Reviews

Character psych doesn't always appear to track smoothly, feels more like a story than a study and the summation is a touch too moot for me, but the good points counterbalance all this well. Especially for a crowd-funded indie. The point's clear enough, some really good musical choices, solid casting, etc.

Continuing the time-honored tradition of gloriously bleak Russian movies about the cathartic Job-ness of Russian (and human) existance. A la 'Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman'. A tear-jerker on paper, but also one where the total transcends the parts' sum. Thanks in no small part to the wonderful cast, lead by an actress whose often-understated choices - relentlessly breath uniqueness and soul into this experience. 4.4/5

Exquisite attention to detail. Damn near immaculate really. Every frame, every detail - seeming to've been very thoroughly and effectively thought-out. Yet all this, without anything that struck me as over-pushing or over-selling. Deeply impressive; not just for a movie lover or a comedy lover in general, but also for someone who is not entirely unfamiliar with the specific subject matter at hand.

This is and will no doubt stay - one of my very favourite among this year's offerings.

After listening to the corresponding YMIW podcast, I was fully prepared to be slightly or more-than-slightly disappointed - but nope. It's just about every bit as strong as ol' Pete cracked it up to be.

Also nice to see Peele doing some real sh!t, like I long suspected he could.

As well as to hear some like-minded thoughts on SNL. E.g. That, though not without certain gems, it's more self-important institution than consistently funny.

Ideas like: no problem can endure if you throw enough vaginas at it (i.e. because women are all saints while men are the root of all evil) or that some kid can reasonably be blamed for what his country/race did, long before he was born - such ideas aren't just simplistic - they are THEMSELVES profoundly bigoted. They are the point where the progressive left becomes the regressive left. When the fight for inclusion, becomes merely a fight between two forms of exclusion. When the fight against racism and sexism, merely becomes a fight between two opposing expressions thereof. While truly judging people, first and foremost by the content of their character - ceases to be an option. US lefties are admittedly not as bad as the righties on this YET, but you nonetheless simply cannot cure bigotry with more thereof. Life just doesn't work that way. Case in point: their ever-gleeful "straight white men are all privileged sh1tlords and it's over for them" sentiment and Trump's election. But aside from allowing his rhetoric to sometimes become clouded by his "mommy'll fix everything" fetish and the like - Moore does an admirable job here of putting together some rather fascinating and compelling case studies.

Some mere clanging cymbal, this thing sure ain't. Basquiat is one of those rare biopics for me, that's not just wonderful - but one of the best things I've ever seen. And this reaches damn near those same heights. Perhaps even more unwaveringly so. With every scene, every glance, every breath, every choice - seeming to BOTH accentuate the ultimate point AND itself be chock-full of genuinely felt, thought-out, inspired substance.

Constituting a vivid, piercing reminder--after all the great filmmaking I've come across this year--just what a chasm there is between an excellent piece and a masterpiece.

"But besides that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the show?" - may just be the single greatest line in the history of lines. Much less in this context.

I really liked this one and hope that a day will come when we can be grown-up enough to own our flaws/addictions without the hypocrisy of these things being successfully used as trump cards against any and all our ideas. No matter how peripheral their relation. Because I don't care who you are - you too are stuck in the no man's land between your addictions and your superpowers. Whether you know/admit it or not. While the former are just like house-mold. Few countermeasures work as well as daylight and free-flowing air.

That earlier-mentioned day may never come. Especially so in politics, where it might just be needed most of all. It certainly won't come easy. But it's just as certainly worth fighting for. If anything ever was. And Weiner, in all his disgusting, beautiful human glory - sure does his part. Whether he means to or not.

Oh and *spoiler alert* is it just me or did Huma prove her humanness by defying Clinton here? I hope so.

I have three main points to make: (1) An extra star here is for the subject matter being an ongoing and seldom-covered atrocity (as opposed to yet another Holocaust film or somesuch). (2) I dreaded seeing this to be honest, but it turned out to be well, well worth it. Like many of Weisz's projects. (How surprised I would be if SHE turned out to be a shitty person.) (3) This is the sort of "strong female character" I'll wholeheartedly celebrate. Any day. Instead of the posy bullshit so fashionable these days. Just as douchebags come in both sexes and are equally gross, so do genuinely awesome humans like Bolkovac and Weiz. Maybe one day this difference will become easier for us to recognize.

Awesome in every way, but potentially one. And it's a huge one, which I'd very much like to be wrong about. From my experience, when you house a bunch of kids together (any kids, but especially kid with serious parent issues, some as old as 17) - it doesn't take long for things to descend into some real Lord Of The Flies territory. And often. I.e. For them to spend a hefty portion of their overflowing, youthful energy and creativity - straight torturing each other. The corresponding bureaucracy too, having a selection effect where people who genuinely, objectively care - get unceremoniously weeded out.

I'll trust for now that the guys who made this film know something I don't, but if this representation of what a "taken away" kid is likely to encounter in such an institution is an uncharacteristically rosied one - I'd have to call this film extremely irresponsible. Because if not doing ones due diligence here, is likely to result in even one kid getting over-hastily thrown into what I suspect to be much more of a meat grinder - that would absolutely mangle all of this film's ample strengths.

