During winter break, I got the chance to watch some great new movies and TV shows. As a Media, Culture and the Arts major I like to find inspiration for my own projects in film, television and music. For this article, I will be reviewing what I’ve enjoyed most watching during this break, “Gladiator II”, “Red One” and “Squid Game.”
“Gladiator II” is the sequel to the blockbuster hit “Gladiator” from 2000. The sequel stars, Paul Mescal as the main protagonist and gladiator as well as other well known actors, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington. Taking place 16 years after the first movie, Rome has been corrupted by the twin emperors, Geta and Caracalla. This film takes references from the original and creates a brand new story, with exciting action sequences and a well thought out story with twists and turns. Denzel Washington steals the show here. I recommend this if you enjoy historical action films and if you enjoyed the original film.
The second movie is the Christmas action film, “Red One.” Starring well known actors likeChris Evans, Dwayne Johnson, J.K Simmons and Lucy Liu, the film tells the story of Santa Claus in the modern age as Santa is kidnapped. His head Elf enlists the help of an expert tracker on the naughty list to get him back before Christmas Eve. The film is wildly entertaining with twists and turns and interesting use of mythology. I recommend this if you like Christmas films and action adventure films.
Lastly, I watched season two of the South Korean TV show, “Squid Game.” The series stars well known South Korean actors, Lee Jung-jae as the main protagonist and Lee Byung-hun as the main villain. In this show, heavily in debt citizens enter into death games to get a huge prize that can either be split or won by one victor. The catch is, they have to all vote for a majority to quit the games and split the prize. The contestants don’t know they are playing with their lives until after the first game. This show is very interesting with its characterization and well thought out story. The show delivers a thought provoking message about society and the action is suspenseful and brutal. This show is not for the weak and can be tense at times but it is worth it and entertaining. I recommend it if you enjoy the Battle Royale genre and dystopian media.
I hope you end up watching these pieces of media and find them enjoyable and had a great break like me. I hope to do another one of these in the future for TV and film fans at Clark.
