MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN (Malaysia, 19 Jul 2018)

Genre: Musical
Running Length: 1:53
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Andy Garcia, Lily James, Alexa Davies, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Dominic Cooper, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, Jeremy Irvine, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Meryl Streep, Cher
Director: Ol Parker
Screenplay: Richard Curtis and Ol Parker and Catherine Johnson

What's this movie about?
This prequel-sequel is about Sophie (Seyfried) learning of Donna (Streep), her mother's past. In the prequel part of things, it explores how her mother met the 3 men (Brosnan, Firth, Skarsgard) who changed her life.

Meanwhile in the present, (no spoilers here) we are informed from the start of the movie that Donna has already passed on. Her friends are still grieving while Sophie is striving to fulfill her vision of re-opening the newly renovated Hotel Bella Donna.

Highlights!

• Lily James as young Donna. She is really believable here as a free-spirited woman. And yes, she can sing and she can dance and is very likable. She lights up the room everytime she's on screen. 
• The ensemble of cast is good especially the younger version of the 3 men. They are much more believable here when they sing vs their older self (Brosnan, Firth and Skarsgard). 
• Speaking of songs, of course I was toe-tapping and fingers snapping when the cast belted out Abba's popular songs like Dancing Queen (which was done much better here compared to the first film). Ahh...such a good nostalgic feeling! 
• The look of this film with its blue tone and gorgeous location is also more memorable. 
• I really like the "fantasy" post credit scene!
• Eventhough Streep only "appears" at the end in a cameo role, I could really feel her character's presence throughout the film. Probably I was sold that the cast was mourning for Donna, so much so, when she appears at the end to sing My Love, My Life, I was very moved.

Lowlights

• At times, the story gets a little unfocused. I supposed that's what happens when a narrative is crafted around a bunch of popular songs. Contextually, it feels forced.
• As the original have used up most of Abba's popular songs, the filmmakers here have no choice but to re-use some of their greatest hits and mixed it with their lesser known playlist.   

In summary
MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN is not a great musical. This prequel-sequel is more of the same as the original but it's actually not a bad thing here.


RATING: 7/10

HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS (2014)

Genre: Adventure/Drama
Running Length: 1:54
Cast: Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgard, Ming Zhao, Barry Atsma, Jean Reno, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer
Director: Peter Chelsom
Screenplay: Maria von Heland and Peter Chelsom & Tinker Lindsay, based on the novel by Fracois Lelord

"We should concern ourselves not so much with the pursuit of happiness but rather with the happiness of pursuit." a quote from this movie. 

Although HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS shares a similar theme as Walter Mitty; a middle-aged man who lives a routine life reaches a mid-life crisis and thus, spurring him to go on an international journey to understand the meaning of life/happiness, this movie goes into darker territory than Mitty ever would have dared venture. Those who are familiar with Simon Pegg's movies may not be totally surprised that he can be taken seriously on screen, but as Hector, his work here is a revelation. There are some funny moments here and there but he generally plays it down - especially the very believable emotional last scene which was truly affecting. Although his search leads him to a mixed bag of adventure, the deliverables to viewers are a little uneven. This is no Indiana Jones or even Tintin. Some encounters worked but most of them felt somewhat cliché. Nevertheless, this film works nicely as a character piece.  

Rating: 6.5/10