MOVIE REVIEW: Wicker

Images courtesy of Black Bear

WICKER— 5 STARS

I cannot help but watch the brilliant film, Wicker, the sophomore feature film from the Save Yourselves! directing duo of Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, and see an analog comparison to Spike Jonze’s Oscar-nominated 2013 masterpiece Her. The two films couldn’t be farther apart in terms of polish and setting, yet the narrative goals for finding substantial love from artificial, yet affirming places are wholly unified. Wicker’s thought-provoking weirdness, arresting beauty, utter honesty, and intoxicating charm strike all the same unforgettable chords.

Set in the pre-colonial era and filmed in the rural countryside outside of Budapest, Hungary, Wicker focuses on a spinster woman played by The Favourite Academy Award winner Olivia Colman. Like everyone in her nearby village, she is named for her familiar place or given profession: Fisherwoman. Looked down upon and openly ridiculed by most all for her late age, uncouth attitude, and smelly aura, Fisherwoman lives a solitary life of labor and the occasional crass retort while other citizens appear to thrive with marriage and family. She would love to see her fortunes change in that department and seeks out the travelling Basket Weaver (Emmy winner Peter Dinklage) to work a miracle. 

She pays him to “make me a husband,” a tall task for the highly creative and flamboyant craftsman, but one fitting his “has there ever been a more righteous endeavor” ambition. Augmenting Mother Nature like a cross between Victor Frankenstein and Bob Ross, Basket Weaver delivers the Wicker Husband, a strapping figure played underneath a guise of prosthetic makeup and a slight varnish VFX by the ageless heartthrob Alexander Skarsgård. Fibrously woven from different gauges of reeds and willows, the anatomically correct man is not only perfectly built but takes to Fisherwoman immediately.

LESSON #1: EXPERIENCING UNCONDITIONAL LOVE— Husband has been enlivened to unconditionally love Fisherwoman not like a pet or servant, but as a romantic and physical equal. Quite simply, his entire thankful existence is to put her first; the socially lonely Fisherwoman has never experienced this level of doting and dutiful affection before, and almost doesn’t know what to do with it. Before this, she doubted love and questioned the worth of marriage. Yet, this companionship is a lightning bolt to her heart, unlocking confidence she never knew she had and satisfaction she never knew she needed.

LESSON #2: CAN LOVE COME FROM ARTIFICIAL SOURCES?— This striking development in Wicker counts as love crossing a not-so-new line to artificial sources and whether—spiritually, morally, or whatever supposed stress of importance one wants to impart on the matter—this is truly fulfilling, healthy, and proper. Like Joaquin Phoenix’s introverted Theodore Twombly in Her finding “Samantha,” or Ryan Gosling’s titular character in Lars and the Real Girl toting around a life-sized doll, Fisherwoman is a better person with Husband in her life. That has to count for something, traditions be damned.

With this new chapter of life and existence, Wicker indeed widens the world to play out this concept for public reaction. Once Fisherwoman and Husband step out publicly at a village wedding, the gossip mill—working mostly through Elizabeth Debicki’s Tailor’s Wife (a sly supporting role as a foil to Colman)—grinds and churns with a myriad of reactions. It’s not necessarily the shock that Fisherwoman has a spouse, but the fact he is so perfect and behaviorally different than every other man in town. Thick with this layer of satire, Wicker’s village is principally populated by unaffectionate, job-focused, surly, fallible, and unromantic men and husbands who want their women at home tending to the house and making babies. They are zero help and grant little freedom in return.

LESSON #3: THE JEALOUSY OF EQUALITY AND WORTH— Pulling from the short story "The Wicker Husband" by Ursula Wills, Alex Huston Fisher and Eleanor Wilson play with these angles of dichotomy with richly dark humor laced with romantic longing. The film offers several cheeky encounters of voyeuristic townspeople reacting to this oddly harmonious union with varying degrees of jealousy. Either the women want a slice of that type of helpful and missing equality in their lives, or the men see their worth being embarrassingly reduced by being shown up by this new figure. Soon, the fun of that external jealousy can bleed into harsher pushback in Wicker.

While challenges certainly lie ahead, the rapturous beauty of Wicker is both in its detailed creation and its positive conviction to put this kind of romance out into the world. Lit by sprawling and favorable cinematography from The Brutalist’s Oscar-winning Lol Crawley and backed by a luscious acoustic score from Scottish composer Anna Meredith, the glow of Olivia Colman is the star of the show, and that’s quite a feat considering the craft fair blue ribbon vessel joining her. The ingenious makeup work of Zsomber Agoston, Zsofia Otvos, Sarah Rubano, and the prosthetics designed by Joe Dunckley (District 9) used to transform Alexander Skarsgård are extraordinary; combined with the puppeteer movements from Callum Lingard, every audible split and visible crinkle creates tangibility that fancy green screens and performance capture shortcuts cannot match.

