Tag: movies

Week in Review (May 30 – Jun 5, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 2 Comments

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Move To Heaven (2021)

Knowing I was in for some intense drama, I tuned in to Move To Heaven ready to bawl my eyes out and have my heart broken (and then lovingly put back together). And boy! did the show deliver on both fronts.

The show has one of the most unique concepts I’ve ever heard of: a company that tidy up the final living spaces of the recently deceased when said people have nobody else to do it for them. The company itself, the titular Move to Heaven, is run by the father-son duo of Han Jeong-u (Ji Jin-Hee) and Geu-ru (Tang Joon-sang), who has Asperger’s syndrome. When Jeong-u’s sudden passing leaves Geu-ru in the care of his unsavory uncle, Cho Sang-gu (Lee Je-hoon), who has recently been released from prison and is extremely confrontational, naturally their personalities clash constantly.

I like that the show takes its time with introducing us to Geu-ru’s daily routine, his relationship with his father, and his work ethic before turning everything upside down. Because we’re so rarely given insight into his thought process, it was great to learn about him through his father’s eyes, the man who understands him best, and the person on whom Geu-ru relies the most. Of course, that made it particularly cruel to see them separated later on. Seeing how helpless Geu-ru is without his father, and his unwillingness to accept his passing makes you realize that although he may not be equipped to express himself, he is deeply affected by it.

I love that the show dropped hints about how insightful he can be over the course of the show. His genius is, of course, no mystery to us, but the inner workings of his mind often can be. And while he appears to be straight-forward and aloof about the work that he does, it is often through Geu-ru that the deceased’s family members have emotional breakthroughs. He tries time and time again to do the best he can for his clients even when it forces him out of his comfort zone and it endears him to me that much more.

It is also through the work that they do that Sang-gu starts to understand his nephew better and vice-versa. Intent on using-and-losing Geu-ru, and taking revenge on his brother for his perceived wrong-doings, Sang-gu becomes much softer over the course of the show, showing genuine care and compassion for Geu-ru and Na-mu (Hong Seung-hee) as he spends more time with them. They similarly come to accept him in their own way as they learn to rely on him and understand the warm heart that beats behind the tough-guy exterior he’s cultivated.

Aside from our trio’s main story thread, I also found myself deeply moved by the individual cases that they took on. Almost every person’s death felt like a terrible missed opportunity to tell someone precious something, or to pass on something cherished to someone. Seeing the gruesome aftermath of the unfinished business that people leave behind really shone a light on the importance of sharing what’s important with your loved ones while they’re still around rather than have their memory be tinged with regret. While sometimes the writing was a little too clunky, or the message too on-the-nose, the final sense that each case left me with was one of hope for the people left behind to do better.

However, it was the performances that ultimately made the show. Tang in particular has a captivating screen presence, and shows incredible potential. I’m really looking forward to his new project, Racket Boys, where he plays a character that couldn’t be further from Geu-ru, but is no less intriguing. I also remember being less than impressed by Lee in Signal, but here he shows subtleties to his character that support the way that Sang-gu is written. While I went into the show skeptical about Lee, I came out thoroughly won-over by him.

Movies

Cruella (2021)

The latest in the slew of Disney live-action films has arrived, and it continues the trend of sub-par remakes of beloved classics. While the film has several individual components working well for it, from the soundtrack, to the styling and wardrobe, overall the story is predictable and cliché. Disney seem to have forgotten that people don’t want to see the same story rehashed a hundred times over, that we don’t just want to know what it would look like if a real human played the part of an animated character.

In fact, at times this actively works against them. Both Emma Thompson and Emma Stone are very strong performers, able to draw reactions from even the most passive of audiences. However, while I am more forgiving of over-the-top performance from animated characters, ironically it just seems more cartoonish when performed by a human in the flesh. Scenes that should have had emotional impact just made me laugh, because I couldn’t help thinking how silly it was. The scenes between The Baroness and Estella’s mother (Emily Beecham) on the cliff comes to mind, in particular.

That being said, it wasn’t all bad. I particularly enjoyed the editing in the film, and the visual styling was also very appealing, showing of 1970s London in all its glory. The film contrast the gritty with the up-scale beautifully, immersing you in the landscape of the film.

