[Weekly Update] October 17, 2021

Halloween is coming. Will you be dressing up for the occasion?

I know a lot of our viewers are from areas that don't celebrate Halloween, but it's so much fun to dress up. Trust me, watching The Matrix while wearing leather trench coats gives you a completely different experience. Give it a try!

CHANNEL UPDATE

• Our next video will be a Halloween special. It is already complete and waiting for approval. As to what it is about... If you don't know yet, I'd like to keep it a secret. Just don't get shocked or confused when you see the video thumbnail pops into your subscription feed.
• We have Silenced on the docket next. I want to do one more Korean films afterward. Out of the big three East Asian language films, it is the one we cover the least. Do you have a film you want us to cover?
• We also have a slightly different video planned. I know a lot of our videos are planning to become filmmakers but don't know where to begin. With Black Friday coming soon, I'm thinking of doing a video recommending basic equipments for people to get started in film.
• Finally, a reminder that we'll be taking things more slowly starting November. There won't be as many videos. But we'll take the extra time to do research and make videos that we never had time to do before. I'll also be working on a personal short film, and share some behind the scene stuff along the way. Stay tuned!

MEDIA TALK

• DC FanDome released a bunch of DC movie trailers. Let's talk about them.
• While DCEU has been mocked for a long time, I have to admit, I really enjoy their recent direction. I love how the new Suicide Squad movie just completely piss on the continuity and hand waves around why Harley Quinn is in prison again. I love how non of the movie follows a tight continuity, and every movie has its own style and craziness. Compare to the unified MCU, the DCEU is getting more and more colourful by each film.
• Let's start with my favourite of the bunch: The Batman. I think I talk about this quite a lot, but I really do enjoy its visual style. Batman is supposed to be inspired by gothic horror icons like Dracula. Having this retro-futurist, Neo-gothic visual just feels appropriate. Gotham and Batman have not felt this right in film since Tim Burton.
• Also, props to Robert Pattison for dominating the role. I have a feeling he'll be many people's next favourite Batman. And that is no easy feat. Not only is the competition diverse and strong, it's also such a miracle that Pattison managed to shake away his past image as a "Twilight vampire" pretty boy. This man is going to places.
• Next up: The Flash. This is a movie that should've been out before Justice League. So, thank you, Warner Bros management.
• I'll be honest, the trailer didn't wow me. And that's with the fact that Michael Keaton is in it as Batman... sort of. I guess I'm never a big fan of the Flash Point storyline. And with it being the last of the remaining films that follows the Zack Snyder timeline, It also comes with the most amount of baggage.
• It ultimately feels like a parallel film to Spider-Man No Way Home, with crazy crossovers and call back to past properties. But deep down, we all know the real winner is Into the SpiderVerse 2.
• But hey, Shazam was like the parallel film to Captain Marvel, and Shazam rocks (despite a mundane trailer). So, who knows.
• Speaking of Shazam, how about Shazam 2? Well, there is no real trailer, just a teaser. Yet somehow, this gets me very excited. Part of it is because David F Sandberg remains one of my favourite working director in Hollywood. Part of it is because Lucy Liu is in the film! But mostly is because everyone seems so happy on set.
• In fact, the teaser very specifically calls to the fact that everyone working on this film is excited and had a lot of fun. This is one movie that, even if it comes out bad, it'll still be fun and enjoyable. I'm calling it.
• Related to Shazam is Black Adam. This technically is also a teaser trailer, and it really is a tease. If you are not a fan of Black Adam, or don't know who the heck he is, it's difficult to get excited. But that may be a good thing.
• They have the biggest start in Hollywood in the starring role. They have The Rock as Black Adam, and they didn't feel the need to push anything. He doesn't even show his full face in the trailer. The entire teaser is just there to build up the imposing power of Black Adam. It wants you to care about the character, not the star. That's the sort of confidence I can respect. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one.
• Last one we'll talk about today, Peacemaker, an HBO series and a sort of prequel to The Suicide Squad. I love The Suicide Squad. And I think John Cena's performance in it is pretty spectacular. But the trailer, the entire two and a half minute of it, didn't make me smile even once.
• I like the lo-fi aesthetic. I like the suburban setting. I like the reality show visual. But something about this doesn't feel deliberate. It feels cobbled together. It feels like the jokes didn't go through a second draft.
• I really hope I'm wrong in this but... Yeah I think this show is gonna suck. We'll see.

And that's the update! What upcoming film are you edited to see and why is it Dune?

New video should be up around Wednesday, so I'll see you then!