Reviews

Highly recommended for anyone jaded with over use of CG effects, or tired of catching up on hours of TV / movie series in order to fully enjoy a fully paid yet incomplete film.

The film smartly introduces characters and plots with minimalist dialogues so non-Japanese speaking audiences can focus on the story instead of busy reading subtitles. The cast of familiar seasoned actors expressed themselves with universal body language such as embraces and tears so the language barrier is not a concern at all.

This movie serves up a touching story of personal tragedy, post-war grief, and the strength of friendship, familial bond, and courage in face of rising cold war tensions and unprecedented crisis from a terrifying creature.

Obviously one can read into the heatwave blast from Godzilla and its territorial attacks (it tries to move into Tokyo Bay and shop in Ginza district, fancy!) as a symbolic cautionary tale of weapons of mass destruction, wrath of nature, etc. Thankfully the action scenes delivered tension without overstaying its welcome nor being preachy. 2 hours is just right amount of time to build characters, relationships, suspense and tension.

One critical message in the story was the redemptive power of forgiveness, hope and communal solidarity to protect the future. A few remarks were made about how the government treated its soldiers' lives too cheaply, with poor equipment and supplies; and how information about Godzilla's imminent attack on Tokyo was suppressed to avoid chaos (uh, that reminds me of the mayor unwilling to warn the beach goers about the great white). The writers try to acknowledge the dire poverty and a sense of abandonment in postwar Japan without being cynical. The story is made to be uplifting and hopeful. The success of this movie is telling studio executives that audiences want movies with a heart. If the film happens to be in a theatre near you, enjoy!

Adrian Brody's sarcastic narration was the voice of a self aware genre parody. Oyelowo (Selma, Queen of Katwe) is among the fine cast who were underused, which was unfortunate. The investigation would have more sparks if it involved more than mainly the hilarious and loveable Ronan (Grand Budapest Hotel, Brooklyn) and Rockwell (The way way back, 3 billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri)... Nonetheless, the story knew when to end, keeping it short and sweet. This film was almost as fun as its contemporary, Knives Out (an 8 to me). I look forward to seeing more non-franchise original screen plays with quality production on the big screen.

Haven't seen X, but this film is a capable stand-alone horror story. Mia Goth carried the main weight of the film, convincingly portrayed a lonely and disturbed married woman who dreamt of being loved, accepted and feeling safe in the grim era of World World I and the bird flu pandemic. The anti-German sentiments in towns certainly amplified the alienation and despair felt by Pearl's German family. Pearl's family circumstances (husband away in the battlefield; an infirm father and emotional conflicts with her mother) spelt little opportunity for a happy future. At times pathetic, at times hopeful, Pearl's inevitable descent into vicious frenzy reminded me of TV series such as Bates Motel and Hannibal --- inescapable, agonizing scenes ahead.

Of course, those TV series used its cast in a more balanced way. Here, Pearl's emotional journey was interspersed with brief moments with supporting characters. They mostly served as plot devices to trigger emotions and decisions in Pearl. Pearl's emotional struggle with her parents were especially affecting: Her intense arguments with her mother symbolized her struggle with reality and social expectations of her; her quiet and helpless father represented the terror felt by the audience as things spiralled down to a morbid end.

Due to it being a prequel, some plots and characters didn't provide surprises. However, what make up for the lack of plot twist are the effective build up to the gory death scenes by unnerving sound effects, music scores and crisp editing. Goth's monologue showcased her horror acting chops. Her characters may not end well, but her horror thriller career should be quite bright. Just like the film, how ironic ;)

The setting reminds me of The Brotherhood of the Wolves (2001 French period action horror film directed by Christophe Gans) with less entertaining actions and plot twists. The cursed is still a respectable entry with just about the right amount of gore.

The movie probably suffered low scores due to its small coverage in horror-action content, but it is definitely a solid entry in the over saturated zombie genre.

The movie tone is life-affirming in a sarcastic yet heart warming way, thanks to the lead actors' performance, making them strong, kind and still believable; especially during emotional crisis and physical dangers, the grown ups tried to watch their mouths and candy wrap all the mayhem around the kindergarten kids.

Some may find the plot and character development predictable, but the movie stands out as sincere and fun instead of being heavy handedly moralistic.

For a more terrifying and serious tone, I'd recommend Train to Busan, World War Z, 28 Days Later and Girl with all the gifts.

The first 20 minutes introduced us to the protagonist, Eloise's challenging transition from growing up under the care of her grandmother in Cornwall to a fashion college life in London. Then, the audience is treated to an intriguing hour of Eloise's dream-like visions about some 1960's characters, portrayed by Matt Smith and Anya Taylor Joy. The movie kept us guessing about whether the increasingly violent visions were simply figments of Eloise's imagination, or psychic connections to real-life events from the past.

