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.