The Eagle (2011)

Not, not this isn't about the eagle standards Marcus Flavius Aquila lost in the Teutoberg.

The setting is Scotland, beyond Hadrian's Wall.

The story is a colonial adventure/buddy mash-up which could have been set say in Africa with an upper class twit and his native slave or even in modern Afghanistan with a naive American GI and a local tribesman.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 30 March 2011.

Made in Dagenham (2010)

How women got equal pay in the workplace is recounted in Made in Dagenham.

The film mixes the English industrial township comedy genre (workers saving their jobs, factories, and towns) with gender politics and labour union politics.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 30 March 2011.

Faster (2010)

The Rock plays a bank robber shot in the head after a heist, who wakes up decades later to exact revenge.

Faster plays like a homage to Tarrantino's Kill Bill, done with grindhouse cinema and pre-John Woo Hong Kong hard boiled actioner aesthetics.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 30 March 2011.

Morning Glory (2011)

Harrison Ford plays a former top hard-hitting TV journalist reduced to role of anchor on a morning talk show.

It's actually possible to watch this as a subversive follow-up to Sidney Lumet's media satire Network, updated for an age where the most reliable and factually accurate news comes from Jon Stewart, the anchor for a fake news show that runs on a Comedy Central.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 23 March 2011.

Space Battleship Yamato (SPACE BATTLESHIP ヤマト) (2010)

Space Battleship Yamato is a live adaptation of Leiji Matsumoto's anime serial from the 1970s.

Watch lots of veteran TV actors overact and ham their way through the live action adaptation, delivering overlong speeches while taking one for the team in its quest to find salvation for humanity.

That and the retro designs and sets make this an instant camp classic.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 23 March 2010.

World invasion: Battle Los Angeles (2011)

This alien invasion flick feels like a console game and that's a very good thing.

Spurning the genre conventions of improbable heroism and impossible technology, the film goes for the tactical action/war flick via the Black Hawk Down and the SOCOM series of  third-person shooter games.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 17 March 2011.

Perfect Rivals (美好冤家) (2011)

We're fans of Han Yew Kwang's quirky, well-written comedies. We're not fans of how they've been mis-marketed as niche arthouse films by Singapore's Media Development Authority.

This time round, Han gets shoehorned into a "commercial feature" that aims to please but comes across as hollow.

This comedy hasn't seen any distribution outside Singapore/Malaysia despite starring veteran Hong Kong comedians. You can study this as a film with too many cooks, a script with too many weaknesses, starring local comedians who don't have the talent to play the game.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 16 March 2011.

Mars needs moms (2011)

If you've been to Disneyland, you'll know how Waltz's House of Mouse has become an inclusive, affirming company over the years.

It's probably paying off karmic debts for Uncle Waltz's role in Hollywood's communist blacklist.

Forget about the awkward motion-capture animation of Mars Needs Moms. Relish in the sheer delight of watching a Disney pro-family film that says it’s okay if boys were more of mommy’s boys, if girls are allowed to play soldiers and guns, and if dads give more free hugs and took an active interest in changing baby diapers...


Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 10 March 2011.

Forever (我愛你愛你愛你) (2011)

Here's another romantic comedy that skewers the concept of romantic comedies.

I see it as a gender-reversed The Cable Guy done as a romcom.

Forever is a Singaporean film, which means it feels like a sketch comedy show that sticks at making a couple of easy, obvious jokes and jibes instead of concentrating on developing its key premise.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 9 March 2011.

Gnomeo and Juliet (2010)

Not to be confused with Tromeo and Juliet (in case you were searching for it).

This kiddie version of Romeo and Juliet has just the right amount of silly (the warring clans are garden gnomes!) and just the right amount of bizarre (the soundtrack is full of Elton John hits).

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 3 March 2011.

All about love (得闲炒饭) (2010)

They had a schoolgirl crush on each other years before. Now, our expecting, bisexual protagonists meet once more in a meet cute.

There's no doubt whether they'll end up together.

The fun is sitting through earnest expositions about gender politics and identity, as though this were an underground queer film made in the circa 1970s in the US.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 2 March 2011.

The adjustment bureau (2011)

Hollywood does another adaptation of a Philip K Dick short story that looks nothing like that short story.

That said, The adjustment bureau is the first Hollywood adaptation of a Philip K Dick short story that properly introduces us to all the themes and motifs of the author's work.

It just has a major let-down of an ending, so be warned.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 2 March 2011.

How do you know (2010)

4 comedians with different comic styles in a double romcom where no more than 2 of them appear in the same scene.

How do you know is the exquisite corpse of sketch comedies.

Your mileage will vary depending on whether this concept appeals to you.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 2 March 2011.