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20th Century Girl review: Netflix’s romantic drama belongs to the Twenty Five Twenty One universe of heartbreak and pain

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Netflix’s latest, 20th Century Girl is deceptive. The film has all the shades of a sweet, emotional romantic comedy set in a high school where one loyal girl wants her close friend to end up with the boy of her dreams. Of course, needless to say, the girl herself falls in love with the boy and bittersweet confusion ensues. And then, in a rather diabolic sweeping manner, all that joy is suddenly crushed in a way that’s eerily reminiscent of Twenty Five-Twenty One (those wounds will never heal), but what hurts here, is that it doesn’t quite have the same impact. You just come away feeling slightly let down.

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Set in the 90s, Kim Joo-yung’s Na Bo-ra and Roh Yoon-seo’s Yeon-du play the two close friends in question. Before Yeon-du heads to the US for a heart surgery, she confides in Na Bo-ra about the new boy she is in love with, whose name she believes is Baek Hyun-jin (Park Jung-woo). Na Bo-ra promises to investigate the boy thoroughly, only to fall in love with his best friend, Poong Woon-ho (Byeon Woo-seok). There are the actual wholesome and enjoyable moments of the film—the scenes of high school activities like debating clubs, sneaky drunken escapades, the recollections of high school crushes, and the innocent first dates. The film emphasises on the purity of teenage love, without leaning into any toxic traits. None of the kids are a bad lot — they actually seem like teenagers, with their own set of perplexing concerns, mainly concerning exams and crushes.

However, as luck would have it, Yeon-du is actually in love with Woon-ho, leading to events a la Mujhse Dosti Karoge, where Bo-ra plays every quintessential Bollywood sacrificial heroine and decides to give up her crush for Yeon-du. But friendship and sisterhood is too strong and Bo-ra, Woon-ho have a sweet reunion at the train station before he leaves the country. Till here, the film is charming and wholesome.

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What follows is a diabolic twist—like someone just viciously threw water at you, just as you were enjoying a warm and comfortable nap. We all wanted to see the happy ending and a romantic reunion, but clearly that was not the idea behind the conclusion, and you’re meant to draw your own conclusion.

While I’m all for the good pain and tears in films and shows, moments in this film felt like I was being deliberately prodded to sob, even though I was just a little sad, not to mention rather perplexed. It seemed like a forced reminder of Twenty Five Twenty One, a show that followed a similar path of first love, only to see the lead couple not reunite at the end, except that was a story that was filled with far more subtlety, nuance, which is probably why the ending hurt a lot more.

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Nevertheless the last few moments of the film were a reminder of why it had been enjoyable in the first place. An adult Bo-ra watches an old video of Woon-ho, his little collection of clips that feature her as well. That had an emotional punch, more of an impact that Bo-ra’s scene with his younger brother. Even if it was supposed to have an unhappy ending, the conclusion could have been much tighter, with a lot more subtlety and less heavy exposition—which somehow ruined the effect the film intended to have.

20th Century Girl isn’t a bad film by any means, even if the last 30 minutes were rather disappointing. It had all the rushes of the 90’s, the close friendships, the thrills and fears of first love, and wholesomeness one would want to see depicted in televised high schools (We’re the generation that had Gossip Girl, The OC, One Tree Hill and now Euphoria). The acting is impeccable, and Joo-yung brings out all the complexities of Bo-ra and her little quirks—like Woon-ho, we love them too.

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Ironically, most of us turn to Korean shows and films when we look for comfort, so it feels rather unsettling when we don’t see the happy ending that we want. Sigh, whatever works for good storytelling.

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‘The Last of Us’ season 2 will be shot in Vancouver | Globalnews.ca

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It appears that one of the biggest shows on TV is moving production to Vancouver.


As first reported by Deadline, The Last of Us will be filming season 2 in the west coast province.

“We’re incredibly excited to have one of the largest shows on television choose to film in Vancouver,” Mayor Ken Sim told Vancouver’s Economic Commission Friday.

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“Vancouver is Hollywood North – this announcement is a demonstration of our city’s continued strength in the film and television sector. As we look to the future, I’m confident that we will see even more productions decide to make their home here.”

Global News has reached out to HBO and Creative BC for comment.

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The blockbuster hit’s first season was shot exclusively in Alberta starting in 2021 and used an astonishing 180 locations around the province, from Grande Prairie all the way down to Waterton Lakes National Park.

