ENTER THE FAT DRAGON

Release Date: Malaysia, 23 Jan 2020

Genre: Action / Comedy

Running Length: 1:37

Cast: Donnie Yen, Niki Chow, Teresa Mo Sun Kwan, Wong Jing, Louis Cheung

Director: Kenji Tanigaki, Wong Jing

Screenplay: Wong Jing, Lui Koon-nam, Ronald Chan Kin-hung

ENTER THE FAT DRAGON is a throwback to the good old days of Hong Kong movies released during the Lunar New Year. It's entertaining, funny, features recognizable cameos, has a good message and of course, a happy ending. What's missing is probably the main cast appearing at the end credits wishing the audience all the good sayings during this festive season. 

The plot is fairly easy to follow. After getting dumped by his fiance (Niki Chow) and coupled with an unfortunate demotion to the basement evidence room, supercop Fallon Zhu (Donnie Yen) copes by stuffing his face. As a result, he gains massive weight (but yet, he is still agile and can pack a punch and a mean kick). 

In order to redeem himself back to the squad, he agreed to take on a simple assignment of escorting a Japanese convict back to Japan. But of course, nothing goes according to plan and soon, chaos ensues with the Yakuza thrown into the mix. 

There are no particular standout action scenes in this movie but overall, the kung-fu scenes are well choreographed and it comes in think and fast. There is no notable difference between Yen in a fat suit fighting bad guys vs Yen without the fat suit fighting bad guys. In fact, fat Yen's punches are much more powerful, often sending the baddies flying through the air during the brawl scenes. 

  

One would expect the filmmakers here to pay homage to classic Bruce Lee movies, but instead, they chose to reference some of Donnie Yen's own classic fight scenes from movies such as SPL and Flash Point.  And the outcome is LOL hilarious!

    

Enter The Fat Dragon will not go down as one of the must-see movies of Donnie Yen but if you have 2 hours to spare and some pocket money to get some popcorn and soda, you'll have a good time at the cinema. 

RATING: 7/10 

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

Release Date: Malaysia, 23 Jan 2020

Genre: Action

Running Length: 2:05

Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano, Paola Nunez, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Kate del Castillo, Jacob Scipio

Director: Adil El Arbi, Billal Fallah

Screenplay: Chris Bremmer and Peter Craig and Joe Carnahan

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are back. This time round, the buddy-buddy duo cops involuntarily got themselves involved with the Mexican gangsters led by a mother and son team. The long and short of it, they want Mike dead.

I really hated what Michael Bay did with Bad Boys II almost 18 years ago. I enjoyed the first Bad Boys movie but Michael Bay really turned on his Bayhem for the sequel. It was too long, the humour was offensive, the violence was gratuitous and the directing was pompous. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. 

So when the 3rd one was released recently after almost two decades, I was hesitant to watch it especially after its unexciting trailer. 

But I'm glad to say it was...OK. Let's just say the story justifies bringing back these characters. Although it looks and feels like a Michael Bay movie; the rolling on the ground in slow motion and the signature camera circling our two heroes, directors Adil and Billal managed to successfully craft out something they can proudly call their own.

Thank God the action scenes are coherent and the amount of violence is just...nice (?). There is enough room to breathe from one action scene to another. 

The chemistry between Smith and Lawrence felt a little rusty in the beginning but over the course of the movie, they were their Bad Boys self again. 

The filmmakers also did something fresh with the villain this time. In the last two movies, the villains were forgettable, but for part 3, they managed to tie in the villain with Mike's character. As a result, I could feel that the stakes were higher this round and we get to know Will Smith's character better. 

All in all, it was entertaining enough for me to want to go another round with these boys if they are ever going to ride again. 

RATING: 7/10 

IP MAN 4: THE FINALE

Release Date: Malaysia, 20 Dec 2019

Genre: Action

Running Length: 1:45

Cast: Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan, Vanness Wu, Wu Yue, Chris Collins, Kent Cheng

Director: Wilson Yip

Screenplay: Edmond Wong, Dana Fukazawa, Chan Tai Lee & Jil Leung Lai Yin

IP MAN 4: THE FINALE is indeed the concluding chapter of the popular Ip Man franchise which started way back in 2008 and have since created many spin offs and alternate versions in the last ten years. For the uninitiated, this saga is an inspired version (not exactly autobiographical) of the life of Ip Man, the famed teacher of the the Wing Chun style of martial arts and of course, the sifu of the legendary Bruce Lee. 

