Karate Kid – Legends (2025), Ben Wang, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Karate Kid – Legends follows Li Fong (Ben Wang), a Kung Fu prodigy who’s forced to leave his Beijing home and move to New York City.
Directed by Jonathan Entwistle; Joshua Jackson, Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, Ming-Na Wen are among the key cast.
Nostalgia is the reason this appeals. That and the chance to watch bullies get silenced. Some impressive martial art, especially courtesy of young Wang, won’t hurt either.
Anyone else notice how the warm colours in this trailer make everything feel so cosy?
Shaunette Renée Wilson, Sadie Stanley, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff, Ben Wang, Jennifer-Lynn Christie, Katrina Batur and Emile Pazzano also star.
Amend – The Fight for America (2021), Will Smith, Netflix
Hosted by Will Smith, Amend – The Fight for America is a new series that offers a look at the evolving, often lethal, fight for equal rights in America; through the lens of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Created by Robe Imbriano and Tom Yellin; additional key cast includes Diane Lane, Mahershala Ali, Laverne Cox, Joshua Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson and Aja Naomi King.
I couldn’t help but think of Ava DuVernay’s 13th (2016) as this played. For it’s a very informative and useful documentary about the history of racial inequality in the the United States prison system.
I’m not expecting this to be quite as eye-opening as 13th, but I am looking forward to learning a thing or two, and seeing the various ways all the famous people involved will be contributing.
Randall Park, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bobby Cannavale, Rafael Casal, Whitney Cummings, Sterling K. Brown, and many more also star.
Set in Shaker Heights, Ohio in the 90s, Little Fires Everywhereis about two families whose lives become intertwined because of their children.
Starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, the ten-episode series is based on Celeste Ng’s best-selling novel of the same name – and it’s very well-acted by all involved.
As a drama about families, the weight of secrets, motherhood and identity; Little Fires Everywhere tackles each topic in powerful and moving ways. One of my favourite moments/lines of dialogue ends with the words: ‘You won’t have to swim forever.’ I also liked the beginning when the families seemed to be getting along. The quiet before the storm.
Little Fires Everywhere (2020), Kerry Washington
The complexity of the characters is another highlight. You may not find one to fully identify with or completely like, but chances are, you’ll see their humanity and get some understanding of their struggle, because the writing is so good.
Besides the strong focus on identity, the absence of humour as a key element, and the fact that no one gets murdered, Little Fires Everywhere has a few things in common with the hit series Desperate Housewives. There’s the suburban setting, the secrets and the different experiences of motherhood to name just three.
Outside of a moment in an earlier episode when I wanted things to move along a little faster, Little Fires Everywhere is worth watching for all the above reasons. So give it a chance if you’re curious.
The Movie My Life 