One of the most well-known facts about the first season of Squid Game was how long the series took to get picked up. Originally conceived as a film by director Hwang Dong-hyuk, the original concept for Squid Game was being shopped around to numerous production and distribution companies over a decade before its eventual release on Netflix. As long as it had been shopped, however, the core ideas and story of the series were set in stone as one continuous story from start to finish. So when it was announced Squid Game would receive two follow-ups in the form of two more seasons, fans of the initial batch were immediately skeptical of the impact this would have on the series’ legacy. The first season felt like an uncompromised vision that came out at exactly the right time that everyone was able to both see and talk about the show. Viewership obviously wouldn’t be as high, but what of the story? Would Dong-hyuk be able to expand that much upon something he was satisfied with the conclusion of for so long?
It’s up for debate whether the new angles the second season took worked to its benefit or not. There are fresh takes on familiar concepts explored in the first season, and familiar faces to back up the exploration of plotlines both new and old that we thought we’d seen wrapped up. Personally, I thought all the new storylines explored with Seong Gi-hun and Hwang Jun-ho (Lee Jung-jae and Wi Ha-joon respectively) were fascinating and piqued my interest the majority of the time they were elaborated on.
However, I felt Jun-ho’s journey to discover the island and find the Front Man behind the game didn’t get nearly enough screen time. To the director’s credit, it’s not like Jun-ho’s main arc in the first season got an enormous amount of screen time, but the lesser amount shown there actually worked to its benefit in how it kept the mystery going at the same rate at the game. In the second season, this feels a lot more like a search than an investigation, and it doesn’t land nearly as well as it did previously. On top of that, with Gi-hun and Jun-ho meeting and planning to blow the whole case wide open so early on, it was implied the Jun-ho would play a much larger role than it felt he did by the end of the season.
On the other end of the spectrum, let’s talk about the new characters. There are over 400, after all—though veterans to the series understand only a portion of them get a focus in the grand scheme of things. Fortunately, Dong-hyuk still knows how to sell us on new players years later. There are still too many to go through all of them, but we can’t move on without giving a little bit of spotlight to Choi Su-bong, better known as Thanos.
Despite his presence in the game as a generally antagonistic force who sows chaos and deceit, Thanos is pretty funny throughout the bulk of his screen time. Viewers of the series’ English dub will miss one of his main quirks, being his constant switching between speaking Korean and English. The character’s pompous bravado is a point of contention when it comes to how many viewers see him, but the reason I think it works is how well Thanos’ actor plays that portion of the role. Thanos may look familiar to those with greater knowledge on the South Korean entertainment industry, which is due to his portrayal by K-pop singer-songwriter T.O.P., a casting decision many viewers have praised. There’s an art to antagonistic characters who always seem to be up to something when they’re on screen, and the way Thanos dances around the series’ tone while doing his own thing brings a double header of comedic relief and tension to the mix.
Everyone’s standards are different, and Squid Game 2 might not hit some of its viewers the same way its initial 9-episode run did back in late 2021. However, I feel it’s definitely worth checking out for anyone who watched the first season. The director clearly still has a vision left for the series, and I’ll be seated for the final conclusion later this year (allegedly, this summer).
Squid Game 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
Earlier this year, Amazon began its marketing cycle for its new animated video game anthology series, Secret Level. Helmed by Tim Miller of Netflix’s Love Death + Robots, the series brought promise of original stories set in varying universes from different video games episode to episode. While some await the episode based on Firewalk’s Concord—which launched earlier this year and shut down two weeks later—or Capcom’s Mega Man to see if it is the silver lining critics have foretold, one name and its attached episode has left questions in its wake since the reveal of the series: PAC-MAN.
Yeah, him.
Challenged with not just an original story, but a complete reinterpretation of the franchise’s “mythos”, almost everyone who viewed the PAC-MAN episode was confused by its contents. This went from diehard fans new and old to even people who just knew OF the series and its titular character. The question wasn’t how this sprouted from the franchise, but why? Why do all this for seemingly no reason over a series that it wouldn’t have been much of a challenge to figure out an original story around?
And at last Thursday’s 10th annual Game Awards ceremony, we finally got our answer during the pre-show.
