Xiao shi de ta

No pun intended - and not really connected with Gone Girl (if you've seen the movie or read the book - there is a book, right? There has to be). This quite twisty movie has you guessing what is right and what is wrong. Who and where characters are trying to lead us. There may be some traps along the way (again no pun intended) and I am not sure what you may think of the ending ... but the movie dares to go places that ... well you may not expect.

That said, it doesn't mean you won't be able to guess where the movie wants you to go. Interestingly enough, the movie seems to hit a spot - at least in London. About 10 screenings - all sold out! So they must be doing something right ... well told and all that ... if you are into that sort of stuff.

Such a recent hit in mainland, and I guess it's more of a trendy success more than anything else. The general framework seems to be inspired by The Invisible Guest, yet the mystery not as intricate and the story not as convincing. The former issue being some of the events, scenes, and shots overly dramatized by the sound effect or cinematography, while the latter due to the overall mediocre performances. Also, the ending is stacked with a superfluous amount of twists and twines, which simply reflects some of the logical errors prior. It seems that the intention of the movie is quite clear: to tell a convoluted mystery from an intriguing perspective with a justified moral.

This movie surprised me in so many ways.

The plot was initially reminiscent of Gone Girl but boy was I fooled.

The more you watch, the more it draws you in and I would highly recommend a second viewing. Everything was so thought out and no plot hole overlooked. Even the seemingly minor things can be explained by this or that.

It was visually stunning and the acting was superb across all members of the cast. Seriously, major kudos to the leads. I wasn't familiar with any of them going into this but I will definitely keep an eye out now for their future work.

Overall, a wonderful, intense film that, I'm not kidding, had me on the edge of my seat a vast majority of the time.

Pretty well, I didn't ever know this movie could be brilliant like this before I watched it.

The adapter was so rare in the Chinese movie field. The plots were up & downs, the plot twists were well designed, the actors' moods were also in place.

Somebody said the light effect was messy and old-fashioned, the actors' styles did not fit each other well. I agree with these. There were also some bugs in the plots, but the defects didn't obscure the virtues.

Anyway, it's worth watching. Plus: Please focus on now and don't predict the plots in the future. You'll find a better way to watch it.

Hope it works for you.

It has been a very long while since last time I 'wowed' a suspense movie, and I am so glad the wait is over. Lost in the Stars takes suspense to the extreme, and even beyond. No matter if you guess it right or not, you will enjoy the process of finding the answer - isn't that suspense all about? With that said, Lost in the Stars has many a twists that lead to a surprise for closure.

The movie started with a missing person case, the wife of the lead character, He Fei (Zhu Yilong), vanished into thin air, during their trip to southeast Asia. He Fei desperately tried to find his wife, and suffered dearly, only to face a stranger (Janice Man) who insisted being his wife. He Fei found himself entangled in a web of plots and conspiracies, or did he really? Of course, there was a second as beautiful woman, Chen Mai (Ni Ni), who was capable of everything, came to rescue, or did she really? So, fasten your seatbelt and you will need it. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns.

Director/producer Chen Sicheng, known for his suspense crime movies, such as Sheep Without a Shepherd, brought forth another classic. For a story following a main character, we have a 50-50 chance of getting it right, for he is most likely either 'innocent' or 'bad'. However, this suspense dug into something deeper than that, taking a serious look at human nature and relationships.

We are often under the impression that suspense movies are mostly 'commercially oriented', acting may not be their 'big thing'. Well, not necessarily. Looking back there were plenty of award-worthy/winning performances in history, just to name a few, Edward Norton in Primal Fear, Kevin Spacey in the Usual Suspect, Nicole Kidman in the Others... - I know, it has been a good while. Again, I am glad the wait is over. For people who know a little bit about Zhu Yilong, you may remember his leading role in Un Certain Regard selected Only the River Flows at Canne Film Festival that just wrapped. It is safe to say he only chooses 'acting-worthy' or 'acting-challenging' characters. He Fei is no exception, if not an 'extreme'. There are many faces of the character, where he was a loving husband, an abused tourist, a doubtful client, a person with a neural disorder, and more, or was he really any of the above? Zhu Yilong gave a convincing performance, not only fully developed, but also multiple layered, for each face this guy had. There was a very difficult facial twitch that likely will be symbolic (you can try to see how difficult it is), however that's only the surface. Human nature's complexity was portrayed with depth and power, that leaves the audience to ponder and reflect.

No matter you are just in for a good thrill, or you look for inspiration and thought provoking complexities, you will enjoy this ride.