TOMBIRUO: PENUNGGU RIMBA (2017)

Genre: Action / Adventure

Running Length: 1:55

Cast: Zul Ariffin, Farid Kamil, Nabila Huda, Faizal Hussein, Hasnul Rahmat, Farah Ahmad, Michael Chen, Dato’ M. Nasir, Atu Zero, Dynaz Mokhtar, Faye Kusairi

Director: Seth Larney

Screenplay: Yasmin Yaacob, Choong Chi Ren based on the novel Tombiruo: Penunggu Rimba

by Ramlee Awang Murshid

TOMBIRUO: PENUNGGU RIMBA is one of those movies where the story sounds much better being verbalized than the film itself. I was just narrating the story to a friend and I clearly remember thinking to myself, "Eh, the story is actually quite legit what...but why did it feel lackluster?" To be fair, it's not a bad film at all, but it's not a very good one either. I think it could be the fault of the script.

Set in current times, Tombiruo/Ejim (Zul Ariffin) is a troubled young man with a dark past who was raised in the jungles of Sabah, Malaysia. He is burdened with powers which he finds hard to control. His face is also deformed at birth. That's why our hero wears a mask the whole time. 

I find his origins story (established at the beginning) the most engaging. But the moment he goes on a journey to avenge the death of his foster father, the movie somewhat gets derailed. It's actually a straight forward plot but somehow it feels more complicated than it should. Nevertheless, the biggest standout for me was how beautiful the movie looks. The fight sequences are engaging too, employing recent camera tricks to capture the energy of the mano o mano scenes. 

The ensemble cast is made up of veteran actors and relatively newcomers. All of them did a serviceable job with special shout-out to Faizal Hussein as the father figure to our hero. Although his screen time is limited, he exudes presence everytime he is on screen. 

If only the filmmakers were bold enough to risk on some scenes, it would have moved the movie up a few levels on the emotional/shock scale. But they played it safe. Nevertheless, Tombiruo is another step forward for the local movie scene.

RATING: 6.5/10

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   

mother! (2017)

Genre: Horror / Thriller
Running Length: 2:01
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Brian Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson, Kristen Wiig
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Screenplay: Darren Aronofsky

mother! was a very difficult film for me to sit through. It was maddening especially its last 30 minutes. There were many times during the course of it I just felt like shouting out angrily in the cinema hall, "WHAT THE F**K IS GOING ON?!?" This film reminded me of my non-appreciation of abstract modern art. Everytime I come across a modern art museum, I would give it another go - to try to understand the displays. But after 15 minutes or so, I would usually give up and just walk out.

The only difference with mother! is I can't walk out of it. Firstly, it's because I've never walked out of a movie hall before no matter how horrible the film was. But to be fair, whatever was unfolding in front of me was pretty captivating. There was a deep sense of dread throughout so I waited and waited for that release but it never did come.

Here's the plot. A young woman (Lawrence) lives with her much older husband (Bardem) in a decaying large home in the middle of nowhere. She took it upon herself to restore the house. One fine day, two uninvited guests (Harris and Pfeiffer) showed up at their doorstep and decided to stay in their home. And from then on, things just got more claustrophobic, bizarre and twisted.

So, is the film any good? Well, upon exiting it, I was prepared to hate it. But after a few hours to a day of reflection, I have to admit this movie stayed with me and definitely drove me to forums to find some kind of meaning to the many nightmarish images that was thrown at the viewers. Just like modern art, in order to appreciate it, I needed context.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead. Stop reading if you're intending to watch this movie. 

And when I found the context, my verdict is: I acknowledge Aronofsky's courage to make this film and appreciate Paramount for releasing it widely. I get what the director is trying to preach using allegory as an art form. But I cannot accept his take on God and His relationship with mother earth. That said, if he would have just excluded his lecture on Christianity but instead focused on the horrible ordeal on the "rape" of mother earth, I reckon it would be a much more powerful and accessible piece of art (albeit still a difficult film to watch)

RATING: 3/10

STRONGER (2017)

Genre: Drama

Running Length: 1:52

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown, Carlos Sanz

Director: David Gordon Green

Screenplay: John Pollono, based on the book “Stronger” by Jeff Bauman and Bret Witter

STRONGER is a true story of the recent Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman (Gyllenhaal, in another Oscar worthy performance). It's about the struggles he has to go through to rebuild his life after losing both his legs in the ordeal.

Thanks to the main cast' grounded performances and the details given to re-tell the story, the day-to-day challenges Bauman faced; both physically and emotionally, are so believable I could't help but teared many times throughout the course of the film. It shows plainly the good, the bad and the ugly of what he goes through without manipulating the movie-goers' emotions. 

What I really like about this movie is how real and intimate it feels. While the media and everyone in Boston portrays Bauman as a symbol of hope #BostonStrong, but behind closed doors, he is a flawed individual just like everyone else. And the rest of his loved ones are relatable because they too are on a journey themselves and is just trying their very best to do what's right. Thankfully, there are no rousing music score to showcase those moments of hope. 

As good as Gyllenhaal is, it's Maslany's naturalistic performance as Bauman's girlfriend, Erin, that really touched me. You can see she's trying really hard to support him but at times, we're not sure whether she's with him because she loves him or because she feels guilty/pity for him. A big nod of approval too for Miranda Richardson's performance as Bauman's mother.  

