PASKAL THE MOVIE (Malaysia, 27 Sep 2018)

Genre: Action

Running Length: 1:40

Cast: Hairul Azreen, Ammar Alfian, Henley Hii, Taufik Hanafi, Gambit Saifullah, Hafizul Kamal, Theebaan G. Jasmine Suraya, Amerul Affendi, Nam Ron

Director: Adrian Teh

Screenplay: Anwari Ashraf

What's this movie about?

PASKAL (Pasukan Khas Laut) is the Navy Seals of Malaysia, the elite unit in the Royal Malaysian Navy. The movie's narrative is a mix of dramatized re-enactment of actual past missions, their training regime and some very engaging action pieces. Plus, it's also peppered with some family drama.     

In all honesty, even though the trailer looked promising, I went into the cinema with the "Malaysian movies can or not wan?" cynicism. 

But boboiboy boy oh boy, was I blown away!

Highlights!

I'm so very glad the filmmakers didn't CGI the heck out of this movie. 

And I'm so very glad that most of the film was shot on location with real ships, planes, helicopters, submarine (!) and weaponry.  

From a technical standpoint, this movie is an achievement. The sound is good (the sound of the bullets hitting metal objects sounded real), the gun fires are real, no CGI explosion fakery - everything just looks organic, dangerous and realistic. 

There are some tense moments especially from the last mission which got me at the edge of my seat.

The violence wasn't glorified but necessary. 

  

I was half expecting the training scenes to be filled with "Sir, yes sir!" tropes but wow, it was different! Yeah, there's the standard Major Payne character yelling at the team but I guess it didn't feel cliche because the group's dynamic led by their de facto leader (Hairul) came across as believable. In fact, some of the lighter moments came from this part of the movie.   

And there was this NICE shot of them trying to tahan (hold their breath) underwater. 

Lowlights

I felt the main pirate baddie played by Amerul was too OTT. He's one of those froth at the mouth, ha-ha-ha, teeth gnashing type of villain. He just came across as a tad too cartoonish. 

And there's the missed opportunity of one of the characters. If the film's writer would have given him more layers, he could have come across as interesting as Erik Killmonger in Black Panther.   

In summary

What I really appreciate are the little little touches the filmmakers added to make PASKAL a Malaysian movie, for example where the team berdoa (prayed) before they embarked on a mission. 

Judging by the box office success it is currently enjoying, it's a timely release where the rakyat (citizens) is feeling all time patriotically high now. To be fair, it's doing good commercially not because the filmmakers were opportunistic but this movie is actually good. 

It's probably one of the most realistic badass local action movie I've seen in a while.     

Makes me wanna sign up to join TLDM now!

RATING: 8/10

ONE TWO JAGA (Malaysia, 06 Sep 2018)

Genre: Drama / Thriller

Running Length: 1:20

Cast: Zahiril Adzim, Rosdeen Suboh, Ario Bayu, Asmara Abigail, Timothy Castillo, Iedil Putra, Azman Hassan, Amerul Affendi

Director: Nam Ron

Screenplay: Ayam Fared, Pitt Hanif, Nam Ron

What's this movie about? 

ONE TWO JAGA, an indie film produced by Bront Palarae and directed by Nam Ron, is an important local release post GE-14.  It's the first film in Malaysia that PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police) has approved which depicts the corruption within the Malaysia's police force.

The title of the movie is taken from the chant of the children game, "Police and Thief". For those old enough to remember, it goes something like, "Police and thief one two jaga. Police mati, pencuri jaga!" 

The plot of this crime drama threads on grey morality; that thin line between the good and the bad, as it deals with police corruption and illegal immigrants.

Highlights!

• Finally a local movie which doesn't preach at you. I like how corruption is depicted here - it is what it is as a way of life as characterized by the partnership of Hassan, a senior cop and Hussein, a rookie. Also the similar approach is used effectively to chronicle the story of Sugiman-Sumiati, a brother and sister from Indonesia who works as foreign workers in Malaysia.  
• Good performances from the main and supporting cast especially from Zahiril Adzim who plays the rookie cop, Ario Bayu the hardworking foreign labourer and Amerul Affendi a loose canon with a heart. (Interestingly, Zahiril, Amerul and Iedil Putra have acted together in Pekak, a 2016 local production which I enjoyed)

Lowlights

• Pacing issue. I have no problems with slow burn thrillers but the uneven pacing somehow made the film draggy and boring during some parts. 
• Too many characters. Perhaps the problem with the pacing has got to do with an unnecessary story dedicated to a cash-strapped Filipino immigrant (Castillo). The filmmakers could have omitted that whole story line altogether and focused on the stories of Hassan-Hussein and Sugiman-Sumiati. 
• Bleeped out dialogues and blurred out images. If only the censorship board allowed these parts to pass through, it could have showcased a more realistic day-to-day life of our characters. 

In summary
ONE TWO JAGA is a mashup of Denzel Washington's Training Day and the current foreign labourers situation in Malaysia. 

Despite an unnecessary side plot and the uneven pacing, the third act redeems itself. Not as explosive as Denzel's "King Kong ain't got sh*t on me!" conclusion in Training Day but it's memorable nevertheless.    

The intertitle ending reminded me of the alternate Infernal Affairs cut which markets like us and China got. Personally, it's not the ending I wanted. That said, this movie is definitely an important stepping stone for more gritty and realistic Malaysian cinema to come. 

RATING: 7.5/10

PEKAK (2016)

Genre: Drama
Running Length: 1:36
Cast: Zahiril Adzim, Sharifah Amani, Amerul Affendi, Iedil Putra, Sharifah Sakinah, Joe Flizzow
Director: Mohd Khairul Azri
Screenplay: Mohd Khairul Azri, based on an original story by Azril Hamzah and Alfie Palermo

The arresting starting frame of PEKAK, the directorial debut of Khairul Azri, virtually stopped me in my tracks. Every shot thereafter is beautifully shot and the set up is just downright compelling. I was thinking to myself, "Wow, this is actually a very good movie!" But a strange thing happened somewhere at the halfway mark; it took an obvious nosedive into a telemovie territory.

I'm not sure what happened after such a promising first half. It's as though the filmmakers ran out of budget because it felt like two movies directed by two different directors written by two different screenwriters. That said, let's talk about the better half first.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Uda, our protagonist (played convincingly by Adzim), a deaf drug pusher who is forced to sell drugs to save enough cash for a surgery to restore his hearing. In the process of his daily job, he crosses path with Amani's character, Dara, a school girl who comes from a broken family. Predictably, a romantic relationship forms and what ensues is a Shakespearean tragedy-like tale.

Everything about the movie (well, at least the first half) is beautiful and it is has a somewhat poetic rhythm to it. The score is hypnotic. It is peppered with symbolism eg. Uda temporarily mends Dara's torn dress using a name tag with her name on it. And the build up is good where there is a genuine sense of dread and danger for our star-crossed lovers.

The casting choices are fitting as the audience could immediately relate to the characters. Very believable acting from the cast especially our supporting actors;  Affendi and Sakina. There are some risque scenes shown which are pretty bold for a local production.

Clearly, the folks behind Pekak understands filmmaking. So that's why it is really puzzling for me what happened to the second half of the film, where even the climatic resolution curiously turned into a Game of Thrones like sequence.  

In conclusion, this indie film is no Jagat but it comes pretty close.

Rating: 7/10