We’ve seen this before. Emperors who are out of touch with the realities faced by their people. The manipulation done by top royal advisors to centralize power and influence for themselves. Then there’s an emergence of a new brand of leader—one that acknowledges the needs of the time, just and moral in his ways, the country’s new beacon of hope.
In Joseon’s highly stratified and unequal society, we see corrupt power’s impact to the everyday lives of people. The vulnerable are always the lower classes—their lives are given no value, and they are the last to experience justice.
This is how we’ve come to know period K-dramas. Throw in some assassination, treason, a civil war and your episodes are all set. But reimagine the genesis of the living dead in the Joseon era? Suddenly everything about “Kingdom” becomes entirely different.
The series boasts of beautiful cinematography, with every detail faithful to Korea’s rich history. Its characters are given dimension. They are not just guided by sheer heroics, but instead are propelled by the complexity of their own values and beliefs. Every person in the show is given their own story that enriches the narrative as a whole. We don’t only focus on each one’s survival, we are given a glimpse of the rationale of their actions.
Here’s a list of everything I loved about the second season of “Kingdom”—with countless spoilers ahead:
We have patiently waited and now “Kingdom” has given us the answers we needed. Netflix’s first original Korean production has exceeded the intensity, action and disconcerting conspiracies it set when the series was first released—still able to stun its audience with the maddening and exhausting mystery of the plague of the undead.
In “Kingdom,” the Joseon Dynasty is forced to face a new century with remnants of a past invasion crippling its nation. But there is an emergence of heroics in the margins of survival, led by the country’s rightful heir to the throne, Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon).
Its second season leads us back to the battlegrounds of Sangju, where roaring hordes of flesh-eating beasts are determined to feast on the living. Dazed with the number of the undead that are no longer afraid of daylight, the prince’s men are forced to retreat.
The first thing you have to know about Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Just Mercy” is it’s a film with awards-worthy form. Heck, if the Academy won’t recognize it as such, every person who goes to watch it in the cinemas would. The dramatic biopic centers on a young, idealistic lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, whose first decision out of Harvard is to move to Alabama and provide legal services to the convicts in death row.
Every case he takes on is a life-or-death fight where justice is painstakingly sought in the American penal system—a system riddled with widespread corruption and unexamined racism that strips innocent people of their humanity.
The Angels have gone global. Before you head to the cinemas, let one thing be clear: 2019’s “Charlie’s Angels” isn’t an attempt to blow over the iconic film that came decades before it. This is not a reboot (at least, not strictly one). All it wants is try to kick in new life to a legacy. And it does—in the most hilarious and fun ways possible.
Perhaps the trickiest part is to assemble a trio that’s equally as charming and lovely as its 2000 cast. The movie needed girls you’d want to root for. But, more importantly, girls who aren’t just a replicate of the Diaz-Liu-Barrymore tandem.
I’m happy to report that Naomi Scott, Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska rose to the challenge. With great chemistry, better comedic pulses and depth in characters, the three actresses are a delight to watch together on screen.
Mounting a sequel to one of the most iconic films in pop culture takes courage. In fact, it almost sounds like a terrible idea. As daunting as the work he had to bring to the big screen, Mike Flanagan masterfully wields a modern thriller to succeed the events of “The Shining.”
Known for his horror flicks, Flanagan (who also edited the film) is able to brand “Doctor Sleep” as entirely his own—the movie reflects his distinct style yet dutifully pays homage to the both the works of Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King.
Although quite unfocused, the director found the middle ground of Kubrick and King’s visions. Flanagan also opens up opportunities for the audience to interpret the symbolisms (or more accurately, parallelisms) he had embedded into the narrative. What “The Shining” had in the intensity of its suspense, “Doctor Sleep” makes up for depth of story.
Joaquin Phoenix has made “Joker” his own masterpiece.
You probably already know that, with the movie being tagged as Octoberʼs must-see film. But be warned, director Todd Phillips wastes no time on gratifying moments.
“Joker” isnʼt the type of film that consoles you once it has doused you with such dark realities. Instead, it leaves you with questions youʼll eventually allow to rob you of sleep. Itʼs a disruptive and depressing experience that begins with such heartbreaking vulnerability and follows through with unflinching violence.