The year is 1964, and Ip Man (Donnie Yen) makes a trip to San Francisco from Hong Kong with the purpose of enrolling his teenager son in a school there. Due to the problems of immigration, he soon finds out it's not so easy to get a place in the local schools and he needs to engage the chairman (Wu Yue) of the Chinese Benevolent Association from Chinatown to write him a recommendation letter.  The chairman is not so co-operative because he is unhappy with Ip Man's student Bruce Lee (Danny Chan) for teaching martial arts to non-Chinese.  And the plot also include a racist Marine officer (Scott Adkins), intolerance towards immigrants and finding your passion.

Yeah, it's a mixed bag to be honest but just like all the earlier entries, it's really an excuse to showcase a collection of martial art duels. In terms of fight choreography, the hand-to-hand fights here are the weakest compared to the earlier episodes. To be fair,  all the scenes were serviceable but none were memorable. 

I was expecting an emotional "send off" since this is the finale, but I was actually more moved by Ip Man 3.

As for the performances, I still cannot brain how come Caucasians who appear in HK movies always end up as caricatures. Their dialogue are always cringe-worthy and their acting; over-the-top.  No different here. I guess it's just a poor understanding on the filmmakers' end on how they view the "ang mohs". Now, who's the racist here? 

A big shout-out to Danny Chan's impression as Bruce Lee. He perfectly captures Bruce Lee's charisma, swagger and his signature moves. Danny is a refreshing highlight.

The Ip Man movies have always been about nationalistic triumphs. So, it's pretty obvious the filmmakers of this movie were going for the social commentary angle aimed at the bigotry of the Trump-era. Unfortunately, it's heavy handed here. Thankfully, there is a heartfelt montage from the previous three films at the end which saved Ip Man 4 from being a below average finale. 

RATING: 6.5/10

WIRA

Release Date: Malaysia, 21 Nov 2019

Genre: Action

Running Length: 1:48

Cast: Hairul Azreen, Fify Azmi, Hilal Azman, Henley Hii, Dain Said, Ismi Melinda, Yayan Ruhian

Director: Adrian Teh

Screenplay: Anwari Ashraf & Adrian Teh

I really enjoyed Paskal when it came out last year. So when I heard that the team that did Paskal is behind WIRA, I had to go check it out. So is it as good? 

Before we get to that, what's this movie about? Well, this movie is set in a dystopian-like little town in Malaysia run by a kingpin called Raja (Dain Said). Hassan who once served Raja (Hairul Azreen) years ago is now a military guy and he goes back to that sh*t hole to get his father and younger sister out. Wira being a fight movie, I'm sure you can guess where the plot will eventually lead to.

I went into this movie for the fight scenes as I have read reviews claiming that the hand-to-hand fight scenes are on par with Indonesian's The Raid and even Hollywood's John Wick. I read as well that the film's director Adrian Teh wanted to aim for "Hollywood-level fight scenes, but on a Malaysian budget". Wah....sure boh? I had to see it for myself, right?

And the verdict? 50/50. 

First of all, there is no doubt there are plenty of fight scenes. In fact, right at the opening scene of the movie, we already see Hassan's sis Zain (Fify Azmi) and Raja's daughter Vee (Ismi Melinda) beating the cr*p out of each other in the ring. But the fight choreography, unfortunately, was very tame and unbelievable. In fact, there is this one vs many unbroken-one-take fight scene where it looked a little weird; like bullet time but not.

Fortunately, the fight scenes do get better and better. And the payoff came at the last fight scene which lasted a good 10 minutes between tag team bro + sis vs Raja's bodyguard (Yayan Ruhian, yes, the Raid dude, who is also the fight choreographer for this movie). Man, that fight scene was worth the price of the admission ticket itself! It was intense and brutal. 

I really believe Adrian could have bring in the A-game on a Malaysian budget on all the fight scenes (and not only the last few fight scenes) but I think his team is constrained by the PG-13 rating. If this was rated R, on boy, it could have been a blast. The bones breaking and bodies getting slashed would have been more riveting.

What I do like also are the performances by Fify and Dain Said. Fify is believable as our strong female lead, something you don't see much in our local movies. And Dain Said channeling his inner Alan Rickman from Die Hard...ahh, whenever he appears on screen, I am engaged. 

