The Wong Decision

And for our final act…we’re finishing ‘weird’. And Lee’s 2019 action film, Gemini, is a film that is more about the technology and conversation surrounding the movie, than the movie itself. Not only is it an early use of de-aging technology, it’s also attempting to de-age the lead actor himself, played by Will Smith, in order for there to be 2 of him in the movie. And, that’s not even the main technological thing that this movie is known for! It’s known for being filmed at 4k, 120fps and is commonly seen at 60fps, rather than the cinematic standard that is 24fps. The result? What we think? You’ll have to find out! Oh…and Benedict Wong is in it…yeah

This week we’re rolling back the years, to the start of Mr Wong’s career, as he plays Errol in Sean Lock’s British Sit-Com: 15 Storeys High. With it being one of Benedict Wong’s earliest, recurring, main roles,  we thought it was worth dipping into a part of his ouvre that we have not yet covered. Warning…it’s very “British”.If you have any thoughts or comments on the show, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode.

We’re back to feature length and, boy is it a biggie; sun sized! Sunshine, released in 2007, is one of those films that was rather under appreciated when it was first released but has come to be a cult classic. Written and directed by the power couple that is Alex Garland and Danny Boyle, behind the 28 Days Later franchise and many other stone cold classic. Benny W plays Trey and we shall say no more…If you have any thoughts or comments on the show, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode.

Another short film?! That’s right. Painkiller, 2011, is made by Selina Lim and Mustapha Kseibati. A shop robbery goes wrong in this triple header. Wong lends his stardom to the independent production in the same year as he is in Johnny English Reborn. This is the tapestry of Wong, and this is another good sit that is nice and easy to find.If you have any thoughts or comments on the show, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode.

We’re heading back into Wong’s back catalogue of short films with this one. One thing that has stood out to us during this process is Benedict’s commitment to the art and his willingness to do smaller, independent productions. This one stood out for its relatively high imDb rating and the fact that it speaks directly to his heritage. Easy enough to find online and well worth a watch!If you have any thoughts or comments on the show, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode.

We dip back into Benny W’s TV career with this latest episode. Riding the wave of success created by Sci-Fi shows like Black Mirror, Channel 4 dipped into the works of iconic author, Philip K. Dick to come up with a Sci-Fi anthology show of their own. We thought this might be an interesting turn for our man Benny, after finding out that he was in Season 1, Episode 2. So, we stuck it on the box and had a chin wag about it!If you have any thoughts or comments on the show, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode.

This week we’re going for a little ditty that you might not have heard of…a small, humble film called DOCTOR STRANGE! That’s right, we dip into Benedict Wong’s arguably most recognisable role as he plays Wong in the MCU. Since he isn’t a main character, we could’ve chosen many different films, however, this is his introduction to the MCU and our culture, so we chose Doctor Strange as it very much felt like the OG.If you have any thoughts or comments on the movie, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode.

And we’re back, this time with something as obscure as Nine Days and, yet, as mainstream as Marco Polo. I know what you’re thinking: Benedict Wong was not in Denis Villeneuve’s 2017 Sci-Fi epic, Blade Runner 2049. Admit it, you were thinking it, exactly like that. Well, you’d be correct, he was not. But, he was in 3026: Nexus Dawn, a spin-off short film set in the same universe, directed by Luke Scott. This prequel is a curious little ditty on Wong’s filmography, fusing his creative, independent roots with the big name, Hollywood franchises that have made him such a success. That intrigued us, and we just had to take a look-see. You can check it out on YouTube here, FOR FREE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgsS3nhRRzQ&themeRefresh=1 Apologies in advance if we get a little..side tracked.  If you have any thoughts or comments on the movie, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode. 

Episode 2: It’s here! And we make the pivot from the big screen to the small, with our boy Ben starring as the legendary War Lord, Kublai Khan, in Netflix’s historical drama, Marco Polo. Don’t worry, you don’t have to consume the entire 2 season run, as we just use episode 1, of season 1, as a jumping off point to talk all things Wong. This intrigued us, as neither of us had seen the show, yet it appeared as one of his top roles on his im(the)Db profile. So what’s that all about? Have a listen. Find out.If you have any thoughts or comments on the movie, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode.

For our first episode, we kick off with what might be one of Benedict Wong’s lesser known roles, as he plays Kyo in Edson Oda’s 2021 thought piece of a movie, Nine Days. We highly recommend that you watch, or have at least seen, all of the movie’s that we are going to speak about before listening to the episode, but we absolutely recommend it in this specific case.If you have any thoughts or comments on the movie, or what we’ve had to say, do reach out to us on our YouTube channel, or follow @sketchbenjamin on instagram, where we will be posting clips of each episode.