International Film Festival 2K21

So as I’m sure you know, foreign language media has really been popping off on Netflix recently, what with Squid Game taking the internet by storm and becoming the most popular Netflix series ever. In fact, Squid Game is literally so popular that a South Korean internet provider is now suing Netflix because of how popular the show is. 

Yes, really.

However, Squid Game isn't the only foreign language media on Netflix that's worth watching. In addition to binging Squid Game (because of course I watched it), I recently watched a couple of films from two other non-English speaking countries: Out of My League, an Italian film, and The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student, a Brazilian film. These two movies, along with Squid Game, make up my international film festival review.

Let's take a trip around the world, shall we?

Let's start our trip right here in the Americas.

The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student- C

When I saw the trailer for this movie on Netflix, it immediately piqued my interest. To me, The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student had a similar vibe to an early 2000's Disney movie, like The Lizzie McGuire Movie, or The Cheetah Girls 2 (two of my favorite movies of all time, by the way). I'm a sucker for a cute travel rom-com, and so I felt like this movie would be a good fit for me.

After I watched it, though, it did not remind me of The Lizzie McGuire Movie or The Cheetah Girls 2 in the slightest. That's not to say that I didn't like this movie, that's just to say that this movie was not what I expected it to be when I started it.

To summarize, The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student follows Barbara: a young girl with aspirations to travel the world despite her crappy job selling travel magazines at an airport in Rio de Janeiro. Along with her friend, Taila (who is the best character in the movie, by the way), Barbara concocts a plan to travel to the US in order to live out her dream of seeing the world. The only catch? They both agreed to be nannies for wealthy families in the US in exchange for their room and board. The plot ensues from all of the wacky adventures that they find themselves in because of this arrangement.

I watched this movie in the original Portuguese with English subtitles, although a decent portion of this movie is in English because the main characters spend most of the movie in America. I thought the subtitles would bother me more as people were switching in and out of Portuguese, but that hardly factored into my opinion of the movie, and soon, I barely noticed that it was happening.

Let's talk about the things that I liked about this movie: 

For one thing, (as I mentioned before) I really liked Taila. She's Barbara's friend who agrees to be a nanny so that her friend won't be alone in the United States, and she was honestly one of the best parts of the movie for me. Her character was not only funny, but incredibly likeable, and I found myself more interested in her B-plot than the A-plot that followed Barbara.

Another thing that I liked was that this movie is funny, but in a sort of off-beat way. There is definitely an element of fish-out-of-water humor, as two Brazilian girls travel to snowy New York, despite having never seen snow before. There are some funny moments as Taila and Barbara attempt to interact with Americans who don't understand them. However, the best humor in this movie is found in situations that are so improbable they border on the insane. For example, SPOILER Taila's B-plot story line includes a portion of the story where Maiara Walsh (Yes, the same Maiara Walsh from Cory in the House) plays a character who works for the NSA and straight up kidnaps someone. That entire sequence was wild, and honestly made me like the movie more than if it hadn't been included.

The things that I didn't like about this movie though, are... a bit of a doosey. This movie really, desperately needed a rewrite. The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student is definitely not a terrible movie, as it has all of the elements of a solid story. Everything that happens in the film is foreshadowed (although admittedly in a strange and/or ham-fisted way), and so nothing really comes as a surprise when it happens, although with that being said, I can safely say that this movie definitely zigged when I could've sworn it was going to zag.

 

The best thing that this movie could have written out of their story was the character Brad. I honestly hate Brad in this movie, and I think his character just makes the story awkward and uncomfortable in a bad way.

Brad is an American flight attendant who develops a relationship with Barbara (despite being about 10 years her senior, but whatever), and encourages her to take the babysitting job in the US. When she comes to America in order to begin working, he is supportive of her and takes her on dates and everything. He seems to be the main romantic lead of the movie, until the second male lead, Lucas, is introduced about 35 minutes into the film.

I'm not going to spoil the movie's plot twist for you regarding the relationship between these three characters, but please note that in the end Barbara ends up with Lucas, not Brad (Thank God, honestly. Brad was the worst). I really wished that Brad was not even a factor in this plot, and that Lucas was the only love interest in this movie. The twist regarding these three was honestly more weird than satisfying, and overall- I would not recommend.

(Also I thought it was a shame that Taila didn't end up with anyone by the end. If I were to rewrite this movie, I would've included a cute boy/girl for Taila to hook up with, too.)

Overall, The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student was fun to watch, if not incredibly memorable. With a re-write, though, I really think this movie would be pretty good.

I think my favorite thing about this movie is that it clocks in at just over 90 minutes, as I've discovered that my patience starts to wain at about the 90 minute mark anyway. Either the plot needs to start resolving itself by that point, or the movie needs to be over. I can't tell you how many mediocre movies have left a bad taste in my mouth just because they were too drawn out.

Now let's head across the Atlantic to our next international feature that takes place in Italy.

Out of My League- C+

This movie completely baffles me because I love it, but I never know how to reconcile this fact when ranking or grading it. Ultimately I have to give it a fair score, because I have a strong soft spot for this movie even though I am incredibly aware of its flaws. Right off the bat, the story is underwritten, and all of the characters (sparing maybe two) are barely characters, and more like stand-ins of character types. Additionally, the movie is both too long in parts and not long enough in others, which can make it feel slightly off balance.

HOWEVER, I still like this movie. A lot.

It definitely has its issues, but at its core, it's a cute, well-shot romantic comedy.

Full disclosure, I did not watch the original Italian version with English subtitles; I watched the dubbed version with the English voice actors. I may go back and rewatch this film in the original Italian to see if that changes my thoughts on the movie, but based on how I feel now, I don't think it will have an impact.

Out of My League is about Marta, a girl with cystic fibrosis living with her two gay best friends because her parents died. Marta is told by her doctor that she's likely going to die soon, and so she sets her sights on Arturo, the most attractive boy town, to fulfill her "bucket list" of sorts. After some intense stalking (yes, you read that correctly), she eventually convinces Arturo to go out with her. Eventually, the two fall in love- only, Arturo has no idea that his girlfriend has a deadly disease. The plot follows Marta as she tries to decide what to do now that she's fallen in love with someone, knowing that she's going to die.

