Netflix: Review of THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN: Snail Slime Sting

November 6, 2020

When he learned that his pet snail Gary is in the possession of the vain King Poseidon, a despondent SpongeBob (Tom Kenny), along with his best friend Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) rode a car driven by a robot named Otto (Awkwafina) to embark on a perilous road trip to the Lost City of Atlantic City to get Gary back.

Along the way they passed by a ghost-town called Goner Gulch, they saw a tumbleweed which contained a spirit guide named Sage (Keanu Reeves) who would guide them the rest of the way. When they get arrested by the King, Mr. Krabbs (Clancy Brown), Squidward (Roger Bumpass), Sandy (Carolyn Lawrence) and Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) try to rescue them.

As always, Plankton would spark the whole thing because of his evil plan to steal the secret formula of the Krabby Patty. Goner Gulch would be populated with flesh-eating (and dancing ) pirate zombies who were held captive by the notorious El Diablo (Danny Trejo). There would also be a rapping Gambler (Snoop Dogg) in the Inferno Saloon. 

Atlantic City would be a glittering and dizzying theme park with all sorts of food, gambling and entertainment for SpongeBob and Patrick to indulge in to make them lose focus on their quest (as expected). The Master of Ceremonies of the venue was Tiffany Haddock (Tiffany Haddish). The special musical guest was a clarinet player Kelpy G, spoofing Kenny G. 

To provide the touching drama to balance the silly comedy, there would be flashbacks to the days when the Bikini Bottom gang were still little kids and how they got acquainted in Camp Coral. Of course, these cute scenes would highlight SpongeBob's timeless virtues of cheerfulness, friendliness, kindness and selflessness as lessons to the kids watching. These scenes also served to tease a reboot of the TV show with the characters as kids.

The sunny soundtrack was peppered with familiar pop hit songs like "Dreamweaver," "Take on Me," "Living La Vida Loca" and "My Heart Will Go On." There were also some grooving new songs like "Agua" (Tainy & J Balvin) and "How We Do" (by Snoop Dogg). But for me the catchiest ditty of them all would be "Secret to the Formula" (co-written by Cyndi Lauper) performed by the Cast in that fun climactic rescue scene.

I am a big fan of "The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie" (2004), a 2D animated feature film which I watched multiple times. This third movie somehow approximated the plot of the first one in which SpongeBob and Patrick embark on a risky mission that involved the King (Neptune in the first, Poseidon in the third). However, try as it may, this new fully 3D animated installment still cannot match or recapture the rich story and timeless charm of the first film. Anyhow, it was a bit better effort than the second film 2D-3D mix "Sponge Out of Water" (2015, MY REVIEW). 6/10.  

Netflix: 3 Mini-Reviews: HIS HOUSE, NOBODY SLEEPS IN THE WOODS TONIGHT, MOTHER: Human Horrors

 November 5, 2020

HIS HOUSE

Directed by Remi Weekes

Written by Remi Weekes

Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) were refugees who escaped from the civil war in South Sudan and survived a stormy boat ride across the ocean into Britain. Unfortunately, their daughter Nyagak did not survive the trip which caused the couple major grief and guilt. They were eventually granted probational asylum and was given a house on the poor side of London from which they were not allowed to move. However, the couple would soon realize that ghostly creatures, including one who looked like Nyagak, were living behind the walls of their house. While Rial wanted to leave, Boi was adamant that this was his house.

This was a very slow burn film with some very disturbing images which were purposely made to tread the line between reality and nightmares. Bol was trying hard to become a typical British guy, while Rial stuck to her traditional ways and language. But both were still very haunted by painful memories of his past, especially their departed family and friends who died in the wars and on the boat (like Nyagak). So were these ghosts they were seeing inherent in the house, or were these ghosts they brought with them into the house. This tense film built up excellently to reveal a major despicable twist, which ironically gave the film a very satisfying boost.  7/10.