Beyond these treats, the unexpected romance is the largest draw of Wicker. Through both the eyes and bodies of Colman’s beleaguered woman and Skarsgård’s newborn innocence, the outward displays of passion are incredibly sweeping. As soon as Skarsgård utters a line like “I was made to be with you” with his low purr of diction, the heat rises as it should. The movie is unafraid to shift ways to see and feel beauty, even through—and especially through—artificial sources. What makes her happy makes him happy, and not the over-traditional other way around, and that simple stance speaks volumes. Wicker’s lifts given to a woman’s independence and the proper devotion a spouse should give their partner create harmony sorely missing in the world.

LOGO DESIGNED BY MEENTS ILLUSTRATED (#1440)

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The Italian actor takes on the dual roles of a tormented priest and a fallen angel in an ambitious short film exploring faith, redemption and the possibility of salvation.  Italian actor Francesco Dalli Cani is taking his commitment to character transformation to an extraordinary level in Fallen, a supernatural horror short film that required six […]

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What Muay Thai Movies Teach About Discipline

Fight films love a training montage. Muay Thai films go further, because the sport arrives with its own rituals, rhythm and code of respect. Watched closely, the best of them teach lessons that hold up long after the last knee strike.

Photo by Payam Tahery on Unsplash

Many viewers finish these films curious about the real sport in Thailand. Adults who want it can follow Thai fight cards on thsport, a Thai-language sports news site, but its odds pages apply only where betting is legal. The lessons below come first, though, and they start with the movies themselves.

Why Does Muay Thai Look So Good On Screen?

Muay Thai lets fighters strike with fists, elbows, knees and kicks. That variety gives a camera far more to follow than a boxing jab. Every exchange can end in a different way.

The film that proved it to global audiences was Ong-Bak in 2003. Prachya Pinkaew directed, and Tony Jaa played Ting, a villager chasing a stolen Buddha statue. A Kung Fu Kingdom retrospective notes that Jaa had trained for years as a stuntman under action director Panna Rittikrai. He also studied Muay Boran, the older form of Muay Thai, for the role.

The same review says no CGI or wires were used for the stunts, and Jaa performed his own. That choice is the first lesson. Audiences can feel when a body is doing the real work.

What Lessons Do These Films Share?

Strip away the plots and a few ideas repeat across the genre. Each one applies well outside the ring.

1. Respect comes before the first punch. Fighters perform the wai kru ram muay before a bout. A Muay Thai Records guide translates it as paying respect to the teacher through dance and boxing.

2. Finishing matters more than starting. Real judges weight the later rounds most heavily, so a fast start proves little.

3. The body keeps the receipts. The best of these films show training as repetition, pain and patience rather than one inspired moment.

4. Style cannot replace stakes. Don Shanahan gave Only God Forgives one star, arguing that substance beats style every time.

5. Setbacks invite a comeback. The boxing drama They Fight pushes the idea of always fighting back against what holds you down.

Beautiful Boxer from 2003 may carry the deepest version of these lessons. Directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham, it tells the true story of Nong Toom, played by real kickboxer Asanee Suwan. A review in Eye For Film describes how Toom turns to Muay Thai to earn money for a sex change. The film treats discipline as a way to become who you are.

How Different Is a Real Bout From a Movie Fight?

Movie fights last exactly as long as the story needs. Real professional bouts follow a fixed clock. Under New Jersey's Muay Thai regulations, professionals fight up to five rounds of three minutes each. They get a one-minute rest between rounds.

Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash

The scoring lesson is the surprising one. Those same rules say round one is generally scored 10-10 unless one fighter clearly dominates. Rounds three, four and five must be scored decisively for one fighter. The regulations compare a Muay Thai bout to a marathon, because how a fighter finishes counts most.

That is the opposite of a movie edit, which often front-loads the flashiest moves. Films also skip the slow grind of the clinch. New Jersey's rules allow fighters to twist and dump an opponent to the canvas from a neck clinch, a skill that rarely makes a highlight reel. The ritual survives on screen, though. New Jersey's rules let the referee start the fight only after both fighters finish their pre-fight rituals, in keeping with Thai tradition.

The sport's reach keeps growing too. In July 2021, the 138th IOC session in Tokyo gave Muay Thai's world body full IOC recognition. The Nation reported that the federation had members in 146 countries at the time.

Which Films Make a Good Muay Thai Double Bill?

Pair these by the lesson you want, not just by the fight scenes.