So all in all, is Wira a worthy follow-up to Paskal? Not really. There wasn't any "sign me up for TUDM!" emotions I felt when I watched Paskal. Besides the inconsistent fight sequences, it's a tad melodrama and some of the dialogue sounds awkward too. 

p/s: Do stay behind for a mid-credit scene which I thought was...anyway, just watch for yourselves. 

RATING: 6.5/10 

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

Release Date: Malaysia, 24 Oct 2019

Genre: Science Fiction / Action

Running Length: 2:08

Cast: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna

Director: Tim Miller

Screenplay: David S. Goyer & Justin Rhodes and Billy Ray, based on a story by James Cameron & Charles H. Eglee & Josh Friedman & David S. Goyer & Justin Rhodes

From an entertainment standpoint, TERMINATOR: DARK FATE is an improvement over the recent sequels but it still can't match the level of the first two entries in the series. In fact, the series should have just ended at T2.

This movie is somewhat a remake of T1 and T2 by taking what worked in that two entries and smashed it together in this one to serve a new generation of audience. Yeah, there is a bold move in Dark Fate which happens right at the beginning but other than that, it's actually more or less a T1 and T2 mashup. 

Action junkies would enjoy this entry but I disliked it. The action sequences here are the Fast & Furious type where it defies physics and it goes up to eleven as the movie progresses: loud, CGI-packed action and just numbing. There was hardly any tension. 

Performance wise, Arnold still steals the show everytime he is on screen. He is the king of one-liners. The filmmakers introduced emotions into Arnold's Terminator here and he does it with surprising effectiveness without coming across awkward and forced. Linda's Sarah Connor is fine here. She looks great for her age but I just can't help but be distracted by how much her face has aged. Perhaps it's a reflection of how much I have aged too >.<

As for the younger actors, Mackenzie's Grace is a standout while the rest of the cast were serviceable.

All in all, they should just stop making more Terminator movies. 

RATING: 6/10   

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

Release Date: Malaysia, 03 July 2019

Genre: Action / Adventure

Running Length: 2:09

Cast: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Angourie Rice, Tony Revolori, Samuel L. Jackson, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Cobie Smulders

Director: Jon Watts 

Screenplay: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers 

The first half of SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME felt more like an epilogue to Avengers: Endgame while the second half; the sequel to Spider-man: Homecoming.  The beginning of this film addresses the events of Thanos' The Snap and Endgame, especially the mourning of Tony Stark/Iron Man's death (sorry, spoilers for those who are yet to watch Endgame). 

This is your standard entertaining lighthearted MCU movie which is very much a welcome after the heavy and emotional Endgame.  There are some funny moments and very decent action sequences - pretty much MCU textbook stuff. 

To me, the overall tone and manner is very much similar to Homecoming. It's the typical high-school coming-of-age movie with superhero elements. Not really a bad thing for me but it's just not my favourite genre.   

Thankfully they didn't go overboard with the Peter Parker/MJ romance as it balances out very nicely with Peter's constant struggle of living up to his calling "with great power comes great responsibility" vs. being your regular teenager. 

Tom Holland is becoming more comfortable and believable as the nice guy neighbourhood superhero but the standout here is Zendaya. Her version of MJ is kinda edge and yet, has hints of vulnerability. It's very current and it works. 

You can see Jake Gyllenhaal is having fun doing this movie. This is not your dark and serious Jake as seen in Prisoners or Nightcrawler. 

It's also refreshing to have a change of environment here since the majority of the movie takes place in Europe (Venice, Praque, London) instead of the usual swinging from building to building in New York. 

If anything, the villain here is not as memorable as Michael Keaton's Vulture in the first movie. There are no memorable "highly tensed conversation in the car scene".

Do stay back for two post credit scenes. The mid-credit scene is the more interesting one as it opens up a whole new possibility for Spidey in the third installment while the after credit scene is perhaps an introduction to MCU Phase 4.  

RATING: 7.5/10

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM

Release Date: Malaysia, 16 May 2019

Genre: Action / Thriller

Running Length: 2:10

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Halle Berry, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Angelica Huston

Director: Chad Stahelski

Screenplay: Derek Kolstad and Shay Hatten and Chris Collins & Marc Abrams

These events in JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 picks up exactly where Chapter 2 left off: 

Excommunicado.

