Crazy Rich Asians Movie Take

Crazy Rich Asians is another checkmark for the page-to-screen adaptation trend in 2018.  

The film debuted on November 20. It's on everything from Blu-Ray combo pack, DVD and Digital. The Digital format appeared early on November 6.

ROMANCE

Crazy Rich Asians managed to land high on the Rotten Tomatoes rating scale with a 92%. Which earns the “Certified Fresh” distinction. The movie made over $236 million worldwide.

Those numbers may not be high compared to The Meg. It is good enough to be the biggest in the romantic-comedy genre since 2009’s The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.

Crazy Rich Asians is a bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan. It was published in 2013. It's success led to two sequels - China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems.

It wouldn’t be a shocker if the movie had a sequel someday soon. The director John. M. Chu has already said the plans are moving forward.

If you stick through some of the credits - the wordless scene seems to tease something.

Chu is behind the camera for Crazy Rich Asians. Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim worked on the screenplay. The international cast of Constance Wu, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong and Michelle Yeoh.

The rest of the ensemble is Henry Golding, Sonoya Mizuno, Chris Pang, Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Remy Hii, Nico Santos, and Jing Lusi.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Yes.

While The Meg offers up its own form of entertainment - I have to go with Rotten Tomatoes here. Crazy Rich Asians is the better movie between the two.

Crazy Rich Asians may seem like a fantasy world highlighting the over-the-top extravagant lifestyle. The big houses and the multi-million dollar huge wedding. But. There’s more going on too.

I cannot forget the romantic part either. The story may have been seen plenty familiar from other romantic comedies, but the backdrop made it feel different. (Or maybe I just don't watch enough these movies.)

New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) decides to travel with her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding) to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. This is a chance to meet the boyfriend’s family for the first time. The thing is there’s so much more to the boyfriend which she did not know.

Crazy Rich Asians have some style. Wu and Golding make for a good - or the unlikely couple - at the helm of the story. Wu struggles with knowing she may look like everybody in the family, but everybody sees her as something else.

I did not find the film very successful in the comedy department...since comedy is used to promote the movie. I think it does better on the drama front and even the romance. 

And I did grow to like Rachel and Nick as a couple over the 120 minutes. I wanted to see how things panned out.

The standout moment for me, anyway, a sequence of the song ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love.’ I thought it was done quite beautifully and brings out a lot of emotions in the scene. 

Whenever the sequel happens…I will probably watch it too.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The regular DVD only has the Crazy Rich Fun segment.

Crazy Rich Fun (7 minutes, 18 seconds)

- The behind-the-scenes reel. There’s discussion about the book, filming, and casting. It's the most interesting segment of the bunch.  

Gag Reel (1 minute, 47 seconds)  

- It’s not much in talking. But a lot of cast being silly.

Deleted Scenes (12 minutes, 10 seconds)

- A few scenes are cut from the movie. Others are just extensions of scenes that are already in the movie. It really depends on your preference.

Commentary by Director Jon M. Chu and Novelist Kevin Kwan.

- Depends on Viewer interest.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment 

The Meg: A Very Big Shark

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Oh. Wait.

That’s a different shark movie.

The Meg debuted on November 13. It's on everything from 4K UHD Combo Pack, Blu-Ray combo pack, Digital and DVD Special Edition. The Digital format appeared early on October 30.

BELOW

Counting the movie surprises of 2018 - The Meg will be on the list. It made over $527 million worldwide but landed just 45% on the Rotten Tomatoes rating scale.

The surprising box-office result makes it the biggest shark movie since 1975’s Jaws. Of course, most people know the Steven Spielberg film created the summer blockbuster.

And in 2018, Jaws still remains the gold standard for the shark genre. This rings so true that director Jon Turtletaub even stated in the press the mission was to “set out to make the second best shark movie of all time." (Source: The Hollywood Reporter.)

Critics will probably disagree on the statement. 

The Meg is based on a novel, just like Jaws. The Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror is written by Steve Alten and initially published in 1997. The story has spanned into a series to eight novels, so far.      

The Meg is directed by Turtletaub with Jason Statham and award-winning Chinese actress Li Bingbing leading the charge. The main cast is rounded out by Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Page Kennedy, Jessica McNamee, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Robert Taylor, Sophia Cai, Masi Oka, and Cliff Curtis.  

 TAKE

Would I buy this film? Yes - but more for a rainy day.

The comparisons to Jaws are inevitable. There are even a couple homages to the film if you really pay attention. But in the end, The Meg does not dethrone Jaws.

It is a pretty watchable movie though. I never felt bored during the 113 minute time (with credits.)

I also have not read any of the Steve Alten novels, so I can’t really take those into account. The screenplay was by Dean Georgaris, Jon and Erich Hoeber.

The film is crazy, silly and just a touch over-the-top. But there’s a few decent jolts and some moments of shark-terror-intensity. 

The story is not too complicated. A deep-sea expedition leads to a mysterious creature attacking. What could it be?

For some reason, the movie plays it out as a mystery for the first half hour. Spoiler - the title gives it away.

The Megalodon is eventually unleashed. It’s a very big shark, of course. The rest of the movie is basically trying to stop it before there’s more destruction.

It’s Jason Statham versus a giant CGI shark, in a nutshell. Although the cast like Li Bingbing and others end up with a good workout around water. Despite how silly things may look, the cast takes it seriously.

The Meg will not win any Oscars. If you like shark movies though, it may just be worth the look.     

How surprising was The Meg result? There’s already rumblings of a sequel.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The features are not all that extensive if you compare to other DVDs. It covers the necessary ground.

Chomp On This: The Making of The Meg (12 minutes, 9 seconds)

- This is the behind-the-scenes reel. Director Turtletaub, cast and crew discuss stunts, shooting on water and even having to take a one-week water safety course.

Creating The Beast (10 minutes, 25 seconds)  

- A lot of thought goes into what the megalodon would look like. Science knows they existed but not much on how they look from the fin to teeth. They think a real one went up to 60 ft in size, but the movie pushed it to 75 ft.  

New Zealand Film Commission (1 minute, 53 seconds)

- The cast in crew discusses the love and enjoyment of shooting in New Zealand.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment