"Ronin" surprises
24 Dec – The weekend of 19-22 December should do Keanu Reeves proud as his movie "47 Ronin" managed to top both charts for Malaysia and Singapore! Local fans couldn't get enough of it either as the film even toppled blockbuster "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug".
Starring Keanu Reeves of "The Matrix" and Rinko Kikuchi of "Pacific Rim", "47 Ronin" is about a band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonour of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun. The film has also been widely known online as more of a 'joke film' and some moviegoers couldn't seem to have taken the action/drama seriously.
TWITCH called it a "classic display of Hollywood ignorance" as it doesn't take too kindly to Asian stereotypes. The film also tanked elsewhere, so what attracted Malaysian and Singaporean fans to watch it?
"The reason I watched the film was because of the hero (Keanu Reeves)" wrote Cinema Online reader Syed Hanafi, "It's a nice film and the cinematography is good and I did also like the acting of (Rinko Kikuchi) as the bad witch but I felt like something was missing."
In the United States, "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug" still reigned supreme, and the sequel to American cult favourite "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" didn't even manage to overtake the fantasy film. "Frozen", "American Hustle" and "Saving Mr. Banks" came in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Other new releases in Malaysia last week were "Dhoom 3", "Biriyani", "Enderendrum Punnagai", "Laki-Laki", "Cinderella"and "Walking With Dinosaurs".
Other new releases in Singapore last week were "The Starving Games", " Walking With Dinosaurs The Movie" and " 12 Years A Slave".
