[Weekly Update] 2023 American Films (Patreon)

How was your Halloween? Did you get to watch some horror movies?

Here's an anecdote about Halloween: In the past few years, there have been a pretty fierce discussion on whether or not Chinese people should celebrate Halloween and Christmas in China. Of course, no one really actually celebrates it, and the actual discussion is whether or not to support shops and brands that use foreign holidays as an excuse to sell more stuff, which is a real problem in Japan. But like any online discussion, the topic eventually devolved into accusations on internalizing racism and colonialism, poisoning an otherwise important topic.

Anyway, welcome to November!

CHANNEL UPDATE

It seems Steven Seagal narrowly wins against Turkish Star Wars in our poll. It was such a tight race, I actually began prepping for both videos. Eventually, I will probably make both videos. But for now, I'll have to talk about one of the biggest sleaze balls in action cinema. What an honor.

In either Late December or Early January, we'll host another poll. The potential topics, tentatively, are: (1) Top 5 Favourite Jokes from Stephen Chow, (2) When Other Countries Make Kung Fu Movies, (3) When Comedies Don't Rely on Comedians. Topics are subject to change. If you have suggestions, comment below!

I'm currently working on two videos for this month: A video on Real (2017), and a video on Shaolin Soccer (2001). Progress on the latter video actually eclipsed the former one, which is why I'll be swapping the release order.

By the way, if you haven't watch Real... It's genuinely one of the most surreal and incomprehensible movie I have ever watched. I don't recommend it, but if you consider yourself a bad movie connoisseur, you should still give it a watch.

Finally, due to dwindling views, our channel will go into a short hiatus next January, as I reorganize myself and consider new directions or potential employment opportunities. Ideally, it'll be a one month off. In any case, you will not be charged for the months with no video releases. I'll keep you posted as we approaches the next year.

MEDIA TALK

As we enters the final stretch of the year, let's talk about the notable movies from Hollywood this year.

Last year, I expressed my displeasure with the state of Hollywood, saying that the films released in 2022 feels immediately outdated. This year, it seems many other critics are also expressing similar sentiments. Makes me feel very much validated.

Within this "Instant Outdated" category, there are both good and bad movies. Disney continues to churn out forgettable films like The Little Mermaid, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Indiana Jones. All of these movies feel like they came out 10 years too late to the party.

That said, Guardian of the Galaxy 3, John Wick 4, Mission Impossible 4 are examples of decent to good movies in this category. They are, to me, enjoyable and even impressively made. Guardian 3, in particular, feels like the proper one finally hurrah I needed for the super hero genre before moving on. In many ways, I think it is a far superior film to the first two. But because of how tired the genre is by now, the film fails to stay with me for all that long, to no fault of the film.

This may be why some movies are so divisive. I dislikes Indiana Jones 5 a lot and thinks it's one of the most soulless movies I've seen in a long time, only slightly more appealing than the Little Mermaid, I actually do understand why there are some people likes it. It tickles that nostalgia that I just don't have. Aesthetically, I do think it's closer to the original trilogy than Crystal Skull. To fans, it's more of a celebration than a cash grab. I'm just cynical.

Meanwhile, I'm one of the two people on this Earth that actually saw the potential in The Flash. Yes, I just said that. There are certainly a lot of reason to hate it (which is why it's one of the only movies I didn't pay to watch this year). The lead actor is a POS. The despicable use of CGI characters for a crappy fan service sequence. The self indulgent length and uneven pacing. But underneath this pile of dung, I really enjoy that it is one of the only films in the genre that doesn't have a villain, something that I wish Wonder Woman would do. It's about a young hero making a mistake, and takes the responsibility of fixing it. It's a great story. Too bad the execution is... ugh.

The biggest releases of the year are, of course, Barbie and Oppenheimer. I think I actually enjoyed Barbie way more than even my female friends. Though that's mostly because I appreciate comedies much more than they do. Looking back, it's mostly just a silly film that's made up of recycled internet memes, which is why it appeals to me. What's good about it really isn't the film, but the opportunity it opens up for future movies.

As for Oppenheimer, it ended up being "yet another Nolan movie" for me.  That is to say, I've been spoiled by The Dark Knight, a movie I went in without expectation and came out thinking "Holy sh*t" that was rad. Since then, I went into every Nolan film with high expectations, chasing that high that can never be fulfilled. Oppenheimer is one more cycle of this.

And then There's Across the Spider-Verse. This movie is freaking long, yet somehow it went by in a breeze. The moment it ended, the entire theater was clamoring for more. Just for that reason, it remains my favorite Hollywood movie of the year. Seeing the success of the new TMNT film makes me happy. Spider-Verse made such a difference to the industry.

Oh and I guess there are also Meg3n and Cocaine Bear, two horror films I wanted to be weird and crazy, but were not ambitious enough to go anywhere. Meg3n was at least fun, but Cocaine Bear is just... Why doesn't it have a dream sequence!?

And that's all the mainstream films I want to talk about for now. November is usually when I catch up with all the indie and smaller productions of the year. Hopefully I'll have time to do so this year, too. So far, I've seen Missing, which is pretty fantastic. Anatomy of a Fall, which I also enjoyed. But we'll talk about them some other time.