EUyeshima

As described by the literal title of this 2023 tearjerker, it's a wafer-thin concept wrapped around a familiar terminal illness story based on a significant chapter in screenwriter Audrey Shulman's own life. Directed in an uneven manner by Trish Sie, the plot focuses on best friends Jane and Corinne, early twenty-somethings who have been close since age seven. Similar to this film's predecessors from 1971's "Brian's Song" to 2022's "Spoiler Alert", the two are total opposites in their approach to life, but they bond even deeper through the inevitable tragedy. The two leads do solid work - Odessa A'zion as the outgoing Corinne and Yara Shahidi as introverted Jane even though her character's awkwardness is laid on awfully thick initially. The emotionalism behind the drama really can't transcend the predictable plot machinations and aggressive tearjerking moments like the concluding karaoke scene. The supporting performances feel marginalized, in particular, Rish Shah as Jane's smitten love interest and an underutilized Bette Midler as Corinne's firebrand boss. Ron Livingston and Martha Kelly manage a few good moments as Corinne's parents. Fans of this familiar film genre will likely enjoy it.

This 2025 farce definitely left a smile on my face since it showed great fidelity to the original "Naked Gun" trilogy, but I also have to admit it wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as the professional critics led me to believe. Director/co-screenwriter Akiva Schaffer (along with Dan Gregor and Doug Mond) completely captures the frenetic pacing and sophomoric gags, but the hit rate on the latter just felt hit and miss at times. The rapid-fire dumb sight gags work like a charm like the flying windshield and the maniacal snowman, but some of the other bits like a "Double Indemnity" seduction riff and a "Buffy" recap meltdown didn't quite resonate. The plot focuses on Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. Who follows in his father's footsteps, even though his aggressive tactics constantly threaten to close Police Squad. This time he investigates the murder of a software engineer tied to a billionaire entrepreneur not coincidentally modeled after a certain presidential ex-adviser. As Drebin, Liam Neeson is game for the shenanigans and plays his deadpan role with brio. In what is turning into an impressive career reinvention, Pamela Anderson is pitch perfect as the murder victim's sister, a cross between a femme fatale and a screwball heroine expert at jazz scat singing. The rest of the cast perform in the right spirit, though honestly no one else stands out as much as the stars. There are nice cameos from Dave Bautista, Priscilla Presley (returning to her role as Drebin Sr.'s widow), and Busta Rhymes who is part of the movie's funniest exchange about manslaughter. Running a fleet 85 minutes, this comedy will please diehard fans of the spoof comedy sub-genre.

Maggie Cheung would have been the perfect Marnie or Eve Kendall in "North by Northwest" if she had an opportunity to work with Alfred Hitchcock in his prime. In a succession of gorgeous printed cheongsam dresses, she exudes the glamorous mystique that makes Tony Leung's character's inchoate attraction completely understandable. The irony is that she isn't playing a seductress but quite the opposite in director/screenwriter Wong Kai-Wai's acclaimed 2000 romantic drama, which is being re-released into arthouse theaters this month. Set in Hong Kong in 1962, the story focuses on a central couple, Su Li-zhen and Chow Mo-wan, with a straightforward narrative that exposes a multitude of emotional complexities. Both married but not to each other, they're unexpected neighbors who develop a codependency through their mutual loneliness and gradually discover their spouses are having an affair. Determined to remain chaste despite the constant temptation, their deepening friendship still can't prevent them from falling in love. With their movie star looks, Cheung and Leung convey their characters' inner turmoil with subtle conviction and quite often in sensually silent gazes. All the technical elements enhance the power of the film immeasurably - Christopher Doyle's evocative cinematography, Williams Chang's rich production design and striking costumes, even the repeated use of Osvaldo Farrés' "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás" on the soundtrack. While I can see how some people may get bored by it, the film's seductive pull is unmistakable.