Review: Go Back To China

Release date: March 6, 2020
Running time: 96 minutes
Starring: Anna Akana, Kelly Hu, Lynn Chen, Richard Ng

Go Back to China is the second feature film from writer and director Emily Ting. This movie follows a spoiled rich girl Sasha Li (Akana) who embarks to the real world and tries to get a job after the completion of her fashion degree. But without experience and little to no options left, finding a job is the least of her current troubles. After nearly draining her entire trust fund, her father Teddy Li (Richard Ng) decides to cut her off and force her to return to China to work for the family toy business. This forced journey offers both a means for financial benefit and a life-changing trip of self-exploration.

Emily Ting's story comes off as both personal and authentic. Sure you may not be of Asian decent but these are common challenges everyone shares in obtaining their American Dream. Instantly the quote "how am i supposed to get work experience if i don't get hired" in the beginning of the film strikes a nerve as a fresh college graduate looking for a job. Emily's semi-autobiography which was actually filmed at her fathers toy factory takes viewers into the life of a dysfunctional Asian American family split between America and China. Sasha's journey to learn more about her estranged family and seek acceptance from them is an emotional one.  

What I really liked about this film is that it wasn't afraid to tell a story of great importance yet vulnerability. Understanding what children go through in the real world as far as life challenges and struggles, as well as peer pressure from all angles, shows how one's childhood can make or break someone. Each character in this film displays distinct differences in these worldly challenges. And while this story does focus on the pursuit of the  "American Dream" it taught an important lesson in believing in your own dream and passions. Everything doesn't always go the way you thought it would but staying true to your dreams makes any and all of them obtainable. 

Along with its financial and family struggles in this story, it also takes a glimpse into the toy manufacturing business and its impact on the Asian culture. Watching this exploration, you can't help but feel something . This movie will resonate with its viewers in some capacity coupled with a good heartwarming, family-oriented story that will make you laugh yet leave you remorseful.  With limited release options, you might only be able to see this on demand, but if you can catch in theaters check it out.

Watch it.

Deals / News: Showplace ICON Tysons Corner - New Theater and Free Movies Through 3/4/20

Showplace ICON is opening a new location at Tysons Corner, near the AMC Tysons Corner theater.  To celebrate this, they are doing a soft launch through Wednesday, March 4, 2020 to get ready for their grand opening.  During this time, you can see any movie at their theater FOR FREE!  Tickets go live an hour before the movie starts, you just have to be there in person to secure your seat.  If you sign up for their free rewards program, you also get two free small popcorns and drinks to enjoy at the show.

To view showtimes at the theater, click this link.

We went to check out a show during the soft launch and have some quick thoughts below:

Parking: There is a parking garage at the theater.  It is a little small but there seemed to be plenty of open spaces during the soft launch.  The theater itself validates parking so you can park and enjoy a show without worrying about a parking tab.

Ticketing: Tickets are all handled with kiosks before you enter the theater.  You can browse showtimes, sign into your reward account, and pay for your tickets right out front.  The whole process was relatively seamless, but the movies were free so there was no payment needed.

Food: The theater is going for an upscale environment, and should have a full array of food and beverage options.  They are hoping to offer food that is good enough to attract people who aren't even seeing a movie.  We will see if that occurs.  We had the popcorn and it was delicious.  Fresh with just the right amount of salt and butter! 
Update: We also sampled a few of their bites at a recent event, including cheese tortellini, a delicious pizza, and a bite that had salmon, bacon jam, and avocado.  All were very delicious!

Recliners: The recliners are the best in the business!  They fully recline but also offer a power headrest, so you can lean back but still keep your head pointed at the screen.  They also offer two levels of heat so you can stay warm during the movie.  The heat stays on for about 20 minutes so if you want to keep the heat, you have to keep turning it on.  But overall, these were insanely comfortable!

Screen: The theater screen was fine.  It was plenty large and clear, but I did notice some pixelation in certain scenes.  The theater advertises certain films as 4K, so I imagine this theater had a 1080 screen or something similar.  When you get to be the size of a theater, pixelation is going to happen if you sit close enough.  It wasn't very distracting, but it was disappointing that a brand new theater wouldn't have 4K all around. 
Update: We also checked out a movie that was on their 4K screen and it looked great!  So if you are heading over there and care about picture quality, I would go with the 4K option if it is available.

