HELLBOY (M18, PG13)
120 minutes/3.5 stars
What this reboot lacks in the arthouse finesse of the earlier films, it makes up for in grindhouse excess.
This film will be released uncut with an M18 rating and in a PG13 version suitable for younger viewers.
In this reboot of the comic-book hero seen in Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), the title character (David Harbour) is asked by his adoptive father Trevor Bruttenholm (Ian McShane), head of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.), to go to England.
There, Hellboy has to battle Nimue (Milla Jovovich), an evil sorceress, with the help of Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), a B.P.R.D. commander, and Alice (Sasha Lane), a friend with psychic abilities.
EUROPEAN UNION FILM FESTIVAL
The 29th edition of the festival will showcase 27 films from across Europe in most genres. The Romanian drama, Beside Me, will open the festival.
Beside Me (2018, 84 minutes, rating to be confirmed) is director Tedy Necula's feature debut and details the connections made between a group of strangers when their subway car breaks down for two hours, locking them inside.
WHERE: National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew's Road MRT: City Hall WHEN: May 10 to 19, various times ADMISSION: $12 INFO: www.euff.sg
TEHRAN TABOO (R21)
96 minutes/4 stars
Iranian film-makers, more than anyone else, it seems, have mastered the art of whole-of-society stories. This racy, funny and thought-provoking film, made in 2017, is one example. By following the lives of three women seeking control of their sexuality - a prostitute, a bride-to-be and a housewife with a domineering husband - viewers get not just a sense of their lives but are also immersed in their world.
Pari (voiced by Elmira Rafizadeh) is a prostitute who takes along her young son to her jobs. She seeks a divorce from her imprisoned drug-addict husband, but the religious authorities refuse to grant her one without his consent. Her pregnant neighbour, Sara (Zahra Amir Ebrahimi ), struggles with finding a job. Donya (Negar Mona Alizadeh) is a bride-to-be anxious about her sexual history. Their stories intertwine in the last act.
WHERE: The Projector, Level 5 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road MRT: Nicoll Highway WHEN: Now showing, various times ADMISSION: $13.50 INFO: theprojector.sg