Cruella definitely isn’t going to be anywhere near my favorite films of the year and I wouldn’t have been too disappointed if I’d missed it. But I’m not too peeved at having watched it either, so I suppose I can’t complain.

Week in Review (May 9 – 15, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

Movies

Vice (2018)

I watched this film on a recommendation, however I wasn’t fully invested in watching it. I never really been a fan of Christian Bale, nor was I thrilled about the man he was playing, the eponymous Vice President Dick Cheney. While the film tries to keep a relatively light tone, it doesn’t sugarcoat the truly horrific things that they show him doing over the course of the film.

The film is ultimately about showing the nature of luck, and the domino effect that lead to Cheney’s supposed meteoric rise to power. Adam McKay is clearly aware that in making a biographical film about a man shrouded in mystery, there is really no way to know for sure how things happened, but they make some educated guesses and fill in the rest with Shakespearean monologues.

The style the humour is very tongue-in-cheek and self referential. Our narrator, Kurt (Jesse Plemons) introduces himself as someone who is related to Cheney, “sort of”, and then spends the entire film leading up to the reveal that he is in fact the man who’s heart was transplanted into Cheney. Despite the humourous tone with which they tried to play it, it really leaves you with a sense of hopelessness.

And that’s where the film ultimately leaves you. It doesn’t make false promises, it doesn’t show some grand design or good triumphing over evil. There isn’t anything concrete that the film gives as its message, other than bad things happen in this world, and everyone is alone to carve their own corner of it to their liking. Which is one of the bleakest takeaways I’ve had from a film.

Week in Review (Apr 25 – May 1, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Shadow and Bone (2021)

Having been a fan of The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows for a long time now, I was looking forward to the adaptation of Shadow and Bone since it was announced. With that, however, came my usual guarded apprehension of having one of my favorite series being adapted, since it’s rare that book-to-series conversions deliver what I want.

That being said, I’ll try to hold off on comparing the two, and look at the show on its own merits.

The series gets off to a slow start, and felt a bit disjointed at times. There was a lot of set up, and because the show has a massive cast of character as well as having to build the universe from scratch, we don’t actually get into the main story until halfway into the series. Since the show is also dealing with separate locations, the scenes that take place in Ketterdam with the Crows, or in Fjerda don’t blend well with those in Ravka. This is where I start to wonder why the creators didn’t just leave Six of Crows as a separate story, since it isn’t doing Kaz (Freddy Carter) and his crew the justice they deserve.

As for Alina (Jessie Mei Li) and the Grisha world, I think that the show managed to capture the right tone. The Darkling (Ben Barnes) has always intrigued me, having a rich past. He is also not your standard romantic lead, in that he is willing to sacrifice anything, including Alina, for the sake of his grand plan. Perhaps the lack of chemistry between Barnes and Li had something to do with it, but I found it very believable that The Darkling wouldn’t abandon his centuries-long plan just for a woman, as so many YA leading men do.

While I did enjoy the first season of the show, I have doubts about how the show is going to balance the style and tone in the next season. I don’t have much faith in the production team to bridge the gap between the Crows and the Grishaverse, and I’d rather they didn’t feel like two separate shows. However, there isn’t much to be done about it now, so I’m going to hope that they find a miracle cure soon.

Movies

Promising Young Woman (2020)

Promising Young Woman seems to have arrived at a time when it feels like it is needed. Dealing with issues relating to sexual assault, and men taking advantage of women, the film feels very timely in the middle of the #MeToo movement, and when women’s rights are being more openly addressed. PYM almost feels like mandatory viewing, and yet our protagonist is rather unsettling. Perhaps this was the message the director was trying to convey: that it may not be pretty, and it may not be comfortable, but it’s definitely something we ought to be talking about.

The film is shot almost like a mystery thriller, following a loner woman as she preys on the very people who are usually the predators. It starts by making Cassie (Carey Mulligan) out to be a victim, then suggesting she’s a murderer before finally revealing that she is in fact merely holding up a mirror to society, hoping that when they see themselves they are just as disgusted as she is with them. However, she never gets to see the justice she delivers, perhaps reflecting our own society where women have yet to really get the fair trials they deserve.