NOBODY SLEEPS IN THE WOODS TONIGHT 

Directed by Bartosz M. Kowalski

Written by Bartosz M. Kowalski, Jan Kwieciński, Mirella Zaradkiewicz

Teenagers were sent by their parents to Camp Adrenaline to supposedly to enjoy nature adventures without their phones or tablets. The group led by Ms. Iza (Gabriela Muskała) was composed of the smart, pragmatic Zosia (Julia Wieniawa), nervous gamer nerd Julek (Michał Lupa), sexy seductive blonde Aniela (Wiktoria Gąsiewska), gay joker Bartek (Stanisław Cywka) and sporty jock Daniel (Sebastian Dela). While camping in the woods, they were suddenly terrorized by an ugly, deformed giant man. 

This Polish-language film took more than 30 minutes before the killing spree began, and from there it followed the typical slasher film formula of killing off one victim after another. This definitely had its share of horror film cliches, like remote location, splitting into groups, going down dark basements, car that would not start, increasing gore levels with every kill, etc... The monster was seen clearly in broad daylight a bit too much thus losing the sense of mystery early on. The filmmakers should have known though that a person could not survive if his whole tongue was violently yanked out. 5/10.

MOTHER (2020)

Directed by Tatsushi Omori

Written by Tatsushi Omori, Takehiko Minato

Akiko (Masami Nagasawa) was a single mother who lived in very poor conditions with her son Shuhei (Sho Gunji). She was an uncouth, quarrelsome and lazy woman who harassed people to give her money, then waste it all at the pachinko arcade or her drinking binges or cavorting with various men. One particularly boorish boyfriend Ryo (Sadao Abe) even led her into a life of crime, then abandoned her when she got pregnant again. Despite her negligent and downright abusive behaviors, Shuhei remained devotedly loyal to Akiko even as he became a teenager (Daiken Okudaira).

Watching this gut-wrenching Japanese film was such a disturbing and disgusting experience. I could not bear watching its relentless depiction of child abuse continuously, so thankfully I was watching this by streaming which allowed me to pause and take a breath. That was how affecting the performances were, everything felt so real and painful, so you'd really want to step in there and rescue those children away from this horrible excuse of a mother. This was more of a horror film than those about ghosts and monsters, as this involved characters that existed in real life. I hated watching it so much, but I cannot deny that it was done well. 7/10.

Joint Reviews of BORAT 1 AND 2: Audaciously Agitating America (Again!)

November 1, 2020

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM (2020)

Currently on Amazon Prime Video.

After the events of the first film, Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) returned to Kazakhstan in shame and was sent to languish in prison. Fourteen years later, Borat was released to fulfill a mission to bring a gift of a Kazakh celebrity monkey to US Vice President Michael Pence in order to restore good relations between the two countries. However, when he got to the US, stowed away inside the monkey's crate was his 14 year-old daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova) instead.  So, Borat had to get Tutar ready to become a worthy gift to Pence.

Just like the first film, this sequel also had Borat do and say unspeakably shameful things with typical ordinary American citizens, this time with his daughter Tutar in tow. With the naive and culturally-misinformed character of Tutar there, the main focus of this film was for upholding women's rights. However, Cohen delivered that message in the bold, outrageous and insulting gags and pranks ever caught on film, yet somehow still coming across as incisive social commentary, yet still with his sense of dark humor very much intact. 

I actually liked the comedy in this one better than the first one, maybe because I am more aware of Cohen's ironic style of comedy now. There are very timely issues tackled here, with the Coronavirus pandemic (that maskini!), as well as the current POTUS himself and his staunch Republican supporters. Cohen's absurdist writing and performance was sharp and on-point, despite being so crass on the surface. The genuine (?) reactions of the common folk or even politicians (notably Rudy Giuliani) were quite uncomfortably revealing. 7/10

BORAT (2006)

Currently on Netflix.