Tick tock tick tock.

$14 Million bounty.

Stylized neon nightscape.

Book fight.

Knife fight.

Fight on a running horse.

The Director.

The Adjudicator.

Casablanca.

"He finds you."

Woah, Halle Berry! You go girl!

Two awesome Belgian Shepherds!

Rules and consequences.

Desert.

Ouch! 4 Fingers.

High Table.

Motorcycle fight.

"I'm a fan!" (Woah, that was totally left field)

Deconsecrated.

"Gun, lots of guns."

Fight in a hotel.

Mirrors.

Hand to hand combat.

"If you want peace, prepare for war" ie. Parabellum.

Back alley.

"Because I am...pissed!"

"Yeah!"

RATING: 3/10

AVENGERS: ENDGAME

Release Date: Malaysia, 24 Apr 2019

Genre: Action / Adventure

Running Length: 3:01

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Bradley Cooper, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle

Director: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo 

Screenplay: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely 

WARNING: Eventhough this is a spoiler-free review, I would still recommend you to turn away if you've not watched Avengers: Endgame and especially the last movie Avengers: Infinity War as I'll be making references to the events that happened in Infinity War. If you want a full-on 100% spoiler-free experience, avoid any sort of reviews, commentaries and even crowded places. 

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Still here? Ok, you've been warned. 

AVENGERS: END GAME picks up almost immediately after the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War. With whoever is left, the Avenger assemble once more in an attempt to undo Thanos' actions. 

"Whatever it takes"

The story structure to this film is clearly broken into 3 parts. 

1. The first one showcases whatever's left of our superheroes; all of them tries to move on with their lives but just can't.    
2. The second part focuses on our superheroes trying to undo what Thanos did.
3. The showdown. This part deals with the consequences of trying to undo what Thanos did.   

I like the first two parts because it feels like a drama. Our heroes are the most "human" here instead of the usual explosions and fights. I've not seen anything like this in any of the MCU movies. It's moving and affecting thanks to the performances of our ensemble cast, especially from the original Avengers.  

The usual signature random funny scenes are present here thanks to The Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Don Cheadle's War Machine but overall, the atmosphere of this movie is bleak.

I also like the approach that the filmmakers took for the middle section of the movie. Let's just say it feels like a "Best Of" episode but with a fresh take on it.  

"Why so serious?"

Did the filmmakers take any risk in this outing in comparison to the last one? Yes, they did. 

Although not as "shock-to-the-system" impactful as Infinity War, but this movie still carries an emotional punch to the gut. In fact, I was "punched" a few times. 

Overall, comparing the two latest Avengers movies, Infinity War has a stronger narrative and is more focused. The stakes felt really high. Endgame does a good job in mixing the quieter dramatic elements with big special effects sequences but there are some pacing issues here and there, and a few things to nitpick. Also, I had a lot of questions after the film but thankfully (don't click if you've not seen the movie!) I got most of the answers from this link. 

In conclusion, Avengers: Endgame is a super satisfying ending for me that has the right balance of closure and setup for future installments for some characters. 

RATING: 9/10 

(this "9" is a shade lower than the "9" I gave for Infinity War)

SHAZAM!

Release Date: Malaysia, 04 Apr 2019

Genre: Action / Adventure

Running Length: 2:12

Cast: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Mark Strong, Djimon Hounsou

Director: David F. Sandberg

Screenplay: Henry Gayden

Note to self: I should avoid reading reviews before watching a movie. 

When I read that SHAZAM! is a "mash-up of Superman and Big", naturally I had high expectations. You see, when I caught Big yeaaaars ago, I instantly fell in love with that Tom Hanks movie. I remember it being funny but yet has a lot of heart.

Unfortunately Shazam! didn't live up to my expectations. I blame myself for having a benchmark. 

To be fair, it IS a funny movie. And there are several noteworthy emotional scenes too. But the problem I had is the uneven tonal shift between comedy, action and the tender scenes. As a result, I wasn't sure what emotional reaction was the filmmakers aiming for. For me, it gave me a lukewarm experience.

(The best superhero movie to-date that managed to perfectly blend comedy and action but yet still has a strong emotional core is Thor: Ragnarok) 

"By the power of ..."

