Night and Day (밤과 낮) (2008)

My first criticism of this movie is that it is way too long at 2.5 hours. It is a series of vignettes, some just mere seconds long, but they really add up. They (mostly?) add to the character development, but there is so much development. The art community in Paris interestingly has a sizable amount of Korean artists, including a North Korean artist. For a movie that takes place in Paris, there are not all that many French people in the movie. France merely provides the backdrop of the art world, including the Musee d'Orsay.

I'd like to just reiterate that Hong Sang-soo is super awkward. He has that Robert Altman zoom and some awkward dialogue and long takes. But life is awkward, isn't it? I stand by my characterization of Hong as Korean Woody Allen. He does the dramedy genre, albeit the comedy is much more subtle and awkward and not really ha-ha funny. But they have the same bougie ambitions. They both have a fascination with adultery and misbehaving men. There are some really charming vignettes, but the ending confused me. I think it's a winding statement on male desire, the fluctuating line between desire and action, and maybe the fleeting nature of desire. What the statement exactly is though is lost on me.

One of Us (2017)

A fascinating look at the Hasidic community in Brooklyn, One of Us follows three ex-members with uniquely harrowing experiences. Ari is a young man who decided to leave the community and we watch him learn about the secular world for the first time as an adult. The phrase "secular world" sounds so absurd to us but it is the proper way to describe the world outside the community. The modern Hasidic community formed as a response to the Holocaust. The community is insular with very strict rules to ensure the perseverance of the Jews. But going back to Ari, he is hilarious. What happened to him is awful, but watching him talk about discovering Wikipedia is precious. Etty's story is heartbreaking. She is fighting a court battle against the whole community for custody of her seven children, seeking solace in Footsteps, an organization that helps ex-members adjust. And the third character is Luzer, an aspiring actor trying to corner the Hasidic market. He is also quite funny. There are a lot of really astounding rules and practices they have. But I find the most astonishing thing to be that the Talmudic schools do not teach enough secular subjects to produce students with any marketable skills. Without any skills, they must rely fully on the community and welfare and have no ability to leave even if they wanted to. Some of them barely even speak English...born in Brooklyn! And somehow the state of New York willfully ignores this. This is of course a huge generalization, but the state is failing this community. And the secular world that these ex-members face out there is a scary one.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

This movie does not exist in a vacuum. If you didn't see the previous Marvel films, you're not going to get this one. Even if you did see all the other ones, you might not follow this one. The focus is on the infinity gems, which have made appearances in the previous movies but totally escaped my notice. There are so many characters in this movie who each have a history we are assumed to be familiar with. There are so many things going on; it's almost nonstop action, and it gets repetitive.

There is one thing the movie does very well in the beginning half while juggling the many character introductions. The Marvel movies have each developed a distinct style that this movie manages to retain and mix. Notably, the Guardians of the Galaxy introduction is distinct with the 80s soundtrack and the ridiculous jokes. Amidst all the action there are many jokes, and I think comedy has always been Marvel's strength.

There are a number of deaths, but as this is Marvel, we know that death may not be permanent. So what should be poignant does not always come off as so, because we know they probably don't really mean it. Also, we only got Wakanda a few months ago and already they've ruined black utopia. We can't have nice things...

Right Now, Wrong Then (지금은맞고그때는틀리다) (2015)

This is a story told twice, with small differences that butterfly into vastly different endings. The key difference is honesty. The lesson is to be honest with yourself and to be honest with each other. The structure is interesting and engaging. It takes two excellent performances for a movie like this to work. The acting differences are so subtle but have profound implications. It's kind of slow at times but in retrospect it was quite beautiful. Perhaps made even more so by the fact that they never consummate their brief affair in either version.

I admit it is a little awkward watching this story unfold knowing about the affair between married director Hong Sang-soo and lead actress Kim Min-hee that began in the production of this movie. The premise of the movie is there is a married movie director who falls in love with a beautiful woman he encounters while in town for a local film festival. There's something Woody Allen-esque about it, in that life imitates art imitates life (imitates art?).

Ready Player One (2018)

Ready Player One is a very entertaining ball of fun, abound with clever references (in homage?) to pop culture high and low. I can only imagine the legal nightmare it was to acquire rights to use all of these references. I think there is perhaps a little disconnect with the audience. No one is going to understand all of the references, it simply runs too wide from Citizen Kane to Minecraft.  The book was originally written by a man of a certain time for whom these references were very relevant to his life. A lot of these references were dropped or changed or made anew and now even a man of his age would not understand all of the references. The target audience of children and teens will not understand many of the references that predate their births. And it's a real shame because a lot of the fun is spotting the Easter eggs. I'm almost certain Samantha's birthmark is a reference to something, but I've yet to figure it out (it is otherwise an oddly specific character trait that doesn't really matter to the plot).

The plot is a quest, to acquire the three keys and win the game (quite similar to Spy Kids 3 plus a dystopian future with debtors prison and trailer park cities). From what I understand, the plot was condensed and simplified from the book. And for the most part, it was pretty cohesive. There was not much lag time between discoveries--it's constantly moving forward, but the consequence of that is they figure out the clues too quickly to be believable. Something I really appreciated was the emphasis on research. There is no brute forcing through this game. You have to hunker down at the library and do some good old fashioned research.

The best part of the movie is the middle. The quest for the second key in a recreation of The Shining. I've read a lot of criticism about character development and plot. The most fully developed character is the dead one, Halliday, the tragic Wozniak. The plot of the movie interestingly builds his character as we discover more about him by advancing in the quest, and in that sense the plot is actually quite clever. Though I can understand that we don't know too much about the rest of the characters, including the protagonist. We don't fully understand what drives him other than the purity and sanctity of nerd culture. Oh, and the immersive CGI is pretty cool.

The Room (2003)

Notorious for being the worst movie of all time, that's really not an exaggeration. Highly quotable because it is utterly ridiculous. The acting is just awful, maybe with the exception of Chris-R, a very minor character with just one scene. It is so terrible it's hilarious. The plot makes no sense...until you watch The Disaster Artist. Having now actually watched The Room through, I can really appreciate The Disaster Artist so much more. It's downright brilliant, the scene-for-scene recreations, and the clear analysis of the film's plot.  "I made this for you, Greg!" There are 3 versions of Greg in The Room; the obvious one is Mark, the ideal Greg is Denny and traitorous Greg is Lisa. This might just be the worst movie that I'd watch again. What can I say, it's fun.

The Wiz (Ford's Theater) (2018)

I wasn't really expecting much from the regional theater best known for a production of Our American Cousin 150 years ago. But Ford's Theater put on a spectacular production of The Wiz. The black re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz is actually quite funny. There were a few tweaks to the script to incorporate the times, references to Wakanda required. The all-black cast is full of excellent performances, particularly from the expressive Ines Nassara (Dorothy) and the phenomenal Hasani Allen (Scarecrow) in his Ford's debut doing his best Michael Jackson. The Wiz is full of catchy music in different traditionally black styles, some gospel, funk, soul, and R&B. The small 8-piece band nails them all.

The design of the show is lots of fun. The costumes are way over the top, which is really kind of perfect for Oz. The Wiz dressed as and acted as Prince was an interesting choice. The theater makes extensive use of projections on the walls and on a circular screen at the back of the stage (that later brilliantly converts into the balloon). The projections work particularly well for the Wiz, whose uncanny Prince-face in multitude is quite intimidating.