Sound: My theater was equipped with 7.1 Dolby surround sound.  It sounded very good, but I was a little disappointed that Atmos wasn't offered on all screens in a brand new theater.  Thankfully the sound was loud, but not deafening.  It filled the theater but at no point did it hurt my ears! 
Update: We also went to a movie in an atmos theater that also sounded great.  Nice balance of sounds and again, loud and full but not deafening.

Subscription Service: Showplace ICON has a subscription service for $9.99 a month.  This gets you one free ticket to a movie and any additional movies are $9.99 each.  It also gets you rewards and 20% off on food items.  This is not a bad deal, but with Regal Unlimited and AMC A-List offering substantially more movies for about twice the cost, I don't know how many hardcore movie-goers it will pull away.

Overall, the new Showplace ICON Tyson's Corner location is a very nice theater that should offer more of a moviegoing experience.  The only shame is that my theater's screen and sound were not up to what I expected from a brand new theater.  However, the upscale food, easy ticketing kiosks, and amazingly comfortable chairs should provide a nice option for those hoping for a more refined movie experience.  

Deal: 29% off at FandangoNOW including 1917 in 4K for $14 Today (2/29) Only

FandangoNOW has a leap day sale featuring 29% off rentals and purchases.  Use the code LEAP29 at checkout for the discount.  Some of these movies are MoviesAnywhere compatible, so they will port to Google Play, iTunes, VUDU, Amazon, and Microsoft if you have them linked.  Some highlights inlclude:

MoviesAnywhere Movies:

• 1917 4K: $14.20
• Don't Let Go 4K: $7.10
• Downton Abbey 4K: $7.10
• Harriet 4K: $10.64
• Parasite 4K: $10.64

NOT MoviesAnywhere (Will Only Play In FandangoNOW) Movies:

• Bombshell 4K: $10.64
• First Love HD: $9.22
• Gemini Man 4K: $10.64
• Knives Out 4K: $14.20
• Moonlight 4K: $5.64
• Uncut Gems 4K: $10.64

Don't forget to enter code LEAP29!

Thanks to Slickdeals for the original deal info!

Deal: Downton Abbey 4K for $7 at FandangoNOW today (2/29/20) only

The Downton Abbey movie was a welcome surprise earlier this year, and garner strong critical and user ratings (84% critic, 94% user on Rottentomatoes).  Today, February 29 only, you can own the movie in 4K for $7.  FandangoNOW has it on sale for $9.99, and using the code LEAP29 brings the price down to $7.10.  Keep in mind that Downton Abbey is MoviesAnywhere compatible, so it will port to Google Play, iTunes, VUDU, Amazon, and Microsoft if you have them linked.

Link to FandangoNOW.  Don't forget to enter code LEAP29!

Thanks to Slickdeals for the original deal info!

What to Watch This Weekend: February 28, 2020

In Theaters: Emma.

Emma brings the Jane Austin classic to life with a colorful style, a stellar cast, and an absolute charm that will capture you from the first scene.  For more information, check out our review!

In Theaters: The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man is a new take on the classic concept, with great, minimalist effects, wonderful tension, and an amazing performance by Elisabeth Moss..  For more information, check out our review!

At Redbox: Knives Out

Knives Out assembles a killer cast of characters and pairs it with Rian Johnson's amazing style and wonderful, witty writing to create a very entertaining whodunit.  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (Showtime): On The Basis Of Sex

The RBG biopic--helped by fantastic performances by Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer does a great job of highlighting the challenges that she encountered trying to practice law and fight against inequality in a male dominated profession and culture.

Streaming (Netflix): The Angry Birds Movie 2

The Angry Birds Movie 2 takes the unenviable task of following on to the unlikely movie based on the mobile game.  It is a fun adventure that is at times laugh out loud funny, but also a little too disjointed.  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (Amazon): Good Newwz
Good Newwz delivers some enjoyable characters, laugh out loud comedy, and tackles some important issues with surprisingly heartfelt dramatic moments in a film that will entertain you right from conception.  For more information, check out our review!

