MARCH 29 — With preparations for the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration kicking into full gear this weekend, I’m pretty sure that most Muslims in Malaysia would either be spending their time on the road and getting stuck in traffic trying to reach their respective hometowns, or running around their local markets buying all the ingredients needed to cook their usual Raya feast for the whole family and visiting friends and relatives to enjoy.
Surely going to the cinema is not an option for a lot of us in the midst of all this traffic jam and Raya preparations.
But if you’re looking to stream some movies as you wind down your busy day in bed or in front of the television, here are a few recommendations, some on Netflix and some on VOD platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Google Play.
Some are suitable for the whole family while some not so much.
Revelations
This latest film from Yeon Sang-ho, director of Train To Busan, is a Netflix original, and it’s thankfully much, much better than his last Netflix movie, the quite disappointing JUNG_E.
An investigation on how religious mania, specifically how an unrelenting devotion to a messianic figure can somehow corrupt the human soul if followed blindly, the film focuses on two characters; a young pastor named Sung Min-chan (played by Ryu Jun-yeol from Alienoid) and a female detective named Lee Yeon-hui (played by Shin Hyun-been).
Their worlds collide when a young churchgoer goes missing, and the film turns into a riveting police procedural, with an added focus on the religious imagery that pastor Sung sees everywhere (which convinces him that God is showing him signs) and the imaginary ghost of a dead sister that’s haunting Detective Lee.
Revealing more of the plot would spoil the many delightful twists and turns that the film has in store for the audience, although I should warn you that some suspension of disbelief is needed to enjoy this.
Then again, a film about seeing signs from God and the ghost of a dead sister everywhere shouldn’t really be expected to play it too straight when it comes to logic.
The Electric State
When I first read that this Netflix movie from the Russo brothers (of the later Captain America and Avengers movies fame) had a budget of US$320 million (RM1.41 billion), I was scratching my head wondering how a movie that’s made for streaming can cost that much.
However, once I laid my eyes on the movie and picked up on its concept, which is like a cross between a 1980s Spielbergian kid movie and I, Robot, I could totally see why it costs so much, because probably 80- 90 per cent of the movie is filled with CGI and effects shots (because there are so many robots involved), and that requires a lot of work and money.
As for the film itself, despite it being lambasted by film critics everywhere, I actually enjoyed it as it is.
It’s an 80s kid movie, with all the goofy cheesiness that comes with the genre, regardless of that huge budget.
And I think that’s also why, despite the critical pan, the movie shot straight to number one on the Netflix charts, because it does exactly what Netflix was hoping it would do — provide audiences at home with a big, star-packed blockbuster that will keep subscribers on board and hopefully attract new subscribers as well.
If you don’t believe me, watch it at home this Raya with your family, and see if they’re not entertained.
Cleaner
Talking about time fillers, if you’re a fan of Die Hard and are looking for a very decently executed rip-off, you won’t be disappointed by the simple pleasures on offer here from veteran James Bond director Martin Campbell (who did GoldenEye and Casino Royale).
The film stars Daisy Ridley (best known as Rey from the latest Star Wars trilogy) as a window cleaner on a high-rise building, who also happens to be some sort of ex-military personnel.
Occupying the building is a giant oil/energy corporation, and towards the end of her shift, Joey finds herself unwittingly involved when a group of eco-terrorists take over the building and holds hundreds of people hostage.
Like I said before, this is very much like Die Hard, but with a female window cleaner and an autistic tech genius brother involved to foil the eco-terrorists’ plot.
It won’t offer the viewers anything new, but its simple B-movie pleasures are still quite irresistible.
Cold Wallet
What would you do if your crypto investment turns out to be a scam? According to the hapless lead characters in Cold Wallet, the best option is to find the crypto king responsible and not only get their money back, but also give back the stolen money to everyone else who invested in the cryptocurrency called Tulip.
In an escalating series of blackly comic moments once they’ve managed to infiltrate the hideout of said crypto king, our three heroes — single father Billy (an excellent Raul Castillo), his hippie friend Dom (Tony Cavalero) and his friend from Reddit named Eve (Melonie Diaz) — find themselves way in over their heads once the situation escalates further and further to finally involve violence and death.
It’s clearly a low budget film with only one main location, but director Cutter Hodierne has crafted an engrossing and often very funny thriller that should make him a name to watch in the near future.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