Although the momentum of the movie slowed down in the later half to more repetitive nightmarish sequences involving Eloise's emotional turmoil, Thomasin McKenzie's Eloise character and the entire cast succeeded in retaining audience's empathy and engagement. If you're contemplating about the value of the bonus features included in the blu-ray disc, there is no doubt they have improved our insight and appreciation of the film (40+ minutes with cast, director and the production team on casting, visual and costume design, music selection and shooting challenges in Soho, a 24/7 busy district, as well as efforts to resist cliche camera angles and overused landmarks on the streets of London).

In the end, what sets this suspense thriller apart is that it is an original film, in an era of franchise sequels and overused CGIs, that strives to be an authentic nod to the 60's, a tale of themes such as yearning for a sense of belonging, career aspirations, greed and cruelty -- human motivations that have hardly changed despite the changes in fashion and music throughout the eras. In the bonus feature, Edger Wright (director of Baby Driver, Attack the Block, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) jokingly commented that maybe he made this thriller to remind himself not to be too nostalgic about the 60's.

In preparation for this inspiring documentary, the French film crew and their translator took a year to establish rapport with the former volleyball players.

Full of touching moments from the interviewees, now in their 80s, we gained insight in their lasting friendship and dedication (they all worked morning shifts in a factory, then practised volleyball in the afternoon until late at night) from jaw-dropping training footage. Knowing the result of the 1964 Olympics volleyball final, the tournament footage is still exhilarating to watch, even today.

As the former teammates gathered at the lunch table, sharing their fond memories of each other's antics and nicknames, some players were sorely missing from the occasion (due to illness or have passed in recent years). I'm glad the legendary players have agreed to participate in this sports documentary, a timeless story to tell and to watch.

This instalment's action sequences lack the wow-cool factor of the first one. Cut scenes don't feel polished, just rushing. Villainous monsters are generic looking giants, unimpressive for a Marvel movie. What a disappointment. I bought VIP ticket on premiere night.

What saves the movie is the emotional weight carried by Olsen, Cumberbatch and McAdams.

The cameos are so-so, and some deaths were rather unnecessarily gruesome and un-Marvel-like. Being a horror / mystery-thriller / supernatural (Let the right one in, Sinister, 28 Days Later, The Descent), the gory scenes didn't scare me. They just felt out of place -- it felt like a tug-of-war between Sam Raimi's style and Marvel franchise directives, inevitably resulting in a story of uneven tone.

For those who like fight scenes while travelling portals may enjoy the movie more. It's not my cup of tea.

Even the post-credit teaser is brief and unimpressive, with very little intrigue to pique my interest in the 3rd movie... yikes, can't believe I'm writing a critique on Dr. Strange series. Let's hope the 3rd one turn out better.

This story is an interesting blend of psychological suspense, slasher horror and supernatural thriller. Moss is undeniably instrumental in carrying the bulk of the story, but also kudos to the supporting cast who help make the story more human and complete, with few acting scenes they have been given. As the mystery unfolds, some action sequences look sort of clumsy (compared to the intense fight scenes in Malignant) but they are made believable thanks to the good acting and character building prior to the crisis so the audience can stay invested in the movie. In the end, it does make me wonder what's darker: humans or ghosts? It's a good entry for horror thriller fans.

The cartoony cheeky violent scenes are made plausible by the heavy lifting of Margot Robbie. Harley's crimes mostly involve comic mischief, non-lethal assaults. The bond built among the birds of prey members and the girl they tried to rescue were convincing enough given the runtime of 2 hours. Character introduction and the case certainly needed more organized flashbacks. Ewan McGregor did a decent job portraying a villain with a morbid sense of humour. I hope the second outing will have a tighter script.

Saw this on prime video. If you like Equalizer and Taken type of story, you'll like this one. This one is of course without the budget and the star power, but the pace and characters are well made.

Sit back and enjoy: if you like the cast, you will not be disappointed: they clearly had a great time playing off each other's characters. The plot twist was not as surprising as I have hoped for, but there were no dull moments either. I'm glad to see different genres being successful on the big screen - neither every script requires, nor every studio can afford, blockbuster productions.

I didn't watch the first Frozen (what~??) so I can't compare this to the original. The voice actors kept the characters fresh so I felt like I didn't need to catch up on their friendships; and there were moments when I almost cried.

Maybe I'm just cynical, the story overtly checked off the corporate social responsibility checklist of respect for nature and "do the next right thing". I wish the theme was rendered more subtly, but then again, the plot had to be simple (gentle, and happy) enough for young audience.

