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#Cook Up a Storm It might just break the curse that any movie starring a member of the Kuaile Family is a guaranteed flop. Despite a somewhat eclectic cast, the film's true value lies in how it seamlessly channels the spirit of classic Hong Kong Lunar New Year comedies, even evoking memories of beloved films like *The Chinese Feast*, *All's Well, Ends Well*, and *God of Cookery*. The culinary battles are brilliantly shot with the rhythm and intensity of action sequences. With a simple yet heartwarming story, the movie is filled with joy, culminating in a festive ending that truly captures the spirit of the Lunar New Year.

#Mind Game For David Fincher, a genius long known for challenging and outsmarting audience intelligence, perhaps no review is more apt than this one: "David Fincher's *The Game* makes all other film critiques pale in comparison. Its masterful plotting is its very essence, and the sheer exhilaration of its revelations is simply beyond words."

#Cook Up a Storm I found it quite enjoyable overall! The cinematography, especially in showcasing the cooking details, was incredibly captivating and truly mouth-watering. I found the two dishes Paul prepared for Sky Ko quite amusing! My only minor quibble is that I wished the details of the culinary showdowns and the judges' critiques had been a bit more elaborated. Ultimately, it reiterates that familiar saying from *Cooking Master Boy*: the true purpose of cuisine is to bring happiness to people. A special shout-out, and an extra star, for Chua Lam's delightful cameo as a food judge!

#The Wrath of God A famous writer's sexual harassment case leads to a lawsuit. The court summons, delivered to his home, triggers his profoundly depressed former ballerina wife, causing her to commit suicide and take their young daughter with her... Sounds tragic, doesn't it? My question is: Do *you*, the writer, bear *any* resemblance to Abel? Abel was innocently murdered by a jealous Cain, and it was God's promise of sevenfold vengeance that truly marked his killer. What connection do your wife and daughter's deaths have to the typist you sexually harassed? This isn't divine wrath; it's purely a human tragedy, all because you, a so-called successful man unable to control your baser urges, constantly believed you could act with impunity. Your subsequent series of outrageous, vindictive actions only further confirmed your true degenerate nature. Director...

#Pilot Cho Jung-seok's cross-dressed portrayal surprisingly possesses a subtle, alluring charm, and it's quite effective. The overall style is an absurdist spoof comedy, even verging on the ridiculous at times, but it still manages to be genuinely funny. It also touches upon gender dynamics within the Korean workplace to a certain extent.

#The Braid Just today, I was chatting with a friend about my hopes for my own death. My plan is to go to Varanasi when my time comes, have my friends in India arrange a full Hindu death ritual for me, and finally, my ashes will return to the Ganges. I couldn't choose where I was born, and that has largely dictated a life of sorrow. If I were to die here in the Far East, I truly wouldn't find peace. To my surprise, tonight, right there in the movie, I saw the Ganges River in Varanasi. What a marvelously strange life!

#Michael Jackson: Who Was the Man in the Mirror? They tried to tell the world the truth. We, at least, already knew it.

#Darkside Blues A gruesome family massacre unravels buried past conflicts, though after a supposed "judgment," it becomes painfully clear that true absolution is beyond reach for anyone. The narrative falters badly. The mother’s whispered declarations of love from her deathbed feel utterly hollow and perfunctory, almost like delirious ramblings. No mother would, by any rational standard, abandon her child and depart this world purely for an insurance payoff; a true mother would bravely choose to endure and stay with her child. After all, choosing death is often far simpler than the arduous journey of enduring life for one's offspring. The entire narrative is preposterous, unengaging, and shallow, compounded by a lethally slow pace. It falls woefully short of 'Gone Girl'.

#Darkside Blues Had it been an original screenplay, the ending would have been quite impactful. However, given its source material, I gather the director just adhered strictly to the book. Comparing it to *Gone Girl* is a bit unfair, even though both are adapted from Gillian Flynn's novels, as this director simply isn't in the same league as David Fincher, which is understandable. It's not terrible, but the whole experience felt rather dull. It took too long to get into and wasn't as tight as *Gone Girl*.

#Godzilla: The Planet Eater Ultimately, it just boils down to another Godzilla vs. Ghidorah fight. This Ghidorah, a 24k gold, pig-headed tapeworm, was so over-designed it was blindingly hideous. "Civilization is sin, the primitive is pure." Overall, it frustratingly continues the boring style of the first two films: basically no spectacle you actually want to see, just endless philosophical pontificating. After sitting through all three films, I'm genuinely exhausted! I deeply regret ever falling into this hole.