Matters' Guide to Catching Up | I Hate Sequels

• The Handmaid's Tale Director: Rhett Murano, etc. Screenwriter: Bruce Miller, etc. Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahov

Is it science fiction? I would like to call it a political fantasy to be more accurate, like 1984.

The story is set in the future, and the democratic politics of the United States has undergone a major reversal, from a lighthouse to an autocratic system that combines state and religion, the Republic of Gilead. At that time, the reproductive function of human beings was extremely weak, and fertile women were therefore rare. But don't think that they will be regarded as treasures and loved like the jewels in the palm of your hand. Women at the bottom are just reproductive tools that are rare and habitable. They are arrested and assigned to various upper-class homes as maids. They have sex with their masters on a regular basis, and give birth to children. The work is completed and then assigned to another house.

The subject matter is very novel, and I froze when I saw it. The heroine reminisces about the era of freedom and often asks herself: Why did we come to the present situation? The answer is: boiled frogs in warm water.

At first, when the Nazis captured the communists,

I am silent because I am not a communist.

When they catch social democrats,

I am silent because I am not a social democrat.

When they arrest union members,

I am silent because I am not a union member.

When they arrested the Jews,

I am silent because I am not Jewish.

Finally when they came for me,

No one stood up and spoke for me again.

Interestingly, at that time, Canada replaced the United States as a beacon of democracy, and the maid’s escape destination was Canada. The deepest impression is that a lesbian who escaped from birth encountered a Canadian patrol officer on the border. The lesbian was like a bird in a panic, and the Canadians comforted her: you don't have to be afraid anymore, you have come to Canada. Hearing that sentence, I instantly burst into tears.

"The Handmaid's Tale" is not just a story thriller, the photography and acting are excellent. Four seasons have now been completed, and each season has been nominated and won numerous awards in various film and television dramas in the United States. Of course, the best is always the first sight. Like "Game of Thrones", starting from the third season, this series has been separated from the original blessing, and there are signs of unfinished business. This is the fate of American dramas, and it is due to the nature of capital seeking profit. Sometimes I think, why don't these people know what to do when they see it? You have to knock the bone and suck the marrow and squeeze an excellent ID to be willing. The last American show that made me grieve was The Walking Dead

• This is Us Director: John Riqua et al Writer: Dan Fogelman et al Starring: Mandy Moore / Milo Ventimiglia / Justin Hartley

This family-themed American drama made enough tears in the first season. But it is not by selling miserably, but by taking heart.

Jack and Rebeca are a young white couple, Rebeca gave birth to triplets in the hospital, unfortunately one of them didn't get out of the incubator. God sent them an abandoned baby to fill the void of the unborn child and heal their grief. It's just that this child is black, and although the parents treat it as their own and raise them indiscriminately, some things cannot be avoided after all.

Although the series is a family theme, it has a much broader perspective than the most successful family drama "Modern Family" before it. The former is like an indoor sitcom, while the latter is a family epic about race, education, generation, love, war, death, redemption, mourning...

The storytelling method of "This is Us" is not new in the movie, but it is the first TV series I have seen where the timeline is arbitrarily disrupted. The intertwined stories of the present, the past, and the future give people a complex experience of watching the drama. You follow the protagonist to reminisce about the past, and you can't help but say to her, "Hey, leave that dog alone."

It is a pity that, like many anticlimactic American dramas, it does not seem to have escaped the fate of unfinished ends. In Season 5 of the final season, the only scene that moved me was about COVID-19, where loved ones couldn't get close to each other, hugging each other while wearing masks. Later, the plot went bloody, and I gave up the drama.

But I once tweeted Miss the little Big Three under Mandy Moore, the actor who plays Rebeca, and she liked it.

• Kingdom (Kingdom) directed by Kim Sung-hoon, written by Kim Eun-hee, starring Joo Ji-hoon, Bae Doo-na, Ryu Seung-ryong, Jun Ji-hyun

Otherwise, South Korea's cultural export ability is now the best in Asia. As a Chinese, I am really envious and sour.

In the past two years, not only the boy band has swept the world, but Korean films have also won many Oscars. Last year there was "Parasite", this year there are "Minari" and Yoon Yoo Jin. Although the latter is essentially an American movie, the director and starring are both Korean-Americans, but Yoon Yoo Jin is the "bathhouse owner" vividly in my memory. My second sister-in-law!

In those days, China's sudden ban on South Korea made many film and television projects cooperating with China and South Korea stillborn. If this had never happened and the Korean film and television industry had moved closer to Chinese capital, would it still have the glory it is today?

Off topic, off topic. What I want to recommend here is the Korean costume zombie-themed drama "Kingdom" produced by Netflix.

After "Train to Busan", South Korea's zombie films also flourished. This time, the combination of ancient costumes, palace fights and zombie themes is very refreshing. The main story is "Prince's Revenge", and the branch is all kinds of killing zombies. Unlike the American TV series "The Walking Dead", the zombies here have inherited the fine tradition of "Train to Busan", running fast and having outstanding combat effectiveness. If there is a zombie universe with a chaotic timeline, it can be imagined that they are a group of people who ran out of North Korea in "Zombie World War", haha.

The quality of the first two seasons of "Kingdom" has been improved, and the third season has Jun Zhixian joining, which is worth looking forward to. However, I hope that it will end as soon as the season is finished, so that it will not be too late. But it's from Netflix, who knows!

• Cranford Director: Simon Curtis Screenwriter: Sue Birtwistle / Susie Conklin Starring: Judi Dench, etc.

Although American dramas are good-looking, they will get tired of watching them too much. After all, many fans of routine dramas are almost familiar with them. Those straightforward and hard-to-give value outputs are sometimes quite annoying. At this time, it is necessary to change the taste and come to a small refreshing solution.

"Cranford" is a TV series about the British Elizabethan countryside. I say it is small and fresh. In fact, it brings together a group of old actors, and it is mainly about the old people in the countryside. All kinds of right, warmth, humor, picturesque scenery. One word: I cry!

Although this drama is about the countryside, about the changing times, about class antagonism, and about humanistic concerns, the pacing is super fast and the plot is not wasted at all. The first season has only four episodes, and the second season has only two episodes. And it doesn't have the stinky problem of knocking the bones and sucking the marrow like American TV dramas. It will end in two seasons. In his best years, he will drift away and leave the most beautiful memories to future generations.

The first season starred Judi Dench, mainly because I'm not very familiar with British dramas, otherwise all the old ladies might be powerful characters. I do know two new big names in the second season, one is the Sol family's Loki, Tom Hiddleston. The other is the Archbishop of the Red Fort and Jonathan Pryce, the CP of the Anthony Hopkins group in "The Pope's Succession."

This seems to be the tradition of British dramas. In good film and television dramas, famous actors will come to the show.