Hello reader, hope you are well.
Here is a review roundup on films I had recently watched, focusing on Along With The Gods (both films) and Crazy Rich Asians. Some spoilers lurk within.
Based on a webtoon by Joo Ho Min, Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds stars Ha Jung-woo, Cha Tae-hyun, Ju Ji-hoon and Kim Hyang-gi. Due to length the original 2017 film had to be split so a sequel was released the following year under the title Along With The Gods: The Past 49 Days.
In the first film Firefighter Kim Ja Hong (Cha Tae Hyun) dies in an accident while trying to rescue a child from her burning flat and his spirit encounters three Grim Reapers Gang Rim, Haewonmak and Lee Deok Choon who guide him to the afterlife. However the road there is not simple as Ja Hong must go through seven trials in 49 days that will lead to a successful reincarnation with other obstacles which make this journey bumpy such as the presence of a vengeful spirit.
Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds is intense and may make you question on your own actions, no matter how small. We are all sinners or we do things to cover up the truth. Every action has consequences for sure. I loved the cast's chemistry from start to finish. The film was heartbreaking but also humorous where appropriate. D.O/Do Kyungsoo from EXO shocked me and he wasn't the main character. He brought his mentally unstable character Won Dong Yeon to life that I couldn't help feeling such pity.
The sequel follows the same process as the first film's plot however there's more background in the Grim Reaper trio which makes the story interesting and they're helping another spirit (Kim Ja Hong's brother Soo Hong) go through the trials to secure reincarnation. There's also the introduction to the House God Seongju played by Ma Dong Seok/Don Lee. I do agree with some of the critics that The Past 49 Days suffers a little from the sequel not being as good as the prequel syndrome and that the storyline was often going in different directions, confusing the viewer and it was often a case of trying to keep up with various plots. In a way Soo Hong was our POV/window to the history of the Grim Reapers and we had to observe what happened in the past.
A tv drama adaptation is in the works along with third and fourth film follow-ups...how will this work out I wonder? We shall see.
The trailer for the first film can be seen below:-
As for Crazy Rich Asians...
Jon M Chu directs this film adaptation on Kevin Kwan's satirical novel about the super rich Singaporean Chinese residents. Having read the novel, I noticed some details were removed for the sake of the two hour film length so viewers will not get the entire picture surrounding all the characters. For example, what went on with Michael's affair and what went on that lead to Eleanor investigating Rachel's family.
The cast - I think on the whole it worked with a mix of Western born Asians and locals from Singapore and Malaysia. Yes I had my doubts and side-eyeing some choices but I will begrudge some respect for Nick's actor (he's a minority in his own right with his Malay side). Henry was okay, despite the character in general coming off as a perfect Gary Stu who deserved more layers to his background. At least the book goes into some detail on his childhood but he needed to be fleshed out more.
Early cynicism aside it was definitely pleasant to see an all Asian cast from start to finish, even including some mixed Asians (mostly Eurasians). There was less hideous fan service/male gazing which I am utterly grateful for and appreciated the snippets of eye candy from the men (the actors playing Colin and Michael had my attention a lot I won't lie). But of course the acting itself was good, yes a little cringe from the painful stereotypes/specific portrayals of snobby rich men and women.
Constance Wu as Rachel Chu brings out the struggle of the female protagonist/POV character and I originally found her a bit bland and obviously a banana, though not totally white-washed since she can speak Mandarin thanks to her mother. Astrid Leong was possibly the only female character I liked from the book even though she came off as a perfect Mary Sue for my liking. However I have to give her a little credit with how she dealt with finding out Michael's secret because it shows she's got more emotions lurking underneath. Gemma Chan was perfect as Astrid and was exactly how I imagined said character. The back story with Charlie is something I was often keen to find out more about while reading and it was cool to see Harry Shum Jr give his cameo in the mid-credits. If I ever decide to read China Rich Girlfriend and watch the film adaptation it will be for those characters as well as their actors. Michelle Yeoh as icy Eleanor was on point that if I met a potential Mother In Law like that and was classified as outsider because I'm a BBC/banana since I was born in a Western country I better watch out for culture clash.
Ken Jeong was playing the same kind of character he often is cast in for the sake of comedy but his interactions with his on-screen family were fun but Peik Lin's brother was a geek/loser stereotype I found unbearable. Awkwafina as Rachel's best friend Peik Lin was decent and her chemistry with sassy fashion queen cousin Oliver (Nick Santos) was great. I need an Oliver to style me hoho.
