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Enemy (2013)
The Perfection of Film
I saw this film when it released, but a decade later when a friend recommended it, I had no recollection of it, so thought I hadn't seen it and looked forward to an unseen gem. It wasn't until the very closing famous shot before I realized I had seen this film. I'm so stupid.
Anyway, having seen it with clarity of mind this time, it is undoubtedly a masterpiece of film-making. It may not be a perfect film, with a dash of everything, but it is the perfect representation of the beauty and artistry of film-making.
Credit to the script-writer, and the original story creator, mainly. But also to Denis Villeneuve who, in my opinion, can be so hit and miss, so focused on visuals that the story/acting suffers. Not in this film tho.
Enemy is a masterpiece. It's the perfect marriage of surrealism and grounded character-driven story-telling. A perfect balance. Not heavy-handed that it loses itself or becomes conceited. Not obscure that it aims to confuse the viewer or indulge in empty plot-twists or a twist ending like so many films seemingly set out to do.
Enemy keeps you wondering and enthralled, on the edge of your seat, trying to figure out the truth in step with the main character. Is it this or is it that? You are never really sure, just like the protagonist. There are plenty of subtle clues -- imagery, songs, throwaway lines -- that tell you, but you don't get a full grasp of them the first viewing. You get enough of a grasp to make you want to watch again.
The story genuinely unravels and organically goes where it needs to in order to reach (or find) its ending. The ending isn't some shock twist or even an ending. Instead, it's a realization, an epiphany for the protagonist. So the payoff for the viewer is incredibly rewarding.
In closing...t's not a perfect film, but it's a perfect example of great film-making, a perfect example of a great film to watch, a perfect example of a great film to teach, and the epitome of "high cinema" perfected.
Groundhog Day (1993)
A Masterpiece of its Genre
A kind of modern take on Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" story.
One of my all time favorites, I must've seen it as many times as Phil Connor sees Groundhog Day. This film just never gets old. Every facet of it is just so well done. The writing, story beats, and the acting by all and sundry is so natural and real.
Why can't comedies, dramedies, romcoms and such, that are cinematically defining and culturally iconic win Oscars and make all-time best movie lists?
There isn't a single bad thing or poorly made aspect to it - everything from the soundtrack, editing, cinematography, character constructs, down to the extras. Really, as close to perfection as a film can aim to be.
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Uniquely Challenging Masterpiece
I re-watch this movie often. I can't count how many times I've seen it over the years, but each time I watch it, it never fails to give me serious chills. I still think this is the greatest Western, better than Shane, Unforgiven, or the Dollars trilogy.
What director Clint Eastwood and writer Ernest Tidyman have done with this film stands it uniquely apart in the genre whilst also blending together all of the genre's iconic elements. Clint Eastwood had obviously learned much from working with Sergio Leone, as he applied many of his traits here...the treatment of sound, the morally complicated characters, the anti-hero, the gritty visuals, the extreme close-ups, etc, whilst also adding his own flair and trademarks.
"High Plains Drifter" is an incredibly dark and conflicted examination of revenge, cowardice, greed, amorality, and cruelty, with an eery supernatural undercurrent to it.
As for the debate about the stranger's identity, the original story was that he was the brother of slain Marshal Jim Duncan, but Eastwood/Tidyman took it to the next level by making him an apparition or avenging angel taking bodily form to be a far more interesting twist. But Eastwood certainly made that ambiguous enough in the film where either identity is implied via a number of scenes or dialogue -- an enduring mystery inside the film's world, like the monolith inside the world of "2001: A Space Odyssey".
Andor (2022)
A Gritty Bleak Adult Star Wars
I've been moaning for so long about Disney/LFL getting away from the usual Star Wars model, no more cheap references and brand awareness at the cost of good writing...and here it is.
"Andor" is a gritty, bleak, adult focus with real-world level scenes of pain, sadness, fear, boredom, anger, jealousy, frustration, disappointment, distrust, etc.
The show is already the best Star Wars under the new Disney ownership and bodes well for future projects if they follow this adult angle more often, or half as often.
Some fans might find it a big culture shock how un-Star Wars-like it is, bereft of the cheesy, throwaway matinee style, and cheap easter eggs. Instead, "Andor" reminds of "Ozark" or "Goliath" -- brooding moods and lurking undercurrents of danger, entire cast character development, ominous subdued music, storylines of treachery and complex relationships, unafraid to delve into the mundane, a slow burn toward a multitude of dark outcomes. It's Star Wars finally given serious production value, a refreshing take on the galaxy.
There's a sincere approach to action scenes, where drama and intrigue are first allowed to simmer on a stove of lies, backstabbing and machinations.
"Andor" is taking its time to tell a story, free to explore such content to fully develop all characters, which will make them stand out more in the end; having us know so much about them.
A usual Star Wars show would have had no such thing as mom and son arguing about Uncle Harlow, or the Rebels quarelling over trivial matters, or the Empire garrison procrastinating from painting a wall....and a lot of other mundane tidbits and chit-chat.