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising

Release date: February 26, 2020
Running time: 104 minutes
Starring: Felecia Angelle, Christopher Bevins, Johnny Yong Bosch

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is a new side story movie in the MHA series.  It appears to be set after the events of the current season, as all the young heroes have their provisional licenses and Deku uses a skill that he has just learned on the TV show.  In the movie, class 1A gets sent to Nabu Island, a small island with no heroes.  The class is sent to help the townspeople out during the school's summer break.  However, after they arrive, something happens that will put the young heroes to the ultimate test.

If you are a fan of MHA, then you will know what to expect from this film.  Starting with the animation, it has the same look and feel of the TV show, for better or for worse.  I personally love the look of the TV series, but was hoping for some more detailed or refined animation due to the fact that this is going to cinemas.  There wasn't anything wrong with it, and the island provides some very beautiful views, but initially it just felt like I was watching the TV show on a larger screen.  However, when the action started picking up towards the second half, there were some really nice animated effects.  Fires, lightning, rain, and other combat effects did look more impressive than in the television series and were enjoyable to see.  It is just a shame that it took so long to get there, but it does lead to an impressive finale.   

As with the animation, the story feels very much like it would be from the TV series.  It starts off normal enough and the first third to half is mostly tame summer antics.  It isn't until the actual fighting happens that you get something more exciting.  It is fun to see the heroes interacting on the island, but nothing really stands out from the island antics.  And sticking with this theme, the sounds are what you would expect from MHA but with some added effects--not a bad thing, just would have been nice to have something stand out.  There is a pretty stellar musical choice during the final fight; again I go back to the final fight being the highlight of this movie.  

The major critique I have with this film is that the story really feels like it could have been an arc of the TV series rather than being a standalone movie.  The effects do go plus ultra during the last third, but the first part of the story really doesn't feel much different than the show.  And although the ending is exciting, there are reasons why it ultimately feels unfulfilling, both for some of the choices that are made and the fact that it still leaves you with questions.  If you are a fan of this franchise, you are going to watch this anyways.  I ultimately feel like it is more of a rental and is not as good as the first MHA movie, but fans of the series (myself included) will find plenty to like here.    

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising goes plus ultra, with a fun and exciting side story, great battle animations and effects, and the same characters and quirks we know and love from the series. 

Rent it.

Review: Greed

Release date: February 28, 2019
Running time: 104 minutes
Starring: Steve Coogan, Isla Fisher, Asa Butterfield

Greed is a new dark comedy / satire about a ruthless billionaire planning a birthday bash for the ages.  The movie follows Sir Richard McReadie (Coogan), also known as McGreedy, as he plans a Greek-style birthday bash including togas, fireworks, and a live lion.  Although much of the movie follows this planning and the actual event, the movie is interspersed with flashback scenes from Richie's past, a hearing before British Parliament, and some reality TV style interviews from his biographer. 

For the most part, the acting and characters in the movie are very entertaining.  Coogan as Sir Richie is a joy to watch; his character is a ruthless businessman and general a-hole and Coogan plays him perfectly.  David Mitchell as Richie's biographer Nick is another refreshing character.  He plays a literary nerd with a very dry sense of humor that is wonderful to cut (or create) tension in several scenes.  Isla Fisher as Richie's ex-wife is another wonderful addition to the cast, with her subtle strength and control of the situations she is placed in.  The rest of the characters are good, but just not on screen long enough.  As a dark comedy, there are many laugh out loud moments if you are in the mood for that kind of biting humor; if you are, you will get plenty of enjoyment.  Additionally, the overall message of the film is ultimately a good one, and the film highlights some very disturbing facts about the world we live in.

However, the story of the movie and pacing could be better.  The film starts with the party, and then fills in the characters as the planning happens.  However, this makes the first part of the film very disjointed.  Some additional editing would have been useful as the film jumps back and forth between times quickly, and sometimes doesn't return back to where you started.  Additionally, much of the story is told from the point of view of Richie's biographer attempting to write the book, but this gives an odd reality TV type of vibe to these scenes.  It feels like Greed can't decide what type of film it wants to be, so it mashes together many different types.  This is equally so as the movie starts off as more of a comedy, then moves into a drama towards the end of the film.  All in all, it leaves a little to be desired for the story telling in this film and it makes the story tough to follow.  Additionally, the scattershot nature at the start caused so much to be thrown at the viewer, that it later felt like the film was dragging. 

Greed has some fantastic performances, coupled with an important social message and a biting, dry humor that will entertain while highlighting important inequalities in society.  

Rent It