We first meet Arthur Fleck as a kind and loving son who survives the day-to-day with his job as a clown. Heʼs honest, hopeful. He dreams of becoming a successful stand-up comedian—heʼs got all the notes on punchlines, but his humor isnʼt quite in sync with his audience.
“I hope my death makes more cents” is one of the lines Arthurʼs got scribbled on his notebook.
Quentin Tarantino brings us to a facet in history where truth and fiction reside. It is a film that motions us into a recalibrated past, where the camera moves us along like a spectator right in the sidelines of its scenes. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” essentially a tale about loyalty and friendship, thrills and humors us from the get-go.
It’s got a stellar cast led by Leonardo Di Caprio and Brad Pitt, where the two play an inseparable duo of a Western leading man and his trusty stunt double, respectively. Don’t be fooled by the roles they play, these two superstars go off in equal footing. If anything, Pitt’s heroics actually outshine the brilliance of the Dicaprio’s fleeting moments of self-discovery.
The kids are growing up. Our favorite monster-hunting bunch from Hawkins has inevitably reached the cusp of adolescence. They’re awkward. They’re feisty. They’re in all sorts of trouble—and all we gotta do is sit back and enjoy the entertainment. The pilot episode of the third season brings us up to speed by showing tons of making out and comedic couple ticks.
But more than the teenage love affairs, there is no boring moment in “Suzie, Do You Copy?” Early on it revives the scientific fascination on the Upside Down, linking this small Indiana town to the other side of the globe once again. While its ending immediately builds up its newest otherworldly villain and doesn’t waste any time in revealing one of the greatest shockers of the show. Spoiler alert: Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) still doesn’t get a freaking break from this nightmare!
Knowing the Duffer Brothers, it’s bound to show us sci-fi tropes that we’ll surely brand as easter eggs. The new 8-episode season will reinvent notions of fear and fright, but it’ll probably underscore that the scariest thing is still change—after all, it’s still a coming-of-age story. We’re sure we’ll end up binge-watching the season when “Stranger Things” finally drops on Netflix this July 4—just like the Duffer Brothers intended us to. But before that, we’re left with these few bits that we’ll obsess over until everything will all finally make sense:
It’s been more than two decades and we’ve gone through 23 films to complete the “Infinity Saga.” But even with the oversaturation of superhero films shown in recent years, Marvel has never failed to stun us with the tapestry it has patiently designed.
Its latest film in the cinemas, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” shows the ingenuity of every direction the studio has taken—every little deviation from the comics, introduction of unexpected mentorships, and significant changes in the characterization of its iconic heroes, just to bring us what we are meant to see on the big screen today.
The final chunk of Phase 3 is where we rediscover the joy of understanding the grander scheme of things. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe lost a great leader in Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), we are sent back to a world that is desperate for a new hero to step up. It is in one of the MCU’s closely intertwined stories where we find a young hero forced to emerge as a reassuring new beacon of security. It’s a role that has been passed on, decided by Stark himself. Yes, even in death, Iron Man’s the hero.
Park Bo Gum’s got range. It’s no secret that the Korean heartthrob’s biggest dream is to become a singer-songwriter, and there was nothing quite like the charisma he had shown on stage.
When he met his Filipino fans during the Good Day in Manila fanmeet, the crowd was prepared to be disarmed by his charms. What they didn’t expect, though, was a 2-hour concert. Bo Gum introduced another side to him, one that is perfectly comfortable being the center of attention—his usual timidity disappeared as he performed song after song. We got used to Korean celebrities singing a handful of tracks when we meet them, but Bo Gum does things differently. This multihyphenate took no breaks, except for a few wardrobe changes. Every one of his numbers were adorably sensational. His notes had power. His moves were filled with energy. It certainly wasn’t like those cutesy performances on Music Bank.
Sure, it’s easy to dismiss it as another Fox superhero film that flopped, but such great injustice have been committed against the mutants (yet again). As the credits of “Dark Phoenix” took over the emptiness of the screen, my brows were knit in a tight furrow, wondering which element of the film’s convoluted plot I can tag as the culprit of its demise.
