THE MERMAID (2016)

Genre: Comedy
Running Length: 1:34
Cast: Deng Chao, Show Luo, Kitty Zhang, Lin Yun
Director: Stephen Chow
Screenplay: Stephen Chow, Kelvin Lee, Ho Miu-kei, Lu Zhengyu, Fung Chih-chiang, Ivy Kong, Chan Hing-ka, Tsang Kan-cheung

It has been a while since I laughed so hard at a Stephen Chow movie. Although Chow himself is not in THE MERMAID, trust me, if you're familiar with his earlier "mo lei tau" (nonsensical) movies, you'll "see" him everywhere in this movie. I hated his last directed movie Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons and I thought he took CJ7 too seriously. The brand of humour in The Mermaid goes way back to the days of King Of Comedy and The God of Cookery.

But is the movie any good? It's definitely way above average but it's still not "there" yet. For a start, the CG effects are bad, like really bad. You would think Chow would be an expert by now in this area after using this art form in his last four movies, but nooo~ it's worst than Shaolin Soccer. And the mermaid herself, played by newcomer Lin Yun, is irritating. She looks, performs and speaks (dubbed nevertheless) like a younger Shu Qi. I really wonder where did all the budget go. I mean the film makers ran a public casting contest to look for the lead actress and they hired 8 (!) script writers.

In terms of the positive, there were 3 standouts. Deng Chao, Show Luo and of course, the back to basics side-splitting slapstick comedy. The storyline is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's well-known "The Little Mermaid" with an eco message. But without the three elements mentioned above, this film would have been meh meh only. Chao is well suited as the douchebag self-made tycoon who slowly opens up his heart to the mermaid. Luo is a revelation here. He stole the show in Journey to the West and he did it here again. He is perfectly cast as the half-man, half-octopus, air-headed "himbo" leader of the mermaid species. There is one standout scene which involves his tentacles and a teppanyaki grill.

Overall, a surprisingly energetic movie marred by bad effects rendering and a weak lead. If Stephen Chow continues this trajectory, he would be back in his game again in the next two movies. And if he appears in any of them (even in a cameo), that would make me so happy I'll sing out loud the theme song from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" Hoo! Ha!

Rating: 7/10

DEADPOOL (2016)

Genre: Action / Comedy
Running Length: 1:48
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Stefan Kapicic, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Gina Carano
Director: Tim Miller
Screenplay: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, based on characters created by Rob Liefeld & Fabian Nicieza

Firstly, let me get a few things out of the way. The DEADPOOL shown in Malaysian cinemas is an inferior version; it's censored artistically and as a result, it's distracting. Secondly, I'm not a fan of this anti-hero because from what I understand, this movie was made for the fans. What this means is that if you like the first 10 mins of the film, you will have a blast with the remaining time. If you don't like what you see in the beginning, Deadpool our main guy would not grow on you overtime. You'll just get more of the same.

Deadpool is definitely a different kind of superhero (or anti-hero) movie from the Marvel studio. Right from the start in the opening credit sequence, you know the movie is going to poke fun at itself and everything else; Liam Neeson, Hugh Jackman, IKEA, other superhero movies, Ryan Reynolds himself etc. To a certain extent, it works in small segments but not as an entire feature length. It can get pretty tiresome watching Reynolds spewing away smart-ass one-liners laced with F-bombs and dispatching (killing, maiming, torturing) baddies with absolutely no compunctions (Perhaps that's why the short short promo videos on YouTube leading to the release is so much more fun to watch). Sorry guys, I'm a non-fan.

In terms of story wise, it's actually a love story. Reynolds plays a mercenary named Wade Wilson and when he found out he has terminal cancer, he signs his life over to a shadowy organization with the promise of a cure + superhero abilities, so that he can reconnect with his lover. Unfortunately, in the process, he was horribly scarred and he swears revenge over the evil doctor who made him ugly.

Overall, this movie feels small because it was clearly shot on a tight budget (there's even a joke about this in the film) with only two real action sequences bookending the movie. In summary, the highlights of the movie are Ryan Reynolds and the 80s/90s music selection. The hype is true. Reynolds was born to play this role. As for the song selection, you just can't go wrong with Chicago, Salt-N-Pepa and "Wham!"

Rating: 6/10