While the story was quite predictable, the editing made the film fun to watch. I was especially impressed with the cast and the way the film reveals each person’s intent and motivation. Everybody is questionable, and not a single character is above suspicion, even those like Ryan (Bo Burnham) who seem respectable. I found it particularly amusing that almost every “nice guy” in the film was an actor that has a stereotypical reputation for playing meek, wholesome people throughout their careers, from Adam Brody to Chris Lowell. The person I was watching with had a particularly difficult time separating Lowell’s Al from his counterpart in GLOW, and was horrified that he would murder Cassie.

PYM is by no means original in the story it was trying to tell, but sometimes you need to say the obvious because people haven’t heard it in a while. That’s what this film feels like. It reminds us that just because no one is talking about it, it doesn’t mean the problem has gone away.

Week in Review (Mar 7 – 13, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

Movies

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Raya and the Last Dragon, Disney’s latest feature, boasted a lot of potential. The first film featuring the Southeast Asian region (or at least a fictional version of it), a largely female cast, and rich universe to explore. However, I found myself constantly wanting for more from the film: A uniqueness to the animation style, one that featured the regional artistic style; More dimension to the characters; A slightly less predictable plot.

While the film did have moments that made me genuinely laugh, I found the plot to be a bit meandering most of the time. Conflicts were resolved a little too easily, travel seemed to happen too conveniently and everything was wrapped up in a neat bow at the end. Yes, this is a Disney film, and that sounds like par for the course by their standards, but it’s been a while since one of their films actually grabbed my attention. It felt a lot like they had a checklist of requisite components and were just going down the list and ticking all the boxes.

Tangled was probably the last time they made large strides in changing up their animation style, and that film came out over a decade ago. While the animation of the dragons was interesting, it wasn’t exactly groundbreaking, since we have seen similar things in Frozen, Tangled, Moana and a number of other features before this one.

The one thing I did enjoy about this film is how they showed the history of Kumandra and each of its regions. Each had a unique identity, and even if it may not have been explicitly featured, I could tell that someone on the research team had made the effort to show the diversity of each land by showing how its people lived. Whether it was the floating houses of Talon or the frozen wastelands of Spine, there was detail in the outfits and houses to show how people adapted to their unique environment.

Ultimately though, that isn’t enough to build an entire film around. Perhaps they were trying to do too much, and ended up sacrificing depth for breadth in the story. Or maybe they were trying to keep it simple and ended up with too little to make the film substantial. Either way, Raya felt like a bit flat, and left a lot to be desired.

TV

Hello? It’s Me! (2021) – Ep 1-8

Hello? It’s Me! has almost all the same issue as Raya, but strangely enough I’m actually compelled to keep watching it. I was initially drawn to the show for its sci-fi plot elements. A 37-year-old woman who has fallen a long way from the confident, beautiful popular girl she was 20 years ago, suddenly encounter that very same 17-year-old version herself. In practice, the show is filled with all the tropes they could possibly cram into an episode.

As annoying as the young Bahn Ha-ni is, Lee Re is so fun to watch. Seeing her take childish glee from pulling pranks and long for her family feel so real that she seems like the character come to life. And she’s also the driving force of the show. I find it funny that she actively frustrates all the people around her, from her (older) self to the guys that supposedly fell in love with that exact version of her. The older Ha-ni (Choi Gang-hee), however seems to be attracting those same people back into her life as the new and reformed version of herself. By working together, they seem to find the best traits to bring out in one another, both the ones that existed in past Ha-ni’s idyllic world and the ones that the current Ha-ni learnt through the tough life she’s had to lead so far.

While the the younger Ha-ni is focused primarily on returning to her past glory, her older counterpart admitted to liking having her around. I think the more time they spend together the harder the separation is ultimately going to be, but it’s going to be even more difficult when Ha-ni ultimately tells her past self about what happened to her father on the night that she came to the future.

There are a lot of additional plot elements, from the mystery figure that’s haunting the Ha-nis’ house to Anthony (Eum Moon-Suk) and his team’s mission to get his top star status restored. But the ones that are drawing me in are Han Yu-hyeon (Kim Young-kwang) and his father’s (Yun Ju-Sang) petty back and forth (which seems to be fueled by his father’s desire to train him to take his place, since he seems to be ill) and the strained relationship between Oh Ji-eun (Kim Yu-mi) and her mother-in-law (Baek Hyun-Joo).

