April 2026 [20-26]
Chungking Express, Hell or High Water, Honey Bunch, Riceboy Sleeps, Beef
- Chungking Express [1994] - 31
I don’t know what the opposite of a “meet-cute” romance trope would be without looking it up, but whatever that’s basically what 1994’s critic-favorite, Chungking Express, is. A film containing two different stories of disconnected people lost out of love, Chungking Express is neither funny, clever, or convincing enough to make any of what it tries to set up count. There’s a couple of times the plot or characters begin to move in an interesting direction, but the movie seems so set on whatever whacko path it’s heading that it never allows those things to flourish. Outside of a single character from the first story, nobody is particularly interesting, almost none of the ways anyone intertwines are even vaguely touching, and the whole thing wraps up into such a non-conclusion that it makes this 103-minute mire feel like its 3-hours long. If it wasn’t for some interesting editing and cinematography this would be a solid 20 from me, and if I never have to hear goddamn “California Dreamin’” ever again, it will still be entirely too soon.
- Hell or High Water [2016] - 88
Hell or High Water is a movie that I watched when it was new and have thought about fairly frequently since, remembering that I liked it, but nothing else specifically. Tossing it on the other night, this movie is actually quite a bit better than I’d even recalled. Presented as a modern cowboy heist, Hell or High Water is a very smart and biting commentary about corporatization, colonialism, and the disintegration of both families and cultures alike at the hands of those in charge… It’s also the aforementioned modern cowboy heist, but it uses that exciting vernier to camouflage its actual scope and purpose. While none of the performances are particularly noteworthy — Jeff Bridges is a grumbly sheriff, Chris Pine is a sharp cowpoke, and Ben Foster is more than a little unhinged — the entirety of this package recalls an almost McCarthyan vision of the west and what it could have [or should have] been. Another masterpiece by Taylor Sheridan alongside 2015’s Scicario, this is a movie with a little more to say than it initially lets on.
- Honey Bunch [2025] - 85
Feeling like a spiritual successor to 2021’s Strawberry Mansion, Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s Honey Bunch is a weird, indi-scifi with a lot of interesting things to say and a story you’ve probably not seen before. While the overarching plot of “couple enter an experimental treatment facility deep in the woods following an accident that leaves one of them partially disabled and suffering from memory loss” feels like a million things you’ve seen before, I promise that this one isn’t. Though some of the performances are slightly wooden and the inclusion of Jason Isaacs feels a little like an attention grab, Honey Bunch is a great ride that deserves your attention if you like scifi in any kind of way, and is what both Black Mirror and anything Jordan Peele has made want to be. As with most things, I do think this could have been a touch shorter, eschewing some of the auxiliary mystery to focus on the main event, but it certainly never feels bloated or lost… Just weird in the best way.
- Riceboy Sleeps [2022] - 87
A subtle drama about a Korean immigrant and her son, Riceboy Sleeps is touching, thoughtful, and moving. Though I don’t know how long I’ll be thinking about this one necessarily, there’s a lot about it that’s important and worth paying attention to. Discussions about changing immigrant children’s names to be “easier”, depictions of bullying and unfair treatment at both work and school, and the subtle ways in which children both bolster and destroy us through their untrimmed honesty fill Riceboy Sleeps with purposeful parables and insightful analogies. As only a second work, Anthony Shim clearly has a strong grasp on who he is, what he wants to say, and how he wants to say it; creating a film here that serves as an incredibly solid foundation for future pieces.
- Beef S1 [2023] - 45
Another hot take according to the ratings, 2023’s people-watching, trainwreck, TV spectacle, Beef was… Very stupid, meaningless, and a complete waste of my time. This is a show that thinks it’s Uncut Gems with its “bad people behaving badly” presentation, wants to be Good Time or Fleabag by showcasing one thing while breaking your heart with its truer story, and seemingly seeks some sort of catharsis à la trauma like several other A24 greats of the past decade… But it’s none of those things. Excellent performances, music, and cinematography are overshadowed by a poorly structured narrative that goes nowhere, says nothing, and fails so hard in its twist that it actually serves to distract from the unlikeables on-screen, instead turning my ire towards the showrunners themselves. Similar to 2021’s Them, Beef has an interesting premise that’s got a lot of power simmering under the hood but, when it comes time to put the pedal down and unleash all of its pent up rage… There isn’t so much a lion’s roar as a kitten’s squishy fart. While I wasn’t sold on Beef’s premise at any point during its ~330-minute runtime, the show’s climax scatters so many aborted plot giblets across its dirty, editing room floor that you’d forgive red-hat protesters for confusedly trying to defund it. If Jerry Springer is your favorite show of all time, this might be for you. If not… I don’t know man, Ghar Wapsi is sounding pretty good though; Anything to do away with this horribly undercooked Beef.
