Quarantine - Day 134

Welcome to the finale girl blog! I decided to purchase a domain and since “finalgirl.com” was taken I thought this was a clever play on words. Maybe it doesn’t make sense but whatever, I’m owning it. For those who don’t know, the final girl is what is referred to in horror movies as the girl that survives to the end. 

We are in the middle of a pandemic and a lot has changed. We have been stuck inside our apartment in quarantine since the beginning of March… along with most people. Times are crazy and I have so many things I could complain about but so can everyone. My problems are nothing compared to some people and I have been putting that into perspective every time I try to dwell about how I lost my job, can’t box anymore or can’t go out to the movies. It’s been really hard for EVERYONE and whining about it won’t change anything. I would rather be positive about this situation and use it as an opportunity to do all the things I’ve always wanted to do but never had the time. For example, keeping up more with this blog. 

Since I can’t go to the theater anymore and there haven't been any big movie releases I thought I would turn this blog towards movies that are streaming right now. Both of these movies I am reviewing today can be found on Amazon Prime Video. It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these so excuse me if I’m a bit rusty. 

Troop Zero (RT 66%)

Cut to the chase: A ragtag group of kids become friends in order to join a Birdie Scouts competition to get a chance to record their voices on NASA’s Golden Record.

 

This is such a heartwarming story and just what I needed to watch. The kids reminded me so much of my friends and I when we were kids. There were times I got Perks of Being a Wallflower vibes and if you are a fan of that movie, chances are you will love this one too.

I found out afterwards that the movie is written by Lisa Alibar who wrote Beasts of the Southern Wild. She is also working on writing the upcoming adaptation of the novel Where the Crawdads Sing- which I read and am really looking forward to. She must’ve grown up in the south since all her stories seem to be set in that part of the U.S. 

The movie takes place in Georgia in 1977 and follows a quirky little girl named Christmas who beats to her own drum. She lives in a less than extravagant environment in the outskirts of town with her dad, played by Jim Gaffigan. While out exploring she comes across a group of affluent Birdie Scouts that are having a meeting about the upcoming talent show that they are holding. When Christmas finds out that the prize is to get your voice recorded and sent out to NASA’s Golden Record she decides to create her own troop (led by Viola Davis) in order to compete. They are dubbed “troop zero” since all the other numbers had already been taken. It is a classic tale of snobs versus slobs and has you rooting for Christmas throughout the whole film. All the actors are amazing, most notable is Viola Davis who at first is reluctant to lead the troop but then becomes determined to defeat the group of mean girls that troop zero are up against. The kids in the troop are really talented as well, and have great chemistry together. Definitely check this one out if you are looking for an uplifting movie (and to be honest, who isn’t right now?).

The Handmaiden (아가씨) (RT 95%)

Cut to the chase: Korean thriller with lots of twists and turns...and a surprising amount of girl on girl lovemaking.

I’ve always been a big fan of Korean films and believe they do thriller and horror better than all the rest of the world. If you are a fan of thrillers or horror movies and have never taken the time to check out any Korean films you are really missing out. As the great Bong Joon Ho (director of Parasite) said, “once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films”. 

I’ve always been a fan of Park Chan-wook’s films and Oldboy has remained one of my all time favorites. The Handmaiden definitely follows in Oldboy’s footsteps and is similar in a lot of ways but with less gore. The flow of the story is also very similar to Parasite and I would say that if you enjoyed both of those films you are guaranteed to like this one as well. The Handmaiden is actually loosely based on a book called Fingersmith, except they changed the setting from Victorian era Britain to take place in 1930s-era colonial Korea and Japan. 

The story starts off about a Korean woman named Sookee who gets involved with a group of con-artists to execute an elaborate plan to rob a rich Japanese woman named Lady Hideko of her inheritance. Sookee becomes Lady Hideko’s handmaiden and they soon form a deep connection that ends up going a lot further than just a friendship. Sookee’s fellow con-man, The Count, comes to visit and tries to seduce Hideko into marrying him. The plan seems simple at the beginning, Sookee is there to convince Hideko to marry The Count and once they are married he will take her to an institution and claim she has gone mad. Sookee and The Count will then take her inheritance to split among themselves. Of course the plan ends up getting much more complicated than that. The film is broken up into 3 parts and just when you think you know what's going on they introduce another aspect that you never saw coming. It messes with your mind on a physiological level much like Oldboy does. I highly recommend this movie, just make sure not to watch it with your parents… you’ll thank me later.

That’s it for now. Stay safe. Wear a fucking mask.