Remy_Azhary's Reviews

The Holdovers (2023)

10/10

Beautiful, heartwarming and sweet...even heartbreaking!

7 January 2024

I'm not a particular fan of Alexander Payne but oh wow. This was an incredibly sweet movie about people finding the best traits in others.

The Holdovers is comparable to With Honors, Scent of A Woman and Good Will Hunting. I see this movie as an accidental family story whereby the relationship between a teacher (Paul Giamatti) and one of his students (Dominic Sessa) evolved into father and son relationship. So too with Da'Vine Joy Randolph. She somewhat became the mother in the trio. I could definitely feel her pain as she suffered the lost of a loved one. Yet she was resilient enough not to allow us see her as being weak.

Set in the early 70s, Payne actually made it feel authentic to how films were made in those days complete with old school title cards.

I must say that while both Paul Giamtti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph deserve the Golden Globes nominations respectively, I'd say that Dominic Sessa should also be recognized for Supporting Actor since his performance was a standout for me. I just wish the Academy would notice him for that category.

All in all, I love The Holdovers.

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Saltburn (2023)

2/10

Literally a "Mr Ripley" rip-off

30 December 2023

I was wondering what the fuss was about. But then again, they obviously had not seen The Talented Mr Ripley. Basically the same premise. A nobody weaving himself into the lives of the wealthy.

While Barry Keoghan is a gifted actor his only shines in showcasing the erotic thriller aspect of his character. But that's actually a good thing.

It's just that he probably could very well do some other movies to showcase that range of his but not this one.

As for the cast, they could very well be done by unknowns. Speaking of which, with an actor like Carey Mulligan she deserves more screen time. Yet her role was in just a few scenes then she's gone. Jacob Elordi, too, could do something bigger especially with his name on the rise.

Like I said, the movie is not something that had not been done before. It's just flashy and posh.

Before watching this, I was hoping that there could be something actually happening between the Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. But all we get were male nude scenes.

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The Changeling (1980)

10/10

I thought it's going to be a boring old haunted house movie but it's more than meets the eye!

18 September 2023

Without going too much into the synopsis of the movie since there are plenty already out there, I'm just going to give my thoughts on this movie.

The Changeling had been on my radar for years now ever since I saw it in video rental stores (remember those?) back in the day. But I never really picked it up thinking that it was probably some boring ass movie that my younger self would not have appreciated it that much even with the mystery and thriller elements of it. Other than seeing pictures of George C. Scott with the said house of the movie, my impression from what I already knew about it was that it's a ghost story and that's it.

Boy, I was wrong. There's more than meets the eye about this movie. Even Hollywood actress, Virginia Madsen, said that this was one of her favorite horror movies. Well, to this regard, I wouldn't go so far as calling it a horror movie per se since we all perceived "horror" differently.

But what I would say is that The Changeling is one those movies that caught me by surprise and I liked it.

When I said there's something more than meets the eye about this movie I meant it. It was not your typical ghost story. But rather an intelligent one. In that, from the get-go it could very well be perceived as the standard haunted house movie. But as the movie progressed, the clever part was the investigative aspect of why and how the house was haunted on the part of George C. Scott who stayed in the house. As events occurring around him he soon started out his own digging about the history of the house and that what got me intrigued and tied so-called "horror" aspect of the movie to the mystery and to its resolution at the end.

I think the modern sensibilty about it is that the filmmakers made us the audience think that the grieve about lost of loved ones could manifest itself into something sinister. And that was how the movie unfolded itself right from the beginning.

Without giving much spoilers I was totally convinced that the original author of the Japanese "Ringu", Koji Suzuki, drew inspiration for his massively popular horror franchise from The Changeling.

In short, all I can say about The Changeling with regards to today's types of horror movies is that if Blumhouse and A24 have a good collaborative horror mystery, this is it. It's what Jenna Ortega would call in Scream (2022) as an 'elevated horror'.

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Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

2/10

Kudos to Patrick Wilson's effort but it's weak and boring

12 July 2023

Apparently, audience are divided between liking it and otherwise. For me, personally, this directorial debut effort by Patrick Wilson is a missed opportunity at its best. I find Insidious 5 to be rather boring and weak. It was at all that scary as compared to the original. It played on the cliched tropes of horror movie jumpscares.

Now I know it's a completely unfair comparison to distinguish both films. But the narrative seemed to be rather convoluted throughout. I could really feel the strenuous link between Josh's and his son's, Dalton, storyline.

Yet to be perfectly fair, kudos to Patrick Wilson for helming this project. I mean, one would regard that being one of the primary characters in this franchise, Wilson would have a firm ground on what to conjure up (no pun intended) from his experience doing the first two Insiduous. Yet, the result was a mish-mash of trying to link this one to the first two. At least, Insiduous: Chapter Two felt consistent enough for audiences to appreciate the sequential continuity to the events in the first movie.