Upon orders of the Kazakh Ministry of Information, reporter Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) was sent to the USA with producer Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian) to film a documentary to gain "cultural learnings of America to benefit his home country. When he was in NYC, he caught an episode of "Baywatch" on television and became obsessed with Pamela Anderson. When he learned that his wife Oksana had been killed by a bear, he went on a cross-country road trip from New York to California on a quest to make Anderson his wife. 

This was a very strange, shocking, graphic, offensive movie. I still cannot imagine how was it possible for an American production able to malign a real country's name and people like this? Yet, there are various parts that are really very funny. I will not describe very specific parts in detail lest they lose their shock value, which is what this movie is about. If we are to believe that all of these are actual reactions of real American people, then the picture painted is really an eye-opener and a mirror for Americans. 

I found the first half quite funny, from Borat's description of life in his hometown Kuzcek (that mankini!), to his interviews with the humor coach, the feminists, the African-American congressman (who made Borat realize who those men he invited into his room were), the etiquette coach and his Southern dinner. The more squirmy uncomfortable parts occur in the second half, such when he sang the "Kazakh" national anthem in a Texas rodeo, the destructive antique shop scene, the nude wrestling scene that went on too long, the Christian prayer rally with the politicians, and that RV scene with drunken frat boys. 6/10

Review of THE RENTAL and UNHINGED: Murderous Mayhem in the Mundane

October 30, 2020

Last October 30 and 31, the Cinema One channel hosted free drive-in screenings of “The Rental” (Friday) and “Unhinged” (Saturday). Both outdoor screenings were held at the Vertis North in Quezon City. Screening times were at 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM.

THE RENTAL

Director: Dave Franco

Writers: Dave Franco and Joe Swanberg

Charlie (Dan Stevens) and his wife Michelle (Alison Brie) went out on a trip with his brother Josh (Jeremy Allen White) and his girlfriend Mina (Shiela Vand) to a seaside rest house they found and booked online. On the first night, drugged out Charlie and Mina made out in the shower while their partners were asleep. In the morning, Mina saw a spy camera installed in one of the holes in the shower head and told Chris about it. Should they report the presence of the hidden camera to the police at the risk of exposing their unfortunate affair? 

This film could have done to warn people about the risks posed by booking AirBnb or other online rental homes for their vacation plans. There had been news about shady tricks of landlords spying on the activities of their guests, and this film just took that premise and brought it into overdrive. Actor Dave Franco took the reins behind the scenes in this one as co-writer and director (his feature film debut). The film had a rough, unpolished look, betraying the training wheels of its creator.  

Viewers who were expecting a chilling horror film will be disappointed. There was hardly any scares for the first two acts, which felt like a sleazy reality TV dating show that turned sour. The characters were unlikable and corrupt, played amateurishly by the actors, even Stevens. There was a random racist accusation unnaturally thrown in that led nowhere. The events were lamely contrived with the "horror" twist that came out from left field in the third act. It may not be exactly what you expected, but it has all been done before. 4/10. 

UNHINGED

Director: Derrick Borte

Writer: Carl Ellsworth

One morning, single mom Rachel Flynn (Caren Pistorius) was driving her 15-year-old son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) to school. At one intersection, the pickup in front of them did not move right away after the light turned green, so the annoyed Rachel honked her horn repeatedly. The driver Tom Cooper (Russell Crowe) drove his truck alongside Rachel's car to apologize for his delay, but requested Rachel to apologize back for honking at him. Their encounter took a very ugly turn when Rachel refused to do so.

Russell Crowe was made to put on a lot of pounds and belly fat for this role. This look of his made him look a lot like John Goodman in many scenes, which can be a humorous distraction despite the violence he is capable of. Crowe's Tom Cooper was an over-the-top crazy killer here, and this was established from the very first scene. He was only in a single-mode through out the film -- angry and angrier. Pistorius did what she can with her role as highly irritable Rachel, who fortunately had driving skills to match her annoyingly stupid decisions. 

