What to Watch This Week | 10 Recent Works Worth Checking Out

☕️ TL;DR Recent standout recommendations: [HK Drama] Under the Rainbow, [Mexico] Las Azule Season 2, [British Drama] Professor T Season 5, [Film] Straight Circle, [Film] Disused Body, [Anime] The Elusive Samurai Season 2, [Anime] Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3, [Anime] Link Click Season 3, [Anime] Futurama Season 14, [Documentary] Qianlang Season 2. A few exciting trailers: New trailer for The Social Trial, first teaser for The Pitt Season 3, official trailer for Blue Box Season 2, official trailer for Stranger Things: 1985 Stories Season 2. A few film and TV news updates: Fall 2: Dead Point scheduled for September 4 release in the Chinese mainland, Avengers: Endgame set for re-release on September 25, One Piece to produce two new anime films, Cars re-release poster.

[HK Drama] Under the Rainbow Keywords: Drama Also known as: Under The Rainbow Runtime: Approx. 45 mins (per episode) × 15 episodes; Douban link When Caihong says goodbye, it must be done with warmth. @Pan Yuhan: On October 30, 2024, the Hong Kong government announced that Choi Hung Estate will be demolished and rebuilt in 2028. Choi Hung Estate is one of the earliest public housing estates in Hong Kong. Its brightly colored macaron-painted exterior walls earned it the reputation of being "Hong Kong's most beautiful estate." It is a pity that this 60-year-old estate is about to disappear, but fortunately, ViuTV has released this realistic anthology drama, Under the Rainbow. Set against the backdrop of Choi Hung Estate, the series tells seven standalone stories. A traditional Shanghai barbershop here is run by a model couple in the eyes of others; seizing the opportunity of the estate's impending demolition, they decide to confront their long-buried secrets. A single mother who raised three siblings on her own finds that instead of supporting each other, the housing relocation from the demolition tears apart the last shreds of their familial dignity. A father and son with years of accumulated resentment also decide to try and untie the knot in their hearts... Everyone faces a farewell, and because of this impending departure, everyone begins to re-examine themselves. The series lacks grand narratives but uses these simple, ordinary stories to slowly narrate the true forms of love, family, and friendship—moving and heartwarming.

[Mexico] Las Azule Season 2 Keywords: Drama / Crime Also known as: Las Azule Temporada 2 Runtime: Approx. 55 mins (per episode) × 8 episodes; Douban link The Mexican version of The Bletchley Circle. @Pan Yuhan: The timeline of this season begins one month after the end of the first season. A month ago, the public praised the police for catching the stripper killer, but now, due to a conflict during the police's violent suppression of a student protest, police-community relations have rapidly hit rock bottom. Meanwhile, a student is brutally murdered in his home, with his pinky and index fingers cut off and taken away. Because of his sexual orientation and part-time job at a gay bar, the police arrest his former lover. But the female officers think otherwise. When Valentina attends the funeral, she accidentally notices a hand gesture in a photo of the deceased with his friends and keenly perceives that all of this is related to the student movement. After a two-year absence, the critically acclaimed but under-the-radar drama Las Azule finally returns for its second season. The story still revolves around four female officers. Although Maria, Valentina, Gabina, and Angeles put their blue uniforms back on, they unfortunately do not receive the respect they deserve. Even though they played an indispensable role in the previous stripper killer case, this is Mexico in 1971. They seek the truth of the case while bearing the workplace pressure and prejudice they suffer. The retro aesthetic perfectly complements the tight pacing, portraying the bravery and touching friendship of the female officers.

[British Drama] Professor T Season 5 Keywords: Drama / Crime Also known as: Professor T Season 5 Runtime: Approx. 50 mins (per episode) × 6 episodes; Douban link When a calm genius at solving cases begins to have emotions. @Pan Yuhan: Jasper (Professor T) and Helena's romantic relationship is developing steadily, and they decide to go on a nice vacation. Unfortunately, fate is destined to bring some excitement into Jasper's life. At the luxury spa where they check in, two murders occur, both seemingly caused by food. Everyone thinks they are accidents, but Jasper keenly spots suspicious details and firmly believes they are murders. Remade from the Belgian series of the same name, Professor T welcomes its fifth season. By the fifth year, the script has grown increasingly solid, and in handling the characters' emotions, the audience truly sees Jasper's growth (though he is no longer young). As a genius criminology professor from Cambridge University, Jasper is calm and objective; because of his severe OCD, he is somewhat withdrawn. His talent for solving cases makes him win every time, but his restraint makes him seem a bit unapproachable. Fortunately, the series gives him room for emotional changes: he falls in love and learns to express himself better; in this season, he also loses control of his emotions due to his mother's death. Just the right amount of emotional plotlines interspersed within the episodic case-solving format makes the story richer and more engaging.