"Andor", unlike other shows, even the movies, is setting up the Empire to finally be seen as highly efficient and intimidating, much fear and gravity in the nascent Rebels in what they're undertaking.
The writing is impeccable. Stories and sub-stories unfurling like peeled onion skins. The directing and acting is of the highest order, no stone unturned, so much thought put into every little thing and scene. It's why the tension in everything is so palpable and only keeps increasing and deepening genuinely, naturally.
The galaxy is a very big place, with many characters and their stories that can be told...and not just during the era of the Empire, which they're still focused on. But "Andor" is a guiding light.
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Modern Masterpiece
Mulholland Drive is one of my favorite all-time films. The amount of work that David Lynch put in, crafting the multi-layers to perfection, so many clues built in -- dialogue, props, stories within stories, etc -- it's a stupendous masterpiece the likes of which has never been seen before and may never be seen again.
Even before I read the many online articles about the film's meanings, (most notably Alan Shaw's), I appreciated the depths and degrees that existed in the film, and I got the essential storyline, but I won't lie and pretend I picked up on a majority of the things going on, the clues, the correlations.
But I came away with an even greater awe than I did before. So many things gleaned that I never picked up before, it altered how I understood the story of Mulholland Drive, and has pushed this film up even higher on my all-time favorite movies due to not only the sheer depth of the story, but the craftsmanship involved in every scene, every shot, packed with meaning and correlations to multiple other scenes and sub-stories. It's almost unfathomable how an artist can concoct so much meaning in every tiny little detail and every space in between.
And there's even more meaning to this film because it's also a multi-meta commentary on the film itself, a personal statement regarding how the Mulholland TV project was terminated originally, a discourse on the TV/film industry itself, even Naomi Watts' own professional journey, LA film-making and film-makers, and the real Mulholland road as a thin line separating Hollywood in the Santa Monica mountains from the porn industry in San Fernando Valley, etc.
I find a lot of Lynch's films are not only multi-layered within themselves, with call-backs to various other films and historical events/people, but also meta commentaries, and a personal aspect related to the project itself embedded in.
The Fare (2018)
Charming touching time loop
Quirky, low-budget movie with essentially two main characters in a cab trapped in a 20 minute long time loop.
The lead female actor wrote the script and did a fantastic job. The story is charming and touching and works so well due to strong acting, making a variety of different moods come to life.
The big plot reveal seems to be guessable around halfway thru, maybe you're thinking one or two or three different things, and you'd be right whilst also being wrong, as there's still a few more twists that take the whole thing somewhere unexpected.
But it's not so much about the twists and surprises. It doesn't matter. The story is heartfelt and the acting is vivid that you're there to see it thru to the end so attached to both characters.
Blood Punch (2014)
Time loop action/adventure gangster mix
Rock'n'Roll type of time loop movie. Thrills and spills, action, blood, violence, snappy cool lines and attitude, a lot of crossing and double-crossing, like a mix of Breaking Bad, The Transporter, and Groundhog Day.
Most time loop movies tend to be grim affairs, the characters struggling to cope, all about learning something about themselves or life from the experience, guiding them toward a realization about love or betterment, and such. While Blood Punch does have a depth of its own, it's just geared differently to be more of an action/adventure fun/gorefest entertainment ride. The characters struggle to cope, they change due to the experience, but it's not over-dramatized and ponderous.
There isn't a race against time/events that has characters try to change things before the next loop, but a situation where a small group of people don't trust each other and are trying to get out of the loop alive. The way the film is edited, kind of narrated and unchronological, adds to that rock'n'roll action movie feeling, but also makes it a little more confusing than it needed to be, where details about the loop aren't explained or demonstrated well -- specifically, why some people do and some don't remember the loop. It's a key piece of information that would help audiences understand why there is a shift in the story and character allegiances.
The one area I felt could've made this story better was if there were other loop sequences of different people teaming up and other loop sequences of every man for himself, as it would have further highlighted the untrustworthy situation they were all in together, and allowed for other scenes of high stakes cat and mouse games going on.
If those things had played a bigger part in this film, it would've pushed my rank higher and higher. As it is tho, it's still a great time loop movie not to miss.
Time Trap (2017)
It had potential but is a miss
Not recommended.
It starts off like a regular well-made movie, but then somewhere past half-way thru, when it turns into a sci-fi, it becomes decidedly B-grade with poor CGI/FX, lame suspense, plot devices, and film-school level scenes.
The concluding act is mildly interesting, where humans from various ages of the past, present and future interact, but it's so poorly shot, acted, written, etc, that it's laughably bad at the same time.
The movie only holds you as far as once you understand what's going on and then it falls away steeply, farcically.
The concept of the story is interesting, there was potential there, but the execution in every way was amateurish, like a direct to DVD kid's TV movie.
Time Lapse (2014)
Above-average Paradox Thriller
Recommended.
Not really a time travel or time loop movie, more of a predestination paradox type.