This was a very disturbing film about road rage that went beyond the usual roadside outburst. Rachel's abrasive mood unfortunately clashed with a psychotic man in a worse mood, escalating what should have been a minor traffic altercation into a city-wide car chase. To make things more alarming, the rampaging Cooper also vented his anger on Rachel's family and friends as collateral victims. Director Derrick Borte made things quite frenetic, heart-pounding and unbearable. Pretty B-movie stuff here, but that was all they aimed for. 6/10.

Netflix: Review of HOLIDATE: Platonic Party Partners

 November 1, 2020

During their family Christmas reunion, her mother and siblings all could not help but harp on Sloane (Emma Roberts) and her absence of a boyfriend, and this annoyed her no end. While in line to return Christmas gifts, Sloane met golf pro Jackson (Luke Bracey) who was similarly single and hounded by his friends for it. After sharing common experiences with each other, they decided to become each other's "holidate" -- a platonic companion only during holiday parties to avoid intrusive comments from family and friends. 

This was generally a feel-good holiday rom-com which banked heavily on the appealing charm and chemistry of its two lead stars to stand out from the similarly plotted films. It was amusing and surprising to realize that there were so many holiday parties which one can attend in a year's time, from one Christmas to the next -- Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day (also York and Liz's wedding day), Halloween and Thanksgiving. 

Emma Roberts is as delightful as she always was in many of her films, since her first lead role in "Nancy Drew" (2007). She was able to make Sloane's cynicism look so cute and was the x-factor why a film like this could even manage to transcend its cliches. Luke Bracey had that air of a typical Australian charming cad around him, which made him a perfect fit for the role of Jackson. There was very easy romantic chemistry between Roberts and Bracey so there was no doubting how their story was going to go.

Kristen Chenowith played Sloane's single Aunt Susan, whose indiscriminate choice of dates gave this film some of its cringiest moments. . Boyish-looking 37 year-old actor Manish Dayal played the role of Dr. Faarooq, the man Sloane's mother Elaine (Frances Fisher, most memorable as Rose's mother in "Titanic") wanted for her. There were minor subplots involving Sloane's siblings Abby (Jessica Capshaw) ignored by her husband Peter (Alex Moffatt), and York (Jake Manley), about to marry his straightlaced girlfriend Liz (Cynthy Wu).

This romcom definitely follows the same old tried and true formula for this genre to the letter. Attractive single girl meets attractive single boy. They have a good time together as friends. They both recognize that there was something more. They have a serious disagreement and split up. They get back together again as would be expected in films like this.  We all saw the happy ending from the moment they met each other the first time in that department store, it was just that they were too self-absorbed to see the obvious. 5/10

Netflix: Review of BLOOD OF ZEUS: A Wife on the Warpath

 October 31, 2020

Tales about the Olympian gods, their adventures and conflicts were among my favorite stories to read since childhood. I was very excited to see a new animated series about them on Netflix. There were only 8 episodes at about only 30 minutes each on average, so this should an easy binge. The series was rated 18+, cautioning about violence. This came as no surprise knowing how bloody these mythic battles can get.

A young man named Heron (Derek Phillips) was always fighting to keep his mother Electra (Mamie Gummer) safe from their neighbors who considered them outcasts. However, his protective instincts went into overdrive when band of demons led by Seraphim (Elias Toufexis) was wreaking havoc on the countryside killing everyone in sight. The deities of Mt. Olympus also get involved in the action as a major marital dispute erupted between the ever-philandering Zeus (Jason O'Mara) and the dangerously jealous Hera (Claudia Christian).

The first episode was not too easy to get into right away. Aside from the unfamiliar style of the artwork, the initial characters seen were all unfamiliar names. Aside from being introduced to the lead character Heron, we also meet the blond-haired female Grand Archon Alexia (Jessica Henwick) leading her men to fight the demons terrorizing the towns. There was a wise old man Elias who was always there to help Heron and his poor weak mother. It was only at the final sequence of Ep. 1 that Olympian gods entered the scene. 

