Wow! It’s been a long while since I last posted (90 days ago) to my blog. At a time when we’ve been indoors more than ever (for me only marginally so), everyone shared all the things that they watched to keep themselves entertained while in quarantine. I too watched all kinds of stuff, but with everything going on in the world, movies and TV just felt trivial and not worth writing about. Now, hopefully things have gotten a bit better (I know I’m feeling slightly better) and as we are gradually reopening again, things are starting to feel more normal. So, in that spirit, here’s a bit of what I was watching while sheltering in place.

Emma

This retelling of Jane Austen’s classic tale was one of the most recent movies that I planned to watch in theatres before they were closed down. Unfortunately, my friends and I didn’t quite make it, so this ended up being the first (and only) movie that I paid premium rental prices for when it was quickly released to streaming. I wanted the straight-to-home experience that movie companies started to try once they began rejigging their theatrical release schedules. It was a good one for me, and I enjoyed the movie just fine, but maybe partly because it was not a blockbuster action movie — I don’t know how I would have felt about watching the next James Bond on my TV. Nevertheless, this was still one of my favourite genres — British period films — and I’ve always liked Anya Taylor-Joy (who plays the lead role of Emma), but I was less impressed by the charms of Johnny Flynn as Mr. Knightly (What was with those mutton-chops?!). The storyline is pretty familiar: rich, young lady Emma sets about matchmaking and manipulating the couples around her in the wealthy 19th century English countryside. I missed some of the enthusiasm and warmth I found in previous versions, but there was definitely a contemporary flavour to this rendition that felt very suited to a modern audience. Many scenes felt almost like Emma was talking into an unseen phone-camera for her Instagram feed. Whatever it takes to keep a 200-year-old classic fresh, eh?

Onward

This Pixar movie was even more on the cusp of quarantine than Emma. It had just arrived in theatres a week or so before lockdown was declared, but the dangers of gathering in public were already all around. I remember debating whether it was worth it to go into a theatre (and potentially catch a coronavirus) just to see this movie. Obviously I decided that it was not worth it, and thankfully Disney sent this movie to streaming on Disney+ shortly afterward. While this movie was great to look at, and a lot of warm-hearted fun, it was not Pixar’s best work and I was glad not to have braved pandemic dangers to see it. The story follows two elf brothers who live in a fantasy world full of mythical creatures which (after the fading into disrepair of all things magical) has pretty much become like a North American suburb. Having lost their father as young children, when younger brother Ian receives a magical staff for his 16th birthday, he and older brother Barley set out on a quest to revive/rescue their father. Visually, Pixar can do no wrong; and the fun in their characters is unmatched. However, I wish they had stuck with a purely fantastical world. Bars, highways, high schools and other modern settings didn’t mix well with the fairytale elements, and the satire of that genre just wasn’t very well done. The Disney-Pixar spark of creativity was just not as bright in this one.

Hellboy

I am a big fan of director Guillermo del Toro, and really enjoyed the first two Hellboy movies — the second one way more than the first (so I rewatched it during quarantine as well). Unfortunately, this 2019 Neil-Marshall-directed continuation of the series does not have del Toro’s unique artistry, and seems mediocre by comparison. I was never a big fan of the Hellboy character himself. I mostly enjoyed the team and the world around him. Unfortunately Hellboy is more centre-stage in this movie, and almost all the characters seem to share his smart-mouthed, crabby personality, rather than counterbalance it (Boy, do I miss Abe Sapien!). Daniel Dae Kim does his best as a British commando-type (with a twist), but neither he nor Stranger Things‘s David Harbour as Hellboy can save this forgettable movie. Sad that this franchise probably won’t be resurrected again.

Shazam

This non-cinematic-universe DC Comics adaptation is a cute blending of Big and Superman. Zachary Levi is charming as ever in the lead role as the superhero with the heart and mind of a tween boy (Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel) — though sometimes he gets a bit too silly. Levi could probably go toe-to-toe with Tom Holland in competing to express the wonder of an adolescent exploring his newfound super-powers. Jack Dylan Grazer is also natural and likeable as Billy’s cocky best bud Freddy. Overall, the movie is enjoyable enough, lacking the darkness and heaviness that plagued the Justice League movies and stomped any meaningful storyline out of them. Even Shazam‘s villain (played by Mark Strong), while pretty powerful, is quite trite. There’s a bit of depth to this adaptation where it deals with the theme of family and belonging in the context of foster homes. Unfortunately, this is the kind of movie where seeing the movie trailer pretty much satisfies the need to see the entire film.

