jeddjong Reviews

2025 (2015)

One day there will be a good sci-fi film/TV show from Singapore. This is not that day.

[3/10 · 24 July 2020]

2025 is a science fiction series that is set ten years from 2015, when the show aired. To begin with, it is not very gee whiz to have a show that takes place in the far-flung future of ten years from now. I'm guessing that perhaps this was pitched as 2045 or 2035, and the setting was brought down to a manageable year given budget and other constraints. Imagine if you made a show in 2005 called "2015" - what would be the noticeable physical differences? The phones got smaller, but there's not very much other than that.

The plot is your basic sci-fi conspiracy deal - an unassuming accountant is caught in a car accident. The problem is, self-driving cars don't have accidents. His wife and daughter, and the neighbour kid who has a crush on the daughter, get drawn into a far-reaching malicious plot. It turns out there was more to the accountant than his family thought, and he is secretly a brilliant neuroscientist. There is also an intrepid detective who sets about unravelling the mystery, which involves the CEO of a biotechnology firm, an ambitious presidential candidate, and his drug addict son. The biotechnology firm is rolling out a cognitive enhancement device called the "psychip," and if you have seen or read one dystopian sci-fi anything, you know where this is going.

The series is described as a "docu-drama," which is confusing. The reason it's given this designation is the narrative part of each half-hour episode ends about two-thirds in. The remaining third of each episode comprises talking head segments, with people who work in various fields being interviewed about the technologies that are showcased in each episode, some of which are pretty mundane. So you have often deeply uncharismatic people discussing 3D printing and self-driving cars and the like. This is stuff that would typically comprise bonus material, and not be part of the actual show. It makes one think that the producers felt like Singaporeans do not fundamentally grasp the concept of sci-fi. It would be like if every time someone used the matter transporter on Star Trek, Michio Kaku shows up to explain how that might work. It undercuts the little drama that the show has. In the final episode, one character dies and their remains are turned into diamonds. The expert who shows up to explain this process robs that character's death of any emotional weight it might have had.

I'll be honest: I was willing to cut 2025 a lot of slack because I know how hard it is to get anything made here, let alone a science fiction TV series. I am certain that there are many talented filmmakers and other artists in Singapore, it's just that they get discouraged very early on when all their ideas get shut down instead of being nurtured. I was excited to see where this would go, fully having the expectation that it probably would be a bit rinky-dink because that's just how things are.

The most obvious thing is that the show does not look good. It puts the visual effects front and centre when the visual effects are very poor. There are ways to disguise and work around limited resources, but here, the limited resources are on full display, Emperor's New Clothes-style. The pilot episodes opens with the car crash. There's just no weight to this and the car does not occupy the same physical space. One of the problems is that they're cutting between this CGI car and this practical motorcycle, and they just don't match. Shortly after that, we get this scene of the accountant guy getting surgery where the medical robot just does not look finished.

The practical aspects of the production aren't great either - the villainous Enforcers all dress in what looks like paintball armour, and the futuristic pistol is a NERF gun. To their credit, they did paint the NERF gun black but they didn't sand the logo down. Who knows, perhaps Hasbro becomes the world's top weapons manufacturer in 2025? There's still time for them to get into that market.

The "final boss" of the series is the presidential candidate's son wearing this exo-suit that looks like cardboard spray-painted silver.

The look of the show is far from its only problem, or even its main problem. The story is a really basic sci-fi plot. Something that is straightforward and unoriginal can be forgiven if it is presented in an entertaining manner, but 2025 is not entertaining. It's chock-full of exposition and just really goes through the motions.

The acting is generally not convincing, but then again, it's like that across the board for Singaporean TV, so I don't want to be too hard on that aspect. There certainly are actors in this who know what they're doing: dependable industry veteran Lim Kay Tong is doing a decent Lex Luthor-type villain performance, and Edward Choy, who plays the police detective, is clearly trying his best. Scott Hillyard, who plays the neighbour kid, is reasonably endearing even if his character is written to be a bit annoying at times.

Eunice Annabel Lim, who plays the daughter, is a beauty influencer who acted once in the film The Lion Men before appearing in this show. It's low-hanging fruit to criticise the acting skills of social media influencers, but it is troubling that producers think that influencers and actors are remotely the same thing. It seems like a widespread misconception in Singapore that acting is very easy and anyone can do it, and as such it seems undervalued as a craft.

It is indicative of the state of Singapore's mainstream film and TV output that I actually was excited for this show back in 2015. 2025 represents how stuck Singapore is, and how challenging it is for any Singapore-made genre projects to have credibility. Genre is a great way of making stuff that travels, and stuff that gets noticed elsewhere. A well-made Singaporean sci-fi film or TV show could gain cult status among genre fans around the world, but it seems like we're just really far off from that, and that there needs to be a paradigm shift in the industry that I'm not sure really could happen.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

A Sarah Connor Chronicle

[7/10 · 23 October 2019]

The Terminator franchise is a defining one in the genres of sci-fi, action and horror. While the imagery and the catchphrases have become ingrained in popular culture, the film series has struggled to recapture the glory of the first two entries. The underrated spinoff television series was sadly short-lived. James Cameron, who directed the first two films and helmed the theme park attraction but has had no direct involvement in the series since then, returns as a producer for this sixth film.

Terminator: Dark Fate learns from the failure of the previous entries. The most recent Terminator film before this, Terminator: Genisys, was a jumbled mess of multiple timelines and attempted to remix beloved elements of the series, alienating fans in the process. Dark Fate benefits from more of a back-to-basics approach, presenting a straightforward story without relying too much on exposition. It functions as a direct sequel to Judgement Day, with all the other films taking place in alternate timelines. This is not dissimilar to 2018's Halloween, which was a direct sequel to the 1978 movie and ignored the many sequels that were made in the intervening years.

The film's biggest asset is Linda Hamilton, who has not appeared in any of the films since Judgement Day. This is much more than the glorified cameo which we could've gotten, with the Sarah Connor character front and centre. Hamilton took some convincing to come back on board, and the film really wouldn't have worked if she had said no. Hamilton easily conveys the no-nonsense toughness fans of the series know and love, but also delivers a genuinely good performance beyond that. The R-rating means that she gets to swear a whole lot, and she's amazing at it. There are several moments when just a look from Hamilton tells us so much. This is a character who has been through the wringer and would like the world to think she can just shrug it off, but there is a lot of sadness and pain that she's internalised - when those shards are visible, that's when Hamilton's immense contribution to the movie really registers.

Arnold Schwarzenegger appears in more of a supporting capacity, but completely steals the show when he's onscreen. The film wisely makes use of Schwarzenegger's comedic talents while also preserving the formidable physical power associated with the T-800 character.

One scene in the film showcases the most convincing digital de-aging/face replacement effects I've ever seen.

The film clearly aspires to the heights of Judgement Day, so it is noticeable when it falls short of those heights. There are moments when the film is almost emotional, and while there are some moving beats, there is nothing nearly as sublime as "I know now why you cry, but it's something that I could never do." While the stronger connection to the first two films anchors Dark Fate in the tone and mythos of the earlier movies, it also prevents the movie from being too innovative on its own terms. Also, much of the events in Judgement Day seem to have been rendered moot - not quite to the level of "Ripley finds Newt and Hicks dead at the beginning of Alien 3," but it does approach that.

While some action sequences are brilliantly executed, others feel just a touch too synthetic. The visual effects are leaps and bounds over the somewhat unpolished work seen in Genisys, but there are still moments when one thing made of CGI is being thrown into another thing also made of CGI. Out of necessity, the earlier films made ingenious use of practical animatronic effects and miniature models. Director Tim Miller of Deadpool fame is a co-founder of Blur Studio, best known for making animated cutscenes and cinematics for video games. The action sequences in Dark Fate can sometimes come off as a little too video game-esque, but Miller does often demonstrate a keen awareness of how to place elements in space to create action sequences.

The Dani character is sympathetic and Natalia Reyes gives the role her all, but she can sometimes come off as a little whiny and is not written that well.

Another way that the film echoes Judgement Day is in its villain, the shape-shifting Rev-9. Like Robert Patrick, Gabriel Luna is less conspicuous in a crowd than Arnold Schwarzenegger, meaning the Rev-9 is more convincing as an infiltration unit. It also has a neat gimmick of being able to separate itself into liquid metal outer shell and endoskeleton, allowing it to perform tag-team attacks. Rev-9 is perhaps a touch too indestructible, such that the action sequences become a little repetitive.

Mackenzie Davis' Grace is a great addition to the canon. This reviewer enjoys seeing actors whom one wouldn't typically associate with action movies take on action-heavy roles. Davis underwent a complete physical transformation to play the muscular, angular Grace. There is a tragedy to the character, who has sacrificed her physical autonomy for the cause, so she is always sympathetic.

Terminator: Dark Fate is in a way commenting on the history of the series. There is so much that's memorable about the first two Terminator films that it's hard to resist the temptation to make constant references to them. Yes, Sarah Connor does say "I'll be back", but Dark Fate demonstrates restraint and refuses to lean on the series' storied past as a crutch.

Terminator: Dark Fate is not a film that strictly needs to exist, but by building a strong connection to the second film and by getting Linda Hamilton back in a starring role, it satisfyingly echoes the franchise at its best.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

Battle Royale Disney style

[7/10 · 16 October 2019]

In 2014, audiences learnt the back-story behind Maleficent, the villainess of Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty. Rather than being just a cackling sorceress, Maleficent painted its title character as someone who rose from tragedy and betrayal to form a complex bond with the young Princess Aurora. Directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge), this sequel continues that story, pitting Maleficent against a conniving, ruthless new foe.

Angelina Jolie continues to be all sharp-cheekboned perfection as Maleficent. We were afraid that she might phone in it given that this is a sequel, but she still appears to relish the role. Not only does she gets numerous fabulous costume changes, Maleficent goes on a journey of discovering, getting acquainted with her people and learning about their customs and beliefs. There is a conflict between her allegiance to her fae kin and to Aurora, which gives the powerful character something to struggle with.

Much of the film works because of Michelle Pfeiffer. Casting her opposite Jolie was an inspired move. The early promotional materials tried to hide it, but there's no point beating about the bush now - Queen Ingrith is the "Mistress of Evil" of the title. Pfeiffer plays the villain with sneer and swagger hidden beneath a regal façade, with shades of her witch character from Stardust sometimes visible. Coming off like a PG-rated Cersei Lannister, it's an absolute hoot.

There's a lot going on in the plot of the movie, so it is to writers Linda Woolverton, Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue's credit that the movie never loses sight of its emotional core: the relationship between Maleficent and Aurora. They might not be on the same page for much of the film, but it cannot be questioned that Maleficent deeply loves and cares for Aurora, something Ingrith winds up exploiting.

Just as in the first film, the show is stolen by Sam Riley as Diaval, Maleficent's shape-shifting sidekick. Riley manages to be both cool and

While the visuals are often mesmerising and transporting, the film does lean very heavily on computer-generated imagery. This is expected of a fantasy adventure film, but some of the characters do seem unnatural. The Fairy Godmothers Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton), Thistlewit (Juno Temple) and Flittle (Lesley Manville) return from the first film, and their almost-human facial features sometimes cross over into the dreaded uncanny valley.

Prince Philip is boring, but then again, this is something inherent in the source material. Brenton Thwaites, who was busy filming Season 2 of Titans, is replaced by Harris Dickinson, who constantly seems a little bit confused and flat. However, this is also a sign that the film understands that Philip is not the main character, and that he does not have to be the hero to save the day. Chiwetel Ejiofor is almost completely wasted in a relatively small supporting role.

The action sequences in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil are grand and expansive. Like most big-budget high fantasy projects these days, it seems more than a little derivative of Game of Thrones, but the big battle scenes are dynamic and lively. The movie gets surprisingly dark, with the villain's plot involving genocide by way of biological warfare. However, the movie still has a bounce and a sense of humour to it and is never too self-serious the way something like Snow White and the Huntsman and its sequel The Huntsman: Winter's War sometimes were. The big climactic battle takes place in broad daylight, which is a relative rarity in films of this type.

