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3 Body Problem (2024)
Starts well, then it's all downhill
The Fermi Paradox mashed up with the Cultural Revolution? Benedict Wong? What's not to like? And for the first three or so episodes 3 Body Problem meets those expectations. Strange things are happening in 2024. All the physics we've ever known seems to be wrong. What's going on?
Unfortunately, once the characters have established the quandary they're in, the rest of the series flatlines as they try to figure out what to do.
I stuck with it, getting increasingly exasperated, expecting everything to be resolved after 8 episodes. Spoiler alert: nothing gets resolved, and the makers appear set to spin out 3 Body Problem into as many seasons as they can before reaching an ending that one does hope they've given some thought to. Me? I won't be watching any further seasons. As season one huffs and puffs into its second half, key characters fail to develop, and it's remarkable how little each episode moves the plot forward in any engaging sense.
8/10 for establishing the quandary; 4/10 for the attempt to solve it - although there *is* one terrific scene that plays out in the Panama Canal.
Benedict Wong, alone among the main characters, shines throughout: his entertainingly droll performance makes him one of the only interesting characters in this otherwise disappointing series.
Znachor (2023)
Worth seeing despite its flaws
There's an engaging story here, some excellent cinematography, and some solid performances. Plus, it's all going on in early twentieth century Poland - what's not to like?
Unfortunately, all this promise is somewhat marred by an overdramatic score - cue one thousand violins! - that browbeats you into What You Should Be Feeling, even though you're feeling it just fine without the score. It's also rather marred by one key character who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, whose only function is as a pantomime villain. Feel free to boo and hiss at the screen every time said character appears! Poor scripting in which characters regularly explain the plot to each other also jars: "Where are we going?" "To find a doctor!" Really? I believe I can work that out by myself, thanks very much.
Still, despite these flaws, and despite the film's descent into full-blown mawkishness in its final minutes, there's also much to engage with. Previously, most Polish films I've seen have focused on the Second World War, or on life in Poland as a Soviet client state. It was refreshing to see a Polish film set a century ago in a world that was shortly to disappear in the coming storm. No doubt there are many others, but it was a new experience for me. This alone was sufficient to keep me watching despite the occasional reflexive eye-roll.
Pendatang (2023)
'What would happen if...?'
As someone currently visiting Malaysia for a couple of months and looking for insights into the national psyche, I found Pendatang well worth watching. That it was made on such a tight budget entirely sourced by crowdfunding made it even more remarkable. I stumbled upon it while searching YouTube for Malaysian documentaries. Pendatang isn't a documentary; it's a fascinating cautionary tale that takes contemporary Malaysia as its starting point and asks, 'What would happen if...?' It relies on too many clunky plot devices to be a great movie, but it's nevertheless a very good one - and beautifully filmed. Definitely recommended to anyone interested in getting under the hood of contemporary Malaysia.
Zhì chi (2021)
But, hey, it looks great!
Two dim-witted, bad-tempered, violent cops - one of them with a toothache - run around the rubbish-strewn back alleys of Kwun Tong looking for a violent killer with some serious mental health issues. Some triads run up some stairs. Then they run down again. Among all this silliness, two street-tough young women are put through some deeply harrowing experiences. Yase Liu as Wong To gives by some distance the best performance in a story that provides very limited context or background to the characters. It all just about makes sense despite each character acting inexplicably to help move the plot along. But, hey, it all looks absolutely stunning. No HK film I've seen has looked this magnificent since Wong Kar Wai's heyday. 10/10 for the production design, 4/10 for everything else. Let's call it a 5.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Slow. No payoff.
Beautifully shot. Beautifully acted. But just painfully dull. Dull. Dull. Dull. You might at least hope to be rewarded by some great reveal. But there is none. I really struggled to stay awake. But, hey, it *looks* stunning.
Gukjesijang (2014)
A big, messy, overacted disappointment
I appreciate that modern Korea has a difficult and sometimes tragic history, but it would have been perfectly possible to tell the story of one family through 60 years without such hysteria. At one point I started counting how many consecutive scenes included someone weeping hysterically. I lost count and gave up. Frankly, it was exhausting. Not emotionally exhausting, as it should have been given the often tragic subject matter; just exhausting in the relentlessness of the hammy overacting (I know, pretty much all Korean movies do it, but this was on another level), and the bang-on-cue violins (ditto). This could have been a powerful film about Korea's growing pains, like Chang-dong Lee's 'Peppermint Candy' or Hun Jang's 'A Taxi Driver': both very good films exploring modern Korea's troubled past through individual stories. Instead, I found it a mawkish mess redeemed only by consistently excellent cinematography and a bit of educational value about certain moments in Korea's modern history. A big disappointment. Don't say I didn't warn you.