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GREEN INFERNO [2015, USA-CHILE - English]

"If you stumbled across this on a warped VHS tape from the early 1980s, it would probably be a hardcore cult classic, but in 2015, it’s more funny than horrifying."
- Brent McKnight, Paste Magazine

With fear-monger Eli Roth (Cabin Fever - 2002, Hostel I & II - 2005 & 2007), we know it's all about the cringe. Not that I am a fan but I have to admit some of his films did make an imprint in the torture-porn genre which managed to successfully satiate fans of extreme gore and savage violence (during that era, that is). In his homage to ’80s Italian cannibal films like Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Roth wanted to relive the bold and unapologetic ways of the filmmakers then, for instance going into real jungles and shooting with actual indigenous natives. He missed those kind of dangerous filming, and hence his latest product Green Inferno is made, with the hope that it will be accepted similarly with the likes of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) and Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (2006). Verdict? Far from it. And I think Brent McKnight's take which I've quoted in my opening says it all.

The filming in Peru and some parts in Chile does make Inferno somewhat a treat visually. Though Roth uses a plethora of local farmers (from a village deep in the Amazon called Callanayacu) to portray the natives, watching their bloody-painted bodies swarming the lush greeneries of the handsome Amazon eventually becomes the singular production value and reason you're not cursing yourself for paying to watch this film.

Leading the cast is Roth's wife Lorenzo Izzo as Justine, a college freshman in New York, who joins Alejandro (Ariel Levy) and his group of activists on a trip to Peru to stop the bulldozing of the rainforest and the annihilation of an isolated indigenous tribe. Upon mission completion, their plane crashes on the way back, landing half of them dead and the other half stranded in the Amazon, only ironically to be hunted down by the very natives they have risked their lives to safe. This is nevertheless an elaborate and calculated effort with a cynical message Roth is blaring here. In dismissing critics that accused his story of creating a racist view of the uncontacted and isolated groups, Roth has trumpeted that the bad guys of Inferno are not the natives but the “social justice warriors” (SJW) whose activism is driven by vanity, quoting: "...the film is really about people getting caught up in causes they don’t know anything about and doing it for vanity reasons more than for the cause itself." The protagonists hence becomes the people Roth intends to mock.

As just as it may sound, Inferno fails at every level and is constantly contradictory in its delivery. First of all, watching how the cannibalistic natives systematically maim and eat their captives, you can't help but feel sorry instead for the SJWs. In fact, most of them who die a revolting death are actually rather likeable, as compared to their hosts from hell who are depicted in the worst possible way. Yet Roth reminds that the film is actually intended to get us rooting for the natives, not to mention they are handsomely paid with money and home improvements for their acting. Come on, who are we kidding here. Enlisting people with no real awareness of stereotypes into playing up and perpetuating a stereotype in the most degrading manner about their own people? It is a mere trade of their ignorance for commerce, don't you think?

And the problem with the movie doesn't end there. For a film which the main device is to challenge audience's limits, there are just too many off-putting moments which break and digress, failing to truly grip us. Just to name one obvious example, nobody wants to see an explosive diarrhoea with the natives laughing away. OK I can't resist, I'm going to give another. At one point, the captives' genius escape plan is to shove a bag of marijuana down the throat of one of the deceased so that when cooked, the villagers will all get stoned and become distracted! Moments like these deteriorate the film to a cheap flick level, all the more appearing to be mocking the audience instead of the SJWs. And wait, it still doesn't end here. Don't forget to watch the most ridiculous hidden scene during the credits. Touted as Roth's come back vehicle, it feels more like a return to a bygone era of explicit violent filmmaking.

Rating : D-

‪#‎GreenInferno‬ ‪#‎EliRoth‬ ‪#‎Hostel‬ ‪#‎CabinFever‬ ‪#‎FilmReview‬ ‪#‎MovieReview‬‪#‎Cannibalism‬ ‪#‎RuggeroDeodato‬ ‪#‎CannibalHolocaust‬ ‪#‎ApocalypseNow‬‪#‎FrancisForsCoppola‬ ‪#‎MelGibson‬ ‪#‎Apocalypto‬ ‪#‎Amazon‬
‪#‎Peru‬ ‪#‎Chile‬ ‪#‎movies‬ ‪#‎gore‬ ‪#‎horror‬ ‪#‎LorenzoIzzo‬ ‪#‎ArielLevy‬

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MACBETH [2015, UK - English]

Based on The Tragedy of Macbeth, Australian director Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, 2011) is bringing one the darkest and most powerful works of Williams Shakespeare to the silver screens. Somehow not given as much cinematic treatment as other Shakespeare adaptations like Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet, the Scotland-set play deals with the crumbling of a man as a result of his godlike-driven ego in seeking power and reign. I personally think it's too delicious a plot to be ignored. And what more when Kurzel recruits Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard to play the leading roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

The story starts with Macbeth, the Duke of Scotland receiving a premonition from a trio of witches that he will one day rule Scotland. Spurred to action by his ambitious wife Lady Macbeth, his passion soon culminates into a dark, power-hungry and blood-thirsty ambition. Scheduled for release in October (UK) and December (USA), the film co-stars Paddy Considine, Sean Harris and Jack Reynor.

