The Brothers Sun

[Drunk Monk]

The Brothers Sun. January 4

I would have thought DM would have given the heads up on this one.

 
With a nice opening fight against masked tong ninjas, this show had me at hello. I’m 3 eps deep and that’s after watching two episodes of other shows. I’m tempted to watch more.

You get the gist from the trailer. Michelle is a tiny boss’s wife who went into hiding in LA, keeping their crime family past hidden from her younger son. But the tong is attacked forcing the elder son to come from Taiwan to protect them. It’s got solid choreography and good action pacing, black comedy, and nods to the Amerasian experience (because we are all in tongs, ya know). There’s a good eye for detail - for example, there’s a passing mention of Michelle and the gold basin, which is a reference of a specific ritual where someone leaves the martial world and washes their hands in a gold basin to symbolize washing off all the blood. 

In the first ep, a friend of mine, Bryan Cartago, plays a thug in orange. It’s a small part, a line and getting hit a few times, but it was cool to see him. He’s been doing stunt work for years now buti remeber him when he was a young wushu champ. We’ve hung out a bit over the years but not much since he moved to Hollywood. I think his character died already.

Michelle is killing it like always. She imbues the matron role with humor and gravitas, a passive aggressive tiger mom. She hasn’t fought yet. There was a tease scene but I suspect they’re saving that for later. Most of the heavy lifting fights are coming from Charles, the elder son. Some fun fights. I enjoyed the birthday party fight a lot. Overseeing choreo is Justin Yu, a former wushu champ who I know of but cannot recall if we ever met (if we did, we didn’t talk much). 

Aside from Michelle, most of the cast is unknowns. It’s well cast - everyone is fulfilling their roles satisfactorily. It like how the relationships are developing. 

D00M recommended.

[Greg]

So far so good. I like the cooking quirk. The Queen laughed during the first fight when the focus was on the TV with the fight going on in the background. The fights were extended without a lot of cutting. The story is good but still a little opaque at this point (How does Michelle going to the US and hiding protect the Tong?) but we'll probably get there. I do like the elder brother.

Will watch more. I will pretend to disagree with DM on this show since it is always unsavory when we concur.

[Greg]

BTS

[Drunk Monk]

E6 is quite a payout ep. There’s a great fight at a golf driving range - arguably the best choreo piece so far with several complex single shots and swirling cinematography. There’s some of Michelle’s superb dramatic work, reminding us once again what a brilliant actor she is. There’s a twist (that I totally saw coming but it was well played). There’s even a funny interrogation scene that made me lol for realz. This show has really come together with what it seeks to achieve.

E7 lines up the finale like any decent penultimate. I’m saving that for tomorrow. It also adds the martial club - the brothers Le - plus a Gymkata easter egg that no one can deny.

Reiterating my D00M recommendation here.

[Greg]

I'm in but I'm burning through some other shows at the moment.

[Drunk Monk]

I feel ya. There’s a lot to watch right now.

[Drunk Monk]

Bravo! A fine conclusion with decent closure, and an after credit scene that leaves enough ajar for a second season. 

This show covers a lot - ultravi, comedy, drama, tong ruthlessness, well constructed characters, good story arcs - Luved it. 

Would totally be down for S2.

Full D00M recommendation.

[Greg]

Ep02 You need to go to class and take your test. I like the brothers driving around all day. I like the absurd dinosaur fights. I like elder brother's lover for churros. Lots of quirky bits that make for a fun show. And then the fighting and cutting up bodies.

[Greg]

Ep03 Kind of a slow episode as they try to find out who is behind the attacks on the family. I feel really bad for elder brother Charles. No one wants to do what he asks. He'd just like to make Churros. Lots of humor and heart in the show. Penis on the forehead!

[Greg]

Ep04 The big meet up. I love the sleepy gang and all their names, especially Drowsy. I am also glad for the addition of Blood Boots. Good fights in the spa. I'm waiting for a certain girl to be a turncoat. And what happened to Bruce's gig with the Groundlings? Seems like they dropped a thread.

[Drunk Monk]

Blood boots rocks. Sleepy gang too.

The Groundlings thing comes around. Impatient much?

[Greg]

Do you know me?

[Drunk Monk]

I'm sure I would if I bothered to read your posts.

I like Xing too. She and Blood Boots are a great pair.

[Greg]

Ep05 The Rolodex Oh, Blood Boots! I just can't have nice things. There was more Xing in this episode and I see what you mean. I liked the Aunties. I liked Charles fixing the apartment and baking. I hate the DA now. The show is moving along nicely. Even The Queen enjoys the show. There are a lot of good quirks to everyone.

[Drunk Monk]

Even The Queen enjoys the show. 

Wow. Did not expect that. 

Glad y'all are enjoying it. The next episode has some of the tastiest ultravi of the whole series. 

And you should make TQ watch Gymkata before watching ep 7. It'll make that episode so much funnier.