Movie reviews: The Kid Who Would Be King, The Hummingbird Project
THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING (PG)
4 Stars
Old-school magic meets the modern world when young Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) finds the mythical sword Excalibur in this fantasy adventure.
Thrown into a quest to stop the wicked enchantress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson) and her army from enslaving mankind, he and his schoolmates become knights under the tutelage of legendary wizard Merlin.
The legendary Patrick Stewart makes a charming, offbeat appearance as older Merlin, but the role is somewhat limiting for his range.
The movie itself speaks the language of children without being disparaging in any way, and Serkis wows with his performance, lending a genuine depth to the character that not many child actors can accomplish.
Such a heartwarming and well-made movie does not often come around, and this is one both young ones and adults will enjoy. - JASMINE LIM
THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT (NC16)
2.5 Stars
In this drama thriller, cousins Vincent (Jesse Eisenberg) and Anton (Alexander Skarsgard) live in the world of high-stakes and high-frequency trading, where winning is measured in milliseconds.
Their dream is to build a straight fiber-optic cable line between Kansas and New Jersey and make millions out of it, but nothing is straightforward for this flawed pair.
Usually typecast as socially awkward characters, Eisenberg gives a surprisingly emotive performance.
The usually hunky Skarsgard has uglified himself - a move that usually signals an actor means business - and he does not disappoint, being passionate yet peculiar as the brainy other half.
Unfortunately, The Hummingbird Project gets too esoteric for its own good, isolating layman audiences with the subject matter, as much of it is needlessly and overly tech-y.
It is also a victim of muddled plotting, where the emotional stakes fail to match the urgency of its premise. - JASMINE LIM
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