I know, Out of My League sounds like its plot was ripped right out of a John Green book from 2012, but this movie was more cutesy than heartbreaking, and honestly the plot is a lot more simplified than my synopsis. The actual plot of this movie could have taken place within 45 minutes, sparing the subplot and some of the medical talk about Marta's condition.

The subplot of this movie follows Marta's best friends, Jacopo and Federica, as they attempt to have a baby to fill the hole in their hearts now that Marta is dying. The only thing is though, Jacopo and Federica are both gay, and they are trying to have a baby together. Since they are broke (and presumably clueless as to how the whole fertilization thing works), they try having a baby the "natural" way, which results in some uncomfortable shenanigans. However, it leads to an overall heartfelt sentiment by the end of the movie. Jacopo was probably the best character in the film, as he felt somewhat developed, unlike the male lead, which we will get into later.

One of the main flaws of the film is that the main characters basically fall in love with little to no prior interaction and absolutely no warning. If you're not a fan of the "insta-love" trope, you're really gonna hate this movie. While I'm usually not a fan of this trope (See below for my usual take on "insta-love"), for some reason, it didn't bother me while watching this film.

My exact thoughts on the "insta-love" trope, as I normally can't stand it. 

In terms of the romance, the few scenes that the romantic leads had together were cute, but somehow they felt like something I would've come up with when I was fifteen and still writing stories on Wattpad (They've been scrubbed, don't waste your time trying to find them). This is because Arturo is not a fully developed character at all, and his only personality trait is "always living up to his family's expectations" which is another trope that's been done to death. He's supposed to be popular and hot and desirable, but he goes out with Marta anyway, despite her being less desirable, and considered "ugly" (even though she's cute as hell, and never explicitly stated as ugly in this universe). It's the classic high school romantic comedy dilemma, paired with the "sick-kid" plot line of Marta's CF diagnosis. 

Overall, this movie feels like a perfect paint by numbers in terms of mediocre rom-com schlock, but I can't help but admire it anyway. Part of this is because the movie is so pretty.

The cinematographer for this movie is essentially carrying the film, as everything about this movie is gorgeous to look at. The bold colors and camera angles in this movie make me forgive a lot of the glaring plot details and the lackluster character development. In fact, for me this movie proves that if a bad movie is pretty to look at, then it's automatically better than a good movie that's terrible to look at. (This is probably why I don't like the Bourne movies all that much, even though they're "good movies." I can't stand the shaky-cam, and I think that they're all lit terribly.)

The fact that this movie is so pretty to look at really saves me from saying anything incredibly heartbreaking about it. And like The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student, I think I love this move even more because it clocks in at around the 90 minute mark, which is quickly becoming my sweet spot for the appropriate length a movie should be.

Out of My League isn’t saying anything new or groundbreaking, but I like what it does say, and it says it in a way that leaves me feeling warm inside, which is always nice. In the time since I first watched it, this movie has become somewhat of a comfort film for me. This film is something that I watch when I want to escape and feel like the world isn't falling apart around me. It may not be a good movie by any true critic's standards, but for me, it was pretty entertaining.

Not everything has to be critically acclaimed; some stuff is just dumb fun.

Anyway, let's get the wheels off the ground again and head over to South Korea.

Squid Game- B

Squid Game is the show everyone has been waiting to talk about- the thing that's got everyone meming online about what it would be like to play a deadly game of musical chairs or heads up 7 up. This is probably the show that people clicked on this post to hear my thoughts about (presuming that people actually read this and care what I think).

I was vaguely familiar with the concept of the show before it blew up on social media, as I saw the trailer for the series on YouTube back in early September. However, I merely planned on putting it on my Netflix "to watch" list when it came out and then letting it sit there until I inevitably forgot about it. I had no idea that it was going to blow up into this international phenomenon that everyone would be talking about.

So... I watched it.

In case you've been living under a rock for the past month, here's the synopsis: Squid Game is a Korean drama about a series of characters in outlandish amounts of debt who attempt to win money in a mysterious contest known as "squid game." The 456 contestants in this "squid game" must win 6 challenges in order to receive the cash prize of 45.6 billion won (about 38.4 million USD). All of the challenges are presented as children's games such as "tug of war" and "red light, green light." However, the catch is, if you lose, you die.

The main character of this show is Gi-hun (Player #456), a gambling addict who needs the money in order to care for his ailing diabetic mother, and to prevent his daughter from leaving the country with his ex-wife and her new husband. The show follows his journey as he joins the games and meets all of the contestants, while also discovering the truth about the nature of the games.  

So what was my opinion on Squid Game?

I liked it. I was thoroughly invested in it, actually.

(In case anyone was wondering, I watched this show in the original Korean, using English subtitles. While I'm confident that I made the right choice by doing so, I do agree with the discussion taking place that Netflix really needs to hire more people who are able to create accurate and clear translations for their shows, as some of the dialogue can get lost in translation without it.)

SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR SQUID GAME AHEAD:

My favorite parts of the show were definitely the characters, and how the squid game competition really shone a light on the desperate lengths that people were willing to go to for money. In case anyone was wondering, my favorite character in the whole show was definitely Ali (Player #199), because he was sweet and caring, and did not deserve the ending that he got in this show. I also really liked Sae-byok's character (Player #67), as she had a strong motivation to win the games, and she was definitely my fan-favorite to win the whole thing. (She was also done pretty dirty in the end, if you ask me.)

Despite everything, I also really liked the relationship between the old man, Ilnam (Player #1), and Gi-hun (even including the ending of the show), because their relationship in episode 6 of the show actually had me SOBBING, which I never do. Their connection was potentially the strongest through-line of the show, aside from perhaps Gi-hun's relationship with his old friend Sang-woo (Player #218).

