We're almost halfway though 2017 and I'm glad to report that this year's quality of movies are much higher compared to the first half of 2016. Most of the movies I watched this year are rated in the strong 7s.
A difficult film to sit through not because it is bad but because of its subject matter; mental illness and the reaction from the Hong Kong public. A necessary watch.
The true story of the journey of India's first female wrestler to winning the Gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. A gamut of emotions; tender, funny and that "YES!!!" rousing finale.
Mel Gibson is one of those rare directors who can pull off a balance between extreme violence and delivering a clear spiritual message. Andrew Garfield's performance as the anti-hero is solid and Oscar worthy. #6 LA LA LAND (8.5/10)
The filmmakers reel you in with its beautiful, magical, immersive and believable chemistry between the two leads and then gut you where it hurts with that finale.
"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."
Daddy issues - that basically sums up the source material for this movie. Dark indeed but yet, it's extremely entertaining, filled with over-the-top LOL moments and definitely worth re-watching.
This movie about unconventional parenting has #SoMuchFeels I teared up in a couple of scenes. The performances here are so genuine and authentic especially from little McKenna Grace.
"If our personal issues are not dealt with overtime, it would grow into something so monstrous it would affect or even destroy our relationships."
Quirky, funny, refreshing, clever and tragic.
It's one of those very rare films that just gets better the more you think about it. An exceptionally tight and clever movie which masterfully blends social commentary with the horror genre. And it's funnier than expected.
#1 ARRIVAL (9/10)
For the thinking and patient viewers, they will find Arrival intellectually, emotionally and perhaps even spiritually very satisfying. Everything here from performances, cinematography, set design, sound and score are almost perfect. I genuinely felt the "painful hope" our heroine had to endure when she decoded the purpose of the aliens' arrival.
And...it's a wrap for the first half of the year! Can't wait for what the rest of the year has in store for us cinema goers. Looking forward!
Genre: Action / Horror
Running Length: 1:50
Cast: Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Screenplay: David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman
Tom Cruise's THE MUMMY has a few memorable moments but the narrative is so inconsistent it feels like the writers borrowed heavily from an assortment of ideas and stitched it clumsily together. End result: a Frankenstein monster (UUUUUGGGGHHH...)
Perhaps it's a case of too many cooks spoil the broth (the writing talents here is insane), coupled with an incapable director. The soundtrack seems off. And there were unnecessary roles like Russell Crowe's character and Jake Johnson's. And don't get me started with the poor casting; a weak and irritating female protagonist who actually plays an important role to Cruise's character motivation. As for Sofia Boutella's mummy, she is not even menacing.
As for Maverick himself, Mr Cruise as we all know, is always 101% committed to the moment and the audience can feel his intensity. Whether he's acting (boggle-eyed, doing the "What.The.Hell..." expression, screaming) or running or even flashing his signature smile, he is ALWAYS ALL IN. Even so, he is totally miscast here. It would be an interesting choice though if he played a supporting role in this movie, perhaps Russell's character. Hmmm...
I supposed the main goal of The Mummy is to kickstart a Marvel MCU / DC DCEU multi-movie crossover franchise with classic monster characters like Dracula, The Wolfman and yes, Frankenstein monster but judging from the supposedly lacklustre box office taking and the horrible reviews it's currently receiving, I am not sure this would be happening anytime soon.
Well, compared to the Brendan Fraser's 1999 The Mummy, at least that was was fun in a National Treasure / Indiana Jones-ish way.
Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:21
Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, Elena Anaya
Director: Patty Jenkins
Screenplay: Allan Heinberg, based on a story by Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs
Right now as you're reading this, there are so many reviews out there lauding WONDER WOMAN (even Batman is baffled with Wonder Woman's Rotten Tomatoes Scores), I don't know how else to contribute except to recommend that you catch it in the cinemas real soon. As for the setting and to get a sense of the plot, watch the trailer below.
It's not a perfect movie. The finale here reminded me of last year's Batman V Superman finale, which I didn't enjoy. I can understand the loud and CGI heavy smack-down is necessary as this is a pop movie after all but...I digress.