Basically, there's a high-tech instant camera in an apartment window that's aimed at the big living room window of the apartment opposite it, where one can see what the people living there are doing. At 8pm every night the camera pops out a photo of what's happening in that apartment's living room at 8pm one night into the future.
One day, the three young friends who live in that apartment getting spied on discover the existence of that camera and deduce what's going on. So they take advantage of the situation by gambling on known results of horse races. It obviously leads to arguments, spiraling problems, secrets exposed.
It's well-written where it holds your attention the whole thru and has a few interesting twists in store. There are some plot holes, dubious character motivations, and confusing paradoxes, but the move is still great viewing. The acting is good by the main three. The characters are established and developed very well, and there's no need for any dodgy CGI/FX so the movie looks well-made despite a low budget.
While the overarching story is fine and entertaining, the core concept could've been greatly improved if there was some bigger catch to it all, a deeper mind-bending ending, loop, or time fork, to take this film to an even higher acclaim.
The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
Downright Awful
I don't want to write a novel like I did with the Obi-Wan review. There is just far too much awful, insulting, even despicable problems with this show to go into detail about. Good old SW fans will only wince and retch in their mouths when watching this series.
D+ SW content has been mostly awful. Even TM is hit and miss, and that's the best of the live action to date. Rogue One was very good, but Solo and the ST are entirely indefensible, as a whole and each movie. TFA was a scam. TLJ was a joke. TROS was an abomination.
I see more and more how SW is a joke of a franchise to follow religiously, or to be glued to each new show/animation. It's gone beyond farcical in Disney's ownership. The years go by now where my own fandom gets less and less.
Maybe if there was something truly great again I'd get back on board. Something new and different, a distant era pre or post-Saga. But it's not just that desire/need for a new era, the actual content itself is so poorly written, unengaging, relying on references, easter eggs and brand awareness, the nostalgia angle, to mask actual poor story-telling. It's bereft of heart and soul, just a Coca-Cola ad now.
TM season 1 was largely a bore of mission for the day fluff, a few funny/cool moments here and there, season 2 packed more punch but it was still pretty low standard compared to far better TV shows that exist, that rivet you, with fascinating stories and characters. Boba Fett and Obi-Wan series had some funny/cool moments but was largely awful. That's the in-your-bones truth that you ALL know too to be true. It's just we try to enjoy it "hey its SW content at least" we say to appease ourselves.
I'm still waiting for something to merit getting excited for, that merits rewatching, that merits loving. The Lucas Era SW had pride in craftsmanship and a dignity to its own mythology/lore. Lucas made errors, especially in the PT, that cheapened the product. But Disney and the new LFL are going the extra miles and digging in deep to make it worse and indigestible.
Disney content has lowered our standards, so low now we just try to enjoy it somehow, trained to brush away major flaws, tho we know it's trash and getting trashier.
Disney so cheap and lazy thruout the ST and D+ content. Plagiarizing other movies (Escape from LA, etc), and movie posters, copy-pasting other music (Spiderman), ripping off specific action sequences from other movies and tired cliches, etc etc.
ARQ (2016)
One of the Best Movies Ever Made (Seriously)
Who doesn't love time travel or time loop movies? Don't be so grumpy and tough-nosed! They're always still fascinating even when they're flawed, full of plot holes, have bad acting, low budget special effects, etc.
ARQ is a low budget affair, mostly shot in a house, only a few characters, to keep the costs down, but there are a number of CGI/FX scenes, and they all look great. There are a lot of low budget sci-fi or time travel movies where the CGI/FX is so bad it brings the movie down, but ARQ doesn't suffer from that.
The story is reminiscent of something like "Edge of Tomorrow", but it's even better in terms of the loop itself, and the evolution of the plot with each loop. EOT is simplistic, but ARQ is complex, very surprising each time, how the plot, the characters and their relationships are always evolving. It's very unique, stumping your expectations, and is pretty damn tight inside its own universe. So ingeniously written, and there's no cop out ending.
Why can't a movie like this be considered one of the best movies ever made? The ingenuity of the evolving script is key that bumps up its value to me, but it's not just that...the acting is superb, the pace is breathtaking, there are a lot of great visuals, etc. It's like how "The Mist" to me is also one of the best movies ever too. There CAN be these low-key or unheralded movies that can/should make such lists. Anyway...
I am now fascinated to explore director/writer Tony Elliott's other work. Trust me! It's a must-watch and odds are I'll be right that you'll love it too.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
More Hollywood Banality
That a Top Gun 2 happened twenty years later highlights that it was never a necessity in the first place. This film is a feel-good, cheesy action piece, but there's nothing new or worthwhile to the venture. The Top Gun 'universe' is not better now than before.
It just emphasizes the continuing ways that Hollywood is struggling from a creativity and production standpoint. The big time lone producers with guts and vision replaced by a conglomeration of financial backers and boardroom analytics who don't value the daring and creative scriptwriters and ideas people. Opting instead for employees who'll follow instructions. Or something like that.
