An AVENGING Attempt for those crushed by the behemoth

Congratulations to THE AVENGERS - if you don't already know, the superhero union of a lifetime has been enjoying its perch at the top of the local box office for the past three weeks, and has already become the top-grossing movie ever in Singapore. But in the midst of THE AVENGERS behemoth lies a wake of smaller, but no less excellent, movies that have been almost completely crushed under the weight of its success. 

Chief among the collateral damage is Edmond Pang Ho-cheung's LOVE IN THE BUFF, the sequel to his earlier LOVE IN A PUFF and starring the original's two leads Shawn Yue and Miriam Yeung. Granted that the original did not exactly take off in Singapore as well partly due to the culture specificity of 'hot-potting', but the sequel which is set to become one of the highest grossing local movies in Hong Kong has opened at a distant #9 at the box office here. 

As a reflection of its dismal box-office performance, it has lost so much screentime in its second week of release that in most if not all GV cinemas playing the movie, it has but one showtime in the afternoon for the entire day. At this rate, you can be sure it will disappear from our screens by this Thursday when SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN makes its debut. 

Is it worthy of such an unceremonious exit? Certainly not- in our opinion, the movie is one of the best rom-com movies you'll ever see this year, witty, funny, and insightful in its portrayal of love and relationships. It also boasts one of the most unique soundtracks we have heard in a Hong Kong movie for a long time. 

And just to prove it, here are two promo clips for the movie:

It's not just LOVE IN THE BUFF that's being crushed by the weight of THE AVENGERS, others like THE RAID: REDEMPTION are also languishing at the box office. The groundbreaking martial-arts film from Indonesia that had both director Gareth Evans and lead actor Iko Uwais come to Singapore to promote the movie is #6 at the box-office, but fortunately has still a fair number of showings at all Cathay cinemas.

Does the action in THE RAID: REDEMPTION pale in comparison with that in THE AVENGERS? We think not- even if there isn't at all as much money put into its production. Honest-to-heart, down-to earth is its motto- and as we've mentioned in our review of the movie, it certainly has a Tony Jaa equivalent in Iko Uwais. 

Here's a behind the scenes look at the movie to whet your appetite if you have yet to see the real thing:

Last but not least is the comedy drama THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, from the director of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and featuring a stellar British cast including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, and Dev Patel. It's not a commercial movie in the sense of THE AVENGERS, but it offers some quaint pleasures in itself, which is the reason why it has held its own in limited release in the United States:

Even as we awarded a 5-star review to THE AVENGERS, and are genuinely happy for its success, we hope that you will also give these movies a chance. They won't offer the same superhero pleasures the Marvel juggernaut does, but each are as delightful in their own right. Summer is a very competitive season for movies, but we'd hate to see these titles get sidelined so take this as our attempt to avenge their disregard.