Ong-Bak and Beautiful Boxer make the strongest pairing. Both arrived the same year, and both show two very different reasons to step into a ring.

Only God Forgives works best as a contrast piece. Watch it after Ong-Bak and the gap in purpose becomes obvious. One film builds every fight around a goal its hero cares about. The other leans on mood and leaves the fights hollow. They Fight then brings the lesson home, with a coach who uses the gym to rebuild his own life.

What Should Fans Know Before Reading Fight Odds?

Following the real sport often leads fans to Thai sports sites, and some of those pages publish fight odds. A few plain facts help keep that in proportion.

• Thailand restricts gambling tightly. AustCham Thailand notes that the Gambling Act of 1935 permits only a limited range of activities, such as the Government Lottery Office draw.

• Odds are not a forecast you can beat. Every price includes a bookmaker's margin, so the house holds the edge over time.

• Legality is local. Betting is for adults only, and only where the law allows it.

• Help is free. In the United States, the National Problem Gambling Helpline answers at 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738). In Thailand, the Department of Mental Health runs the 1323 hotline around the clock.

The safest way to enjoy fight odds is as one more piece of analysis, not as a plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Wai Kru Ram Muay?

It is the ritual dance a fighter performs before a bout. The phrase translates roughly as paying respect to the teacher through dance and boxing. Each gym and trainer lineage shapes its own version.

Is Beautiful Boxer a True Story?

Yes. The 2003 film follows the real fighter Nong Toom, who used Muay Thai earnings to pay for a sex change. Real kickboxer Asanee Suwan plays the lead role.

How Long Is a Professional Muay Thai Bout?

Under New Jersey's rules, a professional bout runs up to five rounds of three minutes. Fighters get one minute of rest between rounds. Later rounds weigh most heavily in scoring.

Is Betting On Muay Thai Legal In Thailand?

Thailand's Gambling Act of 1935 permits only a narrow range of gambling, and most betting is banned. Readers elsewhere should check their own local laws. Betting is for adults only, and only where it is legal.

Leaving the Theater With the Right Lesson

Muay Thai films work best when they respect the sport's code as much as its kicks. Ong-Bak teaches effort, Beautiful Boxer teaches identity, and the weaker films teach what happens without heart. Real bouts add one more lesson the movies often skip. The finish matters most, in the ring and outside it.

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Cannes Palme D’Or Winner, Major Previews And City-Wide Screenings Announced For 2026 Inverness Film Festival

The Inverness Film Festival will be returning for its 24th year (13-19 November) with an ambitious programme spanning international cinema, highly anticipated new releases, documentaries, and Scottish filmmaking. As part of Eden Court’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the festival will take cinema beyond its usual screens with IFF: On Location – three classic films shown in […]

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How to Check an Online Gaming Platform Before Signing Up

Photo by Branden Skeli on Unsplash

There’s a download button on the screen. The page looks right. But the address isn’t quite the one in your bookmarks, and after ten minutes of searching, you’re tempted to just tap it and move on. That small mismatch is exactly what’s worth stopping for before you use mega888 online casino malaysia as a search term to pick a website or app.

Here’s the problem. A brand name spreads much faster than the business behind it. Several pages can borrow the same logo and colours, and a polished design says nothing about who’s actually running things. So start with where you’ve landed, not how it looks.

A Name Is Not the Same as an Operator

Who’s responsible for this website? That’s the question to answer next. The terms of use and privacy policy should give you something solid to look at. A company name tucked into the footer doesn’t help much if you still can’t tell which business runs the service or where a complaint would go.

Say a site claims to be licensed. Don’t take the badge at face value, since anyone can paste one onto a page. Look the claim up in the regulator’s own records, if they’re publicly available. If the names or licence details don’t match, treat the claim as unverified.

One missing detail on its own isn’t proof of anything. Still, if you can’t work out who the operator is and you can’t confirm what the site says about itself, signing up won’t answer those questions for you.

When an App Download Goes Wrong

Picture this. You’re halfway through installing the app and it fails. A new page pops up with a different file, promising this one will work. It’s frustrating, and that frustration is what makes people click. The replacement file might have nothing to do with the original service, and the page offering it rarely says who made it.

If the instructions tell you to switch off your phone’s security settings, don’t. Be just as careful with files that arrive in messages you didn’t ask for. When you can’t independently confirm where something came from, leave it alone.

Before installing anything, ask yourself:

• Where did the file come from? A link from a stranger isn’t a reliable source, however friendly the message sounds.

• What happens if setup fails? Being pushed to install file after file is a signal to stop.

• Who’s asking for your login details? Don’t send passwords or one-time verification codes to a “support” contact over chat.