‪#‎Macbeth‬ ‪#‎MacbethMovie‬ ‪#‎TheTragedyofMacbeth‬ ‪#‎JustinKurzel‬‪#‎MichaelFassbender‬ ‪#‎MarionCotillard‬ ‪#‎RomeoAndJuliet‬ ‪#‎Hamlet‬

AARON SORKIN FIRES BACK AT APPLE CEO TIM COOK'S "OPPORTUNISTIC" REMARK

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently made some remarks on Danny Boyle's biographical film Steve Jobs, accusing the motives of the filmmakers behind the project as being "opportunistic". Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, Social Network, Moneyball), writer of the film has decided to lash back in defense, saying "If you've got a factory full of children in China assembling phones for 17 cents an hour, you've got a lot of nerve calling someone else opportunistic!" Ouch! Sorkin added that he along with several other key members of the team actually took pay cuts in order to ensure that the film got made, citing, "Nobody did this movie to get rich. Secondly, Tim Cook should really see the movie before he decides what it is."

Scheduled for wide release early next month, the film has already been gaining positive reviews following its debut at the recent Telluride Film Festival, with much praise directed to Michael Fassbender's transformative performance as the Apple founder. Instead of the conventional biopic birth-to-death trajectory, Boyle's version of the story focuses on the three key moments in Jobs' life, the debut of the first Macintosh in 1984, NeXT unveiling in 1989, and the triumphant introduction of the iMac in 1998. The film also examines Jobs' relationship with both his compatriots and employees and his estranged daughter, Lisa.

#AaronSorkin #SteveJobs #SteveJobsMovie#MichaelFassbender #TimCook #DannyBoyle #Apple#Macintosh #movies #films #biographicalFilm#TellurideFilmFestival

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EVEREST [2015, UK - USA - English]

Originally recounted in Jon Krakauer's non-fiction book Into Thin Air, the ill-fated 1996 climbing expedition up Mount Everest is adapted into the big screens by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur as a 3D disaster drama starring Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Hawkes, Martin Henderson, Kiera Knightley, Emily Watson, Robin Wright, Sam Worthington and Michael Kelly. Opening at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, the film is based on real events experienced by two expedition groups, one led by Rob Hall (Clarke) and the other by Scott Fischer (Gyllenhaal) as they brutally attempted for survival when their ascent was pulverized by an unexpected severe blizzard.

Teaming up with screenwriters William Nicholson (Unbroken) & Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours), director Baltasar Kormákur (A Little Trip to Heaven, Contraband, 2 Guns) wanted the film to be as realistic as possible, having his actors shooting outside in the elements in locations including six weeks in Ötztal Alps in Italy, and a month each in Iceland and Nepal.

It’s good to note that many aspects of the actual events have been kept as consistent as possible in the 2-hour film. For instance, one of the tear-jerking moments in the film is when Rob Hall speaks to his wife on his radio via satellite connection, as he struggles to survive in the brutal-cold near-oxygen-free air. This did take place, and his exact words to his wife Jan were used in the film, “I love you. Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don’t worry too much.” There will be some of you who would be questioning after watching, whether the ladders used in traversing the gaping, treacherous crevasses were actually as rickety as the ones used in the story. They actually were! In fact that was the most riveting scene for me, watching in 3D the climbers shaking as they cross the ladder, and particularly when Beck Weather (Brolin) loses his footing on the ladder as an avalanche unfolds nearby, nearly resulting in him plummeting into the crevasse. Although dramatized, that incident did take place as well in real life.

One of the most prominent incidents in the story is when Brolin’s character Beck is left to die when his eyesight starts to fail him, and his system begins to weaken in the storm as he descends. This actually took place as well, and it happened twice! The other climbers who attempted rescue during the blizzard made an assessment on both Beck and another stranded victim, Yasuko Namba that they were beyond saving. At daybreak the second group arrived to reassess the status of the two, and concluded that they were near death and that they would not survive the descent.

