23:59 (2011)

ridiculous rating

Overrated and overhyped

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Genre states as horror. but there isnt a lot of horror scenes but a lot of lame sex scenes. not scary at all, just a lot of suspense. to me its really a budget movie.

I think this was actually the first Singaporean movie that I have had the chance to watch. And with that being said, I must admit that I am not off to a good start. "23:59" turned out to be a really boring and uneventful horror movie.The story takes place on an isolated island on a military base and in a small rural community around the military base. There are local tales and legends being told about gruesome murders having taken place on the island, where bad things happen at exactly 23:59.Right, well I will say that the story must have worked out quite well on paper, because I must admit that there was potential, and there were some good aspects to the story and the ideas behind it all.However, it was just butchered at the hands of director Gilbert Chan, as the movie ended up being a grimy mess of a scrambled storyline filled with characters that you didn't care one bit for. And it was perhaps because the characters were either devoid of personalities and had the appeal of wet cardboard, or they were grossly caricatures of bullies or pranksters.And it didn't really help much that the build ups for scary moments throughout the entire movie never climaxes in any kind of satisfying way for the audience - especially if you are accustomed to Asian horror. There were so many moments where the scares were being served on a silver platter to the director, but he just failed to pick up on it and deliver something worthwhile to the audience.As for the acting in the movie, well some of the cast were doing good jobs with the limitations of the script and story, while others were abysmal, and lead you to wonder how they got cast in the first place.The movie is slow-paced and it literally takes forever (read one hour and eighteen minutes) to take you nowhere. I was hoping that the movie would pick up pace all throughout the entire course of the movie, but that just didn't happen.When there was something scary on the screen, it just wasn't scary. Perhaps I am too seasoned to horror and Asian horror, but it just wasn't scary at any point throughout the entire movie.There are some really good and memorable horror movies on the Asian movie market, "23:59" just wasn't one of them. I managed to sit through the entire movie, but can in all honesty say that I will not be watching it a second time around.

Young soldiers who speak Chinese share ghost stories about the minute before midnight.Tan is the designated weak member in the group and receives a lot of static for it. He gets tied up and stuffed into a locker in the middle of the night. Bullying in Asia. No surprises.Jeremy tries to help Tan through the military training course. The endless references to ghosts and past suicides keeps Tan on a downward mood. Jeremy tries to steer him away from this thought pattern, since Jeremy's early childhood included some fakery in the profession of mediums. This is the setting when the last, worst, road march through the jungle is undertaken.Tan gets lost. His pack is found, and the sergeant tells the recruits to go look for him. It starts raining. They find his body; Jeremy thinks he sees a woman watching.The sergeant tries to blame the supernatural for the loss of Tan. This captain will not have it.The recruits are uneasy the following night in the barracks. Jeremy thinks he sees Tan's ghost, for instance. Making matters worse, the next morning Jeremy receives word that his father passed away. The next day, while out walking, Jeremy sees an old woman gesturing to him silently; Lim and Dragon do not. That evening Chester starts banging his head against the lockers, then speaking in a weird voice.They bring in a priest for Chester; the rites seem to help a bit. Chester shows Jeremy where he and Tan had a strange experience. Something had grabbed Tan's leg and Chester had beaten it off with his rifle butt.Jeremy's dream about Chester dying comes true soon enough. Jeremy meets the two principal characters from a couple of the ghost stories told early in the film. Dragon, Lim, and the sergeant find Jeremy, but do not see the ghosts themselves.Jeremy returns home, and the gift he thought he never had lets him see his dead father.The movie jump shifts forward in time, and the ghost story cycle starts again.-----Scores------Cinematography: 8/10 A bit bland, but always competent.Sound: 8/10 A bit bland, but always competent. It was loud enough for a Chinese speaker to understand, and perhaps a quarter of the conversation is in English. The subtitles were fine.Acting: 10/10 Wonderful.Screenplay: 8/10 Moves along well.

A good change from Singaporian production house .. but some how or rather the Singaporian English is just too obvious. You can spot it by hearing closely that the slang when the actor speaks in the dialog. The ghost is just based on stories or more like folklore tell tail. the plot build up is not that strong and there are many loose ends that is just not explainable. perhaps asking the audience to guess. but overall its a brave approach by the director to move to new genre of movie. Singapore normally is known for drama or light comedy and to present the audience with a ghost story now that what i call changes.