BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Cedric_Catsuits Australia certainly has a knack for producing depressing films, and this is one of their finest efforts. If I want to be depressed I'll turn on the news. I don't see any reason to bring more sadness into the world.Initially the story looks promising and indeed could have become moving and uplifting. However, much like the unfortunate characters portrayed, it plunges into an inescapable spiral of gloom and misfortune.Pearce is certainly on top form here, but his character is so pathetic and easily manipulated that it is difficult not to despise those around him - basically everyone else in the movie.Technically good films don't work unless there is an inspirational or entertaining story to tell. This one perhaps was intended to be uplifting but misses the mark by a mile. Poor effort indeed.

John Raymond Peterson If you like Guy Pearce's work you'll likely want to see this film, so as a loyal fan I did. The variety of characters this actor has played and the non mainstream productions he's been a part of, like Memento, The Proposition, First Snow, Traitor, Lawless are the kind movie buffs gravitate to and seek, which is why I considered it in the first place. The director/writer and producer Pauline Chan is not a newcomer to directing or producing; she did come up once again with a very original plot.Mei Mei, played by Zhu Lin, is an orphan, abandoned by her father at a young age; he dropped her off at a remote institute in the Chinese countryside. She is smart, engaged and liked by the other children at the orphanage; she has had, over the years, a sponsor from Australia with whom she corresponded and one who painted a picture of a life she dreamt of being a part of. So when an opportunity to meet him presents itself, by way of a concert tour by the orphanage's choir, one that brings it to Australia, she is full of hope and determined to make it happen.What we discover, soon after she arrives in Sydney is that the sponsor is not what she, or the audience, expected; indeed, Dean Randall, played by Pearce, the sponsor, is an inmate at the local penitentiary. The innocent sixteen year old Mei Mei is not however dissuaded by the prospect; she showed determination to find him and get a face to face, despite her orphanage director's instructions not to do so. The encounter was as much a surprise to Randall as it was to Mei Mei. She temporarily abandons the choir and manages to find work so she can be with her 'sponsor father' when he is to be released; a bond between Randall and Mei Mei develops. But when a young orphan from rural China tries to survive in the big city that is Sydney, a series of misadventures ensue as can be expected. Randall will put his life on the line and even risk of a lifetime back in jail to go rescue the child he now feels responsible for. The very ending reminded me much of that feeling at the end of the film Unleashed; it is heartwarming, so you could say this is a feel good movie with a bit of drama. I liked it well enough.

Matt Johnson This film was beautifully conceived, and started well. The characters are deft, subtle, and well-played by the excellent cast.Leading into the last act, though, the characters start behaving erratically, with no discernible motivation. Sadly, the movie overall fails to recover, and it ends up being a frustrating experience. A great deal of potential, squandered in an apparent attempt to generate conflict, which in the end feels unbelievable.Worth a watch, if you like any of the actors in particular, as their performances are still quite good, even from newcomer Zhu Lin as the delightfully naive-yet-savvy Mei Mei ("Little Sister").

rightwingisevil this film is such a shallow and childish film. i was fooled by the several high praises of the reviews and decided to give a try. but once the film started, we immediately felt that it was nothing but a very pretentious and very shallow film with very bad casting (the Chinese cast), very weak and unnatural script with stupid dialog and unconvincing scenario and plot twists. but what we felt most unacceptable was those Chinese actors, that mei mei cast was definitely one of the worst choices we've ever seen. she looked so pretentious, yet at the same time, so unnaturally ugly with a very unwelcoming downward thick lips mouth, shockingly unnatural low droopy long chin(an overdone bad Korean plastic surgery job?), so long and so pointed downward like the witch in 'snow white and the seven dwarfs' and her acting was extremely horrible. the female Chinese orphanage caretaker's acting was also so pretentious and rigid. the storyline also turned into more contrite and unconvincing when the locality shifted to down under Australia. the storyline about the Australian part was even more stupid and awkward, the loan shark part and the prison part only rendered deeper awkwardness. guy pearce had tried very hard to sink into the character he played, but often over done it. the thugs in jail and the car stealing thugs, the living terror who controlled inside the prison and the outside illegal activities only gave people a small localized group of thugs, not big-deal crime boss. this is a horrible film, i have to constantly use 'fast forward' to speed up the viewing, otherwise..well.