So from the Ep. 2 onwards, mythology junkies will already be hooked as the connection between Heron and Zeus will be revealed in flashbacks. Succeeding episodes would recount how Hera got wind of the scandal and entered the fray. Much later, the origin of the head demon Seraphim will also get connected to everything else. Among the other gods, prominently featured were Hermes (Matthew Mercer) and Apollo (Adam Croasdell). 

Meanwhile, Heron will have his own rigorous ordeals to go through on his own. Aside from Alexia, he would also meet good friends like fellow slaves, the smart wisecracking Evios (Chris Diamantopoulos) and strongman fighter Kofi (Adetokumboh M'Cormack) to help him in his quest. Other familiar mythological characters like the wise centaur Chiron (David Shaughnessy), as well as Clotho (Jennifer Hale) and her fellow Fates, also had roles to play.

Those who know Greek mythology will be familiar with the volcanic anger of Hera when she learns about the illicit extramarital affairs of her husband Zeus, so what transpired in this story will not really be a big surprise. Frankly, the svelte Hera here was not how I had been imagined her as a child, but this glamorous design worked for the purpose of this series. The gore factor was certainly in-your-face, but not too extreme, even with all the vicious stabbings, dismemberment and decapitations. Save for some slow exposition in certain scenes, this series was generally well-paced and engaging, especially for mythology buffs. 7/10.

KTX.PH: Review of U-TURN: Vindictive Victims

  October 30, 2020

Donna Suarez (Kim Chiu) has been a reporter at Daily Journal Online for 7 years now, but her career was going nowhere. One day, she chanced upon a freak accident involving a motorcycle hitting a displaced barrier blocking a U-turn. This caused the death of a young mother Elisa (Kate Alejandrino) and her daughter Anna (Miel Espinosa). Donna's sensational coverage of this grisly incident finally gave her the viral news video her demanding boss (Cris Villonco) wanted. 

One day, Donna's twin brother Eric (Martin del Rosario) suddenly died from mysterious circumstances. With the help of a homeless man Tata Selo (Jerry O'Hara) and her policeman friend Kevin (JM de Guzman), Donna learned that Eric was just one of a series of presumed suicides all of whom made an illegal U-turn at that very same site right before their deaths. Donna boldly decided to go to the haunted road and knowingly make a fateful U-turn herself, taunting the ghosts to go after her next. 

That awesome scene where Donna was challenging the ghosts at the U-turn was such a precious Kim Chiu moment to rival her viral "bawal lumabas" video. The sequence after this scene was was when we see Donna do all the typical things we see foolhardy horror film heroines do -- went home alone, kept all the house lights off, put her face near the drain of a sink, ran up the stairs instead of out the open door, hid under the bed sheets. Seeing Kim Chiu do all these horror scenes was pure entertainment gold. She made horror fun!

The rest of the cast were either underplaying their roles, like JM de Guzman and Mercedes Cabral (who both played cops), or overplaying them, like Alex Medina and Kate Alejandrino (who played a tragic couple). Tony Labrusca felt miscast as Robin, Donna's literal "boy"-friend, who was not as smart as he may think. His character and his whole Canada subplot was completely not material to the plot. Of course, there had to be an unnecessary scene where he would bare his torso. 

Like many horror films, majority of the scenes were too darkly lit to be clearly visible,but the sound of effect of the ghosts creaky bones made it known she's there. The best-executed and original-looking horror scene was that one when Eric encountered the child ghost in the corridor of his condo. The dialogues were so cliched, they were actually quite funny, especially when you hear Kim Chiu delivering them. That final confrontation scene between Donna, Elisa and their respective partners was so gloriously melodramatic with everyone inviting the ghost to kill them instead of the others, it was hysterical fun. 5/10

*****

This should be perfect for an enjoyable Halloween night movie with your family or friends. Tickets are at P150 each, available on KTX.PH. This price gives you 48 hours access to watch the film online on KTX.PH. There are also group buying deals and promos offered. You can also catch "U-Turn" on SKYCable Pay Per View, Cignal Pay Per View, and iWant TFC. 