But Insidious 5 felt very disjointed to say the least. And on top of that being a singer too, I guess Wilson couldn't help but performed the end credits song too. Patrick Wilson, is no doubt an excellent actor. But to perform his own rendition of the classic Shakespeare's Sister's hit could be regarded as being vain. It's as if he's doing it for his own personal vanity project.

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Where Butterflies Don't Fly (2022)

10/10

Symbolism of the cave

28 June 2023

This is easily one of my favorite movies that centered around gay characters. Without going into the synopsis too much, I'd rather say about how I feel about this movie.

It's a masterpiece in itself. Even though this is a sequel of some sort to a short film but this movie could very well be a standalone film by itself. And the ending, which is after end credits had rolled deserved to have another follow-up.

As for the movie, I'd say it played on so many levels. But the main important things to take note are knowing about who you are and how you fit in this rather oppressed world where being gay is concerned. That is the major symbolism of the cave. How could you survive in such desperate scenarios in which the world throws at you. And another thing is about overcoming prejudices of others and making presumptions of others. In other words, do not judge a book by its cover.

In terms of the two leads being caiught in the cave, there were several intense moments. And I admit that despite the unusual relationship between the teacher and student I do want them to have some intimate moments; which there were yet those moments were given tasteful treatments. Their performance were excellent and their chemistry was organic. You vouch for them. At the same time, as the movie progressed while they were trapped in the cave it did feel as if all hopes were lost. And with every such moments presented itself I feel morbidly ok about it. They found hope and strength in each orher.

Ultimately, if the cave represents the oppressed world for whom we love then the titular butterfiles represent hope.

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Sauvage / Wild (2018)

10/10

Why no Oscar nomination for Félix Maritaud?

23 June 2023

This is a meditation into the depressing life of a lost soul who happened to be a sex worker. The slow pacing didn't bother me that much since it's a major component in the so-called "nothingness" of the protagonist. I truly feel for him even when he did the worst deeds.

Ultimately, at the end, just when we couldn't ask for more happiness for him, he decided to be alone without anyone in his life. As sad as that might be, there's also something poetically heartwrenching about it.

And Felix Maritaud's performance as Leo was excellent. It's a travesty that he was not recognized for any of the major awards like the Oscars.

I, myself, couldn't believe that he is also the same actor playing the adult version in "I Am Jonas".

I have high hopes for this guy and hope that he would break out into more well-established features on an international stage.

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Love in Country (2023)

1/10

Too ambitious for its own good

22 June 2023

I was really looking forward to this movie after it was highly recommended on YouTube's Rainbow Mood channel and along with the many rave reviews about it, I was bought into it.

But having watched it, I take my words back. I was utterly disappointed. I can't believe I'd wasted 2 hours on this.

I mean it may not be as epic or moving as Saving Private Ryan or Platoon; which I didn't expect it to be. Nor do I expect it to be as groundbreaking or emotional as Brokeback Mountain. I just don't feel anything for any of the characters. Let alone the gay romance between the two leads. When I watch a gay-themed movie I'd like to have that attachment to the romance stuck in my mind for hours, even days, after watching it. But this one just didn't do it. The acting was wooden and forced. The characters didn't feel "organic" to say the least for me to feel anything for them. The chemistry among the actors are as good as beginners in an acting class.

As for the two lead gay gay characters, maybe I might have overlooked it, but there was no background about them for me to feel anything for them. It's like they were there out of the blue.

To be set during the Vietnam war with a gay romance as its central theme is quite a huge feat in itself. Not to mention, monumentously ambitious. But in the end, it fell flat. I can understand that even with the title card at the end saying that they could be/were such love story during the war, it still doesn't convince me anything genuine about this movie at all.

Imagine the romance between Jack and Rose with Titanic as its backdrop except the Vietnam War with romance between two soldiers. In an alternate universe, given the right script and direction, perhaps it could work. But everything about this one just didn't feel right.

Granted I may not know the intel about the war and I can just take it wholeheartedly and assume that the characters knew what they were talking in terms of the military strategies. Yet even with the cinematography and gunfires and helicopters flying, the setting for Vietnam just felt somewhat too "clean and pristine".

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Halloween Ends (2022)

1/10

I wasted money and time for this?

15 October 2022

I was hoping that I could get the same thrill for the previous two but, boy, was I wrong. I mean what the heck is this movie? A soap? It's tagged as horror/thriller when there's not even a worthy scene of suspence in it. It felt like David Gordon Green put the the audience on a wild goose chase on a merry-go-round.

