Latest news with #SHAWORGANISATION
Straits Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
At The Movies: Bring Her Back will give you chills, samurai western Tornado makes the cut
Find out what's new on ST website and app. BRING HER BACK (R21) 99 minutes, opens on July 17 exclusively at The Projector ★★★★☆ The story: Two step-siblings are ensnared in their foster mum's diabolical occult ritual. The film titles of Australian twins Danny and Michael Philippou are malicious invitations. The 'me' of the directing duo's 2022 breakout debut Talk To Me was an embalmed hand that possessed the adolescents communing with it. And in Bring Her Back, the guardian is Laura (Sally Hawkins) and the 'her' is the dead daughter she intends to revive. Assigned to live with Laura in her remote cabin beyond the Adelaide suburbs are 17-year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) and preteen Piper (Sora Wong), who is, as her daughter was, vision impaired. Laura already has a catatonic foster son (Jonah Wren Phillips). The boy has a bloated belly, which is strange because sharp utensils and his own flesh are all he seems to eat: both clearly preferable to Vegemite. Add the mysterious shed behind the pool where the daughter drowned, and the Gothic fairy tale is constantly unsettling. It becomes positively distressing once you discern Laura's deranged plan, why she is gaslighting protective big brother Andy to gain control over Piper: Water and circles, the symbols of birth and infinity, are your visual cues. With just two movies, the Philippous – collaborating under the handle RackaRacka – have gained a following for their original horror creations. British actress Hawkins (The Shape Of Water, 2017) is sinister in her faux cheeriness, and the three juvenile actors are extraordinary – you so fear for these vulnerable victims. The bond between Andy and Piper is the most touching. Recently orphaned, they, too, are in bereavement, in a story on the madness of grief that breaks your heart even more than it shocks and rattles. Hot take: This chiller about abusive adults and shattered families is the mother of childhood nightmares. TORNADO (NC16) 91 minutes, opens on July 17 ★★★☆☆ The story: In 1790s Scotland, the daughter (Koki) of a Japanese puppeteer (Takehiro Hira) steals two sacks of gold from a savage gang. The outlaws are now hunting her down. Jack Lowden (left) and Koki in Tornado. PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION The British period drama Tornado grips from the very start, with the eponymous heroine fleeing in desperation across the barren land. On her heels are the highwaymen. Tim Roth is at his scurviest playing the leader Sugarman, and Little Sugar (Jack Lowden) is his double-crossing son. The others have names like Kitten (Rory McCann) and Psycho (Dennis Okwera), as well as arrows and knives, and they are unhurried because they know Tornado has nowhere to run. The circumstances are then explained in a narrative that returns to earlier that fateful day. Filmed amid the misty moors by Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Robbie Ryan (Poor Things, 2023), the sophomore feature of Scottish writer-director John Maclean is stark and spare, even if it never again equals the opening half-hour's sustained tension. It is a chanbara frontier adventure of wayfarers scrabbling for survival, another unique piece of revisionist history after Maclean's widely acclaimed Slow West (2015) dropped a Scottish lad in the American West. Tornado's father is a samurai in spirit and puppeteer by trade. The 16-year-old girl is his bored assistant on their travelling wagon show, not unlike Little Sugar in resenting a controlling patriarch. Hence her impulsive theft – she thinks the riches will bring independence, but the consequences are tragic. Koki in Tornado. PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION Throats are slit and limbs lobbed off. The Japanese value of patience and her father's katana – the cultural heritage she had spurned – become her weapons as she vows slow-burn revenge against her pursuers. Tornado, the wayward child, turns raging warrior and earns her name. Hot take: Japanese singer-model Koki cuts a wide swath in a singular swordplay western.
