Movie Reviews
WONDERFUL! LIANG XI MEI THE MOVIE (PG)
Jack Neo returns to the director's chair and as the titular auntie Liang Xi Mei in drag, popular thanks to the 1990s variety TV series Comedy Nite.
Yet, few of his jokes land in this local "comedy", which sees a retired Liang favour her younger son over his older brother Robert (Mark Lee).
Distasteful Hokkien puns and clownish slapstick abound, broken only by the occasional cheap sexual reference.
Neo's acting is passable but most of the characters are cringe-inducing caricatures.
Lee tries to make his hot-headed Robert a sympathetic son with mummy issues but comes off as an obnoxious kidult in his rebellious teenager phase.
Thankfully, spotting the absurd product placements offers some relief from the lifeless storytelling.
Rating: 1/5
THE MONKEY KING 3 (PG)
Hong Kong director Cheang Pou Soi's journey to the West continues in his third instalment of The Monkey King franchise, in which the monk Xuanzang (Feng Shaofeng) and his deity disciples find the Womanland of Western Liang and fall in love with its queen (Zhao Liying).
Its action scenes are let down by the poor graphics and cringey acting. As for the romantic storyline, it is cliched and forced, and ends predictably.
But it was Sun Wukong (Aaron Kwok) who made me beg for the credits to roll. Kwok tries too hard to be suavely snarky and comes off as annoying.
Cheang's effort to bring this Chinese classic to new audiences is commendable but elderly folk can probably tell it in a more engaging way.
Rating: 1/5
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