[Weekly Update] 2024 movies year end review.

Currently feeling rather sick. Researching horror story ideas while feeling under the weather is a strange delirious experience that I would not recommend. Good thing I don't get scared easily.

As winter arrives, flu season also begins. Please take care. Unless you are from the Southern Hemisphere. In that case, enjoy the heat!

CHANNEL UPDATE

Our Location Tour video is Out:
Hope you all enjoy our location tour video! I've always wanted to make something like this, and it was a blast to visit these locations and edit all the footage together, even if everything was filmed with a cell phone. I do wish I have a better camera with me for this video. But at last, bringing a full lens and camera with me across a 28 hour flight journey seems like a recipe for disaster. Hopefully the result is satisfactory.

Continue Work on Our Next Videos:
Writing for Journey to the West part 2 is close to finish, but the script quality is a bit lacking at the moment. It doesn't quite connects well to the thesis of part 1. I'll have to spend a bit more time to polish it, while also working on the video after.

Video Ideas for 2025:
As mentioned before, we'll produce fewer videos in 2025, but each video will be slightly longer. A few ideas have been marked, including a return to the bad movies world tour series (next stop may be the UK, unless I can find a clean copy of Ashiap Man), a video on Maggie Cheung and her acting, an April Fools' video on how to swear like a Stephen Chow movie, an (maybe) a video about that weird Italian Made Chinese Cowboy Kung Fu movie set in Texas.

That last bit kinda short circuited by brain. What were we talking about?

MEDIA TALK

2024 is almost over, so let's do a review on movies I've watched this year, with focus on films we haven't talked about in previous updates.

2024 is a weird year for English-language movies. It's filled with unnecessary sequels that turns out to be utter trash (intentionally or otherwise). But hidden among the mainstream films that didn't stir people's interest are a surprising amount of original films. Not all of them are great, but many of them are filled with personality.

Fall Guy:
From the director of Bullet Train & Atomic Blonde comes another stylish original acting film outing, featuring Ryan Gosling as a stuntman in a ridiculous adventure filled with actually well done stunt works, clever writing, and romance. It's a rom-com your boyfriend will enjoy.
You have to respect a director who turned down directing a Jurassic Park film due to creative differences. This man has a vision and it's willing to fight to keep his creative control. For this reason alone, his film is worth supporting. It does help that his movies are always a good time. Even if they aren't perfect, they are unique, stylish, and has a lot of personality. For the cinephiles who enjoy seeing through the veil, Fall Guy is the best movie to go along with a beer on a weekend night.

The Substance:
Ass! Boobs! WTF is going on! Some movies are beyond the realm of commentary, and cannot be categorized as good or bad. This is exactly that movie. I personally enjoyed it, even if I don't think I'll ever watch it again.
I'm a sucker for high concept sci-fi films, but rarely do I find these films satisfactory. Movies like Aniara, The Platform, Looper, all fail to impress me, as they don't explore the potential of their intriguing premises enough. Not so with The Substance, as the satirical drama shocks in ways that's both surprising yet feels oh so right. I know I'm being very vague but I just don't want to spoil anything about this film. Give it a watch if you are a sci-fi film or want to see something fresh from a female auteur filmmaker. Just make sure your parents aren't around.

Subservience:
Unfortunately I saw this movie not long after The Substance, making this admittedly mediocre movie even more of a chore to sit through. It did everything The Substance did but not nearly as well or clever. Somehow even the sex appeal offered by Megan Fox feels kinda uninteresting. Though, casting Megan Fox in the role is still a good choice in my opinion.
Anyway, what could've been a smart commentary on the objectification of women is presented as nothing more than a cheap thriller. It's essentially M3GAN, but without the humor. I was really hoping this would be another Jennifer's Body, where it has potential to become a cult hit down the line. With this one, though? I don't think so.
By the way, why is it always Alice. Like every time there's a female robot, there's a good chance her name is Alice.

Let's stop here for today before the update gets too long. I still have a few other movies I want to talk about, like Blink Twice, Uglies, and Megalopolis. But those... shall we say mediocre movies can wait.

Hopefully I can get the video done soon. Either way, I'll see you soon!