To me, this show would not have worked without these characters. Everyone has someone to root for and someone to hate. Most people online agree that Sang-woo was a villain in the games, along with the gangster Deok-su (Player #101) , while almost everyone I've talked to agrees that Ali was too pure to be in the games in the first place. Without these characters and the good writing that displayed them to the audience, this show would not have been nearly as successful as it was. I believe this is telling of the fact that everyone can see something of themselves in each of these characters. Whether it be Ali, Sae-byok, or Gi-hun, we can all relate to them because at the end of the day, they're just people.

As if it wasn't obvious, there was an enormous amount of dedication put into this on the creator's part. Squid Game was written by the creator/director of the show, Hwang Dong-hyuk nearly ten years ago, and was repeatedly rejected by Korean studios before being picked up by Netflix. It has often been reported that the creator had to sell his laptop in order to make enough money to keep going during this time. On top of this, the show's art director, Chae Kyoung-sun, put countless hours into designing everything from the Escher-esque staircases to the coffins that were tied up with neat pink bows. It's admirable how much time and effort went into writing and designing a show like this. (You should read Kyoung-sun's full interview about the design aspect here.)

Overall, I have a lot of good things to say about Squid Game, but I feel like most of my thoughts on the show have more to do with the surrounding culture of what it represents, and less to do with the show itself.

Now, I really liked this show. In fact, millions of people really liked this show, and it's become a cultural touchstone along the lines of The Hunger Games or even The Matrix. People can look at a frame from this show and immediately identify it as being from Squid Game. This is incredible, considering that for most people, this is the first time they would be exposed to foreign language media willingly. However, it is also dangerous.

In the US, the popularity of Squid Game has essentially made it into a product that can be sold, repackaged, promoted, and branded. It's become the new hot thing, the next big show that everyone is hyped about, the current Halloween costume that's going to be flying off the shelves this year. 

THIS IS BAD.

The entire point of the show is that society (Korean society, but more broadly, society as a whole) does not care about the poor and the disenfranchised, and if you are poor, you are essentially disposable- no better than an actual racehorse that rich people can bet on. This is based on the very real problem going on in Korea right now regarding predatory private lending. The poor people who participate in Squid Game are subjected to some truly heinous shit under the guise of everything being voluntary and "fun and games," when the truth of the matter is that they were essentially being coerced into participating in these death games for money. 

You can't hold a burger in front of a starving man and then expect them to not take you up on it when you claim that eating it is voluntary.

To me, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect about what people think the show is about, and what the show is actually about. The people who reduce this show to its base level of "fun kids games but you die if you lose" completely miss the point of why this show was even made in the first place. The people participating in Squid Game were not there to have fun, they were there because they were so desperately poor that they didn't know what else to do. All of the memes about Squid Game are funny (often referencing red light, green light and the dalgona game), but they tend to be geared more towards the more ridiculous aspects of the show, and focus less on the themes of it. They all fail to mention how the game is meant to reflect a loss of innocence, and a sort of sick desperation to stay out of poverty. 

The fact of the matter is, the villains of the show were not the other players, Sang-woo or even Deok-su, as most people online have come to believe (Yes, they were terrible people, but they were still victims of the game and therefore not in control of their own circumstances), but the true villains of the show are the VIPs, or the elites that run the game in order to watch the poor suffer. 

I believe that most people understand on a base level that capitalism is a cruel and unfair system to the majority of people on the bottom of society. However, the popularity of Squid Game likely means that all the commentary and criticism of capitalism will be lost by big business in favor of jumping on the bandwagon and capitalizing off of a product while it is still new and popular.

Because of this, people like Mr. Beast (a popular YouTuber known for exploiting his friends and followers for views by having them compete in insane challenges for money) are tweeting about doing their own version of the show. Whether he's joking or not remains to be seen, but the fact of the matter is that tweeting about doing your own version of Squid Game, in which poor people were exploited by rich people (AKA-Mr. Beast in this scenario), is in poor taste, truly, and is the opposite of what you would do if you truly understood the meaning of the show. 

In the aftermath of situations like this, I can't help but feel like we're in a weird episode of Black Mirror in which people (specifically rich and/or white people) don't realize that the obvious commentary in the media is about them. It's like when Get Out was popular back in 2017, and terms like "The Sunken Place" and "get woke" were co-opted by the same white liberals who the movie was criticizing. Then products using these phrases were sold in stores, while marketing to the same white and/ or rich people that the film was mocking! 

Irony, in a tweet.

In the end, capitalism always wins, and you need to stay one step ahead, or you're gonna end up in your own personal Squid Game, playing red light, green light for your life.

This brings me to my final point on the matter regarding Squid Game: Ironically, I think that this show would have been better if it had been less popular. Not because it's not a good show, and not because I am so desperate to see an American remake of an already fantastic show (because you know that someone in Hollywood would have remade it if the original was less popular in America), but because it has become so popular worldwide that the themes of it have become lost quite easily.

Contrast Squid Game with an indie movie about American capitalism, Sorry to Bother You.

 

Sorry to Bother You (2018), starring LaKeith Stanfield and directed by Boots Riley

Now, I really like Sorry to Bother You, but similarly to Squid Game, I probably wouldn't want to re-watch it, due to the gruesome nature of the plot overall. I've recommended Sorry to Bother You on this blog before on a more general level, but to get into the specifics, this film is about a black man named Cash who is struggling to make ends meet and so he joins a call center that works with an Amazon-like company. At this call center, Cash learns that in order to be successful, he must put on a "white-voice" (played by David Cross), in order to become a top salesman in this industry. While he is climbing the corporate ladder, he is asked more and more to keep his "white-voice" and to sell more and more of his morals in order to become successful. Eventually, though, this all blows up in his face when he realizes exactly what his corporation is doing to people.

Now, at a base level, these properties are incredibly similar. Sorry to Bother You, though, mostly flew under the radar for the general public when it came out. This could be because it was director Boots Riley's first feature length project, but I think it has more to do with the overall concept of both projects. Squid Game was "more fun" to watch because people were literally playing games. In some ways this makes the entire thing seem more insidious, because instead of focusing on the elements in the show that criticize the elite, people mostly focus on the wacky shenanigans of the games as if that's all that appeals to people. As a result, Squid Game has become commodified, and Sorry to Bother You has not. In fact, if you have not already seen Sorry to Bother You, you probably haven't thought about it since it came out several years ago.  

