Coming to Cinemas (11/4/2013)

On this second week of April, we shift our gears to see more Asian releases and take a break from Hollywood, though the releases from there are getting stronger. This week, it's all about action blockbusters, so don't expect to come out from any of these release with your teeth intact when you're done.

Now go get your face smacked with any of the trailers of this week's releases below.

Code Name: Jackal

Director: Bae Hyeong-Jun
Cast: Song Ji-Hyo, Kim Jae-Joong, Oh Dal-Su
Running Time: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
Language:: Korean
Classification: P13
Synopsis: A not-so-smart female killer is hired to kill a popular singer. The killer then kidnaps the popular singer and tries to kill him in the bold manner that the customer requested, but just then, police arrive... How will this bumbling femme fatale find a way out?
Trailer Impressions: When I first heard the title of this movie, I was expecting a hard-hitting action thriller, something along the lines of The Berlin File. Have you see the trailer for that? Can't wait to see it. But after watching this trailer, what we have instead is a comedy parody about a female assassin and a pop star. If you are fan of K-Pop, this is probably the reason why it is shown here, which I'm not. So, 'meh'.

Conspirators (同謀)

Director: Oxide Pang
Cast: Aaron Kwok, Nick Cheung
Running Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes
Language:: Cantonese
Classification: P13
Synopsis: After "The Detective", Oxide Pang returns with yet another detective thriller titled "Conspirators", starring Aaron Kwok and Nick Cheung. Chen Tan (Aaron Kwok), a private detective in Thailand, travelled to Malaysia following the clues in a photo in order to reveal the truth behind the murder of his parents 30 years ago. There he finds a man called Chai, who directs him to Zheng (Nick Cheung), a Malaysian detective born in China. The two eventually stumble upon Chai's daughter, Zhi Wei (Jiang Yi Yan) and realise that she may hold the key to the mystery...

Trailer Impressions: I hadn't watch any of Oxide Pang's movies from the The Detective series, so I don't really know what it's about. Except that it's shot in Malaysia. And if you remember that news going around about Aaron Kwok jumping off a building in KL some time ago. This is that movie (at least that's what I gather in the trailer). So the only reason why I would go see this is, is probably the same reason why I would watch The Viral Factor; Hong Kong filmmakers making Malaysian locations look much better, and seeing shit blow up on Malaysian streets so I can play 'guess that place' while watching it.

Langgar

Director: Syed Hussein Syed Mustafa
Cast: Adi Putra, Namron, Khir Rahman, Natasha Hudson, Nadia Heng, Hans Isaac, Bell Ngasri, Zul Huzaimy
Running Time: 1 Hour 35 Minutes
Language:: Malay
Classification: 18
Synopsis: "Langgar" tells the story of Nizam (Adi Putra), who seeks justice for the death of his beloved wife, Aina (Nadia Heng) and his child, whom she was pregnant with at the time, as a result of rape and murder by a gang. It is Nizam's solemn promise to himself that everyone involved in the rape-murder must be wiped from the face of earth. Nizam is introduced to Radzi's (Namron) gang by Khairul (Bell Ngasri), an old friend. Radzi's gang is one of the more feared, dabbling in night clubs, drugs and illegal money lending. After he is tested by Loy (Zul Huzaimy), Radzi's right-hand man, Nizam joins Radzi's gang as a debt collector. Among the names listed in the file are Aina and her father, under debtors who have failed to pay. Nizam is now convinced that he is on the right track...

Trailer Impressions: Normally I don't write impressions for any action-oriented Malay films, because you know if I did, I would be doing one a week on average and that's hard because I would have used up my vocabulary for suckage. But I'm making an exception for this because this trailer does actually look good. Not as a movie, obviously, but this trailer actually has enough material to pump up the hype across it's runtime, that doesn't get bore down with senseless and corny dialogue scenes for padding. The choreography for this also actually looks more real (minus the feathered machete, of course. Give and take lah!), which could be an improvement since KL Gangster.

Also, am I the only one noticing a trend that Malay movies tend to be rated 18 more often than the Hollywood ones that made it here? I mean if FINAS is encouraging this kind of movies to be made, then why keep censoring the rated 18 ones from Hollywood right? This obviously goes into the curious list. Maybe there's something here that takes the next step from KL Gangster.

Oblivion

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo
Running Time: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
Language:: English
Classification: P13
Synopsis: Tom Cruise stars in "Oblivion", an original and ground-breaking cinematic event from the director of "TRON: Legacy" and the producer of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man's confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack's mission is nearly complete. Living and patrolling the breath-taking skies from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.
Trailer Impressions: Looks like Tom Cruise is the only one to save the day for the Hollywood releases this week. With the release of Oblivion, I would like to officially say that we have entered the summer months, because the theme of this year's summer release is the post-apocalypse. Watching this trailer again, I probably can predict its plot and can guess the twist, so I'm not really sure if I'm game for this other than the beautiful visuals. Good thing they have Morgan Freeman around.

FilmBah's Pick of the Week

I must say that it's been a while since I had a hard week to decide. My Asian pick for this week would be between Conspirator and Langgar (both coincidentally set in Malaysia) because they might have a slight chance of being decent actioners. But can they be enticing enough to take me away from Oblivion? I think not. Though as I mentioned that I'm not really thrilled about the narrative anymore, but I think it's a safer bet than any of the Asian releases this week, which is a shame really. Maybe if they made an Asian post-apocalyptic actioner, then I would go see it.

Releases according to CinemaOnline and check your nearest screenings at Showtimes.