Brightburn

In contrast to Shazam, instead of blending Superman’s story with a family comedy, Brightburn blends it with a horror movie. I’ll bet you’ve never wondered what would have happened if the last son of Krypton was actually more of a demonspawn. Elizabeth Banks and The Office‘s David Denman star as Tori and Kyle Breyer (this movie’s version of Ma and Pa Kent), and the devilish, red glow of the alien ship that crash-lands in their cornfield clues us all in that the son they adopt and love as their own might not grow up to save the world. However, young Brandon’s days of superheroism (or supervillainy) are still down the road as we watch this tween learn that the world can be harsh and his super-human powers might allow him to do something about it. While I was very much drawn to the concept of this movie, I didn’t love the execution. Brandon’s evil seems entirely baked-in and there’s no real reason why he, being raised by two obviously loving parents, would become a malicious psychopath. If the film is saying that his evil is innate, that seems like such a huge cop-out and wastes an opportunity to examine human nature and the effect of family and love on a person’s upbringing. It’s definitely stomping all over the classic nature-vs-nurture debate. The movie’s writers, Brian and Mark Gunn, also seem too enamoured with their concept of Superman’s story as a horror movie and lean-in way too heavily on the terror and violence aspects. I guess the idea is that horror villains like Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger don’t have character or personalities. They’re just pure evil and so poor Brandon (aka Brightburn) is following in their bloody footprints. Maybe I’d find more satisfaction by checking out Superman: Red Son instead, where we explore how Superman’s life would have been different if he’d landed in the USSR.

Yesterday

Notting Hill is hands-down my favourite rom-com, and so when I heard that Richard Curtis, writer of said rom-com (along with other greats, such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Love Actually) was teaming up with one of my favourite directors, Danny Boyle (famed for Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, The Beach, and so many other movies that I enjoyed), I could barely wait to see what they came up with. Add to that the high concept of an unsuccessful musician who miraculously wakes up in a world where he’s the only one who remembers The Beatles (and therefore rises to the heights of stardom by stealing all their songs) and I’m all-in! Unfortunately, I missed out seeing the movie in theatres and eventually it got shuffled to my iTunes watchlist, but thanks to quarantine, it shot to the top of the list and I finally watched it. Himesh Patel was nicely understated at Jack Malik, the lead ordinary-Joe who became extraordinary through these strange circumstances. Lily James as Jack’s longtime manager and best friend Ellie is adorably heartsick and pining with unrequited love. I like that this movie is more than just a rom-com and plays with its what-if concept to the fullest extent. Even when there are moments that begin to touch on how this reality-shift happened, that isn’t the point and so we don’t waste a lot of time on it. In some ways it’s just a gimmick to get you to watch an endearing, clever, romantic movie. The other gimmick is cameo-king Ed Sheeran’s appearance as himself in a series of scenes that played very well — much better than his Game of Thrones misfire.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Now I’m going to skip ahead to last week so I can talk about a movie I just watched, and compare it to Yesterday. There’s not a whole lot to compare, however, except that both are charming musically-themed rom-coms. But where Yesterday was high-concept and fairly clever, Fire Saga was pretty formulaic — though it definitely wormed its way into my heart. Starring Will Ferrell (whose movies I typically avoid) and Rachel McAdams (who I adore in pretty much anything) as a couple of lifelong friends from a small village in Iceland (Yes, Ferrell is playing Icelandic!), they chase Lars’s (i.e. Ferrell’s character’s) dream of winning the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision is basically Europe’s “Olympics of pop music”, where each country sends an amateur, representative act to compete for the winning song of the year. Very much like how Pitch Perfect was a loving, comedic tribute to the acappella singing-competition phenomenon, Fire Saga applies a similar formula to Eurovision (complete with a sensationally stagey scene where competitors come together the night before for a sing-off — in this movie it’s called a “song-along”). BTW, I’ve never watched Eurovision before, but this movie made me want to. It’s like American Idol amped up with way more flash, drama, and glitter. It was great that this movie actually featured many past Eurovision winners, who literally come in all shapes and sizes. So how does Ferrell do? Amazingly OK. He doesn’t quite lose himself in his character (and the painfully obvious wig doesn’t help) and so it’s pretty much just Ferrellean antics for the most part, with some Nordic accents here and there. McAdams is a lot more convincing as the modest-yet-talented Sigrit, who is also unrequitedly in love with the male lead (Hey, there’s another thing in common with Yesterday!). Other surprises include Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens as the Russian superstar, Alexander Lemtov, who is cartoonishly arrogant and steals both the show and (almost) Sigrit, as well as the Icelandic extras on the song committee, who just make you want to go and hug them over in Iceland (Oh the enthusiasm when they hear Sigrit sing on the Eurovision stage in Icelandic!). The movie was supposed to come out on Netflix to coincide with this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, but the global pandemic had other plans. Thankfully you can still see the movie in quarantine. And if you’re a europop fan like myself, you will definitely enjoy the musical experience (especially hit track, “Husavik” — which I’ve been playing ad nauseum in my apartment).

