This joint Korean-Japanese production follows a Korean woman, Lee Ha-jong, as she searches for her father's remains. He - like tens of thousands of other Koreans - was forced into the Japanese military, and subsequently killed during WW2. She is joined by a Japanese man, seeking reconciliation between his country's military past, and the countries victimized by that history. The filmmakers portray both sides of a still highly emotional debate that centers around the enshrinement of soldiers at the Yasukuni Shrine, and Lee's lawsuit to prevent her father from being enshrined there. As Lee visits Japan and the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, she confronts - and is confronted by a wall of nationalistic pride that might be compared to neo-Nazis defending the righteousness of The Reich. This is contrasted with her meeting and working with Japanese peace activists, who deplore their countries' militaristic past, and seek to heal the wounds with her neighbors.
With This is Us now on its fifth season and A Million Little Things on its third, we have a lot of material to entertain the hypothetical: if these two shows got in the ring together, who would come out victorious? Despite the endless recognition for the former’s success, I dare say I’d put my money on A Million Little Things once all is said and done.
Hours before their line-up of screenings for Trans Awareness Week began, the filmmakers of 'When Men Were Men' chatted with me about the film's personal exploration of masculinity.
Despite its aggressiveness, the Beef anthology series is about romantic love in all its forms. The final scene of the first season led us to believe that, despite the conflict, drama, and toxic traits, the main characters would end up together and, most likely, live happily ever after. The whole “beef” plot was the prelude to their love story.
When they’re young, they’re America’s darlings but, when they become teens and adolescents, they’re instantly perceived as harbingers of immorality. They’re Lindsay Lohan, Macaulay Culkin, Justin Bieber, and Britney Spears. But, despite what many media outlets, politicians, and the general public may think, they are human beings above anything else. The new Billie Eilish documentary, Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, proves this — showing the trials, tribulations, and humanity when growing up with all the world’s eyes on you.
In Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It (1986), we follow the love life of powerful female protagonist Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) and explore the relationship dynamics she has with her partners. She sees three men simultaneously: Greer Childs, (John Canada Terrell) Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee), and Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks). Though an 80’s film, She’s Gotta Have It is surprisingly progressive with its themes of female sexuality, although at some points in the film it is handled clumsily. Overall Nola is an incredibly compelling character especially for modern women, as we as a society acknowledge female sensuality more and more without the negative stigma.
When it comes the horror genre, I am VERY hard to please or impress, much less scare. Coming from a current mindset of appreciation for chilling, unsettling, tension-inducing efforts such as "Hereditary", "The Conjuring" (ONLY the first one to date, mind you), "Lights Out", "The Babadook", "Midsommar", "Talk To Me", "Oddity", "Bring Her Back", and the like