I’m hoping the show doesn’t drag out the reveals for too long, since I find the show does best when the characters get to put their heads together to problem-solve. The second half of the show doesn’t promise anything extraordinary or groundbreaking, but I hope that the performances continue to stay true to character, and hopefully they don’t get too bogged down in extraneous plot elements.

Week in Review (Jan 3 – 9, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Mr. Queen (2020) – Ep 1-8

Mr. Queen is such a gem of a show, and these first few episodes has been an absolute delight to watch. I went into the show knowing very little of the premise, only that it was going to be a fusion sageuk with some sort of time-travel element. What I got is even better!

The casting on the show could not be better. I am absolutely loving Shin Hye-sun as Bong-hwan, trapped in the rather frail body of the queen he absolutely does not want to be in. However, he quickly comes to realise the benefits that come with being Queen So-yong, and is on a mission to become the greatest inventor of Joseon. Shin manages to capture the contrast between So-yong’s outwardly feminine features and Bong-hwan’s very masculine body language in the perfect way, to the point where you sometimes forget that you are watching her and see her future counterpart, Choi Jin-hyuk. Although the last episode did away with the final remnants of Choi’s cameo, I’m excited to see how Shin carries Bong-hwan/So-yong going forward.

Bong-hwan isn’t the only one trapped playing two parts, as it seems that the King (Kim Jung-hyun) is also leading a double life. The fool king by day, and vigilante by night, he seems to get more and more interesting as we peel back the layers of his personality, and the queen seems to know how to push all the right buttons to make him want to explode in a rage and reveal the latter. Although history remembers the real King Cheoljong as perhaps one of the most inefficient of the Joseon era, I like that the show tells us not to take everything at face value, and I’m hoping that our characters will also learn that lesson as they get to know one another.

We’re already seeing hints of that with the royal court members. Everyone from the Grand Dowager to Jo Hwa-jin seems to be hiding secrets and I’m looking forward to seeing how all the scheming ultimately turns out. The Kim and Jo Clans’ rivalry is one for the books, and I’m hoping that the excellent writing so far will do justice to them, rather than getting bogged down in the political intrigue that so many historical dramas are notorious for.

Mr. Queen is so laugh-out-loud funny, and hopefully it retains that momentum going forward. The drama’s strong story and good casting is working well in it’s favour and I’m looking forward to what the show has in store for us.

Movies

Soul (2020)

Soul marks my return to the cinema for the first time since late-February last year, and it was so refreshing to get to watch a movie on the big screen after almost a year. The cinema experience is an unbeatable one, and I’m glad I picked this film as my first foray back. Ultimately, Soul is about finding the joys of life, knowing that there will be downs, but that those are necessary for us to be able to appreciate the ups too. 

Jamie Foxx plays Joe Gardner, a middle-school band teacher who finally gets his big break playing a gig with a band he’s always wanted to. Only, he happen to accidentally fall down a manhole and end up in the afterlife on the day of the performance. As he tries to find a way back to his body on Earth, he encounters 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who’s never been to Earth because she’s never seen what all the fuss in living is about. What ensues is a series of wacky events that lead to 22 ending up on Earth in Joe’s body and Joe being her cat guide. While there, both Joe and 22 learn some valuable lessons about how to enjoy life to its fullest potential.

The movie has a beautiful uplifting message, and it uses the visual storytelling as a guide through the world, weaving music and delicious food and the wonder of nature to entice our senses. Soul was a lovely journey, and I’m glad that I got to go along for the ride.

Week in Review (Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2020)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 1 Comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Reply 1994 (2013)

While not the final instalment of the Reply series, it is the final one for me, and in a way it’s probably best this way, since I don’t imagine I would have had the urge to watch Reply 1988 if I’d seen this first.

While the cast is excellent and the structure of the story holds promise, the execution often left me with a sense of frustration. The writer seems intent on prolonging the mystery and creating diversions rather than telling a story that serves the characters well. Even knowing how things would pan out before the show started, I was often annoyed at how the writer toyed with the romance mystery. I’m generally a very easy-going viewer, allowing the story to unfold and trusting that the writer is going to do justice to the narrative because they genuinely want to tell the best version of the story they can. But here, it felt a lot like they were just jerking me around. I can see why the writer might have taken this direction with the storytelling style. I mentioned in my review of Reply 1997 how the mystery didn’t really hold my attention because it never really seemed like a question how things would eventually turn out. But it seems like the writer went in the complete opposite direction here, and it just served to alienate me a little bit. 