Plot wise, it's about an ancient wizard who chose teenager Billy Batson (Angel) and bestowed him with superpowers. All Billy has to do is to say "Shazam!" and BOOMZ, Billy transforms into an adult superhero. 

Whenever there is a superhero, there will always be a super villain. Eventhough our baddie Doctor Sivana (Strong) has a backstory of how he became our chief villain, he was a little generic and unforgettable for me. Perhaps it's the familiar casting of Mark Strong. 

Also, I found the movie a little draggy at times.

However, what I really do like about the movie is the quieter moments especially the scenes between Billy/Shazam and his foster family brother, Freddy. There are several memorable scenes whenever the two get together; such as the "super powers test" and the running gag of naming Billy's alter ego (Thundercrack XD)

Not Coke

As for the casting of Zachary Levi as our main hero, he is a PERFECT choice. He is believable as the kid in a grown-up superhero body. Levi has just the right amount of heroic charisma coupled with the awkwardness of a teenager. 

There are many DCEU references here too; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman. In fact, this movie is much more connected to the DCEU compared to Wonder Woman or the recent Aquaman. It's definitely a nice touch. 

All in all, Shazam! needs a tighter edit and a better script. That said, this movie represents another step forward for DC movies and I firmly believe they should just stick to creating standalone movies and not try to build towards a Justice League type of movie.

p/s: There are two 2 post credit scenes, one in the middle and the other right at the end. 

RATING: 6.5/10

   

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Release Date: Malaysia, 06 Mar 2019

Genre: Action / Adventure

Running Length: 2:04

Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Lashana Lynch, Clark Gregg, Annette Bening, Djimon Hounsou, Gemma Chan

Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Screenplay: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck & Geneva Robertson-Dworet

CAPTAIN MARVEL ranks at the bottom half of the MCU standalone movies. It's not as weak as the recent Ant-Man and the Wasp but it's no Black Panther. To be fair, it's because the bar is already set so high up for an already overcrowded field of MCU movies, this film felt...generic.

The movie opens in outer space. When we are first introduced to Brie Larson's character, she is part of the heroic Kree team (led by Jude Law's character) looking to take down the shapeshifting villainous tribe called the Skrulls in the Kree/Skrull war. We soon learn that she has no memories of her past except the occasional flashback of her in various ages on planet Earth.

During one of her missions to take down a group of Skrulls, she ended up on Earth (the year is 1995). That's when she meets the younger looking Nick Fury (Jackson) and Agent Coulson (Gregg). By the way, the de-aging effects is amazing.

Wanting badly to know her past, she goes on a journey to discover who she really is and ended up uncovering more than she expected.

I'm not doing a one-piece bathing suit costume like in the comics.

As far as Brie Larson is concerned, the actress is fine as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. She has the dramatic chops for the quieter moments. In fact, I find her performance much more interesting during her character's amnesia stage as her powers were still repressed. But once she learns how to "unlock" her seemingly limitless powers, Larson somewhat lacks the charisma to carry the god-like presence of Captain Marvel.

That said, the most inspiring part of the movie is during the "unlocking" of her powers moment, represented by a montage of Carol Danvers suddenly finding her inner strength.

  

There are plenty of big visuals and actions with humorous quips; thanks to a very youthful and animated Samuel L. Jackson. And speaking of Jackson's Fury, we learn a lot more about his character here and how he ended up wearing the signature eye patch. Plus, the 90s music throwback is a nice touch especially one fight scene choreographed to the tune of No Doubt's Just A Girl.

Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.

There are some nice tribute scenes too; one involving a Star Wars chase sequence (accompanied by a John William-ish soundtrack) and an Indiana Jones moment played to laughs.

In summary, Captain Marvel is no Wonder Woman (the most obvious point of comparison). And Brie Larson is no Gal Gadot. The latter movie has heart, vulnerability and power and as a result, it could easily connect emotionally to its audience. Nevertheless, Captain Marvel is still an important watch as it gives us a clue to how next month's Avengers: End Game would come to an end.

  

(Just like any MCU movie, stay back for two end credit scenes; one mid-credit and the other right at the end involving Goose the Cat)

RATING: 7/10

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3 (THE HIDDEN WORLD)

Release Date: Malaysia, 31 Jan 2019

Genre: Action / Adventure / Animation

Running Length: 1:45

Cast (voices):  Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, F. Murray Abraham, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, Kit Harington

Director:  Dean DeBlois

Screenplay: Dean DeBlois based upon the "How to Train Your Dragon" book series by Cressida Cowell 

In this last installment of the How to Train Your Dragon series, I went in with some anxiety anticipating for the worst. If you followed part 1 and 2, you would have realized that the series creators take risk. 