Straits Times
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Initial D co-stars Jay Chou and Edison Chen reunite in London, sparks nostalgia amongst fans
Lim Ruey Yan The Straits Times July 6, 2025 Taiwanese singer Jay Chou bumped into his former co-star, Canadian actor Edison Chen, while both of them were in London recently. And their rare joint appearance together took fans down memory lane. The two are best known for starring together in Hong Kong street racing film Initial D (2005). Chou, 46, played the lead Takumi Fujiwara, while Chen, 44, took on the role of Ryosuke Takahashi, leader of racing team Red Suns. The film, based on the Japanese manga series of the same name, also starred Japanese actress Anne Suzuki, as well as Hong Kong actors Anthony Wong and Shawn Yue. Edison Chen (left) and Jay Chou in Hong Kong street racing film Initial D (2005). PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION On July 4, Chou posted on Instagram two photos of him and Chen in front of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara's pictures. They were attending an exhibition of Nara's artworks in London. The Mandopop star also uploaded two movie stills of him and Chen in Initial D, and a fictional conversation between their two characters in the film. Ryosuke Takahashi: Would you like to join my team? Takumi Fujiwara: Sure! Ryosuke Takahashi: You transfer 300 yuan via WeChat first! Takumi Fujiwara: ………… "Transfer 300 yuan via Wechat" was a meme from a video clip which went viral online. A netizen claimed to have received a voice message request from Chen, which turned out to be a prank by someone else. Chou's post attracted more than 296,000 "likes" and has been shared more than 226,000 times as at July 6 afternoon. The singer completed the Hong Kong leg of his Carnival World Tour on June 29. He then headed to Britain to watch the ongoing 2025 Wimbledon Championships in London with his wife, Taiwanese-Australian model-actress Hannah Quinlivan. Chen, who was also in London watching the tennis competition, was in Taipei in December 2024 to attend Chou's concert at the Taipei Dome. Chou recently sparked speculation that he could have a role in Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's new movie Women's Soccer, after they posted on social media on July 2 a photo of them together. Chou was seen in the picture with his foot on a soccer ball, with Chow mentioning his movie Shaolin Soccer (2001) in the post. Click here to contribute a story or submit it to our WhatsApp Get more of Stomp's latest updates by following us on:
Straits Times
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Singer Jay Chou shares photos with Initial D co-star Edison Chen
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Jay Chou (right) shared on Instagram photos of him and Edison Chen posing in front of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara's pictures in London. Taiwanese singer Jay Chou bumped into his former co-star, Canadian actor Edison Chen, while both of them were recently in London. And their rare joint appearance together took fans down memory lane. The two are best known for starring together in Hong Kong street racing film Initial D (2005). Chou, 46, played the lead Takumi Fujiwara, while Chen, 44, took on the role of Ryosuke Takahashi, leader of racing team Red Suns. The film, based on the Japanese manga series of the same name, also starred Japanese actress Anne Suzuki as well as Hong Kong actors Anthony Wong and Shawn Yue. Edison Chen (left) and Jay Chou in Hong Kong street racing film Initial D (2005). PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION Chou shared on Instagram on July 4 two photos of him and Chen posing in front of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara's pictures. They were attending an exhibition of Nara's artworks in London. The Mandopop star also shared two movie stills of him and Chen in Initial D, and a fictional conversation between their two characters in the film. Ryosuke Takahashi: Would you like to join my team? Takumi Fujiwara: Sure! Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore First BTO project in Sembawang North to be offered in July launch Business High Court orders Instagram seller to pay Louis Vuitton $200,000 in damages over counterfeit goods Singapore MOH studying 18 proposals to integrate TCM into public healthcare Singapore TTSH to demolish century-old pavilion wards, keeping one as heritage marker Asia Malaysian commando dies during military diving exercise off Kuantan coast Singapore Overlooked 'glass child', the sibling of a special-needs kid Singapore Red Lions and naval divers join forces for Jump of Unity at NDP 2025 Singapore His world crashed when he got F9 in O-level Tamil but PropNex co-founder Ismail Gafoor beat the odds Ryosuke Takahashi: You transfer 300 yuan via WeChat first! Takumi Fujiwara: ………… 'Transfer 300 yuan via Wechat' was a meme from a video clip which went viral online. A netizen claimed to have received a voice message request from Chen, which turned out to be a prank by someone else. Chou's post has attracted more than 296,000 'likes' and shared more than 226,000 times as of July 6 afternoon. The singer completed the Hong Kong leg of his Carnival World Tour on June 29. He then headed to Britain to watch the ongoing 2025 Wimbledon Championships in London with his wife, Taiwanese-Australian model-actress Hannah Quinlivan. Chen, who is also in London watching the tennis competition, was previously in Taipei in December 2024 to attend Chou's concert at the Taipei Arena. Chou recently sparked speculation that he could have a role in Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's new movie Women's Soccer, after the singer shared on social media on July 2 a photo of them together. Chou was seen in the picture stepping on a football and mentioning Chow's movie Shaolin Soccer (2001) in the post.
