Even though the Academy Awards are behind us, it's still Oscar season in Hong Kong. That's because our cinemas will still be showing award winners and nominees for the next few weeks. So catch them now because they'll be gone before you know it. This week, our in-house movie expert, Howard Elias, tells us about one new opening and it's a good one. For Howard's last review click
here.
The Imitation Game
I thought that if a Brit was going to win the Best Actor Oscar this year it would have been Benedict Cumberbatch for his portrayal of genius Alan Turing in this film but it was not to be. Although The Imitation Game plays loose with historical facts, this is a great film with some stellar performances including one by Keira Knightley, who seemed to be channeling her best impression of Kate Winslet.
Showing everywhere.
From Vegas to Macau II
I like Chow Yun-fat as much as the next Hong Konger but this sequel really tested my loyalty, since From Vegas to Macau II played like a bad cross between a James Bond film (specifically, The Man With the Golden Gun) and any film by Michael Bay. I can say that Chow was the best part of this film but that's about the only good thing I can say. Save your money and buy a ticket to Bangkok instead.
In Cantonese with English subtitles. Showing everywhere.
Penguins of Madagascar
In this latest adventure with the feisty penguins from the Madagascar franchise, the boys come up against a villainous octopus genius (voiced by John Malkovich) who is intent on turning them and their equally cute cousins into ugly monsters. For the first 10 minutes of the film, I thought it was a blatant rip-off of the Ice Age series, then I got completely confused by the story, then I just didn't care what happened. Penguins of Madagascar, which isn't even set in Africa, is strictly for very young children, or those who behave that way.
Showing everywhere in 2D and 3D, English and Cantonese, depending on the cinema.
Howard Elias is a Hong Kong-based film critic and film event organiser. You can hear his reviews every Thursday morning at about 8:40 am on RTHK Radio 4, and read his reviews anytime on his website at howardforfilm.com.
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