There is not much development of the characters, simply because there isn't time for it! Truth be told, Everest is a film of grandeur not because of its delve into the characters' individual stories, but it's the visuals. Cinematographer Salvatore Totino clearly made the mountains the star of the movie, with breathtaking shots of the majestic snowy peaks one after another. Watching it in 3D is hence encouraged. More emphasis is placed on the horrid throes and struggles encountered as the climbers are battered by the ferocious snowstorm. It is this focal point which makes the film staggering, becoming a film to remember as we are made to feel and cringe at every fall, grunt and pain endured by the cast. Did they need A-listers like Jake Gyllenhaal for the role of Scott Fischer? Definitely no. Not sure why Gyllenhaal would agree to such a menial role.

Rating : B+

‪#‎Everest‬ ‪#‎EverestFilm‬ ‪#‎EverestMovie‬ ‪#‎BaltasarKormákur‬ ‪#‎JasonClarke‬‪#‎JoshBrolin‬ ‪#‎JakeGyllenhaal‬ ‪#‎JohnHawkes‬ ‪#‎MartinHenderson‬‪#‎KieraKnightley‬ ‪#‎EmilyWatson‬ ‪#‎RobinWright‬ ‪#‎SamWorthington‬‪#‎MichaelKelly‬ ‪#‎JonKrakauer‬ ‪#‎IntoThinAir‬ ‪#‎FilmReview‬ ‪#‎movies‬‪#‎adventure‬ ‪#‎mountainClimbing‬ ‪#‎MovieTrailers‬

CHECK OUT THE OUTRAGEOUS WIGS THESE STARS ARE SPOTTING

With the exception of Brad Pitt whose company Plan B Entertainment is producing, they are all given outrageous wigs for their roles in the upcoming biographical drama The Big Short. Written & directed by Adam McKay, the film is about the financial crisis of 2007-2010, which sees Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell play key players in the creation of the credit default swap market that sought to bet against the debt bubble and ended up actually profiting from the crisis. Based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Michael Lewis, the film has atruly all-star cast, which will also co-star Marisa Tomei, Karen Gillan, Selena Gomez and Rafe Spall. The Big Short is scheduled for release in December 2015.

‪#‎TheBigShort‬ ‪#‎TheBigShortMovie‬ ‪#‎AdamMcKay‬ ‪#‎MichaelLewis‬ ‪#‎BradPitt‬ ‪#‎ChristianBale‬ ‪#‎RyanGosling‬‪#‎SteveCarell‬ ‪#‎MarisaTomei‬ ‪#‎KarenGillan‬ ‪#‎SelenaGomez‬ ‪#‎RafeSpall‬‪#‎FinancialCrisis‬ ‪#‎Movies‬ ‪#‎films‬ ‪#‎movieTrailers‬ ‪#‎trailers‬

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THE VISIT [2015, USA - English]

The Visit is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated films in 2015, merely because all of us are almost giving up and dying to find out if it is really writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's comeback. Shyamalan, once dubbed as “The Next Spielberg” back in 2002, was heavily mocked for his last few misfires including Lady In The Water (2006), The Happening (2008) and The Last Airbender (2010).

The grim fairy tale starts off with teenager Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and her 13-year-old brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) traveling to a remote Pennsylvania farm for a weeklong trip to visit their grandparents whom they've not met before because the grandparents have been estranged from their mother (Kathryn Hahn) for 15 years. After watching, I'm glad to say that this film definitely signals a welcome return to form for Shyamalan. He has gone back to basics, the story and its scale are practically stripped down, allowing him to fully focus on what he does best, to thrill and to scare.

Although The Visit takes the form of the found-footage film, something which would seem to have been entirely exhausted at this point (not to mention countless films using such an approach but did it so poorly you'd question each angle), Shyamalan pulled it off. Most (if not all) the scenes are believable, and you can tell he has put in a lot of thought into how each of the footage would appear to give the most chilling effect.

Now, back to the story. Although I find all the main characters' performances good, it's the grandparents who take the show. Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie are every bit familial yet terrifying in their portrayal as Nana and Pop Pop. Watching them morph from strange to morbid, both the seniors walk a fine tightrope between warm and utterly ghastly. Their back and forth is the most unnerving aspect of the film, and the most important. Shyamalan shared that the film intends to invoke the primal fear within all of us about growing old and indeed to me it was the journey of the children witnessing of their grandparents' bizzare deterioration which makes audience relate and cringe at a very effective level.