In the first one, our heroes Hiccup (Baruchel) and Toothless lost their leg and tail wing respectively. And in Part 2, as Hiccup finally found his mother, his father dies! 

So, going into HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3, I had all these thoughts in my mind, "Does Toothless die?" , "Does Hiccup die?", "Do Hiccup and Astrid get married?" 

Well, all I can reveal for now is that the character arc (the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story) of both Hiccup and Toothless is complete in an emotionally satisfying way. 

With Hiccup as head chief now, he and Toothless (being the alpha dragon) safeguard their island and keep everyone safe, both humans and dragons. However, there is a new threat to this peaceful dragon utopia where the villagers are forced to make a decision to vacate their village.  

Meanwhile, Toothless has fallen in love with another dragon, a Light Fury. 

This is where Hidden World soars. It's such a delight to see the courtship of this cute couple, from a clumsy mating dance to a no dialogue high-flying sequence official date across the clouds and beautiful "magic hour" cinematic landscape. It's one of the most beautiful and heart warming sequence for me ever created using animation.  

The visuals in this movie is stunning and accompanying score is just perfect.  

The villain (Abraham) in this installment is also much more memorable than Part 2. I swear his demeanor and voice sounded so much like John Lithgow. 

Speaking of the non-verbal, there is this powerful moment somewhere at the end where Hiccup and Toothless communicates without any words. Such an emotional scene.   

How to Train Your Dragon 3 is a fitting ending. Much better than part two, whereas the first one was still the best. 

RATING: 8/10

Review: AQUAMAN

Release Date: Malaysia, 13 Dec 2018

Genre: Action

Running Length: 2:23

Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Yahya Abdul Mateen II, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison

Director: James Wan

Screenplay: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall

What's this movie about?

Arthur Curry aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa), learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. He rejects the idea as he doesn't believe he has what it takes to lead. 

Predictably, circumstances would force him to accept his fate, step up and become the hero by uniting both land and sea.

Highlights and Lowlights

Let's start off with lowlights of the film. Whenever there's too much CGI, my brain desensitizes and will disengage. Think Avatar. 

As for the plot, it's overly complicated but yet predictable. It involves politicking to unite three other kingdoms to go to war against the humans, the quest to look for THE trident and everything in-between. 

Some of the acting and dialogue are just terrible especially those involving Yahya's character. 

That said, Jason Momoa is perfectly cast as our towering hero with an easy-going-surfer-dude personality. In the opening sequence, when the bad guys go after him, you know they won't stand a chance.    

The action sequences on land are more believable than those underwater. There's this kancheong (white-knuckle) rooftop chase scene in Sicily which was well executed.

I also enjoyed a semi-horror sequence involving our heroes being chased and attacked by an army of scary looking creatures.

In summary

When the trailer to AQUAMAN hit months ago, I wasn't particularly excited as it looked like it's going to be a pesta CGI (CGI fest). Some of the graphics especially the shark in the aquaria, looked really fake in the trailer. I was thinking, "I can't imagine how it would look like on the big screen".

I'm glad to report that this movie is not as bad as I imagined it to be. Not to say that it's fantastic but it didn't sink either. 

It had so much going on as though James Wan & Co weren't expecting to return for a sequel. There are monsters from the deep, an outlandish sea creature voiced by Julie Andrews (!), an army of talking crustaceans, a ring of fire under water (what?), sequences inspired by Indiana Jones movies, war sharks and war seahorses, an octopus playing drums (for reals!) and so many more batsh*t crazy scenes!

Eventhough this movie is long, it definitely isn't boring. In fact, it got better as the movie progressed.

The most memorable moment for me: When our hero Aquaman emerges from a waterfall wearing a glimmering gold armour while holding a powerful trident in one hand. Cue electric guitar riff. 