I was waiting for some kind of "horror"-worthy moment in the movie but it just got dragged on and on about the angst of some young love. I mean fine, you could have that in this one but if they're making another film in the Halloween franchise then they better have some horror elements to it; or at least some suspence.

But sadly, Halloween Ends fell short and it felt tired. Sitting in the theater I was like waiting throughout the movie when anything Halloween-ish scenario going to happen but nothing.

I read that many people prefer this one than the last one, Halloween Kills, but that's their preference and can't argue with their tastes. But personally, at least "Kills" (and the 2018 one) had more impact than this one.

I mean for a movie that had the definitive word "Ends" in it, it lacks any form of resolution to the supposedly the last movie of the franchise. Instead, the momentum of the movie right from the start was like a gradual fade into the sunset. It was as if Halloween Kills was the ending dramatic end and "Ends" was like a 2 hour plus epilogue to "Kills". It was such a waste of time.

Right from the start of "Ends", it felt like it's as if it's suggesting that Halloween Ends is a 'legacy' to the Michael Myers' story. As if Michael Myers was passing his torch or sceptre of murderous rampage to this young guy. As if transcending the young man's inner soul with his killing impulses. I mean Michael Myers spared the kid's life? What the heck was that? Err, hello! Michael Myers kills indiscriminately for goodness' sakes. And Myers passed his legacy to that kid?

And as if that's not enough, we've got to have blossoming romance between Laurie Strode's granddaughter with this potential serial killer just so the spirit of Michael Myers would get to Laurie? How convenient is that?

The bottom line is Halloween Kills served as a better conclusion to the whole franshise even thought Michael Myers was nowhere to be found afterwards. But no, they just have to keep the franchise going on and on.

By the way, I don't know if the filmmakers were trying to make the opening titles with that Jack-o-Lantern as a homage to the original but with the cheap-looking transitions between one Jack-o-Lantern to the next, it's just insulting.

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Blonde (2022)

1/10

Extremely convoluted

29 September 2022

I get it that filmmakers have their way of making their works in their own individual artistic way. But Blonde proved to be, as the heading reads, extremely convoluted.

Before I got into the negatives of the movie, I must say that the onbly saving grace of Blonde is Ana De Armas. I mean she alone carried the movie singlehandedly. Throughout the movie her emotionally draining performances were excellent but somehow I could also feel that she carried messy load of making this movie. It's like she's saying "enough is enough". It's as if she couldn't wait to get out of making this movie.

And that alone is the singular positive note about Blonde.

Otherwise, everything about Blonde was not only messy. But it went on and on for almost three hours. Granted that many of us knew the background to the story of Marilyn Monroe even to the last hours of her life. Whether it was conspiracy or not, it doesn't matter. Nonetheless, the public is aware of the gist of her tragic story and her legacy of being the pop culture icon that she was.

But that's no excuse in dragging the movie for the film runtime without any interesting take on the episodic events that happened in her life. Heck, even Netflix other Documentary about her is far more engaging than this movie.

In terms of the styles like the aspect ratio throughout the entire movie was jarring. I mean since many of us are already attuned to the 16:9 format I guess it's ok that the filmmakers could take certain artistic liberties to showcase the movie in 4:3. Yet that too is also dragged by the constant changing of color palates from colored to black & white, and vice versa. I mean certain scenes looked as if they randomly change the color; which is not only annoying but equally didn't provide any continuity logic to the story.

Another thing that many audiences were out off are by the excessive amount of nudity. Given the film rating, I suppose the filmmakers could utilize nudity to serve the story. However, it looked as if they were literally exploting the actors especially on the part of Ana De Armas. So much so that the movie could have crossed the line into softcore porn and making the film appeared in bad taste.

Like many of us who are familiar with the Marilyn Monroe story, we definitely knew about her marriages to Joe Dimaggio and Arthur Miller as well as prpoerted affair with the late JFK. Yet the continuity of the movie was so disjointed that each of those relationships appeared to come into screen out of nowehere. This was especially so when Marilyn was suddenly summoned into Kennedy's bedroom without much background of how they knew each other in the first place. Not to mention Marilyn peforming oral sex and describing her imminent action afterwards. Again as if the filmmakers were teasing us that they were indeed making a softcore porn.

So all in all, Blonde was a bad movie all around with the exception of Ana De Armas' performance.

And if only (and that's a big IF), the Academy were to consider De Armas for a nomination I really hope they would dismiss the movie entirely but solely focusing on her performance alone.

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Margin Call (2011)

10/10

A somewhat "digestible" movie about the financial industry and its impending doom

16 August 2022

When I said "digestible" I mean the movie does not throw at us (or rather, me) all the financial jargons they used on Wall Street or any other financial markets in the world.

