Ethan F.

Essentially, a creature film interwoven with prognostic musings about the future of AI and robotics. The allegorical references to Disney content came across as crass and don't work. While watchable for the reasons above, it failed to replicate the thematic suspense and existential dread of the legacy films.

The original running man series set out to define a microcosm of experiences. A game show is a limited arena and therefore, the PDs tried to ensure that the trials and challenges emulate the exploration of various aspects of life in a concentrated formula. The members engage in travelling, hunting, survival, resource management, and interaction within a myriad of environments. There is speculation that the running man series planted the seeds for the squid game concept that became a worldwide phenomenon. With differentiated personalities and psychological profiles, the scarecrow, tin man, cowardly lion can be found in the members. The white rabbit, queen of hearts and Cheshire cat can be found in the protagonists. There are moral lessons such as living life fully, taking responsibility, knowing your own potential and putting your heart into it. Most of these remarkable PDs have since left for other pastures such as Disney and Netflix. One of the criticism is that the limited casting and continual intense games led to a reality-tv like environment and burn-out of some members. Although the casting has not changed to an appreciable degree, the current show is a different kettle of fish from the original show. The current PD may have eschewed the original ideas of the show. She may believe, consciously or unconsciously, that the gameshow should be limited to "homely" experiences, and that the members should "make" the show. Most of the episodes are trite and static, highly repeatable, with a great emphasis on member interaction and "safe" choices over dynamic content. Some of the audience may like it, but will be obvious to long time viewers that something is missing out and the original premise is no longer applicable. Time will tell whether running man is a victim of complacency in the making due to its past successes. Due to the aforementioned, the original show commanded a 5 rating, the current show 1.5 rating.

My mister describes the lives of two down-and-out characters and how their lives become intertwined as they tread the dark places and social ills of the world. At times, it delves into the corundum of love and obligation, bravery and insouciance, conscience and aspiration, morality and transcendence, akin to how 엄마 dispenses chicken soup for the soul. It is a tale that explores how the human being suffers the mind. The script was delivered with typical flair and the cast was great throughout production. Critically, my mister tried too hard to be too many things and satisfy the norms in a conformist society. K-drama will have a hard time evolving to greatness if it does not learn to dispense with cliché happy endings.

Too ambitous as so many plot points were introduced that it became hard to follow. Nevetheless, it was brilliantly directed from the noir setting to the driven performance from a stellar cast.

A deeply engaging human drama that pans the dysfunctions and hypocrisies of modern society. It questions what builds and sustains the core of the family unit and celebrates the choices made through love and sacrifice over expectation and entitlement.

The TV adaptation was only passably watchable because the base material was excellent. What is disappointing is that so much more could have been realized in the new genre but the chances were largely and inexplicably squandered. If done right, a story told through the film medium should be able to carry its own weight, the number of podcasts put up on social media to "justify" the script are already red flags that this wasn't so. Most of the action sequences were either cut or replaced with a kind of dreary somnolence as if the director's intent is to summarize the main plot points and rush the narrative onto the next act. Contrast this with the live-on-stage "Spirited Away" in which the importance and value of the dynamic set piece in relating to audiences are fully appreciated. One cannot help but imagine that the storytelling would have fitted right up the alley of Guillermo del Toro with the elements of whimsical horror, creature features and passionate play between the protagonists. Not the kind of pseudo human-drama tangent, glossed-over visual effects and forced creativity that Craig Mazin and company somehow concocted to fit their dogmatic world views. I think that many missed the point on why some of the reviews were bad and it has nothing to do with the notion that "fans" wanted a cookie cutter film version of the game. Despite the above, the series managed to generate the buzz by introducing non-players to the story and fuel further sales of a decade old game!

Frankly the BBC documentary by Richard Attenborough was better. Its the kind of film that decimates brain cells. Jurassic park was wriiten to highlight the dangers of assuming superiority over nature. This latest offering repeats the usual cliches from the previous iterations and condescends into a senseless carnival.

This is a really bad game and serves as a lesson learnt to all studios. Neil Drukman knew that the Last of Us storyline about Joel and Ellie has already been exhausted. Let sleeping dogs lie. The protogonists did what they had to do in times of great crisis. There is no need to write a sequel contrived to talk down to and "moralise" your customers. Neil, what gives you the right to do that, does your LOU games give free choice to gamers like karma in real life? Should your third installment be about another obscure character catching up to Abby to exact vengence? This isn't Uncharted, if Neil wants a lesson on how to write good sequels, he should have written a new script with minimal connection to the original story. The apocalyptic premise is a fantastic genre with lots of potential. Sadly, LOU2 has been a wasted effort despite the technical finesse from the talented developers at Naughty Dog. Take a page from the "Train To Busan" movie sequel. Studios should stop producing all these horrid sequels to ruin the originals like Star Wars. The originals work because they are able to touch hearts and minds, like a great piece of art. You cannot "reproduce" it through crappy sequels because of commercial $$ reasons! Don't write a game about hate and pretend it is alright, there is already too much of it in the real world. Shame on you, Neil!

A compelling film that condenses and ponders the psyche behind the man made violence and distortions of the world that we know but shied from, whether reflected in the horrendous acts of animal cruelty, sadistic torture from historical archives or death dealt in the name of science and art.