Straits Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
At The Movies: M3GAN 2.0 a m3diocre reboot, Hot Milk will leave you cold
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The titular robotic doll in M3GAN 2.0 is played by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis. M3GAN 2.0 (PG13) 120 minutes, now showing ★★☆☆☆ The story: Two years after she went rogue on a homicidal spree and was consequently destroyed, artificial intelligence doll M3GAN (Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis) is reconstructed to take down military-grade cyborg Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), or Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics & Infiltration Android, operating on her stolen source code. M3GAN 2.0, a sequel to the American sleeper hit M3GAN (2022), would be Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) if Arnold Schwarzenegger were a twerking plastic tween with a pussy bow. Here is a killing machine that proved such a memeified fan favourite, she is rehabilitated as a hero to save humanity from her evil spawn. This upgraded M3GAN invention of Seattle engineer Gemma (Allison Williams) is faster and stronger, because Amelia , a US government weapon, is a powerful nemesis who has gained sentience and decided to assassinate everyone. The franchise under returning New Zealand writer-director Gerard Johnstone has accordingly expanded from a campy horror-lite into a big, banal sci-fi adventure again embroiling Gemma's orphan niece Cady (Violet McGraw) and lab mates (Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps). The comic action is leaden with military conspiracies, spy hijinks, gunplay mayhem and amoral tech billionaires (one is played by Jemaine Clement) all but named Elon Musk. And yet, the exposition dumps that often stop the action dead are somehow worse. Gemma is now an advocate for regulating AI. Her cautionary messages on technology's perils and potentials are shallow attempts at relevance, at odds with the dated 1980s Steven Seagal references and superfluous to a B-movie that is just an over-long lead-up to the anticipated fembot-on-fembot death match. Hot take: This m3diocre reboot is relieved by only the marquee star's catty humour. Hot Milk (R21) 93 minutes, opens on July 3 ★★☆☆☆ Vicky Krieps (left) and Emma Mackey in Hot Milk. PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION The story: London anthropology student Sofia (Emma Mackey) accompanies her mother Rose (Fiona Shaw) to a private clinic in a Spanish coastal town, seeking a cure for the latter's crippling joint pains. What she finds is a holiday romance and the possibility of freedom. The title is likely a metaphor for toxic maternity, how a mother's nurturing milk is scarring instead. Hot Milk is in any case a misnomer for this watered-down psychological drama on mother-daughter co-dependency, adapted from Deborah Levy's 2016 novel. Rose is the cranky narcissist in a wheelchair, and Sofia's own life is in paralysis as her sole caregiver, trapped by Rose's needs over a possibly psychosomatic illness. English actress Mackey (Sex Education, 2019 to 2023; Emily, 2022) plays Sofia like a heavy-browed storm cloud in a bikini that barely conceals her resentment. She is stewing in the Mediterranean waters – the sunlit scenery dazzles – when German free spirit Ingrid (Vicky Krieps) rides a horse along the beach. A couple of shared cigarettes are all it takes for the two women to become sexual confidantes, driven by Sofia's long-suppressed desire to break loose. The feature directing debut of British playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz has no dramatic structure and hence no narrative continuity, despite her recognition for scripting films on female rebellion like Disobedience (2017) and She Said (2022). Things simply happen, such as Sofia next looking up her estranged father in Greece and learning of Rose's troubled family history. Ingrid, too, has a traumatic past, as well as male lovers who change from scene to scene. Things will not end well. Neither will the movie, which devolves into a succession of scenes alternating between Rose and Sofia being miserable. Hot take: The coda is a cliffhanger, but getting there is an uninvolving experience.