I would say that for a person who has no idea about the financial system at large but still intrigued about the inner workings of the sector, this movie is an entry point to the whole genre about the subject.

Of course, there's no denying that the 80s Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" was probably the grand daddy of the financial movies. And it's interesting that these movies were made just around the time that the global economic and financial crisis took place.

Just as Wall Street took place around the time of the economic recession of the 80s, the 2008 economic crisis also spawned several more movies that touched on that subject. Namely, Adam McKay's "The Big Short" and the TV movie "Too Big To Fail".

As for Margin Call, I like JC Chandor's approach in not making a non-financial person like myself feel like an idiot but still get the grasp on the gravity of the crisis. And yet expertly crafted a genius way to let me in on the intense reactions of the characters about the disaster at hand.

I would say that having seen the movie at the theater I saw it several times of Blu-ray and this (along with those aforementioned movies) is one of my favorite movies about the financial sector.

And it doesn't hurt that the cast was impressive too.

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Uncoupled (2022–2023)

9/10

It's just a show. If you don't like it...just move on. Simple as that.

5 August 2022

Warning: Spoilers

Despite the fact that there are people not liking the series for not being realistic to depict the "common gay man", I'd say (to quote Michael's mum), "Take the chill pill"! "Chillax".

It's just a show. Lighten up. Don't take things so seriously.

For me, it's meant as an entertainment. If it does not then it's your prerogative not to like it and move on.

For what it's worth, I'd say it's a fantasy set in the modern world. That's about it. But there's nothing wrong with that.

Personally, I like it. In a way, I could relate to some of the subjects brought up in the series. Mainly being a gay man in my 40s and things like having sexual relations with the use of protection. And the fact that the character of Billy being a self-absorbed narcissist going about chasing after guys at his age is one that I feel ought to be brought up. But that's just my opinion. And to have his date for the Jonathans' wedding finding out that he's the proven cliche among gay man is a sad fact that needs to be addressed.

As for the main protagonist's relationships with his potentials post-Colin, I'd say I could only dream of meeting someone like Luke. Even though their relationship was barely a week it's a beautiful thing I wish they could hit it off.

The bottom line is, whether you like it or not, it's just a show. You can turn it off if you don't like it.

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Special (2019–2021)

10/10

Sweet and relatable

5 December 2021

I was afraid I might get haters for saying that I thought the series opened up pretty cheesy and bad kinda like daytime soap. But I can't believe I binged the whole two seasons straight. It did feel like a reality show of a disabled young man with Cerebral Palsy who happened to be gay and his struggles between family, friends, work and romantic attachments.

Yet in all its shortcomings and tackiness, I was invested in Ryan's life. The series had that sweetness to it that I feel relatable especially as a gay man.

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More Than Only (2017)

8/10

Satisfying love story....at last!

8 November 2021

I stumbled upon this movie wile browsing on YouTube and thought I'd give it watch. As with many other low-budget gay movies, it did start off being cheesy and daytime soap-ish. But as the movie progressed the story was pretty sweet and endearing.

I was in love with both Justin and Michael; with Justin's persistent courting antic in getting Michael out for a date from the start might come across as being too sweet but I loved it.

As with many other Rom-Com's, I was expecting the drama or conflict to set in halfway and I was like wondering if this movie is for real? But the conflict did actually start about two-third into the movie.

But I was afraid that the conflict might leave me unsettled but as it turned out the movie ended the way I like it - a fantasy that I myself am not able to achieve but at least it gave me that escapism of true love.

In conclusion, I don't mind if the performances were wooden or not even Oscar-worthy for that matter. What matters was the warmth that it gave me.

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Dune (2021)

10/10

Poetry!!

16 September 2021

Warning: Spoilers

Here's my thoughts on Dune. But first and foremost, I must apologize if I put in spoilers in which I might not realize it or unintentionally. So sorry about that.

So with that said...

Wow! What can I say!

Villeneuve's Dune is definitely way way different from the Lynch's version. It's not as weird or boring as that. Nor was it as wooden or overly-dramatic as the 2000s ScyFy series.

The whole experience of it was somewhat, I would say, poetic yet serious in the likes of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy especially when it's augmented with Hans Zimmer's score.

I would also like to highlight that there was a tinge of the 2015 Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" where the atmosphere at times felt grim and gloomy. But that's not a bad thing. It just adds to the seriousness of the movie. Speaking of Macbeth, the movie does give off that Shakespearean quality about it which I very much appreciate it; hence why I thought this Villenueve's Dune is rather 'poetic'.

