Watching: CRAZY RICH ASIANS

Year: 2018
Rated: PG-13
Director: Jon M. Chu
One of the best romantic comedies to hit the screen in a long time, Crazy Rich Asians opens to find New York-based economics professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) crazy in love with fellow professor Nick Young (Henry Golding), being asked to accompany Nick to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. American-born Rachel, bowled over even with the idea of such a trip, agrees ... but from their arrival at the airport, where Nick is treated like royalty and the couple end up with their own sleeper suite on the airplane, Rachel soon begins to realize how little Nick has told her about himself and his family. Turns out, not only are the Youngs richer than God and one of the most powerful, preeminent families in Asia - let alone Singapore - but that Nick himself is very much a celebrity on his home turf; the handsome, popular man-about-town bachelor set to inherit a dynasty one day, with every female eye under the age of 50 in all of Asia turned in his direction. And it's those same women who now find their gazes shifting to Rachel, many of them plotting the best way to get rid of the low-class ABC (American-Born Chinese) before Nick and Rachel's plane even hits the ground. Crazy Rich Asians is that rarity of a film - a movie that's actually better than the book - with the slower parts of Kevin Kwan's international bestseller edited, combined and refined to make not only a good romance story, but also one damn funny comedy. The cast is terrific, particularly Michelle Yeoh as Eleanor Young (Nick's mom), who can't help but always look at Rachel as though she's trying to set fire to the girl with her eyes - and in particular Awkwafina as Peik Lin, an old college chum of Rachel's who is from/lives in Singapore; seriously, every word from Peik Lin's mouth is hilarious, the screen bursting with life every time she's on it. But the romance is there as well as the humor, and thankfully it's not done in such shades of pink and syrup that you'll feel like a toothache is coming on from all that sugar. How terrific to finally see an all-Asian big-budget film get made, let alone do so well, but truth be known Crazy Rich Asians was one of my favorite films of 2019, so full of heart and humor and just the right moments of awe, it might bring a tear or two to the eye. And again: SO damn funny!  9.5/10 stars

   

Watching: BIRD BOX

Year: 2018
Rated: R
Director: Susanne Bier
Though the book resides unread on my Kindle, fear of spoilers accidentally hitting me in my face like firecrackers made me watch the Sandra Bullock horror-thriller soon as it started blowing up on Netflix. Bird Box opens with what appears to a mother (Sandra Bullock) and her two young children - one boy, one girl - fighting their way to get up a river to safety in a small rowboat. All three are blindfolded, and upfront Malorie (Bullock) almost cruelly reminds the children that to remove their blindfolds means they will die. Malorie does, in fact, even hide the kids under a blanket on the boat for warmth and extra protection, rowing upstream while wearing her own blindfold under an iron-gray sky, the only people seen so far in a world where things appear to have gone very, very wrong. Flashback five years, to a pregnant Malorie on the way to her doctor's appointment with her sister Jessica (Sarah Paulson). At the hospital, various news sources playing in the background warn of a strange phenomenon breaking out on the other side of the world: suddenly and for no reason, people by the thousands over in Europe and the Ukraine are committing suicide without warning, usually by whatever means at hand. Within minutes Malorie learns first-hand the thing have already gone local and - suddenly on her own - hurries on foot through the streets until finally finding a home where a small band of (so-far) survivors have gathered against what appears to be an alien invasion where the invaders can't be seen - or, at least when you do see them, you wind up dead by your own hand. A terrific supporting cast backs up Bullock as other survivors - John Malkovich, BD Wong, Jacki Weaver, and Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes (whose star continues to shoot higher than a bottle rocket), to name a few - but one thing to consider is that whether you like Bird Box may well depend on how you like your horror. This is a film relying much more on a slow-burn playing out/reveal of events, and though with its share of violence the GQ (Gore Quotient) remains low overall.  And while the film has its own sense of closure, it may not be enough for viewers who want everything spelled out for them - all questions answered - by The End. For me, Bird Box was kind of awesome; a fun, taught, well-put together suspense thriller that kept me hooked beginning to end, tense and well-acted and sometimes sad - but certainly worth the hype.  8/10 stars

Reading: THE JOLLY REGINA (THE UNINTENTIONAL ADVENTURES OF THE BLAND SISTERS BOOK 1) - Kara LaReau (writer) & Jen Hill (illustrator)

Kale and Jaundice Bland are a pair of sisters who couldn't live up to their last name more. Since their parents disappeared some time ago on a mysterious errand, the girls have managed to make a living by repairing socks, and never leave the house; even their groceries are delivered in a basket left by the mailbox, and when the normal cheese they use for sandwiches is changed to a difference kind - well, for the Bland sisters this is as shocking as their young lives get.  That is, until a band of all-female pirates shows up at their front door, and the girls are kidnapped and forced to work swabbing the deck of the Jolly Regina, a pirate ship sailing the high seas on a quest to de-throne the current pirate queen ... and may also be a way for the sisters to find their parents again. I read the second book, The Uncanny Express, first and fell in love with author Kara LaReau's homage to Agatha Christie in that book. What showed through like a beacon here in book one is how much I've also come to care about and love Kale and Jaundice themselves - not to mention LaReau's dry wit and sarcastic humor that makes these books as much a joy for adults to read. Though never fear, for young ones there are wonderful messages here about friendship, being yourself, forgiveness, and how to never - ever - eat a stew made by a pirate cook if you don't know what's in it (OMG, seriously Ms. LaReau??). Jen Hill's endearing illustrations only enhance the mood of the story; I always find myself reading along hoping to get to the next one soon. And though I think I might like The Uncanny Express a touch more (maybe due to my lifelong Christie obsession), The Jolly Regina was a marvelous first adventure only solidifying my love for the series - one that culminated with the squeal of glee I couldn't contain upon learning books three, Flight of the Bluebird, releases in January.  4.5/5 stars