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Film Review: Lost in the Stars 消失的她 (2023) China 🇨🇳 Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)   Based on adaptation from Alexey Korenev's 1990 Soviet comedy film A Trap for Lonely Man and French playwright Robert Thomas' 1960 play Trap for a Lonely Man (Piege Pour un Homme Seul), it forms the core of director Cui Rui’s “Lost in the Stars”. Alfred Hitchcock once wanted to adapted this play and the result is one filled with Hitchcock style scenarios including femme fatale, missing people, twists and turns and human conditions. There is a lot of genuine...

Film Review: No More Bets 孤注一掷 (2023) China 🇨🇳 Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)   With the impending JPEX fraud and the South-East Asian kidnapped “workers”, it’s probably timely to witness “No More Bets” a film that tackles both of these themes and concerns making this more than just a public message. In fact the best parts of the film is when there is no law enforcement, where the criminals and the forced workers (from all walks life) interacts, somehow manage to build an elaborated online scam that follows any traditional fraud we have all...

Film Review: Shadow (2022) - Australia 🇦🇺 Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)   One of the beautiful delight of the bittersweet and dark Australian film about the gathering of a group of intellectually disable activists speaking about their rights and how so-called “normal” humans perceive them as often inferior species. This is made all the more damning with the notion of AI technology monitoring and moderating the discussion. Directed by Australian BrianGladwin based on the award winning stage production - The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunter Become, the 56 minutes film focus on real emotions...

Film Review: The Boogeyman (2023) - USA 🇺🇸 Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)   Based on the 1970s horror short story written by Stephen King, “The Boogeyman” is a dated tale that rides on the fears of children and the darkness around us. Director Rob Savage gets his first studio production after indie success with “Host” and “Dashcam”. In fact Savage manages to use the suspense and spaces to create the situations to make “The Boogeyman” an entertaining and creepy experience.   Sophie Thatcher gets the conflicted role of dealing with the sudden death of...

Over My Dead Body 死屍死時四十四 (2023) - Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)   Director Ho Cheuk-tin continues his wonderful form with an excellent black comedy follow-up from award winning court case crime thriller debut “The Sparring Partner”.  What is so fascinating, about Ho’s latest film is the essence of black comedy and parody about everything everywhere that is what happening in Hong Kong, both subtly and literally in the face. That’s to be commendable as the laughters keep rolling in and whilst knowledge of local culture and Cantonese are vital to understanding...