We had the era of remaking old TV shows into movies. Now it seems we're on the cusp of a new era. We already kind of saw this happen with Matrix Resurrections, now Top Gun got the treatment. Flicking back thru old hit movies with the idea of bringing actors back for the sake of nostalgia. What next? Point Break 2, Con Air 2, Pretty Woman 2, etc..I can already see it.
This incites me to bring up another annoyance of mine. Sequels in general...
There are certain movies pre-planned to be trilogies, like Harry Potter, which are fine. Or adaptions of a 5+ book series that need sequels.
But a lot of the time it's a standalone movie that does well, that they milk to death which ruins it. Often it's from part 3 onwards that the rot sets in. It's easier to find a story in a part 2, something in the original script, a loose end, a what if, that offers a continuation. Part 2 often closes it. So when they then try to make up a story for part 3 it's often a reach, or rehashing the original due to a lack of creativity and the studio pushing something thru shoddily for a quick buck.
So many movie franchises.... The Matrix, Alien, Terminator, Die Hard, Rocky, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Final Destination, Star Wars, Dirty Harry, Lethal Weapon, etc....the list goes on and on. There are some ok ones at part 3 or beyond, but they're not common. I know it's probably film heresy what I'm saying, but the world would've survived with just an original or a part 2.
I understand the motivations behind some of them -- creating franchises, universes, that can become financial juggernauts across other media too. But the vast majority of them end up falling into silliness and mediocrity, ruining the lore/canon of the original in trying to pad story in.
Most fans of particular franchises are happy to keep diving into ongoing sequels. It's all just entertainment, not end of the world stuff. Still, that's my unpopular opinion.
The world would've survived and been none the worse if there was only one Top Gun.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
A Waste and a Disappointment
It's ok to enjoy Disney Star Wars because it is beloved Star Wars content after all. But that doesn't mean it should be exempt from criticism where criticism is due.
Truth is, Star Wars jumped the shark many years ago and we're all (Disney, LFL, and fans) trapped in a prison of nostalgia still following it, triggered by it, trying to make canon add up as it grows messier and contradictory.
If this "Obi-Wan" series was some other new non-Star Wars start up, critics and viewers would slam it for the multitude of ridiculous things in it, and the poor production and writing standards. It comes across as lazy and disinterested, another waste of viable content. They'll flip that into "oh Star Wars fans can never be happy", but that's shifting blame to abscond themselves of it.
When some other production company releases a riveting new show or mini-series that gets accolades and awards on half the budget, why can't fans wish Disney would put the same effort in with Star Wars and not be labeled incels? It's Disney's own disregard of its IP, not some fundamental flaw in fans.
---Spoilers---
Yes, they needed some other story aspects than Obi-Wan just being a hermit. The series needed some action, cameos, a surprise character, something to draw Obi-Wan out from exile (a little). It's just they stretched Little Leia too far, thinking a repeat of the Baby Yoda meme would occur.
Some Little Leia and Obi-Wan interaction is fine, but not to the extent they gave them -- sweeping adventures, multiple rescue missions, torture scene, hand holding, are you my dad, resting head on shoulder, making her float.
It was also poorly scripted to have Obi-Wan so clumsily exposed, known to bounty hunters galore and in the Empire's database, returning to Tatooine like he could be all hidden again or still a 20 year mystery, hasn't heard his own name for a long time, long before Luke was even born.
There's a give and take to what is shown in ROTS and ANH when creating a new story between and filling in details, expanding canon that you own. But LFL's handling of and expansion of canon post-Lucas continues to be not only negligent but even deliberately mocking.
The Marvelization of force powers is another horrible trend. TFA was reasonable, but from TLJ to TROS to "Obi-Wan" it has become farcical. Force sensitives aren't fantastical super heroes, they are real world beings attaining an extra degree. It should remain within a certain limit or else there's no end to the stupidity.
Moses Ingram is a fine actor, but Reva is a bad character badly written at one pace of yelling and grimacing. All the Inquisitors are poorly written for the actors, lacking nuance; all ham and grandstanding.
"Obi-Wan" seems to be more the backdrop for Reva as the spotlight of the show, like they want to make a spinoff series -- which is undeserving as she's not even remotely interesting. Her story is a cop out anyway. Kylo was torn between light and dark, love for parents/Vader/Rey. Anakin turning to dark then light was based on love for wife and son. But Reva hasn't actually turned to the dark or back to the light. She's a good person play-acting as a villain, happy to kill other good people, Jedis, villagers, and torture a 10 year old girl, just to get a shot at Vader. There's no actual logic of a redemptive arc there and makes her only despicable, unrealistic.
There's far too much ground to cover to detail all the elements that are insulting as a viewer. Obi-Wan leaving Luke unprotected right when there's Inquisitor heat on Tatooine to expose himself to the galaxy chasing Leia when the Organas already have an army at their disposal and the sympathy of the senate over the kidnap of a royal child. That's scratching the surface of how inane the story is and the lack of PT/OT sensibilities that LFL continue to engage in.