Before going into the movie, I was afraid that it be a snooze-fest just as Villeneuve's take on his "Blade Runner 2049" despite it being visually stunning. But as a fan of the books, I'm certainly glad that it was far from boring. I don't feel like it is in any way a slow burn as what some reviewers described it. The pacing was just right like it was right out the book. Yet I couldn't say the same for those who are unfamiliar with the story. They might, I worry, get very impatient with it.

And not to give anything away or spoilers, there were definitely changes from the source material. In particular, that dining room scene from the book where disagreements were expressed out among the characters was not in the movie. Another point to take note was the use of spoken languages among the various groups which I don't ever recall Herbert used in the book. Such that, they actually took the effort in creating languages to distinguish which group of characters they're from. It was interesting take that Dr Yueh was speaking in Mandarin while conversing with Paul and the latter responded with the same. I mean 'Yueh' is, after all, a Chinese name so I think it's kinda appropriate. I also picked up some Arabic in some of the scenes especially when the Fremens were talking to themselves.

As for performances, it is definitely Timothee Chalamet's shining achievement. This is his movie. Rebecca Furgeson also gave her possibly emotionally wrenching performance. There were scenes whereby I could empathize with her pain, not as a Bene Gesserit, but as Paul's mother. Oscar Isaac, too, was compelling and had me convinced that he was good enough to be Paul's father. Collectively, both Isaac and Furgeson played it excellently well as Paul's parents to give him enough care yet with firm sternness to protect their son.

The scope of the movie was indeed epic in terms of the scale. For example, the sizes of the heighliners in comparisons to the smaller ships. Those were massive. Think those individual alien attacker crafts in "Independence Day" compared to the main mothership, except that the latter was three to four times larger. And those Ornithopters were perfectly made to mimic dragonflies yet upon closer look they do resemble helicopters. The costumes were stunning. So much so that I'd described them as being "lyrical", if that makes sense.

Hans Zimmer's score is also worth mentioning. It fits the movie perfectly but it does not overpower the feel of any scenes. Although I did find his use of bagpipes to be out of place. And sadly, we did not get to see Gurney Halleck strum his baliset. It'd be interesting to see how Josh Brolin would sound like if he were to sing.

For me, personally, the only thing that was amiss was the exclusion of the Emperor since he was mentioned many times throughout the movie but with no physical representation of himself on screen. And as many of us already knew, Feyd was not included in the movie and it did give the strange feeling that the main Harkonnen players were around except for him. Or Count Fenring, for that matter.

Yet, all in all, they did capture the gist of the book so I'm not disappointed at all. Dune was a beautifully made film that I wouldn't mind going for a second viewing. And I could certainly see that it would garner quite a substantial amount of nominations especially in the technical categories.

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Life Itself (2018)

10/10

Beautifully crafted like a book it ought to be

3 May 2020

While on lockdown/quarantine/stay-at-home from the Covid-19 pandemic, I had plenty of time to kill at home so I thought I watch this movie one HBO late one night. I heard of it before. I just didn't think of making it a point to see it on the big screen.

The movie was an extremely slow burn at first but I thought why not. But as the movie reeled on the story drew me in like a page-turner of a book. It was told and narrated like a book actually.

But I was heartbroken by the end of it. It was truly one of the most memorable and meaningful movie I'd seen in years.

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Prep School (2015)

9/10

Taylor Lambert!

21 April 2020

This is Cruel Intentions in another dimension and on a different level. Aside from pretty woody acting from some of the supporting cast, I must say Taylor Lambert really stood out for me as the story progressed. His character was quietly subdued in the beginning but I'm really impressed by him at the end of the movie.

If I'm a casting director, I'd pick him in a major motion picture. He truly has a potential as a leading man. Not being too much about it but as I'm writing this, I'm picturing him in a historical epic directed by a prominent director like Scorsese or Spielberg or even Ridley Scott.

So I really hope to see Lambert in bigger roles.

As a movie overall, it has good direction and solid writing.

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The Towering Inferno (1974)

10/10

Excellent disaster epic that felt modern for its time

17 October 2019

Just saw it in 2019 and for a 1974 film this was one excellent epic disaster movie. There were intense scenes and having Hollywood heavyweights of the time in the cast didn't hurt either.

With Steve McQueen as the Fire Chief, he had me convinced that he could be a fire chief for all I know. He knew what he was doing and saying. His performance was so on-point with intensity with all the last minute decisions that I would glad if McQueen were to come and rescue me out of a burning building.

And Paul Newman as the tower's architect saying all those civil engineering jargons also had me convinced that he could have been an actual architect for all I know.

Having seen the list for the Oscars, I'd say they pretty much deserved either way; be they awarded or nominated. Although, I do have to disagree that Fred Astaire didn't really deserve his nomination. I mean I can certainly understand that he was, after all, "Fred Astaire". But his role was so minute that it could have been forgotten. It'd be better off for either McQueen or Newman to get that nomination.

