Mamma Mia! The Movie (2008)

This movie is entertaining enough, due mostly to the songs. However, the plot sure is paper-thin and does nothing to enhance the songs and is just a device to string them all together.  

Kallang Roar: The Movie (2008)

Had low expectations but was pleasantly surprised. For one thing, I'm not a fan of football, nor any of the cast. But the debut feature by Cheng Ding An did get one thing right, IMHO, and that is giving the audience a story that they can care about. No doubt the acting and lines can get a little clumsy here and there, but overall this is pretty much a sweet and heartwarming drama about pursuing your dreams and achieving the seemingly hard to achieve goals in life. Lim Kay Siu pretty much anchors the story with a fiery and passionate performance. And the ra-ra moments don't come across as too heavy handed to me either.     

The Days (2008)

For a feature debut, the technical departments comes across as more than competent. However, the storytelling is pretty flat and dull.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Not everything for mature people have to be serious. This is light hearted entertainment for the mature crowd. It's a heartwarming romance comedy. Love how they integrated the songs into the movie, and also the product placements. All the cast were great, even the extras! A feature length situational comedy is how this film could be described as well.

Eastern Promises (2007)

I'm glad I got to watch this film. I saw it on DVD and I'm usually not fond of watching anything on DVD unless it's a film that I really wanted to watch and I missed it in theatres or it wasn't shown theatrically. What I liked about it was the tight storyline, the strong acting and all the ways the film engaged me. One could view it as a love story. Or a drama thriller about the Russian mafia. While I wasn't 100% blown away by this film because I thought some plot points seem too convenient to service the plot, but I was nevertheless pretty much strongly impressed. Acting and directing is top notch.

WALL.E (2008)

Some minor inconsiderate cinematic behavior from fellow patrons spoiled the viewing experience for me. Nevertheless, WALL.E, which is filled with lots of cute moments failed to entertain me enough. In fact, I was actually bored during the quiet front bits, and when things got exciting towards the end, those felt pretty generic to me. That said, WALL.E does follow the Pixar mould of strong character development and quality story-telling. And the backdrop of how humans have made Earth so uninhabitable makes for a good subtle way to teach the kids about the bad, bad things that mankind does to the Earth.

12 Lotus (2008)

Thought it was a slightly stronger film than 881, though less appealing as a mainstream crowd pleaser. Really impressed by the visuals, the cast and especially the very talented Li Bao En - who played the young Liu Lian Hua. 

The marketing harps on the film's ties to 881, but the moment the film begins - it sets itself apart. It's the same cast, but these are absolutely different characters. Mindee and Qi Yu Wu look good on the silver screen. Liu Ling Ling's performance did not seem to match what was established about the character earlier in the film - though I'm torn over whether that's a good or bad thing - cos if it did match - the scenes may not be half as entertaining. 

Royston definitely has a lot more to learn as a cinematic storyteller, but with 12 Lotus, he's probably proven himself to be Singapore's brightest spark when it comes to a local film talent.