Showing posts with label Thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thriller. Show all posts

Review - Memorist (2020 TV Series)

Sunday, March 21, 2021 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

 I went in blind and unsure about the plotline, but was pleasantly surprised! 


“Choi Kang-Sue: When you get mad, it’s anger, but when I get mad, it’s an inferiority complex?”


The Rundown

Behind the name: Memory scanner  

Country: South Korea, 2020

Genre: Thriller, Crime, Fantasy, Mystery 

Production: Studio Dragon

Network: tvN

Directors: Kim Whee, Oh Seung-Yeol, So Jae-Hyun

Cast: Yoo Seung-ho (as Dong Baek), Lee Se-young (as Han Sun-mi), Jo Sung-ha (as Lee Shin-woong), Ko Chang-seok (as Gu Kyung-tan), Jun Hyo-seong (as Kang Ji-eun), Yoon Ji-on (as Oh Se-hoon), Kim Yoon-hee (as Jung Mi-ja)

Compare to: Signal

Hate it or Love it?  Love it


Synopsis in a Sentence: Celebrity detective has the supernatural ability to read minds by power of touch, but soon gets thwarted by his match—a villain on the other side of the law! 


On Writing: The Plot

It’s an action-packed detective/psycho thriller with depth and excitement and some good old bad-guy hunting! It captures society-wide issues from institutional corruption, to individual evil, and really does it with heart and reason in good measure, despite the “supernatural” bits! Great plotlines, good character developments, and an all-round good story! 

Too many times good stories are riddled with an obligatory “romance,” but thank goodness, this series knows its identity and doesn't bother with any such ill-developed plot lines! 

A job well done; and a bold move! Hats off to the writers! 

(4.5/5)


On Acting: The Cast 

The cast is really well suited! 


Yoo Seung-ho is supernatural celebrity detective, Dong Baek, and like his character in I am not a Robot—in which he’s probably being type-cast—he delivers a credible, convincing and charming performance with psychological depth! 

Lee Se-young plays genius profiler Han Sun-mi, and it’s refreshing to see an excellent, intense, effective female lead not mired in a trite romance! And of course, Lee plays this role to the T! 

Ko Chang-seok is lovable supervisor, Gu Kyung-tan, and he’s a joy to watch! A legitimately charming performance! 

And former k-pop star (from the girl group, Secret), Jun Hyo-seong plays Kang Ji-eun and she’s a great addition to the cast! 

Overall, a very well played cast, and very well delivered acting and action! 

 (4.5/5) 


On Production: The Creativity

Production is intriguing, dark and mysterious! 

It takes the detective plot line into different layers that capture the darkest, warmest, and sickest parts of our society, and does well to balance the supernatural elements of the story. 

Transitions are electric, scenes are hair-raising, and camera work is creative genius. A fabulous job to the very competent production team!  

        (4.5/5)   

                                           

On Resolution: The Conclusion

It ends so well, we’re wondering if there’s a season 2, and we hope there is, but even if there isn’t, it’s a realistic resolution, and it’s very well done. 

(4/5)


The Verdict: An enlightening, thorough, nuanced, and gritty rendition of society!  


Overall Score = 17.5/20





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Review- Parasite (2019 Film)

Thursday, January 16, 2020 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
I consume so much media; TV, music, books and film, that I’m not very easily wowed, even by  great productions. However, once in a few years, maybe even a few decades, I find a brilliant jewel in a myriad of gems and rocks. And this past decade, I found this film. 
This movie is something else; of another grade; an actual piece of art, in film form, that is entertainment, and education, and elucidation, and commentary and beauty. A true, true masterpiece. 
Oscar pick for Picture of the Year and Best Director! An Amazing, amazing piece of art! 

The Rundown
Behind the name: (Korean: 기생충; Hanja: 寄生蟲; RR: Gisaengchung) 
Country: South Korea, 2019
Genre: Dark Comedy, Thriller (Tragi-Comedy)
Production Company: Barunson E&A
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Cast: Song Kang-Ho (as Kim Ki-Taek), Lee Sun-Kyun (as Park Dong-Ik), Cho Yeo-Jeong (as Park Yeon-kyo), Choi Woo-Shik (as Kim Ki-Woo ), Park So-Dam (as Kim Ki-Jung), Lee Jung-Eun (as Moon-gwang), Chang Hyae-Jin (as Kim Chung-sook)
Compare to: Itself
Hate it or Love it? Absolutely love it! Devour it, Mull over it! Cherish it! 

Synopsis in a Sentence: Two families’ lives intertwine; one rich, one poor and then comedy, drama, thriller, and all round parasitism ensue. 

On Writing: The Plot
This plot is absolutely remarkable. The base of the story is quite simple, but yet beautifully layered, and nuanced and rich. The story starts with an exposition that gives us the background into our eyes of the film—the poor family who lives in a basement apartment, and everything unravels from there. 
The writing takes us through rising action that leads us to experience the pretense, hustle, greed, and fear that life can bring, and we are left with a climax that explodes only to reveal the beauty of its falling action, and a resolution that leaves us thinking through all the layers of real life implications in society.
The writing is so good that it lands on you, transports you, engulfs you into the plot of the story so that when it ends, you’ll need a minute(or two) to deconstruct the staggeringly phenomenal artistry you’ve just been privileged to witness & experience! Wondrous writing! 
(5/5)


