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Farang (2023)
Good to see you again XG...
Been awhile. The last film I saw from Gens was Frontier(s) some years back which was eye opening and fiersome.
Fast forward, and here we are. He's done some "smaller" projects I believe since my indoctrination into Euro horror and thrillers, abd this one did not disappoint.
All too familiar tropes won't work if you don't have the atmospheres, the cinematography, and in this particular case, the extreme violent sequences. So beware, this film was far away from the faint of heart, but he did pay over and above homage to some of the better directors in the subgenre---Takashi Miike, Perk Chan Wook and the more recent to join in this clan, Gareth Evans.
It's bleak, it's realistic and graphic at the core of the violence. But when you have a solid lead protagonist---the violence comes through that character rather easily. It's a story of redemption in its infancy that turns on its heels into one of the best revenge films of the the past 10 years. Gritty, beautifully shot, and gripping enough to hold you, and even hard to look away when its at it most challengingly disturbing.
Bring on the XG shark film...
You'll Never Find Me (2023)
Terrifyingly brilliant
A slow burn of sorts. Dialogue driven with a pure sense of uneasiness as a set up. An uncomfortable reminder of what hides amongst us. When it's portrayed in such a genuinely and increasingly twisted third act, I'd say this is why you watch horror: To be challenged by an uncomfortable situation unfolding on the screen. In this type of film that uses such buildup of tension and distrust, (coupled with amazing sound direction and creepy drones throughout) between the two leads is disturbing at its best, only to leave an impression on you well after the credits roll with warped third act. This one leaves a mark.
To delve into the setup would be spoilers defined. To get the most out of this film that nails every level of what a horror film gives to the willing viewer in such a effective way, go in blind and submerge yourself, undistracted, into this one, to get the most out out of what the writer/director team is very effectively giving you.
Solid 9/10.
Poor Things (2023)
Good film
Recently got to finally seeing Poor Things and its quite an achievement and direction for Lanthimos this time around. It's like The Wizard of Oz for adults, though has more in common with a warped Terry Gilliam "Daughter of Frankenstein" approach.
Twisted to its core, and coming off the equally weird The Curse, Emma Smith, again, knocks it out of the park yet again with a stunningly rich acting tour de force playing the "brain stunted" creation. This, like anything Lanthimos touches, is quite a visionary adult fairy tale. Steeped in dark ish taboos and even darker comedic elements Dafoe also shines here, as the twisted, lonely, creator.
My only issue, which is the film is just short of 2 1/2 hours, is the run time. It just loses it freshness a bit after the 2 hour mark. That was maybe just me as I can handle longer than average films, but it felt like it could've been trimmed.nicely in the third act.
Solid 8/10.
Summary: Good film.
Beacon 23 (2023)
Waste of time.
Low budget, single set-esque scifi isn't always bad. In fact, some can be quite effectively done, capturing the isolation and the unknown of space throughout cinematic history.
What we have here is quite the opposite, and frankly was startled that it even greenlit a second season. Headley's carreer path, elevated by GOT but her decision here is questionable at best, but she will rebound from this blip on her LinkedIn/IMDB pages.
It's boring, derivative and just plain uninteresting. Flipped it off an episode prior to the finale was the saving grace here. Just has to have a direction. This series seems to fly loose from the beginning, lacking cohesiveness and with the plethora of streaming choices, you're better suited looking elsewhere for quality science fiction.
True Detective (2014)
Season 4...
Being a fan of the first season, skipping the second after 2 episodes in (lousy season), and lukewarm on season 3 (was okay), I'm at the point where "can millions of people be wrong?"
Probably not, but just throwing that out there.
Season 4, so far, through 3 episodes---for me---is a criminally overrated slog. Who is the protagonist? Why should we care about all the unknown "soap opera-esque" hangups between the characters as they develop? There is the element of being derivative hanging over this (hello, John Carpenter), but the element of tribal spiritualism and some inklings of supernatural elements weigh it down as much as they are possibly keeping this series afloat. Talking put of both sides of my mouth, but the trappings of a less than suitable tying up of loose ends is running out of time and space.
It's goofy at times (the few scenes with CGI are laughably bad in 2023-2024), it's boring most of the time...but the ending of the episodes bring in the element of the next episode will reveal more, but after three episodes of that same approach, I feel a further letdown on the horizon.
It's kind of a mess, bottom line, and the scatterbrained script is really getting hard to watch as it unfolds in slow motion.