Knives Out

This movie has everything: all star cast, superstar director, clever and well-written script, and to top it all off, it’s a murder-mystery! Apart from the unwarranted appreciation I feel for Fire Saga, this is probably my favourite movie of the ones I’ve watched in quarantine. Rian Johnson, the wunderkind writer-director of Looper, Brick, and Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, also wrote and directed this clever take on a classic genre. Daniel Craig puts aside his 007 cufflinks and picks up a Kentucky-fried Southern accent to play Benoit Blanc, a private detective hired to solve the murder of wealthy family patriarch Harlan Thrombey (played by Christopher Plummer). Filling out the cast, and family suspect list, are Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Katherine Langford, Riki Lindhome, Michael Shannon, and Ana de Armas (as Harlan’s nurse). With each of Blanc’s suspect interviews, the plot turns and twists until the murderer appears to be revealed part way into the movie. Thankfully the twists continue and the stakes are raised, and the movie evolves into a killer chase as well. The acting performances are generally quite good, but the script and story is so compelling that it draws your attention. I have always loved a good twisty thriller, but until this film, it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed one.

The Farewell

Being Canadian-Chinese, I’m interested in Asian-American films. Awkwafina (you probably know this comedian and her gritty voice from Crazy Rich Asians, or Ocean’s 8) takes a more serious turn as Billi, an American granddaughter whose grandmother is dying of cancer. Unfortunately, her entire family has decided not to tell her grandmother about her illness and Billi struggles with that decision when she goes to Taiwan to visit with them and celebrate her brother’s wedding. I love that Asian films (especially Asian-American films) typically explore themes of family and culture, and this one does a nice job of it. Awkwafina is usually bursting into scenes like a comedic water-balloon, but in this movie she’s the star rather than the scene-stealer, so she’s a lot more understated (plus the subject matter is heavier). I didn’t realize that she had such good acting skills as well. I appreciate her more as an actress after viewing this film, and I feel that she’s got more substance than her Crazy Rich castmate, Constance Wu. Understandably, there is not a whole lot of plot to this film, focusing more on character moments. The entire cast is pretty good, especially Billi’s grandmother (played by Shuzhen Zhao) and parents (played by Diana Lin and veteran actor Tzi Ma). This film nicely captures a Chinese family’s personalities, customs, and quirks.

Artemis Fowl

Finally, one more movie that was destined for the cinema but didn’t quite make it, Artemis Fowl was shunted to streaming on Disney+ after the pandemic shut down all its venues. Nevertheless, I wonder how successful Disney’s live-action adaptation of the hit kids novel series would have been in theatres, because this first installment was a huge disappointment to me. Granted, I did not much enjoy the first book in the series either (which I assume this movie was adapted from, though I don’t recognize many of the movie elements from it). However, the concept of a young, rich, super-genius who’s kind of a villain and commands elves, fairies and trolls is a pretty unique one for a movie franchise. Unfortunately the script feels like a rushed mish-mash of various story elements of the original with a basic action-movie plot and some CGI effects thrown in for good measure. I found myself caring not at all about the lead character, played by newcomer Ferdia Shaw, who is definitely no Harry Potter by any stretch of the imagination (though I feel like they’re trying to trigger some memories of the far-more-memorable boy wizard). So many of the world-building and fantasy elements from the novels are just arbitrarily thrown together in the movie that what could have created an amazing new cinematic universe is simply wasted. The fact that this movie was directed by one of my favourite actors, Kenneth Branagh, astounds me. I don’t know if kids are enjoying this movie and whether I should just chill out about a family film like this one, but just like the Alex Rider series, the Eragon/Inheritance series, the Lemony Snicket series, the Dark Tower series, the Golden Compass/His Dark Materials series, and countless others that were tanked by terrible movie adaptations where an amazing franchise could have spawned, I feel that Disney’s Artemis Fowl was a huge letdown.

So, there you have some of the movies that kept me going so far in quarantine. I hoped I’ve piqued your interest in a few. Next, I’ll get into TV series (which are truly the bulk of what I watch).