Netflix: Review of HAYOP KA! THE NIMFA DIMAANO STORY: Melodrama in Mired Morality

October 29, 2020

“Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story” is significant because it is the first animated Netflix film from the Philippines. Filmmaker Avid Liongoren, noted for his previous animated work "Saving Sally" (2016) took 3+ years to complete his new project, with the homestretch done during this pandemic quarantine. The inspiration for the film were love advice programs commonly heard at night on AM radio. After hearing a particular caller get reprimanded by the DJ for her experience, Liongoren was able to spin his own story into this film.

Pretty pussycat Nimfa Dimaano (Angelica Panganiban) was a contractual salesgirl in a mall in Manila, trying her darnedest to sell her knockoff Sabella colognes in her efforts to support her mother (Via Antonio) and sister Linda (Yeng Constantino) in the province. She was living-in with her musclebound mongrel bulldog boyfriend Roger (Robin Padilla) who worked as a janitor in the mall and enjoyed listening to the radio, especially the advice program of brutally honest DJ Papa Jorge (Piolo Pascual).

One day, Nimfa assisted pedigreed husky billionaire businessman Inigo Villanueva (Sam Milby) when he needed to buy a gift for his mother (Claudia Enriquez) who longed for a grandchild. That chance encounter led to Nimfa accepting future invitations from Inigo to go out with him. She met his industrious frog valet Jerry (Empoy Marquez) and his trusty pelican caretaker of his Batangas resthouse, Mang Ding (Juliene Mendoza). She was also introduced to Marie (Madeleine Humphries), the socialite poodle who just caused his nth breakup. 

The whole script by Manny Angeles and Paulle Olivenza was a veritable compilation of familiar Filipino telenovela tropes. The title, an oft-heard line in these melodramas, says it all. However, since this is rendered in animation for streaming online with animals as characters, the filmmakers found it possible to push the envelope in terms of the vulgarity of colloquial lingo used. The dialogue (as well as the artwork) was fearlessly peppered with frank sexual jargon, either directly in-your face or as double entendre innuendos. For the millennial audience it targets, the humor should be sidesplitting hilarious and perhaps even be lifestyle-affirming.

The raunchy language will definitely shock and make older viewers uneasy from the opening scene. For them, the morality of the Liongoren's story may come across as too loose and permissive for comfort. Partners were just hooking up in shallow relationships left and right, with marriage never being in the equation. Children were being born out of wedlock and it was all okay. Hard to accept as these situations may be for the elders, this is indeed the moral state of the modern society we live in nowadays. As far as appreciating the comedy out of these situations, I believe this is a matter of personal taste.

The voice acting of the A-list cast of this project was the most entertaining aspect. The roles given each of the main cast were all very apt. Imagining Angelica Panganiban or Sam Milby delivering their naughty lines was funnier than the actual scene itself. The original score by Len Calvo created the light comical mood for the story to unfold. As local animation is still in its infancy, the hard work of art director and animation supervisor Jether Amar and his team of designers and animators to create their colorful original concept of Manila inhabited with anthropomorphic animal residents, was very commendable. 6/10.

Netflix: Review of RECORD OF YOUTH: Showbiz Shine and Sorrow

 October 28, 2020

So far, I had only completed five K-drama series. The first four had been high-profile and popular titles, all having a heavy underlying topic behind the drama and comedy, be it North Korea, serial murder, inter-dimensional intrigue o mental illness. In contrast, this fifth K-drama I just finished was considerably more restrained and lower key, tackling a much lighter, less sensational topic -- the world of modeling and acting. 

The central character is Sa Hye-jun (Park Bo-gum). He gained moderate success as a model, but was not able to translate this into a an acting career, so he had to take on several other menial jobs to get by. He had two very good friends -- Won Hae-hyo (Byeon Woo-seok), a fellow model-actor who came from a rich family with an aggressively supportive mother Kim Yi-young (Shin Ae-ra); and Kim Jin-u (Kwon Soo-hyun), a struggling photographer's assistant who was secretly dating Hae-hyo's law student sister Hae-na (Jo Yoo-jung). 