With that said, this is the halfway point I do believe. Episode 3 out of 6 and just waiting for something to happen.
Tempering expectations because a lot of the legitimate nationally publicated reviewers that I normally trust seem to go cuckoo for cocoapuffs over their reviewable full season preview that got me back onboard, but subjective as it can be---and even some calling this more of a "horror" themed season, it's falling completely flat other than a few disturbing scenes and the element of what is yet to be revealed.
Edited for end of season assessment after watching finale:
Absolutely a mess. They ran out of budget or couldn't find an editor to come in and clear.said mess. This is and was a complete disaster of a season, and starting to wonder about the promotional material they ran about the time of the Superbowl, where they folled.the screen with review quote snippets, if those were for all of the MAX content or this series, because a little slight of hand marketing wise might have been in play to sell this crap to the masses.
This one's a hard pass.
Bring Him to Me (2023)
Derivative as it gets.
Trailer looked like a lean and mean noir and right up my alley.
I guess the trailer showed me too much or the script was AI generated (I kid?). Let's start with cinematography. It does pay homage to Mann's style but when the scriptwriting is weak, and when you're looking at the cinematography for a redemptive need or want to finish the film, then well, I can see why some would just shut this off and go outside for a walk for the last hour.
It's a formulaic crime "thriller" shrouded in finger pointing with the weight of the red herring in the room (and every scene) as you can feel the familiar twist just waiting to divulge itself. It finally does and it really has lost most of its own steam when it does, as it was more of an "ah" moment versus an enthusiastic "AHA!"
It's not a terrible film, it's just a straight line operation, no one to route for, no single character stands out, the crusty ole veteran criminal, the young prodigy trying to earn a living the wrong way, and a garage full of criminality lead by a strangely accented woman...is that a comedic take on a Boston accent from a film made in Australia?
Yikes.
Boring, derivative, and just suffers a serious case of low energy.
The Royal Hotel (2023)
Nothing to see here.
Weak script, surprising downgrade role for a somewhat accomplished young actress like Julia Garner. Part "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" coupled with the darkness of Donald Pleasance's down under fever dream "Wake in Fright" minus the fever, but putting the "d" in drunken debauchery. It's 90 minutes of round the clock Australian creeps making fools of themselves as a buildup of rape-y clowns harass the two lead actresses for an exhaustingly weak film.
This one isn't worth the time to sit in front of. Garner just doesn't have luxury of the script writing that makes her classic lead actress-ing shine. She screams, she cries, she overserves the patrons (like she has a choice) at a dingey decrepit Australian bar in the middle of no where. Its not funny, it's not serious, it's not entertaining, there are zero characters to root for, let alone empathize with. Not entirely sure what the demographic for this film would be, other than nihilistic fans of cheaply made films about the male gaze.
Garbage time.
The Curse (2023)
Words like "cringe" "boring" and "slow"....
---just don't apply when it's dark satire is about just those desciptors. A slow burn of cringe by the awkward, yet brilliant acting and anti-chemistry are what gives this series it's ignition point. If a young Kubrick made a neo dark satire series, it might just feel like this. Never mind the might, it would feel JUST like this.
It's definitely not for everyone and being a big fan of Fielder's work coupled with the Safdie's, this was catnip for the weirdo humor in me. It's takes patience and full understanding the delivery and pitch back humor is stylistic satirical genius.
The pretention and over the top 3 layer storyline is reminiscent of the very prentiously delicious (though found it a bit of a self indulgent slog in the third act) Ruben Östlund's "Triangle of Sadness"
This is brilliant to those that like this sort of offkilter independent filmmaking, and the flipside being people that go apeshit for a more "obvious" approach to humor might find this unwatchable.
And thats okay...its all subjective, and I'll take this all day.
Quiz Lady (2023)
Simplistic, surprisingly not funny.
Went into fairly blind and figured the cast alone might take this one.
The first issue/problem is Oh is miscast...we are supposed to believe she's the sister while being old enough to be the mother. She even acts awkward enough throughout to confliction of the characters convoluted age. Not enough to ruin a film, but was just a strange blunder in casting.
Moving forward, we almost got to the end of the second act before realizing Ferrell hasn't even been shown other than on television clips early on.
Couple it with just tame, almost too tame writing and execution and had a feel for how it would end, opted to not finish----nothing was funny. Just felt circular and beyond the premise (which again---sounded like it would work), it just flattens out. The glaring missed opportunities piled on, as you would think with the comedic talent involved (Farrell listed at one of the executive producers), there'd be something to, you know, harken a chuckle or three. They were so few and far between, its hard to recommend a film that was shut off for something else.