[Film] Straight Circle Keywords: Drama Also known as: Straight Circle Runtime: 108 mins; Douban link You are in me, and I am in you. @Liz and Bluebird: In a barren desert, the border between two fictional countries is a barbed wire fence. After a ceasefire agreement is signed, both nations hold a ceremony here simultaneously, each dispatching a soldier to garrison the borderland. The two countries vie to play music and crank up the volume, ending this solemn yet absurd ceremony amid the screeching of speakers. The two soldiers must not only perform the tedious daily routines of raising the flag, releasing doves of peace, patrolling, and repairing the barbed wire, but they even have to sleep in the same crude fortress at night, with supplies delivered irregularly. The two men's personalities and philosophies are as vastly different as the length of their hair—one reveres rules and order, the other is free-spirited, rough, but kind-hearted. Yet, they must face loneliness, danger, and physical and mental trauma together. The film's story is full of allegorical satire, shifting back and forth between horror and absurdity, reality and imagination. It explores the origins of similarity, divergence, and hatred, while also narrating the alienation of humans by hierarchy and war. The film's audiovisual language is highly artistic, with meticulous framing and stark color contrasts. It intoxicates the viewer with the blue of the sky and the yellow of the desert, then jolts them awake with bulging veins and scarlet faces. The editing is also fascinating, using split screens and parallel cuts to show the different perspectives of the two countries before merging them into one. The boundaries of the characters blur slowly, just like the images on screen.

[Film] Disused Body Keywords: Drama Also known as: 廃用身 Runtime: 125 mins; Douban link Should useless things just be discarded? @Liz and Bluebird: "Disused body" refers to paralyzed limbs with no hope of recovery, such as an arm unrecoverable from a cerebral infarction or legs unrecoverable from trauma. Compared to dragging soft, weak limbs and becoming a burden to oneself and one's family, in situations where care resources are insufficient and the patient's own wishes are respected, amputating the disused body seems like an incredibly rational treatment plan. But is this truly the case ethically and humanly? Director Urushibara of the nursing home is gentle and patient with patients. He does futile work to avoid breaking patients' spirits and genuinely cares about abnormalities appearing on patients. However, the medical staff complain constantly, and the patients live without dignity and with deteriorating quality of life. Unable to change reality, he comes up with this crazy treatment plan, and some people do benefit from it. Yet, events do not move toward the light with Urushibara's ideal of salvation; instead, human evil, public opinion trials, and extreme ideologies drag it into the abyss. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Hisakasu Yo, the film has a dark and gloomy tone akin to a horror movie, yet it calmly rather than sensationally displays wounded cuts, ulcerated limbs, and abuse by family members, creating a sense of tranquil terror. The portrayal of disabled elderly people in different families is also thought-provoking. Komatsu Masaki excellently shapes the morally ambiguous Dr. Urushibara, painfully struggling on the border between ethics and ideals.

[Anime] The Elusive Samurai Season 2 Keywords: Manga Adaptation / History / Comedy Also known as: 逃げ上手の若君 第二期 / The Elusive Samurai Season 2 Runtime: 24 mins (per episode) × 12 episodes, updated every Friday Viewing platform: Bahamut Anime Crazy; Douban link Follow procedure or directly electrocute? @SHY: After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, heir Hojo Tokiyuki, hiding at Suwa Taisha Shrine, meets trustworthy companions with the help of the priest Yorishige and secretly gathers rebel forces. Meanwhile, in Kyoto, Ashikaga Takauji's power is steadily expanding, and the new policies implemented by his brother Tadayoshi in Kamakura are also highly popular. In the sweeping tide of the era, where will this rebellion staking the entire realm lead? Even if the original work's quality has been declining, the brilliant anime creators can turn the reputation around with their strength. Super producer Umehara Shota leads the young team at CloverWorks, pouring their boundless clever ideas into the show, utilizing the foresight setting to boldly insert modern elements. Unbound by a single form of expression, live-action, stop-motion, collage, and various other techniques are employed simultaneously, presenting a dazzling and entertaining performance reminiscent of the same studio's Bocchi the Rock!. Based on solid animation quality, the rustic and beautiful Japanese-style art is paired with pleasing character designs, making the visual experience exceptionally comfortable, with casual little movements tugging at the heartstrings. Unbound by rigid bushido, surviving is victory. Using "running away" as an excuse, they conceive wildly imaginative new-concept tactics. Both highly entertaining and retaining the grace of a serious drama, this "ghost tag" game focusing on niche history will surely keep viewers enthralled.

