MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016)

Genre: Science Fiction / Thriller / Drama
Running Length: 1:40
Cast: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Jaeden Lieberher, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard
Director: Jeff Nichols
Screenplay: Jeff Nichols

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL is a frustrating watch. It's a character driven low budget small film. The premise of the story is familiar; how would ordinary people of the world react if someone with special powers is placed among them. It reminds me of M Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable but the payout in the end doesn't justify the "what's going on" slow-burn built up. In fact, it implodes as it crosses the finishing line when the big reveal is made known.

I get it. It's not about the destination but the journey. It's about a study on "what would a father do to protect his loved one". I get it. But still, the story of getting there gets less interesting as it unfolds. Also, the audience is left with more questions than answers when the credits rolled.

The story is about a father and his young son (who possesses special powers) who is on the run from those who would want to take advantage of the boy's gifts. We are talking about the military and the Ranch, an ajaran sesat sect where the boy grew up.

The cast puts on a credible performance but it's disappointing how this movie falls apart towards the end after starting so remarkably.

Rating: 4.5/10

THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016)

Genre: Adventure
Running Length: 1:45
Cast (voices): Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenplay: Justin Marks based on The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

THE JUNGLE BOOK will forever change the way how CGI is integrated into a real world setting. Actually, this isn't even practical effects but full on graphics created on computers using motion capture techniques, layered into CGI trees, river and mountains. It is mind boggling to think that this film was shot in Los Angeles as it looks like a surreal India landscape.

The Jungle Book is one of the most beautiful movies to watch as it's visually stunning. Despite the obvious that these are talking animals, I was never distracted and totally convinced they could do so. The attention to detail on every animal is so vivid and lively - they look natural. Kudos to the hundreds of animators and artists involved in this project.

From a narrative perspective, it's definitely inspired by the 1967 animation and not Rudyard Kipling’s source material. There are even homages paid to the former, as fans will get to hear three famous snippets sung (and spoken); one of it being the famous "Bare Necessities". That said, it's not quite child-friendly as some of the images and themes are unsettling and pretty dark.

Another highlight is newcomer Neel Sethi playing the “man cub” Mowgli. He is the only human in this movie. Sethi's performance is energetic and animated. He is simply a delight to watch. And to think that he filmed almost every scene by himself in front of a green screen makes him even more impressive. Of course, his scenes wouldn't have succeeded without Favreau's direction.

Overall this film is not heavy on thought-provoking materials but it's visually captivating and immersive. (Oh, the animation accompanying the closing credit is so fun to watch!)

Rating: 8.5/10

TRIVISA (2016)

Genre: Thriller
Running Length: 1:37
Cast: Gordon Lam Ka-tung, Richie Jen, Jordan Chan
Director: Frank Hui, Jevons Au, Vicky Wong
Screenplay: Loong Man-hong, Thomas Ng, Mak Tin-shu

Trivisa; Sansrkit for "three poisons" in Buddhist teachings - delusion, desire and fury - which leads to suffering.

TRIVISA is a reflective and engaging 3 films in 1 movie by three first-time directors. It features three notorious Hong Kong criminals which are loosely based on real life figures; each one of the felon embodying a "poison".

What's intoxicating about this movie is how the narrative of the three leading characters (ably performed by veterans Gordon, Richie and Jordan) are convincingly fused together eventhough the 3 films were shot separately. Adding to that mix is the interesting setting - 1997, the year where British-ruled Hong Kong is returned to Chinese sovereignty.

Although the movie kicks off literally with a bang, don't expect it to be your typical cops-and-robbers gun-toting galore. In fact I'm glad it didn't go down that route but instead it explored how the city began to squirm in the shadow of the rise of mainland China, forcing the trio to kowtow to the effects of bullying Big Brother. It is indeed an interesting perspective.

Of course, it's not all indie as it feels cinematic. It's beautifully shot with shocking burst of violence. Each story has its own strength. The one with Gordon is intense and has the most edge of your seat suspense. Richie is unrecognizable as he plays a ringleader who turned over a new leaf from robbing banks to smuggling electronic goods across the borders, only to be severely frustrated by corrupt Chinese officials. While the flamboyant Jordan plays a big time kidnapper who is bored with intimidating tycoons and instead chooses to pursue an underground rumour.

Trivisa joins the recent wave of Hong Kong made films which are taking jabs at Big Brother as it seems to suggest that the city's struggle is in vain as it head towards its sociopolitical doom.

Rating: 8.5/10

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:34
Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill,  Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenplay: Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer

BATMAN V SUPERMAN wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. It was just OK.

Snyder has always been a visual and cinematic director for me and this movie really crushes it in this department. It's a visual fest - it looks grim, apocalyptic and big. Even the action sequences are epic (actually, everything is turned up to 11 eg. the close up bullet shell slowly falling on to the ground. Wah...). But when it comes to character development, Snyder is unable to deliver. Both Batman and Superman ends up as avatars rather than fully developed characters.

Granted that the studio is rushing to push out Justice League but there were many missed opportunities in the movie to build these iconic characters. Instead, they chose to spend time on re-telling the origins of Batman (yet again) and dream sequences.

And the narrative is unnecessarily convoluted. Audiences expecting to experience a royal smack down would feel cheated. To be fair, the plot to establish the superheroes as rivals rather than buddies is flawed but interesting nevertheless.

There are two highlights for me. Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot's version of Wonder Woman. I would pay to watch Ben Affleck as the brutal detective in a standalone Batman. I thoroughly enjoyed his iteration of Batman and seeing him single handedly take down a group of henchman MMA style. And as for Wonder Woman, her entrance and the accompanying electric guitar riff  was just W.o.W. Yes, I would want to see her too in her own movie.

I definitely credit Snyder for being ambitious in his film. He wants us to see this film as more than a disposable popcorn flick by exploring "what if it happens in the real world" concerns - such as regulating the role of superheroes as protectors. But it's so poorly executed he should have just focused on the battle royale.

Rating: 6/10

THE KID FROM THE BIG APPLE (2016)

Genre: Drama
Running Length: 2.00
Cast: Tommy Tam (Ti Lung), Tan Qin Lin, Jason Tan, Jessica Hester Hsuan
Director: Jess Teong
Screenplay: Jess Teong

THE KID FROM THE BIG APPLE is the 3rd "Buatan Malaysia" movie I watched in less than 3 months. Although this is not a sign of resurgence (yet) for our local production but it's definitely trending towards that direction if the industry doesn't get greedy but instead has a more nationalistic agenda. Despite two of its leading cast are famous Hong Kong stars, this film is undeniably Malaysian (and no, thankfully there are no "Malaysia, Truly Asia" montages in this film).

That said, the film has some universal themes such as forgiveness and the importance of family which would appeal to all walks of life especially in this part of the region. The movie tells a tale of the dynamics across three generations played by Ti Lung (the grandfather "kung-kung"), Jessica (his daughter) and Qin Lin (his granddaughter). Despite never meeting her kung-kung before, 12-year old Sarah (Qin Lin) from the Big Apple is forced to live with her grandfather temporarily in KL as her fashion designer mother has to take-on an assignment in a garment factory in China.  That sets up a coming-of-age journey for the temperamental Sarah as she tries to work out her differences with her kung-kung as well as making new friends.

Although the movie started out rather clumsily with not so funny comedy and an unbelievable New York accent, the pace took a dramatic turn for the better somewhere 1/3 into the movie. There are a few tender scenes where the actors do not try too hard - those scenes were powerful and moving for me. But I supposed the goal of the filmmakers is to make the audience cry and there are many of such blatant scenes, with emotional songs thrown in for good measure. As a result, this motion picture feels artificial at times.

