In Eat Pray Love, recent divorcee Liz Gilbert goes on a journey of self-discovery by travelling to Italy, India, and Bali. Someone should tell Gilbert that Japan is everyone’s preferred Eat Pray Love destination these days. Today, tourists from all over the world like going to Japan because of its different, almost perfect serene, culture.

However, the truth of Japan is less romantic than what’s shown in travelogues: absurd working hours, not enough time for personal life, and societal pressures to do only what’s expected. It’s this Japan that Rental Family wants you to see.

Truths

In Rental Family, Brendan Fraser plays Phillip Vanderploeg, a struggling American actor living in Japan. After failing to land a gig outside of the odd commercial here and there, an unconventional opportunity suddenly lands on his lap: to work for a rental family agency, which provides stand-ins for social situations. In one case, Philip pretends to be a young woman’s groom, so her family doesn’t ask questions when she moves and starts a life of her own in Canada.

It’s no surprise that Philip exclaims a loud “the f*ck?” when he first realizes what the firm does. Aiko (Mari Yamamoto), one of his colleagues, explains that this is how Japan works. Instead of paying for therapy, the Japanese people would rather pay for someone to pretend for them. For an outsider looking in, the practice seems strange, but it’s real. Rental family agencies have been around for a while.

Despite Aiko’s insistence that this is a Japanese phenomenon, Philip eventually understands that these agencies provide something more than just a country-exclusive need: the desire to be seen and to be heard.

Rental Family is a film that speaks to everyone. Often, we need someone to fill those gaps in our lives: a missing father, a missing lover, a missing friend. It’s a truth that should feel self-evident, but the film remains a poignant reminder of whatever, whoever is missing in our lives. We see ourselves in Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto), a retired actor who just wants a friend before his memory withers away. We see ourselves in Mia Kawasaki (Shannon Mahina Gorman), a young girl whose father left her.

And lies

Philip plays a multitude of roles: a father, a journalist, a cheerleader, a groom, a friend. It’s his job to play a role so credible that his client believes in the illusion. Essentially, he’s a professional liar.

However, Philip finds himself also believing in the same lies he’s crafted. He gets attached to a few of his clients, especially Mia whom he quickly becomes close to, as if as her real father. Even when his boss Shinji (Takehiro Hira) tells him not to get too personal with his clients, he cares for them beyond his initial assignment.

It’s the lie that makes the movie so believable. Who among us has never felt inadequate to play a certain role? Too incompetent to be a father, a lover, and a friend?

Ironically, the one who plays the part most authentically is the one person willing to build the lie, Philip. He becomes a better companion to their clients than the people closest to them. As the saying goes, “fake it ‘till you make it.”

Sometimes, the mask slips. Sometimes, Philip’s boss warns him that he’s too close, or a client ends the relationship themselves. When this happens, Philip has to confront the lie, which can mean that he tells his client that he was lying.

And yet, he doesn’t leave as if it’s just the conclusion of a deal. He opens up and makes himself vulnerable. He confronts what he did and promises to do better. Lying is easier, and we lie all the time. We tell ourselves that we’re the best at what we do. If we do it enough, we start to believe.

But Rental Family is about the truth behind the lie. An untruth can be the foundation, but a relationship only truly prospers with being vulnerable. It’s about realizing that, just as the other person needs us, we also need them. We’re all rental families in our own way.

When 28 Years Later came out last year, it disrupted the traditional flow of zombie films. Contrary to expectations, the third film in an ongoing series did not see the sudden breakdown of an uninfected group of survivors. Rather, it’s a coming-of-age story wrapped a zombie-flavored coating. It’s a revolutionary reimagining of Danny Boyle’s classic zombie series. Now, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple completes the franchise’s transition into something else entirely different.

The Bone Temple starts off almost immediately after the events of the previous film. Spike (Alfie Williams) joins an eccentric group of survivors called “the Jimmys,” who all dress up like Jimmy Saville. It quickly takes a turn for the worse when Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), the gang’s leader, shows off a sadistic streak towards the gang’s members and other survivors.

In the meantime, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) continues his peaceful mission to memorialize the dead. However, after taking care of Spike’s mom in the previous film, Kelson decides to embark on a tougher mission: curing Samson, an Alpha zombie who resides near Kelson’s camp.

Zombies, begone

28 Years Later confirmed that the zombie pandemic was successfully isolated to the British Isles. Since it’s literally 28 years after the first outbreak, the Isles aren’t as inundated with zombies anymore. In the previous film, zombies were a present threat, but they didn’t always lead to an entire horde stampeding over survivors.

In The Bone Temple, zombies are even less of a danger, especially when compared to the more brutal Jimmy gang. Except for an occasional attack, none of the human characters were really scared of zombies. In fact, the traditional rules of fighting zombies have seemingly gone out the window. Characters shout and make noise with no regard for zombies, for example.