The overarching story could have easily been much better with a little thought, something actually interesting and that even makes sense. The characters, relationships, intrigues, twists and turns, are badly lacking. Episode 1 showed promise with Owen and Ben tensions, Ben trying to fit in, maybe marginalized by the community. But all those stems of a story were cut off and it devolved into nothing but cheesy chases and rescues from episode to episode. And no one dies from being impaled by lightsabers anymore except forged iron doors.
It's a space opera with extra cheesiness. We all know what Star Wars is. It's not Star Trek, The Expanse, Babylon 5. But there should still be genuine drama, a dignity or sincerity that draws viewers in, rather than a reliance on easter eggs and brand awareness to engage the fandom. It's like fans are forced to swallow and condone whatever nonsensical fluff is served and yay at the references or else they're disobedient consumers to be ostracized. "If you don't like it you can always stop being a fan". But fans want to continue being fans. Being displeased and appealing for better content is right when it's true.
Star Wars doesn't have to be grim but there's too much lame slapstick, easy-outs, and silly plot devices in "Obi-Wan", most of "Boba Fett" and even "The Mandalorian". Why can't the action scenes, duels, battles, and stunts be done with more gravitas? "Obi-Wan" was laughable in these regards. The cave assault and the fortress escape, for instance.
In comparison to "The Mandalorian" and "Boba Fett", "Obi-Wan" displays a tiny budget after having to offset all the star actors salaries. No excuse tho, big famous TV shows have done much more with less money. Low budget sci-fi movies do it by focusing the story inside a building or a couple of sets. The same approach is seen here with constant chase and rescue missions so that it's always people in rooms, halls, caves, tunnels, a space of floor with CGI background for a duel, etc.
A better story could've been written with the same budget constraints. Restructuring existing episode contents still wouldn't fix the show, it needs a complete rewrite. But I would've spun a number of elements differently at the very least...
- Reva organizes the kidnapping of Leia behind Vader's back to create pressure and heat from the senate upon Vader and the Inquisitors.
- Stressed out by everything and having to rescue Leia, Qui-Gon visits Obi-Wan early and teaches him the force-suggestion technique he is renowned for.
- Obi-Wan is clever, he goes in disguise, no lightsaber etc, sneaks in and out efficiently with his new power.
- Reva and kidnappers are baffled that Leia is rescued and no one knows who it was or how it was done.
- Just one Leia search and rescue mission, her appearance spanning two episodes tops.
- The young Jedi on Tatooine is tortured later in the series, divulging Obi-Wan's name and whereabouts.
- Reva tracks Obi-Wan down, they clash. He kills her and buries her body in the desert.
- Reva's disappearance causes Vader to start sensing or suspecting Obi-Wan is alive. Only a master Jedi could defeat a highly skilled Inquisitor.
- Vader reluctantly makes his way back to Tatooine, lots of mixed memories. He terrifies all, kills villagers, torches buildings.
- More conflict between Ben, Owen, and the community over protecting his identity.
- Wanting to protect Luke at all costs, Obi-Wan draws Vader's attention away from Tatooine, leading him on a wild goose chase.
- A Vader and Obi-Wan meet is teased and built thruout the show but never materializes.
Chariot (2022)
Try-hard Pretentious Ameuterish Surrealism
Apart from just a couple of interesting scenes or moments, the entire film is a very pale attempt at surrealist cinema.
Surrealist or avant-garde films are a cool genre. But the problem with many of them is that they just think up weird nonsensical things to put in for the sake of being weird and cool. But the best surrealist films or directors always have a core sensibility to them, a story, a moral, a deep meaning, a connectedness, and either a beauty or terror to it -- eg, "8 1/2" or "Mulholland Drive".
This film tho is just a try-hard sophomoric effort. And the audience sees right thru it, as all the reviewers here have demonstrated. They're not fooled by it's absence of purpose and meaning.
Black Death (2010)
A medieval descent into
Pretty good movie. Always love the concept of a band of cutthroats setting off on a dangerous mission into an unknown. It was kind of like a medieval "Alien 2" for the first half. Then in the second half it turned into a mix of "The Village", "Midsommer", "Wicker Man", even "The Deer Hunter". One downside was the constant grieving and crying of the boy monk but it was interesting how he changed at the end.
I have seen the excellent "Triangle" by Christopher Smith before, now this film; piques interest to dive into his other works.
Both films draw a similar theme -- people scarred by grief and pain in a world without redemption, descending into an unforgiving journey of judgment and punishment.
The Bag Man (2014)
Fantastic Underrated Film
I'm genuinely shocked that the ratings for this are so low. I found this movie to be exceptional in every way.
Robert DeNiro, John Cusack, and Crispin Glover are all in top form. John Cusack is the lead and he excels in the role of a dangerous street-savvy man who has stepped into a hornet's nest and trying to make head or tails of it all as everything complicates around him.
The story captivates from start to end. It's a mystery-thriller-action rolled into one. It keeps building suspense and mystery, a non-stop escalation of intrigue and developments. All the while, you never know what's going on exactly. The script, the pacing, crafted so well.