What I learn from this inspiring movie is that God has a purpose for everyone, but coming to terms with it is not an easy journey.  

RATING: 8.5/10

KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (2017)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Running Length: 2:21
Cast: Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Pedro Pascal, Edward Holcroft, Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Channing Tatum, Emily Watson, Bruce Greenwood, Hanna Alstrom
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Screenplay: Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, based on the comic book “The Secret Service” by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons

I never really did enjoy the predecessor Kingsman: The Secret Service because of its wanton violence, excessive swearing and crude humour. However, there were some quiet tender moments between Firth's character being a father figure to Egerton's Eggsy, which was pretty powerful. The sequel KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE doesn't really do anything much different from the first film but just to make it bigger and louder, thanks to a bigger budget.

Everything just feels like a 'one-up'; more CGI-heavy action sequences, more characters, more swearing. As meh as the first film was to me, at least it had an element of surprise. But this latest outing just feels safe. As OTT as some of the action sequences were, I actually felt bored.

Thankfully, there are enough gags and humour to save this film from totally unwatchable. To be fair, there are more comedic moments in this sequel, especially the ones involving a British singer. And Egerton proves he's not a one-hit wonder but is indeed capable of playing the lead. Firth is OK but at times it feels like he's not really invested in this movie. The rest of the cast is serviceable (a big shout out to Mark Strong's emotional rendition of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads).

RATING: 5.5/10

AMERICAN ASSASSIN (2017)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Running Length: 1:52
Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch, Sanaa Lathan, Shiva Negar, Scott Adkins
Director: Michael Cuesta
Screenplay: Stephen Schiff and Michael Finch and Edward Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz, based on the novel by Vince Flynn.

I'm going to try something different in this review. There will be minor spoilers. So, if you're intending to watch AMERICAN ASSASSIN please stop reading now. Come back after you've seen it.

Still here...ok here goes.

Firstly, let me start off with the plot.  A young good looking man (O'Brien) proposes to his beautiful girlfriend at a beach. Out of nowhere, a group of terrorist attacks everyone there and the girl is brutally gunned down. As a result, the guy grows a manly beard and trains himself to hunt and take down these cold blooded killers - all by himself. In the process, he is recruited by the CIA to help them stop a nuclear bomb threat.

To be fair, you can watch the above plot in the trailers. It was because of the trailers, especially the first one, I was captivated by what I saw. "Woah, the boy from the Maze Runner series looks macho here! And that John Carter dude plays a baddie? Michael Keaton??! Here take my money!"

But alas...this movie is so generic one can fall asleep during the film and when he wakes up, he can still follow what's happening on screen. If it wasn't for the big names, this would be a B-grade on-demand type of movie.

If the filmmakers could do this again, I have 3 suggestions for them to make American Assassin a much better watch.

1) Cast an unexpected actor as the lead
Credit should be given to O'Brien for giving his all for this film. But he is just not believable here. As O'Brien has done action flicks before, the filmmakers should have cast an unexpected actor in this movie. Think Bruce Willis in Die Hard. Before he became an action hero, he was this almost non-confrontational cool dude with a smirk in the romantic comedy TV series Moonlighting. Nobody would have thought he was capable of playing such an action driven role but he nailed it. (Nicholas Cage in The Rock and Con Air achieved a similar buzz too. Before these movies, he was a dramatic actor).

2) Cast an unexpected actor as the main villain 
Similar argument as (1). No doubt, Kitsch was an unexpected choice but he just wasn't menacing enough. He came across as a boy with daddy issues. Totally unforgettable. Anybody with decent acting chops could have played that role. Using Die Hard as an example again, think about the casting of Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. Now, that's a real baddie. Before his breakout role, he played small dramatic roles on British TV.

3) Don't chicken out on the ending
I thought the filmmakers will be bold enough to do something daring at the end - to give it a "too little too late" finale causing hundreds of casualties. That could have redeemed the movie. But they played it safe.

If anything, American Assassin kills time.

RATING: 5.5/10 

AMERICAN MADE (2017)

Genre: Thriller / Comedy / Drama
Running Length: 1:55
Cast: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Caleb Landry Jones, Jesse Plemons
Director: Doug Liman
Screenplay: Gary Spinelli

As fun as AMERICAN MADE was, I sincerely think that Tom Cruise is miscast here. For starters, he doesn't look anything like the real Barry Seal (a chubby pilot who worked for both the CIA and the Colombian cartel in the 1980s), eventhough some critics said that Cruise channels the same "spirit" as Seal. Don't get me wrong, Mr Cruise does some fine work here. Some would even say he has return to form. But what could have been more believable is for Tom to really pack on a few pounds like what Christian Bale did in American Hustle

This biopic is about the life of Barry Seal, a hot shot maverick commercial pilot who got himself drawn into working with the CIA. The events that followed suit got more bizarre, bigger and crazier, all in the name of chasing after the American dream. I read somewhere that this movie felt like a cross between The Wolf of Wall Street and Top Gun.  

What didn't work for me is that as the turn of events got more bizarre and dangerous, Seal always "gets away". Thus, after a while I didn't feel any real tension because I know Cruise will somehow escape and still flash his signature mega-watt smile. We don't get to see Seal struggle through the moral dilemma of his actions and somehow gets the audience to feel sympathetic for him (eventhough what he does is not really nice).

What I learn from this movie is that sometimes learning when to stop and surrender - will make all the difference.

RATING: 6.5/10