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The City of Calgary said in a statement that it was notified Friday morning of the decision to move production to Vancouver.

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Global News reached out to one of the unions whose members worked on the show in Alberta and a spokesperson said a producer confirmed the news to them.

They were not surprised, however, as the season two storyline is dependant on marine-based locals, which Alberta does not have.

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3 people arrested in alleged Tekashi 6ix9ine gym attack, robbery – National | Globalnews.ca

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Three people have been arrested in connection with the alleged assault and robbery of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine at a South Florida gym last week, the local sheriff’s office said Thursday.


Rafael Medina Jr., 43, Octavious Medina, 23, and Anthony Maldonado, 25, were taken into police custody on Thursday. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement the three suspects “have been located, arrested and are currently being booked/processed into the Palm Beach County Jail.”

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Jail records show the suspects are all being held on preliminary charges of felony battery and robbery.

Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, was allegedly attacked without warning inside a sauna at an LA Fitness on March 21. (Ed. Note: The preceding link contains violent footage.)

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One person filmed the attack on Hernandez, 26, who can be seen lying on the ground shielding his face as two men kick him. In the video, one attacker pulled Hernandez’s hair and taunted, “Take a picture. I want to be famous now.”

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Hernandez was taken to hospital. His lawyer said he obtained “cuts to his face and bruises.” TMZ reported the rapper also suffered injuries to his jaw, ribs and back.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said all three attackers would make their first court appearance on Friday morning.

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Suspects Rafael Medina, Jr., Octavious Medina, and Anthony Maldonado were arrested on March 30, 2023, in connection to an alleged assault and robbery of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine.


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In April 2020, Hernandez was released from federal prison, where he served a two-year sentence for charges including racketeering, drug trafficking and firearm offences, all in connection with the Nine Trey Bloods gang.

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He was given a shorter prison sentence after he co-operated with federal officials and provided names of his associates. The deal earned him leniency from charges that could have subjected him to a mandatory minimum of 37 years in prison for crimes that included orchestrating a shooting in which an innocent bystander was wounded.


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The deal saw Hernandez labelled a “rat” by the likes of rappers Meek Mill and Snoop Dogg, among others.

It is not known whether the plea deal served as motivation for last week’s attack against Hernandez.

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Gwyneth Paltrow not liable in Utah ski collision, jury says – National | Globalnews.ca

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Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn’t at fault for the crash.


A jury dismissed the complaint of a retired optometrist who sued Paltrow over injuries he sustained when the two crashed on a beginner run at Deer Valley ski resort, siding with Paltrow after eight days of live-streamed courtroom testimony that made the case a pop culture fixation.

Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury’s verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case since actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off last year.

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The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case. Paltrow’s attorneys described the complaint against her as “utter B.S.” and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to unfair, frivolous lawsuits due to her celebrity.

Paltrow took the witness stand during the trial to insist the collision wasn’t her fault, and to describe how she was stunned when she felt “a body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise.”

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Throughout the trial, the word “uphill” became synonymous with “guilty, ” as attorneys focused on a largely unknown skiing code of conduct that stipulates that the skier who is downhill or ahead on the slope has the right of way.

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Worldwide audiences followed the celebrity trial as if it were episodic television. Viewers scrutinized both Paltrow and Sanderson’s motives while attorneys directed questions to witnesses that often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client’s reputations.

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The trial took place in Park City, a resort town known for hosting the annual Sundance Film Festival, where early in her career Paltrow would appear for the premieres of her movies including 1998’s “Sliding Doors,” at a time when she was known primarily as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer. Paltrow is also known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love,” which won her an Academy Award, and the “Iron Man” movies.


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The jury’s decision marks a painful court defeat for Terry Sanderson, the man who sued Paltrow for more than $300,000 over injuries he sustained when they crashed on a beginner run. Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him.

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He filed an amended complaint after an earlier $3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. Paltrow in response countersued for $1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift’s response to a radio host’s defamation lawsuit. Swift was awarded $1 in 2017.

Paltrow’s defense team tried to paint Sanderson as an angry, aging and unsympathetic man who had over the years become “obsessed” with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn’t at fault in the crash and also said, regardless of blame, that Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries.

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AP writer Anna Furman contributed from Los Angeles.

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