And with a minimalist score by John Williams the film still worked just as well with and without any music; which I was surprised that it was done by THE John Williams. For a 1974 film, the score had that more modern sound to it. The score sounded as if it was made for a 90s film.

Overall, it was a satisfying movie for a three-hour epic that felt very modern for its time. It could be easily rivalled by James Cameron's "Titanic". A common ground for both movies I must say they're cautionary tales about what happened when arrogance and vanity rule logic and common sense.

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Joker (I) (2019)

10/10

A perfect companion movie or a prequel of some sort to Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight"

3 October 2019

I was blown away by this film.

Joaquin Phoenix delivered a sure-win Oscar performance as the Joker. And I can straight-out say that this was a perfect companion movie or a prequel of some sort to Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight".

It was in the final act of the movie that I literally saw Phoenix's performance as if the late Heath Ledger himself was reprising his role as the titular character. Phoenix seamlessly slipped into the characterisation of the Joker as Ledger did. From the character's mannerisms to the words that he uttered. It was like the Joker was an entity in itself - a real thing/person that owns any actors playing the role.

But that's not to say that I purposefully distinguished both actors during the movie. Nor was the fact that Phoenix made it a point to replicate what was already did by Ledger in "The Dark Knight". Both actors owned the character in their own ways. But it's like they both captured the essence of The Joker as he was intended to be in the comics.

Another thing was that critics have been saying that Todd Philips' "Joker" was very Scorsese-esque with regards to the latter's "Taxi Driver" and "The Kings of Comedy". And I could see why. But in my own words, I would say that "Joker" was more of a homage to those two rather than trying to emulate Scorsese's works. From the 70s New York-style of Gotham to the colour palate used in the cinematography, everything just screamed from that era. Even the haunting score by Hildur Guðnadóttir was so disturbing that it drew me ever deeper into the movie.

When it comes to "Taxi Driver" it was no denying that there were parallelisms between that and "Joker". Yet, I think "Joker" compels us to re-analyse the message that is still relevant to these troubled times just as Scorsese did for "Taxi Driver" during the 70s.

I would say "Joker" is a multi-layered movie that played on so many aspects of society and its impacts on individuals. Such as the treatment of society on mental illness and depression as well as the possible outcomes of such environmental abuse that cause the degradation of individuals that burned that need to act on their violent tendencies onto society as a payback. These facts, as portrayed in the "Joker", are all grounded in our reality; with gun violence, murders, etc.

As such, "Joker" (along with Alfred Hitchcock's tour de force, "Psycho") ought to be a visual medium as a curricular training tool in psychological studies not just for students but also to be indoctrinated in law enforcement organisations' training modules.

With that said, "Joker" is by no means a cautionary tale of societal impact on one's behavioural mould.

In terms of pacing, the movie was, no doubt, a slow burn and audiences seeking action sequences would utterly be disappointed even though The Joker was synonymous with the Batman series and the DC universe. However, that's not to say that there were no hints in relation to Bruce Wayne. But keep in mind, with a title like "Joker" this movie is rightfully deserved to be told from the perspective of the titular protagonist (or antagonist, whichever you look at it).

But, for me, it was surprisingly fine with it. It takes its time to properly address its message. As for the depictions of violence in the movie, there were indeed intense and gory. So much so that at times, I found myself looking away or holding on tight my to my seat. But they were justified to tell the story otherwise the movie would just fall flat. However, that's not to say that I condone those violent acts nor I expect "some kind of action" going.

Nevertheless, "Joker" was indeed a masterpiece that captured the timeless issue of violence and societal impacts on individuals.

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A Star Is Born (2018)

10/10

Impressive all around

5 October 2018

Wow!

To say the least, A STAR IS BORN truly lives up to its hype and deserving of its rave reviews that had people talking.

Bradley Cooper, in his first directorial debut, really directed the heck out of the movie and the film turned out to be pretty impressive for the actor-turned-director.

Every aspect of the movie was given meticulous details and no stone was left unturned in making sure that movie was made really well.

As for the performances, I was truly blown away by Cooper, of course. Taking three roles in the making of the movie (as actor, producer and director), Cooper add an extensive part in his acting role, that is as a singer. Although I'm not surprised that he could sing and play music (specifically playing the guitar), doing all those jobs was by no means an easy feat to pull off but he did all of them that ought to deserve the Academy's attention and recognition. Otherwise, the Academy is truly blind.

And even more impressive was on the part of Lady Gaga. Even though this was not her first acting gig as she had made quite impressive performance in the TV series, American Horror Story. But Lady Gaga truly shone her acting chops in a leading role that demanded a lot from her.