Overall, I like Squid Game, but if it had been significantly less popular in America, I feel like it would have had a better impact on the conversation regarding how to assist the poor and why we allow the elite to take advantage of those who are so disenfranchised.

As of right now, another season of Squid Game has not been announced, but if the success of the show is any indicator, Netflix is likely going to throw all their money at the creator to put out another season. It would likely follow the main character of Gi-hun as he attempts to take down Squid Game, or something. I'm sure it would be another smash hit for Netflix, but I'm not sure that it would have the same cultural impact as the first season. In fact, I'm not sure that this show needs another season, as the arc of the game has been resolved for the most part through this season alone. Most of the questions were answered, and I truly believe that it would be difficult to convince the audience to care about another round of people playing in Squid Game, especially after they'd already watched the first season. 

Not everything needs to have multiple sequels, but again, I guess that's capitalism for you.

With that, I think it's time to head home. 

I hope you had fun on this little tour of the world. I've recently gotten into international/ foreign language content on Netflix, and so it's cool to see the world being so supportive of Squid Game and other international projects like Lupin or Money Heist (neither of which I have seen, but I am interested in checking out). Let me know what you thought about Squid Game by leaving a comment, and then we can share our heartbreak over our favorite characters. 

Thanks for reading everyone! Stay safe and be sure to get vaccinated if you haven't already!

Review Rapid Fire (Five Recent Releases)

So I don't know about you, but lately I've been doing a lot of binge watching. Maybe it's because the pandemic is resurging due to the Delta variant making a massive comeback in the United States, or maybe it's just because it's still so hot outside, but I've been doing a lot of this:

You know?

Because of this, I recently binged a lot of content. But because I was too lazy to write entire reviews dedicated to each of things I watched recently, I decided to lump them all together in a sort of rapid fire review. What follows is a collection of my thoughts on the following movies/shows: Cruel Summer, Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, Vivo, and The Suicide Squad.

Let us begin in alphabetical order:

Black Widow- C-

Black Widow was... disappointing, to be sure.

I went into this movie with moderate to high hopes, and after I watched it I felt like I should have watched something else.

Unfortunately (because we live in a society, and there aren’t many female-led superhero films), I can’t help but compare this movie to the last superhero movie that I watched, Wonder Woman 1984.

That’s not to say that these movies are similar, because they’re not. That’s to say that they were both uniquely bad in their own way. 

Actually, in a lot of ways Wonder Woman 1984 was a lot more fun to watch. At least Wonder Woman 1984 tried something new and wound up being a campy, garbage mess. In a way, it’s almost admirable how broken that movie was. 

Meanwhile, Black Widow felt like a knockoff Mission Impossible movie, in a bad way.

Structurally this movie is just as good as any other Marvel movie, but in practice, everything about this film felt unnecessary. For instance, this movie takes place immediately following the events of Captain America: Civil War, which came out in 2016. Disregarding the fact that the MCU has moved on way past that point in their timeline (Even ignoring the newest Avengers movies, at least two Spider-Man movies and another Thor movie have all come out after Captain America: Civil War.), this movie just doesn't have a solid excuse for existing in the year of our Lord 2021.

To summarize: the plot of this much anticipated Black Widow movie follows Natasha Romanov (played by Scarlett Johansson, obviously) and her "sister," Yelena  Belova (played by Florence Pugh), as they work to retrieve a serum that cures other black widow agents from being brainwashed. They must travel to the Redrum in order to take down the manipulative guy who is running the entire black widow operation, and work to free the other widows from his clutches.

I've seen several people online say that the sole purpose of this film is to set up Black Widow's replacement in the MCU, her sister, Yelena. I don't disagree. There was a point in the film where I had the serious thought that Natasha was not the main character of this film. Truthfully, I believe that Yelena was meant to be the star of this movie, but the studio wasn't able to market the film without Black Widow. 

I have also seen some criticism saying that this movie felt like it was a sequel to a Black Widow movie that we never got previously, as many people have been demanding a Black Widow movie since she first appeared in Iron Man 2 in 2010. I've seen many fans online citing that the movie could have been a lead-in to the first Avengers movie, where Black Widow and Hawkeye often reference a mission that went wrong in Budapest. It really would have been interesting to see the origins of that comment instead of just having the characters reference something that happened offscreen.

Anyway, aside from this movie being basically irrelevant and incredibly on-the-nose thematically, my main complaints about this film are: 

1. The plot kind of slogged for me, and the parental characters of Melina and the Red Guardian really seemed redundant (especially when the Red Guardian was essentially useless to the plot). 

2. The action scenes were... fine(?), but I found them mostly unimpressive, because- again- we all know Black Widow does not die in this movie. The stakes felt low even when they wanted the action to feel real and exciting. It just seemed a little hollow.

3. The bad guy in this movie visibly looks like he smells bad (to the point where I literally said so while watching this film). SPOILER So imagine my delight when I discovered that his superpower is being stinky! I laughed so hard because this movie was so dumb.

As it is, Black Widow just feels like it came out too late for it to matter to anyone, especially since the character that the movie was named after is canonically SPOILER dead in Endgame.

 

Movie poster for Kate (2021), starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Woody Harrelson

Overall, if you're looking for a female led action flick that kicks ass, just go watch Kate on Netflix instead. It's a surprisingly better Black Widow movie than the actual Black Widow movie.

Cruel Summer- D

I’m just gonna say it: this show is BORING.

The premise started off interesting enough, with a small Texas town looking for a girl named Kate Wallace (played by Olivia Holt) after she’s been missing for several months. Many assumed that she ran away or that she had been kidnapped or killed. Turns out, she was being held hostage in her Vice Principal’s basement as his prisoner. 

