SVong-Along

If someone you love is dying- would you tell them? The Farewell explores this heavy question with a surprising amount of hilarity and is a funny yet emotional family movie that also showcases Asian culture and the ethical dilemma of deciding what is best for our loved ones. Release poster - (Wikipedia) In short, see the Farewell if: you like laughing about weird family customs you love a good movie about family and/or love your family you are interested in/relate to Asian culture The Farewell is truly an homage to the idiosyncrasies of Asian culture: from the overall theme of hiding secrets big and small and pretending everything is ok, to burning fake money for ancestors to have a prosperous afterlife. But it also explores the intermingling of many complicated family relationships: grandparent and grandchild, kids and parents, uncles, cousin, etc. While everyone can relate to family love and drama, the setting here is China - and some themes arise of: the perspecti...

TLDR: See "Yesterday" if you are a Beatles fan and/or like British humor. What if "the Beatles" did not exist? That's basically the premise of "Yesterday," a fun film featuring the very talented Himesh Patel, (and also a lot of Ed Sheeran). I saw a sneak peek a few weeks ago thanks to my Yelp Elite friend May A. The premise of the movie, the whole world not knowing about the Beatles, basically applies to today's generation (i.e. my current 24 yr-old apartmentmate commented: "the Beatles are too old for me.") The highlights of the movie are the Beatles covers by Himesh Patel and Kate McKinnon being ridiculous as a music executive. Otherwise, the love arc is super cheesy but does have some "cute" moments, and the movie overall isn't super memorable. I do appreciate its creative take on a parallel universe, and the showcasing of a SouthEast Asian/Indian being a star and legit having a great voice. The song "Yester...

In short: the movie is very #Extra , with some unnecessary scenes, but still nostalgic, entertaining, with some love-able cast members and great themes. (image from imdb) While Disney's remakes have not been particularly memorable, Aladdin managed to keep some of the Disney "magic" in the live-action version, despite some unnecessary scenes and acting that made the movie feel a little too over-the-top. There's a wistful and whimsical feeling listening to a modern "Arabian Nights" and "One Jump Ahead." But sometimes the music- i.e. the bridge of Prince Ali (and the overall acting/directing) felt like the movie was trying too hard. Despite this, the modern version is at times awe inspiring- the setting of Agrabah is beautifully brought to life and some of the cinematic scenery has a very nice aesthetic. The first few chords of "A Whole New World" always move me, and I still felt the feels during the song despite a mega-cheesy harm...