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50 First Kisses 50次初吻 (2018) - Japan   Aka 50 Kaime no Fasuto Kisu   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)     The Japanese remake of Hollywood’s “50 First Dates” stay far to close to its source material and the result of director Yuichi Fukuda’s effort feels like a complete carbon copy of the original and almost completely uninspiring. Replacing the chemistry driven duo of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore will always be a tough ask and Japanese counterparts Takayuki Yamada and Masami Nagasawa. The real problem lies in the fact that the original heavily relied...

Napping Kid 逆向誘拐 (2018) - Hong Kong   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)     Four years after director and writer Amos Why’s “Dot 2 Dot”, a lovely little film that I described as a love letter in a bottle to Hong Kong. If the first film is a love letter to the past, “Napping Kid” is certainly a smart and intriguing film about the current and future of Hong Kong. Wrapped around a detective story of hi-tech hacking and ransoming, is a film at its very core about Hong Kong, it social issues and its...

Mandy 曼蒂 (2018) - USA   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)     Absurd and absolutely crazy are words that instantly comes to mind in the critically acclaimed Nicolas Cage starrer in “Mandy”. This is easily Cage best sensationally over the top performance (believe me when I say this) for the past decade and most likely the most insane character we have seen him play. Cage have been known for classic over the top villainous performances in “Face-Off” and many others, but “Mandy” director Panos Cosmatos tops all that in this grossly twisted revenge thriller that...

The Equalizer 2 叛諜裁判2 (2018) - USA   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)     Denzel Washington is at his dependable best as the action lead in the “equalizer” hit man that aims to put the wrong things right. Picking up from where he left off in the efficient original, the film takes no prisoners and remains direct, harsh and tough when dealing with criminals and people making bad and wrong decisions in life and crimes. I enjoy the way, director Antoine Fuqua kept the tension moments extremely well. The scene where young neighbour played by...

The Quake 八級大地震 命懸一劫 (2018) - Norwegian    Aka Skjelvet   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)     The sequel to the hit disaster Norwegian 2016’s The Wave, is a clearly a bigger film with bigger budget to boot. Filmed with comparable Hollywood standards for blockbuster disaster film, think Independent Days and numerous others, the Norwegian is quick to cash in on the prequel success. What happens usually will be a lesser attempt, but Director John Andreas Andersen smartly spent most of the film focusing on character study, family issues, coming to terms with the aftermath...