The show really kicks off when Kate Wallace accuses another girl, Jeannette Turner (played by Chiara Aurelia), of seeing her in her Vice Principal’s house and not reporting it to the police so she could be rescued. (Remember this, as I’ll circle back to this later.) The show depicts what happened before, during, and after Kate’s kidnapping (without becoming too graphic or really lingering on any issues of sexual abuse, much to my relief), and how she and the town around her dealt with the aftermath of the situation. 

In a lot of ways, though, this show felt like an after school special. The entire time I was watching Kate Wallace interact with her VP, I felt like I was watching a very special episode of Full House or something where they talk about not getting too close with strange adults, as they really shouldn’t have anything in common with teenaged girls.

Despite that, I can get behind the show’s messaging, and I can even see what the show was going for in terms of showing how someone like Kate could be so easily groomed and eventually kidnapped.

What I can’t get behind is this show’s inexcusable run time. It took about ten hours of my life to get to the very predictable conclusion of the show, and I really think we could have wrapped that up in about half the amount of time.

This show did not need to have hour long episodes. This show easily could have been chopped into shorter episodes and I definitely feel like I would have gotten more out of it. I also feel like this show's story didn’t need to be told non-linearly the way that it was, with each episode shifting between the summers of 1993, 1994, and 1995, respectively.

I think this is unnecessary because only some of the flashbacks included in the show held useful information, while other scenes were just tangentially related. Usually the really juicy information came at the end of each episode so that ABC and Hulu could trick you into watching the next episode, and into thinking the show is better than it was.

I also felt like this show had issues with its characters: 

Namely, some of the characters could have been combined or even removed from the show entirely. Specifically I think Vincent and Ben are unnecessary. Their relationship did nothing for me but muddy the waters of this already bloated, poorly lit show.

As for Jeannette, one of the main characters of the show, I felt like she was a wasted character throughout most of the series. Without spoiling anything, let me just say that her ending was predictable. I was only moderately satisfied by how they rounded out her arc. Aside from that revelation, my biggest gripe with her character is how terrible her actress looked in that short-haired wig from the 1995 timeline.

I had a lot of thoughts on why I didn’t like this show, and so maybe if they do another season of Cruel Summer, I’ll do a full-length review on it later. For now, my advice is to skip this show and watch Little Fires Everywhere instead. It’s a better thriller/ miniseries than this could ever hope to be.

Jungle Cruise- C 

I didn’t care much for this movie, and again I think it’s just because the movie is too long. Like Cruel Summer, this movie felt bloated and it felt like there were too many things going on at once, only to pay off in a moderately satisfying ending.

This movie is technically fine, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone over the age of 12, unless you just really like Dwayne Johnson and his "jungle cinematic universe."

Dwayne Johnson pictured (from left to right) starring in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Jumanji (1? I don't know) and Jumanji: The Next Level (I think?). (The fact that I can't tell between the Jumanjis definitely proves that this man stars in too many movies taking place in the jungle.)

The plot of Jungle Cruise itself was fine, although it was very reminiscent of The Mummy (1999) and the entire Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The story follows Lily, played by Emily Blunt, and her brother McGregor, played by Jack Whitehall, as they search for this mystical Amazonian tree that grows flowers that can cure all human diseases. They need a guide, so they recruit Frank, played by Dwayne Johnson, an Amazon riverboat captain who knows the river better than anyone.

I didn't really have many objections to the script other than the fact that the pirates should have been the main villain of the movie, and the German World War I villain in this movie should have been cut from the film entirely. About halfway through the movie I practically forgot about him anyway. Since this movie definitely pulled inspiration from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, I wish they had chosen to stay focused on the undead pirate villains and their creative elemental powers instead of the generic human villain.

As a side note, I think this movie had bad gay representation. To be honest, I think I’m tired of Disney’s poor attempts to include LGBTQ+ representation in their media, as they seem to botch it every time they try. It's in everything from announcing "the first official gay character" as LeFou from Beauty in the Beast, to that one monster woman from Onward voiced by Lena Waithe.

In this movie, I found McGregor's character tiresome. I recognize that he was meant to be the comedic relief of the movie, but I didn’t find him particularly funny or even all that charming, really. I really like Jack Whitehall as a comedian, actually, and it was disappointing for me to see him star as what was essentially a gay prop. He really served no purpose in the film and could have been entirely written out of the story. 

I did appreciate McGregor’s speech about being ousted by his family due to his sexuality, however, I think it was a little strange to frame this “coming out” moment as a reason to support Lily, just because she was the only one in her family that didn’t immediately reject him. While I support the effort that was made there, I think the way it was done was very calculated (both in the way that the scene never explicitly said the word “gay” or “queer” and in the way that it could very easily be edited out for foreign audiences that do not support LGBTQ+ rights).

Anyway, I guess it really doesn't matter what I thought about this movie, as it apparently did well enough to get a sequel greenlit, with Blunt and Johnson set to reprise their roles in the next movie, and so maybe Jungle Cruise will be just like Pirates of the Caribbean after all. And we all know how well those sequels have gone over...

The Suicide Squad- C

First, a warning: don’t watch this movie if you’re squeamish. There is so much gore and guts flying around that you’re likely to vomit if you have a weak stomach.

That being said, if you were interested in watching this movie because you hoped that it would be better than the original 2016 Suicide Squad, you will be very pleasantly surprised. It’s definitely better than David Ayer’s Razzie Award nominated screenplay of the same name. In fact, dare I say that this film was actually… good?

Starting from the top, let me just say that this movie serves as a soft reboot to the original movie from 5 years ago, with several characters playing the same roles that they played in the first Suicide Squad (like Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, and Viola Davis and Joel Kinnamen’s Amanda Waller and Rick Flag, respectively.) In this movie, though, instead of being treated like props in a glorified music video, all of these characters are actually developed (to a certain extent). Not to mention, in addition to the characters from the original film, The Suicide Squad introduces new characters, like the ridiculous Polka-Dot Man (played by David Dastmalchian) and King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone). Based on their names alone it was clear that the studio decided to go balls-to-the-wall and shine a light on some of DC’s wilder characters. In fact, director James Gunn even admitted to doing so when he chose to include Polka-Dot Man in the movie. 

