Movie reviews: Men On The Dragon, 50 First Kisses
MEN ON THE DRAGON (PG)
Featuring a cast of veteran Hong Kong actors including Francis Ng (right) as Lung and Poon Chan Leung as Wong Suk Yi, this sports drama revolves around a dragon boat team formed by a telecom company.
The middle-aged men hope to avoid retrenchment by showing corporate loyalty through sport.
While vaguely entertaining, director Sunny Chan's film debut never strays from the standard feel-good story.
The plot rises and falls predictably, leaving the audience without any real sense of investment in the outcome of the boat races.
Even though it touches on each character's personal struggles, from Lung's one-sided love for his neighbour to Suk Yi's need to escape from his bickering wife and mother-in-law, the attempt to dive into the issues is sabotaged by one-dimensional female characters and a goofy sense of humour. These trivialise the movie. - NG WEI KAI
50 FIRST KISSES (PG)
In this Japanese romcom, notorious playboy Daisuke (Takayuki Yamada) falls in love with Rui (Masami Nagasawa), a beautiful girl who fashions houses out of breakfast pancakes.
He approaches her like he would any other girl and things head off to a good start. They agree to meet at the same place the next day.
To his dismay, he is rejected by a terrified Rui who can no longer recall who he is - she suffers from short-term memory loss after a car accident.
Sounds familiar? 50 First Kisses is a remake of sorts of the 2004 Hollywood film 50 First Dates, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
While they are both likeable, Yamada and Nagasawa lack the chemistry that Sandler and Barrymore had.
With its slapstick gags and lack of originality, 50 First Kisses falls short and can kiss its chances of being remembered goodbye. - DHANYA LINGESH
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