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

DANGAL (2016)

Genre: Drama

Running Length: 2:41

Cast: Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Girish Kulkarni, Aparshakti Khurrana, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Wasim, Suhani Bhatnagar, Ritwik Sahore, 

Director: Nitesh Tiwari

Screenplay: Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain, Nikhil Mehrotra, Nitesh Tiwari

DANGAL (the title means 'wrestling') is a technically accomplished film. Everything about the movie looks cinematic and the actors' performance is commendable. That said, just like most sports movie based on a true story, the filmmakers had to add some spices to dramatize an otherwise straight forward narrative. As a result, the film feels predictable especially the 2nd half. 

The story is somewhat divided to two parts. The first half is devoted to establishing the 'madness' of Aamir Khan's character - because he doesn't have a son, he forcefully trains his two daughters to take up wrestling to fulfill his dream of winning a gold medal for India in this sport. The 2nd half is the journey of the two daughters working their way towards winning at the international front. 

The first half is more interesting because it focuses on the relationship between the tough patriarch and his daughters. And like most of Aamir's movies, he challenges the status quo. In Dangal, he breaks the taboo of Indian women participating in a sport dominated by men. His character will do whatever it takes eg. being ridiculed by the villagers, forced his vegetarian daughters to eat chicken meat to build muscles etc; to turn them into winners. 

In the state of Haryana where they come from, women are meant to be married off at a young age and is then relegated to be a baby making factory. "Women belong to the kitchen." So to break free from this vicious cycle, Aamir's character went against the grain and bulldozed his way. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

As for the second half, it plays like a straight forward sports movie. I felt the filmmakers need not demonize the national coach character just so that the audience has a villain to hate. As a result, it came across forced and unbelievable. 

Nevertheless, if I'm an Indian nationality, I believe I would be extremely patriotic especially the last scene. Ola Bola did that to me. And finally, Aamir should be complimented for experimenting with his role (gaining 27kg and losing it within a few months) and more importantly, highlighting the rights of Indian women. 

Rating: 8/10

ARRIVAL (2017)

Genre: Science Fiction
Running Length: 1:56
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Screenplay: Eric Heisserer, based on the short story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang

ARRIVAL is a not for the mainstream audience. If you're expecting an Independence Day type of blockbuster, you'll be bored to death. The college students sitting at the back of me were impatient throughout the film; kicking the seats in front of them and shifting in their seats. When the ending credits rolled, one of them went, "Damn boring wei! No action also?! The Great Wall is better man..."

Arrival is an intelligent and cerebral movie experience. It explores the situation we're all familiar with - the arrival of the aliens in their big ships, "Are they friend or foe?" But what stands out from the other movies with similar approach is the focus on our protagonist, played convincingly by Amy Adams.

Thanks to the clever edits, camera work and good use of sound and amazing score, audience would be immersed in the shoes of Amy Adams' Dr Louise Banks. We see what she sees and we feel what she feels. So much so, when the big reveal came, I was caught off guard emotionally (eventhough I managed to guess it earlier). I genuinely felt the "painful hope" of our heroine.

As I was reflecting on Adam's character, this film reminded me Jesus' mom, Mary - what she had to go through as she cared and loved Jesus from the cradle to the cross.

In summary, Arrival is a believable film because it doesn't dumb down its story to appease the mass audience. For the thinking and patient viewers, they will find this film both intellectually and emotionally satisfying.

Rating: 9/10