RATING: 6.5/10

PROJECT GUTENBERG, 無雙 (Malaysia, 04 Oct 2018)

Genre: Thriller / Action

Running Length: 2:11

Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Aaron Kwok, Zhang Jingchu, Catherine Chau, Liu Kai-chi, Joyce Feng, David Wang, Alien Sun, Deno Cheung, Justin Cheung

Director: Felix Chong

Screenplay: Felix Chong

What's this movie about?

In PROJECT GUTENBERG, the Hong Kong police is hunting down a mysterious group of counterfeiters led by a mastermind with a code-name "Painter" (Chow). No one has seen him before. 

In order to unmask and track down Painter, the police interrogates a timid Lee Man (Kwok), a former gang member of Painter. Lee was imprisoned in Thailand. He was employed by Painter for his talent of copying paintings to a T. 

And thus begins the Usual Suspects-type of flashback where Lee reveals his time with the gang and the meticulous details of their counterfeiting operations.

Highlights!

Despite the rubbish Chow Yun-Fat has been putting out since his return to Hong Kong, he is extremely watchable here. He channels some of his most iconic screen presence here as a suave gentleman criminal who is capable of bursting out in sudden scary temper tantrums. When he is in the latter mode, Chow's Painter is rash and violent. He is convincingly menacing here. 

The ensemble cast is very capably supported by veteran Liu Kai-chi.  

What I like is also a very detailed exposition on how greenbacks are counterfeited. In fact, it's almost documentary-like with close-ups and hidden details on the US hundred dollar bill.

There are a few homage-to-the 90s action set pieces. It's always nice to see Mr Chow fires up two guns (and two machine guns, hell yeah!) while leaping in slo-mo - eventhough I personally think he's too old for this.    

Lowlights

Aaron Kwok - he is always overacting and he does it here again. He is not a terrible actor but throughout the movie, I was thinking who could have better played his role to give Chow a run for his money.

Overall, this movie is over-bloated and could have benefited from some trimming.  

In summary

Coming from the writer of the modern HK classic Infernal Affairs and starring the legendary Chow Yun-Fat, I had high hopes for Felix Chong's PROJECT GUTENBERG to catch another lightning in a bottle but alas, it's more of a case of 'lightning never strikes the same place twice'. 

Don't get me wrong, everything about the movie was original, entertaining and even educational...until the very last act. 

The last 15 minutes of the movie is a baffling choice coming from someone as capable as Felix. Some viewers would call it, "Brilliant!" but ultimately, it's very much dependent on whether one has seen this other classic movie. 

My reaction was, "Appreciation, not imitation, is the sincerest form of flattery".

RATING: 7/10

THE PREDATOR (Malaysia, 13 Sep 2018)

Genre: Science Fiction / Action

Running Length: 1:47

Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera, Jake Busey, Yvonne Strahovski

Director: Shane Black

Screenplay: Fred Dekker & Shane Black

What's this movie about?

THE PREDATOR is essentially the same plot as the 1987 original classic Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger: a squad of "jantan" (manly man) soldiers go against the galaxy's greatest killing machine. 

But this time, the Predator(s) are much stronger and the reason they keep coming back to earth is just...baffling.  

Highlights!

• Some "markah kesian" (pity points) for the filmmakers for trying something different. Some of the dialogue and banter is witty for example the running gag involving the name "Predator".
• The 80s style of movie making where it's profane, bloody and gory.   

Lowlights

• I don't even know where to start but all in all, this movie is a complete mess and it's just not worth my brain power to write anything here. 

In summary

Who the hell is Shane Black? Why does he have keys to big production budgets but yet keeps churning out subpar to terrible movies?? 

THE PREDATOR is just a series of moments told by a 10-year old boy who doesn't understand narrative logic and flow. It's terrible.  

Space dogs? Really??!

RATING: 1/10

THE EQUALIZER 2 (Malaysia, 30 Aug 2018)

Genre: Action / Thriller

Running Length: 2:05

Cast: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Melissa Leo, Bill Pullman, Jonathan Scarfe, Orson Bean, Ashton Sanders

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Screenplay: Richard Wenk based on the television series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim

What's the film about?

Just like the first Equalizer movie, THE EQUALIZER 2 is a slow burn thriller which will build and build until it burst into violent outcomes.When Robert McCall (Washington) turns on his kill mode, it will usually end up in shocking and brutal consequences. No prolonged action sequences and crazy stunts like the recent Mission: Impossible.