Perhaps the high expectations for the film were rooted in the fact that Simon Kinberg was in control, the so-called X-Men architect in the realm of films. However, his directorial debut was riddled with muddled motivations for each character, that is, if they weren’t tossed in the sidelines.
Jean Grey’s transmutation into the Dark Phoenix felt flat. In the simplest words of the English language:It was boring. But it certainly didn’t feel that way in the beginning—the first moments of the film showed promise, depicting the poignance of trauma and feeling of isolation embedded in the character’s origin story.
Except they cut that narrative short. They give us another emotive and moving Charles X. Xavier speech—in which he tells Jean: “You are not broken”—to close that chapter. The film jumps immediately to the mutants donning their iconic X-Men jumpsuits, putting their lives at risk as they go on a space mission.
The thing about messing with the classics is that it only allows a slim room for errors. The public is ruthless with their expectations and can be unforgiving. But Disney’s 2019 live-action adaptation of “Aladdin” need not worry about measuring up to its 1992 counterpart.
The film entices the senses with its constant motion and endless flashing of colors, and delivers the beloved folklore in a grandiosity of scale and opulence that immediately separates it from its source material. Its respect and awe for Arabic culture is an infectious fascination. Every scene of the film manages to cast its own enamoring enchantment, transporting every viewer to a fantastic land laced with magical realism.
Pikachu doesn’t just talk, he’s got some sass. This particular Pokémon sure has evolved on the screen in ways we didn’t expect it to. In the first live-action film of the Pokémon series, moviegoers are allowed inside the head of the franchise’s undoubtedly most famous character—a cuddly yellow electric mouse. “Detective Pikachu” is essentially science fiction for kids—and, more importantly, kids at heart. That’s what makes this movie special. It transforms the wildest of fiction into some sort of reality—a reality generations of fans have longed to be part of. As it shows a world where the fauna are different Pokémon types, it does nothing but reinforce that longtime geeky wish to have Pokemon in real life.
Long lines in the cinemas. Cryptic status updates about the movie. Annoying people who think spoilers would make them cool. Rotten Tomatoes rating. These are only some of the things that a Marvel fan who hasn’t seen “Endgame” yet can feel frustrated about. Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll get your turn soon, and when you do I promise it’s one of the best [Marvel] films you’ve ever watched.
Here’s how you can prepare for an awesome movie experience:
Rewatch “Infinity War”
It’s been a year since Thanos’ snap made half of the population turn into dust, and you probably need to be reminded how our favorite heroes lost the most important battle of their lives. You need to go into the theaters angry, hopeless, and impossibly optimistic that the Avengers can pull off just one more miracle for the sake of its cinematic universe.
You have to revisit the exact same moment where the story was cut off to be completely immersed in “Endgame.”
Choose your movie buddies wisely
Like I have once said before, everyone has the right to enjoy “Endgame.” There are many of us who have been following this cinematic universe for half of our lives, but that doesn’t put us on a pedestal. It does, however, make it necessary for hardcore fans to choose their movie-going crowd. Watch it with people who you know will enjoy it and will spend time digesting the film with you afterwards. “Endgame” takes on deep (and lasting) emotional tolls, that even the best fan theorists would need at least a week to process a culmination of an iconic superhero era.
Eat a heavy meal
Eating inside the cinemas is simply a distraction.
Bring a pack of tissues. Or maybe two.
Take it from Chris Evans, who reportedly cried six times while watching the film—and he even knew what was going to happen. If you ask me, I only cried once but it lasted all throughout the film (but Thor and Ant-Man gave fleeting comic relief in between).
There are no after-credits scenes
Save your bladder and run your way to the restrooms. The film is extremely long (but will never be long enough for my Marvel-loving heart) and has no room for you to even blink. Every second of it is essential and there should be no one leaving the theaters for a quick visit to the loo. The Russo brothers have thought this through, believe me. While it goes against Marvel tradition, the rolling of credits straight into blackout doesn’t mess with the film’s glorious momentum.
If you ask me, maybe you can stay until you see the six original Avengers’ names on the screen. Even that can easily make you tear up.
