from Korean director Kim Jee-woon is a delightful return for Arnold Schwarzenegger to leading man status)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Kim Dong-Won
Cast: RAIN, Shin Se-kyung, Kim Sung-soo, Lee Ha-na, Yoo Joo-Sang, Lee Jong-suk
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: TBA
Released By: Encore Films and Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 October 2012
Synopsis: An attempt at a dangerous zero-knot maneuver during an air show by ROK Black Eagle Special Squad pilot Tae-hun (RAIN a.k.a. JUNG Ji-hoon) turns the event into a scene of chaos and he's kicked out of the team. He is transferred to 21st Fighter Wing and meets his former classmates Yu-jin (LEE Ha-na) and Eagle squad leader Dae-seo (KIM Sung-soo). He slowly adapts to the new Wing and squad mates, but constantly butt heads with Falcon squad leader Cheol hui (YU Jun-sang), who is known as ‘Top Gun’ of the Wing. To defend their own honor they get into a F-15K flight match but Tae-hun tastes his first ever loss. He brings in top aircraft maintenance mechanic Se-yeong (SHIN Se-kyung) to look after his jet and manages to win a later air combat competition with her support.
Movie Review:
Soar Into the Sun certainly wasn’t planned this way, but the movie, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, serves as an emphatic nod towards Top Gun: starting as a modestly appealing and intimate mesh of a combat pilot’s reckless tendencies and his romance with a colleague who is both annoyed and impressed by his attitude, and becoming a smartly orchestrated and visually accomplished dogfight movie. So it seems fair to talk about Soar Into the Sun in terms of how everything comes together to form a compelling show. Unfortunately, the movie isn’t quite as rewarding as the support that the Korean air force has lent to the production.
In his last role before being drafted into military service, Rain plays a fighter jet pilot with a strange penchant for disobeying commands and risking his life in the interest of performing the most dangerous stunts. He’s expelled from the squad and invited into another (out of plot convenience, apparently), meeting a strict superior and a female aircraft mechanic. This sows the seed for the next half of the movie where he learns about teamwork and responsibility, making use of these newfound attitudes to help defend his country against North Korean invaders and stage a daring rescue from behind enemy lines.
If the second half of the movie sounds more exciting than the first, that’s because it is. Not that the first half is bad, but since tickets are being bought in anticipation of watching the actors pull off one bravura aircraft maneuver after another, the second half is what we want to see more of. And amazing is what I want to leave my impression of the movie with, a task made easy by no less than three aircrafts forcing the air above the South Korean skyline into satisfying cracks. Here is a movie that revels in pushing its aerial combat into increasingly dangerous places, raising stakes and tension by getting the enemy aircraft to actually attack civilian structures (an approach that we’ll see again in Jack Neo’s upcoming Ah Boys to Men).
No one really needs to see the first half – although without a doubt, those pretty visual effects and stunts aren’t nearly enough to sustain the whole movie. But the issue actually revolves around how Soar Into the Sun melds the first half with the second half. Air superiority competitions and the romance between Rain’s character and his colleague keep the first half rooted in establishing the kind of person that he is, but it’s a little too tedious to watch this all play out without any sense of what these lessons might build into. There’s certainly no suggestion that the North might attack the South later on, creating a very jarring shift in tone as chaos jumps in out of nowhere.
That’s actually as succinct a summation of Soar Into the Sun as you could ever hope to ask for. It’s amazing, but only because it’s such a spectacular treat for anyone who’s ever into fighter jets. So if you’re a fan of fighter jets, don’t hesitate to buy a ticket. Soar Into the Sun is otherwise ineffective, troubled by its egregious inability to tie its halves into anything resembling a proper movie. It looks like the show was made by two directors who hurriedly cut and pasted their parts into a single package. If it turns out that the Korean air force is still willing to lend its full support to another movie in the future, it’ll not hurt to make better creative choices to avoid another missed opportunity.
Movie Rating:
(Amazing aerial combat scenes and visual effects aside, Soar Into the Sun seems to be made by two directors who hurriedly cut and pasted their parts into a single package)
Review by Loh Yong Jian
Genre: Fantasy
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Aidan Turner, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Evangeline Lilly, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Stephen Fry, Bret McKenzie, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Hugo Weaving, Billy Conn
RunTime: 2 hrs 50 mins
Released By: Warner Bros
Rating: PG13 (Violence)
Official Website: http://www.thehobbit.com/index.html
Opening Day: 13 December 2012
Synopsis: "The Hobbit" follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever...Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
Movie Review:
It has been almost a decade-long wait for fans of Lord of the Rings (LOTR) who left the theatres bawling after The Return of the King (2003), the last of the beloved film franchise based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel.
