A period drama with Malay symbolisms, myth and folklore, the title Chuchu Datok Merah points to the mental image Malays have of themselves as descendants of Hang Tuah, the legendary Malay warrior of Malacca. Awang Janggut is very much a pseudo-warrior. Instead of a “keris”, a warrior’s weapon, he owns a prize-winning rooster. His battlefield is the cock fight arena. Home is a big but empty house inherited from his ancestor, and prefers living in poverty to working. The closest he comes to the high life of a warrior is when a rich businessman employs him as a bodyguard after he prevents hooligans from taunting the latter’s daughter Siti. Despite knowing Awang is married, Siti continues to flirt with him, causing him to leave his pregnant wife alone. She eventually falls sick and has a miscarriage. The film is a social criticism of people who rest on their laurels and ancestry instead of working for themselves. It is also one of the finest examples of the anti-hero in Malay cinema.
Twisting what seems to be obvious setups and frameworks is what sets the story structure of Squid Game apart. I appreciate that this narrative is complex but not complicated; an easy enough plot to wrap your head around while still treating the audience like an equal participant in this social commentary
A historic documentary about the iconic Disney character gives viewers a glimpse into animation.
Bigg County Restorations is a zany new pilot from comedians Joe Bell and Mikaela Watkins. In a spot-on parody of History Channel shows like American Restoration and Pawn Stars, Paul Bigg (John Jezior) works to restore kitschy decor for celebrities while his good-for-nothing adult children, Britney (Mikaela Watkins) and Junior (Joe Bell) go on wacky adventures while slacking off on the menial tasks they’ve been assigned. In the pilot, Britney and Mikaela’s day goes off the rails pretty fast.
I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before.
The film is a documentary focusing on heavy metal in the late 80s and tackles topics like drug addiction, alcoholism, sex, masculinity, and of course, rock and roll. However, this didn’t feel like any documentary I’ve ever seen before.
Miss You, Love You brings together two people who were meant to find each other at that moment in their lives.
