Nonureva Really Surprised!

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

BeyondHardBoiled 15 follows several 15 year-olds in suburban Singapore. They display their angst by acting like typical teenagers: talk sex, do drugs, and act obnoxious.Their innocence is slowly lost as they begin to dwell on gang life and suicide.Overall, it's very stylish, using different color filters and flashy effects. It transitions between chapters with titles that give off a feeling of angsty teenage philosophy and tells of their struggles. This develops a lot of potential to be like other great films with similar subjects, like Donnie Darko. Some of the themes of suicide bring up the great films of Sion Sono, such as Suicide Club and Noriko's Dinner Table.This film does not live up to those titles. The style is great at first, especially in the character's "music videos", but eventually gets repetitive.There isn't that much of a plot. You just kinda follow the characters around, there isn't a real conflict or goal. Then again, it doesn't really follow the traditional three-act format. It jumps around from different groups of characters. You don't spend that much time with some so it's hard to connect with them. This is my main complaint.Some of the emotional scenes seem a bit forced. There are a couple scenes that go on for a long time with one shot, and try to be kinda artsy and emotional but just don't work.The film does have a few instances of dark comedy, which is one of the best points. There isn't much though.If the film had more story and balance, it would be much better.

Mike-DD This may not be the best, or even a great, Singaporean film, storywise, plotwise and acting-wise. (Instead of the film telling a smooth or uninterrupted story, what you get are a series of vignettes of the boys' lives more or less linked by the last subject matter touched on in the previous sub-plot. The acting seem stunted at times, yet the "actors" themselves seem remarkably unaffected by the cameras trained on them.) However, it remains an important local film in being one of the few which does not shy away from stark portrayals of certain sections of society, in this case, a particular group of disaffected youth. That it is internationally acclaimed makes me proud as a Singaporean, but what makes me prouder is the fact someone actually made this film in a society where such topics are preferred swept under the rug, not just by the authorities, but by the population in general.This is definitely not a Jack Neo-style movie, where criticism is veiled and locally-sensitive topics discussed in a non-provoking manner. (Which is probably why his movies, even though subtly critical of the government and its policies, are not banned or even censored.) This is in-your-face, MTV-style. I enjoy Jack Neo movies, but sometimes you need something like this to take you out of the comfort zone.

Matt73 I've seen the short and it was truly great, so I went to see the feature-length version with great expectations. I was totally disappointed.The first section is actually the short version, where the story of the 3 friends unfolds, but then the director focuses on 1 protagonist. I guess he might not be able to get the other 2 actors to 'complete' the story.Shaun as the only one remaining acted quite well, but the story would've been much better if it explored deeper into his love-hate relationship with Vynn. The movie fell flat on several scenes because the director just couldn't build the story based on Shaun alone. He introduced 2 new characters but they really couldn't help much.I guess Royston should've just left the short alone until he managed to build a stronger plot. All in all, 15 is a heart-warming short film, but a disappointing feature-length.

jonvjon For the uninitiated, 15 tells the story of Singapore's lost youth. The original short film (at a duration of approximately 20 minutes) was excellent and mind blowing. A treat for all the senses. I don't think there was a single person who left the film festival screening unmoved.The feature length version basically continues where the short left off. And what a great feature it would've been had there been an actual story! The movie was wandering and meandering, meaningless at some points, and just plain boring at others. I shall always treasure the short film experience, and have already forgotten the feature length abomination.