It was a tricky balance between cuteness (new plush doll ready character - super adorable gecko) and sadness. At the end of the day, the story reassured us that truth stands the test of time, love saves the day, and family tensions always resolve. This isn't Toy Story, which discussed serious themes with grown up audience in mind. But Frozen II is still an enjoyable ride.

The reboot obviously cannot be compared to the original cast and iconic theme song. When the first one came out, it was a pop culture phenomenon: many moviegoers (men, women, kids) dressed in black suits and wore Ray Bans. That's how cool the movie was.

Setting that aside, I expected this film to be at least entertaining. Well, the new aliens, Pawny (Kumail Nanjiani) and Riza (Rebecca Ferguson) helped lighten up the screen. Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth could have had better chemistry if the script wasn't so soggy.

The conspiracy / crisis was hard to follow, because the villains and target were introduced through hectic and mumbled dialogues in the MIB headquarters and the dance club. The sounds should have been clearer in post production. The dialogues and tone flipped flopped between funny and serious.

I think the movie would have gotten better if it was scripted and edited more neatly. The movie felt like an unpolished product and a rough ride for the cast and audience. If the franchise continues, I hope these flaws would be fixed.

It's hard to compare Rush (racer biography by Ron Howard) I suppose Rush race scenes were more intense, but the 2 leads didn't have chemistry like Bale and Damon in this one. Their friendship, colleagues and families really helped carry the story for 2.5 hours.

The story is relevant in both auto race and corporate history. The director did a great job bringing the audience to this specialized industry with effective narratives so we could all enjoy the ride without feeling lost.

There were so much to digest in the dialogues and so many good action scenes to admire that I would recommend watching it again! p.s. try covering your ears in the theatre, because I overheard spoilers in the hallway (*__*) not cool~! Another occasion, I had to put on my headphone on the train to avoid hearing spoilers.

Seeing the movie duration at around 2.5 hours, I was prepared for a long...slow...build up, and dragging mid-chapter melodrama / flashbacks, then some frantic fright scenes and/or more dragging epilogue hinting at a sequel.

I was pleasantly surprised -- the characters and crisis they faced built up at a competent pace, and I especially appreciate the director's effort in keeping the audio visual shocks brief and to the point, not too loud, not too long, not too many stunts, which sometimes ended up feel like an action movie instead of a psychological thriller.

Most characters have been portrayed consistently and have chemistry. Some scenes are made very upsetting and intense by effective background music. For example, the movie managed to keep the night scenes eerie, foggy, yet still bright enough for audience to follow what's going on, with the smart use of car headlights.

I'm happy that the director avoided the 2 most common pitfalls of horror flicks: bad editing/ shaky camera/ poor lighting, and overdone audio visual shocks.

Inevitably, the hotel is featured in the movie as suggested by trailers, but the director kept the flashbacks minimal, and remained focused on this movie's characters, so I didn't feel like watching The Shining all over again.

This Terminator instalment pales in comparison to the 1991 iconic film in terms of cool technology and memorable scenes, but as a T-fan, I'm relieved that finally this one is in the right direction: competent cast, nostalgic BGM, smart-ass one-liners intersecting smooth, fast paced action. The terminators in this round have some added improvements, so the chase-fight back plot cycle action scenes don't look too repetitive and predictable. Kudos to the underwater scenes - must be a b* to film (^_<).

The directing and editing didn't seem polished though; at times I felt like being bumped off the ride... The whole movie experience was not impressive - considering Cameron's name is attached to the project. I wished he spent some of his time devoted to Avatar and Titanic to the Terminator series.

So this instalment feels more like a B movie sequel. Once again, the CinemaScore site was spot on. If the studio green-lights another film, we can't expect Arnie and Linda to keep coming back to kick some machine asses

The movie is true to its trailer - no misleading advertising - it's a goofy buddy action flick with slick actions, summer popcorn friendly plot, smart-ass humour and language kept at PG13 level - a fun ride that is worth my evening and the movie ticket.

The actors' chemistry pulled off the usual casual American vs stuffy Englishman rivalry. Great casting: Vanessa Kirby is a convincing, kick-ass spy with a wink-wink mischievous side, that fits her well as a loyal, partner-in-crime sister to Shaw, and a charming love interest to Hobbs.

Guest appearances: no spoilers - let's just say they're delightful *grin*

Helen Mirren is always fun to watch - as Shaw's charismatic career criminal mother; do you think the prison can hold her for long?

We also get to know Shaw and Hobbs' past and their families. Many supporting characters, including Hobbs' family, had interesting lines that made the movie more enjoyable.