Major criticism was also on the lack of Asian diversity since Singapore has more than just one ethnicity. Yes this I can agree on and as someone who has had to deal with the lack of Chinese recognition in the Asian category over in UK I would be open to this other inclusion since I know Malaysia and Singapore has many people though Malaysia has Chinese as the minority. Where were the Malays and Indians in the film for example? The hawker stores were such a treat to see on screen that it made me miss the food back in Singapore and Malaysia but it would have been nice if both the book and the film had added alternative sides like the rich non-Chinese Asians and not putting simple stereotypes as guards or maids. There's more to it than that.
Does Crazy Rich Asians relate for everyone? No. I will say that the rich relatives part VS you being a lot cheaper and not as wealthy yes that is applicable. The main difference between Rachel and me is that I didn't study a subject that instantly guarantees a job so any Asian mother in law would chuck me out of the window. Most of my relatives have monies, majority of it earned from working and studying hard and yes some of them are judgemental over my choices in life. The family situations in the film are things I can completely understand.
The soundtrack was top notch. A good mix of old big band music in Mandarin and Cantonese as well as classic pop covers such as Sally Yeh's Cantonese version of Material Girl and Katherine Ho's Yellow. And yes, the wedding scene in the last half of the film even made me a little teary-eyed. No I wouldn't want to do something similar for my supposed wedding thanks.
Hearing the Hokkien, Mandarin, Cantonese and Bahasa hit home and I was amused with myself for even understanding the Cantonese parts (yes it's a shallow thought and unnecessary pat to the shoulder for me but oh well!). A Hollywood film on Asians that almost makes me relate so much and not necessarily about Hong Kong or China well okay I'm a little happy. Crazy Rich Asians almost got to me. A lot of it was good, some of it was meh but take it however you want.
Side note, I just saw some cut scenes and some of it was appropriate to be taken out but there were moments that were in the book that were important to the entire story. I think some of the male characters needed more depth now that I think further after watching the film. I did watch one reviewer from Singapore of Indian descent who criticised the film for using more English songs or supposedly 'yellow-washing' the songs...what to make of this...? There's the director letter to Coldplay to think about though [ link ]
Check out the trailer below:-
Here is a review roundup on films I had recently watched, focusing on Along With The Gods (both films) and Crazy Rich Asians. Some spoilers lurk within.
Based on a webtoon by Joo Ho Min, Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds stars Ha Jung-woo, Cha Tae-hyun, Ju Ji-hoon and Kim Hyang-gi. Due to length the original 2017 film had to be split so a sequel was released the following year under the title Along With The Gods: The Past 49 Days.
In the first film Firefighter Kim Ja Hong (Cha Tae Hyun) dies in an accident while trying to rescue a child from her burning flat and his spirit encounters three Grim Reapers Gang Rim, Haewonmak and Lee Deok Choon who guide him to the afterlife. However the road there is not simple as Ja Hong must go through seven trials in 49 days that will lead to a successful reincarnation with other obstacles which make this journey bumpy such as the presence of a vengeful spirit.
Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds is intense and may make you question on your own actions, no matter how small. We are all sinners or we do things to cover up the truth. Every action has consequences for sure. I loved the cast's chemistry from start to finish. The film was heartbreaking but also humorous where appropriate. D.O/Do Kyungsoo from EXO shocked me and he wasn't the main character. He brought his mentally unstable character Won Dong Yeon to life that I couldn't help feeling such pity.
The sequel follows the same process as the first film's plot however there's more background in the Grim Reaper trio which makes the story interesting and they're helping another spirit (Kim Ja Hong's brother Soo Hong) go through the trials to secure reincarnation. There's also the introduction to the House God Seongju played by Ma Dong Seok/Don Lee. I do agree with some of the critics that The Past 49 Days suffers a little from the sequel not being as good as the prequel syndrome and that the storyline was often going in different directions, confusing the viewer and it was often a case of trying to keep up with various plots. In a way Soo Hong was our POV/window to the history of the Grim Reapers and we had to observe what happened in the past.
A tv drama adaptation is in the works along with third and fourth film follow-ups...how will this work out I wonder? We shall see.
The trailer for the first film can be seen below:-
As for Crazy Rich Asians...