Yes, the reveal of PAC-MAN’s next playable endeavor turned out to be a tie-in game for the aforementioned episode of Secret Level. Or at least, that was how things seemed until a follow-up interview with Tim Miller on the episode was released following the announcement of Bandai Namco’s Shadow Labyrinth.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Miller revealed that while he and the Secret Level team were given full creative control of the episode, the developers wanted to possibly point them in a direction or two by revealing sneak peeks of Shadow Labyrinth as it was made. “What they showed us was so fucked up…[i]f you gave me a million years to guess what the next PAC-MAN game would be, I wouldn’t have got there.” Miller spoke, mirroring the sentiments of what many fans would be telling themselves during the Game Awards.
The announcement didn’t leave a bad taste in fans’ mouths or come at a bad time, it was just strange to announce in the way they did. Prior to its reveal, those involved with the Secret Level episode such as the protagonist’s voice actor Aleks Le claimed it was an original reinterpretation of the original game. And now that Shadow Labyrinth is out in the open, those involved claim it was actually the other way around. Those watching the Game Awards weren’t sure what to expect until Puck showed up on screen (or maybe Pooka and its iconic explosion sound effect from Dig-Dug). However, those watching Secret Level for the yellow circle knew what was coming the moment the Bandai Namco logo preceded the specific environment the reveal began with. What was perhaps stranger was Bandai Namco’s following announcement for a Netflix Games exclusive (???) from the creator of SEGA’s Shenmue and Virtua Fighter series, but that’s a topic for another day.
Amazon’s Secret Level launched on December 10th with its first eight episodes, and today is slated to release its final seven including those mentioned above, as well as ones based on games such as Spelunky, The Outer Worlds, and Honor of Kings.
Secret Level is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
The Edge of Sleep, starring Mark Fischbach, released to Amazon Prime Video this October to immediate success on the platform’s charts. However, as he has recently revealed in a Reddit thread, there is still much to do.
Fischbach, widely known online by his YouTube username Markiplier, recently revealed a series adaptation of the podcast he stars in, The Edge of Sleep, would be releasing in mid-October. However, as the video implied and promotion (or, lack thereof) would soon show, the series’ success was to be built on its own terms. To this end, Fischbach uploaded a video to his YouTube channel urging his subscriber base to make noise and watch The Edge of Sleep on release, soaring it into the top 10 charts on the platform. Fischbach went on to mention Iron Lung, the film adaptation had directed of David Szymanski’s game of the same name, would have “doors [opened]” as a result of this goal being hit.
Loyal fans of the Markiplier channel scrambled leading up to October 15th, making sure to get the series’ viewership as high as they possibly could while making as much noise about the show as Fischbach had instructed. Fellow creators would even come out with their own ways of helping his campaign, one of whom being the popular commentator Charlie White Jr, also known as Cr1TiKaL. Not long after the release of the series (and subsequent fan propulsion into the platform’s charts), he would come back to upload another video on the matter, and discuss the terms with multiple fans on the r/Markiplier subreddit.
Make no mistake, this is not Mark Fischbach’s frustration with the performance of The Edge of Sleep. The YouTuber’s loyal and passionate fanbase propelling the show past the top 10 into the top FIVE shows on the platform after release disproves this. This is Fischbach at his most passionate, at a point in time where he is confident in the doors the series can open. If The Edge of Sleep performing this well so far will open doors for Iron Lung‘s release, just imagine what the subsequent success of Iron Lung could mean for Fischbach going forward, as well as what it could mean for YouTubers in Hollywood going forward as a whole. This is not a sign to lose steam, it’s a sign to keep making noise, as everything the community has done thus far is only getting the film closer to a full release.
The Edge of Sleep follows Dave (Mark Fischbach) as an insomniac night watchman with a history of somniphobia among other mental health issues. When he finds one morning that everyone who fell asleep the prior night perished while unconscious, he teams up with some current and ex-friends to survive the coming days and get to the root of the phenomenon, all without falling asleep.
The Edge of Sleep is now streaming on Prime Video.
