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What an epic. Textbook perfect of how a modern day sci-fi should be made. Every scene feels impactful and is a work of art. The politics, character development and cinematography all goes beyond what you expect from a science fiction film, and shows the path of how movies like Star Wars ought to be. Timothee and Zendaya's performance are also top notch. While the first film was a work of art, the second film is the real progression and heart of the film and deserves to be watched in IMAX or better only. The only gripe I have is there are a couple scenes where I am confused by Paul's motivation and his sudden change of heart, I felt that needed further explaining.

An award-winning performance from Ethan Juan that is deserving of all the accolades he has received for this film. The Pig, Snake and Pigeon is a thought provoking film that is daring in both its topic and film making. Three seemingly irrelevant parts glued together by one single premise, and you can see Chen's personal growth, development, hope and despair in each. The emotional value of the film predominantly comes from its very strong cast and their acting. If you dissect the story itself it is a rather simple and not so ground breaking story. Nevertheless, I am glad it made its way into Mainland China, which has become a breath of fresh air for a much needed market.

A little overwhelming at the beginning with all the different factions and names, but as the story progresses you realize why it is important to spend 2.5 hours to set up the story. Dune: Part One does a brilliant job at bringing audience up the pace with the brilliant world created. For a full length movie that is clearly only the appetizer for what's to come, you don't really feel like it much of a drag because all the ancillary stuff is so well constructed and meticulously thought out. The music, sound and cinematography are all top-notch. Now I simply cannot wait to watch the second installment on an IMAX screen.

Not often do I have the time nor chance to watch an independent film, but I have to admit it is quite admirable to see a film like influencer made. Right off the bat, the film is relatable to people of this generation and does raise some questions regarding how we view things through different lenses. You can also tell the team behind the film must have really tried to make this film good. But it doesn't really excuse the film itself to be rather "primitive". Character motives and some of the plot lines are questionable, and the story lacks real depth or meaning. At the end, it is an interesting watch at times, but completely forgettable.

A perfect movie to welcome my newly expanded family member. While Migration seems to be a movie about adventures and getting out of one's comfort zone, at its heart, at least to me, is about family values and the importance of sticking together as one. The movie truly has everything you would want out of an animation of this sort, cute characters, decent laughs, a memorable villain, making it a simple holiday movie for kids. But at the end of the day, the film is handicapped by it's subject matter, and doesn't break into the realm of animation masterpieces. I also suspect there will not be any followups as the character designs are still rather mundane.

Taiwanese films have been making these Chinese supernatural inspired movies and I absolutely love them. However, Marry my Dead Body is not the best execution of one as it is bogged down by inconsistent story writing, rather boring quotes and stuck up on a lot of the motifs. Nevertheless, the film carries some interesting themes that is bound to connect with young people of today and adds spice to the overall film. Overall, a cheap flick that is great for killing time, but nothing more than that. Perhaps more supernatural/scarier scenes would do the film some good, otherwise the movie is a clear downgrade from Yue Lao (Till We Meet Again)

As someone who has read the book, the twists and turns are not the highlight of the film. The story simply feels more suited for the book than on the big screen. In the movie adaptation the focus turns to things around the mystery, the media portrayal, the friendships and the meaning of marriage. Ben Affleck delivers one of his stronger performance here, and the overall movie making of the film feels very good. If I remember correctly, the film also features a different ending, and this is one of the better, more interesting endings in a mystery I've seen in a while. Perhaps I should go back and read the book again sometime.

There's a Chinese saying called tiger head, snake tail, which perfectly describes the film. The Goldfinger starts with a bang with over the top scenes that harkens back to the heydays of HK cinema. But as the story progresses, you realize how thin of a plot the movie has. The film fails to develop further on what is a very interesting rivalry between Tony Leung and Andy Lau, even worse if you consider how much of a classic The Departed was. In the end, the film is too "business-oriented" and not driven by its story enough. To make matters worse, the ending feels like something to appease movie authorities.

Quite bittersweet to be watching this in 2024 for the first time. Inside Out is a typical Disney film that the studio used to churn out on a consistent basis. Funny, wholesome and most importantly, empathetic. Yet these are qualities that have seemed to disappeared in the past couple years. It is so easy to empathize with Riley as all of us feel the same emotions everyday, and developing a story with the 5 emotions is such a joyful ride that harkens to other Disney blockbusters. For me personally, this is more like a typical Disney film that I can enjoy with the kids, but it's not as emotionally powerful as my other favorites.