[Anime] Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 Keywords: Manga Adaptation / Slice of Life / Comedy Also known as: ぐらんぶる Season 3 / Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3 Runtime: 24 mins (per episode) × 12 episodes, updated every Monday Viewing platform: Bahamut Anime Crazy; Douban link 220V electricity can't electrocute a 250! @SHY: Iori, who is enjoying his first summer vacation in college, learns that Chisa's mother, Sayaka, has opened a new branch of her diving shop, and drags Kouhei onto the "pirate ship" to head to Palau to help out. Before that, Iori has to figure out how to trick his sister Shiori into giving him his passport; the family inn back home is not easy to deal with. Meanwhile, in the diving holy land of Palau, surrounded by blue seas and skies, a brand-new encounter will turn a new page in the story. In today's declining world, only the sincere human bonds in Grand Blue Dreaming can still offer some warmth. Although the main characters are all reliable adults, given current societal moral standards, the size of the black censorship circles has thoughtfully been increased by 5% in the third season, making it more suitable for minors to watch. This pitch-black element, originally meant for censorship, has also become the core element of this season's opening sequence, with its paper-cut design offering a unique flavor. In the stage-shifted "Palau Arc," pranks and heart-to-hearts go hand in hand. Iori, occasionally acting serious, radiates immense charisma, and the long-foreshadowed romantic storyline takes a major step forward. The episodic stories woven together with his troublemaking friends, as usual, let loose completely, always managing to make people cast aside their worries and laugh heartily without restraint. Barren production values cannot掩盖 the brilliance of the original work. Portraying unbridled youth with a myriad of facial expressions, this delightfully chaotic comedy, written with full effort, is perfect for midsummer.

[Anime] Link Click Season 3 Keywords: Drama / Action / Sci-Fi / Anime / Suspense Also known as: Link Click Ⅲ Runtime: Approx. 22 mins (per episode) × 12 episodes Viewing platform: Bilibili; Douban link The old shop reopens, but I'm not mentally prepared. @Pan Yuhan: To find out the truth behind Xia Fei's disappearance, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang use photos and superpowers to travel back to the past. Only after Cheng Xiaoshi possesses Xia Fei's body do they realize this is no simple missing person case. These famous models and influencers are first taken to a banquet and forced to entertain guests; later, they are taken to a park in Myanmar-Laos and strictly guarded. Unfortunately, due to Lu Guang's strong insistence, Cheng Xiaoshi ultimately returns to the present. However, the next day, Xia Fei shows up carrying a suitcase. On the other side, a British police officer named Jae appears to investigate the massacre at the Myanmar-Laos park. Link Click Season 3 returns with a massive amount of information. The first episode sets the timeline in 2007, explaining the childhood bond between Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, and the second episode directly continues from the previous season, using Xia Fei's disappearance as the entry point to introduce Vein's return. A large number of foreshadowing elements planted earlier also begin to be answered. Qiao Ling's awakening of abilities and the mystery of Cheng Xiaoshi's parents' whereabouts also start to reveal clues in this season. Continuing the style of the previous works, the production quality of this season remains top-notch. The appearance of new characters makes this anime, already filled with suspense, even more mysterious.

[Anime] Futurama Season 14 Keywords: Comedy / Sci-Fi / Anime Also known as: Futurama Season 14 Runtime: Approx. 22 mins (per episode) × 10 episodes; Douban link The crazier it gets, the more realistic and truthful it is. @Pan Yuhan: A thousand years in the future on Earth, cows have gone extinct, so in this world now, there are no pure meat sausages, only vegetarian sausages. Fry, who once won runner-up in a sausage eating contest, is quite regretful, lamenting that it was the only thing he was good at, and he never expected to lose the chance to show off his skills. Hearing this, Professor Farnsworth comes up with a great idea. Perhaps a mosquito bit a cow and then became trapped in amber; if they can just find this piece of amber, he could conduct a cloning experiment, resurrect the cow, and then make delicious beef sausages. Perfectly continuing the style of the past series, Futurama's fourteenth season remains wildly imaginative. It continues to wrap its satirical reality in a sci-fi comedy exterior within both spoofy and manic plots. Using mosquito blood to resurrect cows, only for the resurrected cows to be unhappy because they are destined to be slaughtered; robots living in a nursing home falling into scams meticulously crafted for them; the masters of a highly civilized ring-shaped planet turning out to be a bunch of mice... The collision of rigorous science and various social metaphors makes this sci-fi anime humorous, bold, satirical, and spicy, while still retaining warmth.