The studio trend of long-awaited sequels and revivals has run its course for some, but not at all for Beetlejuice. In addition to the original film’s sequel being in development hell for over thirty years, it felt right for the story to return specifically now. We’re in a period of cinema where weird, experimental horror films are back in full swing and audiences keep coming back for more. Beetlejuice, fitting into all three of those categories, has remained as timeless a talking point as ever. Especially with the success of the unfortunately short-lived Broadway adaptation, it made all the sense in the world to revisit Tim Burton’s twisted world all these years later.
The sequel has already grossed over $300 million and counting on a $100 million budget since its release earlier this month, and for good reason. The film immediately grabs your attention with how different it looks from the others out at the moment, which especially works to its benefit. The palette and sets don’t look out of place when compared with the world the original film sets up. Burton’s insistence on using practical sets is a staple of his work, and it really shines in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. This decision helps make the afterlife ironically feel even more alive than before.
The actors work within these locations super well, both returning and new additions to the cast. Winona Ryder’s portrayal of Lydia in this film isn’t an exact one-for-one translation of how she was in the original, but rather an evolution. Jenna Ortega’s character plays a bit closer to the original iteration of Lydia from Beetlejuice, though is far from an exact copy. Her reluctance to believe in anything supernatural ends up creating this distant and mysterious character who’s two sides of the same coin with a young Lydia. Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse hasn’t aged a bit, still as disgustingly hilarious as you remember him to be. Funny enough, Keaton having not aged as Betelgeuse works with the narrative well, as we see others retaining their form they first took on when they died. The same makeup, outfits and voice bring the film home as what feels like a true next step in the Beetlejuice franchise.
With how loose and unpredictable the original Beetlejuice can be, it’s hard to describe Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as a return to form. In fact, some of its decisions feel just as spontaneous as the original film, though this doesn’t always work to its benefit. The flames of hell opening up beneath one of the film’s antagonistic forces is undoubtedly a hilarious gag, and definitely feels VERY Tim Burton. However, the antagonistic forces in the film, while involved in some entertaining sequences, just seem to come and go at times. Neither of the two shown are onscreen for a long enough time for any stakes to really build up as an audience member. This isn’t to say the original film needed that to hook people for as long as it has. Rather, neither antagonist is able to have quite as much staying power as someone like Betelgeuse himself has had.
That may feel like an easy out of sorts seeing as it’s his name on the poster, but it’s an important point to be made. While the film is entertaining, its stakes just seem a bit confused in their motivations. In addition to the antagonists with little staying power, I still wonder why Lydia even began seeing visions of Betelgeuse in the first place. It’s never elaborated upon other than him still yearning for Lydia as well, which isn’t even directly stated to be connected. The conflict between the two seems over and done with very quick, which is a problem I had with a lot of the film’s pacing now that I think about it.
Despite being cooked up for decades, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice feels more than a little underbaked. If you’re looking for problems, you’re more than likely to find a lot of them. However, when taking off the critical lens, it’s clear Burton’s passion for the world of Beetlejuice is as active as ever all these years later. It’s a passionate film where the cast and crew clearly had a lot of love for the property and a lot of fun working with it. It’s a strange, unusual sequel to a comedy horror classic, but when that’s the point of the original film as well, there’s no need to exile this sequel from the full story.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is now playing in theaters worldwide.
In a world saturated by musician biopic films, no one expected Pharrell Williams to shake things up in such an odd way. That’s a good thing, by the way.
Pharrell Williams’ self-produced documentary film Piece by Piece follows his own history and career in the music industry complete with guest appearances from fellow music producers such as Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and even Daft Punk as was shown this Thursday. The twist no one was expecting—allegedly, not even the guests themselves—was that the entire film would be animated in the LEGO style.
In 2020, Universal acquired the film rights to the LEGO brand following a well-received three-movie tenure under Warner Bros. Pictures. Previously, the studio had released The LEGO Movie as well as its sequel, The Second Part, in addition to the spin-off film The LEGO Batman Movie. While even years later each of these films retain a fairly active fanbase of their legacy and characters, the sequel received underwhelming box office returns that led to Universal acquiring the rights. Despite reassurance that a new entry in The LEGO Movie franchise was in development, nothing came of this deal until this year when images and a trailer appeared for Piece by Piece, the Pharrell biopic that the musician himself was heavily involved with.
