Animal World (2018)

[Koravec]

This was apparently a pretty big movie over in China, and it just popped up on Netflix.

Its almost had to discern the entirety of the plot, as only so much was revealed in explaining why things were their way in this movie. 

This movie had elements of The Joker, main character works as a clown which plagues his mind as an alter ego; Yugioh, movie takes place by using cards for in-debt players to verse eachother; Alex Kid, the card game is rock, paper, scissors; 21, the protagonist has to use his mathematical brain in order to figure out the odds in the card game; Kaiji (manga) which the series is loosely based off of, gambling on a ship; with some steam punk and neon visuals. The main character is also somewhat of an action hero, frequently having outburtsts of anger where he has to jump on a guy and beat his face in.

The movie takes place in a hospital where the protagonist's mother is in a vegetative state. Struggling with paying her medical bills, he attempts to raise money with the help of a childhood friend, this lands him in trouble after his supposed friend scams him into debt. 

In order to clear this debt he is received by an organization where he gets sent to a tournament taking place on a ship. Opponents must face eachother by playing card games of rock paper scissors. It is rumored losers are taken to a medical lab in the bottom of the ship where inhumane tests are performed on them. The scenes dealing with this are very disturbing, especially in contrast with the rest of the film which feels as though it could have been made for children.

This being said the movie is highly enjoyable. I started to feel the card game and math probability animations started to become somewhat tedious overtime. While fun in its own right, I would hope future insallments focused less on this aspect and added more action or maybe a whole new setting possibly. As stated, the ending appeared to lead into a sequel and it seems theres much more they could explore, such as the clown alter ego, as well as his father, whos name is foreshadowed. Entertaining movie, would be eager to see a sequel.

[Drunken Monk]

This film frustrated me. And not just because it opens with a terrific action sequence and then has little-to-no action scenes for the rest of the film. I just felt like it's main gimmick didn't work: rock, paper scissors. Not enough to carry an entire movie. Let alone a film over two hours long.

It had visual flare and, at times, its concept worked. But it didn't have enough meat on its bones and those side-themes it did have just weren't used enough. Not one I would revisit. Actually, not one I would watch all, had I known.