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The Last of Us: Look for the Light (2023)
A fantastic, though imperfect, finale
As someone who already knew what was coming from the games, this finale hit all the important notes incredibly well. It also featured some of the most superb acting in the series, especially in scenes such as Joel telling Ellie that it wasn't time that healed his wounds or the ending scene when Ellie asks him to swear he isn't lying. So much is said through facial expressions and eyes alone. My only very minor criticism is that maybe at times things felt just a tad rushed. (Spoilers ahead) Joel's decision to save Ellie even though it dooms humanity is the biggest moment in the season and first game. I think for the most part it was executed perfectly, but I would've loved a bit more of a buildup of just how serious the consequences for humanity are if Joel were to try and save Ellie. This would have then made it even more powerful that it was such an easy decision for Joel - something the director and Pedro did a great job of conveying. The scene itself was beautiful, and the sound editing was perfect to emphasize just how shocking and dark it was. Another small-ish criticism is that the fight was a little too easy. I know they explained that Marlene's troops were beaten up and nearly killed on the way there, but Joel should have had a bit of a harder time fighting 10ish soldiers, especially after the show has addressed his aging reflexes and stuff.
Minor criticisms aside, I still loved this finale and loved the overall season. The main notes in this episode hit perfectly - from the opening scene (with Ellie's original VA!), to the giraffe scene, to all the little moments between Ellie and Joel.
I cannot WAIT for season 2! If you have not played the second game, do your best to avoid spoilers. And if you have - keep it to yourself :) Seriously, it's fun to watch others experience a storyline for the first time.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Unique, exciting, funny, touching... literally "everything", as the title implies.
This is a movie for which I came in with no expectations or prior knowledge, except something about googly eyes. Having watched the trailer after the fact, I think I still would not have been prepared for just how absurdly fantastic and out of this world EEAAO would be. This movie is probably one of the most unique films I've ever seen. It's not simply the visuals as others have pointed out that make this movie so different. It is also the direction, storytelling style, humor, and just the entire vibe of the movie, which blends and shifts between different elements and styles as fluidly as our protagonists shifts between versions of herself.
The writing and direction here are top notch. While it does rush through the specifics of how the multiverse travel works, it explains precisely enough for you to follow along while not boring the audience with too many details. The main plot is laid out early, and is relatively straightforward, but still has enough twists and turns along the way to make it really fun and interesting. Our main antagonist and the main plot device are... fantastic, you'll see. The writing really shines when it comes to character development. This is heightened due to us of course seeing multiple versions of each character. We are able to see how characters differ in various universes, but also the core things that stay the same and really make each character who they are. More so than any other multiverse movie (which there are a lot of these days), this film really uses the alternate versions well as vehicles in order to further develop the main versions of our protagonists. A big part of this is the direction, and how the jumps between different multiverses are shot and timed. This is especially incredible during fight scenes, in which it will often quickly snap back and forth between the different versions of characters. It looked really slick and I'm in awe at how they were able to film it so well.
As far as the acting - every single member of the cast was so superb. Michelle Yeoh was INCREDIBLE, I truly hope she gets nationwide recognition for her work here. She had amazing stunts as always, but also had scenes in which she could really showcase her acting and comedic timing. Ke Huy Quan, the actor who plays Waymond, was equally superb in my eyes. Some of you might recognize him as the little kid from Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom! His entire character is so unique, playing mostly a fragile man with a high pitched voice, but he really shines in ways you would not expect. He has one of the most memorable and well delivered scenes in the whole movie, which nearly brought me to tears. It seems he does not act much anymore but I would love to see him in more stuff. Stephanie Hsu, the daughter, was also fantastic and brought an amazing charisma to the movie. Good ole reliable James Hong did his thing as always. Probably the most interesting and funny performance to me was Jamie Lee Curtis as Deirdre, the IRS lady, who had some hilarious moments throughout the movie. All in all a stellar job from the entire cast.
While I will likely need a second watch to try and fully grasp the message here (though not every movie has to have one), I did have a few takeaways on initial watch. I think this film really tries to tell us to appreciate what we have, even though it is quite literally focusing on the "what ifs" that lead to the alternate realities. Again without spoiling, each version of our protagonist has some flaws (some REALLY weird ones as you'll see) or some regrets. Applying this to just our non-multiversal reality, we tend to focus on what our peers around us have that we don't, when we should actually realize that everyone has things they regret or feel are missing. We should instead focus on fully cherishing the life we have and loving the people immediately around us. Another message, closely related to the first, seemed to be that we should sometimes slow down and just soak in what is around us rather than constantly worry about what is next. One particular scene involving silence and rocks especially drove this home. This soundless scene was placed so perfectly in the middle of a super audio-visual movie, and really made me feel how nice it was to just soak in the silence sometimes.
A24 absolutely killed it with this one. I cannot wait to see what they have in store next. And I sincerely hope this film gets the recognition it deserves and wins awards. 10/10.
Pig (2021)
Some very important things you may have missed (Spoilers below)
I feel a few people here have really taken this movie completely at face value and come away thinking it is a boring movie about a dude trying to get his pig back. Let me try and share a few of the really outstanding storytelling bits I noticed upon initial viewing.
Firstly, I think the whole reason Robin (Nic Cage) is actually so devastated about the pig is that he never properly dealt with the trauma of losing his wife. He stops playing that tape at the beginning as soon as you hear her voice because he doesn't want to deal with the memories it will bring back up. Throughout the quest to get his pig back he finally starts to properly grieve for his wife and get closure with old friends and acquaintances. When he says "because I love her" in response to Amir's "why are we doing all this" he was talking about both his wife and the pig.
Now a scene that I did not fully understand at the time but thankfully a friend I watched with helped me understand - his old backyard and the persimmon tree. He's talking about Hachiya persimmons, which are absolutely gross and inedible until they are extremely overripe. The fact that the persimmon tree is no longer there represents his hope for a future being dashed even before it could bear fruit. So the scene with the kid and the tree was meant to represent that he had a dream to have a family, which got dashed when his wife passed away.
At the end when Amir asks if he is alright he goes "... yeah" and actually seems to mean it - as he has finally properly dealt with his grief. In the final scene, he is able to sit and listen to the whole cassette.
As far as the lack of action: his story was never meant to be a John Wick / Taken esque revenge story. Even after he finds out his pig is dead, he still doesn't harm the guy who did that to him. Same with the kids who hit him at the beginning and stole the pig in the first place. Where 99.9% of people would immediately think of revenge and hurting the person who wronged you - Robin chooses to try and reach his enemy on a human level. Something you scarcely ever see in movies or otherwise. Of course Amir's father is shown to be making the same mistake of trying to avoid dealing with grief - forcing his wife to stay on life support even with no hope of recovery, and burying himself in work to avoid thinking about her.
I think perhaps if you came into the movie with certain expectations - you would be disappointed. But if you really give it a chance and try and chew on the dialogue and read between the lines, especially when a scene (like the persimmon tree) seems random, you will have a great experience.