Eye of the Storm tells the emotional effect that an infectious disease can have on the ones who are at the forefront of the battle. I can see how the film tries to portray different personalities and how they each sacrifice for the greater good, but it just feels flat. It tries to paint this canvass with all these different colors but nothing really jumps out. There is also not a whole lot of story going on here, and it doesn't have a satisfactory closure at the end. Audience is thrown around in each character's emotional struggle during the pandemic but it is hard to latch onto anyone specifically.

Really a bit of a mess, a pretty straight forward plot that tries so hard to mean and be something more in this modern society to the point where everything just feels so deliberate. I get it, how people nowadays are so addicted to their phones and reliant on the internet, like the book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, but it does take away from he movie itself. The the World Behind has a star studded cast that feels poorly utilized and supporting actors, mostly kids who are just very green and uninspiring. Yet, there is still enough intrigue to keep the story alive and for us to be excited about the next entry.

Exceeded my expectation a little bit considering the overwhelmingly poor sentiment from all around me. Wish as a movie has a plot that is fitting to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Disney, an easy, cookie-cutter Disney-esque animation. The story is also more geared towards slightly more mature audience, so I'm sure it loses the focus of younger demographic. Nevertheless, the story was more inspiring than many other recent Disney films as it showcases simple human triumph and the will to defeat evil at all cost. In some ways, it is a reversal of many other animations where the premise far exceeds the quality of the film itself, in this case the story is just better than everything else. Case in point, the character design, costumes and setting of the city may be the worst I've ever seen in any Disney films, it was completely forgettable.

PS: the Disney short in the beginning was amazing.

Us has a great premise to the film but executed poorly, mostly through jump scares and at times feels like a cheaply made horror film featuring some good guys fighting off bad guys. So much more could have been told about the idea, but unfortunately that is only done in the last 10 minutes or so. Even the comedy that is supposedly Peele's calling card is very weak and is very much overshadowed by the horror side of the film. I can also see some of the metaphors that the creators are trying to get at, but at the end of the day those are a little farfetched and at the end felt like out of their grasp. The film is simply too disturbing and unsettling to be likable.

Flawless. Oppenheimer is an autobiography film that is significant, complex and gripping, three words seldom associated with an autobiography. Although I cannot tell whether if the real character is as nuanced as the one in the film, the one depicted in the film is such a fantastic character that is so relatable. Oppenheimer touches on so many subjects, and enters the psyches of each character so effortlessly, adding new layers to the film through every dialogue, every frame and every character. At last, the story of the Manhattan Project needed to be told cinematically, and I am ever so glad it is told via Nolan's lenses.

A TV series that absolutely requires a very strong performance from the lead, and in my opinion, the leads Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried fail to deliver. Of all the personalities and characters he tries to portray as Danny Sullivan, everything seemed like a theatrical performance. Each time another side of Danny appears it feels like it is there to serve a purpose, and not to add layer to the story or the development of the character. The supporting cast outshines the main characters, and the show is more interesting because of these characters. At the end of the day, it feels like a story well told, but not an exploration to a character that very much needs to be explored in order for the story to be impactful.

Let's start off by saying, yes the jokes are really bad. Well, hard to say anything is really exceptional in Jungle Cruise as it tried to fit a typical Disney story, mixed in with some forced "wokeness" into a 2 hours long motion picture. Everything is predictable with a cast of even more predictable supporting cast, especially the so called German heiress villain is exceptionally boring. Perhaps the only reason for this movie is to add a little back story to the already storied ride, but by the standard of this film, I'm not sure if that's a job well done, perhaps more harm than good have been done.

An absolutely needed movie for Chinese cinematography. Surprisingly edgy and mystical that makes one wonder how did it ever pass the "bar". Many scenes reminded me of the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones, and indeed as many lauded, this could very well be the Chinese version of GOT or Lord of the Rings. At the same time, the film has so many things that is so distinctly Chinese in terms of its value system and culture. No doubt, I hope the sequels gets the green light, as these films could really push our culture and stories forward to a larger stage. Only gripe is that there is still a sense of awkwardness in some of the acting, most specifically with the King. Nevertheless, it is still one of the greatest villains I've seen in a Chinese film and the casting of the younger actors are fantastic, finally some masculinity again!

