The dawn of a new weekday means the dawn of a Netflix news roundup. While Ava DuVernay’s Origin may present a problem for Netflix, the streamer has dropped its newest trailer for Lee Chung Hyeon’s latest film, Ballerina. Meanwhile, Liam Neeson thriller In the Land of Saints & Sinners is a dud with audiences, while Jim Carrey’s The Number 23 picks up some steam 16 years after its release, and One Piece fans debate inappropriate scenes.
Ava DuVernay gets a 9 minute-standing ovation
Ava DuVernay has become a force to be reckoned with. The critically-acclaimed director has scored big with Origin, a film based on Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by journalist Isabel Wilkerson. At the film’s premiere over at the Venice Film Festival, the project was reportedly greeted with rapturous applause, triggering a standing ovation that lasted somewhere between six to nine minutes.
Now, while DuVernay has produced a number of Netflix originals including 13th and When They See Us, the filmmaker decided to move Origin away from the company, feeling that the best way to express her creative vision was without a major studio attached. And it looks like that approach worked. Creatives around Hollywood are none-too-pleased with the studios at the moment, so perhaps Netflix should take heed.
A killer ballerina comes to Netflix
No, we’re not talking about the Ana de Armas-starring John Wick spin-off. Netflix has unveiled a trailer for its newest K-drama: Ballerina. Ballerina follows a killer assassin named Ok-joo (Jun Jong-Seo) as she seeks vengeance against those that wronged here.
Netflix ironically released another film that was criticized for being too similar to John Wick earlier this year. The Korean drama Kill Boksoon was noted for its similarities to the hit action film. Still, with the similarities to Ana de Armas’ Ballerina, Lee Chung Hyeon’s film will be an interesting watch.
A killer Liam Neeson comes to Netflix
Gone are the days of Love Actually. Liam Neeson is back with another Taken-style thriller titled In the Land of Saints & Sinners; this time around, the actor is set to take on the role of a retired assassin fighting against a trio of terrorists as they threaten his native Ireland. The film is an exclusive Netflix release, though it has yet to score a release date on the platform.
Since the end of the Taken series, Neeson has starred in 12 consecutive thrillers, though they haven’t done quite so well with critics. Upon In the Lands of Saints & Sinners‘ Venice Film Festival debut, Neeson’s poorly-reviewed streak continued; in particular, several critics took issue with the film’s portrayal of Ireland, with at least one critic calling it insulting.
One of Jim Carrey’s most divisive movies tops the charts
Jim Carrey is most famously known for his rubber-faced, comedic antics, but sometimes he likes to get a little serious. While that works most of the time — Carrey’s a surprisingly talented dramatic actor — there have been a few duds. The Number 23 is a 2007 thriller about a man’s (Carrey) obsession with a book about the number 23. Realizing the book appears to be based on his life, the man begins to descend into a downward spiral as he tries to figure out what’s going on.
The movie made back two and a half times its budget, but managed to score 7% on Rotten Tomatoes and nab Carrey a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor. Still, a poor reception at launch is never the end, and it looks like viewers are finding the film once again. The Number 23 is now one of the streamer’s top-viewed features this week.
One Piece fans reckon with an inappropriate scene from the anime
Netflix’s One Piece adaptation is taking the world by storm, and that’s prompted a surge of memes, fan works, and discussions about the series. Over at Reddit, one user joked about the Netflix series adapting an inappropriate scene from the anime, prompting a flood of discussion. In One Piece Film: Z (which is considered non-canon), the character of Nami is turned into a child. Sanji, a character who’s obsessed with women, excitedly comments that he’ll be able to see Nami ‘turn into a beautiful butterfly’. As he does so, he leers and has hearts in his eyes.
Many users pointed out that Netflix would never adapt such an inappropriate scene, because it implies Sanji has designs on grooming Nami. Other users argued that the film, being non-canon, should not be a reflection of Sanji’s character, disowning the scene.
