[Weekly Update]

The new Mario game... it's so good... But I have so much work waiting for me...

CHANNEL UPDATE

Our next video has proven to be a real difficult piece to tackle. I'm still in the process of writing. Progress is somewhat slow, so expect a minor delay. In the meantime, feel free to catch up with the films we'll be talking about. The films are The God of Cookery, Kung Fu Chefs, and Cook Up a Storm. They are all pretty fantastic movies. God of Cookery needs no introduction. Kung Fu Chefs is pretty good if you want some Sammy Hung action. Kung Fu Chefs is all about food and it looks absolutely fabulous.

Schedule for next month will also be changed a little. Instead of two awful movies from around the world, we'll only talk about one. Instead, I'll talk make a video about the references in Shaolin Soccer, in a similar (but not identical) way to our video on Kung Fu Hustle.

Finally, for this month's bonus video, I think I'll talk about Final Destination. Not the entire series, maybe just the first three. A lot of people seems to like the second film, especially the opening highway sequence. I supposed the fear of a highway collision is relatable. But in my opinion, only the first and third film really matches the theme of the movies. Coincidentally, they are also both directed by the same director. More on that in the video.

MEDIA TALK

Let's continue this spooky season with more horror talk... or not. Halloween is spooky season, not horror season. There are in fact, plenty of Halloween movies that aren't horror.

The classic example would be E.T. (1982) The whole heartfelt movie is set around Halloween, with candy and costumes. The autumn color palette also really puts you in the mood. It's Spielberg, how can you not love it?

Another classic example would be The Goonies (1985). Although, if you are watching the, you might as well watch Monster Squad. Yes, the latter is technically horror. But it's somehow less scary than The Goonies. The opposite goes to Men in Black (1997). Not a horror movie, somehow still scares you.

A movie with horror theme but no horror in it is Casper (1997). I love this movie as a kid, which is why it surprises me that no one around me actually saw it! I thought this was a childhood classic. The plot of moving into a haunted house and befriend a cute little child ghost is very charming. The humor is pretty childish, but a lot of efforts and production values are put into these childish jokes. It's the kind of children's movie that feels 90s, optimistic and sincere.

Clue (1985), Knives Out (2019), and Glass Onion (2022) are all silly murder mysteries that serves as a good spooky watch on Halloween night. These are different from the gritty Sherlock reboots, or the Kenneth Branagh adaptation of Agatha Christie novels. These films use murder as comedy. It is a bit morbid and adult, yet subtly absurd and funny. Knives Out with its red and orange tone is especially a good match for the season.

I supposed you can also watch the Death Note (2006) movies. No, not the Netflix adaptation. The Japanese two part film series was one of the best adaptation of a manga. In fact, it was one of the films that launched the world of adaptation in Japan today. And it propelled the career of its two lead actors, Tatsuya Fujiwara and Kenichi Matsuyama. It's honestly criminal that the two films are so overlooked in the west. Anyway, if you haven't seen it, give it a watch! Just ignore all of the sequels and spin-offs.

We previously covered Pee Mak (2013) on this channel. This Thai horror comedy strikes such a good balance between spooky and funny, it's hard not to recommend. Whenever it scares you, it'll immediately makes you laugh to balance things out. So if you want something off-beat for Halloween, this is also a good choice.

Finally, also borderline horror, we have one more Asian movie for the season: Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980). It's a kung fu comedy featuring Sammy Hung fighting the supernatural. If that doesn't convince you to watch it, then I don't know what to say. It is the OG Hong Kong horror comedy, the first film that kickstarted the Jiangshi trend. Yep, predating even Mr. Vampire.

And that is all of the movie recommendations I can think of this week. As you can see, you don't have to be scared to have a fun time in October. Heck, if you are me, you don't even need to watch spooky movies. You just need to watch Real (2017), and then write about it. Oh the horror.

Anyway, I'll see you soon in our next video!