This film has a completely different design team than the first but maintains a sense of visual continuity while also giving us something new. The costumes by Ellen Mirojnick are stunning, especially Maleficent's battle outfit which is a sexy, elegant body paint-style number. Production designer Patrick Tatopolous creates some gorgeous fantasy environments, chief of which is the hidden fae sanctuary comprising mini-environments which have different climates.

Some of it may be overly familiar, but there's still more creativity to this than to Disney's live-action remakes which are obligated to retrace the steps of their animated forebears. Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer pitted against each other is worth the price of admission.

Killer Not Stupid (2019)

This was physically painful to watch.

[2/10 · 7 February 2019]

After including hints of action in the Ah Boys to Men series, Jack Neo leaps into the action-comedy genre with Killer Not Stupid. Do his broad comedic sensibilities jibe with the world of international terrorism and high-stakes intrigue? I'll get to that in a bit.

The film centres on Hornet (Jay Shih), an elite assassin who wants out of the game. Hornet is assisted by his trusty tech guy Mark (Nadow), and they're undertaking the proverbial 'one last job'. Hornet and Mark must acquire a valuable flash drive dubbed '100K', which contains comprising material on the world's terrorist rings. Naturally, rival forces, including the triad leader 'Grandma' (Ryan Lian), are also after the drive.

Along the way, Hornet and Mark meet Sha Bao (Gadrick Chin), Mark's former classmate from Malaysia. All three have coincidentally booked into the same hotel as Talia (Amber An), the ditzy daughter of a slain Filipino drug lord. Talia is being escorted by the no-nonsense agent Ira (Apple Chan), who soon grows sick of Sha Bao's antics. Hornet and Mark's former boss Mother (Lin Mei-Hsiu) is out to kill Hornet, now that Hornet wants to quit. The international criminal Adolf (Ricky Davao) has put a bounty out for the 100K drive, meaning Hornet is pursued on all sides on his last job.

This appears to be the result of the Ah Boys to Men films doing well in Taiwan, leading to Taiwanese investors bankrolling Neo to make a movie in Taiwan with Taiwanese stars. Killer Not Stupid is completely unrelated to I Not Stupid and its sequels. It's a shame that Neo chose to remind audiences of that film, which remains among his best. While I Not Stupid was broadly comedic and wasn't especially deft in its handling of suicide, it was an incisive, resonant and moving piece of satire. Killer Not Stupid is, by contrast, a spectacular failure that is almost physically painful to watch. It's not easy to make a film this bad, such that at some point it must have been a deliberate choice to handle everything in the worst way possible.

Action-comedies are a bit of a tricky genre in that if one isn't careful, the comedy can undermine the stakes. This is exactly what happens with Killer Not Stupid. The unfunny gags, pratfalls and lame wordplay prevent the audience from taking any part of the international terror plot seriously. The film falls back on the tired device of the heroes disguising themselves in unconvincing drag. Every joke is accompanied by cartoony sound effects, including at least two uses of the sad trombone noise. If a joke is funny, it doesn't need sound effects, freeze frames, superimposed graphics, or sped-up footage to tell audiences to laugh. Within seconds of that, characters get shot in the head.

The most basic demonstration of stakes in action-comedies is the classic scene of Jackie Chan fighting a bad guy while he balances a priceless vase. In that moment, the stakes are that Jackie could drop and break the vase. Neo doesn't understand this principle. It's a pity because there clearly were talented stunt performers and riggers and competent special effects foremen involved at some point. The resources that Neo has at his disposal have engendered a self-indulgence, when other directors could have created something worthwhile with the same resources. That said, parts of the movie still feel very cheap: the MacGuffin is one of those 'cryptex' flash drives that you get as a corporate gift. Mandopop duo Awaking's Jay Shih is a passable leading man. He's the most tolerable part of the movie because he's one of the very few characters who isn't mugging for the camera like a clown on cocaine. He also acquits himself well in the action scenes.

Nadow's Mark is the standard comic relief tech guy. Most action movies have one character of this type. As annoying as Mark is, there are several other characters in the film who way outstrip him in terms of how grating they are. Gadrick Chin's Sha Bao has the ridiculous gimmick of being obsessed with 70s Hong Kong movies, imagining himself to be the second coming of Qin Han and Bruce Lee. None of it is funny. Amber An plays up the spoilt princess stock type to an unbearable degree.

Lin Mei-Hsiu's character Mother is just about the worst in the film, because as Hornet's former employer who is now out to kill him, we should be intimidated by the character so we can fear for the protagonist. Instead, the character is maximally silly.

The villain is named 'Adolf', in case viewers weren't clear he's supposed to be the villain. Jack Neo is nothing if not a master of subtlety.

"The comedy that people like will be there and comedy is what I'm good at," Neo declared at the press conference announcing Killer Not Stupid. I acknowledge that perhaps I'm not part of the target demographic for the film, but it is mildly unsettling at best, horrifying at worst that anyone could find this funny. We've always hoped for Singaporean filmmakers to create more action films, so it's disheartening but not surprising that Neo gets to try his hand at this genre and completely fumbles it.

Zombiepura (2018)

You Undead, I Undead, Everybody Undead

[5/10 · 24 October 2018]

It's every reservist national serviceman's worst nightmare: what if you book in and due to undead-related shenanigans, never book out? This is the premise of the horror comedy Zombiepura.

Kayu Tan (Alaric Tay) isn't taking his reservist duty seriously, much to the chagrin of his overzealous sergeant Lee Siao On (Benjamin Heng). Kayu and his friend Tazan (Haresh Tilani) feign illness, in the grand tradition of national servicemen malingering to avoid going on duty. At the infirmary, Kayu and Siao On discover that their fellowmen servicemen have turned into rabid zombies. The pair must get along to survive, and must also rescue canteen operator Susie (Chen Xiuhuan) and her daughter Xiao Ling (Joeypink Lai). People will get bitten, obstacle courses will be navigated, and hopefully, ideas will be awoken as the ragtag gang try to reach the outside world and get to safety.

Zombiepura is a film that was announced in 2011 and has taken seven years to come to fruition. This reviewer has always wanted to see more mainstream genre fare, with the ability to travel, come out of Singapore. Singapore films are perceived as being either highbrow Cannes contenders or Chinese New Year fare aimed at uncles and aunties in the heartland. On paper, Zombiepura seems to occupy this middle ground. While the effort behind making a film like this is evident, the execution leaves plenty to be desired.

The film finds itself 14 years late to the Shaun of the Dead bandwagon, with characters that are nowhere near as endearing as those in Edgar Wright's zom-com, nor jokes that are anywhere near as funny. It's a lot closer to Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.

A lot of Zombiepura hinges on the local context, being set in an army camp. There are in-jokes about the banality of reservist duty and the characters are all roughly stock types, that can be easily described with one line on the poster. Plenty of the humour is crass, and audiences are meant to laugh at a soldier pretending to have depression to dodge duty. This is to say nothing of the film's flagrant misogyny - the female lead is referred to almost exclusively as 'chiobu', Hokkien for hot chick, and nobody finds this inappropriate.

The premise is relatively clever in that containing the film within an army camp limits the scope, so the movie is not obligated to show expensive scenes of city streets overrun with zombies, World War Z-style. There are several physical comedy gags that work, notably one involving two characters scrambling up a flagpole with the zombies standing at the base grasping at their feet. The zombies' specific weakness, while nothing ground-breaking, is good for a chuckle. The makeup effects, overseen by June Goh, are serviceable, and there is a healthy amount of blood and gore.

Horror films are often excellent vehicles for allegorical messages. Train to Busan astutely commented on South Korea's hierarchical pressure-cooker society, and one of the original zombie movies, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, was a satire on burgeoning consumerism in America. Zombiepura half-heartedly attempts something roughly along these lines, equating the zoned-out way bored servicemen go about their patrol duty with the mindlessness of your average zombie. However, the film doesn't push the socio-political commentary as far as this reviewer would've liked, but to be honest, nobody was expecting that of this particular film anyway.

Stars Alaric Tay and Benjamin Heng, who form the production company JAB Films with director Jacen Tan, work well opposite each other. There's not very much to either character, and they're difficult to root for. Naturally, there is a modicum of character development as the gravity of their predicament hits them. This is to say nothing of the on-the-nose names like Kayu and Siao On. Richard Low cameos as Siao On's father Mad Dog, a Regimental Sergeant Major. The implication is that Siao On is desperate to live up to his father's reputation, but this aspect of the character doesn't get enough play.

Joeypink Lai, Miss Universe Singapore 2016 finalist and realtor, functions purely as eye candy and little else. The Xiao Ling character has no complexities, and when she figures in a would-be emotional scene, there is no impact at all. Chen Xiuhuan is Lai's onscreen mother, who is similarly objectified, albeit not to the extent Lai is.

Rayve Zen's Chua, who initially seems harmless but becomes more villainous as the film goes on, is arguably the most interesting character in the film. It is in depicting his self-centredness that the film gets anywhere in the Train to Busan zone. Haresh Tilani of Ministry of Funny fame gets a small role as kind of a sidekick to Kayu, who disappears once Kayu and Siao On team up.

It is exceedingly difficult to get a movie made in Singapore, let alone a genre movie requiring stunts, permits, special effects and specialised location work. The thing is, Zombiepura easily could've been a better, smarter, funnier and cannier movie without any additions to the budget. It doesn't cost anything to not constantly objectify the female lead or outright mock mental illness. It's ironic that one of the film's sponsors is grocer Taste, since Zombiepura is sorely lacking in taste. Then again, one might argue that tasteless is exactly what a zombie movie would be. We'd hesitate to call this 'encouraging' for the industry, but in some technical aspects, perhaps it is a stagger/hobble in roughly the right direction.

Doctor Strange (2016)

The Sorcerer Supremacy

[8/10 · 26 October 2016]

The Marvel Cinematic Universe charts a path into realms unknown with this fantasy adventure, the 14th (!) film in the ever-expanding canon. Our hero is Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch), a gifted but self-absorbed neurosurgeon whose life is upended following a car crash. His hands irreparably damaged, Strange is unable to find satisfactory treatment through western medicine, and heads east to Kathmandu. In a sanctuary called Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One (Swinton) holds court, opening Strange's eyes to unexplainable wonders. Strange sets about mastering the mystic arts, guided along by the Ancient One's disciple Karl Mordo (Ejiofor) and Wong (Wong), the keeper of Kamar-Taj's sacred relics. The Ancient One's students and humanity at large is threatened by Kaecilius (Mikkelsen), a former pupil who went rogue and is meddling in dark powers that could doom humanity. As Strange's colleague and ex-girlfriend Dr. Christine Palmer (McAdams) comes to terms with his transformation, Strange must use his newfound abilities to defeat Kaecilius and his followers.

For all of the MCU's strengths and its branching into various subgenres, things have been feeling samey-samey. Audiences crave something all-new, all-different, and Doctor Strange is different enough. Director Scott Derrickson, known for horror films like Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, takes on his biggest, most ambitious project yet, emerging out the other side victorious. This is a film that's packed with eye-popping invention. Production designer Charles Wood and visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti, among the legions of artists and technicians involved, are worthy of commendation.

The trailer, with its origami folding cities, had me worried that the imagery would be too similar to that of Inception. It turns out that the trippiest stuff has been saved for the film itself, with kaleidoscopic vistas, Doctor Who-style tunnels through space-time, buildings morphing and shifting like Dark City on steroids, and ghostly Astral projections floating between this plane and the next among the tricks up its sleeves. The mind-bending geometry gives the action sequences a delightfully unpredictable landscape in which to play out. The results resemble weaponised Escher artwork.