That being said, there are still a lot of things to enjoy about the show. The boarding house is filled with a mishmash of characters, each with their own unique background. Seeing them interact with one another feels natural, whether it’s Haitai (Sohn Ho-joon) and Samcheonpo (Kim Sung-kyun) fighting over bedtime, Chilbong (Yoo Yeon-seok) finding family and becoming a fixture at the boarding house, Yoon-jin’s (Min Do-hee) rivalry-turned-romance with Samcheonpo, or Binguerre’s (Baro) hero worship of Sseureki (Jung Woo) as he tries to find his identity. In many ways the show is a love letter to the diversity to be found in the small peninsula, but at the same time, that sense of being an outsider is what connects all these characters together.

This writer’s strength lies in developing family relationships, and I find the family unit in this show to be cohesive, even if it isn’t as well developed as the others in the series. Go Ara’s Na-jung is a bright carefree character, and we see how her interaction with her parents (played brilliantly by Lee Il-hwa and Sung Dong-il) has a normality to it that you find in everyday life. They face their ups and downs together, and they rely on one another to get through the tough times as much as they celebrate they joy together.

In the end, I’m glad I watched the show, but I didn’t get the same joy out of it as I did from either the previous or the following instalments of the series. However, this show’s set-backs allowed the writer to deliver an even stronger follow-up, and for that I’m glad that it exists.

Movies

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

There seems to be a 90s theme to this weeks reviews, and this film manages to capture that unique time of the early days of the internet. You’ve Got Mail is a slice of the 90s, and although it is primarily remembered as a rom-com, it’s also equal parts about family, and justice and nostalgia. 

Both Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks deliver stellar performances. Hanks in particular seems to be playing two different characters, the rude and unapproachable corporate in person, which contrast with the kind and helpful online persona he’s cultivated. But over the course of the film we get to resolve these two personas into one, just as Kathleen has to. Kathleen Kelly on the other hand is shown to undergo the most change, and we get to enjoy watching her become more straightforward through the guidance of those around her. She also lets go of her prejudices against Joe Fox, realising that she can’t judge a book by its cover.

The quirky cast of characters helps to round out the universe, showing the great contrast between the commercial Fox Books and the independent The Shop Around the Corner and setting the stage for the majority of the conflict in the film. This conflict is what helps to drive our characters apart, but it is also eventually what helps bring them together, since they are constantly thrust into each other’s company. 

There’s a reason that this film has made it into the ranks of the classics. It has heart and true human emotion driving the characters. You understand where they are coming from and why they react the way they do. It’s fun being on the journey with them as they figure out the ups and downs of life, and you can’t help but root for them. 

Week in Review (Oct 25 – 31, 2020)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

The School Nurse Files (2020)

The School Nurse Files was a fast, fun, and memorable watch, quite possibly one of the strangest I’ve had in the kdrama world to date. The tone of the show felt a bit off-kilter the entire time I was watching, and I kept being surprised at the stylistic choices the director made. It has the feel of a highly polished Hollywood movie while still retaining an independent film vibe when it came to the writing and characters. 

As far as those characters are concerned, I felt like I never truly got the sense of their motivations or backgrounds, though. How or why did Ahn Eun-young (Jung Yu-mi) end up with her abilities? What made Hong In-pyo (Nam Joo-hyuk) able to recharge her abilities? Why was everyone and their mother after him? I felt like I came away from the show with a lot of questions and not as many answers as I would have liked. And no clear impression if this is it for the show or not. Do we get more, Netflix?

There was generally a tongue-in-cheek style of humour in the show, almost veering on black comedy, but never quite fully immersing itself in that territory. I think that was the biggest draw for me initially, that the show seemed like it would try different things, but then it was also where I found myself always wanting more and hoping that the writing would be bolder and take more risks. Sadly, I was never quite satisfied.

