JournaScreen | Dexter New Blood | Minamata | Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning |

'Winter is coming' and it's almost the end of the year. Now’s the perfect time to grab a bowl of popcorn, huddle snugly and watch some good contents.  And there’s so many to choose from.  With Christmas and New Year coming up, from new releases to upcoming ones, JournaScreen recommends a few shows to watch out for.

DEXTER NEW BLOOD (2021) 


He's smart, he's good looking, and he's got a great sense of humor. He's Dexter Morgan, everyone's favourite serial killer. And now he is back. 

Set after a decade after Dexter Morgan sailed off into the storm, he’s back, living incognito in a remote town, trying to lead a normal life, while desperately struggling to keep his ‘dark passenger’ in check. But try as he might, his violent past is still lurking in the shadows, and he must again pick up his trusty rolls of plastic and knives. 

Michael C. Hall is back, of course, as the adorably geeky blood splatter analyst and serial killer focusing his bloodlust on murdering other serial killers. Jennifer Carpenter (as Deb), Dexter’s adoptive sister, and John Lithgow (as Arthur Mitchell/Trinity Killer), the primary protagonist of season 4 have been announced as returning at this time. Original showrunner Clyde Phillips is also back as an executive producer of the new episodes.  

MINAMATA (2021) 


Based on a shocking true story. The plot involves around, W. Eugene Smith (Depp) a famous photographic journalist in Life magazine, who has now become a recluse and disillusioned about the ways of the world. 

Things change when, Aileen (Minami Bages), visits Smith asking for his help to photograph and document the disease and its effects on people in the city of Minamata in Japan, as a corporation dumps toxic materials in the river. Convinced by the cause Smith accompanies Aileen to Japan where he must face his own problems.  

The film shows the devastating effects of corporate greed, local police and government. Armed with only his camera and a deep desire for justice against a powerful company, Smith must win the trust of an emotionally broken community and find the images that will bring this story to the world. 

The film stars Johnny Depp as Eugene Smith, Minami Bages as Aileen Mioko, with heavyweight actors such as Bill Nighy and Hiroyuki Sanada in supporting roles. 

RUROUNI KENSHIN: THE BEGINNING (2021) 


This 2021 Japanese live-action film directed by Keishi ÅŒtomo is the fifth and final instalment in the Rurouni Kenshin film series based on Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga of the same name which was later adapted into anime. The film is a prequel to the other Rurouni Kenshin films (Rurouni Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends, and Rurouni Kenshin: The Final).  And if you haven’t yet seen the others, this one is a good choice to start with. 

The plot narrates the events during the Bakumatsu era of Japan. Set in Kyoto, amidst the carnage of killings, enters Himura Kenshin, also called Hitokiri Battosai the deadliest political assassin, who is part of the revolution that is poised to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate and which eventually leads to the Meiji Restoration.  The film shows the deadly manslayer that Kenshin was before we get to know him as the kind-hearted wandering samurai, who vowed never to take a life again. 

Not just a typical samurai slash and dash film, it’s a story arc that encompasses some of what Kenshin has struggled with, from trying to change the entire nation to realizing "the only thing you can do is protect those around you with your sword." It's sort of the philosophical reverse of "there are some causes worth dying for."  


Author

Baul Chakraborty

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