Reviews and Recaps
The Sympathizer Review
The protagonist of the new HBO series The Sympathizer is haunted by a recurring question: “Is this necessary?” Every new task he undertakes in his role as a North Vietnamese communist plant within the South Vietnamese secret police: Is this necessary? The atrocities he witnesses while straddling the line of the conflict known alternately as The Vietnam War and The American War: Is this necessary? The ordeal of re-education, the casual racism of his U.S. contacts, the tests of his loyalty: Is this necessary? Unfortunately, the same question doesn’t seem to have occurred to creators Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar…
How a Rising Director With a Cult Following Made the Wildest Sci-Fi Movie You've Never Seen
After being ejaculated into the sewage system, a man’s semen is somehow mutated, rising above ground and instantly impregnating hundreds of women into full-term pregnancies on the streets of Bangkok. The next day, they all give birth to identical children who eerily resemble the man. And within hours, those children grow rapidly, displaying deviant and perverse behaviors, along with an urgent need to find their father and spread their own seed so the cycle can continue.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Makes Good on Its Second Chance at Live Action
Since Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender first premiered in 2005, critics and audiences have hailed it as “one of the greatest animated series of all time.” The series, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, has been praised for its strong narrative and writing, authentic Asian and Indigenous mythology and culture, and for addressing issues related to war, oppression, loss, and gender discrimination. It made sense that studios would want to take this rich story and adapt it into a live-action epic adventure.
FX's Shōgun Honors the Past While Blazing Its Own Trail
When James Clavell’s historical fiction novel Shōgun was first adapted into a television miniseries in 1980, the Emmy-winning series was considered ahead of its time, especially when it came to cultural sensitivity. It was the first American show to be completely filmed in Japan with the Japanese characters being portrayed by Japanese actors — a far cry from the yellowface treatment in The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu and Flash Gordon, both released the same year.
China’s Most Provocative Sci-Fi Movie Never Stood a Chance
If there was a pill that gave you the ability to detect if someone was lying, would you take it? Would humanity benefit from knowing the truth behind every lie? Even white lies? Would having no more deception lead to empathy? Can the truth set you free?
In Chinese director Neysan Sobhani’s 2021 independent sci-fi drama, Guidance grapples with those very questions against the backdrop of a dystopian future…
‘Star Trek: Picard’ Boldly Goes Where We’ve Already Gone Before—For the Better
When Sir Patrick Stewart first signed on to revive his iconic character, Jean-Luc Picard, for a new television series, he asked that it not be a The Next Generation (TNG) reunion series. “There was no reason for us to walk down memory lane,” he once said in an interview. Instead, the first season of Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard focused on new characters, new storylines, and new adventures for the elderly hero. With the exception of cameos of fan-favorites sprinkled here and there, Picard Season 1 avoided stories involving the Enterprise crew, instead focusing on his life as an admiral to the Federation.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE REFLECTS LIFE’S BEAUTIFUL CHAOS
Everything Everywhere All At Once is a mess. It’s a chaotic and warped film, but isn’t that how life is, too? A24’s latest film, starring Michelle Yeoh, is A LOT to take in. But, the meaning behind all the disorder is what makes it the most stunning and brilliant film so far this year. Just like in life, once you embrace the chaos, you’ll find the true beauty in the story of family, the choices we make in our lives, and embracing what we have.
pachinko: season 1 review
Book-to-television adaptations can be difficult to pull off, especially when they feature heavy themes surrounding real-life situations. In this case, AppleTV+’s drama series Pachinko, based on the bestselling novel by Min Jin Lee, chronicles the struggles and successes of four generations of a Korean immigrant family living in Japan. The story takes place between the years of 1910 and 1989, a period that included the Japanese occupation of Korea; the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake, which led to the massacre of Korean residents in Japan; and the events of World War II…
the many saints of newark review
It’s been 14 years since we last saw the Sopranos on TV screens, but prequel film The Many Saints of Newark is here to sate nostalgic fans’ appetites for mobster drama. It soars when it focuses on the iconic characters of HBO’s acclaimed series, getting the mafia aspects right, and only falters when it tries to add too much to The Sopranos Universe in its limited two-hour timeframe. Still, this should satisfy fans who’ve been missing (or rewatching) the beloved show over the past decade-and-a-half.
shang-chi and the legend of the three rings review
While revelling in the slacker life in San Francisco with his best friend Katy (Awkwafina), Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is confronted by the dark past that he thought he left behind. Forced to return to his father Wenwu (Tony Leung)’s dangerous organisation, The Ten Rings, Shang-Chi teams up with Katy and his estranged sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) to stop Wenwu for good.
The Blacklist recap: Mystery (finally) solved
The big mystery has finally been revealed — we know who killed Liz (Megan Boone) and why. Although it seemed like the obvious choice, with Marvin (Fisher Stevens) taking care of Red's (James Spader) business interests all these years, it's hard to believe one of Red's own would do something like that to him. Also, the great lengths he went through — killing his best friend, setting up Mr. Kaplan's return, and blackmailing Cooper — seems ridiculous if you really think about it. What was the purpose?!