[Documentary] Qianlang Season 2 Keywords: Documentary Runtime: 50-62 mins varying (per episode) × 7 episodes Viewing platform: Tencent Video; Douban link Treat the elderly as human beings. @Pan Yuhan: Have you ever envisioned your old age? If you were all alone, how would you live? When you reach your twilight years, with no partner or children by your side, or rather, no blood relatives to accompany you, only yourself—how would you handle your affairs after death? Co-funded by the Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation, Qianlang Season 2 quietly returns and answers these questions well. As a program stepping into the world of the elderly, the production team neither exaggerates nor avoids reality, directly using the camera to record the daily lives of the elderly. Thus, we see a group of elderly people requesting municipal notaries to help them choose voluntary guardianship. They understand that their lives are nearing the end, and they hope to still make their own decisions at the end of their lives. We are also surprised to find that the chic matchmaker Lao Jiu has over 20,000 elderly single members on her roster... It turns out that aging is merely a reflection of age; everyone's need and pursuit of emotional connection do not diminish because of growing older. The production team's perspective, full of humanistic care, once again tells people that although the elderly are old, they still must be taken seriously.

More [Thai Drama] Fatal Comic @Pan Yuhan: Wealthy individuals have been murdered consecutively in Bangkok recently, and police officer Phat is the lead investigator on the case. Just as he doesn't know where to start, Phat's sister discovers that the patterns and crime scenes of these victims are strikingly similar to an underground horror comic she read a long time ago. The police quickly cast suspicion on romance comic artist Kaye. Killing according to a comic—is it the comic artist themselves, or a copycat? The plot setup is gripping, and the overall pacing is quite good.

[HK Drama] Cigarette Ash @Pan Yuhan: Adapted from Feng Nong's novel of the same name, this Hong Kong drama revolves around undercover police officer Mo Feihuan and Tianping Group CEO Xu Luetao. It not only tells the emotional entanglement between the two but also a cross-border counterfeit currency case. As the first BL-oriented web drama in the HK drama circle, although same-sex romance is the main storyline, the parts involving the case still carry that authentic HK drama suspense vibe. The slice-of-life dialogue is also highly immersive, balancing romance and crime-solving perfectly.

[Film] Gintama: The Semi-Final - Yoshiwara in Flames @SHY: After Gintoki has his wallet stolen by the orphan Seita, he casually takes Seita's wallet instead and makes a profit. Learning that Seita's goal is to ransom his lost mother, Gintoki and the Yorozuya head to the underground city of Yoshiwara, wreaking havoc in the city of eternal night. Even though the previous film was titled THE FINAL, such trivialities don't matter. Based on a classic arc from the original manga, this film re-produces the animation according to modern theatrical standards, with a fair amount of new content added. The action scenes are incredibly satisfying. Even if you've seen the TV series, it's worth rewatching.

[Film] Doraemon: Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil Plan @SHY: Unable to decide whether to go to the beach or the mountains for summer camping, Nobita and his friends, at Doraemon's suggestion, decide to use a gadget to go to a mountain in the sea. While adventuring on the ocean floor, the group encounters a mysterious youth named El and steps into a mysterious undersea kingdom. A remake of the 1983 theatrical version, compared to the original born at the peak of the Cold War, this version significantly tones down the background exposition. The theme leans more towards humans and AI, with some environmental elements. Although the plot allocation is somewhat unbalanced, the style is relaxed and pleasant, making it a fairly happy watch.

📅 This Week's New Trailers New trailer for The Social Trial On August 27, the film The Social Trial released a new trailer and is set to hit theaters in North America on October 9. Aaron Sorkin, who won an Academy Award for The Social Network, brings a brand-new companion piece. When tech giants evade responsibility in the name of "freedom of speech," and when algorithms dictate the world we see, an ultimate showdown between power and conscience is about to unfold. Source First teaser for The Pitt Season 3 On August 21, the series The Pitt Season 3 released its first teaser trailer, scheduled to premiere on HBO Max in January 2027. Created by R. Scott Gemmill...