GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Running Length: 1:47
Cast:  Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt, Chin Han, Peter Ferdinando
Director: Rupert Sanders
Screenplay: Jamie Moss and William Wheeler based on the comic 'Ghost In The Shell' by Masamune Shirow

As I've never seen the animated version before (touted by many as a classic anime), I was actually looking forward to GHOST IN THE SHELL because I didn't want to have any baggage or benchmark whatsoever.

Yet, the experience turned out to be meh at best. Much of the effort was put into turning this film into a visual fest. And indeed it delivers in that department with interesting visuals and imagination (although some scenes look like a trailer to a fantasy game). I actually like how they used the stunning architecture of Hong Kong city as the landscape to represent a dystopian Japan (see HERE). The soundtrack is atmospheric too with a hint of cyberpunk. But that's about it.

Everything else seems dull. The actors' performance are lethargic ("Beat" Takeshi looks bored throughout). The action choreography is nice to look at but it doesn't have any sense of danger or energy. And the themes explored here is overly familiar. If only the filmmakers could have just updated it with some plot twist to what we already know.

And speaking about the wafer thin plot, Johansson plays Major, a field commander of an anti-terrorist unit called Section 9. She has a prosthetic body with a "cleanup" human brain. As the film progresses, she starts to recall bits and pieces of her past and thus, starts questioning who she really is.

Personally, I think Johansson should stop playing such AI sort of roles; she did it with Her and Lucy. Her stiff performance here doesn't really payoff when she realizes she's more human than robot. The rest of the supporting cast are just serviceable. Our very own Malaysian Pete Teo does a "serviceable-me" job too! ;)

Eventhough there are many things happening on the screen at any given time, this movie just wasn't engaging enough. I believe this is what Youtuber Nerdwriter talks about Moments vs Scenes, where the filmmakers try hard to make every 'moment' picturesque and cinematic hoping the audience will be awed. Instead, it should have been balanced out with longer 'scenes' allowing the audience to connect and stay longer with its characters.

RATING: 5.5/10

LOGAN (2017)

Genre: Drama / Action
Running Length: 2:17
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant
Director: James Mangold
Screenplay: Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green

LOGAN is a very different kind of superhero movie. There are no portals opening up from the sky. No giant robots. No loud noises and definitely not a CGI fest. This is a very grounded and gritty film. Both bad and innocent people die violently in this film.

First and foremost, this film is set up as a drama with a depressing theme; mortality. Yes, there are enough intense action pieces to keep the traditional superhero audience going, "Oh sh*t!" But overall, it's a slow paced movie. There are a lot of dialogue and even a homely scene of our protagonists having a decent conversation with a family over dinner. Yep, some folks I know said Logan was boring.

A quick summary of the plot. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world of 2029 where mutants are mostly extinct. An aging Logan/Wolverine (yes, he is not immortal. He just ages much much slower) lives a secluded life as a chauffeur. The measly income he earns is used to buy illegal meds to treat an even older and frail Charles Xavier/Professor X (Stewart). Charles is suffering from early stages of a brain degenerative disease. When Logan agrees to accept a big cheque to chauffeur a lady and a young girl to the border of Canada, he soon realised that the young girl is no ordinary girl.

In no time, the baddies are after them with truckload of firearms. And when our hero face off with them, it is unapologetically violent. It truly deserves its 18 years+ rating.  The wounds inflicted by Logan is extremely graphic (imagine a ferocious and powerful lion swiping its claws continuously across your soft flesh). And there are alot of swearing. In fact, the first word in the movie is, "F*ck!"

And there lies the problem for me. No doubt that fans will be pleased with an R-rated Wolverine (finally!) but just because it's not kids friendly, the filmmakers need not have to insert curse words in every other sentence. And they made the film as graphically violent as it can be. Curse words and violence, when used appropriately, can be very powerful. Here, it just loses its power.

And I get it that director James Mangold wanted to make a Western, but there is a particular scene where he hammers home this point in a "Get it?! Get it?!??" manner. In fact, there are many of such "Get it?!?" scenes just to make a point. And there is this particular villain which I thought was a little out of place.

But in terms of performance, Jackman and Stewart delivers one of their finest performance. They are totally committed. And I was particularly captivated by newcomer Dafne Keen's passion and ferality. Technically, the film is beautiful to look at and the score complements the movie well.

