[Weekly Update] Oct 9, 2022

It seems everyone prefers to be billed on the first day of the month. We'll keep our billing preference as is for now!

CHANNEL UPDATE

We are currently holding a poll to decide which martial arts star we'll cover next! Check out our pinned post and cast your vote!

The second part of our video on Jackie Chan's recent films is currently being edited. Should be up in a few days, hopefully!

Still haven't decided if there'll be Halloween horror episode, as I haven't have time to watch a horror film. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Finally, I'm thinking of covering China Salesman... I'm not sure why but I have a sudden urge to talk about that dumb movie. It'll be a good opportunity to talk about some state-funded movies.

MEDIA TALK

Speaking of state-funeded movies, I rewatched the OG Top Gun. For anyone who says you don't need to watch the original to enjoy Top Gun Maverick... You are right, but you are also missing a lot of the context.

Anyway, I'm still in a phase where I'm enjoying simpler, quieter movies. And Top Gun, despite being pretty loud, has that quaint feel to it. It's a good midnight movie.

It, along with Top Gun Maverick, did remind me of what I like about action movies from that era. They all have a much simpler formula. You are told about a specific objective and obstacles, and you are told how to do it. You then sit and watch the characters trying to pull it off. It's the same old formula used in the Death Star run in Star Wars, and it's still used in every new Mission Impossible movie.

What I really like about this is how much more narrative focus and story driven it is, compare to the modern Marvel Spectacle. The final battle in Endgame, or No Way Home, or even Spider-Verse are all visual spectacle. You know what they hero need, but you don't know the plan. Things kinda just unfold as it goes, and you are a passive observer.

In Top Gun, however, often lays out its plan before committing. When Maverick says "I'm going to pull the break and they are going to fly right by", he does just that. There's small moments of anticipation build, and you are clued into it.

Top Gun Maverick takes that and makes it an entire movie. You are told early on in the movie what the plan is, and the whole movie is building towards that one action scene. It can get kinda dull because of that, but the pay off is still spectacular. The audience is anticipating action by the point, and not just reacting to it, and it becomes a much more engaging experience.

It's crazy how much more entertaining it all feels, even though compare to all the superhero action, Top Gun is visually rather simple.

Anyway, that's enough good thing for me, as I'm about to go back and stare at the badly done action movies of Jackie Chan. See you soon!