Put eating a cheeseburger on your post-Endgame plans
It’s the ultimate comfort food you’ll be needing after watching this film. Trust me. Again, an American cheeseburger—and maybe a shawarma, too?
Save money for a second viewing
“Endgame” is the kind of movie you’d want to see again and again, even if that means you’ll go broke.
Photos courtesy of Marvel Studios. “Avengers: Endgame” is showing in cinemas nationwide.
There can only be a few words that can describe the magnitude of greatness “Endgame” turned out to be. I can do a mental search of adjectives to match the intensity of praise it requires and deserves, only to find myself with the most common phrase to tell all its fans: You have to see it for yourselves.
Now I can’t exactly say the Russo Brothers have outdone themselves, but they did hit every expectation every fan had going into the cinemas. “Endgame” is the only Avengers film where they have complete command of one’s attention and emotion with every single scene they have set on the screen. In a screwed up sense, Thanos’ snap did bring balance. “Endgame” brings forth the proper culmination a decade’s worth of films needed—finally.
The anticipation “Endgame” drew from the world is actually one that it deserves. It wouldn’t be owing its blockbuster numbers just because it’s some monumental piece—a celebration of a cinematic universe—much like “Infinity War” did. That one felt too much like a calculated move to bring every known hero together, a jumble of frustrating scenes only meant to be a setting piece.
Sure enough, the Avengers film that came before it gave its viewers thrilling and visceral action, and undeniably handed its fans devastating losses. But the thing is, it was meant to only give us exactly that—and did so only at the latter parts of that movie. It was made to be a cliffhanger and nothing more.
The gravity and core the story Marvel has patiently built lies in “Endgame.” Here, fans become witnesses to every fiber of humanity our heroes have (left) in them (except, of course, for Carol Danvers).
“I keep telling people to move on. Some do, but we don’t,” Captain America (Chris Evans) tells Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) after half the population of Earth vanished. Loss lingers longer than we imagined. “Endgame” does not fail to explore how Thanos’ act affected the lives of those who survived it. Time has made one Avenger a drunk, and the other, a vigilante. The mix of guilt, grief, regret, and hunger for justice aren’t just part of the story, it is the story itself. It explores our heroes’ helplessness and the tone is bleak for the most part.
But that’s exactly why this movie thrives: It actually turns the focus on its characters. The interconnectedness of the realities to which they belong to is no longer the emphasis of the story. It dedicates itself to emotion, which covers new grounds that make us understand exactly what our heroes are made of—their insecurities, fears, and what they value. The very essence of this film is to wield the emotion that brings into balance the action “Infinity War” has shown. But that doesn’t mean “Endgame” doesn’t pull out one heck of a final battle. It does and it’s unlike any we’ve seen before—it’s pure heart-racing majesty on screen. Viewers are latched onto every character’s struggle to win and survive at all costs. It is a battle we’ve been groomed to be emotionally invested in all these years—it’s a movie that makes their triumph ours to claim as well.
Each discovery is climactic. Every part of it is as momentous as its end. Marvel even attempts to blend all the genres it has experimented with, retaining the humor most moviegoers familiar with thanks to films like “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Ant-Man,” and “Thor: Ragnarok.” And perhaps these slapstick moments may be the only scenes that don’t bring you into tears.
In a way, “Endgame” is a lot like the movies we’ve already seen: Hope is taken when it is most needed, and brought back by the most likely of circumstances. But “Endgame” is everything a fan had hoped it would be: A great narrative that carves itself a place in the history of reels, and makes a home at the heart of contemporary pop culture.
“The Avengers” have gloriously gone full circle, where the beginning is only as meaningful as the end. Yes, by that I mean Tony Stark.
VINNY VERDICT: 5/5
Photos courtesy of Marvel Studios. “Avengers: Endgame” is showing in cinemas nationwide.
Yesterday’s biggest pop culture news kept me up all night: Netflix’s “Stranger Things” will be premiering globally on July 4. There will be eight episodes for this season.
But unlike the previous seasons that had us submerged into a grotesque alternate reality where nighttime seemed to be longer than any of the days, the show’s third installment is giving us a glimpse of a warm, adventure-filled (and soon-to-be-gone-wrong) summer. It’s so much more vibrant than we remember it to be, and even lets its characters embrace the bold and eccentric neon colors of the 80s.