The unofficial leads of this movie are Bloodsport, played by Idris Elba (not to be confused with Will Smith’s character from the original movie, Deadshot. Never mind the fact that they are basically the same character but with different names.) and Peacemaker, played by John Cena. Bloodsport is roped into joining this suicide squad in order to help his daughter (but again, let’s not get him confused with the guy that Will Smith played, who also happened to be doing the whole “suicide squad” thing for his daughter…). During this “suicide squad” mission, Bloodsport, Peacemaker, and their crew are sent to a fictional Latin American country to shut down an evil plan known only as Project Starfish.

Poster for Deadpool (2016) starring Ryan Reynolds

To put it simply, if you liked either of the Deadpool movies, you’ll like The Suicide Squad. It has a real Deadpool energy to it that is hard to explain. It could be considered similar because of the swearing or the violence, but it’s probably the humor that makes me think they’re similar, to be honest. 

This movie succeeds where the previous Suicide Squad failed because of its inclusion of more ridiculous elements and characters, sure, but this movie was also written better than the original Suicide Squad. Each character in this film has a backstory that is character relevant or they’re shown to make decisions that impact the story in a way that makes sense. These characters feel fleshed out despite how silly their superpowers are or how insane they look. This movie was, overall, a better constructed film than the original in practically every way.

(It also didn’t hurt that the finale of this movie didn’t include a giant sky-beam, unlike the original Suicide Squad.)

Perhaps I rated The Suicide Squad (the good one) a C because while it was much improved from the first movie, I couldn’t help but think that it could have been better. Maybe it just wasn’t my particular style, but I did enjoy it nonetheless. 

I will argue, however, that the better version of Harley Quinn and King Shark are in the DC animated show, Harley Quinn, that is on HBO Max.

Harley Quinn the animated series on HBO Max, starring Kaley Cuoco as Harley Quinn

Vivo- B

Vivo was the best new release that I’ve seen recently, and it proves that Sony Animation is on a roll. Similarly to Wish Dragon, though, Vivo got next to no promotion from Netflix or even Sony animation. Again, the only reason why I even knew about this movie when it came out was because I follow Lin-Manuel Miranda on Twitter, and he’s the lead voice in the movie.

Regardless of how you feel about Lin Manuel Miranda or his other projects (*cough, cough* the In the Heights controversy), this movie is worth watching just for the sake of the music and the animation. It's a wonderful film that will likely make you cry.

Vivo is the story of a little kinkajou from Havana named (unsurprisingly) Vivo. (Right off the bat, it is explained that no one can understand Vivo, because he is not speaking in English even though that is what we, the audience hear.) Vivo was rescued from predators by an old man named Andres, and the two bonded over music. One day, Andres receives a letter from his long-lost love, Marta Sandoval, who moved to Key West to become a famous singer. The letter asks Andres to come to the last performance of her career, but when Andres isn't able to, Vivo must travel to see Key West himself to show Marta the love song that Andres wrote for her when they were younger.  

In many ways, Vivo felt like the 2011 animated movie, Rio, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway. They both took place in Latin American countries with talking animals that happened to sing, but the themes are much different, and they manage to tug on your heartstrings in different ways.

Poster for Blue Sky's Rio (2011)

To be honest, I feel like Vivo is one of those films that is perfectly catered to me: the music is good, the animation is smooth, and the film has a certain feel-good quality that used to be reserved for Disney movies, but is no longer exclusive to them. I especially appreciate that this movie was racially inclusive, depicting Afro-Latinos in its main cast. Since most of the movie takes place in Cuba and Florida, it made sense that the cast featured Afro-Latino actors like Zoe Saldana and Juan de Marcos Gonzalez. I also really liked Gloria Estefan in this movie as Marta Sandoval. (Although I think maybe they should have been this conscientious when casting In the Heights, but that's none of my business...) I'm always one to hype up a movie for doing the bare minimum and casting people of color. 

Overall, if you liked Wish Dragon and Hamilton, you will love Vivo.

Anyway, that's most of what I've been watching recently. Maybe I'll do another one of these at some point in the future, as I certainly have thoughts on Marvel's newest show, What if...?, along with the new iCarly (2021) reboot that just concluded. I'm not sure if I want to do full blown reviews of them, though, so this format may be the best way to talk about multiple shows/movies at once.

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone is out there staying safe. If you haven't already and are able to do so, please go get vaccinated.

Selfie // Review #12

I want to take the time today to talk about a show that I bet you’ve never heard of:

Selfie was a 2014 ABC sitcom starring Karen Gillan (yes, that Karen Gillan) and John Cho (yes, that John Cho). Selfie was a modern take on the classic musical, My Fair Lady (or Pygmalion), in which a "classy, sophisticated man" remakes a "trashy, uneducated woman"’s image. Selfie even pays homage to the classic tale of My Fair Lady by giving its two leads (Gillan and Cho) updated versions of the characters names, Eliza Dooley (for Eliza Doolittle) and Henry Higgs (for Henry Higgins). 

Despite how obnoxious the trailer makes the show seem, I remembered really liking the show when it first aired on ABC. I would follow it week to week on TV until its unfortunate cancellation, after which ABC pushed the remaining episodes to Hulu to complete what was left of their first season. 

I was always a little disappointed that this show was canceled. It never really got the attention that I felt like it deserved, and so recently I went looking to see how I could watch it once more. 

Mind you, this show has been canceled for (7+) years. Even when it was on TV, it barely put out a 13 episode season, and so it's clear that Selfie has been discarded by ABC. To even locate a watchable copy of this show, I had to do some serious digging. It’s been removed from Hulu for who knows how long, and it isn't available through any ABC affiliate streaming service. In order to watch this show, I had to delve into the shady side of the internet and hope that my computer didn’t acquire some mysterious virus from unsavory foreign websites. 

Nonetheless, I persisted, determined to watch this show for the first time in seven years.

And I have to say, this show was way ahead of its time. 

