Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits with deadly high stakes. A survival game that has a whopping 45.6 billion-won prize at stake.
It’s the Hunger Games meets children’s games. I just finished season one of the South Korean produced Netflix series Squid Game. So you know what that means. It’s time for a mini-pod review. Squid Game is strange. It’s intriguing. It’s hyper violent. It’s hard to look at and hard to look away from. In summary, it’s a pretty fun show to watch. If you have any familiarity with Korean cinema at all, you’ll inevitably notice similarities between this series and some of the more popular Korean films (Old Boy, Parasite, Snowpiercer, etc.) In essence, don’t get attached to very many characters. The stakes are high for every character. The losses are often heartbreaking. Although, it’s quite clear from the beginning who it is we should root for. If you like stylized violence, superb twists, and intriguing mysteries, this is a definite watch. As a double feature I would recommend binging this series that following it up with the Japanese cult hit, Battle Royal. My drink suggestion: Soju, a Korean distilled Barley based liquor. Sort of a Korean whiskey and a favorite of Player 456 on the show. A mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey, "Dune" tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence.
--Courtesy of Warner Bros. website Anyone who knows me, knows that my favorite novel of all time is Frank Herbert’s Dune. It is a complex book involving political intrigue, environmental issues, adventure, the Hero’s Journey, romance, family turmoil, wars between royal families, and messianic metaphors. Literally, it has everything. The first major adaptation of this seminal work was the David Lynch Dune produced in 1984. The film is notorious for its studio interference that lead to the dilution of the overall image that Lynch was going for. The original cut was 4 hours long, but the studio made Lynch cut it down to a brisk 2 hours. This led to a muddled method of storytelling that ultimately doomed this adaptation. Fortunately, I had read the novel before seeing this film, so I had a better understanding of some of the missing elements. I, therefore, kind of enjoy this film for what it is. In 2000, the SyFy channel produced its own version. This was a miniseries that lasted 6 hours spread out over 3 nights. It was able to capture many of the missing elements that Lynch unfortunately had to cut. It was ambitious, had great special effects, but often lacked the acting gravitas needed to pull off some of the more complex narratives of the story. Still it was an overall enjoyable attempt, which was successful enough to spawn a sequel, Children of Dune. The sequel combined the 2nd and 3rd books of the Dune Chronicles (Dune Messiah and Children of Dune) into one miniseries. That brings us to this latest effort from Denis Villeneuve. Starring Timothy Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Issac, Josh Brolin, Jason Mamoa, Stellan Skaarsgard, and more. This adaptation is not without its flaws, but overall I felt it actually captured the essence of the story. The acting is solid throughout. The different planets and locations all feel unique. The action is spectacular. Most of all the cinematography is some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Often, I was so enamored by the visuals that I missed key dialogue and had to go back and re-watch the scene. Villeneuve has filmed the first book in two parts. Essentially, this was the first half of the first book. If the second half is anywhere near the success of this first half, Dune may have finally gotten the adaptation it deserves. |
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February 2024
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