Doctor Strange may serve up eye candy unlike anything we've seen from the MCU so far, but for the most part, this is a straightforward hero's journey origin story. The haughty doctor must be brought to his lowest point, accept that there are things in this world and others beyond his understanding, and come into his own as a superhero. Things move along nicely and the screenplay by Jon Spaihts, C. Robert Cargill and Derrickson is witty without being smug. Just as Deadpool was a standard-issue origin story dressed with self-referential irreverence and attitude, Doctor Strange is a standard-issue origin story spiced up with logic-defying dazzlement. This reviewer will admit to thinking Benedict Cumberbatch wasn't the best man for the job, and that Cumberbatch was cast in an effort on Marvel's part to ride the Sherlock wave. This reviewer was wrong. It is gratifying to see a performer take the material as seriously as one would treat Shakespeare. Cumberbatch's commitment to the part is yet another indicator that the days of "this is based on a comic book so it must be mere frivolity" are behind us. Cumberbatch rocks one of the most convincing American accents we've heard an English actor affect, and looks quite dashing in those robes and that cape. While we do already have an arrogant, brilliant MCU hero in the form of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, Cumberbatch's portrayal of Strange doesn't feel like a repeat of that. Having an actor of Cumberbatch's calibre in the MCU roster is something we're grateful for.

Ejiofor's Mordo is by-the-book and serious, but the actor's charm does shine through. Comic book fans know what becomes of the character, and that's hinted at here. While Swinton is fine as the knowing mentor figure with a glint in her eye, the movie doesn't make as a solid a case for its whitewashing as it promised. In the source material, The Ancient One is an elderly Tibetan man – your stock "Asian mystic" archetype. Co-screenwriter Cargill compared the dilemma to Star Trek's no-win scenario, the Kobayashi Maru. Adhering to the comics and depicted an elderly Asian man as the wise mentor would have been one kind of racist, but it can be argued that substituting said Asian man with a white woman is just another kind of racist. The implication is that a white person has bested the locals at their own game and is now running the show. What I'm really saying is: wouldn't Michelle Yeoh have made an awesome Ancient One?

McAdams doesn't get a whole lot of screen time, but it's great to see a lead female who isn't merely the designated girlfriend. She's also shown to be so skilled a surgeon, that even Dr. Strange acknowledges her prowess. Wong has been reinvented from the subservient tea- pouring butler of the original to a stern librarian who refuses to laugh at Strange's jokes. Strange, Wong and Mordo end up working well together as an unlikely team.

By now, you've read the phrase "MCU villain problem" in countless think-pieces. Alas, as far as villains go, Kaecilius is quite generic, but Mikkelsen does give the character a sinister, authoritative presence. The design flourish of burned-out crater- like scars around his eyes creepy. Keep a lookout for martial artist/actor Scott Adkins as one of Kaecilius' goons.

The levity exhibited throughout most of the MCU movies is present here as well, with Strange making some smart-alecky quips and the sentient Cloak of Levitation behaving akin to the Magic Carpet in Disney's Aladdin. Just as elsewhere in the MCU though, the jokes sometimes diminish the stakes.

Doctor Strange may not bend the established rules of the MCU completely beyond all recognition, but it reinvigorates the formula with a satisfyingly unique aesthetic. Stick around for a mid-credits scene and a post-credits stinger.

The Transporter Refueled (2015)

Reheated leftovers

[5/10 · 2 September 2015]

Frank Martin, badass chauffeur extraordinaire, rides again in this reboot of the Transporter franchise, with Ed Skrein stepping into the driver's seat. Those who engage Frank's professional services must abide by three rules: "no names", "never change the deal" and "never open the package". Frank plans on spending some quality time with his newly-retired father (Stevenson). However, he is called away on duty when a mysterious woman named Anna (Chabanol) hires him. What Frank thought was going to be a simple job ends up landing both him and his father in mortal danger, as Anna coerces Frank into helping her enact a deadly vendetta against ruthless prostitution kingpin Karasov (Radivoje Bukvić).

The Transporter series has been something of a cash cow for producer Luc Besson, the franchise comprising three feature films starring Jason Statham and a spin-off TV series starring Chris Vance. The premise lends itself well to an episodic nature – each new job Frank takes on brings with it new adventures. Naturally, Besson would be most unwilling to put said cash cow out to pasture, so here we are with yet another unnecessary reboot. Besson has put the new film in the hands of director Camille Delamarre, whose previous film, Brick Mansions, was also his directorial debut. From the get-go, it's clear that The Transporter Refueled is a film that is being made purely for business purposes. It is intended to kick off a new trilogy co-produced by Besson's EurpoCorp and Chinese company Fundamental Films, with at least one of these new movies slated to be shot in China.

All that cynicism aside, it is still possible to enjoy The Transporter Refueled as disposable entertainment. It is slick, glossy and glamorous, even more of an Audi commercial than the recent Hit-man: Agent 47 was. The production values are solid enough, with sub-par computer-generated effects kept to a minimum. Stunt coordinator Laurent Demianoff and car stunt coordinator Michel Julienne are both frequent collaborators of Besson's. While the stunts never reach the ludicrous heights of the previous films, there is still fun to be had and the pace is kept sufficiently brisk with chases, hand-to-hand fights and action sequences set on airport runways and in luxury yachts. Naturally, the plot is a mere inconvenience and secondary to the action, and scenes that are intended to be emotional generally fall flat. Oddly enough, the prologue takes place in 1995 and the bulk of the film takes place "15 years later", meaning the movie is set in 2010. Wouldn't it have made more sense to just set it 20 years after 1995, in 2015?

Frank Martin is still Jason Statham's signature role and the figure of the driver in the sharp suit who can handle himself in a fight is somewhat iconic, so much so that Statham essentially cameoed as Frank in Michael Mann's Collateral. Many have dismissed Ed Skrein, who vacated the role of Daario Naharis on Game of Thrones for this project, as just a pretty boy. While he doesn't quite possess Statham's natural gruffness, he is relatively charming in the part. Unfortunately, like many of today's crop of leading men, there are times when he pitches his performance as "intense" but it reads as "flat" instead. Still, he's able to carry himself well enough throughout the action and there's an earnestness about him that is somewhat appealing.

French supermodel Loan Chabanol has poise to spare – alas, the same cannot be said of her acting chops. The Anna character, a former prostitute striking back against her criminal employers, should have far more of an impact than she does in Chabanol's hands. Her sisters in arms, played by Gabriella Wright, Tatjana Pajković and Wenxia Yu, are barely discernible from one another and the film fails to substantially develop the bond between these women. The Russian mafia villains are about as stereotypical and generic as they come. It's a good thing that Ray Stevenson is on hand to lend some personality as Frank Sr., clearly enjoying himself whether he's putting the moves on Gina (Wright) or berating Frank Jr. for being 38 seconds late to pick him up. The film is clearly taking its cue from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, what with dear old dad calling his son "Junior" and inadvertently joining his son on a dangerous adventure.

The Transporter Refueled is little more than a generic, fizzy action flick but then again, it clearly has no aspirations to anything beyond that. The action manages to be inventive as if almost by accident, with a gag involving Frank using fire hydrants to distract his pursuers and a fight scene in a service corridor with drawers on either side being the standout moments. More polished than expected for a cash-in reboot, The Transporter Refueled is far from a fiery wreck, it's just closer to a Ford Focus than an Audi S8.

White House Down (2013)

Escapist thrills in the form of an action flick that's not a downer

[7/10 · 27 June 2013]

After taking a short detour into the realm of speculative costume drama with 2011's Anonymous, director Roland Emmerich is back to doing what he does best: dealing out copious amounts of punishment to 1600 Penn. After all, he blew it to smithereens with an alien death ray in Independence Day and smashed an aircraft carrier into its south portico in 2012. It seemed inevitable that the maven of large-scale cinematic destruction would eventually make a film centering on the D.C. landmark.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer John Cale (Tatum), with his daughter Emily (King) in tow, heads to the White House for a job interview, hoping to become a Secret Service Agent. Carol Finnerty (Gyllenhaal), herself a Secret Service Agent and John's former schoolmate, deems him unworthy. While taking a tour of the place after his rejection, John and Emily suddenly find themselves, along with other tourists and staffers, held hostage. A paramilitary group comprised of various dangerous miscreants and led by hardened mercenary Emil Stenz (Clarke) begins a hostile takeover of the White House. John finds himself having to protect President James Sawyer (Foxx), his daughter and the various others caught in the fray as a national crisis swiftly and violently unfolds.

A summer blockbuster best described as "Air Force One meets Die Hard, with Magic Mike teaming up with President Django" just has to be entertaining – no two ways about it. And by gosh, White House Down is all kinds of entertaining. Sure, its PG-13 rating might disappoint fans of hardcore action and it's not going to start a renaissance of '80s- style action extravaganzas anytime soon, but this is the kind of movie which has the Presidential limousine drifting across the White House lawn with the baddies in pursuit. I can tell you there's an audience for that. James Vanderbilt's screenplay seems to have been written with just the right amount of self-awareness: the movie revels in its relative absurdity like a toddler in a ball pit and has a lot of fun with the premise, while stopping a safe distance short of mocking its audience.

Duelling movies aren't new; moviegoers have borne witness to such battles as Dante's Peak vs. Volcano, A Bug's Life vs. Antz and Deep Impact vs. Armageddon. It's only fair that White House Down be compared to Olympus Has Fallen, 2013's other movie about a terrorist attack on the Executive Mansion. While it doesn't have the cooler title, White House Down does have more lavish production values and being a Roland Emmerich picture, has lots of stuff going boom. White House Down also doesn't take itself as seriously, at times it's almost a buddy movie but with the Prez as the buddy. White House Down makes better use of its setting and the film features some very realistic facsimiles of the rooms, halls and other areas of 1600 Penn. However, the afore-mentioned PG-13 rating means the violence in this one is of a less visceral variety and while the computer-generated imagery is done better here, it's still noticeable - particularly during the aerial sequences.

Roland Emmerich's films are known as much for their "casts of thousands" as for their big-budget spectacle. While there aren't as many characters here as in, say, 2012, there still are a good number of players to juggle. Channing Tatum's protagonist is idealistic rather than world-weary and he seems to be having more fun playing the action hero here than he did in the first G.I. JOE movie. Jamie Foxx and Tatum make for a decent action flick double act, but Foxx just doesn't come off as presidential enough, though he makes up for his lack of a dignified air with cheesy/enjoyable moments like handling a rocket launcher and yelling at terrorists not to touch his precious Air Jordans.

While this isn't a realistic movie by any stretch, the villains in this one somehow come off as more credible than the North Korean terrorists in Olympus Has Fallen. Jason Clarke is believable, scary even as a tough, scruffy former Delta Force soldier-turned coldblooded gun for hire. Jimmi Simpson is a hoot as a campy, bespectacled "evil hacker" stereotype who declares "Skip Tyler is in!" and seizes control of the nation's defense systems. Joey King gets to be more than just the "kidnapped daughter" and is something of an important supporting character. While Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn't get lots to do standing around in the Pentagon's situation room, at least she isn't relegated to the role of disposable love interest. Veteran actors James Woods and Richard Jenkins are also on hand to lend the actioner some gravitas, and Nicolas Wright as the comic relief tour guide is, refreshingly enough, not annoying.

Emmerich has never been a critic's darling, but his films usually possess some sort of mass appeal and that's in full force here. Many of his films are set in multiple locations across the world, but the focus on the titular location actually prevents the story from feeling scattershot, and outlandish, exciting action sequences are not in short supply. And in this era of action thrillers being too self- serious, it's good that this strikes an adequate balance of intense moments and levity to not come off as a downer, but as a good popcorn- munchin' time.

For F*** Magazine

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Abrams' Trek Journeys Into Greatness

[10/10 · 7 May 2013]

With 2009's Star Trek, director J. J. Abrams had set a course for the future of the series with a film that thoroughly invigorated what was, up to that point, largely seen as a flagging franchise. Love it or hate it, Star Trek '09 made the series accessible to the masses and perhaps the sexy young cast, the action sequences and the lens flares were just a way of helping the movie-going public at large let down their collective guards and learn to appreciate this cornerstone of science fiction through new eyes.