The various car chase sequences managed to stay unique and spot-on its theme of celebrating family values. That is, this instalment kept the feel good buddy-family matters tone of the franchise, without making the action scenes look repetitive. That is an impressive feat.

One weak link I suppose is Brixton, the villain. As charming and convincing as Idris Elba, the Brixton character did not have much room or lines to make him a memorable villain. The movie, after all, is already clocked at 2 hours 17 mins.

Kudos to this franchise. It continued to challenge itself in each instalment instead of treating it as a repetitive sequel.

I look forward to another adventure from this franchise.

The storyline at times delved into predictable melodrama, but the nostalgic songs and the impressive acting inevitably draws genuine sympathy and inspirations. Judy's encounters with some fans were remarkably touching.

It's important to support small budget movies to promote product variety in cinemas and the art industries. I've seen "The Witch", which was a respectable entry in the supernatural horror genre.

Unfortunately, similar to "The Witch", Lighthouse showcased a strong cast but confusing storyline, muddled dialogues and baffling ending.

Shouting dialogues and ramblings made it hard to pick out plot relevant words and character revelations.

Black and white filming was a nod to cinematography efforts.

There were some unsettling and gory images that might qualify this film as a horror film, but being a long-time horror thriller fan, I was not much impressed: bizarre images + eerie music does not always = horrifying to a viewer.

Killing of A Sacred Deer was a more unnerving thriller for me, given its unconventional plot. Hereditary, albeit its uneven tone and pace, left me with some intensely memorable moments.

The Lighthouse though, left me with a question mark (?)...

There's no surprise in the plot. What draws audience is the acting and timely theme of social equity and senseless crimes. The film suggested the causes and the ending seemed to portray Joker in a triumphant way - I gave the writers benefit of the doubt; that this ending was meant to show the ironic turn of Arthur from being an unwanted comedian who liked to cheer people young and old, to being accepted and even followed as a villain-vigilante. I would have given it 9~10 if the film ended in the night scene, but it dragged into more scenes inside a hospital which felt redundant to us sympathetic audience.

The film message to me is not about provoking civil unrest and violent rampage. I see the story as a cautionary tale about missed opportunities for society to come together especially during difficult and uncertain times. Give, not take; trust, not judge. Peace.

If this is the last instalment, Toy Story 4 ended with a very high bar for other sequels - live or animation wise.

The film runs a tight script, so every scene is full of action, smart dialogues and hilarious situations that are relevant to today's society: e.g. throw-away society, where toy characters question the difference between being "trash" and "a toy"; changing gender roles and existentialism - delivered by unforgettable new and old characters, hands down.

What amazes me is that the script was able to demonstrate conflict resolution between toys through trust, communication and empathy - an important lesson on building a cooperative society in a competitive world.

The story left me with belly laughs and heart-felt tears.

The VIP cinema on Friday evening was almost empty. The movie juggled unevenly between intense action scenes and character drama, at times causing unintentional laughs.

For example, family and colleagues just finished talking, and 1 second later, explosions threw everybody off. The uneven pace and predictable dialogues didn't help either. Luckily, the likeable cast of seasoned actors helped keep the movie believable.

CG wise, the monsters could have looked more lively or nimble, considering the movie budget was $200M. Godzilla's reappearance in this sequel didn't feel exciting. Instead, the introduction and fight scenes of Mothra felt more touching for me (anime, mecha and monster fan). The 3 headed Ghidorah looked quite menacing. I'd like to see it again in a future sequel.

The dramatic / sad music scores are quite touching, but the action sequence scores are not memorable, comparing to 300 and Pacific Rim soundtracks.

The nuclear and thermo attacks from Godzilla and Ghidorah were blinding at times - I had to close my eyes! If you're sensitive to light, it's best to watch it on a matinee, coz the strong flash fight scenes may cause sleeplessness...

There's a post credit scene hinting a part 3. Hopefully part 3 will get better.

This movie is for fans of (not in particular order): a) unique, stylish action sequences -- PLURAL! b) actors doing most of their own stunt -- in their 50s! How kick-ass inspiring! c) dark humour d) revenge first -- talk later e) horses and doggies (Canine Karma Unit) f) bromance and family ties -- respect! g) wickiverse -- origins of the marker and the first continental coin! h) Matrix, reunion of cast mates Reeves and Fishburne

I'm happy to hear about Chapter 4 is in the works.

The movie would have been better if it makes better use of the supporting cast: Bob Odenkirk, Andy Serkis, June Diane Raphael and Ravi Patel.

The story is not as touching and sobering as 50/50. It leans more on comedy in social-political scenes. But it is more respectful / meaningful than say, Neighbors.