I was actually hoping the filmmakers would explore deeper the anger and emotional pain Logan had to experience in his lifetime due to his "curse of immortality". Alas, it was just briefly mentioned. I really wanted this film to punch me emotionally in the gut since this would be Jackman's last performance as Wolverine, but it didn't.

RATING: 7.5/10

HIDDEN FIGURES (2017)

Genre: Drama / Comedy
Running Length: 2:07
Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, Glen Powell
Director: Theodore Melfi
Screenplay: Allison Schroder and Theodore Melfi, based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly

HIDDEN FIGURES' second half is a much more interesting watch than its first half. Granted that the filmmakers needed to quickly establish the context of this true story, I felt they were too heavy-handed in delivering the message of race and gender equality. I've seen some films which were more subtle in dealing with this subject but yet still gets the message across effectively and powerfully. In this movie, we have forceful dialogues like, "Here at NASA, we all pee the same colour!"

This movie which is set in the early 1960s, tells the untold tale of three African-American ladies who had to fight an uphill battle of racism and feminism at NASA to put the first American into space. I'm not sure how accurate this based on real events film is but I'm pretty sure the filmmakers took some liberty in the narrative especially our unsung heroes' private lives.

And speaking of that, the NASA scenes are much more engaging than the side plots revolving around their personal lives. Somehow, the performance of our trio is more authentic in the work place vs those segments revolving around their home life.

Performance wise, the filmmakers have assembled a strong cast. Our protagonists give solid performance and the supporting cast is serviceable especially Costner. He does seem to get better as he ages. There is this rather peculiar and prolonged segment where we see Taraji's character dashing half a mile in high heels in a cartoonish manner to the bathroom. After a while, it felt like one of those, "Ok, I get it. Now get on with it already, will ya?" segments but the resolution to it is by far the movie's most satisfying scene.

Overall a light-hearted and feel-good drama which tells how race played an important role in the US vs Soviet space race in the 1960s.

RATING: 7.5/10

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (2017)

Genre: Action
Running Length: 2:02
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Common, Ruby Rose, Ian McShane, Claudia Gerini
Director: Chad Stahelski
Screenplay: Derek Kolstad

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 is more of the same, which to me, is not something I was looking forward to. The only thing I marginally enjoyed about the first movie is how its action scenes were filmed. It reminded me of the good old yesteryear Hong Kong action flicks; you can actually see Reeves moving smoothly from shooting to punching to throw downs in one take. The audience know what's happening as oppose to the recent action movies which favours shaky cameras and kinetic editing.

But what I didn't like was watching Wick eliminate a stream of baddies over and over again, which became a tiresome experience after awhile. In this instalment, there's more of these moments. Watching Wick dispatch waves of henchmen reminds me of watching a video game. After a while, you just feel desensitized. I didn't feel the pain when the baddies gets their head shot or their chest stabbed (but the pencil scene...ouch)

The violence here is gratuitous. Sadly, I preferred watching the violence to seeing Reeves act. His version of the reluctance for his character to go back to his old violent ways looks more like he was having constipation. Keanu Reeves.cannot.act. It was so painful for me to watch.

Thankfully, this movie doesn't take itself too seriously. The scenes where Wick suits up and weaponised provided some lighter moments. There is also a standout scene in a bar involving Common and Reeves. Come to think of it, their scenes are the most memorable.

Just like the sequel to The Raid, John Wick: Chapter 2 expands its universe from a hotel in New York to an underworld of organised crime (with its own gold coin currency. Pretty cool, I must say). And just like The Raid also, the John Wick series is nothing but a series of action choreography strung together with a weak narrative. Action junkies would love this movie.

RATING: 4/10

HACKSAW RIDGE (2017)

Genre: War / Drama

Running Length: 2:11

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey

Director: Mel Gibson

Screenplay: Andrew Knight, Robert Schenkkan 

Mel Gibson's road to atonement is finally completed with HACKSAW RIDGE. He has always been a capable director (and a manic actor) but unfortunately, his personal problems has caused him his reputation over the last decade. Granted that this movie is not the perfect redemption, but I can safely say he has made right and reconciled back to the inner circle of Hollywood.

Gibson has always gravitated towards tales of heroism and spirituality, and this film embraces both these elements. This is a true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), who refused to carry a weapon into the battlefield at Okinawa (during WW2) due to his convictions as a Christian. He believes his calling into "the hellfire of battle" is to save lives as a medic rather than taking them.