Sure, it’s corny and a little dated, often making references to things that were very “of the moment” in 2014 (like naming the show Selfie for one thing), but it’s got a lot of good heart that I would have loved to have seen more of.

The fact that this show was canceled is truly a travesty, and I’m going to breakdown why. Get ready for a full scale run-down of why I believe Selfie should have been renewed for another season, and more people should be talking about it today.

Here goes:

Category 1: Plot- B+

This show seems to nail its premise like right out of the gate.

Eliza Dooley is the 2014 equivalent of an Instagram influencer, with hundreds of thousands of social media followers who wait for her to post day to day. (Again, some of the things she posts are horribly outdated. Remember when people used to post photos of their breakfasts instead of just putting them in their stories? And no one does a #ootd anymore unless it’s an ironic throwback.) She works a day job as a pharmaceutical sales rep for a children’s pharmaceutical company, which is where she meets Henry, an employee who is known for his ability to rebrand drugs.

Eliza approaches Henry with the idea to turn her from an Instagram “ratchet” (Oh my God, remember when people used to say “ratchet” all the time?) to a well put together professional who people could respect.

Aside from the many dated references and the slang that didn’t exactly age well, this show had a solid premise. It understood the assignment and made it work for the modern day. Eliza is in her early 20s and constantly shows up to work looking like she’s about to go clubbing. Henry is in his mid-forties and so uptight and job-obsessed that he doesn’t even know what FaceBook is. (I guess in 2021 it would be the opposite, as people in their mid-forties are now FaceBook’s core audience, and most people in their 20s are more interested in TikTok.)

Overall, the premise works because the dynamic really feels like it is reaching across generations. Selfie is cute in its attempt to make fun of both social media obsessed young people and more tech averse older people. Which brings me to my next category-

Category 2: Comedy- B-

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the humor of this show still holds up even though it’s been seven years after it initially aired on ABC. In fact, there was an “ok boomer” joke in one of the earlier episodes of the show that easily could have been written last week. This show truly feels like it was ahead of its time. A lot of the themes that are discussed in the humor are still funny. 

A lot of the humor stems from the main characters and how they interact, as Eliza comes across as vapid and selfish in a relatable way, and Henry seems uptight but in a likeable way. They play off of each other well in a way that makes them both funnier characters and makes the show funnier as a whole (kind of like Captain Holt and Jake Peralta’s relationship from Brooklyn 99).

Overall, I wouldn’t rate this show as “laugh out loud funny” (or “LOL funny” as Eliza would probably say), but it’s definitely a good time to watch and it’s easy to enjoy even after nearly a decade has passed.

Categories 3 & 4: Characters & Casting- A

I’ll say this about Selfie: the casting was spot on.

For starters, choosing Karen Gillan for the role of Eliza Dooley, fresh off of her run as the Doctor’s companion on Doctor Who, was probably the best decision that ABC could have made. We may currently know Karen Gillan for her more popular projects such as starring as Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, or even playing Ruby Roundhouse in the latest Jumanji movie franchise, but to me, she will always be Eliza Dooley.

Karen Gillan as Eliza Dooley taking a selfie. (“Hey, that’s the title of the show!”)

Karen Gillan makes Eliza work as a character. I’m confident that other actors would have botched the line delivery to make Eliza look stupid or unsympathetic when she’s complaining about something trivial or trying to get more followers on Instagram. Karen makes you care about Eliza as a person and not just as a character, which is why the show works.

Casting her was a perfect decision for this show, and I applaud the casting director who chose her for the role.

The same could be said about John Cho. Mostly known for his work in the Harold and Kumar franchise back in the early thousands, John Cho has proven himself to be not only a comedic juggernaut, but also just a really cool guy. Now he’s mostly well known for his 2018 movie, Searching, which made history because it was the first mainstream thriller to star an Asian-American lead. (Not John Cho single handedly breaking down barriers in Hollywood...)

John Cho as Henry Higgs looking disappointed and stern as his character is known to do.

I firmly believe that no one else could have played Henry Higgs as earnestly and hilariously as John Cho did. Between the two leads, he is clearly the straight man to Eliza’s childish antics, and he grounds the humor in a sense of realism that makes the show come to life. 

To put it less abstractly, John Cho is damn funny and charming on the show.

It especially helps that none of the characters on the show are one-dimensional. 

Eliza is fun and light-hearted and lacks just enough self-awareness to be charming and not unlikeable. She refuses to be slut shamed, despite having multiple relationships with guys around the office, and she has a big heart, often thinking of others (once she learns that it’s the right thing to do).

Meanwhile, Henry is uptight and serious, but not completely unwilling to come out of his shell. In fact, he’s secretly afraid to do so, despite how comfortable he seems being so stern all the time. As you can expect, this makes for great wholesome comedy.

Henry and Eliza (John Cho and Karen Gillan) having high tea.

I didn’t even mention the other characters on the show, like the front office assistant Charmonique, played by Tony winning actor Da’Vine Joy Randolph, or the boss of the pharmaceutical company, Sam Saperstein, played by David Harewood. Both of these characters are also delightful in their roles and bring a lot of life and color to the show (both literally and figuratively).

Both of these categories tie into the next thing that I wanted to highlight about this show- which is:

Category 5: Diversity- B+

Not to give a TV show credit for literally doing the bare minimum, but this is the first mainstream sitcom that features an Asian male romantic lead opposite a white lead. In fact, if you read John Cho's Wikipedia page, he is confirmed as the first Asian-American actor to be a romantic lead on network TV: "He also made history in American television as the first Asian-American actor cast as a romantic lead when he starred as Henry Higgs in the 2014 sitcom Selfie."

Eliza and Henry (Gillan and Cho) on their way to a wedding together.

This was groundbreaking, but also heartbreaking for me to discover. Without John Cho, we never would have had characters like Jason Mendoza on The Good Place, or Josh Chan on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (both of which I highly recommend, by the way). Clearly, we have a long way to go in terms of male Asian representation (and Asian representation in general), but I thought it was wild that Selfie, a show that no one remembers, was the first one to actually show an Asian male lead having a romantic relationship without treating it as a joke (like Raj from The Big Bang Theory, who was notoriously bad with women for a gag).