I liked the Newton and the stylus, etc. etc. But Jobs did have me for a while there. In fact, after scrupulous, even desperate, research - the Pismo became the first computer I bought. And even though I never bought a newer Apple - it did serving me well for many years (try as Apple might to push me into upgrades). I think Jobs was mainly a fashion visionary. But, as much as I hate to admit this - fashion is a huge part of human history. And his impact thereupon - is indeed likely to run very deep.

I don't know how accurate this portrait is. I honestly don't. But it is certainly a well-painted one. Depicting a man with just the stuff needed - to said impact. At a particular moment in time. A portrait which allowed itself an unusually rich range of shades and colors. Largely so, thanks to its minimalism. Its willingness to do away with much of the clutter that usually drags such films down.

Such a painfully typical and yet utterly unique story - all at the exact same time. And despite this being the case for all our stories - said juxtaposition remains an ever-difficult one to capture. Success in so doing, most always constituting the mark of a great film. Another ever-illusive and critical such juxtaposition largely pulled off here - is to help empower on the one hand, and yet to do so honestly on the other. Instead of spouting proud PC (black/elderly/latin/native/girl/etc.)- power escapism propaganda - peddled by so many lesser films. Abandoning honesty/objectivity is just so rarely worth the grave corresponding price. While honest empowerment, most always transcends simple-minded, biological-marker-based team-think.

And so, ultimately, this is one of those comparatively few films - which makes me genuinely happy it exists. Minor warts and all.

What are we going to do when genocide visits a group near us? Where are we going to fit? Truth be told, all things being remotely equal - most of us won't stand in solidarity with the victims. Not if we can help it. Instead, we'll pick our places, our helpful roles. From those roles that there are left for us to pick. As so many have before us. And so many others are doing as we speak. Some such roles will be harder for us to fulfil, but some - will be surprisingly easy. And either way, given the opportunity, most of us will manage. We'll put in our hard days' work and earn our keep and even advance our positions. This film is about just such laborers. Grunts, who found themselves slipping snuggly into those ageless roles of killers and torturers. With inspiration and joy.

This film is very much a unique journey into the heart of human darkness. In many ways. Not least of which, is that both the protagonists and their acts - are still openly celebrated by their countrymen. Leaving them with little but their own thoughts to fear. Few scenes illustrate this point more vividly than the big interview in the middle of the film. Which I'm unlikely to ever forget. Caesar Flickerman's work pales utterly in comparison. Life outdoing fiction ever again.

Ultimately, what I love about this film most, is how much deeper it aims than merely summoning another fruitless outrage choir. It is a character study fist and foremost. An attempt to understand how people who've played these parts so fully - deal. As with most all truth, when it is illuminated THIS vividly by art THIS brilliant - the answers feel both alien and as though they've been in there all along.

Let me put it this way. Before seeing it for myself, my sense (from the previews and interviews and whatnot) was that this could very well be a shameless, pointless tearjerker in disguise. And now, after seeing it, I'm relieved to say that this is not at all what I found to be the case. Does this film contrast the interactions that take place between two people when the chemicals inside their bodies induce closeness, with those that take place between these same two people when those chemicals wear off and new ones take their place? In short: is this about relationship problems? Yes, it certainly is. But instead of doing what's easy and jerking us around by our tear ducts - this film instead, sets its sights on what is most difficult. It does all it can to see these things for what they really are. And it does this brilliantly. Perhaps so, while being a tad kinder to the male ingredient of this this equation than its female counterpart (which is a bit suspicious given the creator's own gender), but brilliantly nevertheless.

An intelligent and highly believable study of violence's seeds and some of the elements which can help these seeds germinate. A study that allows us a place within the main character's mind, throughout his sad journey. The fact of the matter is that generally, physical violence is an inherent need pertaining to most kids. Doubly so boys. Triply so boys whose families are disintegrating. Discipline/reality-checks, help this need subside. Without this, the need only grows. It is a very difficult thing for us to deal with in healthy ways. Especially at an age when our brains (the only tools that can help us deal) are undergoing so much literal reconstruction. When this need is ignored, the results are often both painful and permanent. Moral of the story? Worst case scenario, kid's got a temper, spending time together isn't working, don't know what to do - enroll him into a good MMA school. Or Jiu Jitsu or Karate, anything really. Anything that provides him a safe way to channel this pent up need on one hand and yet also provides controlled reality-checks and discipline on the other hand. It isn't the perfect solution, but often, it is by far the lesser of all the evils at hand.

Docs simply don't get much better than this. The info is about as: important, relevant and hard to come by, as it gets. The presentation feels balanced and objective, with no hard-sell whatsoever. My other gripe with many documentaries I've seen, is that they seem to take a certain set of little known facts (which could easily be boiled down and shared in a minute or two) and find ways of drawing this information out over an hour and a half (using various techniques: somewhat self-conscious "journey of discovery" narratives, 50's clips, endless background information, etc.). Sometimes this works, but often it just feels like filler. This information however, decidedly fits the full-length documentary format like a glove. The human/emotional/psychological element depicted so well here, is simply indispensable to the story at hand. Impossible to communicate with "just the facts ma'am" (of which there is no shortage here either).