Movie Reviews

Movie Reviews, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

Project Hail Mary: A Ship Full of Grace
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Irene Eva Thomas (26A01B)

Warning: Contains spoilers.

Set in the context of decades of cynical and complex sci-fi films, Project Hail Mary, based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same title, had two choices: to align with or stand in opposition to this canon. The stakes were high for directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller—they were faced with expectations from fans of Weir’s novel and the self-proclaimed ‘sci-fi connoisseurs’, those who hail (pun not intended) the likes of Interstellar and Alien. 

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Commentary, Movie Reviews, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

Diamonds, Drama, and Disappearing Acts
Reading Time: 5 minutes

A short (spoiler-free) review of Now You See Me, Now You Don’t

By Cherie Khoo (26S03B)

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t opens very much like its predecessors, to the Four Horsemen’s magic show. We come to understand that a decade has passed since the Horsemen last performed together, yet the details are fuzzy at best with no proper recount. First-time moviegoers will have a hard time understanding the plot. Directed by Jon M. Chu (of Crazy Rich Asians and Wicked fame), the film, 13 years after the second installation, is a far cry from the cinematic brilliance he previously orchestrated.

Through the lens of a film critic, this film is at best a snazzy, low-stakes rendition of a classic storyline. It is packaged in shiny fresh shrink-wrap like those on a deck of playing cards, not only flimsy but also a hassle to unwrap and a greater irritation to dispose of. But for the moviegoer, it’s exactly what is promised; a fun, magic-filled experience that only falls slightly shorter than expected. 

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Movie Reviews, Op-Eds, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

What Does It Mean to Remember Nanjing?
Reading Time: 7 minutes

By Jaden Lum (26S05A)

December 13, 1937 
Nanjing, China
Morning

Just five months into the Second Sino-Japanese War, and China’s capital has already fallen.

Alas, as Japanese forces march in, roughly a quarter of Nanjing’s one million residents remain. Many are terrified civilians who simply could not flee in time. Women. Children. The elderly. Non-combatants who prayed that the worst of the fighting was now perhaps over. After all, soldiers were supposed to kill soldiers, not civilians—not them. 

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Movie Reviews, Op-Eds, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Review: Reheated Nachos
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Nithilan Balachander (26A01C)

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe enters its 18th year, begins its sixth phase, and releases its 54th project, The Fantastic Four has a lot riding on it. With superhero fatigue taking hold, the MCU is desperate for something fresh to break free from its string of stale box office disappointments. Who better for the job than Marvel’s first family?

The Fantastic Four is ambitious—with a 1960s-inspired sci-fi setting, a world-eating Galactus as antagonist, and a storyline spanning time and space, the film is clear in its desire to deviate from the 37 MCU films that came before it and its poorly reviewed and regarded F4 predecessors. 

Yet, despite all its spectacle, grandeur, and ambition, the film fails at being much more than formulaic and forgettable.

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Movie Reviews, Op-Eds, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

‘Superman’ Review: Classic on Arrival
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Nithilan Balachander (26A01C)

Superman is the original. The first. The archetype of all superheroes. Debuting in 1938 with a cape and emblem, a secret identity, and an unwavering moral compass, he started what is now the most culturally dominant genre in all of entertainment.

Yet, while the MCU has established itself as a seemingly invincible box office behemoth, Superman—and DC in general, for that matter—has only declined further and further into irrelevance and insignificance.

Now, tasked with reimagining the oldest superhero and resurrecting a dead universe to go with, writer-director James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”, “The Suicide Squad”) delivers the silliest Superman feature in all of cinematic history—and it is exactly the treatment Superman needs.

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