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Apathet1c
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The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM (2022)
Decent exposé at times, but with a clear bias.
The most interesting part is the financial aspect of it, since that's not something the average viewer would think of or search themselces. This film also reveals parts that anyone who didn't watch the full Chauvin trial or some of the full videos of the arrest (and the arrest the previous year) will have no knowledge of. (Even though these clips were carefully selected)
I'd have preferred a more nuanced approach though, because there's some selective editing here (which is expected, but makes this lose some credibility). Obviously the film has an agenda, but editing out the portion of the footage of the first officer brandishing his gun a few seconds after George Floyd refused to show his hands during their first contact, shows extreme bias. That specific portion of the video could be interpreted differently, depending on what you want to bellieve.
Also missing, is the portion of a video captured by an officer's camera as they're walking George Floyd across the street, in which he said he couldn't breathe in another instance, which seems like something they could have mentioned when that argument was made.
Candace Owens being centre-stage, talking excessively without much reason and making faces or disparaging comments, also detracts from this being a serious documentary/exposé. I understand that it serves as a way to show the viewer what her own opinion was during that period, but ultimately, it doesn't matter, especially if the goal is to actually reveal something about the BLM organisation in general. But also, it'd be probably be disingenuous if they'd tried to present this as being neutral in any way.
Hearing the two roommates get a chance to talk so candidly is a good change of pace from the usual representation of George Floyd being this perfect human being. It's also great that some of their issues were taken care of, even if the ending credits seem like Candace Owens patting herself on the back.
Overall, the film works best when verifiable facts are mentioned and during some of the interviews with people who were affected in some way. Watch this to gain some information you possibly didn't know of, but do not view it as an absoutely unbiased documentary.
Metal Lords (2022)
Pretty entertaining!
I went into this not knowing anything about it, but it was really enjoyable! The highlights were the "campy" dialogue at times (and I wouldn't mind if the entire movie was like that from start to finish), the rendition of "War Pigs", some dialogue that was a fresh of breath air at times from the typical dialogue in recent films and series, and in general, the metal.
It's pretty interesting that the actors look that they're actually playing, especially the guitarist definitely had me fooled.
I would watch an entire movie of the 3 lead actors talking like they did in the last scene of the film while shredding. The serious moments were ok, but I wasn't thrilled about them. The "serious" issues of the film (i.e. The lead actress' mental issues, the guitarist issues with his dad, and the misunderstandings about nothing - since the characters weren't too deep to begin with) were pretty hit-and-miss and felt kinda pointless in all honesty.
I also didn't really like the hot tub scene, it just seemed like an opportunity for those musicians to make an appearance in the film. Pretty far-fetched that the character would jump in the hot tub with her, and I was also expecting that to be a matter of conflict with his girlfriend (thankfully it wasn't), but all-in-all, it was a pretty unnecessary scene.
Also, the guitarist was supposedly such a metalhead but in that universe he didn't know that Apocalyptica shredded with 3 cellos, and him being so apprehensive about having a cellist join the band was head-scratching.
Like mentioned earlier, I wouldn't mind it if the film was a full-on camp-fest, with cheesy dialogue about metal and how everyone sucks. Those moments were the most enjoyable for me in this film, since it showed that the film didn't take itself to seriously.
Louis C.K.: Sorry (2021)
Good return.
While some parts of it felt too long, the majority of his jokes and delivery were standard Louis C. K. If you like his style, this one will remind you of how amazing his older specials were. This is close, but not quite as good as his older stuff.
Some of the subjects he talked about lacked some "punchiness" and flow, but it's been quite some time since I laughed so hard with anything. 100% recommended for people familiar with his work.
Blue Story (2019)
Simplistic but decent enough. (excluding the rapping parts)
As others have mentioned, what irked me about this film is the inconsistency of the characters. While the two protagonists appear to have a good head on their shoulders, they suddenly become insufferably stupid and get caught in revenge games. I suppose for the film to work something like that had to happen to move the plot forward and create some friction. It's just that the stark contrast in their behavior is head-scratching, especially after both of them had up to that point avoided getting caught up in gang activities. The death of Leah is more of a reason to try and seek revenge, rather than what happened to Marco, which Timmy had nothing to do with.
The "teenage love" arc works well and it is pretty realistic in general. Leah plays her role very well and the scene of her death is impactful. That is before Rapman (whom I had never heard of before tbh) starts rapping about what I just saw happen with my own two eyes, which lessens the impact of the previous scene.
In general, I think that's my biggest gripe with the film. I understand that Rapman is writer and director, but his rapping reminded me of parodies like Lonely Island. I had trouble keeping a straight face whenever he rapped about something obvious, even if the film itself is grim and the plot doesn't shy away from portraying the tragedy of the character's circumstances/decisions to its full extent.
Wonder Showzen (2005)
One of a kind.
Watch this if you like offbeat, "offensive", existential, absurd humor. It truly is an achievement how every episode can have so many layers and provide non-stop entertainment. It's an assault on everything that anyone holds "sacred" and it's brilliant!
It's baffling how 12 years ago this show aired on MTV, especially if you consider that MTV in 2017 is more conservative(not in the traditional American sense but more in the preachy, self-righteous, social justice sense with the stuff they churn out to "protect" the people they consider "vulnerable" while condemning specific groups of people). This show holds nothing back and presents everyone and everything under the same light. There is a segment about the police in one episode that says everything there is to say about the subject through children voice overs that would cause riots if it was aired today. There is another episode that has a character named Middle America (who gets thrown a watermelon with black-face if you pay attention) and a segment with hillbillies presented as complete idiots. Anyway, my point is that everything is fair game for this show and that's the way more shows should be.
The show presents very realistic, "dark", controversial subjects in an absurd, creative way that sometimes borders on unintelligible. Heed the warning at the start of the show and stay away if you're easily offended.
I'm not even American but I don't like the way everything seems to become more P.C. as years go by, since it makes it difficult to find entertainment that pushes the envelope and, more importantly, is apolitical and "nihilistic" in a sense.
I'd love for this show to air again, just to witness the massive triggering of the masses.