Last Sentinel (2023)
Should be renamed "Fell Asleep Sitting Up"
Because that's exactly what I did.
Takes a alimmed.down plot and pulls a double switch to insult its viewers at the end.
In the more recent run of low budget Sci fi. There were a few diamonds in the rough [Silo, Settlers, Vesper], this one falls well short of those that actually left a bit of an impression. This one is a slog, heavy on the dialogue and missing cohesion and someone to root for. There is none of that hear just a subpar film that goes absolutley no where. In slow motion.
The cinematography was nice but the limited set and script left you/me wishing for something more to develop. I'd say skip this one.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
Good interpretation
Worth a look. Great cinemarogtaphy...that really stood out for me. The cast and acting solid. Something just doesn't grab me. I do know the backstory very well, being a Nosferatu fan but the tension doesn't quite get there, though it is a very bleak story that most know "doesnt end well".
Sometimes the CGI is a little wonky but the set direction and storyline (though almost too familiar) are all good. I think maybe it's the feel that it's trying to be something it can't be. It's comes off, atmospherically a little Hollywood (though it's not) with the big score, grandiose production feel and summer release, I think it would have better suited as a smaller, folk horror presentation, not unlike Trollhunter, with less of the orchestral/large screen direction it chose. Less is more...
Cobweb (2023)
Weighed down in its own mediocrity
Sounded okay amd went in without trailers. What I came away with was a short story made long technique of film making. It's so devoid of anything, including the development of characters, a cognizant story---hey I would've settled for some actual tension.
It's just a slow circle down the drain and became somewhat of a mercy watch---and also does get a bit exhaustive in its very derivative tropes from about 30 different horror movies, almost making it feel like you seen this film before. The final 15 minutes made me feel stupid for hanging around for the end.
This one is for the kids that find tapping on walls, spiders and long hair scary.
Ashgrove (2022)
Didn't realize Hallmark Channel made end of the world films
I heard about this film.in it's infancy, pre release and saved it to check out when it was available.
Fast forward and finally checked it out. Sort of actually. I couldn't finish it on the rainy Sunday afternoon when there was absolutley nothing on but infomercials. Yes, it's as boring as watching mushrooms grow. The director seems to have tapped into some local band to do the music which was weirdly thrown in at times while the characters, with 20 minutes left, annoyed the piss out of me and my cat enough to just back out and watch something else. So yeah, have no clue how it ended and really didn't care enough to continuing watching.
GameShow Network for the win
Don't waste your time.
Beau Is Afraid (2023)
Cronenberg-esque "mommy issue" film that takes a big swing...
And mostly misses. At least for me.
At the very least, the film is polarizing and people are talking about it. My opinion is one of disappointment, as I was very excited for the next chapter in Aster's work. He is a true auteur so he will do auteur things. In this case---was a long metaphporical ride that reveals itself only enough to figure out the basics. Phoenix's character, Beau, suffers from crippling anxiety and bread crumbs along the way insinuating guilt.
Phoenix is about as versatile as an actor gets...but the heavy handed approach to keeping the viewer at arms length gets a little exhaustive.
Is it a great looking, well made film? Sure is.
Is the film weighed down by the heavy handed approach to telling this type of story---Sure is.
I felt confused when I shouldn't have and when I felt like the reveal was going to tie things together, it really picks around the edges without the third act payoff.
High Desert (2023)
Watched for a bit
Read some reviews and had caught the tail end of an Arquette interview making the rounds promoting this, so gave it a go.
Myself and the lady liked it some, abd make the point of at least doing 5 or 6 before jumping off, or we wouldn't have finished Ozark or even Better Call Saul...so we stick to that streaming mantra.
We just got bored with it, we were all caught up into week 6 and just felt like it was spinning it's tires. Looked at each other with the week 7 epi ready to fire and decided we just were into it. Very well cast, but disjointed writing just weighs it down and couldn't see ourselves watching another season (if it went that route), let alone another episode. It's just drags...and not sure any of the characters matter.
Homestead (2023)
Boring and derivative.
Having a guilty pleasure for what read as the "darker" element of the genre, checked it out.