Lastly, something which bothered me from the beginning. I've always had problems with horror and comedy, in one. To me it's never meant to be and it's just a suicide attempt. The fact that The Visit contains almost as much humor as horror is testament to Shyamalan’s willingness to challenge the conventions. Co-producer Jason Blum shared "I think it's a very hard thing to do - it's definitely a scary thriller, with very funny moments. Horror-comedies to me are not scary. We talked a lot about getting that tone exactly right. To me that fun and laughs in the movie make the scares and the thrills bigger." Did it work? It made me laugh. Most importantly it didn't make the film stupid, and that's a monumental achievement. But it just doesn't resonate entirely that well with me, it remains somewhat of a "barrier" for a solid and effective horror. What I did appreciate was the effect achieved when they blend in elements of classic grim fairy tales like Hansel & Gretel, that was brilliant. And like all fairy tales, there is a positive message behind the story towards the end.

Rating : B-

‪#‎TheVisit‬ ‪#‎TheVisitMovie‬ ‪#‎mNightShyamalan‬ ‪#‎JasonBlum‬‪#‎OliviaDeJonge‬ ‪#‎EdOxenbould‬ ‪#‎KathrynHahn‬ ‪#‎DeannaDunagan‬‪#‎PeterMcRobbie‬ ‪#‎movieReview‬ ‪#‎FilmReview‬ ‪#‎movies‬ ‪#‎films‬ ‪#‎horror‬‪#‎thriller‬ ‪#‎comedy‬

ceLEbQuOtE 
"Part of doing a movie like this, what makes it attractive, is when a director from Iceland comes to your door and says, 'I want to do this in the way that I understand movies can still be done and are not done very often anymore.' And he took us to the top of the, you know, mountain — not Everest, but a shorter mountain with just as much snow — and made it as problematic as possible. We went to Nepal for about eight days, nine days, and climbed up to the base camp of Everest, or very close to it. And then once we got to London, instead of snow they started using salt that they were shoveling in front of 100-mile-an-hour fans. We were getting the great exfoliation of our lives. And it was just horrible. At that point, I was like, 'I don't ever want to do a movie like this again. I'm going to fire my agent. I'm going to change careers.' It was horrible"
- Josh Brolin, on his experience filming Everest. The British-American action-thriller drama directed by Baltasar Kormakur, also stars Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley and Elizabeth Debicki

‪#‎JoshBrolin‬ ‪#‎CelebQuote‬ ‪#‎EverestMovie‬ ‪#‎EverestFilm‬‪#‎BaltasarKormakur‬#JasonClarke ‪#‎JakeGyllenhaal‬ ‪#‎KeiraKnightley‬‪#‎ElizabethDebicki‬

A ROMANTIC TALE OF JACKIE CHAN'S PARENTS' LOVE STORY

Against the backdrop of China's tumultuous war-torn 20th century, Hong Kong director Mabel Cheung (張婉婷) and her screenwriting-producing husband Alex Law (羅啟銳) create a romantic classic based on the real-life story of Jackie Chan's parents, Daolong and Yuerong. Yuerong (Tang Wei, 汤唯) is a young widow who is forced to peddle opium in order to support her two little daughters. She is one day stopped by Daolong (Sean Lau, 刘青云) who is an officer at a river checkpoint. He decides to her go, and that's the beginning of their love story. When Daolong — who is actually a former spy — becomes the target of both the Nationalists and the Communists, the couple is forced to escape across a country devastated by famine and war. Faced with tremendous dangers and separated for years at a time, A Tale of Three Cities (三城记) is the story of their courage and determination to stay together.

To be honest not many HK films in the recent years have really inspired me, but I'll definitely give this one a try mainly because the filmmaker duo Mabel-Alex has given in my opinion one of the best HK films of all times, Echoes of the Rainbow (歲月神偷, 2010) which won the Crystal Bear for the Best Film in the Children's Jury "Generation Kplus" category at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival.

‪#‎aTaleOfThreeCities‬ ‪#‎MabelCheung‬ ‪#‎AlexLaw‬ ‪#‎JackieChan‬ ‪#‎SeanLau‬‪#‎TangWei‬ ‪#‎EchoesOfTheRainbow‬ ‪#‎三城记‬ ‪#‎歲月神偷‬ ‪#‎foreignFilms‬ ‪#‎刘青云‬ ‪#‎汤唯‬ ‪#‎HongKongFilms‬ ‪#‎AsianFilms‬

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MAZE RUNNER : THE SCORCH TRIALS [2015, USA - English]

The sequel to The Maze Runner in 2014 feels like an inordinate filler for the first and the upcoming last installments of the dystopian sci-fi adventure based on the trilogy novel of the same name by James Dashner.

