I like that, in Searching, John Cho's character being Asian is incidental. It's a part of his description, but it does not define the character. The character stands on it's own because of its merit, not the race. The movie does not have a “Here's a movie an Asian is in. Asians come see it!” attitude.
The quality of this movie amazed me. Saw this as a matinee, because I thought that this movie couldn't work (got to save those coins for Disney Streaming fees). Agreed, see this movie at least once, in a theater. When it streams, we can all use pause, rewind, fast forward to micro-analyze this movie. For now, let's enjoy it, plus (at least for me) John Cho was a revelation. He is truly an ACTOR.
The twist is not too far fetched, because similar things have actually happened. Overall it was one of the more enjoyable movies I've seen this year for sure.
Thank you for reviewing this movie, Screen Junkies! I would never imagine watching an all-digital-screen movie like Searching would be a tense and riveting experience. It's a film that begs for you to pay attention to even the smallest details. It's a film with so many twist and turns that continues to pull the rug from underneath you. And the ending ... I didn't see it coming, but once you retrace the steps, it all makes sense. Maybe in terms of story, it's a cookie cutter missing person thriller story. Another qualm maybe, what does John Cho do for a living? It's hard to believe someone from a middle-to-upper class family like his father character spends 24/7 everyday just sitting behind a computer. Except if he's an IT guy, but who knows? All those qualms aside, the painstaking detail Chaganty put on the screen to maintain the digital conceit is incredible. It really lets the audience into the perspective of the main character, looking at every revelatory moment through his eyes. Unlike Unfriended's focus on just one app, it really digs deep into the digital world, from Google down to the seedy underworld of the social media. And those apps add a lot to the drama and suspense. Doing Google research and stalking social media can feel like detective work. Even something as simple as a Snapchat conversation does a lot in fleshing out characters. Overall, 8.5/10. (Shoutout from Indonesia)
At the first day of Margot's missing, Kim is meeting with his collegue and ended it with "Happy weekend!", so it's logical that he spend the rest of the day at saturday to search for her daughter and report to the police. and after that, we can assume he already had a leave from his work because he is working to find her daughter with the police. Margot's is missing for 5 days iirc. so Kim search his daughter in weekends when he doesn't work, and 3 days at from mon-wed and we can assume he had a leave.
We do see John Cho at work for a large company using a webcam to have a conference call with the manager/CEO and a office full of people. he was preparing some file. The company could have been a computer company because he seems to really know his way around one. Perhaps he works in finances or even marketing, he also seems to be working from home (if I am remembering the scene enough) so perhaps he works freelance. But he doesn't seem to spend much of the movie working, if he does he does it off screen.
Very well explained. I saw Searching last week and I agree with the reviewers. Absolutely thrilling and I loved the format. Really well executed and directed and made the story very unique.
Surely its not a new genre just a new or innovative way of telling a story. Its genre is Thriller. The other film you mention was a horror. Just like "found footage" is not a genre it was just a new way of presenting a story albeit usually in the horror genre. I enjoyed this vid and review though so thanks. Really want to see this now!
Cant wait to see it. I liked the way the "screen life" technique was used in an episode of modern family, and seeing it used in a mystery film seems like a natural, smart progression. Keep up the great work you guys. Love all your content.
well, nothing really explained what happened with Derek and why he suddenly said Margot was with him, I think that was one thing the Director either forgot about or didn't know how to conclude so attempted to let the viewer forget it.
i really liked this movie, because it felt just so REAL. beginning by the way they use the internet (finally!) realistically. how the father has a different writing-style than the daughter etc. further how every character had understandable emotions and motivations. man, it made me cry at the beginning, because they showed, how cancer is not a sad thing, that is over in some weeks, but gets worse and better and worse again...and you really get the relationship between father and daughter. but then the movie made me also laugh quite some times, because it was soooo relatable and ironic, how the characters acted on social media.
geographically the movie was extremely accurate too. Im from San Jose, and the places like her school, the movie theater and the pond really do exist where they say they do. Pacheco Pass going east off 152 is very real and its what most people take when going from San Jose area to southern California
that's nice to know! it's great, when creators pay attention to these details. im my hometown Görlitz there are quite often hollywood movies made. in most of the movies you don't get a glimpse on how the town is structured (which is okay in general, but as a local it botheres me, when things are connected "wrong"), but in grand budapest hotel it's really feels like the characters are going through the streets i go, nice feeling!
It was VERY INTENSE!!! I had real CHILLS!!! SO MANY red herrings in this movie!!! I would love to know what the plot holes were, Roth. "Face time." Hahaha
I would like to see this movie in Charting with Dan, its widely released here in India (in a town, not even a major city) for a movie that is not as widely released there in the US. I hope this movie rakes some dough, my mom loved it so did my 16yo sister. Genuinely good storytelling and everyone in the hall enjoyed it.
