TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016)

Genre: Drama / Thriller
Running Length: 1:57
Cast: Gong Yoo, Kim Soo-an, Jeong Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, Kim Eui-sung
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Screenplay: Park Joo-suk

Right at the start of TRAIN TO BUSAN, the set up is clear where this "train" is going to take its audience. The movie's concept is a fascinating one; using a travelling bullet train (full of flesh eating zombies) as a canvas for social commentary and polarization.

After a near flawless first half, the second half felt repetitive and manipulative. Nevertheless, this is one entertaining flick especially the zombie attack scenes. The zombies we have here are not the slow moving "Braaaaainssss" genre but the 28 Days Later/World War Z variety - they are fast, focused and violent flesh eaters. And once a victim is bitten, it takes just a few minutes for them to turn. This is no Maggie. 

There are many unbearable nail-biting suspenseful sequences. So much so, an audience sitting next to me was shouting, "Cepat CEPAT TUTUP PINTU LA!" during those claustrophobic high tension moments. Thus, this movie is not really one of those horror movies which rely heavily on jump scares.

So why the 2nd half felt tiring? Well, there were just one too many escape-from-the-zombies-attack scenes. And the filmmakers were very heavy handed with their characters. I was hoping some of them would not end up as stereotypes, but instead, the filmmakers turned up the stereotyping to 11. If you never thought you could hate a character so much, wait till you see this movie. And there many instances of unnecessary emotional manipulation just to squeeze tears out from its moviegoers. No subtlety whatsoever.  

In terms of performances, two really stood out; Kim Soo-ann as the little girl and the super charismatic Ma Dong-seok. In summary, this film champions kindness during the worst and best of humanity.

Review: 7.5/10

SULLY (2016)

Genre: Drama

Running Length: 1:36

Cast:  Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney

Director: Clint Eastwood 

Screenplay: Todd Komarnicki, based on the book by Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow 

Can a 3.5 mins incident made into a full length 90 mins movie? The answer is "Yes!". Despite padding it up with backstories, side stories and the aftermath, SULLY doesn't feel bloated and the end result is an uplifting movie. Kudos to director Eastwood for his pacing and his team of editors. 

The movie is about the true story of the US Airways plane that landed safely on the Hudson river, New York in the freezing cold of Jan 2009. Known as the "Miracle on the Hudson", all 155 passengers and crew on board were safe. This film focuses on captain Chelsey ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, the emergency landing itself and an aviation board inquiry thereafter. 

Clint Eastwood movies are always simple to follow and completely engaging but somehow feels "shallow" much later after you have walked out from the cinema hall. It's like eating a box of popcorn; it's so delicious and filling but somehow you just don't feel "full" thereafter.  

In fact, I felt the narrative is over simplified and some of the scenes were heavily handed. Everyone involved in the rescue mission was surprisingly calm and knew exactly what to do. The stories from side characters especially the passengers came across as plasticky and OTT in sentimentalism. 

 

The film is at its strongest when it focuses on Hanks' character doubting his decision and dealing with "What if I have made a mistake?" when he was presented with data, algorithms and flight simulations during the inquiry. Another big highlight is the emergency landing scene itself; it's actually a miracle to be feeling anxious and on the edge of my seat when I jolly well knew all will be ok. 

Hanks have somewhat mastered such a character - the ordinary family man demonstrating courage under fire and is self-sacrificing when subjected to extraordinary danger. I call it the good old-fashioned American heroism. He practically played the same character in Captain Phillips. 

All in all, although Sully is a stretch in some scenes, it is still a feel good movie that showcases the triumph of the human spirit that will instantly make your day better. 

Rating: 8.5/10

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

BLOOD FATHER (2016)

Genre: Thriller / Action
Running Length: 1:28
Cast:  Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Michael Parks, William H. Macy
Director: Jean-François Richet
Screenplay; Peter Craig, Andrea Berloff

I can now understand why BLOOD FATHER was made for VOD and has a limited theatrical release in the US and other countries (I watched it in the smallest hall in Berjaya Times Square). Eventhough the critics are praising this movie and has voiced out that it should have been given a proper cinema-wide release, I personally disagree.

To be fair, one thing this B-grade movie has working for it is - the significant presence of Mel Gibson. Without him as the lead, this movie is overall sh*t. His character is believable because he's practically playing himself; a recovering alcoholic with a colourful past prone to be a loose cannon when provoked. It's as though Mel Gibson is using this film to make up for his past sins.

The plot is along the same lines as Taken (in a desert setting) where Gibson's character has to go against a violent gang to save his estranged daughter. The movie gets really good when Gibson gives in to his rage and is willing to go for broke to save her girl. Unfortunately, there are just a handful of such showdowns throughout its lean running time.

There are some nice funny bantering moments between father and daughter but overall, it's just not cinematic enough to resuscitate Gibson's acting career. C'mon Quentin Tarantino, the king of career resurrection, please do something with Mel Gibson already!