Following a misadventurous opening sequence set on the planet Nibiru, Kirk and company return to Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco, where the higher-ups are none too happy about the recklessness they displayed on Nibiru. This is interrupted by a new threat: an unstoppable one-man terror cell who goes by the name of "John Harrison" (Cumberbatch). Kirk leads the crew of the Enterprise in pursuit of Harrison, armed with 72 photon torpedoes and with newbie Dr Carol Marcus (Eve), daughter of Starfleet head Admiral Marcus (Weller), on board. Chief Engineer Scotty (Pegg) is suspicious of the contents of said weapons but his concern is initially unheeded. What follows is a dangerous quest that takes our heroes to the Klingon homeworld of Kronos, leading them to the discovery of the torpedoes' secret payload and the truth behind John Harrison's beef with Starfleet.

Now, this is how you make a summer blockbuster. A tentpole sci- fi action flick doesn't have to be two hours of mind-numbing, cacophonous dross. Abrams, along with writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof and the countless others involved have brought us a film that is fresh, relentlessly exciting and overflowing with white-knuckle action, and none of this at the expense of a compelling story or well-drawn characters. From the very first minute, this reviewer was yanked right into this fantastical world. Abrams all but announces "buckle up, because it's going to be one hell of a ride" – and what a ride Star Trek Into Darkness is.

The Star Trek series has a magnificent legacy and has had an immeasurable impact on the genre, and to chuck all that away for all flash and no substance would be something of a crime. That's not the case here. Sure, there seems to be barely a minute to stop and catch one's breath, but that's probably preferable to a film that drags on and on any day of the week. The film has no shortage of pizazz in the form of stunning visual effects work, witty banter and edge-of-your seat near misses galore. Despite having "darkness" in its title, this flick is far from dour or depressing. References, homages and shout-outs are skilfully weaved into the fabric of the story and some may disagree, but this reviewer feels this iteration of Trek actually is very respectful of what went before – just not slavishly so.

In this movie, Captain Kirk truly comes into his own as leader of a starship crew and father to his men, Pine further proving there's more to him than just his handsome mug. Sure, Kirk's still the brash, womanising guy we all love (we catch him in bed with two be-tailed alien sisters) but there is character growth to be had. The ever-uneasy friendship between Kirk and Spock also gets a fair amount of play, and there are some great moments between the two, ranging from casual brickbats to a pretty dramatic bit near the end of the film. Quinto conveys Spock's struggle to get in touch with his human side, his resistance to emotion driving a wedge between him and Uhura, but never hits us over the head with this.

Just as in the earlier film, everyone gets a chance to strut his or her stuff – for example, Sulu even gets to be acting captain. Simon Pegg as Scotty and Karl Urban as Bones in particular stand out in this one, both bringing different brands of comic relief to the proceedings while functioning as far more than merely "the funny guys". Bones mentions that he once performed a Caesarean on a Gorn and delivered octuplets. It's a funny bit that's also a nice nod to the original series. Speaking of alien species, there's a tribble which turns out to be integral to the plot. This is also brilliant.

Of course, the attention is square on Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain of the piece. Suffice it to say that fangirls of his will not be disappointed. The guy is a riveting actor, one who knows when to chew just the right amount of scenery in order to not come off as silly. There has been a spate of more "intellectual" villains in blockbuster movies as of late, but Cumberbatch does enough to differentiate himself from the bunch and Harrison isn't just all brains and no brawn – he single-handedly takes on a Klingon patrol in one action sequence.

Star Trek Into Darkness is such a thrill that this reviewer left the theatre kind of breathless, but also really pumped. It's a big, big movie, but not the kind that's an extravagant insult to the intellects of audiences everywhere. Abrams has crafted a sequel that ups the game and elicits cheers, laughter, goosebumps, excited fist-pumping and even a tear or two at all the right moments. And isn't that warp effect just so sparklingly beautiful?

Written for F*** Magazine

Iron Man Three (2013)

Iron Man Tri-umphant!

[9/10 · 24 April 2013]

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm more of a DC Comics fan than a Marvel one. That said, I haven't missed a single one of the films in Marvel's Cinematic Universe, established with 2008's Iron Man. The time has sped by on rocket boots, and with the Phase I films all in the bag, Phase II begins where it all started, with Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr. (who else?) is back as Tony Stark, tinkering with new gadgets even as the events of The Avengers give him sleepless nights. His girl Friday Pepper Potts (Paltrow) has moved in with him, but Stark just won't give her the time of day even as the holidays approach. Enter the enigmatic terrorist mastermind The Mandarin (Kingsley), perpetrator of a series of vicious bomb attacks, one of which critically wounds Tony's ex-bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau). Tony swears revenge, and his home is assaulted by the Mandarin's forces in return. Stranded in rural Tennessee, he enlists the help of a local kid (Ty Simpkins) to help patch his armour in anticipation of The Mandarin's next strike. Tony also discovers links to Dr Aldrich Killian and Dr Maya Hansen, developers of the Extremis virus – a revolutionary piece of biotechnology that has turned dangerously unstable.

Iron Man 3 is nothing short of a game-changer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the film, Happy Hogan doesn't work directly for Tony Stark anymore – a bit of leaning-against-the-fourth-wall winking, seeing as how Jon Favreau has passed on the director's baton to Shane Black, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Drew Pearce. Once one of the most sought-after screenwriters in Hollywood, Black proves he's still got the mojo he displayed with his screenplays for Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout in spades. Iron Man 3 has got his stamp all over it (notice the Christmas-time setting) and yet also delivers everything we've come to expect of a big-budget superhero blockbuster at the same time.

The film is tightly-plotted and expertly paced; audiences certainly won't be twiddling their thumbs waiting impatiently for the next action scene to roll around. Said action scenes are plenty inventive though – a daring mid-air rescue which Stark compares to playing "Barrel of Monkeys" and a dazzlingly-choreographed finale involving Stark hopping in and out of an array of Iron Man suits mid- combat being the prime examples. Black shows that he understands how important such displays are to the type of film he's making, but never lets the story get drowned out by the din of high-octane bells and whistles.

A section of viewers have taken Iron Man 2 to task for spending too much of its running time in setting up the big event, The Avengers. Iron Man 3 suffers no such problem. The focus is squarely back on Tony Stark, and by now it is impossible to imagine the character being played by anyone other than Robert Downey Jr. At this point in a franchise, the leading man is wont to display signs of weariness or that he's only doing it for the paycheck – nope, not here. Downey Jr., armed with a new batch of one-liners and an even bigger new batch of armoured outfits, is having as much fun with the role as ever.

He doesn't feel like he's hogging the spotlight though, because both Don Cheadle and Gwyneth Paltrow get more to do here in their supporting parts. Col. James Rhodes' "War Machine" has been given an image makeover and renamed "Iron Patriot"; the film doing a good job of showing how Rhodey is at his best fighting alongside Iron Man instead of merely playing errand boy for the US military. Pepper Potts finally gets to step out of her "beleaguered assistant" corner and throw some punches of her own, playing a pivotal part in the film's climactic shipping dock battle. The subplot with Ty Simpkins' character serving as Stark's kid sidekick of sorts could have come off as twee, but it doesn't eat into the meat of the proceedings and Stark's interactions with the boy are amusing and heartfelt.

Also new to the series are Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall. The Mandarin, the Fu-Manchu like archenemy of Iron Man in the comics, is reimagined as an unkempt, somewhat theatrical figure of the shadows – though there is of course more to him than that. Stalwart comic book fans might not like the way the character is ultimately handled, but it is clever enough and didn't really bother me. Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian is a scientist who was ignored by Stark earlier in his career and doesn't take too kindly to this, re-entering the fray with slicked- back hair and a spray tan. Pearce plays the "mousy to charismatic" angle well, when it could well have been overly cartoonish à la Jim Carrey's Riddler in Batman Forever. The beautiful Rebecca Hall doesn't get a lot of screen time, but is one of those actresses who plays "hot scientist" without a hitch.

It would seem that doing anything new within the confines of the wham- bam comic book blockbuster genre would be difficult, since every new entry seems to be measured against The Avengers or The Dark Knight trilogy. It is to the credit of Shane Black and the team behind Iron Man 3 then that the film is effortlessly invigorating, assured in its tone with a good sprinkling of humour mixed in with awe-inspiring, effects- heavy action sequences and well-written character moments. There probably isn't a better way to kick off Phase II of Marvel's Cinematic Universe than with this flick.

Ruby Sparks (2012)

Sparks Fly off the Page

[9/10 · 13 September 2012]

All writers know that there's nothing quite as intimidating as a blank page – this reviewer is faced with one right now. Even the most prolific of writers can get bad cases of writer's block induced by nothing more than a little white space, and prodigious young novelist Calvin Weir-Fields (Dano) is no exception. At the age of 19, he shot to the top of the New York Times Bestsellers list and captured the imagination of the public, but has had a hard time matching his success in the intervening ten years. His therapist Dr Rosenthal (Elliot Gould) gives him a simple writing assignment to get him going.

That night, Calvin has a dream in which a beautiful, quirky young woman named Ruby (Kazan) approaches him in the park while he's walking his dog, and offers to do a drawing of Calvin's pet pooch. Inspired, he awakes the next morning and writes away. Gradually and inexplicably, personal effects of some non-existent woman pop up in his house, as discovered by Calvin's concerned brother Harry (Messina) and Harry's wife Susie (Toni Trucks). Then, the utterly impossible happens – Ruby, the woman who had hitherto only been a product of Calvin's imagination, materializes before him. Calvin has to come to grips with this absurd turn of events, questioning his sanity and making his brother even more worried, when he realises that whatever he types on his page, Ruby will manifest. In other words (heh), Calvin now has the perfect girlfriend all to himself – but the situation may not be as ideal as he's imagined once reality sets in.

This fantasy romantic comedy-drama is helmed by the same directing duo famous for Little Miss Sunshine, so one can get a rough idea as to the offbeat, gently humorous and quirkily intelligent tone. Ruby Sparks was written by Ruby herself, Zoe Kazan, and boy did she do an amazing job as both scribe and leading lady. Directors Dayton and Faris have helped Kazan handcraft a true masterpiece, a film that completely took this reviewer by surprise in how profound and moving it ended up being. On the surface, this looks like a fun little flick with a fantastical premise, sort of Stranger than Fiction meets Pygmalion. There are indeed laughs aplenty to be derived from Calvin's extremely peculiar predicament, and from how Ruby can be bent to his will at a mere keystroke.

However, beneath that bubbly surface lies Kazan's eloquent meditation on the process of writing, the process of falling in love, how the two intersect, and the moral and ethical implications of having complete control over one's partner. The film expertly eases the audience from the lighter stuff into the psychological drama, and there is a truly intense confrontation at the film's climax that one completely would not expect, yet it does not feel out of place in the slightest. As an aspiring writer and a hopeless romantic, the film struck this reviewer to the core, its observations ringing clear as a bell in spite (or perhaps because of) its outlandish jumping-off point. Even with the element of fantasy, this film never resorts to caricatures or broad strokes; even Calvin's hippie mother and her new boyfriend (played by Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas respectively, enjoyable in their small roles) aren't made out to be like Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman's similarly-characterised roles in Meet the Fockers. There's a deftness, an elegance to the way the whole thing is handled, one example being a seemingly throwaway gag involving Ruby speaking French, which gets an impactful payoff at the end. All this may come off as pretentiously hipster to some, but is actually very refreshing amidst the sea of production-line, puerile comedies Hollywood seems to be churning out like butter these days, and not once does the film feel smug.

Paul Dano, a Little Miss Sunshine alum, has yet to truly hit the big time – but judging from his performance as Calvin, he definitely deserves to. He is believable and likable to a fault as the awkward writer, and he never overplays Calvin's ineptness as actors tasked with playing characters of this sort often do. When Calvin's darker side creeps to the surface during the afore-mentioned climactic confrontation, Dano is absolutely riveting in that display of acting range. Kazan actually bests him a tad, probably because she wrote the part of Ruby for herself to play. They have incredible chemistry, likely a result of the actors' real life romantic involvement with each other. Ruby is essentially a deconstruction of that ever-present "manic pixie dream girl" trope, embodied by such actresses as Zooey Deschanel and Krysten Ritter. Ruby can be all doe-eyed and kooky, but can switch personality traits at the drop of a hat, thanks to Calvin's control over her. It's engrossing to watch Kazan play the puppet of sorts, a woman unaware that she is actually nothing more than a figment of her boyfriend's imagination come to life – and even more interesting to see Ruby assert her own identity when push comes to shove.