The movie has a distinct 3 segments; Doss' formative years, the army training episode and the battle scenes at Hacksaw Ridge. Although, the first and second acts were normal (it was actually pretty unremarkable), it was a necessary build up. Because when the characters which were established gets killed or horribly dismembered by the Japanese in the third act, we feel the gravity of the horrific situation as it unfolds. 

The battle scenes are reminiscent of the opening sequence from Saving Private Ryan. But I must say, Gibson's version is more prolonged and unflinching. This guy has an obsession with the physical effects of carnage on soft flesh (The Passion of the Christ, anyone?). The combat scenes are bloody and chaotic. The gore here is graphic but not gratuitous. 

Garfield's performance is solid and is worthy of his Oscar nomination. While Vaughn seemed to be an odd choice to be the cast as the drill sergeant, he grows into his character overtime. Also a shout out to Weaving, Worthington and Bracey for their limited-but-affecting performance. 

Gibson is one of those rare directors (come to think of it, I can't think of any others) who can pull off a balance between extreme violence and delivering a clear spiritual message. As the version I watched in the cinema has no cuts, I would suggest you quickly catch it before our local audiences file a complain. 

RATING: 8.5/10

  

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (2017)

Genre: Animated

Running Length: 1:45

Cast (Voices): Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Zach Galifianakis, Ralph Fiennes

Director: Chris McKay 

Screenplay: Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers 

Adults who avoid intimacy or closeness with someone, usually stems from the emotional abandonment they experienced in childhood from one or both of their parents. When parents are critical, preoccupied or taken away suddenly from the child's life, the vulnerable child will feel misunderstood, alone, hurt or angry. So during adulthood, in order to avoid feeling the same emotional pain they once experienced, they distant themselves from relationships or get involved in unhealthy abandoning type of relationships. 

That basically sums up the source material for THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE. Yes, it's deep. That said, this entertaining, over-the-top and colourful ("All important movies start with a black screen") movie is perhaps the best possible thing that could have happened to the recent slate of humourless movies from the DC cinematic universe. 

When I watched the trailers, I wasn't exactly excited to catch the film as it felt like the entire movie was strung together with gags and silliness. I didn't see the Minions Movie because they were adorable in small doses in the Despicable Me movies but not in a movie of their own. Same reasoning for this movie as Batman stole every scene he was in in the brilliant The Lego Movie.

But I was so glad it wasn't the case because its self-deprecating comedy (my kind of humour) cleverly jabs at the other Barman properties (and WB's biggest properties) and familiar pop culture. This movie got me chuckling the whole time and LOL at certain scenes! It also emotionally had me at hello some scenes when Batman allows himself to feel vulnerable. 

Although the movie is a little over bloated (and the ending was so-so) and only Batman fans will really get most of the jokes, this movie still works well for the family. The voice cast is good and Will "I'm Batman!" Arnett is perfect. And I like the sensitive Joker too, Overall, highly recommended for a geek out and entertaining time.    

RATING: 8.5/10

SPLIT (2017)

Genre: Thriller
Running Length: 1:57
Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Betty Buckley
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan

SPLIT is not a complete return to form for the once red-hot writer/director M. Night Shyamalan but he's definitely taking the correct steps to head in the right direction. Overall, this movie is more than above average but the ending...Oh, I had a nerdgasm!

This film doesn't waste time in establishing the main characters. It gets straight into the thick of the action where we witness three teenage girls taken by McAvoy's character. The girls are then kept in a room with no windows and they have no idea where they are. Things get more bizarre when McAvoy begins to show multiple personality traits and informs the girls that he is preparing them as a sacrifice to the 'Beast'. I'm not giving away anything as all these are in the trailer.

What makes this a compelling watch is James McAvoy's performance. The audience can literally see him change from one personality to another within the same take, resulting to feeling sad for him one moment and scared of him in a split second.

As mentioned earlier, this is not a perfect film because I felt there is no genuine tension as it relies too heavily on horror movie clichés. And there's hardly any claustrophobic atmosphere of dread given the fact that the girls are kept in a jail-like environment. The recently Singapore produced Apprentice did a way much better job at that.  

Nevertheless, I can only hope the studios don't throw more money at Shyamalan (judging by the massive current success of Split in the US box office) because in my opinion, he just cannot handle it. The low budget less-is-more approach seems to be more suited for Shyamalan's kind of stories that he would like to tell.

RATING: 7/10