The cinematography just brought back the 70s westerns that I grew up watching almost immediately, so settled in. Like most westerns, the antagonist is usual prevalent in the onset. Solid enough acting on all fronts, but what felt like it might head in the direction of interest...it plods along with very limited content, and even more limited expansiveness. Even the scenery, which can elevate these films, fell flat.
It's basically a broken family, a cabin, and some bad dudes out for revenge. That's it. Where some take this next level, the more recent (and pretty excellent) "Old Henry" excelled in bringing forth that classic feel...The Homestead just spins it's tires for the better part of an hour filled with unspectacular series of missed opportunities. I found it reminded me of a made for television (are these still a thing?) film. Very short, very uneventful, short on captivating violence that comes with even the most modern of the genre, and certainly mislabeled along the way as "horror", which confused me about the half way point, as the violence was pretty tame throughout. I can handle crossover appeal with the implied supernatural elements entwined with western films (High Plains Drifter) and horror element (Bone Tomahawk), this was more comparable to a Little House on the Prarie reinterpretation.
What comes is a very predictably boring run into the third act and an anticlimatic finish. Nothing stood out as anything more than mediocrity and a dud of a film.
Sisu (2022)
Not for everyone. I'm way more than okay with that.
What an awesome piece of filmmaking.
Simple premise but turns.into something way more, if you let it. It's a blast...awesome cinematography, original levels of violence---and its pretty gory---with just a great grasp of making this sort of film without bloating up the screen [I'm talking to you Tarentino]. This is sure to get gobbled up by the indie/cult throngs, and I'm also okay with that as well, as the ones checked out for lazy cashed out CGI laden "universe" films...this won't their appetite because it's not the same old thing over and over. This is a fun thrilling, often very violent ride, and comes absolutley with the highest recommendations for genre film covetors and will keep the horror/gorehounds entertained throughout.
Yellowjackets (2021)
Strong writing + acting keeps this one going
I'll preface by saying, this one gets its hooks in you right away with no punches pulled.
It settled in nicely and now you/we get just enough of the breadcrumbs to keep a subtle amount of ambiguity and the red herring alive
What sets it apart, as Showtime certainly could use their first well written series (not since the first few seasons of Dexter, and maybe season one of Ray Donovan) in some time. I personally look so forward to watching this script unpacking itself--- and so far, delivering. Season 2 is off to a great start with the continuation of the Travis sub-storyline, and the shift to the cult situation and backstory that is developing slowly while leaving an impression that all may not be as the viewer is led to believe without the lazy and insulting bait and switch.
Delivers on every level.
65 (2023)
Interesting premise. Dullness ensues.
Just.plain.dull.
The premise is a huge spoiler so will stay away from that. Removing that from the equation also turns this film into a puddle, so the very interesting back story is all it has going for it. If you've seen 20 minutes of anything Jurassic Park, you seen what is has to offer. Except it isn't as watchable because it just brings back almost scene for scene elements of encounters with different types of prehistoric animals...problem being, it comes off as very budget constrained as well and runs out of steam about 40 minutes in. If you're contemplating a visit to see this in the theater, consider yourself warned: this is about as formulaic as it gets.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Check your brain and it's just fine.
Trust me, never expected anything plausible or believable when watching a film like this. Guilty pleasures are just that and I'm a sucker for "monster movies", as it brings back memories from the old "Creature Double Feature" as a child. I do believe that was exclusive regionally to New England, so only a few may get that reference.
This episode of the nu-Godzilla franchise just gets exhausting with it bluefilter CGI fest that gets so convoluted with plot changes (not looking for plot, again monster movie) that just get plain tiring. It takes away from the fun of watching, what should be mindless yet fun. This film almost seems to take itself too seriously and its just gets too repetitive to have fun watching. Escapism isn't meant to be this dull or exhaustive.
Middle of the road cartoon is all it ends up as, and glad I waited til it hit cable.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
Just a touch overrated
Good film. Very much appreciate the animation and the hard work that goes into this, while also appreciating getting this to production after many years...with that said the hype that comes with anything A24 can take things a bit into the stratosphere with viewers out of the gate, and with that, comes the project just not living up to the final product.
I'll admit, the humor wasn't working that great for me, the voice wore on me, the story dragged some. Okay a lot.
With that said, decent--respect for getting this thing done after many years, but I just got absolutley bored with it into the first hour and that can be typical with short stories being stretched out, at least in some my own film viewings.