Ruby Sparks is, to put it plainly, one of the very best romantic comedies this reviewer has ever seen. It almost defiantly breaks free of the mould of gratingly commercial 'chick flicks', instead serving up some rather deep ideas cloaked in a 'what if?' comedy, it's artfully-lensed and brought to vivid life by its very capable leads. Just as Ruby leaps off the page and into Calvin's life, so this film will very likely leap off the screen and into the hearts of many a viewer.

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

This Resident Needs to Move Out

[3/10 · 12 September 2012]

Video game movies have long had a bad rap, and one would be hard-pressed to name a flick based on a game that isn't terrible, let alone any good. When one thinks of the bottom of the cinematic barrel, video game movies are often lining the base, from Super Mario Bros. to Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. The Resident Evil film franchise is by far the most successful among video game films. That is, however, not to say these are good films by any stretch. Unfortunately, Retribution is nothing but further evidence of that.

The film opens promisingly enough, with an interesting-looking-if-indulgent action sequence shown in reverse, of an assault on a freight tanker ship that results in the capture of Alice (Jovovich). She awakes in a high-tech prison cell as a captive of the Umbrella Corporation from the previous films, and it's not long before her buddies come to break her out, characters such as Leon S Kennedy (Urb), Ada Wong (Li) and Luther West (Boris Kodjoe) numbering among them. Alice discovers her former ally Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) has been mind-controlled by the Umbrella Corp to turn against her, and unravels a conspiracy involving simulated arenas and mass cloning as she fights to preserve whatever's left of the human race.

And then it's pretty much downhill from there, the film proceeding to rip off all manner of science-fiction/action films that have gone before, relying on cheap tricks and lazy writing to shove the 'story' along, and concluding with an outright shameless bit of sequel baiting. Whatever life this franchise may have once had has well and truly been replaced with a sense of the undead. It's rote, boring, and has an odd direct-to-video feel – at its worst, it gives off Uwe Boll vibes. We're serious. For the uninitiated, the film includes an exposition dump near the beginning, with Alice talking directly at the camera, summarising the events of the previous movies while clips from those films play in the background. While it does provide some setup for those new to the series, it's clunky, very on-the-nose, and just poorly-executed – setting the tone for what follows.

The Resident Evil films have gained a degree of notoriety among fans of the video games because Alice, the protagonist of the movies, is nowhere to be found in the games that inspired them. This has led many to the conclusion that it's all an excuse for director Paul WS Anderson to show off his wife – and that he does once more in Retribution. It's cold comfort to see other characters actually from the source material appear in the film, but the focus is still solidly on Alice and her scenes are even more proof that she's nowhere as fun to watch as the others. Li Bingbing is so laughably stiff as Ada Wong that it's not just bad acting – it looks like a parody of bad acting. The Becky character played by partially-deaf child actress Aryana Engineer, ostensibly a surrogate child for Alice to grow attached to as the film progresses, seems like a shameless rip-off of the Newt-Ripley relationship in Aliens, and to resort to putting a child in jeopardy to get a reaction out of the audience is a cheap and ineffective tactic. Michelle Rodriguez seems to be having the most fun out of the cast, playing "good" and "bad" cloned versions of her character, but even then she is prone to histrionics.

The film's tagline, "Evil Goes Global", is an utter misnomer. It is quickly revealed that the supposed globetrotting never takes place, and that locations such as New York, Tokyo and Moscow are merely simulated environments created by the Umbrella Corp to test their clones in – so it's more like "Evil Goes Epcot Centre". The action moves from each of these enclosures to the next, giving the film a video game-like structure of multiple levels – a structure that just doesn't work on the big screen. Our heroes run around level 1 killing zombies, then run around level 2 killing zombies, then have a car chase with zombies in level 3...it gets old really, really fast, and it almost seems as if the filmmakers actually intended to make audiences apathetic. There seem to be no emotional stakes, and while Alice and Co. get into jams fairly often, it won't be easy to actually care.

All that said though, at least the 3D is employed effectively. There are several scenes where one can get a nice sense of depth looking down endless shafts and tunnels, and there is the occasional blade that flies out of the screen in quite convincing fashion. In a film like this one, it's perfectly fine for the 3D to be gimmicky; it's meant to be part of the fun. Ironically though, the good stereoscopic effects tend to expose the relatively weak CGI and visual effects work – you're looking down a tunnel, sure, but you can easily tell the tunnel is made of computer graphics.

Ultimately, Resident Evil: Retribution is a very frustrating film to sit through. It's not so much egregiously bad as it is a very, very unnecessary sequel, and it appears that absolutely nobody involved in this project put in any effort, instead content to churn out another mediocre instalment in their sleep. Also, the story goes nowhere, the whole film essentially setting up for yet another sequel. If Paul WS Anderson and co. wish to continue making these films, they had better rethink their strategy, because if this fifth instalment achieves anything, it's in showing some sacred cash cows are probably better off slain.

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Bourne's Legacy Remains Untarnished

[8/10 · 7 August 2012]

The last movie that this reviewer saw was the remake of Total Recall, and films like that one would make one think: "do we really need another Bourne movie – let alone one that doesn't even have Jason Bourne in it?" Paul Greengrass, director of the later two Bourne films in the original trilogy, jokingly suggested making a fourth one named The Bourne Redundancy, and its star Matt Damon similarly expressed a degree of disdain for a new film. The whole concept of a franchise spin-off does seem to reek of Hollywood cash grab. However, rest assured – Bourne's legacy remains completely untarnished, because, boy, is this a good one.

The Bourne Legacy is, unfortunately, a movie people haven't really been excited about. It's been lost in the shuffle of late-Summer blockbusters, and its premise has been met with indifference. Well, Tony Gilroy and co. have to be given their due. This was intended to be a straight sequel to The Bourne Ultimatum, with Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass set to reprise their roles as star and director respectively, but it eventually fell through. It's safe to say that Gilroy, who co-wrote all three of the Bourne films and who co-wrote this one with his brother Dan, has more than salvaged the situation.

The Bourne Legacy is taut, intelligent, bristling with tension and excitement and is an overall harrowing ride from start to finish. Gilroy finds a near-perfect blend of smarts and action such that one never drowns out the other, and, thankfully, he's less of a shaky-cam proponent than his predecessor Greengrass was. The story is coherent, the characters reasonably well-defined, and just like the first three Bourne films there's always an undercurrent of credibility, and the realism that The Bourne Identity reinvigorated the espionage film genre with is in good form here. While some bits, particularly the "super-soldier" angle, are a bit of a stretch, it's never ridiculous and always absorbing. There's a sense of continuity established by the inclusion of some footage from Ultimatum as well as Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn and Albert Finney reprising their roles in briefer parts, and it's used just enough so the connection doesn't feel contrived.

One of the primary challenges this film faced was making Aaron Cross a well-defined character and distinct enough from Jason Bourne. This challenge is mostly overcome, in that while Cross isn't as complex and intriguing as Bourne, he's still great fun to watch. Jason Bourne was a confused and disoriented man who had to come to terms with his muddled past, make sense of the remarkable skills he possessed and preserve whatever new relationships he formed. Aaron Cross on the other hand knows full well what he's doing, and is a little more idealistic and fresh-faced than Bourne was. With the help of those special pills, he gains incredible physical and mental skills, shuffling between martial artistry, official documents forgery and resourceful Mac-Gyvering with ease. In an early scene, he outfoxes a pack of wolves and bests a military drone sent to kill him at the same time. That's pretty badass. Of course, there's a little of the inner conflict Bourne had so much of, but Renner makes sure to keep the angst perfectly in check.

Dr Marta Shearing, as played by Rachel Weisz, is a lot more than the token action movie chick. It's a clever move to have the female lead be a scientist indirectly involved in the protagonist's predicament, who is as integral to the plot as he is. Sure, Rachel Weisz probably doesn't quite look like a genetic scientist, but she's a lot more believable than the boatload of hotties Hollywood has been trying to pass off as geniuses for years (Denise Richards and Jessica Alba, anyone?) – and a much better actress too. She's the frightened woman jolted out of her everyday existence as much as she is an intelligent and level-headed scientist, and this isn't one of those films with a romantic subplot crowbarred in for no reason.

The antagonists in this film, much as in the first three films, aren't cackling, maniacal megalomaniacs – they're intelligence officers, analysts and bureaucrats acting under orders, efficient, quietly menacing and dangerously amoral, with a frightening wealth of resources at their fingertips. Edward Norton plays the main bad guy – which, for the geeks out there, means Hawkeye is pitted against the (other) Incredible Hulk. He's undoubtedly a brilliant actor, and doesn't let the fact that his character is mostly confined to mission control hinder his performance. For the most part though, he never comes face-to-face with Cross, but he and his team always feel like a menace. It's an exciting game of cat and mouse to watch, with Cross half a step ahead of his pursuers, but never for long.

The Bourne Legacy pulls through, retaining much of that Bourne spirit yet nary a sense of been-there-done-that or, God forbid, a direct-to-video feel. It turns out to be quite a bit more than a decently-written piece of fan-fiction – it's a clever, high-energy espionage thriller that could have easily felt slapped-together or cheap, but is instead well-conceived, well-crafted and well-acted. We certainly hope Matt Damon will be tempted to return to the series to team up with Renner should a sequel materialise.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

A meaty, satisfying last course of Nolan's Batman "set meal"

[10/10 · 18 July 2012]

Is it bright where you are / Have the people changed / Does it make you happy you're so strange / And in your darkest hour, / I hold secret's flame / You can watch the world devoured in its pain

So go the lyrics to Smashing Pumpkins' The End is the Beginning Is the End, from 1997's Batman and Robin. It seems at least a little ironic that a song from the worst Batman film ever made seems to sum up the plot of what is possibly the best Batman film ever made. Christopher Nolan, his brother Jonathan, wife and producer Emma Thomas, co-plotter David S Goyer and their whole production posse seem to have had a Sisyphean task thrust upon them in topping 2008's The Dark Knight, widely hailed as the best comic book-based film ever made and having bragging rights as the only Batman film that won an Academy Award in an acting category. Laconically put, they have. They have made a Batman film better than The Dark Knight.

Nolan has said that he and his brother were inspired by Dickens' classic story A Tale of Two Cities, and that it just so happened that the recession and the "Occupy Wall Street" movement occurred, so if he is to be believed, it is partial coincidence that this is a very, very timely story. Bane's role in the story is that of zealous liberator who sees himself as a saviour who "frees" Gotham from the clutches of the 1% by ambushing the stock exchange, isolating Gotham City from the country at large and seizing control through intimidation and bravado. There are many parallels to be drawn to such events as the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, the 9/11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing. This is also echoed by the characterisation of Catwoman, who steals from the rich not to give to the poor, but rather to spite the rich. Bane launches an attack on a sports stadium right after "The Star-Spangled Banner" is sung, and there is a shot of a tattered American flag. A city's resolve broken, with Batman and his allies stepping in to patch it up in the face of insurmountable odds.

While no one actor in the film matches the tour de force of the late Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker in the previous installment, the overall effect of this film certainly carries more impact. For one, it follows a solid plot line and doesn't lapse into false endings the way The Dark Knight sometimes did. Some felt that Nolan might fall into the trap of a tangled web of subplots and extraneous villains along the lines of Spider-Man 3, but it is safe to say he didn't.

The big thing this one does that Part 2 didn't was it ties back to the previous instalments, making character arcs come full circle in a deeply satisfying manner. Also, it is more faithful to the source material than one might think; this isn't merely a war movie with Batman characters tacked onto it. There are some explosive plot twists and revelations – comic book devotees may see these coming a mile away, but Nolan plays a game of "maybe I will, maybe I won't", so that when such turning points occur they are truly sensational.