The film would've been a 9/10 or 10/10 if the ending was different (you'll know what I mean if you see it). Would've been the perfect conclusion given the entire story was so cold-hearted. Still, even with the ending it did have, it's a fantastic thriller. You could argue the ending it did have was conceptually correct as there was that thread running thru the story. It's a minor issue anyway.
Fantastic underrated film, a must see.
Pig (2021)
Surprising heart-wrencher
This is one of those rare films where you have no idea what's going on exactly or where it's heading the whole way thru, and in your head attempting to answer those two questions with multiple guesses that are all wrong.
At every turn "Pig" subverts your expectations...but in a very clever good way. It seems to be taking you down a "John Wick" path, and it does, but not in the ways you could ever imagine. Brilliantly unusual details and trickery, yet always touching and full of heart.
Most films establish the synopsis or environment, they tell you what is happening, who people are, where they've been, what makes them tick, how they want to go, etc, in order to elicit your connectivity to the story and the characters.
The beauty of this film is that it tears all that away and makes you see what's really important, the only thing that's important -- not just for the characters but beyond the screen, reaching into you and striking that nerve in you. All that is important is love, the deep connections that don't require explanation. Nothing else really matters...career, money, acclaim, keeping up appearances, etc. Without love there is nothing. And with love anything is everything.
The story isn't necessary, the details of the characters aren't required, an idea of what's happening or who these people are isn't necessary. The film simply deconstructs us, all our superficial parts, and gently guides us along to identify with what being human is and what it means. That is all you need to bring into the cinema -- yourself.
Who you are, what your story is, what you're doing with your life, what's happening and where you're going....they're all equally unnecessary, unimportant. All that matters is that you feel, that your memories are evoked, seeing yourself in a mental mirror, recognizing all the connections you have and/or have neglected.
That is both the artistry displayed in the film (via the script, acting, music, visuals), and also the message of the film that comes along with you when you leave the cinema.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
A Frankensteinian Mess
I couldn't have imagined a worse effort and follow up to TLJ in my wildest nightmares. The Rise of Skywalker is a truly horrific Frankensteinian mess of a movie.
Literally everything about it is disturbingly awful. Not a single redeemable thing to it. From start to finish it pushes your face into a steaming pile and keeps holding you down thruout. Not only does it insult TLJ and TFA, but also the OT and PT as well.
It can also be clearly seen the entire movie went thru multiple edits and re-writings. An incongruent splicing together of cutting room scenes and B reels, producers clashing over content.
There isn't anything more to be said about TROS in itself. There's a far bigger scandal....
That a massive studio with billions of dollars in resources and minds could release not only this film but have created such a shambles of a trilogy as a whole is a facepalm of not only cinema, but of the ages.
Too many chefs. Too much clashing. Too much rushing. Not an iota of true creativity, vision, and writing thruout the trilogy. Indie producers/writers/directors, Star Wars fan-fiction, all could've easily come up with (and did come up with) far better ideas, and that is a testament to just how atrocious this trilogy is that amateurs thought better than a billion dollar studio with a long history of all-time classics on its resume.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Missed Opportunities
The Force Awakens sits in a strange place. It both hard reboots the franchise by copy-pasting A New Hope, whilst also continuing the saga from the end of Return of the Jedi.
It felt like more of a Star Wars film than TLJ and TROS did. However, the Abrams Mystery Box approach, in hindsight, set the sequels down the miserable path it eventually ended up going.
Abrams shot most of this on location, which gives the film an OT-like quality. Even the copy-pasting of the story beats made this film more of an adventure and a ride, like ANH was. It's a pale imitation, without much originality/creativity, but it does sit easier in the stomach than TLJ and TROS. The whole "hero's journey" arc often makes for good cinema.
There were some good story ideas for the post-ROTJ universe that unfortunately were not better developed and explored....the remains of the Empire like the remains of the Nazis scattered to South America. A Stormtrooper rebelling. Vader's grandson wrecking Luke's Academy in idolizing Vader. If only the whole aftermath of the Empire was developed better and focused on. Hunted down by the Galactic Republic. The First Order still just a nascent marginal entity, now the protagonist "rebels", both the Republic and First Order trying to recruit Ben Solo's Jedi powers for their cause, a key figure to the swing of power.
A lot of "if onlys" and "what ifs", a better vision of an overarching story across three movies pre-planned, some ballsier ideas like above, not so much mystery box....and this sequel trilogy could've been great. *Sadface*
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Resembled a TV Sitcom
"Spaceballs" (1987) meets "In Your Eyes" (2014)
There were so many TV sitcom-like jokes, lines, and gags thruout the film that a laugh track dubbed in was sorely missing, and would've been ingeniously irreverent if the director had done so. Perhaps a special edition BluRay release in the future?
So many gags.... Skywalker tossing lightsaber like a Greek plate. Finn bumbling out of coma. Rose tasering Finn. Most Finn and Rose interactions as a matter of fact. Skywalker drinking alien teet milk. Kylo scalded like a boy in front of Snoke. Kylo and Rey remotely flirting. Poe trolling Hux. Snoke and Kylo scalding and toying with Hux. Etc.
