Shortening it to “G.” on the off-chance she googles herself and finds this website. Hey, I’ve been there before, and in doing so, I also find this website. So, this is a story that sort of isn’t a story. It’s just something that’s been bothering me for, like, seven years now, and it isn’t even a particularly uncommon non-story. … More The Universe and Janina G.
It’s almost fascinating, the experience of being a fan of something but not at the moment. I don’t even know how to describe it. I’m a Godzilla fan, but his American movies have done me nothing but harm. In keeping tabs on the Japanese side, I’m inundated by news and updates about the Legendary MonsterVerse. How do I explain it to my poor mother, who asks me, “Are you gonna see that?” in response to a TV spot for Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, and I bark, “No!” Almost fascinating, and this time, more than usual, because the marketing on-ramp for 2024’s entry coincided with the tsunami aftermath of Godzilla Minus One. The Japanese film was hailed for its sensitivity toward character, its faculty for drama, and of course, its efficient but convincing visual effects. Comparisons were drawn to the original 1954 Godzilla; it was that authentic. What, then, did that make The New Empire, whose trailer debuted two days later? … More Those American Godzilla Movies: X Marks the Spot
It’s March now, so we’re nearing the end of the first quarter of our entertainment year, which is exactly how entertainment is measured. I have to say, of the titles I previewed in this earlier post, not one that I’ve seen has been good. I like Gyeongsong Creature, but it’s so deeply flawed that the flaws become its very substance, for one’s acceptance or rejection — I don’t think it cares either way. I found Echo to be empty, and True Detective: Night Country uneventful. One show I did not list was FX/Hulu’s Shogun, something I’d seen in snippets last year for my job and assumed, when it made landfall, it would be brushed off as hoary-old white-savior nonsense. Wow, how wrong I was. … More Made It
A critic shouldn’t be saying things like this, but I do want to establish or reestablish that a negative movie review isn’t necessarily me saying a movie is “bad.” Past Lives is very well acted, and it’s beautiful – notably shot on film – but my experience with it was minimal, and the subsequent evaluation remains confused. I don’t know what the writer/director was going for, though the later discovery that it’s semi-autobiographical surely explains a lot. The film opens on the climactic scene, in a New York bar at 4:00 a.m., as an Asian woman sits between an Asian guy and a white guy, with disembodied voices trying to guess at the nature of their relationship. We then rewind to 24 years earlier, when children Na-young and Hae-sung are friends in Korea, with the former moving to Toronto. Fast-forward 12 years, and they reconnect over social media but remain in different time zones. … More What-If Question | Past Lives (2023) Review
Here’s what’s gonna happen: I will watch a horror movie made for children, and not write about it because there’s no use. Nobody cares if this movie is “good” or “bad,” or even “recommended.” It simply is. Other horror titles, like The Banana Splits Movie and Willy’s Wonderland, were produced to capitalize on the market this intellectual property created (most likely). And at the end of it, the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie proved a box office success in a wild year of ups and downs. … More Sometimes Film Criticism is Dead
DOA: Dead or Alive gets off to a rough start. We find Princess Kasumi awkwardly sitting on a throne and a dork named Hayabusa awkwardly standing nearby and expositing. Then Kasumi gets up and leaves, trading awkward dialogue with Hayabusa as he follows. She wants to leave the palace to find her dear brother Hayate, but “Princess Kasumi,” he warns, “the guards will kill you!” So she goes outside and it’s a veritable Curse of the Golden Flower army. And yet, nothing happens. A pink-haired Ayane shows up to further exposit awkwardly, and then Kasumi turns off the gravity and leaps over the gate, over the Great Wall of China, and over a cliff. No fight scene, but a lot of terrible acting, terrible special effects, and terrible everything. As far as video game adaptations go, it’s pretty faithful. … More I’m a Cow(girl) | DOA: Dead or Alive (2006) Review
Donovan and I reconvene for a special episode on a little movie called John Wick: Chapter 4. Spoilers aweigh! We begin with a bit of history on the series and its star before narrowing on the latest installment. … More The Next Great American Action Movie [PODCAST]
In a way, John Wick: Chapter 4 is a needless sequel. Rewind to 2019, with about 45 minutes to go in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, around when the plot seems to whisper “actually, this is not the grand finale.” A confrontation with the ultimate bad guys is averted, and we’re left on a cliffhanger. What’s funny about the world of John Wick as it’s expressed in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 is – where’s the mob? Who are these assassins killing when they’re not killing each other? This felt like less of a “problem” in Chapter 3, where John Wick was facing the consequences for the assassination of a non-assassin character. Cue the assassins, and that’s fine. In Chapter 4, we have the same consequence, again. Now it isn’t John Wick versus New York City, it’s John Wick versus… well, that’s a long story. … More Bulletproof Suit | John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) Review
Despite my best efforts, I was moved by this film. Granted, if you’ve read any of my coverage of Korean dramas, you know I’m a pretty easy mark. Crazy Rich Asians has a rocky start, pitched more toward comedy as we’re guided by a too-cute film language bordering on fourth wall breaks. Like, at any moment, Constance Wu is gonna look into the camera with an ironic “You’re probably wondering how I got here.” I suppose what I’m really thinking of is characters introduced with loud title cards, because they are introduced with voiceover and cutaways, and it’s a toss-up whether it’s an Asian or Asian-American celebrity who’s great or who totally sucks. … More Once Upon a Time in Singapore | Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Review
If you were to accuse me of disliking this film simply because it’s an insensitive American portrayal of an Asian culture, my only objection would be the word “dislike.” I disliked the movie the first time I saw it, in high school as part of AP English Literature – parents, if you were wondering what your kids are getting up to at school – where we also read the book. I didn’t remember much, other than it wasn’t that good but the Spielbergian style was sort of amusing. Well, TVs back in 2011 sucked, especially ones wheeled into public school classrooms. I don’t know what I saw in even the cinematography. This is, quite possibly, the worst movie I’ve ever seen. … More Beautiful China Doll | Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) Review
With Eyes East 