Compared to other villains who have appeared in Batman films, Bane is a relatively recent introduction in the comics, having made his debut in 1993. Tom Hardy does quite the job of making Bane more than Batman's mental and physical match. Even withhHalf his face obscured by a mask that is a cross between an attack dog's muzzle and venomous spider, the actor still manages to be charismatic and larger-than-life while displaying commendable restraint.

Despite being widely lauded for his strengths as a writer-director, Christopher Nolan's Achilles heel is widely regarded to be writing women. He breaks that spell with Catwoman, her characterisation damn near perfect and portrayed with very surprising skill by Anne Hathaway who transforms from kooky sweetheart to confident, self-assured, oh-so-seductive and quick with a scathing remark. Marion Cotillard fulfils the more traditional damsel-in-a-degree-of-distress role, her Miranda Tate kind and disarming, and it is easy to see why Bruce Wayne would fall headlong for her.

Beyond the story and performances, The Dark Knight Rises looks, sounds and feels like the event it is touted to be. Cinematographer Wally Pfister throws in some very inventive shots, including a brief moment where a charging Batman is lit by muzzle flashes, and delivers dizzyingly gorgeous panoramas as well. Chris Corbould and his practical effects crew help stage several awe-inspiring action set-pieces, and the tone is set well with an opening scene involving a staged plane crash orchestrated by Bane. There is a level of admiration to be had when a film fits a massive brawl shot on Wall Street, the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, India and a terrorist attack on a football stadium (Pittsburgh's Heinz Field) into one movie.

Christopher Nolan and co. have brought the curtain down on their trilogy in truly bittersweet fashion. These three films were emblematic of The Dark Knight rising, rising from an outrageously campy, seemingly franchise-killing film. This is the final cape flourish, the big send-off, the tearful goodbye. As Dickens wrote in the book that partially inspired this movie, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" – this is the Caped Crusader's finest hour, and seeing this incarnation hang up the cape and cowl is quite saddening indeed.

Life Happens (2011)

A L!fe not worth living.

[4/10 · 26 June 2012]

L!fe Happens is the latest in a string of chick flicks that aspire to shirk the norms associated with the genre by being more "realistic" and "relatable", presenting life as it, well, happens instead of hitting us in the face with a shirtless Matthew McConaughey. Notice the subversive exclamation mark taking the place of the "i" in "life"? How clever! Doe-eyed Krysten Ritter, a quirky-cute girl in the Zooey Deschanel mould, plays the main character, Kim, and co-authors the screenplay with director Kat Coiro.

Kim and her housemate Deena (Bosworth) engage in a night of debauchery with a guy they each bring home, but lo and behold there's only one condom left, and Deena gets it. As a result, Kim gets pregnant and becomes a single mum, living with Deena and other housemate, the ditzy Laura. Kim juggles motherhood with a job as a dog-walker working under mean boss Francesca (Kristen Johnson), and inadvertently lies about her mummy status to Nicholas (Geoff Stults), a cute guy she meets. Hilarity and drama supposedly ensue.

Now wait a minute – forgive this reviewer if he's mistaken, but that sounds exactly like sticking to chick flick norms. The movie tries so hard to have a hip, indie feel that it slides ever so noticeably down the slippery slope into slickly-packaged, commercialised rom-com territory. You've got the free-wheeling heroine who is suddenly saddled with the responsibilities of single motherhood, the slightly bitchy best friend who also happens to be an advice columnist, the chain-smoking, wine-guzzling boss who treats the heroine like garbage, the hunky prospective love interest whom the heroine misleads and, last but not least, cute dogs.

Despite having something of a plot, the movie unravels rather aimlessly, like the cameraman is hanging around capturing stuff as they, well, happen. The audience gets inundated with inane pop music and the movie awkwardly lurches from comedy to drama. For example, Kim and Nicholas are in the middle of their requisite love scene when something, uh, happens – something that wouldn't be out of place in a gross-out Farrelly Brothers comedy. The filmmakers milk (you'll appreciate the pun after watching the scene) the inherently comedic moment for all the pathos it's worth – the couple argue, Kim stumbles out and drives home, confused, gets into a fight with Deena once she gets home and even gets an angsty bath complete with running mascara. All that's missing is Simple Plan in the background wailing "how could this happen to me?!" The characters are also paper thin, which is unfortunate as the film could have been infinitely better if we cared a little more about them. Admittedly, Ritter is a watchable leading lady and is plenty charming and likable as the protagonist, though one gets the impression she might be better as a slightly meaner character, like the one she now plays on TV in the sitcom Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23. The bitchy-best-friend archetype has been done to death, and done better than Kate Bosworth's ham-fisted attempt. The script also finds every excuse to put Rachel Bilson in skimpy outfits, and takes a stab at satire when her character joins a reality TV show where the last virgin standing wins. Justin Kirk does manage to be quite funny, even though the creepy, socially mal-adjusted character who develops an obsession with Deena has also been done to death.

To its credit, the movie did elicit a few chuckles, if only because the humour is so out of left field. When a non-sequitur hurtles out of the screen, it's a fairly pleasant surprise – while the premise and the characters seem tired and a little old, the jokes don't. For example, Kim gushingly compares Nicholas to a Greek statue, when Deena reminds her that they are typically not very well-endowed and Kim's mother-and-baby yoga classmate shows her with a wacky, disturbing children's book she's working on.

As hard as it wants to separate itself from the pack, L!fe Happens can't shake off the time-honoured chick flick conventions it carries around on its back like Kim's baby Max. Ironically, if it weren't trying so hard, maybe it could have worked. But alas, that's life for you.

Magic Mike (2012)

The "Magic" is all smoke, mirrors and bare buttocks.

[4/10 · 26 June 2012]

Everyone starts somewhere. Elvis was a truck driver, Peter Parker was a nerdy high-school student and Abraham Lincoln was a vampire hunter. Before he was taking out Cobra vipers in G.I. Joe or teenage drug dealers in 21 Jump Street, Channing Tatum was taking off his clothes as a 19-year-old male stripper in Tampa Florida. With this premise as a jumping-off point, Magic Mike tells the tenuously autobiographical tale.

Channing Tatum plays Michael Lane – odd job working and erstwhile furniture designer by day, the stripper of the title by night. At his roofing job, he comes across Adam (Pettyfer), a 19-year-old ne'er do well who lives with his disapproving sister Paige (Horn). Mike takes a shine to the kid, whom he nicknames, well, "The Kid", and brings him along to Xquisite Male Revue, where he dances. There, Adam meets the gang of male strippers, led by the cocky (pun totally intended), charming Dallas (McConaughey). It's not long before Adam finds himself onstage and he becomes an instant hit. However, life in the spotlight (and in g-strings) soon gets to Adam's head, with Mike and Paige caught in the crossfire.

With every female starlet stripping to their skivvies on screen as a rite of passage, the guys finally get their due, and this is sure to be a welcome change for the gals and gay men in the audience. The knee-jerk reaction is to point and snigger and yes, director Soderbergh doesn't underestimate the power of his target demographic (which this reviewer is not a part of) and hands out what you came for in spades. However, if he thought that putting Cody Horn and Olivia Munn into bikinis and slipping in one scene of Mircea Monroe's silicone-enhanced bare breasts would even the playing field, he was sorely mistaken.

It would easy to slap the label "Showguys" on this film and call it a day, but Soderbergh is a better director than Paul Verhoeven by far and the movie treats the vocation with a fair amount of dignity – well, as much dignity as leather vests and star-spangled thongs deserve. The cry of "strippers are people too!" is present in the form of Mike's sensitive custom furniture design aspirations and the attempt to show he has a life outside of the strip club. Also, the film doesn't look as flashy as one would be led to think; Soderbergh doesn't treat the cast the way Michael Bay treats helicopters and sunsets. However, if you came to see Tatum and co. wiggle their collective behinds, you'll be counting the minutes till the movie moves back into clothes removal mode.

Tatum is a famously wooden leading man, but he is a good dancer – after all, he is a Step Up alum. Soderbergh seems to know that the rest of the cast can't offer a lot beyond their chiselled abs and wisely lets Tatum do the bulk of the dancing. It does stretch credibility to think Adam would become an ace dancer overnight, as it is shown he doesn't have much dancing experience to start with. Tatum and Pettyfer have a decent bromance that doesn't reach the heights of Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in the Sherlock Holmes movies or the Wolf Pack in the Hangover flicks, but it works and is portrayed fairly realistically. Pettyfer has been pushed hard in recent years as a pretty-boy hunk to watch, but frankly he's not a great actor though he is better than Tatum. He's got a persona that falls exactly in-between clean-cut and bad boy, and that alone would make most girls go weak at the knees.

Cody Horn has pretty much sprung out of nowhere to take the female lead, but a little research reveals she's the daughter of former Warner Bros. Studio head Alan Horn. Before you shout "nepotism", let it be known that she's... just okay. She pulls off the watchful, strait-laced older sister thing decently, though she does have trouble with more emotional scenes, and her sexual tension with Tatum doesn't fully ignite. She looks like if Kristen Bell and Kristen Stewart had a daughter, which does sound slightly appealing, but it's hard to see her as a prominent Hollywood starlet in future.

Just when you thought Matthew McConaughey was back on the straight and narrow with the legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer, he's back to his shirt-phobic ways playing, in essence, himself. If anyone can pull off the cowboy huckster thing, it's McConaughey and his built-in Texas drawl. He even sings a self-written ditty and plays the guitar. He's backed by a bunch of TV stars: Matt Bomer from White Collar, Joe Manganiello from True Blood and Adam Rodriguez from CSI Miami. As eye candy, they fit the one-dollar bill, but it's a good thing they're given supporting parts because they're very clearly small screen actors.

It's tempting to write this one off based on the two words "male" and "strippers" and, guess what – you won't be completely wrong. It's a celebration of the intriguing double standard where women are allowed a night of squealing, voyeuristic debauchery whereas a man who does the same would be considered a pig (the real pig that does appear in the movie is adorable). Perhaps it's revenge for how a girl who sleeps around is labelled a slut, while a guy who does the same is a stud. Even though there is an effort made to construct a semi-serious drama around the premise, we're left with more flesh than fleshed-out characters, and a very unsatisfying ending. This is not a great film, but not because it's about male strippers.

Safe (I) (2012)

No hidden treasure in this safe

[4/10 · 26 June 2012]

Jason Statham is at it again, earning his keep the only way he knows how: punching and kicking his way through the Chinese and Russian mobs and the New York Police Department. As ex-cop Luke Wright, he is reduced to cage fighting and sleeping in shelters after he snitches on his corrupt colleagues. It's just his luck that he comes across Mei (Chan), a 12-year-old Chinese girl with superhuman memory who carries in her head a complex series of numbers. It's also just his luck that Mei is a pawn of Chinese mob boss Han Jiao (Hong), and police captain Wolf (Robert Burke) is playing both the Chinese and the Russians as all three parties hunt down Luke and his new charge.

A YouTube comment on the trailer for the film said it best – "I liked it better when it was called "Mercury Rising". Indeed, the earlier Bruce Willis film was more entertaining, and Miko Hughes, who played the kid with special abilities in it, was a far better child actor than Catherine Chan is. Safe is not so much outright bad as it is painfully derivative and almost profoundly generic. As usual, Jason Statham is playing the only character he ever plays, the gruff and street smart guy who also happens to be a skilled martial artist and sharpshooter.

The brutal action sequences in the movie are so-so – like most of the movie, they're not awful, it's just that we've seen the like many times before. There are some shootouts in gambling dens and hotels, a subway train brawl and a car chase with Statham driving against NYC traffic – normal action movie fare. As far as the plot is concerned, it's just all too straightforward. There are no real surprises or curve balls – it's just as well that everything unfolds quickly enough.

The crooked cops that make up one third of the movie's villains and the mayor whom they answer to are as flat and one-note as they come. So are the Russian bad guys – poor Igor Jijikine, most famous as Col. Dovchenko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is probably stuck playing Russian mob henchmen for the rest of his career. Also, James Hong's Mandarin Chinese is pretty bad, probably due to all the years he's spent in the States. And let's not forget the stereotypical portrayal of Chinese people as maths geniuses, mobsters or convenience store owners. It was rather bold of the filmmakers to demonize the entire NYPD, though.