Haven't seen a film like this since... well Searching. After all these years it's clear that the formula still works and Missing is in many ways an upgraded version of its predecessor. You can argue that the plot is a little all over the place, but working with the limitations set out by the methodology, you have to go a little extreme to keep the pace and action up. One has to live in this day and age to fully apprehend everything going on, so you can call this a testament of our times, and the film makers should keep making this series so that it chronicles how our world has changed in terms of interactions and technology, making this more than a film, but history.

Distinctively Chen Sicheng, Lost in the Stars are in many ways imprinted with the director imprints, full of quick successive scenes filled with popping movements and colors, and quickwittedness but lacking in logic or any sort of explanation and I absolutely hate it. Zhu's, whom I believe is one the best Chinese actor right now delivers a performance that feels like an echo in an empty room. What makes the film better than the Chinatown series is that at least at the center there is a giant intrigue that you want to get to the end of it, but towards the end even that feels predictable and uncreative. The progression of the film feels driven by a series of plot holes. Again, the supporting cast is also a huge question mark, featuring awkward dialogues and motives.

Not Pixar at it's best, but a middling film that represents the brand well and keeps hope alive until the next one. Elemental tells of a story that has been told a million times but in a world full of elements (no pun intended) that is creative and fun. I feel like so much could be told outside of ember and Wade, perhaps the film will work better as a series for the future much like what they have done with Zootopia. But unlike the Zootopia film, elemental simply has a weaker story and a weaker cast of characters to make the film more memorable. The film focused too much on the notion that elements don't match but at times loses focus on the other less featured elements.

Quite easily the best, most well made Mainland Chinese drama I have ever seen. A true crime story that goes way beyond the crime itself, as it touches on society, human nature and so much more. Everything from the cinematography to details of every character and scene is carefully constructed. The setting is distinctively Northeastern China and China during that time. Not everything should or needed to be painted roses, and I believe The Long Season could serve as a vital lesson to those in charge of this department in China in determining what makes a good TV show. The leads, especially Fan Wei delivers a performance of the ages. The characters are so well sculpted and their relationship with each other are so authentic and true. This is one powerful drama that uniquely celebrates character development and character faults and hits hard long after the end credits. Oh yes, and the end credit, each one featuring a different song to reflect the mood of the episode, is the cherry on top.

This is why we need ChatGPT for script writing as I am sure no machine is able to produce something so meaningless and hollow. A Tourist's Guide to Love is filled with Western stereotype of a South Asian Country, from aesthetics to experience, nothing is truly authentic. It also tries so hard to please the PC police that it becomes something so distinctively sad about this day and age. The best thing about the film is the beautiful aerial shows of Vietnam and LA, and that is it. Everything about the film is just copy and pasted from a million other similar movies in the past, and without any wit and comedy. Sad.

Such an understated movie, combining great settings, music and most importantly at the very heart of things, a great classic story about a baby elephant that can fly. Don't understand the complaints about this iteration as it has everything that you can simply want, just featuring a rather simplistic yet still powerful storyline. What's even better is the involvement of Tim Burton which now seems like a match made in heaven with his ever-recognizable artistic touch. It may be a little corny, but isn't that expected? One of the stronger adaptation of the live adaptation from Disney, and I guess my kids will enjoy the Dumbo rides even more at Disneyland!

It's been a while since I watched a movie like this, abundantly creative, with non-stop jaw dropping surprises coming out of the left field at all times all while fitting it into a "menu" that only makes sense towards the end. Reminds me of white lotus, where a group of strangers is thrown into an absurd situation, but the situation actually tells more about the characters and stereotypes than what's actually happening. Eerily relating to so many people with these crafts and professions, I'm sure these thoughts have come across a lot of their minds, so it must be cool for them to see the story unfold.

Can't help but feel like a massively missed opportunity for such a massive IP. While a lot of elements are added in from various games over the years, the script is simply flat and uninspiring, while fails to really showcase the wondrous world of the Super Mario Universe. However, I do understand that the film is a serious undertaking, attempting to introduce a somewhat dated character to a new generation of viewers who may or may not know much about them, but I think a better balance could have been done to appease both type of fans. The music score is definitely a highlight of the overall film, and I think that says a lot about the overall quality.