For 2014, though, I have to admit that this show was really forward-thinking in terms of its representation. 

For example, they gave one of the show’s main black characters an Afrocentric name, and it was never once used as a punchline (it’s only brought up as strange once in the pilot, and then never talked about again).

Selfie shows more than one interracial relationship, and it’s not afraid to show people with disabilities, as there is even an employee who is blind working at Eliza’s pharmaceutical company.

I will say that there were a few weird moments in the show regarding Asian fetishization, but overall, they were so quick that they didn’t leave a lingering bad taste in my mouth. 

Overall, the representation in the show wasn’t perfect, but they tried, and it really shows.

Mind you, this show was canceled after 13 episodes, but I can say that Selfie laid the necessary groundwork for other shows to build on and eventually be renewed.

Category 6: Brand-Awareness- C-

Despite the poor branding, this show is practically perfect.

It cannot be overstated, however, that naming the show Selfie was probably one of the worst choices that were made in pre-production. This is made painfully clear in this clip of an ABC interview with Cho and Gillan about the show:

Poor naming choices aside, I believe this show may have stumbled right out of the gate when trying to attract a new audience. Strangely enough, to the uninitiated, Selfie can present itself as a piece of anti-internet propaganda.

Upon first glance, it becomes apparent that Eliza's whole problem is that she doesn't "put down her phone" or "make eye contact with anyone anymore." This can't help but elicit a sigh out of most people because it's such a (quote, unquote) "Boomer" way to look at the overarching problem of the show. I can understand how this may initially put off some people. Hell, most of Henry's dialogue throughout the first season is "put your phone down" or "you don't need to tweet everything."

I can absolutely understand how that comes across like someone listening to their parents nag about how much screen time they're consuming.

HOWEVER, the show's not just about Eliza's problematic social media addiction and why she should just "go outside and meet people in the real world." The show also is about how isolating social media is, and how sometimes it can be an escape mechanism for those of us experiencing loneliness and tough times. Yes, they do also include the "pay attention to what's right in front of you instead of what's on your screen" moral, but it's tastefully done and not as cringey as it sounds. 

Eliza really comes to realize that she uses social media as a crutch because she used to be bullied in school, and she hides behind her followers because she's insecure about her life and who she grew up to be. Eventually she learns to make real friends at work who help her with these struggles, and her obsession with social media lessens over time.

To most of us now in 2021, this may sound foolish or incredibly cliché, but the show plays Eliza's growth earnestly, and it works. Despite how this show may seem at the offset, it doesn't aim to completely rid anyone of their social media or shame anyone of their habits, really. Instead, I believe Selfie aimed for its viewers to smile, and learn to strike a balance between social media and real life.

To reiterate my previous statement, the show is pretty much perfect.

Which begs the question, if this show’s so perfect, then why was it canceled?

The obvious answer was that people were not watching the show when it premiered on ABC. A lot of that can likely be attributed to the unfortunate name of the show (as "selfie" has since become a dated term that we seldom use in modern society, especially not after the Chainsmokers incident.). However, some of this can also be attributed to the fact that this show was not properly set up as an emerging series. Much to its detriment, Selfie premiered on Tuesday nights at 8pm, airing the same time as The Voice on NBC, one of ABC's biggest competitors (Andreeva, Deadline, 2014).

Truthfully, it's too late to even talk about a second season of Selfie, as the cultural zeitgeist basically ignored the initial season, and I'm sure most of the actors involved merely view this as a blip on their resume.

However, everyone and everyone's mother is into reboots these days, and so I don't see why we couldn't take the original concept and update the show for a more modern audience. Think iCarly (2021), but better.

So how do we update the show?

First thing's first, we would have to change the name of the show to something that wouldn't immediately alienate half of its audience. Preferably something with a little more staying power than Selfie.

Second thing that would have to be updated are the characters and their backstories.

In 2014, having hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram wasn't nearly as monetizable as it is now. In 2021, Instagram influencers can secure brand deals, modeling opportunities and music careers all based on their social media following. If Selfie were to be updated for a more current audience, Eliza would no longer work as a pharmaceutical sales rep, and would have fully embraced her social media fame.

As for Henry, he would still be the stodgy old guy in their relationship, but he would have to have a different career as well, in order to connect with the famous Eliza. Perhaps in the reboot he would become a talent manager who is used to managing older clientele that does not use social media. Then Eliza comes to him after a big social media scandal and begs him to change her entire image. (We already know a dynamic like this can work because of the HBO Max show, Hacks. In Hacks, an old washed-up comedienne gets paired up with a young writer in order to update her jokes and change her image. The Selfie reboot would be like a reverse Hacks.)

Promotional poster for Hacks (2021), on HBO Max

 

I would be more than willing to watch a reboot of Selfie with the changes I provided, so long as the casting and the comedy is as strong with the reboot as it was for the original. 

It was strange, though. As I was watching the original Selfie, it gave me a weird feeling of being lost in time. Most of the jokes still work in today’s society, but the actors saying them are much more famous now, and the show came out nearly a decade ago. It’s not quite ageless, but it’s definitely not from this time, either.

After all of that, I would love to say that I would recommend this show to you, but frankly it’s nearly impossible to find, and I wouldn’t want you to risk giving your computer a nasty virus to watch this show that wasn’t even picked up for a second season. 

In short, I don't believe that Selfie got the respect it deserved, and I think it's a shame that you basically have to scour the bowels of the internet to even watch it now. It seems pointless to give it a rating since it’s not a show that people can watch for themselves, but in the spirit of writing reviews that no one asked for anyway, I would give Selfie an A-.

I know I'm not the only person who remembers this show, as I discovered an old Buzzfeed article from September of last year similarly lamenting about the loss of this great piece of media about the social media age. Several of the points that were in that post were expanded upon here, but if you would like to read the original Buzzfeed article, here is the link.

Thanks for reading everyone! Stay safe out there, and continue to wear your masks.