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Ojing-eo geim (2021)
A mirror into the human soul
Squid Game is billed internationally as a "Survival Drama Series". In my own opinion it is so much more; it is a horror drama series--a horror that mirrors that horrors and uselessness of life.
For context, you are living a miserable life, wracked by debt and meaninglessness, and then an offer for you to play a game comes--is offered to you so to say--for you to play a game and stand a chance at winning billions if you come out victorious. But of course no one tells you the catch: the game is a deadly one, and there can be only one winner.
In many ways Squid Game mirrors life with such aggressive, visceral potency that from the very first episode you are left reeling with shock, as if from a forcefully delivered blow to your forehead by a sledgehammer. You are left shaky, quivering and pondering at what you are seeing. Know why?
It is simple: Squid Game is a terrible look into the blackness and bleakness of humanity in all its rawness, all its viciousness, all its cruelty. I classify the series as a Horror drama series not because the props are there to make you quiver and shriek, but because you are taking a look into the viciousness of the human soul. You are taking a look into your own self, pondering the question that if presented with such similar circumstances where Life throws its worst at you and keeps you down, ground into the mud, what would you do? That is the existential question you ask yourself as the scenes roll, like a macabre feast roiling before your eyes in a feverish dream.
Am I a good person? You are forced to ask. Can I do this, play this deadly game to the end? Am I willing to pray for others to die in the most gruesome ways imaginable for me to move forward? Can I, in the quest to drive to the finish Line, end a life? Can I, in the quest to defend myself, take other lives? Do I have what it takes to push through the terrifying Game that is Life no matter the costs? And I assure you, the costs are deadly, so deadly that you pause and heave massive sighs of sheer, unmitigated horror with each recollection.
Squid Game shows us that inherent cruelty in Man, that pervasive Darkness that remains in each of us despite our repeated disavowal of same; that sheer. Primal instinct to inflict pain and even death on others when pushed... It shows us a pictorial representation of what we are capable of when the chips are absolutely down. And that is what makes it so portent; it brings home the reality of our own bleakness, the nothingness of it all.
Are our friends our friends? Squid Game shows us that each person looks out for their own interests. Can we trust others to be truthful and true to us? We see that in the Game of Marbles, trickery and treachery for the win is the Order of the Game; friendships are thrown aside, as are alliances. Will some people try to do good by us even when we have Ill in our own hearts and will do them wrong? Yes, the last female showed this is possible, when she tells player 456 to hold his knife and be true to himself, that he was no killer.
Honestly, Squid Game is THAT series which is more than that, so much more than that. To me, for me, it is a mirror--look into your own soul, oh human, and see its ruthless capabilities. It reminds us at every turn of that, and perhaps that is why it drew a worldwide audience and stunned the living daylights out of countless millions of people, myself included.
Dota: Dragon's Blood (2021)
Season 1 gets 6 stars, season 2, 8 stars.
The visuals for this anime series were great, though its first season was just OK and doesn't stand out in the genre. However, I upgraded my rating to 8 with the season 2 because they seemingly upped the stakes and delivery.
The Legend of Vox Machina (2022)
Visually stunning
I rarely post about animations generally, and animations bordering on medieval fantasy in particular. However, this Amazon Original animated series is the best animated series I've streamed in a very long while...after the stunningly incomparable Castlevania (seasons 1 through 4).
The characters are, as described, a band of misfits. The humor is dry, brittle, but punchy. The plotline is straightforward but hair-raising. The action scenes and knife and blood play is fast, deadly and gruesome, and that makes it all the more effective. With elements of otherworldly magic thrown in through the characters and the situations and unnamable vampiric evil they faced, it makes a viewer reminisce all the more of the wildly successful, bloody Castlevania.
If you've got time, and you enjoy animations, and fantasy/gothic/horror animations in particular, give this a spin. You WON'T be disappointed.
Rating: 10/10.
Ssang-hwa-jeom (2008)
Engrossing, painful
For over a year I battled to see where to watch this movie, until I eventually stumbled on it in Dramacool and gave it the attention I'd wanted to give it for long. And honestly, this movie is a BOMB. The love triangle is intensely captured. Imagine, chief and the king, with the former growing up under the latter and the latter loving the former from their formative years...and Chief, even as a kid, saying the best person is one who would lay his life down for the king. Reading through comments here I can see people berating the king and hating on him, but in this instance I feel he did what he had to do given the circumstances. I do not applaud it, but I understand it, and him. Furthermore, with the introduction of sex between the Chief and Queen, we see Chief opening up to a new, strange love he'd never witnessed and also being sad about it; he did go to the queen, then sleep next to the king and cuddled him, with tears leaking from his eyes. That was a sign that he loved this man, and he felt sad and confused about loving another. Then the anger, the sense of betrayal, the brutal punishment meted out, are all mind blowing. For me, chief did really love King, even though he told him otherwise in his last moments, to deeply hurt him. I know I would say the same, in the same circumstances... But the love remained there, as, even as he lay dying, he turned to King, in those very last, dying moments he had. That, dears, was love right there.
Ke zai ni xin di de ming zi (2020)
Very Bittersweet, but absolutely beautiful
This movie is beautiful, from beginning to end. I felt the pain Chen's character felt, the love, the sorrow...it was vibrant and he depicted it well. I really did rewatch some scenes, because of how beautiful they were. Must confess that the ending... I didn't really connect with them as much older men, perhaps because of the huge time gap they were separated. But, this movie? BEAUTIFUL all through.
It did feel incomplete, as Birdy's feelings weren't aS deeply explored as the other's, but maybe that's it.
District 9 (2009)
Stunning Surprise
When District 9 started, with its interviews and the "mockumentary" feel it had to it, I must admit that I didn't expect much out of the project, but when I started watching, the scenes rolling deeper, I must confess that District 9 surpassed--no, shattered--my low expectations.
Gritty, shocking, nail-biting and hair-raisingly real, this movie presented more than anyone could have expected, or imagined. It felt... Real.
It does deserve a sequel.
The Protégé (2021)
Beautiful Protégé, Flat Plot
As always, it's a delight watching Maggie Q. This movie started off as reminiscent of Q's earlier assassin role work in Naked Weapon. Heck, we even get the Naked Weapon vibe from her here, though with much less vulnerability, less sensuality from her and more hard glamor.
The acting from Q and Keaton is very much passable, and they seemed to carry the weak plot line the best they could. But that seems to be it.
The action is pretty decent, the stunts and hand to hand combat pretty much interesting to watch, but without a good plot to carry it, everything seemed to fall slightly flat. But that's OK.
If you're interested in spy plot and female assassin stories, then this one is for you. If you're looking for stronger storyline development and character development asides the action, then this isn't for you.
Just passable, finally.
Castlevania (2017)
Solid Theme, Stunning Performance
Given that series adaptations from game franchises are often basic at best, Castlevania delivered so much more, with such incredible promise. From the memorable vampires, to the magicians, to the vampire servants, to the darkness that pervades the entire series, Castlevania is an absolute must-see for lovers of horror anime. Not only that, I genuinely expect some spinoffs.
Primal: Tales of Savagery (2019)
Just the name suggests, it's Primal
This was breathtaking, gritty and absolutely hair raising.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
Gritty
For a movie where everyone has to be "quiet", this is quite interesting.
The Mandalorian (2019)
Interesting story arc
Mandalorian...the one you can't see his face. But one you become invested in his journey.