Lady Gaga stripped away her renowned celebrity status to showcase a vulnerable yet powerful role that demanded of her.

All in all, I could confidently say that this new rendition of A STAR IS BORN could easily be up for Oscar consideration in the following categories:

Best Motion Picture Best in Directing - Bradley Cooper Best Actor - Bradley Cooper Best Actress - Lady Gaga Best Supporting Actor - Sam Elliot Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Original Song - "I'll Never Love Again" AND/OR "Shallow"

In any case, it is undoubtedly that A STAR IS BORN is sure to win Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) at the Golden Globes. I can guarantee on it.

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Love, Simon (2018)

10/10

Sweet, tender and a feel-good movie

19 March 2018

I am from Singapore and it'll only be shown here on May 3. And I couldn't wait that long for its Singapore release.

But I had the chance of watching this movie during my vacation in New York the same week it opened. And I'm glad that I did.

For a start, I was also blown away by the reception of the audience at the end of the movie. It's quite refreshing to see how the audiences reacted cheerfully. I mean coming from a Singapore society I can say that many of us (me including) watching a movie such as this would rather keep the cheering to ourselves and be quiet about it. But in New York, it was quite uplifting to see the audiences actually loving it even the elder generations who watched it.

I'd describe the movie as sweet and tender. But at the same time, it's a feel-good movie that is rare in a LGBT movie which are usually given the tragic treatment with someone dying or parting ways, etc. But LOVE, SIMON gave a refreshing look at the typical teenager's life today. It's simple yet realistic of how coming out as a gay man is still a huge issue for anyone.

Alonso Duralde (of The Wire and a panel at "What The Flick") called it a John Hughes movie for this generation which I agree. I mean LOVE, SIMON had all the embodiments of that typical teenage life for the contemporary generation but still have all the emotions and sentiments of teenagers in any generation but with the gay teenager as its main protagonist.

If last year we had buzz going on about Timothee Chalamet and his breakout role in CALL ME BY YOUR NAME then this would be the year that Nick Robinson takes over that role in LOVE, SIMON.

In short, I love this movie that I intend to buy it on Blu-ray when it hits the stores.

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Call Me by Your Name (2017)

10/10

Visual Poetry of the Emotions

28 December 2017

Watching the movie in its entirety from beginning to end (and yes, even till the end credits rolled to black) felt like having an arrow shot right through to your heart and it got yanked out with a sudden force that it hurt so much.

And the pain from that bleeding heart was the emotional pain I feel when you lose someone.

As melodramatic as it sounds, that's how heartbreaking the movie felt.

Yes, we've seen plenty of other love stories been told on films. Let alone one that is of LGBT-themed. But the thing is unlike many other LGBT-themed films that usually independently-made this one got mainstream attention.

And I'm glad it did, especially having read the book years ago. So knowing that it's getting a screen adaptation I was naturally ecstatic.

And it could very well be the best LGBT film I'd seen so far.

As genre-centric as it is, the pair of lovers could simply be interchangeable with hetero couples or anyone with a heart.

In essence, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME is a human story that is multi-layered.

As for the tempo of the film, no doubt it was a slow burn but the emotional payoff at the end of the movie was worth it. In a sense that, we feel the heartbreak that Elio felt. Not to mention, those scenes served the story in the bigger aspect of the movie.

As strange as it sounds, it weirdly felt good to be torn apart emotionally in such a way. Perhaps, as human beings, we yearn for some affection some way or another. And thus, deep in our hearts we can relate to the emotions of the characters whether we choose to be opened or discreetly be quiet about it.

And granted that, both Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer (even Michael Stuhlbarg) were playing their respective roles, yet the impacts from the characters they played left a deep impression on myself having seen how they evolved through the film.

To quote a reviewer, he described the film as a visual poetry. I couldn't agree with him more. This is one piece of art for the ages.

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Something Like Summer (2017)

8/10

Good story but ran too much like daytime soap with unnecessary musical numbers.

13 November 2017

I almost bought the book on Amazon. But the fool in me gave it a pass. Now that I'd seen the movie I have a rather mixed feelings about it. I mean the story is fine; beautiful, in fact.

But it ran so much like a daytime soap that it felt too sappy at times. And what's worse it tried to be a musical which was totally off. So much so that it even felt like "Glee".

In any event, putting the cheesiness of daytime soap and musicals aside, what's important was the story itself. In all honesty, it's a beautiful story that spans several decades and with the movie's run time being slightly under 2 hours I'd say the story line was pretty solid. But it all had to be credited to the author of original novel itself, Jay Bell. Production-wise was "meh".