Hye-jun came from a working class family -- his father Young-nam (Park Soo-young) was a carpenter, while his mother Ae-suk (Ha Hee-ra) was a housekeeper in Hye-hyo's house. His elder brother Gyeong-jun (Lee Jae-won) was the favored son, a university graduate and a banker. Hye-jun shared a bedroom with their grandfather Min-gi (Han Jin-hee), a man blessed with good looks but no fortune to speak of. On Hye-jun's encouragement, Min-gi would later enroll in a modeling school for senior citizens.

Ahn Jeong-ha (Park So-dam) was working as a make-up artist when she first met Hye-jun (for whom she was a big fan) and Hae-hyo (who was her first celebrity assignment). After several encounters, she eventually became Hye-jun's girlfriend, but still maintained a close friendship with Hae-hyo at the same time. She had a stormy relationship with her mother, and felt closer to her father, a talented artist who could not support his family when she was young. She was an independent thinker when it came to decisions about her career path. 

Hye-jun was the first and only client of Lee Min-jae (Shin Dong-mi), the neophyte CEO of Jjampong Management Agency. The ruthless Lee Tae-su (Lee Chang-hoon) was Hye-jun's bitter former manager, and was now the manager of the ill-mannered star Park Do-ha (Kim Gun-woo), who was insecure of Hye-jun. Kim Su-man (Bae Yoon-kyung) was a cutthroat gossip columnist who brought up Hye-jun's skeletons, like his past relationship with gay fashion designer Charlie Jung (Lee Seung-joon). Jung Ji-a (Seol In-ah) was Hye-jun's ex-girlfriend who later became his lawyer.  

I first saw Park Bo-gum as genius Go champion Choi-taek in "Reply 1988" (2015), and had certainly polished up a lot since then. Park So-dam caught international attention by being in the cast of Oscar Best Picture "Parasite" as the crafty daughter Ki-jung (alias Jessica).  Their acting style, as well as everyone else's in this series, was very understated. There was no shouting or hysterics at all. Dramatic highlights consisted only of quiet, subdued crying scenes at most, and nothing more. But that was why this series felt so real and relatable.

The series brought us behind the sheen of Korean showbiz, away from all the glamour and glitz, beauty salons and Pilates sessions, fan adulation and awards nights. It tackled topics like professional rivalries, loss of privacy, negative effects on family and personal relationships, timing of mandatory military service, buying followers on Instagram, etc. It dealt about how tabloid reporters come up with scandal stories, how social media can become toxic for celebrities, and how managers work for damage control. 

This series also devoted significant time to tackle family issues about sacrifice and gratitude, grudges and forgiveness between generations. There was a special focus on father-son relationships which was not always an easy topic to present in dramas. The love story was in there of course, but it never felt like the main focus. The main point was more about the process of individual growth and attainment of personal happiness for all the characters. 

Review of THE WITCHES (2020 vs. 1990): Children Challenging the Coven

 October 27, 2020

In 1968, Hero Boy (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno) had lost his parents in a car accident and went to live with his Grandma (Octavia Spencer). To keep him entertained, Grandma told him stories about witches and how they hated children. She warned him that witches may look like typical women, but they had ugly feet and hands that they hid in shoes and gloves, a bald head that they hid with itchy wigs and had mouths that opened wide at the corners.

One day, Grandma and Boy went for a vacation a seaside hotel at the same time with a big group of witches led by their Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) came in to have their annual meeting. Boy and his new friend Bruno Jenkins (Codie-Lei Eastick) were their first victims of the witches' plot to turn all children into mice using chocolate bars treated with a magical purple potion. With Grandma and Boy's pet mouse Daisy (voice of Kristin Chenoweth), they have to try to thwart the witches' evil plans.  

The screenplay of this film was adapted from a 1983 book by Roald Dahl. We know Mr. Dahl wanted to scare kids against gluttony, as he did in his other book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." There had already been another film version done in 1990 starring Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch. That version used Jim Henson's animatronic technology to animate the mice, which may be charming to older viewers, would look dated for today's children. 