Nevertheless, the film shines because of its focus and the longing to live in a simpler and playful world. Also, it benefits from its strong cast especially Jessica Hsuan. Even with a limited screen time, the audience could really feel her emotions and the pain she had to go through while raising up her daughter in New York. As for our young actress Qin Lin, her captivating performance reminds me of a very much younger version of Zhang Ziyi; has an attractive smile, strong-willed but vulnerable. As for Ti Lung, his portrayal of a dignified grandpa works very well here (oh, audiences familiar with John Woo's A Better Tomorrow, will get a kick out of watching him deliver a certain famous one-liner from that movie! I certainly did). Rounding up the stellar cast is Jason Tan, who plays Sarah’s mischievous chubby neighbour. He is the comic character with a big heart and brightens up the movie everytime he is on screen (he reminds me of Kung Fu Panda).

The Kid From The Big Apple is a sincere and heartfelt effort from first-time director Jess Teong. Stay and watch the end credits as it has snippets of footages which nicely tie up some loose ends of the film.

Rating: 7.5/10

ZOOTOPIA (2016)

 

Genre: Animated

Running Length: 1:48
Cast (voices): Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Octavia Spencer, Shakira
Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore
Screenplay: Jared Bush, Phil Johnston

Considering what's happening in our country, ZOOTOPIA is another timely released movie on embracing our differences. Although many animated movies involving the animal kingdom have lightly explored this theme, Zootopia has done it so directly and cleverly without being preachy. And thrown into the mix is the classic mismatched partnership as they race against time to solve a mystery case.

The case in question here is a series of disappearance of predators in a city ie. Zootopia, where all mammals live harmoniously together. So, it's up to an overly optimistic rookie bunny cop (Goodwin) and a cynical con-artist fox (Bateman) to figure out who's behind the kidnappings.

There are many things to like about this movie. Firstly, Zootopia the city itself is a visual marvel as the animators have created different worlds eg. Tundratown, Rain Forest District within the city and with so many interesting details it's worth re-watching again and again. The animation is just outstanding. And of course, the characters are very lovable (and some are just plain quirky) especially our two main characters. OMG, their expressive cute ears!

There is a very moving moment involving the backstory of our fox, which sums up the theme of co-existence neatly for me. Despite our obvious differences, we have much more in common than we think eg. our need to be loved and accepted, our hopes and dreams and our fears. It's just that we don't talk publicly about such things. If we only do so, we will discover that we are all flawed creatures trying to make sense of our existence in our broken world. And that's what makes us, human.
   
All in all, Zootopia gives its audience plenty of food for thought, is funny and more importantly has a lot of heart.

Rating: 8.5/10   

KUNG FU PANDA 3

Genre: Animated
Running Length: 1:35
Cast (voices): Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, J.K. Simmons, Bryan Cranston, Kate Hudson, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong
Director: Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh
Screenplay: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger

"I'm not trying to turn you into me; I'm trying to turn you into you." - Master Shifu

KUNG FU PANDA 3 is that rare third instalment that not only it is entertaining but it has more heart compared to No. 2. I was expecting more of the same aka Shrek or Ice Age (read: milk every drop out of the franchise), but I was genuinely surprised at the quality of the production and storytelling. This is not to say that this sequel is on par with the best work of Pixar where their narrative strives to appeal to both adults and kids. To be fair, Kung Fu Panda didn't start off that way anyway; it was designed to appeal to primarily kids.

So, audiences going into this screening shouldn't be expecting the emotional subtlety of say, WALL-E but instead will be blasted with some of the richest, brightest and liveliest animation in recent years. It features lots of action and slapstick comedy.

In terms of the plot, our lovable Po (Black) is once again frustrated and confused by his place in a world of martial arts masters. The message of "be yourself" is more defined this round as Po goes on a journey of self discovery while he faces his most challenging battle yet - a very strong and supernatural villain, Kai (Simmons) who has the ability to steal the power of those he fights. Po is also joined by his dads (yes, not one but two) as his wonderful support.

All in all, I enjoyed this film because it boast a strong villain, a visual fest and a strong (but not manipulative) message on learning to accept yourself and not try too hard to be someone else because your real strength comes from being your best "you".

Rating: 8/10