[Weekly Update] April 11, 2022 (Patreon)

You have no idea how long I have to look through Google Images just to get a decent looking picture from Morbius.

CHANNEL UPDATE

I'm currently working on our video on Drive My Car. Progress is slow, however, due to a combination of overworking, and just how dense and long the movie is. Still hoping to get it out by this weekend.

Because of the aforementioned overworking, I'll be taking a two week break after our next video. Meaning the video after the next one will be on May 12. I'll be taking this time to plan for a summer film shoot.

Additionally, I've shifted the upload schedule around a bit. We'll prioritized making videos on individual films instead of series or retrospectives. Our Malaysian cinema video and Toho Kaiju video remains unchanged, but video on recent Jackie Chan movies and Cynthia Rothrock retrospective are now pushed back to late summer. In their place are video about Lupin III, Gallant, and Raging Fire.

Further changes may be made as we are inching closer to summer. 

Oh and expect a video on Everything Everywhere All At Once, whenever it's available on streaming. Our discord channel has nothing but amazing things to say about it.

WEEKLY UPDATE

Let's talk about bad movies again, because we haven't talk about that enough. /s

I haven't watched Morbius, yet. And I doubt many people have. But the general vibe I got from the film and its trailer is that, it is very reminiscent of the edgy 2000s superhero movies like Underworld and Ben Affleck Daredevil.

It was a transitional period for the genre, sandwiched between the Tim Burton era and the Nolan/MCU era. There were some great films, like Blade and the Sam Raimi Spider-Man. But most other superhero movies were all over the place, trying so hard to find a popular style and personality.

There are films that has no personality at all, like The Punisher, not to be confused with Punisher: War Zone. The Punisher honestly feels like a 80s movie. I can easily imagine this movie being made with Arnold in the starring role, and be remembered as one of Arnold's lesser classic.

And then there are films like Wanted, which just tries way too hard. Granted, looking back, that film is really fun if you don't take it seriously. But even with that mindset, the film still makes me go "Oh, come on" every other scene.

But when it comes to 2000s superhero movie, that is one style that's strangely popular with studio, despite never successful. From Daredevil to Ghost Rider, to Fantastic Four and Cat Woman. I call these rom-com heroes. They almost always focus on the characters' personal life, written in the cheesiest and often cringy way. Their romantic life is often their biggest obstacle in the story, while their superhero life is generally smooth sailing, because they are just so freaking strong.

I suspect they are all inspired by Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, a film that focused on Peter Parker's personal life a lot. Except, of course, Spider-Man is well written and strikes a good balance between personal struggle and heroic deeds.

Yeah, the industry back then was like a teenager half-way between childhood and adulthood. It was a pain back then. But with enough time and distance, I actually remember that period somewhat fondly. I have a soft spot for many of these garbage movies.

Maybe in a decade, I'll remember Morbius as that weirdly fascinating relic of a transitional period. Who knows. James Gunn's The Suicide Squat and Peacemaker is doing a whole round of post-modernist critique of the genre already.

Anyway, that is the update for today. A reminder for you to watch Drive My Car, and I'll see you on our next video!