That last one catches people out, usually when the person on the other end sounds helpful or in a hurry. Keep those codes to yourself. Someone knowing the platform’s name doesn’t make them trustworthy.

Personal Details and Payment Rules

Signing up can mean handing over more than a username. Some services want your phone number. Some want a copy of your ID. Before you send either, read the privacy policy. What does the operator say it collects? And how do you close your account if you change your mind?

If the policy is vague on the basics, don’t rush the form. Use a password you haven’t used for your email or your bank. Turn on two-step verification if the site offers it.

Money raises its own questions. Check the deposit and withdrawal rules first, then look for fees and limits. Promotions are worth a second look, too. A “100% welcome bonus” might come with wagering conditions that make it far less generous than the headline suggests, so read the fine print before you transfer anything.

If you’re comparing services linked to Mega888 Malaysia, run these checks on the specific site or app you’re considering. The name by itself doesn’t prove a page is official. It doesn’t prove two sites share an operator, either, or that a payment claim holds up.

Watch out for anyone who says you need to pay a fee to unlock your winnings or “fix” a stuck withdrawal. That’s a classic pressure tactic. Don’t send more money because a request feels urgent. Check it independently first.

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Tailoring the Betting Experience to Each Bettor's Interests

Bettors are not interchangeable. One follows a single sport closely, another spreads bets across many, a third only ever engages around big events. A sportsbook that treats them all the same buries each of them under content they do not care about. Meeting bettors with what actually interests them is what makes the experience feel relevant rather than noisy.

Delivering that relevance is the job of capable sports betting software solutions, which have to shape what each bettor sees around the sports they actually follow. Soft2Bet, a leading iGaming turnkey solutions provider delivering high-quality products and services for online gambling operators, builds its platform to make the betting experience relevant to the individual rather than generic to everyone.

Relevance Beats Volume

A sportsbook that shows every bettor everything asks each of them to do the sorting. Most will not, they will simply tune out the content that does not match their interests. Relevance flips that: when a bettor is met with the sports and markets they follow, the experience feels made for them, and they engage rather than filter.

This is not about pushing bettors toward anything, it is about respecting what they already care about. A bettor who follows a particular sport wants to find it quickly, see the markets that matter to them, and not wade through everything else. Tailoring the experience to genuine interest is a matter of relevance and convenience, plain and simple. There is nothing manipulative about showing a bettor the sports they already follow first, it is simply good service. A sportsbook that respects what a bettor came for feels considerate, and consideration is something bettors notice and return to.

What Tailoring Involves

Making a sportsbook relevant to the individual comes down to organising the experience around what each bettor actually follows.

Tailoring the experience typically means:

• surfacing the sports a bettor follows
• highlighting the markets relevant to them
• keeping favoured events easy to reach
• reflecting a bettor's stated preferences
• reducing the noise of content they ignore

Different Bettors, Different Needs

The value of tailoring is clearest when you consider how different bettors actually behave. A dedicated follower of one sport wants depth in it, a broad bettor wants easy access across many, an occasional bettor wants the big events front and centre. A single, undifferentiated layout serves one of them at the expense of the others.

Meeting each on their own terms is what a tailored experience does. Rather than forcing every bettor through the same generic front page, the sportsbook adapts to reflect what each one follows, so the experience feels considered rather than one-size-fits-all. That consideration is part of what keeps a bettor choosing one sportsbook over another.

Relevance Depends on the Platform

Tailoring the experience to each bettor is only possible if the platform supports it. Understanding what a bettor follows and organising their experience around it takes a foundation built for that kind of relevance, not a fixed layout that shows everyone the same thing regardless of interest.

This is where the platform underneath makes the difference. A sportsbook built to reflect individual interest can meet bettors with what matters to them at scale, across a whole audience, without manual effort. Relevance stops being something an operator does by hand and becomes something the platform delivers as a matter of course.

Conclusion

Bettors reward a sportsbook that feels like it understands what they came for, and they drift from one that buries their interests under everyone else's. Tailoring the experience to each bettor's genuine interests, on a platform built to do it at scale, is one of the clearer ways to make a sportsbook feel considered rather than generic.

Turning that relevance into lasting engagement is where the rest of the platform contributes. Soft2Bet adds MEGA (Motivational Engineering Gaming Application), its gamification engine, so a relevant experience also has more ways to keep bettors coming back.

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Chancellor John Healey stands up to deliver his first Budget on 28 October, and the line item exciting the most lobbying in pubs, arcades, bingo halls and casinos is a dull one: Machine Games Duty, the tax on fruit machines and every other cash prize machine in the country. Reports say the Treasury is weighing […]

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