[Weekly Update] A Simple Review of The Naked Gun

Back from Otakuthon Montreal. People in Montreal are so pleasant and open-minded. But the crowd is unbearable. You know is bad when a Chinese dude complains about crowds.

Also everyone is smoking cigarette outside the convention centre. No vapes, no weeds, good ole' classic all organic cigarette.

Hipsters.

CHANNEL UPDATE

Next Video
Editing for the next video is almost complete. It took way longer than it should, because half the video is about real life situation rather than a specific movie. And for this one, I refuse to use stock footage. As a result, to show the American car-centric suburbia, I have to find Edward Scissorhands, just for that one shot. Hopefully it's worth it.
Oh and the editing demands long stretches of unedited footage, which means the video will have copyright troubles. I have to sort that out, too. It's gonna be a pain for it to come out.

Video After
The video after is Japanese movies about China. I'll be covering Kingdom (2019), Shaolin Girl (2008), and The Go Masters (1982). Through these three films, we'll be exploring Japan's strange fascination with classic China, 80s and 90s Hong Kong, and how that mutual fascination manifest in the post-war period.
What started as a joke video ended up being quite serious. I hope I can do this topic justice.

Journey Through China: Shanghai
I've decided to put the Journey Through China series on hold for now. It'll return in December, instead. That's because I'm planning on traveling to China this November, and I'll be visiting Shanghai. Instead of just movies, I'll be doing a location tour throughout the city to make this video as good as possible.

Worst Movie From Indonesia
I'm half-way through Ashiap Man, and I have to say, while the movie is pretty cringe-y, it's really not that bad. It's not funny bad. It's not frustratingly bad. It's not offensively bad. It's just really mediocre. I'm genuinely surprised by this, as nearly all Indonesian viewers voted for this movie when asked. At this rate, I don't know if I can even make a video out of this.
If you are from Indonesia, can you explain to me why Ashiap Man is so infamous? Or is it because it has a really stupid third act twist that I still have yet to experienced? Spoil the movie for me please.

MEDIA TALK

Last Tuesday, I went to watch The Naked Gun reboot, and have been wanting to talk about it since. It's not the best movie I've watched that day. That honour goes to The Bad Guys 2. But The Naked Gun left me with a lot more thought, that's for sure. And they are all good thoughts.

I'll keep this review spoiler free, so that you can experience the film. Still, if you'd like to be surprise by the movie, feel free to come back and talk about the movie with me later!

So, I was sold by the film's premise the moment they announced Liam Neeson as the protagonist. I have not seen Liam Neeson doing any comedy. I wasn't aware of his "improv" comedy, either. Somehow, I just knew he'd knock it out of the part, because he always does. It's a genius casting choice. Both him and Leslie Nelson were classically trained serious actors. And now, both of them turned to comedy towards their later careers. And indeed, Liam Neeson is the best part of the movie. The charisma he brings is brilliant. In comparison to the extremely deadpan Leslie Nelson performance, Liam Neeson is a bit more cheeky, which befits today's more self-aware mentality.

But the film certainly lives up to this genius casting as well. It's quite a feat to be able to make this film feel just like the original, just as stupid and funny. The social context has changed dramatically since the classic trilogy. What worked in the past wouldn't work today. And so, the film updated many of the elements, most obviously the story, which is now tech themed. But it also changed how the jokes are delivered.

If you go back to the original trilogy, the jokes feel strangely slow, despite them being rapid-fire jokes. That's because old comedy likes to milk the same joke continuously. It was considered funny to not end the joke when you are supposed to. The expected jab tickles people's funny bone. That aspect is removed in the new film. All the jokes ends very quickly, to a point you don't always have time to laugh before the topic has shifted. One non-spoiler example would be the OJ joke we see in the trailer. The film cuts this joke exactly where the trailer cuts off, there is not additional punches to it. It is very clean cut. It's rapid-fire humor in the days of social media and short form entertainment.

Also matching with Liam Neeson's cheeky acting is the film's self-awareness. This movie is unexpectedly action packed. Not packed enough to be a full blown action film, but certainly has more martial arts than you'd expect from a comedy like this. It plays into Liam Neeson's past, delivering choreography that is both funny, impressively performed, and stupidly creative.

The last bit is what makes me want a sequel. In any other circumstances, I'd be happy to just have this standalone movie and not have the IP milked dry. But I think the creative team can most definitely do more with the action comedy, and I suspect they know it too. That's why, I really want this film to succeed. There is so much more potential in there yet untapped.

Anyway, this is the update for this week. Have you seen The Naked Gun, yet? How was your experience? Was your audience just as quiet and overly polite as mine in Montreal? Let me know your thoughts! I'll see you in our new video... whenever I finish editing it and solving the copyright problems.