Film & TV

1. Old movie review: M. Night Shyamalan’s beach horror builds towards a twist ending that will divide opinion, naturally

   3.5/5 starsThe master of the killer pitch, M. Night Shyamalan, is back with Old. Undoubtedly, as movie ideas go, this one is right up there with seeing dead people in The Sixth Sense.A family of four head out for a luxurious holiday on a tropical island, though it soon becomes clear this may be the last time Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps) are together as a couple. She’s had a health scare and their relationship is fraying at the seams.No sooner have they and their young kids…

2. Jungle Cruise movie review: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt in enjoyable adventure based on Disney’s popular theme park ride

   3.5/5 starsDwayne Johnson headlines an old-fashioned romp through the Amazon in Jungle Cruise, the latest film spun off from a popular Disney theme park ride.Like Pirates of the Caribbean, the studio will doubtless hope this action adventure spawns a multimillion-dollar movie franchise, even if it doesn’t boast a character as memorable as Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow.What it does have is some genteel chemistry between Emily Blunt’s headstrong adventurer Dr Lily Houghton and Johnson’s…

3. Ghost Mansion movie review: Korean horror anthology sees webtoon artist visit haunted apartment to turn curse into a bestseller

   2.5/5 starsDigital comics known as webtoons are proving a fertile source of material for South Korea’s booming media industry. Many recent K-drama hits, including Sweet Home and Itaewon Class, were adapted from the popular new medium, while blockbuster franchise Along with the Gods also began life on the virtual page.Ghost Mansion, a horror anthology film from first-time director Jo Ba-reun, aims to return the compliment, spinning a yarn about a struggling webtoon artist who ventures into a…

4. K-drama review – Kingdom: Ashin of the North sees Netflix’s hit zombie series return for revenge-fuelled special episode starring Jun Ji-hyun

   3/5 starsWhile we wait for a likely third season to materialise, Netflix invites us to return to the Kingdom saga this summer through this prequel origin story. Ashin of the North is a feature-length special that clues us in on the mysterious Ashin, played by superstar Jun Ji-hyun, who appeared in the closing moments of the second season.Following a dense preamble that outlines the geopolitics of the Jurchen forces, officials of the ancient Korean Joseon kingdom and the Seongjeoyain tribe…

5. Itaewon Class producer buys into Mare of Easttown co-producer to make English-language versions of Korean dramas in Hollywood

   The TV drama Itaewon Class, about a young entrepreneur who seeks to avenge his father’s death by taking down his rival at a powerful corporation, has built a loyal global following on Netflix.But media executive Jeongin Hong believes there is even more potential for the 2020 Korean-language series.Hong, whose company JTBC Studios produces the show, wants to develop an English version of the series with the potential help of wiip – a Hollywood company behind HBO’s Mare of Easttown and other…

6. From ‘prince of death’ to ‘playboy drug lord’, the history of the Golden Triangle in HBO’s Traffickers

   Looking for a career change and entry into a pandemic-proof business? The answer may lie in your own backyard, but be warned: places in the pecking order are defended robustly and the really big money never trickles down.According to the makers of true-crime drugs documentary Traffickers: Inside the Golden Triangle, business has seldom been better. Far from making a dent in profits, Covid-19 has helped pay dividends to people invested in narcotics in the region bordering Thailand, Laos and…

7. How Chinese opera influenced Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, the movies of King Hu and Chang Cheh, and Golden Swallow’s white outfits

   One of the beautiful things about martial arts films is the different influences that are present in them: real-life combat forms like hung gar and wing chun kung fu, and circus skills like wirework and trampolining, to name a few.But the main influence on martial arts as they are depicted on screen is certainly Peking opera – or more accurately Chinese opera, as martial arts films choreography also draws from many regional Chinese opera forms.The first martial arts film, The Burning of the Red…

8. How fantastical prosthetics in ‘Sexy Beasts’, dating show on Netflix, were created – and how producers chose which contestant wore what

   Netflix’s new reality series Sexy Beasts asks singles to find romance while wearing fantastical, highly detailed prosthetics. When the trailer debuted last month, it appeared to be the vibrantly coloured love child of The Masked Singer and Love Is Blind, and was described with confused-but-can’t-look-away adjectives like surreal, bizarre and deranged.One Twitter user said it best: “I’m appalled and disgusted and will definitely be tuning in.”But the concept isn’t new. In fact, Sexy Beasts is a…

9. K-drama The Witch’s Diner: Song Ji-hyo in supernatural drama that starts promisingly

   After debuting with the little seen drama Scripting Your Destiny earlier this year, TVing, South Korea’s hot new streaming service, is back with its second original drama, The Witch’s Diner, an eight-episode supernatural series based on the novel Come to the Witch’s Restaurant.An ethereal Song Ji-hyo, with reddish hair, a hypnotic pair of contact lenses and some velvety dresses, plays Jo Hee-ra, the titular witch, beckoning lost souls into her decadently decked out eatery and promising them a…

10. K-drama midseason recap: On the Verge of Insanity – character-driven workplace story blossoms into thrilling drama

    This article contains spoilers.Vigilantes and young lovers are the drivers behind many hit Korean shows, but while their tales of injustice and aching romance, big budgets and major stars hog the limelight, some of 2021’s best series so far have eschewed fantasy for reality, and have been all the better for it.Much like the thoroughly satisfying Navillera earlier this year, On the Verge of Insanity, a workplace drama airing on MBC, confronts life’s hardships in a relatable way. The villains and…