A compelling thriller by a debutant director and a delightful comedy from an unlikely place compete for the attention of Hong Kong cinema-goers this weekend. If you are staying in, stream a Korean romantic comedy series, season two of a top-tier melodrama, a children’s TV gem – or all three. “Forgetting is a gift,” purrs Channing Tatum’s oily tech billionaire Slater King in actress Zoë Kravitz’s compelling directorial debut, Blink Twice .
The story follows cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) and her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat), who meet King at a fundraiser and get sucked into his orbit as he invites them to join his crew to party in his luxury mansion on his private island. Blink Twice opens in cinemas today. In 2006 the isolated, landlocked Kingdom of Bhutan took its first tentative steps towards democracy, just a few years after finally allowing access to television and the internet.
King Jigme Singye Wangchuck announced that he was abdicating the throne and transferred all his powers to a democratically elected government. The Monk and the Gun , from writer-director Pawo Choyning Dorji, unspools in the aftermath of the king’s announcement, as a mock election is organised to educate the kingdom’s scattered population of around 750,000 about how to vote. The Monk and the Gun opens in cinemas today.
As the season unfolds, the family must contend with cataclysmic events such as the dropping of the atomic bomb that devastates Nagasaki and, later, the Korean war. The show represents the very best in top-tier melodrama, a beautifully realised epic of hardship and heartbreak that speaks to audiences of every creed and colour regardless of where they came from or where they live now. Pachinko season two will start streaming on Apple TV+ on August 23.
We’ve encountered this story premise in K-dramas a thousand times before – childhood friends reconnecting as adults and becoming lovers and soul mates – and it’s here again because, well, who doesn’t like a good cry over life’s many obstacles? Jung Hae-in plays dashing young architect Choi Seung-hyo, who somehow decides to abandon his career abroad and moves back home. There he reconnects with Bae Seok-ryu (Jung So-min) – the daughter of his mother’s close friend – who has fallen on hard times. Love Next Door is streaming on Netflix.
Parents of toddlers will know the appeal of CoComelon, the immensely popular franchise of educational and entertainment content that revolves around a bunch of kindergarten kids singing, learning and doing fun things with family and friends. The brand’s Netflix drama series CoComelon Lane released its much anticipated “season 3” earlier this week, and while the launch may disappoint quite a few young fans because of its short form – the new “season” lasts for only half an hour – it proves an exceptionally heartwarming treat. In this special episode, titled “The Nursery Rhyme Musical”, the baby protagonist JJ and his fellow schoolmates at the Melon Patch Academy are looking to surprise and express gratitude to their teacher Ms Appleberry by putting on a special musical for her.
Cue a steady stream of nursery rhyme classics. CoComelon Lane is streaming on Netflix. Find this useful? Look out for our recommendations every Thursday online.
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