But otherwise, this is a great origin super hero movie. I can sense that it was directed with much care and sensitivity, thanks to the inspired choice of employing a female director. The dialogue is clever and is peppered with enough humour to not take itself too seriously. But more importantly, there were enough "negative spaces" to let the movie breathe, allowing its characters to develop. As a result, when the emotional scenes kicked in, it paid off handsomely.
And speaking of handsome, Chris Pine is charming here as he provides the wit and reality of the situation. As for Gal Gadot (*deep sigh*), she IS Wonder Woman, just as Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. She has the strength and innocence just as how Christopher Reeve had for his Superman. She is elegant, beautiful and just simply mesmerizing. Pine and Gadot are believable as a romantic couple.
To be fair, it's not all lovey-dovey as this movie is set during World War I. Although the horrors of war are not shown, some scenes are disturbing if the audience give it more thought. All in all, Wonder Woman is a solid debut (with a rousing score) and I can't wait to see Diana (trivia: nobody calls her 'Wonder Woman' in this film) in her second solo outing. I hope it would be as good as Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:09
Cast: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites,
Kaya Scodelario, Orlando Bloom
Director: Joachim Ronning, Espen Sandberg
Screenplay: Jeff Nathanson, based on a story by Jeff Nathanson and Terry
Rossio
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: SALAZAR'S REVENGE has the shortest running length in the series but yet it felt long. That is usually an indication I was not fully engaged. I think the problem with this outing is that it recycled what was familiar from its predecessors and regurgitated it. As a result, it felt uninspired. As the famous saying goes, don't rock the boat. I believe audiences who have yet to be exposed to any of the Pirates movie would enjoy this 5th installment.
When the first movie came out way back in 2003, I thought Cap'n Jack Sparrow (Depp) would be the answer to Indiana Jones in-the-sea but alas, it wasn't the case. What is missing from the subsequent Pirates movies (including this one) is a sense of danger and adventure.
For example, in the beginning of this movie, there is this runway bank/house chase scene which just kinda goes through the motion. Now compared that sequence with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade tank chase scene, I was at the edge of my seat! Come to think of it, the runaway bank chase scene was so cartoon-y, it looked like something out of a Looney Tunes episode.
Thankfully, Depp's Sparrow was not left, right and centre in this installment but he is well balanced out with "mini Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann"; Henry (Thwaites) and his gutsy love interest Carina (Scodelario). As for Depp's portrayal of Cap'n Jack Sparrow, it feels like Jack Sparrow is doing a parody of Jack Sparrow :(
In conclusion, Salazar's Revenge (I still don't get it why they use that subtitle in this part of the world vs Dead Men Tell No Tales. Mungkin more edgy-kut...) has some really impressive CGI work but its plot is unnecessary convoluted. Hence, it ends up as another one of those loud and busy but ultimately forgettable summer movie.
Genre: Fantasy / Comedy / Drama
Running Length: 1:50
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell, Tim Blake Nelson
Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Screenplay: Nacho Vigalondo
Anne Hathaway's character in COLOSSAL discovers she is directly connected to a kaiju (a giant monster) terrorizing Seoul. It's as though she is remotely controlling the monster's actions from the other side of the planet. The story gets more quirky as the film progresses and in the third act, it takes an unexpected turn into dark territories.
I can't elaborate much about the film's plot as I will definitely spoil it for the readers. But all I can say is if you're expecting to see a dark comedy about Hathaway's character discovering her connection with the monster, you'll be pleasantly surprised because this movie will take you to unexpected places. Just don't expect it to be another Pacific Rim.
Eventhough it's a comedy, this film actually deals with very serious social issues. And if it's not dealt with overtime, it would grow into something colossal. And the monstrosity of our problems will affect or even destroy the people around us.
Hathaway is perfectly cast in this indie fare and she does a very believable job here. But it's Jason Sudeikis' performance here that caught me by surprise. There's this intense scene involving a fire hazard which Sudeikis really owned it.