"I've seen him fight. Bad business for you," deadpans Mei. Altogether, this was pretty bad business for Statham and company – at its worst; it seems almost like a throwaway direct-to-video action thriller. Here's hoping Statham redeems himself come The Expendables 2 a little later this year.

The Raven (I) (2012)

Never Say Nevermore

[4/10 · 26 June 2012]

In National Treasure, America's founding fathers were the guardians of a secret treasure stash. In the Men In Black films, Elvis, Steven Spielberg and Sylvester Stallone (who is coincidentally planning his own Poe biopic) are aliens. The Brothers Grimm fought mythical monsters. Here, Edgar Allan Poe is roped in by Baltimore's finest to solve a series of murders based on his stories. This may not seem as impressive, but taking into account the legendary author's dark imagination and famously macabre stories, the crimes are pretty gruesome. This is the guy credited with the creation of the modern horror and detective stories, after all.

There is tremendous potential in the idea of Poe pitted against a killer who takes direct inspiration from his tales. Unfortunately, most of it is squandered in favour of unsophisticated slasher movie fare. "People love blood and murder", Reynolds (Kevin R McNally) the newspaper editor tells Poe. And in that respect, the movie delivers – the most gruesome murder happens relatively early on in the movie, where the victim is cut in half by a lowering bladed pendulum, something out of a Saw film – though Poe did it first in The Pit and the Pendulum. Problem is, more people are likely to have a Saw film than read Poe's story.

John Cusack's Poe is quite a disappointment. He's portrayed as the typical eccentric artist, and there's no mystique or danger, especially given the enigma the real Poe was. Cusack also doesn't fit into the period surroundings at all; one would half expect him to lift a ghetto blaster over his head. At its worst, it brings to mind Nicolas Cage – not a good thing.

Inspector Fields, as played by Luke Evans, is earnest, hardworking, dedicated – and absolutely one-note and boring. The interesting dynamic that might have existed between the author and the policeman is all but absent. The inclusion of Alice Eve as Emily Hamilton, a love interest for Poe, is done rather lazily, considering that he had a wife but was famously asexual and apparently only loved her platonically. But that would have been too difficult to portray and would have gotten in the way of the pulpy thrills now, wouldn't it? And so, she's quickly put in jeopardy as a motivator for Poe, and to force Poe and her disapproving father (Brendan Gleeson) to work together.

When the identity of the killer is revealed, it is more likely to induce an indifferent "meh" as opposed to the desired "gasp!" And that's the cardinal sin when it comes to whodunits. Director James McTeigue also delights in heavy-handed faux-symbolism – just because the title of the movie is "The Raven" doesn't mean one or more of the birds have to flutter into frame in every other scene. However, the art direction and the re-creation of 19th Century Baltimore are generally pretty good. So, this is pretty much average Poe.

Mary and Max (2009)

Heartwarming to the Max

[10/10 · 26 June 2012]

appears on screen: "God gives us our relatives – thank God we can choose our friends". The simple, heartfelt sentiment of a longing for meaningful friendship, understanding and an outlet to share is a huge driving force that makes Mary and Max a cinematic gem one finds hidden in the cave buried amongst heaps of awful movies – a gem one only finds every so often.

The Narrator (Humphries) lays it all out: Mary (Bethany Whitmore as a child, Collette as an adult) is an eight-year-old Australian girl, bullied in school, mistreated by her kleptomaniac, drunk mother and neglected by her factory-worker father. She has no friends. Max (Seymour-Hoffman) is an obese, middle-aged New Yorker who has Asperger's Syndrome. He has no friends either. When Mary finds the strange name "M. Horowitz" in a phone book and decides to write to him, it's the start of an unlikely friendship spanning two continents and twenty years and enduring countless hardships.

Directed, written and designed by Australian animator Adam Elliot, Mary and Max may at first seem inaccessible because of its art-house sensibilities – there's a misconception that claymation is only ever used to make either films for very young children, or bizarre adaptations of Kafka's Metamorphosis. The delightfully whimsical style here is very comfortable, honest and real, raw emotions balanced with an appropriate sprinkling of black humour.

To get an idea for the feel of the movie, take the heartbreaking opening sequence of Pixar's Up and stretch that to 80 minutes. The movie's childlike honesty belies a large range of very real and mature themes, making this not ideal for very young children, but something that older kids will appreciate. Danny Boyle's film Millions, also about a young outcast kid making sense of life and the world at large, comes to mind.

Unlike such claymation films as Henry Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Mary and Max doesn't derive most of its charm from being dark and grotesque. The characters feel so real that their appearances are the only thing remotely caricature-like. Through their letters to and fro, Mary and Max work through issues such as making friends, dealing with bullying and teasing, approaching relationships and so on. Just as Max mentors Mary, so the young girl has a thing or two to teach him. The film tracks as their lives progress, Max winning the New York lottery, Mary going on to study in university and get married, all the way up until they finally meet face-to-face in New York.

The film contains a heartfelt and accurate (at least compared to most movie depictions) portrayal of Asperger's Syndrome. Max decides that he likes being an "Aspie", that there's no point in finding a "cure", and that it's all about working around the anxiety attacks, sensory overload and social awkwardness that is part and parcel of the "syndrome". Max finds solace in order, routine and comfort foods like his invention, the chocolate hot dog. "If only there was a mathematical equation for love," he sighs.

One feels as much for Mary as for Max, the young girl lacking the life experience, with tragedy and heartbreak heaped onto her. From having a school bully pee on her lunch, to being unlucky in love and unable to have a good relationship with her parents, let alone any friends, it's hard not to immediately want to give the awkward bespectacled girl with the birthmark on her forehead a great big hug.

I spent the whole movie fighting back tears – partly because of how genuinely moving it was, but also how happy I was that here was a wonderful film that had got everything right. While charming and beautiful throughout, the movie isn't afraid to offer a real and unflinching perspective, and never once feels preachy or contrived. There are very few movies that can truly be called "life-changing" – this is one of them.

Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

Dire Diaries

[3/10 · 26 June 2012]

Thank goodness for dumb extreme tourists. Without their extreme stupidity, we practically wouldn't have any modern horror films. If there's a safe and/or logical way to get things done, expect them to do the exact opposite in the name of our entertainment, and expect them to bring along a cheap video camera to record all the happy memories.

That's the misleading bit though – with "Diaries" in the title, a cast of relative unknowns and Oren Peli of Paranormal Activity fame co-writing and co-producing, you'd think this was the latest in a string of mediocre "found footage" horror movies. Mediocre, yes, found footage, no. The premise seems tailor-made for the sub-genre, but perhaps in an attempt to be "original", the end product is pseudo-found-footage: almost all the shots are hand-held, but not by any of the characters.

"Characters" is a term used lightly: here we have the whiny Chris (McCartney), his girlfriend Natalie (Olivia Taylor Dudley), their friend Amanda (Devin Kelley) and Chris's brother Paul (Sadowski), whom the three have come to Kiev to visit. Paul springs on them the proposition of taking a tour into the abandoned town of Pripyat, formerly home to the staff of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and their families. A backpacking couple (Ingrid Bolso Berdal and Nathan Phillips) tag along; the six led by gruff tour guide Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko). They are denied entry into the ghost town by the Ukrainian military, and find their way in through a back passage. Then horrible things happen.

This has all the hallmarks of a cheaply-made, C-grade horror flick: there are more cheap shocks than a defibrillator factory, trite arguments pass for character development, you'll impatiently count the minutes until someone dies, and a first-time director and former visual effects artist is at the helm. Perhaps this might work as a student film, were it about 15 minutes long. Like most monster-centric horror films, the Jaws-style "what you can't see is the scariest thing" ethos is invoked, but ultimately ineffective – it goes without saying that Bradley Parker is no Spielberg.

The acting is pretty bad, but the screenplay is as much at fault as the actors are. Our hapless extreme tourists aren't given very much material to work with, and earlier scenes with them joking about feel like a particularly painful improv session at an acting school. There is nothing special about the creature design at all, and you barely get a good glimpse at any of the attackers even at the end. It's hard to imagine this movie going up against something like Prometheus at the box office, given that movie's superior scares and much more interesting monsters.

Of course, Chernobyl Diaries was made for a fraction of the cost, and the saving grace is that location filming in Hungary and Serbia does provide the movie with a convincingly eerie, desolate setting. If only the filmmakers knew what to do with it. The ending is extremely unsatisfactory, especially after audiences have been stringed along for a while, and it is worth noting that the group never even sets foot in the actual Chernobyl power plant, only hanging around the neighbouring town.

Several charitable organisations and activist groups were up in arms over the insensitivity of the premise towards the victims of the disaster and their families. It's hard to argue that the tragedy is a juicy starting point for a horror film, but these organisations should be amply relieved that this movie is barely competent and unlikely to make anything of an impression on viewers. The only thing slightly amusing to this reviewer was the cockroach in the cinema aisle – to think these guys would be all that's left after a nuclear apocalypse.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

The untold story? Not quite, but a well-told story? Definitely.

[8/10 · 26 June 2012]

After Spider-Man 3 became something of a critical and commercial letdown and plans for a sequel fell through, the folks at Marvel Entertainment and Columbia Pictures developed a case of itchy reboot button syndrome and immediately put The Amazing Spider-Man into production to swing in and save the franchise. Many fans rolled their collective eyes and the web was abuzz with fiery opinions. Early looks and promotional materials seemed generally underwhelming, and the film quickly became buried by bigger releases such as The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and Prometheus. However, this spider has become something of a dark horse and has somehow risen to greet detractors with a shot of webbing to the face.

In spite of the poor first impressions, one would be hard-pressed not to admit that The Amazing Spider-Man is actually a competently-made, enjoyable flick. The approach that the aptly-named director Marc Webb of (500) Days of Summer fame took brings to mind last year's surprise hit Marvel flick X-Men: First Class, in that in combines the youthful appeal of teen drama with relatively large-scale super heroics and action sequences. This film does not repeat the mistakes of Spider-Man 3 – instead, we have character development and interaction and clear and easy-to-follow plot progression.

Spider-Man has always been a hero all readers could relate to, with his transition from outcast to hero and his various personal, real-world struggles. Andrew Garfield, sexy nerd incarnate, is an ace casting choice. The actor has said that playing Spider-Man has been his dream since he was a young boy and the role went to the right guy. Garfield has an effortless, genuine charm and his slightly lanky proportions do seem very reminiscent of the Peter Parker of the comics, particularly the Ultimate version. For all the strengths of Tobey Maguire's interpretation of the character, Garfield's somehow rings more true. Whether he's being a smart-mouthed do-gooder, a teen sorting out his issues with his well-meaning aunt and uncle or a young lover unsure of how to go about a relationship with his dream gal, Garfield is in great form.

Speaking of his dream gal, Emma Stone does a similarly good job of playing Gwen Stacy. Many were confused after Stone was cast and then announced as playing a different character from Kirsten Dunst's. Gwen did pop in Spider-Man 3 played by Bryce Dallas-Howard, and is touted as Parker's first love. In an interview, Stone states that "Mary Jane fell in love with Spider-Man, but Gwen Stacy fell in love with Peter Parker". Gwen is smart, kind and funny, surely what every guy looks for in a girl, and her role in the story is just the right size. Sure enough, the chemistry between Stone and Garfield is among the strongest of on screen couples in recent memory and it's no surprise that the couple continued their romance off the set.

One has to feel bad for Dylan Baker who portrayed Dr Curt Connors in Spider-Man 2 and 3 but never got the chance to transform into the Lizard after the cancellation of a fourth entry in Raimi's series. Rhys Ifans fills those shoes, and he marshals a tragic figure who hopes to better society and to fix his own perceived physical flaw. This definitely will push the excellent actor further into public consciousness, and he does a decent job. However, Connors' split-second snap from rational scientist to raving mad supervillain does seem a tad rushed and the design of the Lizard, as has been stated before, is pretty goofy. Also, the relationship between Connors and Parker, while given some attention here, could have benefited from a little mo re.