On Acting: The Cast 
Not sure what courage it took for a cast to take this on, because all elements of the film are so perfect that bad acting would stick out like a sore thumb; but of course, the cast matches the plot and production and direction seamlessly, bringing the film to life. 
Let’s walk through the cast’s work through the film. There is a scene where veteran actor, Song Kang-Hok, who plays the father of the poor family, Kim Ki-Tae, is coached in acting by his son, Kim Ki-Woo (who is played by actor, Choi Woo-Shik). This is quite a ridiculous scene to watch given that, as one commenter put it; “It’s like watching Tom Holland (Spider Man) give acting lessons to Robert Downey Junior (Iron Man).” In any case, it’s a testament to the cast’s seamless relay throughout the film. 
Similarly, we see Park So-Dam and Cho Yeo-Jeong bounce off each other in a scene where they are introduced; Park as a fake “expert” art teacher, and Cho as her employer, the rich mother. We believe them, and though we’ve seen them in many other roles, we believe they are and always will be these characters. 
Then there is Lee Sun-Kyun, famous actor, who we see embody his role, and Jeong Hyun-Jun, who does so as well; there are so many people to praise, and they all work symbiotically to produce this great work!
And fun fact, editor Yang Jin-Mo cut this masterpiece of a movie on a no-longer supported, outdated version of Final Cut Pro. 
Now, dare we end the praise of the cast without the director, who is arguably the superstar of the whole thing? No. We do not dare. We must...
We have to give a special feature to director Bong Joon-ho, who certainly deserves the best director award and every accolade because. Because. What a mind, what artistry, what expertise to possess to envision and execute such a beguiling art piece. Truly, truly beyond oscar worthy work! 
A striking cast! 
 (5/5) 


On Production: The Creativity
It would—could—have been so easy to mess up such a wondrous piece of a work that is the story at the production stage because the nuance is so fine, so delicate, yet the juxtaposition between extremes is so jarring, so stark that it runs the risk of insulting its audience with it’s mundane initiation, yet lambasting the same audience with its sardonic commentary on society. Yet, paradoxically, it does none of that. 
The timing & pacing is art, rhythm is art; picture production and sound engineering is science. And synthesised all together, production is genius. The delivery of creativity in its best form. Simple genius. 
(5/5)                                              


On Resolution: The Conclusion
Never has an ending been so pretty, so poetic, so perfect. The plot of the movie lands so sardonically sublimely that it is a beauty. 
It is hard to deconstruct and determine the exact piece that makes this film a masterpiece, but if mandated, the resolution might be the ace of the whole thing. Remember the exposition? And the climax? And the cast, and the rhythm of the production? Well, the resolution melds them all to become art—literature, music, photography, production and acting—all at their finest. Film at its finest. Pulchritudinous perfection! 
(5/5)

The Verdict: An absolute masterpiece, a stunningly, remarkable, actually consumable piece of art. Virtual perfection! 

Overall Score = 20/20





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Review: The CEO (2016 Film)

Monday, February 20, 2017 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
Went to see this one in cinemas in Nigeria and was enthralled by the storyline—top managers from all over around Africa vying for the title of global CEO? Yes!


“A story of intrigue, power and all the political/financial struggles of modern day Africa.”

The Rundown
Behind the name: The Chief Operating Officer   
Country: Nigeria, 2016
 Genre: Thriller, Drama
Written by: Tunde Babalola
Director: Kunle Afolayan
                  Cast: Wale Ojo (as Kola), Angélique Kidjo (as Dr. Zara Zimmerman),             Hilda Dokubo (as Superintendent Ebenezer), Nico Panagio (as Riikard), Jimmy Jean-Louis (as Jean-Marc), Fatym Layachi (as Yasmin), Peter King Nzioki (as Jomo), Kemi Lala Akindoju (as Lisa)
                  Compare to: Itself
                  Hate it or Love it? Like it

Synopsis in a Sentence: Top managers from all over Africa meet in Lagos, Nigeria to compete for the CEO spot, but will any of them live to take the no.1 spot? 
           

On Writing: The Plot
The story is unique and quite new, at least for Nollywood’s typical fixation on family dramas, so points for that! Also, we get to see continental representation of Africa, including the North! Otherwise the story is relatively disjointed and a bit patchy, and with a few unbelievable bits, but at least points for exploring a new storyline, right? 
(3/5)

On Acting: The Cast
The cast is quite famous and very diverse and that’s by far the highlight; perhaps a wonderful cast would have taken the alright storyline and made it almost great, but quite honestly, the cast was just like the plot—alright; perhaps not because the actors were bad, but because they weren’t cast correctly. For Example, acclaimed actress Hilda Dokubo makes her big come back in this movie, after what seems like 20 years, and she’s cast to play a super-charged, super aggressive inspector; which is not the best choice for her, because the legendary actress we know from the 90s is famed for playing the sweetest, saddest characters, and this role is simply not her, especially after she’s spent so much time away from the big screen. And then there’s Angelique Kidjo, legendary Grammy-award-winning musician, but she is not quite her character here.
But the best actor goes to Peter King Nzioki, who plays the top manager from Kenya. He is absolutely convincing and believable, which is much needed from this picture!
 (3/5)


On Production: The Creativity
Production is the best thing in this movie! The shots are gorgeous and we get to see Lagos in a new light! A far cry from the hustle and bustle and craziness of the city, we see the touristic part of Nigeria’s largest city in the most gorgeous way! And the actors and the plot are saved by the magic that is production. A job well; very well done!
(4/5)                                             

On Resolution: The Conclusion
So much to say here but let’s get straight to the point—the resolution is quite a fail. Mostly for the premise of the conclusion, it’s incomplete and unconvincing, and haphazard resolution. Don’t believe it? Watch and see—even if just for that.
(2/5)

The Verdict: A good watch; novel storyline and outlook to African actors, but overall, average
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Overall Score = 12/20
Watch the Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm0pmb0CXxg




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