I enjoyed the direction, clever camera angles and sound employed in this film. For example, the filmmakers were able to capture the carnage of the monster without actually showing any of it. Overall, I enjoyed this film because it's a refreshing way to tell a familiar story.
But it does get too clever for its own good and as a result, the main message gets lost amidst its unconventional storytelling. I reckon this film would never be able to reach the masses but would end up as a cult flick. Nevertheless, Colossal is an impressive mix of comedy,
tragedy and dark drama. Plus it's filled with hidden meanings, symbols and metaphors worth discovering and researching when you get back home from the theaters.
Genre: Drama
Running Length: 1:41
Cast: Shawn Yue, Eric Tsang, Elaine Jin, Charmaine Fong
Director: Wong Chun
Screenplay: Florence Chan
MAD WORLD (not to be confused with the famous HK comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World) is a difficult film to sit through not because it's bad. It's because of the subject matter that makes it uncomfortable and even at times, unbearable to watch. The film covers the subject matter of mental illness, living in a dysfunctional family and social illness in Hong Kong. Yes, this is depressing stuff.
The guy sitting next to me in the cinema was fidgeting throughout the movie and was constantly playing with his phone. Perhaps he thought he was expecting to watch a comedy (Eric Tsang!) or a romantic movie (Shawn Yue!) or maybe, just maybe, the story presented resonated with him and was getting under his skin.
This is an indie movie with strong performances throughout (except for Fong, who was trying too hard). Tsang and Jin deserve the Best Supporting Actor and Actress win at the recent 36th HK Film Awards. Although Elaine Jin was only in a few scenes, she definitely dominated every scene she was in.
Shawn Yue's dramatic performance here as a patient suffering from bipolar is very effective - he is retrained and thankfully didn't "go full retard". At some angles, he reminded me of a young Chow Yun-Fat.
I'm glad the filmmakers decided to highlight this topic of mental illness because not many people in this part of the world (Asia) really understand the challenges of a person who has mental health problems and the impact it has on their loved ones. As efficient Asians, we usually hope such "problems" will just quickly and conveniently go away, but it doesn't. At one point in the film, Tsang's character rightly sum it up, "Not everything can be outsourced".
In conclusion, Mad World is not a perfect film (I get what the filmmakers were trying to convey during the church scene, but they need not demonize the faith) but nevertheless, it's a very brave film.
Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:16
Cast: Chris Pratt, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Debicki, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone
Director: James Gunn
Screenplay: James Gunn
When Vol 1 was first released in Aug 2014, I was probably the minority who didn't really enjoy it. No doubt it was a fun and bright outing but I didn't find it as humourous and engaging as most laud it to be. That's perhaps why I enjoyed GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 better as I went in with very low expectations. It's still not a very good movie but it's not terrible either.
I realised it's probably because I am unable to appreciate writer and director James Gunn's sense of humour. His jokes are politically incorrect and somewhat childish (just check out his YouTube's shorts - PG Porn). Eventhough it has more pointless gags this round, fortunately, some of it does lead somewhere when it's explained at a later stage (like why Cooper's Rocket always behaves likes an a-hole)
Although Vol. 2 is significantly more CGI heavy, I'm glad Gunn also doubled down on the character development too. Vol. 1 focused on assembling a group of misfits to save the galaxy and as a result, I didn't know much back story of most of the team. But this round, there are more quite moments where the characters are given more breathing space to reveal their vulnerabilities. As a result, I care more for the characters especially Michael Rooker's Yondu and Karen Gillan's Nebula.
The final emotional scene with Cat Steven's Father And Son soundtrack - that was where everything landed beautifully.
There are a few standout action set pieces especially the introduction scene with Baby Groot doing an impromptu dance routine and Yondu's escape. As I'm not too familiar with the songs used here compared to Vol. 1, I didn't really dig it much here. In conclusion, eventhough Vol. 2 delivers more of the same provided by its predecessor, it doesn't feel like a retread.
