APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD (PG)
106 minutes/ 3.5 stars
The world is stuck in the Industrial Revolution era when wood and coal are the main sources of power.
When April's (Angela Galuppo) scientist parents are suddenly killed, she tries to carry on their research in secret in Paris, until she uncovers a much larger conspiracy.
Marrying legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's fantastically weird inventions with Tintin creator Herge's ligne claire, or "clear line" drawing style, this story, taken from French comics artist Jacques Tardi's work, is as vividly told as it is beautiful to look at.
Not produced with a younger audience in mind, this work of animation is a complex and intelligent film that requires some understanding of history and science to be fully appreciated.
Yip Wai Yee
SUNDAYS WITH FRENCH CINEMA
The run of classics has been extended, starting with The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (PG, 91 minutes, 1964), Jacques Demy's bittersweet romantic musical that won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and became Catherine Deneuve's (photo) big break. She plays Genevieve, the daughter of an impoverished umbrella shop owner and fiancee of Guy (Nino Castelnuovo), a mechanic.
WHERE: The Projector, Golden Mile Tower, Beach Road MRT: Nicoll Highway WHEN: Sunday , 2 pm ADMISSION: $10 INFO: Go to theprojector.sg for bookings and details
John Lui
PALME (NC16)
103 minutes, 3.5 stars
In an interview with British talk show host David Frost, Sweden's prime minister Olof Palme said he refused to think about what his obituary might say. Fear of death paralyses everyone, he said. He would later be gunned down in 1986 on a street in central Stockholm. His killer has never been found. This 2012 documentary by Kristina Lindstrom and Maud Nycander tells the story of Palme's life.
This one-time screening comes from the Embassy of Sweden and The Projector on the 30th anniversary of his death.
WHERE: The Projector, Golden Mile Tower, Beach Road MRT: Nicoll Highway WHEN: Wednesday, 8pm ADMISSION: $10 INFO: Go to theprojector.sg for bookings and details
John Lui
THE NICE GUYS (M18)
116 minutes, 4 stars
Shane Black, Hollywood's king of bickering-buddy pictures, returns to the Los Angeles noir territory he covered in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005).
It is the 1970s and Holland March (Ryan Gosling, right) is a private detective. Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe, left) is a bully who roughs up other bullies for a living. The men are at first enemies but later have to work together to look into the disappearance of an actress, Amelia (Margaret Qualley).
The things that fans like about Kiss Kiss are as follows: This is a two-hander in which men express affection by taking digs at each other. Their schemes always work, but never in the way they intend, and every scene pays off with a joke. Gosling and Crowe give charming performances.
John Lui