However, it doesn't hurt that the two main leads happened to be cute.

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A Very Natural Thing (1974)

Timeless and honest look at relationships in the LGBT community

30 December 2016

Had the chance to see this rare 1974 film and it's a cautionary tale of being a part of the LGBT community, especially where relationships are concerned. Namely, romantic ones.

I wouldn't say that it gave me a realization nor an awakening of some sort in my pursuit of getting into a relationship nor do I contemplate repentance and revert back to religion. But the movie gave an honest look at the illusion of the LGBT life in terms of being in a relationship and its outwardly portrayals of what it's like being in the LGBT community amidst all the pride parades and self- acceptance.

I must say that everyone within the LGBT community ought to take a look at this movie once and question one's idea of what he'll get himself into if he so chooses to be with that so-called soulmate.

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Blended (2014)

9/10

Perfect family movie in a long whileand a wonderful vacation movie!

9 December 2015

I must admit that I'm not really into family movies but more of adult-oriented ones. By that, I meant dramas, thrillers, etc; not the x-rated ones.

Anyway, it's been a long while since I saw any of those family movies. A very long time indeed. It's primarily because maybe it's my own foolish sensibility that told me by watching those movies would make me less of an adult. And that goes without saying that I'd avoid all types of family-oriented movies like animations or cartoons or "kids' stuff" as I'd call them.

But BLENDED looked and felt accessible enough that I love it so much. It was shown on cable TV and there was nothing else interesting that was within my "constricted interest" that was any good. And so I decided, BLENDED it was then; on HBO Family no less.

And I love it.

Even the African vacation that both Barrymore's and Sadler's families went to felt really genuinely good. Even better than the 2009 COUPLE'S RETREAT. I was utterly disappointed by that one.

For a long time I'd been wanting to see a movie about people going on vacations to some exotic locales but most of them usually were bad, even the 1986 CLUB PARADISE was somewhat a let-down. But Sadler somehow had this magical touch to family vacation films, and comedies at that too. Just like his 2011 JUST GO WITH IT. That, too, was accessible and I actually watched it in the theater. And I loved it.

So ultimately I suppose I'd become a believer in family films once more. I just had to wisely choose which ones are more suited to my taste and go lightly with them first.

And BLENDED is a perfect movie that I don't mind watching again and again. Even the characters were fun-loving too.

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

10/10

Great epic rendition to a standalone children's fantasy...and then some!

12 December 2013

Peter Jackson did a brilliant job in taking liberal creative license in bringing out the epic feel of this continuation from a rather innocent book meant for children. This installment is very much different from the first film not just of its epic scale but particularly Jackson's input to incorporate darker themes with more adult-oriented storyline which includes romantic plots.

Right from the beginning I felt that there was some sort of a disconnection or that certain lacking of association from the first film even though this one is a continuation from of the first.

For those who have actually read the book you would have known that one significant addition to this film was the inclusive of the female elf, Tauriel, and her lingering romance with Legolas of whom the latter was not even written in the book.

To make things even more complicated or rather to have that somewhat tasteful twist to it, Jackson even had Tauriel to be emotionally attached to one of the dwarfs, Kili, that in my opinion was the hottest one of all and did not look anything like a dwarf.

But I appreciate Jackson's approach to bring Tolkien's beloved children's book in another direction.

If THE HOBBIT book could be regarded as a standalone fiction on itself then I'm I'm glad that Jackson and his co-writers, Phillipa Boyens and and Fran Walsh, actually took the painstaking effort to link THE HOBBIT films to THE LORD OF THE RINGS especially with familiar characters of Sauron, Galadriel, Saruman and Elrond.

As the title suggests, the film obviously reveals to us the dragon Smaug in all of his glory. And all I can say is that the fire-drake's appearance was simply breathtaking. That was how a dragon is suppose to look like. Somehow, I can't help but to make a comparison between this dragon Smaug to that of the one in Dennis Quaid's DRAGONHEART especially with the authoritative vocalizations provided Benedict Cumberbatch that sounded eerily similar to Sean Connery's vocal portrayal. Nevertheless, I'm impressed by Smaug's presence.

**SPOILER**

However, I do have to say that ending was not what I'd expected at all even though I am fully aware that there would be a concluding episode to the whole HOBBIT franchise coming out next year. And that is the film's super abrupt cliffhanger. As you could imagine from Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy the ending of the first two films had their share of cliffhangers of their own. Yet in THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, the ending was so abrupt that it practically choked many of the audience in the theater. It was that abrupt as if Jackson himself had no idea of how to end the film subtly like THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING or THE TWO TOWERS or other films for that matter.

But needless to say, I am pretty pleased by the outcome of THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.

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