I really liked the performances in this movie, but ultimately got annoyed by the screen live gimmick. It took me out of the movie too much because I began thinking about how realistic it would be that they are constantly face timing. Otherwise the switches between security cameras and news etc were great, though. And it was nice to see something new being tried out.
@@lukeomk sorry, english isn't my first language. How unrealistic it would be for a cop and a relative of a missing person to constantly facetime instead of having phone calls
@screenjunkies another RU-vid channel, every frame a painting, has a video about the way text and computer screens is depicted in film. Do you think other movies could adapt the visual elements of this film in other genres or can it only used for this new genre of movies?
I've played many games like this, and love them, but I have never been interested in movies like this. Thanks to you guys, I kinda want to check it out now!
I was so surprised on how much invested I am on the story and finding out what actually happened in the end. Didn't expect much from this genre of movies but now I'm interested in seeing more films like this.
I didn't hate unfriended but after a while the movie lost me. because searching looked a lot like unfriended i didnt want to go but after your revieuw i will give it a try.
Really enjoyed this movie! Loved that you didnt feel the need to read everything but clues are hidden in the details. Really enjoyed how the story progressed
There is a couple of videogames which do that: you find a device and try to solve the mystery looking into it. Sometimes those games has multiple routes and endings. So this movie is a movie about a playthrough of a game like that. Only one route, one ending.
I think that watching this movie at home would be better, because you can pause and rewind to look for clues around the screen, maybe find some hidden messages or Easter eggs.
I'll agree that the last bit was a bit of a letdown for me - the ultimate reveal and final act felt artificial. However, that took it down from an A+ to an A or A-, at worst - for reasons the Dan and Roth discuss.
Victor Chang I don't know for sure what she was referring to, but when I saw it (and without spoiling much), I immediately didn't like how the detective leading the investigation was ok outsourcing half the job to the father. It's like "don't worry, we'll find your daughter. Ummmm maybe to kill time you can put together a list of potential witnesses/persons of interest and call them and let me know what they say?" I get that you don't have a movie without that, but you don't have a realistic movie with that.
SPOILER ALERT- DO NOT KEEP READING UNLESS YOU ARE Michael- the only thing I can think of is that int he beginning of the movie they made it seem like the girl did infact come home from her study group on thursday night because her laptop was on the counter. The end of the movie suggested she left the study group to meet fish n chips in person at her favorite spot...... I personally found it particularly disturbing that even after David Kim told the detective that his daughter called him 2 times in the middle of the night (Indicating that she was infact alive after the fall).... the detective still didnt try to rescue a live girl. I sort of understood if the girl was already dead and there was nothing she could do other than protect her son..... but with the knowledge the girl was still alive and likely dieing........that made me thin k the detective was pure evil
saw it at Fantasia Film Festival earlier this summer; loved it...without spoiling anything, the first few minutes had no dialogue and still got me to care about these character
Am i the only one to pick up on the 100000000000 / 1 chance that the sons totally random online choice of a "cute girl" photo just happened to be the same model as the memorial company photo. It was the major turning point of the movie !!!!!. what where the directors thinking ???? . Someone please tell me if im wrong, ive played the scenes over and over to try and find a logical link and i cant find one. ?????.
That’s how stock photos work, there are only a handful of actors/models who do that. Moreover, while Dave was searching the girls pictures, on the side it said “the most recognizable face on the internet” suggesting that she is really famous
You didn't mention the fact that someone watching at home would be able to pause each densely-packed frame and pore over every detail. As a result of that, whether the home or theater is the "better experience" seems like a wash, although I imagine Dan might find the idea of pausing or even *gasp* rewinding mid-movie to be sacrilege.
I haven't seen the movie but that sounds like it would ruin it. If the character is going to scroll back but you don't know it, you'll rewind and then watch it again and it wouldn't be a good experience. Maybe as a video game.
I will see Searching in September with my sinemia because I want to see Kin and they are showing Avengers: Infinity War in IMAX on Labour Day so those would take up my films this month.
Was anyone else's interest piqued about this movie specifically because of the My Favorite Murder minisode they sponsored? What does the venn diagram look like for screen junkies fans and murderinos? I gotta know!!
Nah. They used the Mac specifically to differentiate between the moms/daughters old computer from the dad's Mac. It's clever. Love or hate apple, using the pairing between the phone and laptop streamlined the film
I do not want to support movies like this, people staring at and talking through screens of varying clarity/ resolution, so cheap and uncinematic, I'm surprised you guys recommend it. The story may be good but I don't want more laptop movies, they're terrible!