With so much violence on screen these days, I thought I would be desensitized but there were moments in this movie which made me flinch. The difference between those films and this one - the pain here feels real.

In terms of the plot, it's not much different from the first one. Our superhero protagonist is the judge, jury, and executioner for citizens who are exploited and oppressed (Gotham's Dark Knight-like). But this time, it gets personal.

Highlights!

• Fuqua, the director really knows how to deliver nail-biting sequences; Melissa Leo's character walking back to her hotel room, a car ride and a scene in which a teen has to hide from some killers.  
• The closing action piece, which occurs at the height of a hurricane, provides a perfect setting for the climax. 
• Watching Denzel punish the villains. Something about it appeals to the middle-aged male fantasy. 

Lowlights

• There is a problem with the plotting. Too many unnecessary episodic fillers which doesn't add to the main plot. 
• The filmmakers tried introducing some dramatic elements like a surrogate father relationship between McCall and a teen who is involved with some bad company. And there's a subplot involving a very elderly Holocaust survivor. Eventhough all these side characters performed very well, their stories just didn't add anything to the table. Yes, I get it that we would know our mysterious McCall better from these relationships but there's this short scene of him talking to his former colleague in a park which was much more effective in unveiling his past than all these other subplots combined.   
• I didn't really like the final fight scene as it was too stunt double heavy (that said the final blow was still satisfying).

In summary

EQUALIZER 2 is more of the same with the first movie but at least in the latter, it had more "Bollywood action-hero" style, like the warehouse scene where McCall walks slo-mo under the sprinklers - wah...maximum alpha male fantasy unlocked. This chapter was dull despite the realistic violence.

I think what adds to the lack of excitement is also McCall's God-like indestructibility. You know he's going to survive in the end...for the next sequel.

RATING: 6/10

BIG BROTHER (大师兄) (Malaysia, 16 Aug 2018)

Genre: Drama / Action

Running Length: 1:41

Cast: Donnie Yen, Joe Chen, Kang Yu, Jack Lok, Bruce Tong, Chris Tong, Gladys Li, Gordon Lau

Director: Kam Ka Wai

Screenplay: Chan Tai-lee

What's this movie about?

BIG BROTHER (大师兄) tells a tale of a soldier (Donnie Yen) who takes up a high school teacher position in a public school in Hong Kong. He uses unconventional teaching methods to connect with his students. He has a heart for this group of rebellious students who comes from troubled backgrounds. Familiar? Yes, think Dangerous Minds or even Dead Poets Society.

This is not your typical Donnie Yen movie. There are a couple of his signature MMA styled fight scenes but this is primarily a drama film.

Highlights!

• The young actors cast as the students. A little rough at the edges but you know they gave their best and most sincere performances. Standouts for me are Bruce and Chris Tong (twins and sons of veteran TV actor Kent Tong) and Gordon Lau, who is cast as a 3rd generation Pakistani living in Hong Kong who aspires to make it big as a musician. 
• A good awareness to social problems. And that's a lot of them highlighted here from localised HK issues to global problems; the tremendous pressure faced by students in HK, crammed living conditions and the immigrant life. And there's war, racial discrimination and even about the ills of alcohol and smoking. Thankfully the filmmakers didn't preach about this but instead used it as a canvass to paint the family troubles and relationships of the students.  
• Fight sequences. There are a couple here but the final one in a classroom was the highlight for me. It's creative, realistic and painful looking.  
• Kang Yu as the protagonist. I've not really heard of him before but I really dig his maniacal performance. He looks like a buff up Namewee. 
• Old TVB and HK movie stars round up the cast as supporting actors and cameos. It's good to see them again on big screen as they bring a certain familiarity.

Lowlights

• Too easy resolutions. Pretty heavy handed at times as there were some family issues brought up one minute and the next minute, it was solved just like that, thanks to Donnie Yen the teacher. 
• More is less. There were just too many side stories and social highlights and what not. As a result, the main plots felt diluted and shallow. 

In summary

Surprisingly, I enjoyed BIG BROTHER despite its predictable plot. Perhaps it appealed to me as I have the heart of a teacher with a soft spot for the marginalized.

It's refreshing to get a legit movie star ie. Yen, to produce and star in such a movie and to release it during the summer blockbuster season. Despite some eye rolling moments and oh-so-easy resolution, it's generally a positive, educational and entertaining flick.
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Rating: 8.5/10