There was some wonderful cinematography in the film that matched the expansive Star Wars look and feel, but also many shots that looked out of place. Odd camera angles, tight framing, and such.
Much has already been said and written about the Star Wars sequels. Debates about story, context, continuity, missed opportunities, arcs, and so on. All three were successful in the box office but a disappointment in a vacuum and in comparison to the OT.
Silent Night (2021)
Cheese and ham
I didn't realize this movie was also a Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman) (producer) film that also starred Matthew Goode (Kings Man) until half way thru it. Having just finished watching the Kingsman series.
There's a lot more of that English cussing and swearing as seen in Kingsman -- predominantly from kids, like it's cute and different having demonstrative know-it-all kids with foul language. Good cast on paper, but the dialogue was terrible and the acting overly ham. Painful to watch. Actors trying too hard to be funny and weird, trying to make arguments seem like arguments, and drama to seem like drama. The gamut of emotions -- shock, insult, anger, joy, sadness, all come off very amateurishly. Either it was intended satire, or, unintended satire, but it didn't work whatsoever either way.
It takes roughly 30 mins to finally understand the story, the reveal, and it's somewhat of an interesting concept, but the goofy dialogue and non-events let the film down, makes the subject matter explored farcical and parodic.
Hard pass.
The King's Man (2021)
Riveting. As good as or better than Secret Service.
The Secret Service was a fun action-packed part-parody on the spy genre. The Golden Circle had its moments, but was a step back. The success of the first film established a formula for the series which is why the second film was a letdown, as it is often difficult to keep a formula fresh.
This third film in the series breaks the shackles of that formula and rediscovers the originality and creativity of the first film by becoming its own thing, arguably an even better film than the original.
The King's Man is a prequel to the series, tracing the origins of the agency during the backdrop of WWI as alluded to in the original.
There's still the same kind of cheeky fun and action as the first two films, but it is by far more grim and gritty too. The sadness of loved ones lost, the desolation of grief, the mayhem and senselessness of war are all heavily leaned on thruout. But so too the grandeur of love, honor, hope, and resiliency of those around us who prop us up thru despair and inspire us to greater things, a higher calling.
The movie grabs you from the very start and doesn't let go. The pacing is terrific. There isn't a wasteful scene or moment. The acting was superb -- respectful when engaging serious matter, and not cheesy when irreverent and humorous. Plenty of interesting locations, with eye-catching shots, action sequences, and all-over cinematography.
The hushed knife scene out of the trenches in the front line under the cover of midnight was a standout of not only the film but the entire series. Perhaps even a candidate to make a list of memorable scenes in cinema.
There isn't a thing wrong with this movie. Everything is so well written, acted, shot, scored, choreographed. There might be a section of the Kingsman/Secret Service fanbase that was disappointed, wanting the exact formula repeated, but that would be petty. It is rare for a prequel to be so good that it might be better than the original. To both break from the formula whilst also improving it.
The characterization of Rasputin and the characters of the Shepherd, Orlando, and Polly are immediate favorites along with Harry, Merlin, Valentine and Gazelle from the original.
The King's Man can stand on its own as a great movie. But what it also does is create a universe for itself, a desire to make sequels of the prequels and prequels of the prequel, to keep exploring that era which is far more interesting than continuing the timeline and characters of the Golden Circle era. Able to split off from the series and become its own series almost. Now the wait till the next installment.
Do yourself a favor and watch this. You will not be disappointed. Can be watched first if you haven't seen the other two, or watched last if you've seen the other two.
Foundation (2021)
Annoyingly Inconsistent
Adapting a series of books that weren't about characters into a show about characters, whilst also trying to serve the vast expanse of time and events, resulted in an annoyingly inconsistent debut season.
Not enough hits, too many misses. A 35:65 type of experience. Engaging scenes intermingled with stretches of dull scenes. Promising story aspects fading away into nothing.
On the plus side -- there was high level cinematography, special effects, and world building thruout, and the acting was very good.
Far more emotion and sense of attachment to the characters compared to a movie like Dune -- both similar sprawling sci-fis. Dune didn't teleport you into its world, you always felt like an audience. Foundation did teleport you into its world more than not. Ironically, tho, it dragged out the emotion too long at times. The length of still shots, length of characters emoting.
The show needed a lot of general trimming in the editing room and in the writers room. Too many dead spaces inside scenes. Irregular story beats across episodes. Pacing issues inside episodes.
The Foundation books invented many staple sci-fi tropes, but the story of Foundation is just not that interesting at heart. It isn't an adventure that sweeps you up like Star Wars, The Expanse, Firefly, with endearing characters and relationships. It was more of a Dune-like "series of events".
It became more tedious as the season wore on, too long-winded, not enough action and intrigue. Too many "rolleyes" moments and plot devices -- again due to writing, wasting too much time on unessential scenes that it suddenly needed to speed things along.
