kevindoconnel

Rating 8.5 stars.

Last year, I attended a screening of the pilot at the PIFF festival, and I thought it was brilliant for a small, local project. Recently, I was able to watch it on Prime Video and noticed that this second iteration - "The Kingfish 2" - has matured into a fill-length feature.

My first impression was how much of an improvement was made in the cinematography and sound. I must say that for a film that cost (according to the film's producer) "about the same as an old used Ford Taurus," it looks pretty darn good. But the story of TKF2 is it's storyline and how adeptly this group of attractive, young, new actors (so new that none of them even have an IMDB image) brought it to life. Keep your eyes on the three female leads. They are great talents.

Having seen the pilot, I understood some of the backstory which explains some of the scenes in this film, such as when the character X bumps into Cupcake and they recognize each other. This is a follow on from the pilot when they bumped into each other, stared lovingly into each others eyes, and were separated before they could formally meet. This story picks up where the first left off.

The three male leads are feeling down because they didn't get to connect with the three girls they met briefly who were, "perfect." Bobby, the suave one, did recall one of the girl's names, "Penny." he looked her up on Instagram, got his buds X and Flip to play wingman, and headed off to meet Penny and her friends. They all meet (the introductions are quite funny), have some laughs, and realize that they may have discovered the singer Josephine Sincere--the actual real life Philadelphia singer who was a big hit back in the late '90s, but disappeared. And that's when things get interesting.

The formula is the same: the three guys (and this time, their gal pals, too) venture into a tough neighborhood and encounter some sticky situations, but escape unharmed due to some quick thinking--and a lightsaber battle. Yes, you read that correctly. These are some of the more memorable scenes.

This little film packs a lot into its 72 minutes, including the introduction of a talented new singing group, Penny cupcake.

BUT THE MOST refreshing part about the film is that there is no profanity, sex, drugs, or guns, yet the film held my attention throughout without a lag in excitement. Well done.

Here are the three main reasons why I believe this film is overrated and seems to have been produced with stodgy film snobs in mind rather than a regular moviegoer:

1. THE THREE "SHOCK" SCENES: Ask yourself: whenever anyone mentions this film (even film reviewers), what are the ONLY three things they reference? 'Nuff said. If you remove these edgy (not "shocking") scenes, what would you say about the movie? Exactly; not much.

2. THE RIDICULOUS PLOT: As it turns out, the entire outcome was PRE-PLANNED to happen as it did by the lead character (Barry Keoghan). WHAT?! In order for him to have ever imagined that his plot would play out exactly as it did, they should have named his character Jesus or Nostradamus; only someone with omniscience would EVER think that. Utter nonsense. Talk about suspending reality.

3. DIRECTOR EMERALD FENNELL. Any time a director has to spend 10 minutes describing ONE scene (see YouTube), you KNOW the film is not intended for general audiences.

ALSO ... (1) The selection of songs with lyrics that literally describe the scene that's happening is film-schoolish; (2) Listen to 5 film critics and you will hear 5 different interpretations of the ending. Why?

Sorry, Emerald, gotta pass on this one.

I have never officially rated a film this highly--well, maybe "The Godfather," "Amadeus," "Best Years of Our Lives," and a couple of others. But Past Lives exceeded my expectations.

Yes, the heavy buzz surrounding the film was an indication that it was probably very good, but, after having watched it, I was still caught off guard. The film is, in a word: beautiful. The cinematography is stunning, the location selections were well thought out, and the acting was sublime.

Teo Yoo (as Hae Sung) and John Magaro (as Arthur, the husband) delivered understated yet powerful performances that showed that great acting does not necessitate verbal communication; in this case, non-verbal acting was stronger than any words could express in many of the scenes involving the trio of leading actors.

The film kept me watching with rapt attention, and the tension created by the uncertainty of where the relationships were heading added a heavy layer of suspense. The experience was so captivating that I found myself thinking, "Don't mess up this great film with a terrible ending." Then came the ending -- or what I THOUGHT was the ending, which made the actual ending ... perfect.