Strangely, the franchise’s transition away from the chaos of zombies works. After all, how many times can movies rehash the tired trope of a society collapsing because of an infection? The Bone Temple isn’t about zombies anymore; it’s about what happens after, when society devolves into absurd factions and personalities.

A compelling cast of characters

The previous film had some reactions complaining about the shift away from zombies. If you came into The Bone Temple looking for a straight-up zombie story, you will also leave disappointed.

However, if you stick around, The Bone Temple features a superbly interesting suite of characters for a post-apocalyptic setting. Both Jimmy Crystal and Dr. Kelson aren’t run-of-the-mill survivors grumbling about the difficulties of a postapocalyptic world. Both know what to do and know what they must become. It’s compelling to see how they reach their goals or, in some cases, their comeuppance.

Jimmy Crystal sees himself as the son of Old Nick, an old euphemism for Satan. He wants to sow discord and terrorize other survivors. To him, the zombie outbreak is a religious one, a result of Satan bringing forth demons to the world. He treats death as his duty, especially when done through violent means.

In contrast, Dr. Kelson believes in science. He bathes in iodine to stave off infection. In fact, he believes that the zombie virus is curable or, at the very least, manageable. For him, death is a fact of life but one that needs to be respected. His monument, or the titular Bone Temple, is a testimony that everyone who died was a human being, not a mindless zombie.

It’s these drives that make The Bone Temple so engaging. You will want one to succeed, and the other to get his just desserts.

A bombastic finish

When you watch Jimmy and Dr. Kelson work their way through the film, one thing becomes apparent: Both ideologies are set for a collision course against each other. A meeting between the two feels inevitable, but you just won’t know how yet.

Now, some things are better off being experienced. Though, like the previous film, The Bone Temple starts more methodically and more deliberately, it will all lead to one of the craziest endings I’ve seen in modern cinema. Even if you’ve watched the film’s trailers, you’re bound to still gape in awe of what it has in store. All I’ll say is, even in this messed up future, Iron Maiden is still an icon of heavy metal.

In its insanity, which shall not be named in this review, The Bone Temple proves that the franchise wants to be something more than just another zombie flick. And, after all’s been said and done in this clash of ideologies, the promise of hope remains, along with the expectation of an even grander conclusion in the upcoming third movie in the 28 Years Later trilogy.

Concerts are unfair camera tests — wild lighting, fast movement, and zero second chances. So when I brought the HONOR Magic8 Pro to TWICE’s THIS IS FOR concert in Bangkok, I wanted to see if HONOR’s Stage Mode could actually handle it.

Everything here was shot using Stage Mode at 4K 30fps.

This wasn’t lab testing. This was real-world, heart-racing, shaky-hands shooting.

Where I was seated and why zoom mattered

 

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The concert used a 360-degree stage. I was lucky enough to sit close to one of the extended stages, which meant I was often shooting between 3.7x to 10x zoom.

For the main stage, I mostly relied on 15x zoom.

That’s where a phone either wins your trust… or completely falls apart.

Surprisingly stable, even with shaky hands and excitement

Let’s start with what impressed me most — stability.

I’m naturally shaky, and TWICE being right in front of me did not help. I was vibrating out of excitement most of the night. Even then, Stage Mode stabilization held things together beautifully.

 

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Shots stayed usable. Footage stayed watchable.
Even when I wasn’t being my most careful self.

This gave me confidence to keep shooting instead of worrying about every tiny hand movement.

Image quality: sometimes magical, sometimes uncertain

Now the honest part.

Stage Mode still needs to mature.

There were moments when footage looked crisp, clean, and genuinely impressive for a smartphone in that environment.

 

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But there were also times where it clearly struggled — particularly with lighting transitions and focus.

 

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Some clips handled spotlights well. Others felt like the processing panicked a little.

It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t consistent yet.

How it compares to other concert kings

 

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If I were purely relying on zoom to watch the concert through my phone, I’d still recommend the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. It remains the phone I trust most when zoom is mission-critical.

vivo also still leads in Stage Mode execution. The vivo X300 Ultra’s Stage Mode feels more refined and reliable at this point.

HONOR isn’t there yet.

But it’s also much closer than I expected.

So… would I bring the Magic8 Pro to concerts again?

Yes.

Even with the inconsistencies.
Even knowing there are better Stage Mode implementations out there.

 

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Because the Magic8 Pro still gave me plenty of shots and clips I was genuinely happy with. Stability is excellent. Quality can be great. And for most users, it delivers results worth keeping and sharing.

If I didn’t have a Galaxy S25 Ultra or vivo X300 Ultra with me, I’d still confidently bring the HONOR Magic8 Pro.

Stage Mode isn’t perfect yet.
But it’s promising — and when it works, it really does feel like magic.

 

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SEE ALSO: 

• HONOR Magic8 Pro review
• HONOR Magic8 Pro price and availability