Literally the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen on Netflix, and boy, that's SOMETHING. It's just a mess. It made me laugh when it wanted to awe me, and it made me cringe when it wanted to make me laugh. None of the endings are at all satisfying and never does Bandersnatch feel like it wrapped something up. It just pauses at random places and gives you obvious choices which lead to ridiculous results.
I can't even begin to fathom how much I hated this.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Burning
(2018)
The cat, the well, and the greenhouse
6 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Among the most acclaimed films from 2018's Cannes festival, Lee Chang-Dong's first feature in nearly eight years came full of expectations - and boy, does it deliver. This mesmerizing character study kicks off with an unexpected encounter between protagonist Lee Jong-su, a quiet, restrained young man who tends to his father's property - located near the border with North Korea, one of the many ways in which the narrative conveys its unique sense of unease - while he battles in court over his alarming anger issues, and Shin Hae-mi, a wide-eyed, lonely girl with an unsettling penchant for pantomime, who finds herself lost, in a perennial journey to find purpose - or the Great Hunger, as she tells an amused Jong-su. As the two get to know each other again, years after Lee disregarded her in school, they engage in a surprisingly delicate and beautifully filmed encounter, whose dreamy quality he tenderly nourishes, only for Hae-mi to quickly escape, some time later, into another one of her trips. When she returns from Nairobi, the thin glimmer of light that is their relationship evaporates, replaced by an ineroxably growing tension. This is due to the introduction of Ben, the ever-smiling and mysterious man she encountered in Africa. Jong-su is visibly taken aback by his presence, and over the course of a few reunions, his uncanny wealth and excesses provide the audience with discomfort - that is, until Hae-mi suddenly vanishes. From then on, the film becomes a feast of paranoia, barely contained fury, and relentless search for the truth. Was her disappearance obvious from the start, a distant girl with nothing to hold on simply cutting all ties with her world? Or does it have something to do with the uncanny hobby Ben revealed to Lee shortly before she finds herself gone? There is nary a moment wasted throughout its long and breathtaking two and a half hours, that elevate its surreal source material to a rare kind of arthouse thriller, whose slow burning quality finally explodes in a cathartic and ultimately unavoidable ending. Bursting with memorable imagery, richly underpinned by a variety of subtexts such as class tension, misogyny, and anger, impeccably acted and miraculously directed, "Burning" reveals itself as one of the best movies of year. It is self-contained, agressive, and frantic all at once. A must-see for any fan of Murakami - and for anyone who craves a tale of loss and revenge.
The Favourite
(2018)
Eccentric, witty, and delightful
6 November 2018
Enthralling from the very beginning and bursting with enthusiasm, this endlessly funny period piece, mixed with a ravishing love triangle, is Lanthimos at his most accessible, all while maintaining the mordacious social commentary and absurdist tone that made him such a phenomenon. Needless to say, "The Favourite" is marvelously shot, capturing with elegance the grandeur of its setting through gorgeous steadicam and extravagant wide angles, but what really sets it apart are the characters that are shown against it. Arguably the most fascinating showcase of acting from each of its three leads, the dynamics of the trio are effervescent, chock-full of disdainful side-glances, sharp smiles and lascivious touches, making every man look like a disposable accessory. Weisz is ever caustic as Sarah Churchill, the queen's confidant and lover, who actually rules the kingdom through her, and Stone is ravishing as Abigail, Sarah's cousin, who plays a naïve, gleeful servant, but secretly will spare no efforts in order to become the queen's new favourite. However, it is Colman who steals the spotlight, through her mesmerizing performance of Queen Anne. Infantile and broken, impulsive and lustful, needy and erratic all at once, she takes credit for almost every one of the most iconic moments of the film, which are several, through her delicious tantrums and hilarious excesses, but most notably, through a few long, mathematically precise close-ups, during which her expression changes so subtly, yet so richly, that she conveys an extensive array of emotions, disarming the viewer with desperate loneliness and melancholy.
All of that innovating and beguiling experience could never have been made possible without an incredibly solid script, whose segmented structure and whimsically titled chapters make the audience anticipate, with an expectant smile, what kind of wicked schemes and betrayals will come next. While it is riveting and lively until two thirds well into the plot, some of the viewers might be left disappointed at how it becomes hopeless and dark. The sudden change of pace, however, is deliberate and calculated, leading to a visually unforgetable ending scene, as each of the characters finally realize the inescapable consequences of their extravagant behaviours.
Ultimately, "The Favourite" is an admirable confluence of talent, whose likes mainstream cinema only glimpses rarely, and that will leave audiences marveled and eager for more.
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