[Weekly Update] Plans for 2024

Happy Holidays! Wether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Winter Solstice, or the release of Plumbers Don't Wear Ties: Definitive Edition, I hope you have a good time.

What is Plumber's Don't Wear Ties?

Don't worry about it.

CHANNEL UPDATE

Hope you enjoy our new video on Steven Seagal, and thank you so much for voting on the topic and supporting us! It was a tough video to make, mostly because sitting through his movies are a real nightmare. The urge to shut it off is constant, I tell you. And the research process was almost as bad, as I have to read through so many horrific accusations, and have to force myself to stay focus on the topic at hand.

As a result, the video came out a little bit less funny and more salty. My vitriolic contempt proves popular, but not necessary in a good way, as it rather quickly turns the comment section into a blood-soaked area for throwing shades at Seagal and at each other. It's a subtle influence a content creator has. That's why I don't tend to cover topics that I absolutely hates with a passion. Even when talking about bad movies, I tend to pick the bafflingly funny ones rather than the insulting ones. I'll have to be more careful with my choices in the future.

In any case, that concludes our upload for 2023. I'll return in 2024 for more videos. Remember to vote for our Spring topics!

For the Spring of 2024, we have the following topics, in no particular order:

History of Movie Ninja: From spy to Kabuki theater stage hand, to James Bond and 80s martial arts exploitation, movie ninjas have a colourful history, just as colourful as their non-black costumes. It's easy to laugh at those stupid movies (except when the Ninjas are literal turtles, then it somehow loops back into being awesome), but the truth is, they have way more in common with how Japanese people see ninjas than you'd think.

Occidentalism in Cinema: This topic emerged while making our video on Seven Seagal. Occidentalism is the opposite of Orientalism. It describes the biases the East hold when representing the West. While no as frequently discussed, false depiction of western, mostly European, culture is no less common in Eastern media such as video games. I'm currently doing preliminary research on the topic, and hopefully it'll end up as a novel and interesting video.

Worst Movie from Japan: We continue our worst movie series with our second stop in Japan. It's not an easy pick, because when Japan makes a lot of bad movies, the bad-ness is always pretty even across the board. No single movie gets bad enough to be meme'd long term. But in that category, I do think one movie deserves to be roasted for its hilarity: Devilman (2004).

We have more planned for summer, but we'll cross that bridge when the river floods!

MEDIA TALK

Let's look into 2024 and see what movies are coming...

Oh boy, the docket does not look very good.

2024 is shaping up to be a "for fans only" year. Nearly all of the movies in the advertisement cycle are films that only interests fans, and are unlikely to draw in new fans. They are sequels for series that don't need sequels, new entries to series on the verge of being tiring.

It's a working business strategy, mind you. I know I'm part of the problem, when I'm still excited with Godzilla x Kong, and Ballerina, the Joke Wick spin-off. I'm also cautiously curious about Joker 2, purely because it has the good sense of being a musical.

But most of my reactions were just on the "meh" side. For whatever reason, I just can't bring myself to be overly excited about Furiosa, or Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, despite both series have very good track records. I just feel like I'm not clamouring to see another film in the same style as Mad Max Fury Road. And I feel like the Planet of the Apes series has already ended and should stay that way. The same also applies to Paddington in Peru... But it's Paddington. We all love Paddington.

All this negativity makes it sound like I hate this, but I'm really not. I'm more so just in different. The best example is Ghostbusters: Frozen Dinner. Okay, it's called Frozen Kingdom, but it feels like a frozen dinner, something that sounds more delicious than it actually is; Something that you eat not because it is good but because it is there; Something you continue to indulge because it reminds you of your childhood, when you didn't know any better. It's in offensive, but that's the greatest quality it has.

Inside-Out 2, Kung Fu Panda 4, Despicable Me 4, Sonic 3, Deadpool 3, Bad Boys 4... Fans of each respective series will go and watch them, but it'll be hard to convince your friend to watch it with you.

That's not to say there aren't movies I look forward to. Dune: Part Two narrowly avoids falling into the same category purely because it technically isn't a sequel but a well-planned duology. I'm not particularly curious about the story (because I've read the book), but I still expect to feel satisfied when the story draws to a conclusion.

Adam Sandler's Spaceman has like a one minute teaser that contains only 2 shots. And for whatever reason, it got me very curious. Maybe because it managed to convey the tone so well with so little. Maybe because I'm a sucker for astronaut stories. Or maybe it's because I finally get to see Sandler doing serious acting again. I've never fault Sandler for being lazy, because he isn't. Through various interview, it's clear that dude is just very disappointed in the system, the industry, and the business, especially after Uncut Gems fail to make much of a splash. Sandler is a deeply talented actor and a very kind man. He deserves more.

A24 has a new movie coming up called Love Lies Bleeding. The poster sure caught my attention... That's really about it. Respectfully curious.

Finally, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse aims to cap off an absolutely epic and emotional story. Just like Across the Spider-Verse, this movie faces an uphill battle, fighting against not only an excellent predecessor, but also a dying trend that is the multiverse genre. (Man, this genre just dies without much of an impact doesn't it.) I have high hopes for the film, and hopefully, it will once again shatter my expectations.

And that's all the talk for 2024. Do you have any movies you are looking forward to seeing? Are you guilty of being a fan and go watch one of the sequels? Let me know!

We have one more update before the year ends. See you then!