Benji Sun *Moxie*

Depp and Jolie's The Tourist has a serious competitor.

I preface this with this is not going to be a constructive review. The message here is that being able to speak is very important, even more than swimming. That's it. 🤣 Those who have watched it will know what i mean by this. All kidding aside. This is a really beautiful film. The details in the designs are spectacular. The story is very well crafted, and there's a really great message. Awkwafina continues to surprise me with the versatility of her voice and mannerisms to bring a genuineness to a fantastical character, and that goes for Benedict Wong as well. Kelly Marie Tran and Gemma Chan too, but unfortunately their characters are too Disneyfied to well, have much distinctiveness if you remove the visuals. It could've been Renee Zellweger and Ashley Eckstein and i doubt many people would've noticed the difference. And then there's the general concept of the designs, from an Asian Asian's perspective is... kinda generic mishmash and while i still liked it very much, it could've drawn from more of a specific style(see Black Panther's tribes) instead of Avatar or any other "4 Elements + Love/Ether" motif. The gripes are really minor, it's a surprisingly well made film, I just wouldn't have minded if they went a little more "exotic" with the Asian-ness. (or as Gabriel Iglesias recounted with his Cars audition, "a little more ... SPICE!" the job ended up going to Cheech Marin who turned up the "spice" to 11.)

The first half was a pretty decent conversation about the future of remote warfare, AI, and humanity. Acting and action were pretty good. Mackie's fight choreography is pretty good. Then comes diluted twist after diluted twist until it ended with no point at all, like homeopathy. What a disappointment.