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Elf
by Ronald Wan
Gone are the days the silver screen was
satiated with images of a gentle white man in a red suit spreading
some Christmas cheer (think Miracle on 34th Street, The
Santa Claus). These days we're pummelled instead during
holiday seasons with unusual caricatures like the Grinch, a
very bad Santa and now, an elf with upsized shoes.
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Master
and Commander
by Ronald Wan
Don't expect swordfights, gunfire, and
cannon balls to come by the shiploads just because Russell 'The
Brute' Crowe is steamrolling the movie. Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World is the mother of all sea adventures,
but without a weird sissy pirate called Jack Sparrow, a cartoon
pirate called Sinbad and certainly without a fish called Nemo.
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Igby
Goes Down
by Ronald Wan
When Igby (Kieran
Culkin, brother of Macaulay Culkin) goes down, he really goes
down - fast and furious like a tequila shot. He drifts from the
affluent high-flier society of his rich parents to a bohemian
free-spirited world, drunk on freedom, substance abuse, lofty
world ideals and casual sex.
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The
Butterfly
by Ronald Wan
The Butterfly is unlike usual French
fare - the screwball comedies - like 8 Women, Bon Voyage
and even the American-French production Le Divorce. It
sticks out instead like a sore thumb among recent French farces
like The Spanish Apartment and Fanfan la Tulipe.
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Le Divorce
by Melody Tan
Le Divorce is a movie
that can't quite decide what it wants to be – a Parisian
romantic comedy, coming-of-age dramedy or a stalker-thriller.
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Kill
Bill
by Ronald Wan
A B-movie suggests a passable storyline,
less-than-inspired acting and basic action. A Quentin Tarantino
B-movie, in this instance Kill Bill, however, has, on top
of a simple story, layered with multiple cinematic cross-references,
empowering feminist acting and a grisly yet raw action.
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Identity
by Mervyn Lim
10 strangers, by fate or chance, gather
at a deserted motel on a dark and stormy night against the backdrop
of a ghostly town in Nevada. Soon, 1 after another is killed in
this psychological thriller-cum-murder mystery made for Hitchcock
and Agatha Christie fans.
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Uptown
Girls
by Roxanne Toh
Sometimes, 2 wrongs can make 1 right –
when you put the ditzy socialite Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy)
and precocious rich missy Ray Schleine (Dakota Fanning) on a nanny-child
bonding session.
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The Wisher
by Amy Ng
The Wisher or Spliced, as it is known in
several states in America, is the kind of horror film you’d
walk out of the theatre for, not because it’s too scary,
but it’s just too painful to continue watching.
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Matchstick
Men
by Dawn Tay
Matchstick Men is not your usual story
about con artists using fancy techniques to steal and evade the
authorities (think The Italian Job). Beyond the deceiving façade
of a simple premise, such as the neighbourhood supermarket, it
is a richly textured and beautiful story about a man learning
to love and to live a life worth living.
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Muscle Heat
by Cheryl Chia
With
a title like Muscle Heat, you’ll be forgiven for thinking
it’s yet another cheesy action or porn flick. And you would
be right on the money. Don’t get me wrong, it is action-packed
and kungfu fans might favour it, but the script could do with some
revamping. ...more>>> |
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28 Days Later
by Daniel Yuan
The day after the 28 days later, you’ll
probably be thinking about the leftover popcorn from the movie
(which you could not stomach after the gruesome scenes), the apocalyptic
impact of a deadly virus unleashed in a primed post Sars-world.
And perhaps wondering what would you do if you ever become a zombie.
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Seabiscuit
by Melody Tan
Not just another sports movie about being
an underdog, Seabiscuit
– based on a true
story – is an inspiring tale set in the Depression era
about a runty horse with a bad temper that rose to become one
of the most celebrated racehorses in history.
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Secondhand
Lions
by Melody Tan
Haley Joel Osment isn’t seeing ghosts
this time, but rather, 2 grouchy and eccentric old men who have
an affinity with shotguns and wild animals.
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Italian Job
by Melody Tan
A few hours after watching The
Italian Job, you won’t remember much of it.
It’s as memorable as the contents of your Secondary 3
Physics textbook.
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Summer Shams
by Amanda Tay
It’s been a bummer of a summer.
Over at the Hollywood hills, almost every studio chieftain must
wish the summer season can disappear as fast as the Nissan Skyline
from 2
Fast 2 Furious. From Charlie’s
Angels to How to Deal,
we can hardly keep track of the number of summer movie flops.
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