Yeon Sang-ho and the studios were wise to capitalize on the running juggernaut that was the success of “Train to Busan” in 2016. Often times studios or directors wait two to five years for a prequel or a sequel, but “Train to Busan” gets an almost immediate prequel that helps expand the story and mythology of the live action film. One of the best zombie films of the last fifteen years, and perhaps of all time, “Train to Busan” was an action packed blockbuster disaster film set to the tune of the zombie apocalypse. The animated prequel is a bit more downbeat but still maintains the same social relevance and commentary that “Train to Busan” did so well.
Tag Archives: Drama
Bambi (1942): Anniversary Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
“Bambi” is less a narrative with a lot of characters and morals and more about the hazards of life and the loss of innocence. “Bambi” somewhat celebrates the tradition of “Dumbo” to where we watch the beginning of a young life and his journey to grow up in a very dangerous and unforgiving world. Despite the time it was made, “Bambi” is still a technically impressive drama that paints the wildlife landscape so vividly with a dream like aura that can be inviting and harrowing. The film itself is based on highs and lows centered on the music and turn of events that unfold for young Bambi.
“Dirty Dancing” 2017: A Truly Awful Remake in an Increasingly Tired Trend
ABC Television’s remake of “Dirty Dancing” is a god awful and ill conceived version of the eighties classic. I don’t say that as a fan of the original, or an eighties kid, but as someone who just can’t abide a truly awful reworking for a film that didn’t need it. Did we forget “Havana Nights” already? ABC goes for an over two and a half hour remake that is just about as listless and ridiculous as you can imagine. For some reason the writers thought it’d be a good idea to add a story frame for the actual story that ensues between Baby and Johnny.
Then there’s a verbatim remake of the original, a goofy melodrama about Baby coming of age, and a musical that stages a bunch of forgettable tunes. Not to mention a relationship drama about Baby’s parents experiencing a crossroads in their marriage. Lest we forget an interracial romance with Baby’s sister falling in love with an African American singer for the country resort, and the steamy torrid love affair between Johnny and a local middle aged resort guest (as played by Katey Segal).
Dearest Sister (2016) [Stranger With My Face International Film Festival 2017]
A young woman leaves home to go work for her cousin the city as this one is gradually going blind. As the cousin’s sight leaves her, she get a gift of being able to see and communicate with the dead. Her newly arrived cousin has difficulty adapting and may not be going about things the best way.
Violet (2017)
A teen witnesses a murder and must come to terms with what he saw. Through his interactions with friends and family, he attempts to but can’t seem to find the way.
Violet was written and directed by Bas Devos, for whom this is a first feature according to IMDB. This film is interesting in terms of how it develops around the lead that saw the murder. It’s a simple story with strong emotional impact in terms of a teen dealing with grief, survivor guilt, and other hard feelings to handle at such at any age, especially as a teen. The film explores this with mostly following the lead’s daily life and what he sees while trying to work through this. The story has good, interesting elements but what really shine are the lead, its actor, and the visuals.
Outer Rim – (A Star Wars Fanfilm For The Rest of the Empire) (2017)
We don’t often think about every character standing outside of the big stories in major fantasy or science fiction, because we assume it’s just not interesting. Director Thomas R. Wood delivers a short but very unique tale of two working joes that are spending their days just doing their job. They are in the middle of the desert and unbeknownst to them there is a massive war taking place around them.
Dear White People (2014)
It’s daunting how predictable we’ve become when it comes to discourse about race relations and politics. In response to 2014’s “Dear White People” becoming a series, an angry user on Twitter asked “Why is there no “Dear Black People”?” In the very first scenes of the movie, while Samantha White is recording her college radio show “Dear White People,” character Kurt calls in asking “Where is there no “Dear Black People”?” Justin Simien’s “Dear White People” plays with perceptions of events, and ideas of chaos, by toying with our frustration with the normality of racial incidents, and stages a racial war that unfolds within the seemingly monotonous underbelly of Winchester College.