Reviews

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ANDERSON SPIDER SILVA Paramount+’s miniseries Review: The Burden of being The Best

In 2013, after losing his long-held UFC middleweight title to Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva described the immense pressure of his 2,457-day reign as a “burden.” It is precisely within this psychological weight that the 2023 Pródigo Filmes miniseries for Paramount+ gravitates. Contrary to what fight fans might expect, this five-episode miniseries is not merely an epic chronicle of a fighting career; it is a poignant family drama. Here, the former UFC champion reveals the side of himself that remained hidden from the spotlight: a human approach to a man struggling to hold together something far more sacred than a championship belt—the family that remained by his side from poverty to stardom. As an executive producer, Silva clearly didn’t intend to create a vanity project to stroke his ego, but rather a tribute to his roots. The series kicks off with his legendary first bout against Chael Sonnen before diving into […]

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JFF THEATER: THERMAE ROMAE Review: A Time-Traveling Dip That Runs Lukewarm

Back in 2012, Thermae Romae was at the top of my “must-watch” list. Like many things, it slipped into limbo—until today. Fourteen years later, and thanks to the Japanese Foundation, I finally stumbled upon it, feeling much like the protagonist: suddenly transported through time and water into a different era. At the time, I was deep into an Aya Ueto phase. Having seen her in the cult classic Azumi, I was following everything she did. In Thermae Romae, she plays an aspiring mangaka and Kenshiro superfan who becomes the guide for Lucius (Hiroshi Abe), an ancient Roman bath architect who accidentally time-travels to 21st-century Japan.   Based on Mari Yamazaki’s manga and directed by Hideki Takeuchi, the premise is wonderfully absurd: Lucius visits modern Japan to find the “lost inspiration” needed to design baths back in Rome and, inadvertently, save the Empire.   The highlights are undoubtedly the transitions between […]

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THE RUNNING MAN Review: Glen Powell Leads Edgar Wright’s Steady Action Classic Revamp

I never read any literary works by “Richard Bachman,” so like virtually anyone in my generation, Paul Michael Glaser’s futuristic thriller, The Running Man was my first exposure to the IP, and with the casting of Arnold Schwarzenegger, you can believe it was a seller. It’s enough to be warranted a classic, so there’s no question that any idea there was about revisiting the book in any filmic capacity would draw a mix of prominently skeptic responses. Leave it to writer/director Edgar Wright to take on the task of proving doubters wrong with his latest trudge with co-writer Michael Bacall, for a brand new reimagining which he at once touted as a story more closer to the novel than the film’s 1987 predecessor. I’ll leave it to the bookworms to make that judgement since I can only gauge the film’s performance on its own merits next to the original, while […]

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