Jon M Chu directs this film adaptation on Kevin Kwan's satirical novel about the super rich Singaporean Chinese residents. Having read the novel, I noticed some details were removed for the sake of the two hour film length so viewers will not get the entire picture surrounding all the characters. For example, what went on with Michael's affair and what went on that lead to Eleanor investigating Rachel's family.
The cast - I think on the whole it worked with a mix of Western born Asians and locals from Singapore and Malaysia. Yes I had my doubts and side-eyeing some choices but I will begrudge some respect for Nick's actor (he's a minority in his own right with his Malay side). Henry was okay, despite the character in general coming off as a perfect Gary Stu who deserved more layers to his background. At least the book goes into some detail on his childhood but he needed to be fleshed out more.
Early cynicism aside it was definitely pleasant to see an all Asian cast from start to finish, even including some mixed Asians (mostly Eurasians). There was less hideous fan service/male gazing which I am utterly grateful for and appreciated the snippets of eye candy from the men (the actors playing Colin and Michael had my attention a lot I won't lie). But of course the acting itself was good, yes a little cringe from the painful stereotypes/specific portrayals of snobby rich men and women.
Constance Wu as Rachel Chu brings out the struggle of the female protagonist/POV character and I originally found her a bit bland and obviously a banana, though not totally white-washed since she can speak Mandarin thanks to her mother. Astrid Leong was possibly the only female character I liked from the book even though she came off as a perfect Mary Sue for my liking. However I have to give her a little credit with how she dealt with finding out Michael's secret because it shows she's got more emotions lurking underneath. Gemma Chan was perfect as Astrid and was exactly how I imagined said character. The back story with Charlie is something I was often keen to find out more about while reading and it was cool to see Harry Shum Jr give his cameo in the mid-credits. If I ever decide to read China Rich Girlfriend and watch the film adaptation it will be for those characters as well as their actors. Michelle Yeoh as icy Eleanor was on point that if I met a potential Mother In Law like that and was classified as outsider because I'm a BBC/banana since I was born in a Western country I better watch out for culture clash.
Ken Jeong was playing the same kind of character he often is cast in for the sake of comedy but his interactions with his on-screen family were fun but Peik Lin's brother was a geek/loser stereotype I found unbearable. Awkwafina as Rachel's best friend Peik Lin was decent and her chemistry with sassy fashion queen cousin Oliver (Nick Santos) was great. I need an Oliver to style me hoho.
Major criticism was also on the lack of Asian diversity since Singapore has more than just one ethnicity. Yes this I can agree on and as someone who has had to deal with the lack of Chinese recognition in the Asian category over in UK I would be open to this other inclusion since I know Malaysia and Singapore has many people though Malaysia has Chinese as the minority. Where were the Malays and Indians in the film for example? The hawker stores were such a treat to see on screen that it made me miss the food back in Singapore and Malaysia but it would have been nice if both the book and the film had added alternative sides like the rich non-Chinese Asians and not putting simple stereotypes as guards or maids. There's more to it than that.
Does Crazy Rich Asians relate for everyone? No. I will say that the rich relatives part VS you being a lot cheaper and not as wealthy yes that is applicable. The main difference between Rachel and me is that I didn't study a subject that instantly guarantees a job so any Asian mother in law would chuck me out of the window. Most of my relatives have monies, majority of it earned from working and studying hard and yes some of them are judgemental over my choices in life. The family situations in the film are things I can completely understand.
The soundtrack was top notch. A good mix of old big band music in Mandarin and Cantonese as well as classic pop covers such as Sally Yeh's Cantonese version of Material Girl and Katherine Ho's Yellow. And yes, the wedding scene in the last half of the film even made me a little teary-eyed. No I wouldn't want to do something similar for my supposed wedding thanks.
Hearing the Hokkien, Mandarin, Cantonese and Bahasa hit home and I was amused with myself for even understanding the Cantonese parts (yes it's a shallow thought and unnecessary pat to the shoulder for me but oh well!). A Hollywood film on Asians that almost makes me relate so much and not necessarily about Hong Kong or China well okay I'm a little happy. Crazy Rich Asians almost got to me. A lot of it was good, some of it was meh but take it however you want.
Side note, I just saw some cut scenes and some of it was appropriate to be taken out but there were moments that were in the book that were important to the entire story. I think some of the male characters needed more depth now that I think further after watching the film. I did watch one reviewer from Singapore of Indian descent who criticised the film for using more English songs or supposedly 'yellow-washing' the songs...what to make of this...? There's the director letter to Coldplay to think about though [ link ]
Check out the trailer below:-