Reviews

great

Good

One of my favourite actors is Ethan Hawke. I love him as an actor and a human being. His new movie is THE WEIGHT. I went into this not really knowing what to expect. On the surface, it’s a pretty straightforward survival thriller: a group of prisoners transporting gold through the wilderness in 1933, with freedom supposedly waiting for them at the other end. But the movie gets so much mileage out of that simple setup. The gold becomes more than something they’re carrying—it represents greed, desperation, freedom, and literally the weight these men are willing to put themselves through for the possibility of a better life. Hawke is fantastic yet again. He gives Murphy this quiet desperation that makes the entire movie work. You understand that everything he does comes back to one thing: getting home to his daughter. Russell Crowe is great too, even though I honestly wish there was more of him. His presence hangs over the movie even when he isn’t on screen. What surprised me most was how tense the journey became. There are sequences where something as simple as crossing difficult terrain had me completely locked in. The cinematography is gorgeous, but the wilderness never feels romanticized—it feels dangerous, exhausting, and enormous. I also loved that this feels like an older kind of movie. It’s patient. It lets characters sit in silence. It trusts the actors. It doesn’t feel like it’s desperately trying to set up a sequel or constantly remind you that you’re watching a “big” movie. It just tells its story. There are a few places where the pacing drags slightly, and I would have liked some of the supporting characters to get a little more development. By the end, though, I was completely invested. The score can also be a little abrasive at times. What starts as a movie about carrying gold gradually becomes a story about what people carry for the ones they love—and what they’re willing to let go of. Overall, THE WEIGHT is beautifully shot, tense as hell, and anchored by another incredible Ethan Hawke performance. Go see this tiny film!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from PRACTICAL MAGIC 2. Coming back to a movie this many years later can easily feel like an unnecessary nostalgia trip, but I ended up enjoying this more than I expected. It doesn’t have quite the same charm or weirdness that made the original so memorable, but there’s something genuinely comforting about being back with the Owens family. The familiar mix of magic, romance, humor, and family drama still works, even if the movie doesn’t always know what to do with all of it. The movie is at its best when it simply lets the Owens women be together. Their chemistry and complicated family dynamics give the story its heart, and the quieter scenes of conversation, teasing, arguing, and supporting each other are often more memorable than the bigger supernatural moments. There’s obviously plenty of nostalgia throughout, but most of it worked for me because it feels like there’s genuine affection for these characters rather than the movie simply checking off references to the original. That said, it does lean a little too heavily on nostalgia at times. The original was such a strange combination of romantic comedy, supernatural fantasy, family drama, and surprisingly dark material, while this one feels much safer. The story is also a little overcrowded, with several interesting ideas competing for attention. Some plotlines feel rushed and could have used more time to develop, while others drag a bit. I kept wishing the movie would take a few bigger swings instead of worrying so much about recapturing what worked before. Overall, I had a good time with it. PRACTICAL MAGIC 2 is warm, funny, occasionally moving, and incredibly easy to settle into. It doesn’t completely recapture the magic of the original, but I don’t think it needed to. There’s enough charm and heart here to make returning to this world worthwhile, and sometimes spending a little more time with characters you love is enough.

挺好看的

11

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1

better

There’s a movie that just came out that had one of my favourite trailers in a very long time. It’s called HOPE, a South Korean creature feature that blends genres like they’re in a mixing bowl. It’s funny, thrilling, action-packed, violent, suspenseful, silly, and thought-provoking. It simply careens through its 160-minute runtime. The story is separated into two paths. The first follows Chief of Police Ko Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min) as he investigates a slaughtered bull in the mining town of Hope Harbor. He eventually teams up with the badass rookie cop Im Sung-ae (Jung Ho-yeon from SQUID GAME) who I love. The second story follows Bum-seok’s second cousin Ko Sung-ki (Zo In-sung) as he leads a group of hunters into the woods to track a creature. The first hour is a masterclass of tension and suspense, including a few amazing chase sequences. The CGI is wonky at times, but the creature designs are creative and memorable. This has the highest budget for a Korean movie at $46 million. They are experts in utilizing every dollar, unlike the bloated budgets of American movies. A lot of the tracking camera shots are so buttery smooth amidst the chaos that I questioned how cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo pulled them off. Some characters are cartoony while others are underwritten, but I wasn’t expecting much in that department anyway. The score is bombastic and fun. I love the world that writer/director Na Hong-jin has created, but the story doesn’t finish at the end. It gets too big for its britches, perhaps getting too ambitious. If this movie was called HOPE: PART 1, and had been cut off sooner, it would’ve been much more palatable for general audiences. Overall, HOPE has some of the very best individual scenes, but the story isn’t finished yet. I’m very intrigued as to where the story could go and I hope it’s just as awesome. I still recommend seeing this in the theater if possible!

1

Yyy

怎么点不开

好看

Buena y recomendable

In the aftermath of a once-in-a-generation pandemic, taxes are on the rise for the common people because the political power is running out of money because of a war. Surprisingly, I’m not talking about America in 2026. I’m talking about the new movie THE UPRISING, a historical drama set in England in 1381. The Black Death has wiped out up to half of the country, leaving the survivors in a state of grief. The boy King Richard II (Woody Norman), busy with a war with France and controlled by his council, increases taxes on the lower class, sparking the embers of what would be known as the Peasant’s Revolt. It starts with a ploughman (Andrew Garfield) who is plagued by dreams of a family lost. He joins the revolt now led by ex-soldier Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis) and priest John Ball (Jaime Bell). 3 days before release, the U.S marketing referred this movie as the origins of Robin Hood, which conflicted with the U.K marketing. This confused critics because the legend of Robin Hood was known to take place 2 centuries earlier. Nevertheless, this movie is great. It has writer/director Paul Greengrass’ trademark shaky-cam, which admittedly can be a little much. But it also made me feel like I was a part of the revolt. It’s dirty, gritty, and visceral, having great performances by all. The production design is perfect while the score enhanced the experience. The world-building is bleak and realistic, showing empty and devastated villages. It has intense action scenes. Overall, THE UPRISING clearly ties the feelings of rage and desperation for a better world with audiences today. As Andrew Garfield himself recently said, “Billionaires should be scared s***less of this movie.” Remember, history repeats.

Good