Movie Review: Red Dot (2021)

Red Dot (dir. Alain Darborg, 2021) – A young couple travels to the north of Sweden for a romantic trip that soon goes awry.

Solitude in the wilderness has seldom boded well for campers, at least on film. Away from civilisation, the adventurers often become easy targets for the malicious, man or beast. The deceptively beautiful hiking trails aren’t exactly safe either. Just ask the boys who had unknowingly braved The Ritual.

Nadja (Nanna Blondell) and Einar (Johannes Kuhnke) heeded none of that warning when they decide to go on a romantic trip to see the northern lights. The couple has long felt a strain on their year-old marriage, therefore pouring the last of their hopes into the belated honeymoon that may rekindle their passion.

As seasoned horror veterans may come to expect, things quickly go wrong. The game between the hunter and hunted begins when the titular Red Dot lands on their tent. Live bullets rip through where they stand as they realise the perils of their isolation.

Movie Review: I Care A Lot (2021)

I Care A Lot (dir. J. Blakeson, 2021) – A legal guardian makes a living defrauding her elderly wards until she meets her match.

Self-assured, cold, and dangerous. Rosamund Pike has perfected the art of bringing to life a vengeful anti-heroine whom we love to hate and hate to love.

In I Care A Lot, her aplomb comes of devious origin as she steps into the heels of Marla Grayson. The court-mandated legal guardian abuses her authority to defraud her elderly wards, placing them in an assisted living facility and pocketing their assets. The shocking bit? It is all completely legal (and sadly, a true story for some).

Movie Review: Space Sweepers (2021)

Space Sweepers / Seungriho (dir. Jo Sung-hee, 2021) – A space crew discovers a human-like robot in a crashed space shuttle and decides to cash in on their find.

In 2092, the environmentally devastated Earth is in its death throes. The rich pay to seek safe harbour in space’s orbiting land, owned by UTS Corporation. The poor have no choice but to remain in their stricken home, struggling to survive the lasting consequences of climate change.

Space Sweepers continues the trend in science fiction, exploring the “what if”s behind our growing class divide that could see our humanity ebbed away with time. Inequity makes for a cold society, where non-citizens labour to clear the debris in orbit for money and the comfort of the upper class.

Series Review: Sweet Home (2020)

Sweet Home / 스위트홈 (by Lee Eung-bok, 2020) – A suicidal high school student re-evaluates his decision when he comes to face monsters trying to wipe out all of humanity.

After losing his family and endured months of brutal bullying at his high school, Hyun-su (Song Kang) was ready to end his life. Or so he truly believed, before a horde of monsters begin to infest the apartment building he lives in. Realising how much he wants to live after all, he finds his new purpose to survive, if only to protect the lives of others.

Adapted from the viral webtoon of the same name, Sweet Home may sound like Hyun-su’s coming-of-age story. But the sprawling series goes far beyond his personal journey of self-discovery. The teenager shares the spotlight with several residents of Green Home, each with their own compelling story to tell.

Favourite Movies of 2020

This has been a tough year for movies, where streaming services threatened cinemas more than before and major film productions came to a halt. May 2021 bring about better luck for us and the film industry both.

Before we return to the theatres next year, here’s looking back at the strange year we had, as defined by the films I personally loved. These exclude ones that almost made it, namely: Black Box, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, and Eurovision Song Contest for the gift of Ja Ja Ding Dong alone.

10. The Invisible Man (dir. Leigh Whannell)

Abandoning the bandages get-up for a high-tech suit affixed with micro-lenses, the new incarnation of Invisible Man has certainly gotten a visual upgrade. More than green screen magic is the story that brings out more grounded invisible monsters within toxic relationships.

Escaping the pitfall of taking on remakes, Leigh Whannell has his own story to tell. Who knew that his movie would be the last cinematic experience that I would have had for the next 6 months, but I couldn’t have chosen a better film to mark a temporary break from my favourite place on this planet. (review)

Movie Review: Project Power (2020)

Project Power (dir. Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman, 2020) – A new pill on the market lets loose uncontrolled superpowers on the streets, where a dealer, a cop and a veteran attempt to stop its creators.

NOPD officer Frank (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) sets the timer on his watch and pops the pill. For the next five minutes, he is bullet proof, a power that vanishes soon as the timer beeps. These are the precise rules that govern Project Power, a film that offers special abilities in well-timed short bursts – to just about anyone on the streets.

The catch? From cyro to pyrokinesis, there is no telling what ability one is going to get. As Machine Gun Kelly’s unfortunate dealer proves, most suffer uncontrolled surges that ultimately prove fatal, driving Frank’s determination to take down the source.