There were some great ideas in it like Dawn-Day-Dusk, but there was also a lack of enough "cool" to various other elements to raise it up.
In short....some highs, some lows, back and forth, some good, some bad, meandering along for the most part, that it left a lot of points unscored on the field.
The Humans (2021)
Technically creative but slow paced talky drama
This movie is set entirely inside an apartment, with a lot of talking and family interactions, very similar to a stage play. There isn't anything interesting about the story, it's a typical family get-together over Thanksgiving, something we can all relate to and see parallels in with our own families.....the updates on our lives, the sibling arguments, some secrets revealed, eavesdropping on disparaging comments, clashes over hurtful words, lack of understanding, patience tested, rising tensions, etc.
The best things about this movie are....the natural acting, the sound editing, and the creative story-boarding and shot compositions.
Natural acting.....actors talk over the top of each other, fluidly interrupt each other, natural postures, slouching, face touching, and such. It all comes off more realistic of day to day life than the type of acting A-grade or big budget movies cater to.
Sound editing.....emphasis is placed thruout the movie of wavering in out of muffled conversations and of amplifying little noises like a door shutting, a chair sliding, a yelp, a water pipe banging, a pot falling, a light bulb shorting out.....not only as a way to shift between scenes, but also to create a sense of uneasiness, of being a horror movie, toying with our senses. Building a gradual eeriness with little jump scares, loud noises, slow zooms on dark hallways or creepy paintings. The viewer is led down that path of suspense/horror tho nothing ever happens, and that is the point to this film....building that sense, thru sight and sound, only to show it's all in the mind. People frightening themselves with their own thoughts and aversion of the dark.
The story-boarding.... An old-style two-storey apartment complex is the setting. So there are a number of rooms, hallways, basement, etc, where the scenes take place. However, the director has still managed to film everything in a very creative manner, to make everything more visually interesting and engaging to sit thru given nothing ever happens, just people having conversations.
Some examples of this....
Odd camera angles taking in a group of people. Still shots held on a single actor thru a long scene where other actors do the majority of talking and unseen gestures. Sometimes rapid fire cut shots. Extra tight close ups on walls, or on the back of someone's head. Weird out of focus shots that have no context. Camera positioned behind a wall as tho someone peeking behind it to watch someone else in another room. People moving in and out of frame blocking the camera too long. Camera positioned two rooms away as a whole scene plays out in the furthest room (sometimes the audio level focused on that, sometimes the audio level muffled there). Camera positioned between two rooms, looking elsewhere, with two different conversations happening in each room left and right, the sound level of both conversations treated equally. Etc.
The entire film is basically an exercise in creative story-boarding and shot composition as well as varying audio treatments.
For that alone, I enjoyed this movie -- the audio, technical, and story-boarding analysis of it all, as a film enthusiast. But as a movie for general viewing purposes, it was slow and tedious. It's not entertaining, humorous, scary, deep, meaningful, or thrilling. It's simply a day in the life of a typical family and their everyday conversations.
The movie gradually builds up as tho you are watching a horror movie about to happen, and there are some creepy moments, but it's not a horror movie and that is the allegory of the film -- how people can work themselves up in their minds, fear of the dark, scared by noises.
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Dark and Disturbing
I hadn't read the book or seen the original 1940s film adaption before watching this film. It's not fun and entertaining, but I highly recommend it. It's deep and dark with a nightmarish ending. I foresaw the ending very early in the film, all the way thru hoping it didn't come to that, but I guess that's the moral of the story.
The film centers on a quiet, rural grifter (Bradley Cooper) with a dark past, laying low by blending into a traveling carny. He is a grifter at heart tho, looking for the next angle. He learns the tricks to mentalism, finds he is a natural at it, and has visions of going out on his own, to the Big Apple, hustling the rich set. He takes a love interest (Rooney Mara) from the carny with him and together they make a splash in NYC. Greed and fame gradually contorts the man, spiraling him out of control and into a dangerous game of life and death with a colder, more cunning big city grifter, a psychiatrist to the rich and powerful (Cate Blanchett).
Bradley Cooper is a force in this film, deftly handling the tricky role, out-acting all the other top actors. His repertoire keeps expanding and refining itself. The very end scene is a truly great moment of acting, an example of masterful emotive reach.
The cinematography is superb, dark and foreboding like the subject matter. So many vividly bleak shot compositions and scenes thruout the film. The sound/music likewise enhances the atmosphere without being noticeable. The visuals, audio, and mood all working on a subconscious level, squirming you into an uncomfortable disturbing place.
The movie has a run time of well over 2 hours, and tho many have complained that it's too long or the pacing is off, there was nothing wrong with it. It moved how it was intended to move, at its own pace, as it needed to, to fully explore the main character and his gradual descent into that nightmare. You could trim the movie down, but it wouldn't sell it as well, to land that landing. If anything, another 10 minutes before the end to reinforce the extent of his descent could've been useful.
Uncomfortable, dark, deep, disturbing films like this are important to watch from time to time....lessons learned, of humility and caution in a world often without redemption.