By Joyce Lee (19S06O) and Shervon Lee (19S06A)

Pictures courtesy of Animation Screencaps

A slow-paced Hollywood dramedy revolving around cute, fluffy cartoon characters may seem out of place in a season dominated by adrenaline-pumping action films, but judging from the packed cinema theatre we went to, the investment seems to have paid off. Everyone was desperate for a bit of childhood fantasy in those uncertain times, and the latest movie in the Winnie the Pooh franchise certainly delivered the warm, fuzzy feelings the audience craved.

Continue reading “Christopher Robin: The Reminder We All Needed” →

By Aaron Tan (19A01B)

As those who know me might attest – I’m not the biggest fan of superhero fare. No, I’m not just being a hipster (okay, maybe a little), and no, please do not crucify me. Pitchforks down, please (though you are most welcome to drop us an angry email over at press.raffles@gmail.com – we’re lonely over here).

Take it from me, then, when I say that Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse is an incredible experience. What it may lack in narrative depth, it makes up for with technicolour spectacle, with a joyous phantasmagoria of stylish, frenetic energy that grabs hold of you right from the Columbia Pictures logo and never lets go. And it’s absolutely fantastic for it. It’s a labour of love to the comic book and animation industry that shines through every meticulously-crafted frame and revels, unapologetic, in its candy-coloured wonder that only an epileptic won’t find joy in. To say the least, it’s marvelous fun.

Continue reading “The Singular Vision of ‘Into the Spider-Verse’” →

By Aaron Tan (19A01B)

Like a tuna in a tin can, the man rattles in his metallic prison. We see nothing but his tortured face, stifled by shadow, all at once a blur and a clatter, the force of nearly four Gs pressing skin into bone—we hear nothing but the oppressive jangle of loose parts, the monstrous roar of the rocket engine, the altimeter’s tick-tick-tick, counting up thirty, a hundred, two hundred thousand feet. Up, up he soars, past the clouds (his breath is laboured), piercing the stratosphere (the rattling persists) to the edge of light and darkness, clawing at the gates of the final frontier. 

Continue reading “First Man: The Cost of a Dream” →

By Joellene Yap (19S07A)

This article was written in collaboration with Film Society. 

Released in 2004, The Incredibles is considered the second hit superhero movie of the 21st century. It came out only 2 years after Spider-Man — the first in the Tobey Maguire trilogy — and right at the birth of the superhero genre. Its themes are common to the genre, but are framed in a unique way, one that remains singular even amidst the past 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and the past 7 years of the DCEU….haha).

Continue reading “The Incredible Potential of the Superhero Genre” →

By Aaron Tan (19A01B)

It was at South by Southwest 2017, one of the largest annual conglomerates of film, interactive media, and music conferences in the world, that cinematic legend Steven Spielberg stepped onstage to debut his latest feature: Ready Player One.

The sci-fi CG bonanza, based on the titular New York Times bestseller by Ernest Cline, was one of the most anticipated movies of the year, not least by pop-culture aficionados all around the globe. It promised to be a rollicking adventure through virtual reality,  with one single, central goal — to entertain.

“This is not a film that we’ve made,” Spielberg quipped to the sold-out audience of the Paramount Theatre. “This is — I promise you — a movie.”

Continue reading “Ready Player One – Is Entertainment Enough?” →