The last time we saw Spider-Man on our screens, he immortalized this line: “Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good.” But it seems like the young hero, along with half of the universe, was able to survive Thanos’ wipeout after all. Let’s be honest: We knew “Endgame” would undo the deaths of the film that came before it. But even in the out-of-this-world Marvel Cinematic Universe, shit like that change you (Cue “Iron Man 3”).
In the official trailer of “Far From Home,” we see Peter Parker (Tom Holland) packing for a trip to Europe with MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), and the rest of the gang. He decides to skip on his heroic duties on this vacation, but as Marvel fans know by now, the Avengers are such strong magnets to trouble.
We’re beyond excited to see how Jon Watts along with screenplay writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have decided to continue this geeky and rookie chapter of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. So far, its one and only trailer was dropped and we already have so many questions running in our heads. These are some of them:
Joe Goldberg and Peach Salinger aren’t exactly the best of friends in the Netflix adaptation of Caroline Kepnes’ bestselling novel, “You.” In fact, they’re the fiercest of competition.
The charming bookstore manager (played by Penn Badgley) falls in love with Beck (Elizabeth Lail), an aspiring and struggling writer. They first meet at Mooney’s, where Beck buys a copy of “Desperate Characters” after Joe’s recommendation. From their first interaction, Joe seems to be overly observant—alarmingly accurate, in fact—as he tries to interpret Beck’s flirtatious hints.
He soon meets Beck’s friends, and the Queen Bee of the group is none other than Peach Salinger (Shay Mitchell)—this extremely loaded Brown alumna, who also happens to be JD Salinger’s relative. First off, Joe isn’t exactly a fan of the “Catcher in the Rye” writer—just cause he thinks he can see straight through the phonies of his world (how ironic). He called Salinger’s readers pretentious. And that prejudice doesn’t really change towards the other Salingers of the show.
Last Tuesday, Jan. 15, the Greenbelt Gallery was completely surrounded by a swarm of fans—phones were held up in the air, with booming voices calling the attention of two Hollywood stars: Penn Badgley and Shay Mitchell.
The two star in what is proving to be Netflix's first global phenomenon of 2019, a thriller based on Caroline Kepner's "You." Its episodes were first released last Christmas, but it's undeniable that the show's popularity continues to rise.
Badgley asked the crowd for a show of hands, curious to see who were troubled by the character he was playing—Joe Goldberg. "Not too many, I see," he said. Fans then screamed they loved Joe. "You probably loved me playing as him," the 32-year-old actor joked.
Badgley revealed he didn't have that much fun as the lead, but only because it wasn't a type of character worth celebrating. "The scenes with Shay (playing Peach) were the most fun, the scenes with Paco were the most heartwarming, and the scenes with Beck were the most heartbreaking," Badgley shared.
According to Badgley and Mitchell, who plays Joe Goldberg and Peach Salinger respectively, "You" has been a meta experience to watch. The stars pointed out that the show touches a lot on how people nowadays project images of themselves and their lives online and, on the flipside, how social media is used as a tool for one to build their own perceptions of people.
But that's not all that makes it relevant and relatable—it's that underlying desire to connect and develop meaningful human relationships that is consistent among all its characters. Only for some of "You's" personalities, this desire is carried out to the extreme.
The 10-episode series centers on the charming Joe Goldberg. He's been tagged as the last nice guy in New York, a real score to anyone who fancies a guy who reads (and could give you a lecture on classic literature). But behind his unassuming and kind front is a troubled man, engulfed by his insecurities and outrageous fears.
Photo by Karl Hui for alike. This article was previously published by alike Media.
I’ll get straight to the point. “Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald” is an overambitious yet underwhelming addition to the Potterverse. But—yes, here’s the absolutely divisive catch—the way it wields magic on the screen is still as jaw-dropping as ever.
While it’s a reunion between director David Yates and JK Rowling (who’s now in charge of the franchise’s screenplay), the sequel takes on a different tone. One that is grimmer than the first, with a certain swiftness that is nothing but an illusion.
