What to Watch This Weekend: July 24, 2020

The Social Justice Drama With Tough Issues And Amazing Acting: Clemency (Digital, Redbox)
An outstanding cast led by Alfre Woodard, Clemency brings tough social issues to the big screen.  Woodard plays a state sanctioned executioner who must confront her own demons that connect her to the men she is authorized to execute. Clemency is available for free at pretty much all major digital retailers so make sure to check this one out!  For more information, check out our story!

The Star Studded Animation Documentary: Spike & Mike: Animation Outlaws (Digital)

Spike & Mike: Animation Outlaws is an animated documentary that highlights some amazing animators and animation, and what these two did for the overall community.  For more information, check out our review!

The Unconventional Musical Drama: Fisherman's Friends (Digital)
Fisherman's Friends reels you in and hits the right notes, with its great music, relatable and likable characters, and heartwarming story.  For more information, check out our review!

The Young Adult Light-Hearted Nostalgia Trip: The Kissing Booth 2 (Netflix)
expect exactly what you expect for all teenage love drama and the two hour runtime will just breeze by.  And even if you are punching your first ticket to the kissing booth and going in blind-folded, you will find an enjoyable teenage romantic dramady.  For more information, check out our review!

The Irreverent Soon To Be Parenting Comedy: The Babysplitters (Digital)

The Babysplitters delivers a hilarious, unconventional comedy with a fantastic cast, frank dialogue, and laugh-out-loud situations.  For more information, check out our review!

The Gritty, Stylish Chinese Crime Noir: The Wild Goose Lake (Digital)

The Wild Goose Lake is a gritty, stylish Chinese crime drama with some beautiful cinematography, strong characters, and a slow burning story.  It won't be for everyone because of this, but there is plenty to admire about this film.  For more information, check out our review!

For The Martial Arts Enthusiast: Ip Man 4: The Finale (Netflix)

Ip Man 4 finishes the epic story of Master Ip Man, with a wonderful love letter to classic martial arts film, with the exaggerated scenarios and amazing fights that you would expect from the Wing Chun master.  For more information, check out our review!

The Historical Action Film About An Important and Fearless Woman: Harriet (HBO, Redbox)

Harriet tells the compelling story of an influential woman with Oscar-worthy acting, an exciting and heartbreaking script, and a stellar score.  For more information, check out our review!

Wild Goose Lake Review: A Gritty, Stylish Chinese Crime Drama

Release date: March 20, 2020 (Blu Ray Release July 21, 2020)
Running time: 110 minutes
Starring: Ge Hu, Lun-Mei Kwei, Fan Liao 

Written and directed by award winning filmmaker Yi'nan Diao, The Wild Goose Lake follows gangster Zenong Zhou (Ge Hu), who is fleeing from the law.  During his time evading authority, he crosses paths with an innocent-looking woman named Aiai Liu (Lun-Mei Kwei). Unbeknownst to Zhou, she holds a significant secret. Zhou must then confront the limits of what he is willing to sacrifice both for this stranger and for the family he left behind. 

The Wild Goose Lake is oozing with beautiful scenes and gritty style.  Yi'nan Diao has a great eye for the camera and makes even mundane looking urban scenes pop off the screen.  Scenes that would just look like stock footage in other movies are dripping with color and lighting, sometimes overtly, sometimes subtley.  But no matter how you look at it you will be impressed with his camera work.  Even scenes such as a field, an urban block, or a night in the city draw your eye.  And along with this, The Wild Goose Lake has some really amazing weather scenes, especially the scenes with the rain.  The story of The Wild Goose Lake is a slow burning crime noir film.  The movie has a few main characters and a cast of others that come in and out of the film.  Ge Hu as Zhou is a fantastic choice.  Zhou goes through so much in this film and Hu's depiction lets you feel the emotional and physical weight this has on him.  You see the pain that he experiences on his face, and the weariness of this long hunt.  Kwei is less pronounced as Liu, but when called upon she shows her acting ability in some brutal, emotional scenes.  

The Wild Goose Lake is less about the mystery of what Zhou did or of a Western-style detective movie.  Rather, this film is about one man's attempt to evade the law, while slowly filling in the audience in with what happened to get him there.  The movie proceeds at a very slow pace, and stays mostly in an urban environment.  But this slow pace lets you savor the wonderful shots and intense situations that the characters find themselves in.  However, despite the beautiful camera work and interesting story, the pace of The Wild Goose Lake might turn some people off.  It is a slow burning movie that takes its time to develop, but this lack of action does make the story drag at times.  But when the story picks up, it can pick up.  There is intrigue, double-crossing, mixed intentions; everything you need to keep the audience guessing.  And although they aren't central to the story, the few fight scenes that the film has are well done and exciting to watch.  The Wild Goose Lake is also a brutal movie, and this brutality can manifest randomly.  There is a scene early on that just looks out of place because of how quickly and randomly it appears to happen.  And there is a raw, violent scene towards the end that is brutal, but also seems out of place.  I questioned why these scenes were included, but they don't detract from the overall movie.  

The Wild Goose Lake is a gritty, stylish Chinese crime drama with some beautiful cinematography, strong characters, and a slow burning story.  It won't be for everyone because of this, but there is plenty to admire about this film.

Watch it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube.  For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

This site contains affiliate links. //Commerce or this site may be compensated when you click through links on our site.

Unboxing: The Wild Goose Lake on Blu Ray

Thanks to our friends at Film Movement, we have a special unboxing video for you of the upcoming release, The Wild Goose Lake.  Written and directed by award winning filmmaker Yi'nan Diao, The Wild Goose Lake follows gangster Zenong Zhou (Ge Hu), who is fleeing from the law.  During his time evading authority, he crosses paths with an innocent-looking woman named Aiai Liu (Lun-Mei Kwei). Unbeknownst to Zhou, she holds a significant secret. Zhou must then confront the limits of what he is willing to sacrifice both for this stranger and for the family he left behind.

This video will show you what you get from the Blu-Ray copy of this movie.  The film has a very high Rotten Tomatoes rating and looks like an interesting, stylish Chinese crime drama.