When the film’s first look was revealed, many were surprised, but not necessarily in a bad way. This was to be the first theatrical LEGO film since early 2019, and while the creative direction seemed different from that of the narrative-driven The LEGO Movie films, it seemed to still be there, albeit existing in a more biographical non-fictional form. This was a new spin on both the music biopic film and LEGO film, and early impressions from moviegoers seemed enthusiastic about the shake-up.
We’ll be covering the film over here once it comes out, and we have faith that Pharrell has a few more surprises left in store for us than just the initial reveal.
Piece by Piece releases in theaters on October 11th, 2024.
At the same time, though, even those low expectations get surpassed sooner or later.
In late April, Paramount released the Knuckles spin-off series to Paramount+ ahead of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Early on, the show was poised to expand the cinematic universe of the blue blur, with a focus on how his monotreme rival Knuckles would adapt to his new life in Green Hills following his journey to Earth in the second film. However, upon release, critics and fans alike were a bit disappointed in the series, finding that the titular echidna was hardly even a focal point. Instead, the series follows him training Wade Whipple, a supporting character from the films—yes, the same Wade Whipple who Robotnik held at gunpoint in the first film—to summon his strength and win a bowling championship while fighting off danger along the way. Some found the writing to be cheesy and its character progression to be lackluster, while others have found charm in how the series expands the Sonic movie universe in its own direction yet familiar sense of style. Unfortunately, when watching through the series myself finally, I found the latter to be true.
Don’t get me wrong, Knuckles has problems. I could go all day about how none of the antagonists have any staying power or that the plot without Knuckles isn’t all that compelling or, again, the fact that Knuckles doesn’t show up all that much in his own series. This narrative, though, has been done to death already by this point, so I feel there’s merit in exploring what the series actually does right. This isn’t like trying to find a silver lining in an absolutely unsalvageable situation either. There are LEGITIMATELY good moments in the series, and while cheesy at times as some will point out, it does have some charm in that regard. This is mainly due to how passionate the series feels, going full steam ahead on any outlandish ideas it cooks up. The VFX is shockingly good for a streaming spin-off series, and the inclusion of Chief Pachacamac and G.U.N. doesn’t make the series feel entirely out of place in the Sonic movie universe. While the villains could be doing better at selling their roles, those who do fit into their roles REALLY sell their lines and make their characters feel worth it. Every member of Wade’s family is eccentric like he is in their own ways, and I occasionally got a kick out of the sports commentators in the bowling championship sequence. Of course, Adam Pally does a great job as Wade himself, and Idris Elba is always absolutely electric as Knuckles.
Though, it would be a sin to talk about the strong points of Knuckles without going over the best episode of the series. It’s a bit polarizing, but I feel that those who get it will get it. Let’s talk about The Flames of Disaster.
When Wade is captured by his adversary Jack Sinclair to turn him in for a cash reward, Knuckles trusts Wade will break himself free and won’t need any outside help. In a comatose state in the back of Sinclair’s truck, Wade finally has a vision of and meets the Chief Pachacamac of echidna legend. Pachacamac advises Wade that he has the power to break free on his own, he just has to unlock it. This kickstarts a multi-act theatrical rock opera epic during which Wade is dressed as Knuckles and sees things his way. He watches his father die (or a puppet version of him, rather), runs through multiple sets resembling stages from the Sonic the Hedgehog games, all culminating in Wade breaking himself free from the back of the truck.
This episode is directed by Jorma Taccone of The Lonely Island fame, and it REALLY shows throughout the entire rock opera sequence. There’s so much vibrance and passion emanating from every shot that the series’ usual cheesiness overflows in a hilariously good time. There is nothing boring to look at in this episode, as it packs so many of the crucial steps of Wade’s journey into a half-hour time slot with so much charisma and flair that it makes me wonder what the whole series would have been like had Taccone directed the whole thing.
Again, though, this isn’t to say the rest of the series is devoid of hope. Much like the Sonic movies are a bit less focused on direct adaptation sometimes, the same can be said for the bulk of Knuckles. However, the cast has charisma as they always do and there wasn’t much of an indication that things were so serious to begin with. If you sit back and coast along with the show, I think you’ll find you’re having a great time along with the characters in that world. Though, that may also depend on how many degrees you yourself separate Montana from your own reality.
Knuckles is now streaming on Paramount+.
Get Some Strange!
