K-drama The Wonderfools coasts on Park Eun-bin’s quirky charm and chemistry with Cha Eun-woo

The Wonderfools (NC16)

Netflix

★★★☆☆

Superpowered chaos meets retro charm in The Wonderfools, a breezy South Korean fantasy-comedy about a group of ordinary small-town residents who suddenly develop supernatural abilities after a mysterious incident turns their quiet lives upside down.

The story revolves around four misfits – Chae-ni (Park Eun-bin), who can teleport; telekinetic Un-jeong (Cha Eun-woo); Gyeong-hun (Choi Dae-hoon), who gains super-adhesive abilities; and superstrong Ro-bin (Im Seong-jae) – who use their newfound gifts to save their town from a diabolical scientist.

The Wonderfools, which premiered on May 15, feels like a live-action comic book with its colourful, clumsy characters and gleefully unserious plot.

The downside is its uneven pacing and scattered storytelling. Some of the eight episodes drag with repetitive gags, while emotional arcs occasionally feel underdeveloped or abruptly resolved. The tonal shifts between comedy, mystery and heartfelt drama can also feel jarring.

But the show thrives on the chemistry between Park and Cha. Park excels once again with sharp comic timing and emotional warmth, while Cha’s easygoing charm makes him a natural foil. Together, their charisma carries even the messiest scenes and keeps viewers invested.

Choi and Im also deserve recognition for their scene-stealing performances, adding texture and unpredictability to the story. Their characters’ eccentric personalities give the series much of its energy, especially during ensemble sequences, where the K-drama fully embraces its absurdity.

Light To The Night (PG13)

Viu and Netflix

Popular Chinese actor Dylan Wang takes a darker turn in Light To The Night, a suspense-filled crime thriller that moves far away from the glossy romance roles many viewers associate him with.

Set across multiple timelines, the 28-part Chinese drama centres on a mysterious disappearance that shocks a neighbourhood.

The story begins in 1997, when a man and his daughter vanish from the lift of a residential building without leaving behind any evidence. The case goes cold for years before new clues begin surfacing.

Wang plays detective Ran Fangxu, who becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth, alongside veteran co-worker He Yuanhang (Pan Yueming). As the mystery deepens, they uncover buried secrets, fractured relationships and unsettling connections that refuse to stay hidden.

Fans expecting Wang’s usual charismatic, romantic leading-man energy will see a different side of him.

The star, who made his debut in romantic comedy Meteor Garden (2018), delivers one of his more restrained and grounded performances, portraying a character whose confidence slowly gives way to exhaustion and emotional strain as the investigation drags on.

Classics At Capitol – E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

114 minutes, Capitol Theatre, June 7 and 21, 3pm

Movie magic is returning to Capitol Theatre with a special screening of Steven Spielberg’s beloved science-fiction classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

Released in 1982, it tells the story of a lonely 10-year-old boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas), who discovers and befriends a gentle alien, nicknamed E.T., after it accidentally lands on Earth. As Elliott and his siblings – Michael (Robert MacNaughton) and Gertie (Drew Barrymore) – help E.T. evade government agents and search for a way home, the film unfolds into an emotional coming-of-age story about friendship, empathy and belonging.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was a box-office hit and became a cultural phenomenon, earning four Oscars along the way. The image of Elliott and E.T. flying across the moon on a bicycle also became one of cinema’s most iconic scenes.

The movie will screen at Capitol Theatre on June 7 and 21 at 3pm. Tickets, priced at $20, are available from Sistic (sistic.com.sg/events/et0626).

The screening is part of Capitol Theatre’s ongoing Classics At Capitol series, which aims to recreate the communal magic of old-school moviegoing while introducing younger audiences to landmark films on the big screen. Previous classics in the series include Singin’ In The Rain (1952), North By Northwest (1959) and Lawrence Of Arabia (1962).