First installment opens with adequate action to thrill, with a good amount of mystery, as the protagonist Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) wakes up in an elevator with no memory of who he is, and teams up with the rest of his newfound friends to escape the treacherous maze they are all trapped in. The second installment which is helmed by the returning director James Dashner, breaks down all the walls of the labyrinth and finds Thomas and the rest of the Gladers breaking free and setting off across crumbling city sets. Seemingly more avenue to expound on the story, the film somehow eventually dilutes into an excessive series of running and chasing, without getting us anywhere. For a film that is slightly more than 2 hours of length, there is surprisingly very little development of the main characters. Even with the addition of new casts none of them made any significant mark to the story.

"The Scorch Trials" is at best an entertaining thriller, I particularly enjoyed the heart-thumping scene where Thomas and his new friend, Brenda (Rosa Salazar) ruffle with a Crank (breed of blood-spewing zombies) in the sideways-toppled skyscraper. Dashner however completely overlooks the danger of the "middle-movie fatigue" which plagues most trilogy films, and ignores that the audience really want more than just a series of running and chasing in the sun, in the dilapidated mall, more running through hallways, and again running through the the lighting storms. It essentially makes "The Scorch Trials" a big-fat filler before the showdown in 2017's "the Death Cure".

Rating : C+

‪#‎theMazeRunner‬ ‪#‎TheScorchTrials‬ ‪#‎MazeRunner‬ ‪#‎WesBall‬‪#‎DylanObrien‬ ‪#‎RosaSalazar‬ ‪#‎sciFi‬ ‪#‎actionFilm‬ ‪#‎thriller‬ ‪#‎adaptation‬‪#‎teenageNovels‬ ‪#‎filmReview‬ ‪#‎movieReview‬ ‪#‎movies‬ ‪#‎movieTrailers‬‪#‎trailers‬

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IN THE HEART OF THE SEA [2015 December]

Everyone knows Moby Dick, the giant white whale with a revenge from the 1851 classic novel by Herman Melville. What Academy Award winning director Ron Howard is bringing to the big screens is the story based on true events which actually inspired the Moby Dick tale. And what makes it even better is the fact that the screen story and script are helmed by Charles Leavitt (Blood Diamond), Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Jurassic Park).

Continuing his successful collaboration in the 2013 sports drama Rush, Howard is teaming up again with Chris Hemsworth, along with co-stars Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Ben Wishaw, Tom Holland & Brendan Gleeson. Hemsworth plays Owen Chase, who leads a whaling ship crew that ends up getting shipwrecked after crossing paths with a massive sperm whale, and is left stranded at sea for 90 days, having to resort to extreme measures for survival, including cannibalism.

Been looking forward to this film, the latest 3rd trailer has just been released, and it looked even more breath-taking than the previous two. The film's original release date in March was postponed to an awards-season date in December. Hemsworth may have been best known as Thor, God of Thunder, along with his other leading roles, but this film is his first film that I'm really anticipating.

‪#‎InTheHeartOfTheSea‬ ‪#‎RonHoward‬ ‪#‎MobyDick‬ ‪#‎HermanMelville‬‪#‎ChrisHemsworth‬ ‪#‎BenjaminWalker‬ ‪#‎CillianMurphy‬ ‪#‎BenWishaw‬‪#‎TomHolland‬ ‪#‎BrendanGleeson‬ ‪#‎Movies‬ ‪#‎Films‬ ‪#‎MovieTrailers‬ ‪#‎Trailers‬

ceLEbQuOtE
“I’m not sure I’m entirely thrilled about it. People ask me about the whole day. They were like, ‘Oh it must have been so emotional.’ I was like, ‘It wasn’t, it was sad. I like being British'...I had to renounce my Queen! The thing that’s weird is I do get to keep both my British citizenship and this, but you have to renounce her. But it’s kind of typically American - not to be rude. I had to renounce her in the room but I don’t actually technically renounce her. They were like, 'just say it, you don’t have to mean it but just say it.'”
- Emily Blunt, who has recently become full-fletched American, has somehow sparked an outrage including Fox News, where the hosts of Fox & Friends during their show lashed at her recent remarks. One host, Anna Kooiman, remarking, “Well you know what, then why don’t you leave Hollywood, California, and let some American women take on the roles that you’re getting, because Americans are watching your movies and lining your pockets.”

Following the backlash the actress appeared on The Today Show to try and make amends, issuing an apology , "It was so not the intetion to hurt anybody or cause any offense, so I really apologize to those that I caused offsense."

‪#EmilyBlunt‬ ‪#‎FoxNews‬ ‪#‎FoxAndFriends‬ ‪#‎CelebQuotes‬ ‪#‎controversy‬‪#‎hollywood‬ ‪#‎CelebNews‬