The tone of that film was much darker and scarier, with Huston even able to remove her mask to reveal a grotesque witch face. In contrast, this new film by Robert Zemeckis was done in a lighter, more childish and comical vein. The cute special effects of the mice and their humorous antics were of course all computer-generated, giving it a flashier and more colorful image quality which is more in consonance with the frenetic tastes of young viewers of today. 

Anne Hathaway played her Grand High Witch in a considerably more hyperactive and over-the-top style than Huston did, which catered to kiddie viewers (but which older viewers may find annoying, especially her accent). Octavia Spencer's Grandma was significantly warmer and more loving, in contrast with Maia Zetterling's rather disinterested portrayal of Grandma Helga in 1990. Stanley Tucci played the hotel manager Mr. Stringer, a character who was more noticeable with the ever scene-stealing Rowan Atkinson in 1990. 

The transposition of the setting to Alabama in the 1960s, with the main protagonists as African-Americans was quite a major change from the 1990 version. I was most nervous about that scene of a black Grandma showing a rich white couple that their had turned into a mouse, which could have serious racial repercussions for that time in US history. However, this casting was apparently just for inclusivity's sake and nothing more. 

The fate of the Boy was a complete departure from that of the 1990 version. In 1990, there was a good witch who was able to turn Luke back from mouse to boy, but this remake ended things a different way. The voice narrating the story was that of the Boy as an adult (Chris Rock) who was telling his story to school kids to warn them about witches. This scenario opened up the possibility for future sequels as Boy, Grandma and friends go cross-country, or maybe even abroad, to fight more witches. 6/10.

Netflix: Review of THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT: A Captivating Chess Champ's Chronology

 October 27, 2020

After her mother Alice (Chloe Pirrie) died in a car crash, 9 year-old Elizabeth Harmon (Isla Johnston) was brought to a school for orphans called the Methuen Home for Girls, run by head mistress Ms. Deardoff (Christiane Siedel). One day, while cleaning erasers in the basement, she chanced upon the janitor Mr. Shaibel (Bill Camp) playing chess with himself. She got curious and asked him to teach her how to play. This awakened an intense interest in her such that she could envision games being played on the ceiling as she lay in bed.

By her menarche, Beth (now played by Anya Taylor-Joy) joined her first open chess tournament and won over the defending champion Harry Beltik (Harry Melling). Later, her adoptive mother Alma Wheatley (Marielle Heller) supported her to join various out-of-state chess competitions, later even out of the country (to Mexico and Paris) as the US representative. She was eventually invited to play in Moscow with top Russian grandmasters.

Her stay in Methuen introduced her to a magic green capsule which she felt enhanced her mind for chess, a habit perpetuated by Alma's own dependence on it to keep calm. Later, Beth also developed an addiction to alcohol. However, she had supportive friends like fellow orphan Jolene (Moses Ingram), her longtime crush Townes (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) and chess frenemy Benny Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sanger).

The mesmerizing stare of Anya Taylor-Joy's beautiful eyes were a major factor for this series' success. She did not need a major histrionic breakdown scene to convey the massive stress she is living under. Everything was so elegantly underplayed by Taylor-Joy, who could even create excitement even as she was just sitting down at a table pushing her pawns. For all the chess players, it was only up their facial expressions to make the games thrilling for the audience watching. Taylor-Joy brought us through the whole gamut of these faces.

You would not think that a static game like chess could be developed into a compelling seven-episode minis-series, and here comes this one to prove that notion wrong. The way director Scott Frank told Beth's story (based on the 1983 fiction novel by Walter Tevis) was very dynamic and engaging despite the fact that that the excitement was mainly developed by the incisive film editing, dramatic musical score, clicking of timer clocks and play-by-play narrations by broadcasters. The detailed production design and Beth's chic dresses and make-up completed our vicarious 60s immersion. 9/10