The rest of the supporting cast is good too. Martin Sheen is easy to buy as the earnest, down-to-earth uncle and father figure who serves as an upstanding role model to his nephew, and so is Sally Field as his concerned, protective wife May. Casting these veteran film industry stalwarts was certainly a good move, especially since this retelling doesn't particularly focus on the two but does convey their involvement in Peter's life. Denis Leary is also well-cast as the Inspector Javert-type Captain Stacy, who could have been an over-the-top, "squash Spider-Man dead!" figure. Instead, Leary makes him a stern but well-meaning authority figure and gives him a good dynamic with his daughter and Peter. His resemblance to Willem Dafoe, aka Green Goblin from the first Spider-Man film, is a little distracting though.

In terms of aesthetics, the movie looks sleek and dramatic – director Webb uses his ample experience shooting music videos in the right way. While it could have been something like the horrid Catwoman movie, there is instead clever use of lighting and composition and the action sequences are kinetic yet coherently-shot. This reviewer isn't a giant fan of the costume, produced by the people at Cirque du Soleil (really) and the afore-mentioned facial features of the Lizard. The large amounts of digital effects supplied mostly by Sony Pictures Imageworks (also responsible for last year's Green Lantern film) are also a cut or so below expectations for a big-budget superhero movie, but these don't significantly hurt the end result.

The film brings up the issue of Peter's parents but never fully addresses it, with a slightly ham-fisted mid-credits sequel hook hinting at what is to come. The Amazing Spider-Man has been marketed as "the untold story", which is rather bold given that it's only been ten years since Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and five years since Spider-Man 3. Still, it defies expectations and is thoroughly entertaining. Untold story? Not quite, but well-told story? Definitely.

Under One Roof (II) (1995–2003)

The Best Singaporean Sitcom

[6/10 · 22 May 2011]

Several reviewers here express that they don't enjoy this show. I'll tell you upfront: if you're watching Singaporean TV, you can do much worse than this. I grew up on this show, and as such it's very close to my heart. The characters are actually all pretty well developed and acted, and it follows the American sitcom format pretty closely - there's not a lot of culture shock, as opposed to Singaporean shows such as Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, which contains more references to Singapore culture as well as thicker Singapore accents. A cultural cornerstone, this is a show that tries hard to be funny, and more often than not succeeds. Some jokes may be flat, but they're never very painful. Give this Roof a chance.

Thor (2011)

By Odin's Command, See this One!

[9/10 · 20 May 2011]

The folks at Marvel Studios have good business sense, and have put a lot of effort into building a Marvel movie universe populated by popular Marvel Comics characters. Iron Man 2 closed with a secret teaser ending, showing the discovery of Thor's hammer Mjolnr, and introducing an important piece of the Marvel movie universe puzzle.

Thor is a staggering achievement, filled with imaginative energy and crackling with excitement, but the greatest weapon this warrior wields is its strong plot. Director Branagh brings his Shakespearian senses to the fore, stirring elements such as the Cain-and-Abel tussle between Thor and Loki, the star-crossed romance between Thor and Jane and also the friction between Thor and his disapproving father Odin into the cinematic pot.

Branagh proves that he is no pushover when it comes to action sequences and wide panoramic vistas either. He has a keen eye for what looks good to excitement-hungry moviegoers, and this movie is packed with fantastic and beautiful visuals. From the sparkling spires of Asgard to the desolate wasteland of Jotunheim, this is a ten-course feast for the eyes – especially when given the 3D treatment.

Chris Hemsworth proves himself as a charming and charismatic leading man. Thor is portrayed here as a skilled but reckless and headstrong warrior prince, and Hemsworth takes the audience along as Thor learns humility and finds love on Earth, even as he experiences some hilarious moments of culture shock. He also does well in the fight sequences, having trained and gained 20 pounds of pure muscle for the role.

The supporting cast hits all the right notes as well, Anthony Hopkins imbuing Odin with thundering authority, Tom Hiddleston always possessing a malicious glint in his eye as Loki and Natalie Portman at her most normal and girlish as astrophysicist Jane Foster. Stellan Skarsgard grounds the film as Foster's level-headed mentor, and Kat Dennings is well-cast and very funny as the comic relief sidekick, usually a male role.

An all-round movie-going experience, Thor is the explosive and substantial summer movie season opener everyone has been hoping for, and is unmissable on this and any other of the eight known realms. Oh, and don't forget to stay past the credits for a mind-blowing revelation.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

The Training Wheels Come Off

[8/10 · 26 March 2011]

Dragons. They're the mythical creatures prevalent in one form or another in almost every culture. Dragons have also been a cinematic mainstay, starring in films such as Dragonheart, Dragonslayer, Reign of Fire and animated films such as Shrek and the classic Pete's Dragon.

Now, Dreamworks, also responsible for the Shrek franchise, have breathed life, just as dragons breathe fire, into a popular children's' book. It is during the time of the Vikings, and they have made a living out of killing dragons that terrorize their village. The story focuses on Hiccup (Baruchel), a teenage misfit who prefers to use brains over brawn and doesn't seem to be going down the traditional dragon-slayer route, much to the chagrin of his father, the chief Stoick the Vast (Butler).

Using an invention of his, Hiccup manages to down a Night Fury, a very rare breed of dragon. However, he cannot bring himself to kill it, and subsequently befriends and tames the dragon, which he names "Toothless" for its retractable teeth. Through his interactions with Toothless, Hiccup becomes a kind of "dragon whisperer", bewildering his classmates in dragon training, and inciting the jealousy of Astrid (Ferrera), an "action girl" Viking whom Hiccup nurses an unrequited crush on.

It is not long before Hiccup's double life is unveiled, and he has to convince the Vikings, most of all his father, that the dragons are not the vicious beasts that they are made out to be.

First of all, How to Train Your Dragon looks stunning. Beautiful animation brings a stylized Viking village to life, and every detail, from Stoick's impressive beard to the scales on the dragons, is vividly realized. Toothless is given very expressive, liquid eyes that dilate and contract, and convey so much emotion. The film is also very kinetic and boasts beautiful camera-work that makes it feel more like a live-action film, and the action scenes are great as well.

The 3D technology is used to its full potential here, giving depth to the already-lovely landscapes and fleshing out the characters. It also pulls the audience into the action scenes, especially sequences of the dragons in flight. Most of all, it makes the characters, be it human or dragon, that much more real and relatable, which is the greatest way that 3D technology can be used.

But visual spectacle is nothing if there's no story to back it up. Thankfully, there's a good one here, a simple but effectively-told tale about the bond between man and animal. It's also a coming-of-age story that every teenager who has felt awkward or outcast (make that all of us) can relate to. Hiccup's relationship with Toothless almost recalls classic boy-and-animal films such as the Lassie movies, Black Beauty and the Flipper and Free Willy films. It goes without saying that Toothless is a most adorable creature, comparable almost to Pixar's lovable robot WALL-E, and probably the cutest dragon one ever will see.

The voice acting, while perhaps not a highlight of the film, is undeniably good. Dreamworks is notorious for capitalizing on star power, with actors such as Eddie Murphy, Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Will Smith having provided the voices for their past films. Here, Gerard "King Leonidas" Butler is perfectly cast, his gruff Scottish accent giving a sternness to the tough Viking chief. Butler is also able to express the frustration many parents feel at their children who seem to march to a different beat than they did. Jay Baruchel inflects his delivery with wit and a certain dorky charm, which suits Hiccup to a T. Ugly Betty star America Ferrera is also good at the "tough gal" shtick, and actually sounds believable as a teenager.

John Powell, who has previously scored the Jason Bourne movies, X-Men and Mr. & Mrs Smith, among others, provides an excellent soundtrack for this animated adventure. The music during the action scenes is rousing and kinetic and conveys a Viking toughness, but there are also romantic and subtle moments in the score, particularly during Astrid and Hiccup's shared flight.

In the end, How to Train Your Dragon is a bit of surprise, considering this is the studio that always plays second fiddle to Pixar animation, and has produced roundly mediocre films such as Shark Tale and Madagascar, that rode primarily on pop-culture in jokes and not much else (surprisingly, and to its benefit, How to Train Your Dragon has nary a pop-culture reference). Sure, this is probably no Ratatouille or Finding Nemo, but it is Dreamworks' best effort yet, and comes darned close.

Mao's Last Dancer (2009)

Dancing to Freedom

[8/10 · 26 March 2011]

Biopics are a tricky genre of film. Firstly, the person's life must be interesting enough to warrant a film based on it. Then, there's the scope: what years of this person's life and what events does the filmmaker focus on? Also, how much embellishment can be applied to the film while staying true to the life story? Mao's Last Dancer tells the tale of Li Cunxin (Chi as an adult, Guo Chengwu as a teenager, Huang Wenbin as a child), born into poverty in a Qingdao village, and at the age of 11 selected by Madame Mao's cultural advisers to enroll in her Beijing Dance Academy. He leaves his mother (Chen), father (Wang Shuangbao) There, he endures grueling hours and Communist brainwashing.

Li becomes one of the first Chinese dancers to go to America to study dance. He is hosted by the Houston Ballet's artistic director Ben Stevenson (Greenwood). At the last minute, Li is called in to replace the injured principal dancer in a performance of Don Quixote, with Vice-President George Bush one of the guests. Li's passionate dancing takes the community by storm.

Eventually, Li falls in love, with fellow dancer Elizabeth "Liz" Mackey (Amanda Schull). Li and Mackey rush their marriage so that the former may remain in the United States without defecting. An international incident unfolds as the Chinese Communist Party detains Li against his will in their Houston Consulate.

Cut off from his homeland and unable to return, Li continues to dance, but yearns to see his family once again. He gets the chance to perform at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, and two special guests to that performance bring his life full circle.

In many ways, Mao's Last Dancer is a textbook biopic. Li has lived an interesting-enough life. The film shuttles efficiently between his time in Houston and flashbacks to his past as a poor village boy and later student at the Beijing Dance Academy. The film is also based on Li's autobiography of the same name, so chances are it is very true to life.

Director Bruce Beresford, of Driving Miss Daisy fame, brings Li's remarkable story to life in sweeping fashion, with the scenes in the Qingdao village almost reminiscent of now-classic Chinese films like Not One Less. Li's time in the Beijing Dance Academy is also well-portrayed. In one striking scene, Madame Mao herself visits the school, and watches the students perform a European ballet. She then demands to see guns, politics and communist ideals. The students then emerge against a red background in communist uniforms, carrying guns, not so much dancing as marching, as Madame Mao looks on approvingly.

The film is a bit of an expose on Communist China under Mao Zedong, and will be an eye-opener for many viewers unfamiliar with that period in the country's history. Beresford is careful not to turn his film into an overly-political anti-communist spiel, keeping the focus square on Li Cunxin, but also addressing the brainwashing and hothousing, as well as the vilification of capitalism and "imperialism".

Mao's Last Dancer is definitely a tearjerker, but not in a superficial Marley and Me kind of way, where the Kleenex moments are painfully engineered. Here, themes such as love, family and personal identity take their place next to those of east meets west, international relations and political standings, and to marvelous effect.

A good cast is essential in bringing any biopic to life. Principal Dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet Chi Cao handles both the acting and the dancing laudably, especially considering that this is the professional dancer's first film role. Bruce Greenwood is always-dependable as an authority figure, given his pedigree as President in National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets and space captain in Star Trek. His warmth and kindness towards Li effectively contrast the coldness of the communist regime.

Joan Chen, often dubbed the "Meryl Streep of the East", eschews her normally-glamorous demeanor for the grubby face and hands of an honest hardworking farmer in rural Qingdao. Kyle McLachlan looks the part as a lawyer who sorts out Li's immigration woes and veteran Australian actor Jack Thompson cameos as a judge.

Li Cunxin's story is one that deserves to be told on screen, and fortunately, it is told well in a film equal parts artful and emotional, concise and beautiful.