For die-hard fans of the story, Hobbiton is just as we have left it (tourist revenue helps a lot), while Rivendell is still as breathtakingly resplendent as when audiences first laid eyes on it in LOTR. Non-fans of the franchise need not fret either, as it does not take much prior knowledge to follow The Hobbit. As the first of a three-part prequel-series to the LOTR trilogy, it also patches up many gaps in our knowledge of the LOTR films, and will certainly enrich a repeated viewing of the franchise.
For the much-anticipated film, every effort has been taken to bring back the original cast—even for the shortest scenes—and we begin again with the venerable Sir Ian Holm as he reminisces his days as a young Bilbo Baggins. His memories begin from when a merry band of dwarves gate-crashes Bag End for supper. After many dwarf ditties, burping contests, and when a cute orange-bearded dwarf named Bombur gobbles up the last piece of food—Bilbo's food—we soon come to learn the reasons for their unexpected home visit.
You see, before vampires were fighting werewolves—both charged with inexplicable raging teen hormones, no less—dwarves were fighting orcs. But bad guys have to win first, and so the dwarves are left without a home. To help the dwarves reclaim their homeland, Erebor, they need a stealthy burglar to help them slip into what was once their mountain kingdom and Bilbo the tiny Halfling is their best bet. So a long and danger-fraught journey to Erebor begins, marking the start of many amazing adventures to come.
Story-wise, you just don’t mess with the guy that invented an entire language for a tale that he wanted told. The Hobbit is an epic tale with epic twists, and the artistic directors in Jacksons’ team do well to make Tolkien’s vision come alive on the big screen. As always, Jackson shoots intense battle sequences very well, but there are also many classic scenes including one involving trolls and an especially fine riddle scene in Gollum's cave that are also cinematic gems. Throw in a precarious mountain passing, some thoroughly thrilling chase sequences in Goblin land, and an epic coda with flaming acorns, and you will be left wanting more.
In the central role of Bilbo Baggins, Martin Freeman lends a very down-to-earth charm to his character—and thankfully so, for a film entitled “The Hobbit,” his version of what one is, is a lot more spirited and lovable than Elijah Wood’s often-plastic take on Frodo (frozen doe-eyed expressions can only take one so far). Richard Armitage puts in an equally memorable performance as Thorin Oakenshield, son of dwarf leader Thráin who was slain in battle by a big pale orc. Eager to avenge the death of his father and restore the glory of the dwarves, Armitage’s character has been likened by many to a dwarf-ian version of the heroic Aragorn in the LOTR franchise. Another character to look out for is endearing “tree-hugger” wizard Radagast, whom the audiences are first introduced to in magical Mirkwood.
The next most important question that remains is, does HFR 3D, or High-Frame-Rate 3D—dubbed “the future of cinema,” with the claim of smoothening many kinks of the existing 3D technology—live up to its hype? While the visual pyrotechnics of the breakthrough cinematography initially take some time getting used to, the effects ultimately unfold pretty amazingly. The keyword here is “tactility,” where you can not only see every strand of hair on a squirming, furry woodland creature that Radagast heals, but almost feel their movements. The level of onscreen reality gets an upgrade from the average 3D facility.
So there should not be any stigma in embracing the new kid on the cinematography block. It is much worse when film makers too eagerly throw in a suspiciously token, superfluous and stray scene, like a ball flying through the air, or arrows released in battle scenes that appear to shoot straight through the screen and into audiences’ eyes that milks ordinary 3D for all it's (gimmicky) worth. The higher frame rate in HFR 3D provides a far better visual quality that actually enhances the entire viewing experience, channelling consistent cinematic gold that does not detract from but adds to the film.
The downside is a surreal daytime drama effect (tragic descriptors for any movie) which is especially stark in the early scenes that take place in Bag End. However, this occasional weakness is a small price to pay for grand new immersive experiences. As the fourth wall starts to take on a thinner, stranger form, HFR 3D will have you rethink the stuff that films are made of. Regular film-goers expect a lot from cinematic innovations sometimes, and The Hobbit finally shows what 3D was meant to be.
The Hobbit is not a tedious explanatory prequel nor is it a meek shadow of its LOTR counterpart. The technology sufficient to respectfully project Tolkien’s gargantuan vision onto the big screen has arrived; Jackson has learned from some costly editing mistakes; and nostalgia is hard to fight when you hear familiar strains from the original LOTR soundtrack or the dwarves singing “Over the Misty Mountains Cold” over a crackling fireplace. At the end of the day, watching The Hobbit is a lot of fun. So strap in tight, because for close to 3 mind-blowing hours, you’ll be in for one hell of a ride.
Movie Rating:
(Hands down, film of the year. Do yourself a favour and watch it in HFR 3D—nothing less)
Review by Tay Huizhen
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