At this point, it seems to be more a matter of knowing if there will be more of The School Nurse Files. If not, then I find myself a little disappointed for getting so little pay-off for the scale of things that were established. But if there is more, then there is potential for a massive universe and a lot of room for exploration considering the richness of the environment that they have set-up and the avenues that they have for the characters to go down. I’m hoping for the latter.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 7-8

*sigh* I was holding off on really making any comments about last week’s big reveal until some some light was shed by the writer, but the time has come to take a much more critical approach to the writing than I ever thought I might need to for a light-hearted romantic comedy.

For some reason that has yet to be clarified, Writer Oh Ji-young has chosen to make Joon (Lee Jae-wook) a high school senior. It automatically adds several problematic elements to his relationship with Ra-ra (Go Ara), considering the age difference, the creditor-debtor dynamic they already have, and their growing romantic feelings for one another.

While a five year age difference in and of itself isn’t a problem, the question of age of majority does come into play now. However, the writer has somehow managed to create a situation where the characters manage to remain guilt-free and unaware of anything being amiss, while also making the viewer extremely aware of them. By having Joon be the one who’s keeping his age from Ra-ra, it absolves her of any sin until she finds out. However, I feel that by having them confess feelings for one another and initiate a tentative relationship following their kiss at the end of the last episode, when the truth is finally revealed it’s only going to exacerbate the situation that much more.

It also brings into question Joon’s approach to life. He posed an interesting question of Seung-ki (Yoon Jong-bin) in Episode 8: “ If you have feelings to confess and a secret to tell, which should you do first?” I suspect that he got the answer he wanted, that you should confess first, be sure of the girl’s feelings for you and then let her know your secret once you feel she won’t flee. Which is a rather round-about and manipulative approach if you look at it too closely. From his point of view, he doesn’t want to reveal a secret to someone unless he’s sure they’re going to keep it. But by taking the approach that he did, he’s also denying Ra-ra of knowing an essential part of him, thereby denying her the choice to make an informed decision. It’s extremely messy as it stands right now, and I’m not sure how it can be fixed – that is, if the writer even thinks of it as a problem to begin with (signs point to ‘no’). 

At this point, as a viewer, there’s a choice that I need to make: Do I continue to watch the show in hopes of a magical resolution that absolves everyone? Or do I shelve the show and hope that in the event that I ever return to it, I come back to a show that has a clear message at the end of its run? It really is a shame, because I am enjoying the other aspects of the show, namely the townspeople, the visual style, the music and the even the aspects of Ra-ra and Joon’s relationship outside of the romance. Maybe there’s an option number 3 then: That I can watch the show and simply ignore the icky romance?

Movies

Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future is one of my favourite movies of all time. Crazy characters, whacky science and an even stranger plot, everything about this movie cracks me up. I wanted to do a rewatch to introduce my sister to this movie, and from the opening scene, I got sucked into the story, seeing that impressive set-up that Doctor Brown (Christopher Lloyd) has. You know right away that something isn’t right, from the burning toast to the days-old dog food that’s been heaping up. And that’s the most normal thing that could go wrong in the film. From that point on Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) runs into one problem after another, from not having enough fuel to get himself back the his own time after he transports himself into the past by mistake, to having his mom accidentally fall in love with him after he interrupts his parents’ first meeting, which means that his siblings and him start to fade from existence. 

As dire as those situations sound the film is played with humour and heart, the sci-fi elements taking a backseat in favour of character development and story. This movie is such a fun watch and you come away from it feeling like you watched something really strange but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Week in Review (Sep 6 – 12, 2020)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

TV

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020) – Ep 14-16

I’m not sure what they idea was with episodes 14 and 15, but it seemed like the show suddenly swerved into makjang territory. Nurse Park felt overacted, which really took me out of the scenes that she was in. I think that character and the arc they were attempting worked much better as an idea and didn’t land at all in execution. The saving grace was that they didn’t particularly linger on it, and wrapped the storyline up pretty quickly, with the villain getting her comeuppance, and we could switch back to our trio for the final stretch. 

Episode 16 came back to the show that I felt I had been watching, giving us the familiar feeling of comfort we’ve grown accustomed to with our family unit. When Sang-tae is reading his book to his mother, I felt every bit of the cathartic release that he felt, in finally having achieved something that he was probably told all his life he wouldn’t be able to. The pride in his brother’s face killed me, and I was a crying mess right next to them.