Straits Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
At The Movies: Karate Kid: Legends is charming in its corniness, The Ritual is beyond salvation
At The Movies: Karate Kid: Legends is charming in its corniness, The Ritual is beyond salvation Karate Kid: Legends (PG) 94 minutes, now showing ★★★☆☆ The story: After a family tragedy, martial arts prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) leaves Beijing with his doctor mum (Ming-Na Wen) for a fresh start in New York City. She makes him promise no more fights, but he is a new kid in town facing bullies. Plus, he has a beloved four-decade lore to honour. Karate Kid: Legends is the sixth film in The Karate Kid franchise dating from the 1984 Hollywood sleeper hit. It is the classic rite of passage of an outsider teen meeting a girl, Mia (Sadie Stanley), and attracting unwanted attention from her psychotic karate champion ex-boyfriend Conor (Aramis Knight). Mia's dad (Joshua Jackson) owns the neighbourhood pizzeria. He was a prizefighter, and there is a cute bit of role-reversal, where Li coaches him for a comeback match to pay off his debt. Li is otherwise the acolyte. Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan first played Shifu Han in 2010's The Karate Kid and returns as Li's revered mentor from China, while Ralph Macchio, the original Karate Kid, is now sensei Daniel LaRusso with a Netflix spin-off series Cobra Kai (2018 to 2025). The two masters journey in to teach Li a hybrid of Han's gongfu and LaRusso's karate, which is the teen's only chance of defeating Conor in the inevitable climactic tournament. Feature debut director Jonathan Entwistle brings together every past iteration for a remake-revival-crossover that is charming in its corniness, despite a formulaic story. Beyond the nostalgia, it introduces an Asian hero. And 25-year-old Wang (American Born Chinese, 2023) is an appealing newcomer, who reclaims the martial arts tradition with his humorous and acrobatic moves. Hot take: Part fan service, part generational update, there is much to like in this legacyquel. The Ritual (NC16) Al Pacino (right) in The Ritual. PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION 98 minutes, opens on June 12 ★★☆☆☆ The story: Two priests must overcome their differences and work together to free an innocent soul from the devil's grip. Emma Schmidt is the most widely publicised case of exorcism in 20th-century American history and one of the few officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church. An award-winning director of The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain (2019), another true account, David Midell researched the personal dairies, psychiatric evaluations and 1935 pamphlet Begone Satan! for The Ritual. Still, his dramatisation is like nothing so much as a parody of The Exorcist (1973). Al Pacino at his hammiest plays the Capuchin friar Theophilus Riesinger, a glinty-eyed emissary of 'the Lord's Army' who arrives at a secluded convent in 1928 Earling, Iowa, to do furious battle with the devil. He has previous experience as an exorcist. Father Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens) is the young parish priest reluctantly overseeing the detailed documentation of the 23-day ritual, the straight guy to Riesinger's crusty mystic. He advocates medical intervention even when Emma (Abigail Cowen) begins levitating, ejecting excrement and speaking in supernatural tongues, generally exhibiting every symptom from the religious horror playbook by week's end. Riesinger chides Steiger for his lack of faith. Their debate on science, spirituality and the human condition is without a single original thought or frisson, and the self-seriousness has only the unfortunate effect of making the glum proceedings all the campier. 'I have a sister with a torn scalp and another with a crushed hand,' Steiger reports of Emma's escalating violence. If the line does not elicit laughs, the sight of said nuns, huddled in petrified terror, surely will. Hot take: This hackneyed demonic possession thriller is beyond salvation. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
