MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN (Malaysia, 19 Jul 2018)

Genre: Musical
Running Length: 1:53
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Andy Garcia, Lily James, Alexa Davies, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Dominic Cooper, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, Jeremy Irvine, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Meryl Streep, Cher
Director: Ol Parker
Screenplay: Richard Curtis and Ol Parker and Catherine Johnson

What's this movie about?
This prequel-sequel is about Sophie (Seyfried) learning of Donna (Streep), her mother's past. In the prequel part of things, it explores how her mother met the 3 men (Brosnan, Firth, Skarsgard) who changed her life.

Meanwhile in the present, (no spoilers here) we are informed from the start of the movie that Donna has already passed on. Her friends are still grieving while Sophie is striving to fulfill her vision of re-opening the newly renovated Hotel Bella Donna.

Highlights!

• Lily James as young Donna. She is really believable here as a free-spirited woman. And yes, she can sing and she can dance and is very likable. She lights up the room everytime she's on screen. 
• The ensemble of cast is good especially the younger version of the 3 men. They are much more believable here when they sing vs their older self (Brosnan, Firth and Skarsgard). 
• Speaking of songs, of course I was toe-tapping and fingers snapping when the cast belted out Abba's popular songs like Dancing Queen (which was done much better here compared to the first film). Ahh...such a good nostalgic feeling! 
• The look of this film with its blue tone and gorgeous location is also more memorable. 
• I really like the "fantasy" post credit scene!
• Eventhough Streep only "appears" at the end in a cameo role, I could really feel her character's presence throughout the film. Probably I was sold that the cast was mourning for Donna, so much so, when she appears at the end to sing My Love, My Life, I was very moved.

Lowlights

• At times, the story gets a little unfocused. I supposed that's what happens when a narrative is crafted around a bunch of popular songs. Contextually, it feels forced.
• As the original have used up most of Abba's popular songs, the filmmakers here have no choice but to re-use some of their greatest hits and mixed it with their lesser known playlist.   

In summary
MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN is not a great musical. This prequel-sequel is more of the same as the original but it's actually not a bad thing here.


RATING: 7/10

THE FOREIGNER (2017)

Genre: Thriller / Action
Running Length: 1:54
Cast: Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Murphy, Orla Brady, Dermot Crowley, Rory Fleck Byrne, Ray Fearon
Director: Martin Campbell
Screenplay: David Marconi, based on “The Chinaman” by Stephen Leather

WARNING: What you see in THE FOREIGNER trailer is not what you're going to get in the movie itself.

There is more going on than just a simple revenge flick as suggested by the trailer. I suspect movie-goers expecting another Taken-like movie will be sorely disappointed. To be fair, there is enough action scenes to keep viewers occupied but 70% of the movie is mainly centered around a political thriller.

As I was expecting a good old fashioned revenge flick ie. Payback, I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to a bigger world of dirty politics set against the tension of the Irish-British relations. This approach kept me engaged.

That said, the biggest problem I have with The Foreigner is I felt like I was watching two separate movies at the same time, interweaving one another clumsily. You have Jackie Chan's character as a grieving disheveled father doing whatever it takes to seek revenge for his daughter's death, and you have Pierce Brosnan's character as a government minister with a shady past trying to move up the political ranks.

What I think could have worked better if this film was made into a series instead. It's because there is just so many things going on - the story ended up pretty complex. As a feature length movie, it didn't give enough time for the different characters and sub-plots to breathe. Perhaps it was just bad editing?

In terms of performance, Chan's dramatic turn here is believable. There is this emotional scene in the beginning of the film where you see his character cradling his dead daughter. I just couldn't help but felt sorry for him. As for Brosnan, he equally gives a solid performance here as his character desperately tries to do what's right before his past catches up with him.

RATING: 7/10