Rating: 5.5/10

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (2016)

Genre: Animated
Running Length: 1:35
Cast (Voices): Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro
Director: Travis Knight
Screenplay: Marc Haimes and Chris Butler, based on a story by Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes

From the trailer, there seems to be a lot happening but KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS is ultimately the classic hero's journey story. The story is told in a surreal feudal Japan (think Samurai) setting where reality meets fantasy.

Let's get the downside out of the way first because there's way more upside going for me - so much so that this film will most likely end up in my top 10 of 2016. Firstly, there is indeed a lot happening in its 90 minutes it feels that the filmmakers are being overly ambitious. A "less is more" approach could have been more effective. Secondly, the resolution at the end seems a little anti-climatic and too neat.

But as for the rest of the film, it's a powerful story about the power of storytelling. It's a story about hope and love grounded in the gritty reality of death and loss. Eventhough it has enough humour and action to distract a child audience, this is no Minions. The villains are scary and the themes explored are dark; right from the start we are introduced to a baby Kubo (and his mother) escaping from his grandfather who wants to gouge his other eye out. Yep, this is just the beginning.

The choice of using stop motion at core + CGI to tell of such an epic fantasy seems like a limitation but I read somewhere that Travis Knight (the director, and CEO of Laika; the animation house that produced this movie) wanted to challenge his team and himself to see how far they can push the technology of this medium. As a result, not only it looks visually gorgeous but the medium of stop motion just gives it a very organic and human feel that pure CGI may not be able to pull off.

The voice cast is fitting especially McConaughey, who is surprising very goofy. The score is just perfect especially during the film's tender moments and there are some pleasant "hidden in plain sight" revelations throughout the course of Kubo's heroic journey that makes this a must-watch movie.

Rating: 9/10

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (2016)

Genre: Drama / Comedy
Running Length: 1:58
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Shree Crooks, Nicholas Hamilton, Annalise Basso, Samantha Isler, Ann Dowd, Frank Langella, Steve Zahn, Kathryn Hahn, George MacKay, Charlie Shotwell
Director: Matt Ross
Screenplay: Matt Ross

In the summer season where blockbusters are meant to be a spectacle fest with loud noises and kinetic action sequences, CAPTAIN FANTASTIC offers an alternative. It's a small and quiet movie anchored around the theme of parenting (so no, this is not another superhero movie).

This film explores two different approaches to raising a family; back-to-nature experiential technique vs. the conventional way. Although the film leans towards the appeal of the former approach (at least from a philosophical standpoint), it balances out pretty well with the practicality of the latter.

Mortensen plays the role of the father raising his six kids away from society in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. His wife had to be separated from the family to seek medical attention in the city for her serious condition. Not long thereafter, she took her own life.

I'm not spoiling the movie because all these happened at the very beginning. For most of the film, we follow this family's road trip which they are forced to take - a journey to the city to attend their mother's funeral.

The synopsis above definitely gives out the vibes of Little Miss Sunshine, the other small quirky film that was both a critical and commercial hit a while back. Although this film has its funny moments, it's primarily a drama. There are some very powerful moments especially the emotional reactions from the children when they found out that they will never see their mother again.

The other potent scene that got me is when his eldest son confronted Mortensen's character on his upbringing techniques, "Unless it comes out of a <expletive> book I don’t know ANYTHING about ANYTHING!" This is an actor's movie and the performances are strong across-the-board. Mortensen is ideally cast but it's Langella's portrayal as our protagonist late wife's conservative dad that captivated me.

Although this probably won't end up winning any major awards, Captain Fantastic is still a refreshing original story from Hollywood.

Rating: 8/10

SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)

Genre: Action
Running Length: 2:10
Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Cara Delevigne, Karen Fukuhara, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jay Hernandez, Jai Courtney
Director: David Ayer
Screenplay: David Ayer

SUICIDE SQUAD had a similar effect on me as Batman V Superman. It feels and look the same as BVS but way more disappointing because of all the hype thanks to the awesome trailers.

To be fair, the premise of recruiting some of the baddest villains in the DC universe and assemble them as a team to fight a much bigger threat to the world, sound interesting. Unfortunately in this case, the concept sounds better than the execution.

I went in with a curious mind hoping to like some of these oddball characters just like how Guardian of the Galaxy did it for me. I didn't super enjoy Guardians as a whole but I would definitely want to watch its upcoming sequel. But it can't be said with this movie if the studio decides to develop a follow-up.

Probably it's because it didn't really make me care for any of its offbeat characters. Only Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jay Hernandez characters' backstory are fleshed-out well. Leto's Joker looks creepy but somehow ends up being more of a lost lover boy than a menacing villain. And speaking of "villain", the chief villain here is...boring. Her motivations are never really clear. In fact, Viola Davis' tough-as-nails character is even more scary. Robbie's character even remarked in one scene, "Are you the devil?"

In terms of action and effects, it's nicely done and beautiful to watch. Unfortunately, it's just not enough to save this movie.

Rating: 4.5/10