Yun Huiseong: Self-styled “old-school variety show” Beat Coin asks questions, questions and more questions. Are “lame” things always boring? The title is straightforward—Hong Jin Kyung and Kim Sook leave their fate up to the flip of a coin—and as such, Beat Coin pulls no punches with viewers, serving everything up directly in plain sight. The show is a faithful reproduction of the variety shows of old every step of the way, complete with silly makeup and costumes, friends coming on to tell personal stories about the hosts, pranks and messages from family members. Just when everyone’s trying to be new and unconventional, this series shows up looking to keep things laid-back with the dash of frenzy. The 30th episode brings BTS member Jimin on just as he launches into his solo career and puts everything that makes Beat Coin special on full display. They keep their guest Jimin at ease by playing games he would be familiar with just from having watched TV, even though he isn’t used to appearing on such shows, and the hosts’ steady supply of characters and the ridiculous penalties they dole out add to the episode. In fact, neither Hong nor Kim, nor even a coin, are the most important ingredients to the show’s success. Instead, it builds on the framework of the past and creates several scenes the guests’ fans would like to see. Although the show follows an old format, it never feels old or boring. Rather, it’s like they’re being considerate of their audience, giving them something they can relate to, and that’s what makes the show feel so lively. Beat Coin doesn’t simply rest on the glory days of entertainment past; they work hard to work within a different bygone style each week. Like making a perfect collage out of careful cutouts, they’re shoveling through the embers of the well-known comedy past in what might be the most romantic experiment in variety shows today.

Kim Doheon (music critic): Behold a music video that blends the aesthetics of Jackass, America’s Funniest Home Videos and serious 1990s hip hop videos, and an album cover where T-shirts are flipped over the face to reveal abdomens adorned with stars and an eighth note. Composed of Dylan Brady and Laura Les, 100 gecs gives more to you to listen to than anyone could imagine. The duo try to maintain a cheerful attitude and a relaxed lifestyle but are seen as the darlings or freaks of hyperpop thanks to their flashy, subversive music, and seem to pop up in every underground scene and major rock festival. But there’s nothing lighthearted about their music. 100 gecs feels a heavy sense of responsibility given their background as music fans themselves. Over the past four years, the two have thrown out 4,000 demo songs, and have at last gifted the post-2000, Internet-addicted, social media savants of Gen Z their second album: 10000 gecs. The rapidly fluctuating collage of heavy metal, ska, punk rock, nu metal, hardcore and electronic, with a heavy dose of ready-made sounds, calls to mind Beck’s widely praised 1996 work of genius, Odelay. It feels like a joke at first, but it’s anything but. It’s two music-obsessed young artists’ vast archive, endless self-innovation and ambition to swipe five Grammys—wrapped up in an extremely crumpled burger wrapper from a fast food chain. In other words, it’s kitsch.

Im Sooyeon (CINE21 reporter): Kang Yang-hyun (Ahn Jae Hong) had been the MVP of his high school basketball team, but after floating around the second division for a while, he settles into life as a public servant until he’s suddenly called upon to coach the Busan Jungang High School team. As a last-minute and last-ditch attempt to hold the nearly dissolved team together, they decide on a public servant who will coach the team for free. But Yang-hyun treats this as an opportunity. Determined to revive the Jungang team, he finds students who take the sport seriously and convinces them one after the other until he’s formed a team. The movie is based on the true story of an amazing reversal of fortune when Busan Jungang High was considered the weakest team at the Korea Basketball Association’s 2012 national secondary school basketball tournament. They made headlines for their involvement in the tournament at the time because the Jungang boys and young coach were full of spirit and determination that led them to perform at a level that a simple desire to play could never provide. Rebound is clever entertainment that has a perfect grasp of the essence of its source material. The film eschews any artificial sense of conflict, focusing instead on Ahn’s lighthearted comedy and the healthy energy it fosters. Attention is also given to the excitement of the game as the tournament begins, brought to life by actors who have real-world experience playing basketball. Overall, the movie reflects the optimism of its director, Chang Hang-jun. There’s enough love of the sport to keep basketball fever alive while we’re still on the heels of THE FIRST SLAM DUNK.