While the show was far from perfect, it definitely ranks high on my list of favourites. The actors gave excellent performances, the writing was (mostly) consistent and true to character, and I came away from the show with a sense of feeling whole, if a little bittersweet. Although they were going their separate ways, we knew that in the end the brothers’ bond was just as strong as when we first encountered them, if not better for the trials they were put through.  And Moon-yeong helped make them better in her quest for her own self-discovery, finding out that family doesn’t have to be those related by blood. I love knowing that these characters will live on in their own way, ever-evolving, having their stumbles but all the better for them.

Movies

Mulan (2020)

*Sigh* I knew there was a reason I didn’t watch the live-action remakes that Disney were making, and Mulan is the perfect example of why.

The writing was drab, the characters underdeveloped, and why were the songs taken out? There didn’t seem to be any logic in Mulan’s journey through the film, and the writing gave me no reason to empathise with her or the soldiers that fought alongside her. There were practically no stakes and no real reason for me to care which side won because I didn’t really understand why they were all up in arm in the first place. Overall, this was a poor adaptation, but it fails to stand on its own merit either.

Sadly, there really isn’t much else I want to say about this movie. If you want a live action version that’s true to character, might I suggest this instead.

Week in Review (Aug 16 – 22, 2020)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

TV

Extraordinary You (2016) – Ep 12-16

These final few episodes of this show were a delight. I’m glad that our leads got to spend some time together before they were cruelly separated. Haru’s decision to choose his and Dan-oh’s happiness over being secure and getting to spend time in the manhwa seemed like the right choice. They got to enjoy being in each other’s lives. 

The show also explored the nature of separation. The iconic (read: cringy. I’m looking at you Oh Nam-ju!) A3 were going to go on their own paths, but they would still find the time for each other. Graduation meant a departure from the place that they had spent their formative years. Baek Gyeong came to terms with Dan-oh not being in his life, and will hopefully find his own form of happiness. And of course, our leads were separated in a heart-wrenching scene. But the show gave us hope that these characters would find their way back into each others’ lives, even if they might be different characters with different surrounding, their souls would recognise one another.

Movies

Mulan (1998)

I am really looking forward to the live action version of this film, and with its impending release, I thought I would rewatch the original Disney version of this film. I have always been absolutely enamoured by Mulan, enjoying that she was the kind of person who was willing to stand for her country, to protect her family, and to adapt to any situation that she was put into. I’ll Make a Man Out of You gets me every time. She works hard and she gets the job done, the irony of course being that the first man to be able to do it is actually a woman…

Add to the mix Mushu, Cricket and a wacky band of sidekick and you’ve got the perfect comedy. But the movie balances it well with the more chilling scenes with Shan-Yu. He always scared me as a child, and still gives me the creeps every time I watch the movie. And of course, who can forget Li Shang. Something about his voice got me excited, and I savoured every scene between him and Mulan.

This movie definitely ranks as one of my all-time favourites, and it is always a delight to watch. I hope the new film can hold up in comparison.

Week in Review (Aug 2 – 8, 2020)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 1 Comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

TV

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (2016)

This show was so cute, I could just die. Seeing Kim Bok Joo transform from an insecure girl to a confident young woman was so satisfying. Whether it was her worries about her father, her struggles with weightlifting, or her conflicted feelings and insecurities in her relationships, Bok-joo always came out the other end stronger and more sure of her self. 

Jung Joon-hyung on the other hand was the beating heart of this show. He always wore his emotions on his sleeve, and he managed to charm his way into Bok-joo’s life in the most natural and beautiful way. He lifted her up when she felt down, and gave her the boost she needed to find her way through the toughest of situations.

Her friends and family also provided the support she needed, and she in turn helped them when they were in need.

Overall, this was a heartwarming show full of fun. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, Swag! 

Movies

Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017)

While the plot of this film was quite predictable, what really elevated it was the stellar performances. The ease with which the two leads portrayed their characters was excellent, but the standout in this film was Rajkummar Rao by far. His versatility in this film has cemented him as one of the strongest actors in the industry, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in more films to come. Next stop, Bareilly!