Well Go USA has two promising releases in April heading for Digital, Blu-Ray and DVD.
Chun-Baek Lee and Oh Sung-Yoon (Daisy, a Hen Into the Wild) proudly presented their 2018 Bucheon opener, Underdog which the Planos-based firm is now shepherding as A Dog’s Courage set for April 14. The award-winning South Korean animated adventure tells the story of Jacob, a feisty and playful dog abandoned by his owners, who joins a pack of strays and embarks on a journey filled with fun adventures and life lessons in their pursuit to find a new and loving home.
The film won Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Silk Road Media Awards, as well as the Special Award at last year’s Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival. It was also nominated as Best Animated Feature Film at the 2019 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
On May 5, the company will release Derek Tsang’s gripping youth drama, Better Days, which stars Zhou Dongyu (Kung Fu Monster, Soulmate) in the role of Nian, a bullying victim unwittingly thrust into controversy and victimhood following the suicide of a fellow classmate, and C-pop superstar Jackson Yee (TFboys, GG Bond: Guarding) as Xiaobei, a street thug who sets out to protect her.
The film was subject to scrutiny with a halted release that carried over from last July until the Fall with a different cut issued to theaters. It ultimately stands as a well-deserved award-winner, scoring 100% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, and amassing wins for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress at the 2020 Hong Kong Directors Guild Awards, in addition to being crowned as a “Film of Merit”. It also won Best Director at the 2020 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards and took home 2020 China Film Critics Association awards for Actress of the Year (Zhou Dongyu) and Best New Performer (Jackson Yee).
My own review is based on the preceding cut of the film, though I welcome moviegoers to snag a copy and enjoy what is still inarguably one of the best movies to come out of 2019.
