It is frankly a bit boring and not what I expected from Ke Hu Quan. But it makes sense considering that the main character is a real estate agent. It does set up Quan’s motivations well, along with conflict later in the movie.

After the Valentine’s Day party, the plot finally starts. It does do quite a bit of information dumping at the beginning through monologue and if it wasn’t Quan, I wouldn’t have cared for the information dump. Most of the movie was otherwise great. The plot is a little clunky and not very unique, but most action movie viewers aren’t there for the most plot intensive film. 

Its combat scenes were amazing and well-choreographed. It was creative and honestly made me feel like a kid watching Jackie Chan movies. At one point, this movie was creative with using giant utensils as weapons in one of the real estate properties that Quan’s character was selling. You could tell that the choreographers and actors put their heart and soul into the combat.

Speaking of the actors, the casting was excellent. I could tell that they had fun with the movie but still worked hard. Their type cast was done wonderfully. The character costuming was also very well done. The outfits highlighted the character archetypes well and the outfits still made sense for their environment. 

However, the CGI was off. It was unnerving and not implemented well. There was a scene in particular where the main characters had someone in the trunk of a car, and the car was clearly too small for the actor and it just looked uncanny. 

The humor was good for the most part, some jokes didn’t land but humor is subjective. For example, some of the suspense that builds up in Quan’s storyline is that there are mustaches drawn on all of his real estate ads. There was plenty of comedy centered around one of the antagonist’s love life problems which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed some of the comedy that came from the violence. Additionally, I think that it was quite funny how the main antagonist loved boba to a ridiculous degree throughout the movie.

Overall, the ending was solid and decently sentimental for a comedy/action movie. I think it was a nice refresh for Hollywood since most of Hollywood is frankly stale releases. It was a pleasure seeing well known, established actors do well while bringing in new talent and new ideas.

The post Love Hurts, but This Movie Doesn’t appeared first on Obsidian News | Oregon Youth Voices.

More than 300 people gathered at Drake Park in downtown Bend on Jan. 18 to speak out about their fears and frustrations. The Uniting Our Voices event was inspired by The National People’s March and Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. 

It was a brisk morning with sunny skies, people were bundled up in warm clothing. A myriad of people of all ages and demographics were there, engaging with the speakers. Apprehension and frustration was shown in the people’s expressions. Signs lay about, featuring slogans such as “My body, my choice,” and “This will comb over.”

The first speech acknowledged all of our lived realities and how we need to unite and listen to each other. At one point, the speaker, Chela Sloper, held up a sign reading, “If you’re not saying Black Lives Matter, you’re probably not thinking it.” She also discussed the template of America (white, straight, English-speaking, Protestant) and how we need to reconfigure our understanding of what an “American” is.

The second speech was delivered by a local teacher named Amy Sabbadini. Sabbadini talked of her family’s experiences in the 1930s being Jewish in Italy. She also spoke out about local Ku Klux Klan activity against Catholic immigrants during the 1930s. This may be surprising considering what most of our history has told, but Oregon has had its fair share of racism. That is part of the reason why Sabbadini asked that we protect people the same way her family was protected by her fellow Italians. Sabbadini encouraged people to help their community members, support local journalism and speak up about injustice. 

 “We fight authoritarianism by linking arms, by seeking peaceful solutions and by expanding opportunities. When we build longer tables instead of higher walls, when we refuse to demonize our neighbors, we defeat authoritarianism,” stated Sabbadini. 

The speeches continued, describing the fears around immigration, bodily autonomy and the environment. Poems and songs were sung along with the speeches. 

The post Community Unites Against Division appeared first on Obsidian News | Oregon Youth Voices.