The Consultant (2023)
Blue screen of death
Started out with a sinister feel, solid acting, then...well...the wheels fell off. You could almost feel it coming as there were only a few episodes left to clean up, let alone explain, quite a series of events. Almost feels like they ran out of time and episodes? Feels like a test run to see if a second season would be warranted. This felt like that other Amazon production, "Outer Range" that hit the ground in a fiery ball of fail. It sucks you in with its premise then the story erodes into a mess of uncertain attempts to tidy itself up to make the series meaningful. Hindsight had me falling for it, foresight just became a mercy watch with an insulting finale. There really wasn't enough room for this to be done in a short series...as I did find the premise fairly compelling.
I'd have to recommend a hard pass on this one.
How It Ends (2018)
Worst of the apocalyptica
After the success of The Last of Us, the clickbait "news" sites that litter my Google news feed have picked up my liking for the HBO series---enter the recommendation for an older Netflix series that "is climbing the top rated films"
I fell for it. Hook. Line. Sinker. And went in like a fool. Started well enough, but had an uneven feel, right out of the gate, an almost "movie of week" made for television film.
The film takes a slight upward slope, and progressively it's all downhill from there, right into the third act where the nonsense goes next level, and the credits roll.
Ambiguity works when the story is tight to sustain an interest in the storyline. This is its main downfall, as it never comes even close to the 3 w's---when where why or comes close to making much sense beyond the obvious point A to point B, and crashing the car a half dozen times along the way, sometimes implausibly. The acting was the only thing that I found credible, though it really doesn't matter when the film is just bad.
This is 3rd rate material, with stupid characters making stupid mistakes and they leave it up to the viewer as to whether they're onboard or not. By the final act I was not. The scene before the credits roll, was right out of the M. Night Shyamalan playbook on the stupids.
2/10.
Palm Trees and Power Lines (2022)
Beautifuly made film with deep rooted dark undertones.
First heard of this film while watching the Film Independent awards. This certainly isn't an uplifting film, but I did go in blind, only knowing the small bit on the IFC awards show for "breakthrough actor" nomination.
Going in blind it first appears to be a coming of age film that takes a bit of a sideways step, as an older (mid to late 30's) guy enters the life of a disconnected young girl, and seems a bit off but he charms his way into her life, while her home life is almost non-existent due to a single mother upbringing and her own mother's penchant for making life mistakes, and in this case repeating them. Tjese mistakes cause more distance between her and the daughter's dynamic. It also sent her firstly into hanging with friends til all hours, and ultimately charmed into what seems like an unhealthy, compulsive relationship with this new, older man.
Again, the narrative seems to take it further down the rabbit hole with the feel of a road movie starting to enter the overall feel of the storyarc---like a "forbidden relationship" that may take them on a journey. Until it doesn't.
It takes the turn that structured families fear may happen, and unstructured---feels almost inevitable.
Lily McInerney as Lea captures pure unadulterated innocence and vulnerability that this new "man" takes advantage of. Her damaged upbringing becomes her downfall, but instead of drugs and homelessness---we get something a bit more harrowing when you couple Lea's vulnerable state with her naivity.
Script is lean and mean, score is perfect in the right spots, adding tension when there is, and Gretchen Mol's role as the detached mother takes a back seat to quite a riveting performance by McInerney who is not only convincingly smart and real, it should also hit home to any parent that has a young daughter and the trepidation that some parents may feel when their daughter leaves the house making the same poor decisions that the mother has instilled. It's a dangerous cycle and the outcome of the final act shows just that. A pure gutpunch.
Pure and real independent film making at it finest.
8.5/10.
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
What was I thinking
So here we all are, reviewing the most polarizing of directors who's claim to fame is making films that frankly are the above ground pools of film.
This one starts off with the typical tropes that we've all come to hate...but that Shyamalan sure knows how to build that baked in twist, and this time, if you're buying it that is, the jokes on you. This brand of film making worked exactly twice and for some reason, the sham just keeps pumping this material out for the masses.
It's starts off well enough and it's not a terrible film at all, by any means--- it just fits him and his comfort zone. Everything is just good not great...but the atmospheres and this type of storytelling that he purveys is just bad. Keep this guy as far away from my apocalyptic films. Real far.
Spoiler alert: your eyes are almost guaranteed to roll when the sham, does his shammy thing. Just like on every.single.film. He's made. I'd die a happy man if he never made another film...and to think, people will flock to this fully knowing it will be a forgettable film. I'm guilty of that myself, lured in by a 30 second trailer and an R rating.