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jacob-scheer90
Reviews
Gone (2012)
So forgettable it must stay gone.
"Gone (2012)":
* out of ****
I usually try not to look at Rotten Tomatoes scores before watching a movie that's been out for awhile. I really messed up this time. This time I should have looked, and it would have saved me an hour and a half of my life. With a score of 12% on the Tomatometer, I can confirm there as absolutely no joy to come from this movie. It is predictable with half-assed acting and features a script so poorly and lazily written it was almost as if they expected this to be a straight-to-video bomb and gave up. This film should disappear and stay GONE.
Gisaengchung (2019)
This One is a Game-Changer
In 2006, when I went to an art house movie theater, I saw Bong Joon Ho's campy but awesome sci-fi horror monster movie "The Host." I was only 16, but I made sure from then on I would see all the things he directs.
When he began getting so much praise and attention in 2019 for "Parasite," I was a little worried. I wasn't a fan of "Snowpiercer" (although it is well crafted), and when he worked with Netflix in 2017 to direct "Okja," I was even more disappointed.
But this afternoon, with my parents, I saw "Parasite" at Cinemark before the Oscars. As my previous review of it says, it is now one of my all time favorite films I've ever seen. I figured, however, given the Academy's fancy for war films, I just knew "1917" would take home the award for Best Motion Picture of the Year, and in all fairness, that was an amazing film. When Jane Fonda opened the envelope and stared for a moment, I was worried that the one film I wasn't terribly impressed with, "Ford v. Ferrari," was the winner. Again, that was a technical feat for sure, but in my book it was the only one nominated for the best pic category that I felt it didn't deserve the win.
Jane Fonda, with surprised grandness (and obvious shock), announced that one word: "Parasite." There are many films that have won Best Picture that I've gushed over (remember my obsession with "The Shape of Water"?), but this announcement made my heart leap with elation; that same sensation you get when your crush kisses your cheek and whispers "I like you too."
Bong Joon Ho...I am so happy for you.
Twenty Million People (2013)
A Romantic Comedy Set in a Real World
Michael Ferrell's "Twenty Million People" breaks the romantic comedy standards and guidelines. I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing this film at my college in Wyoming where actress Devin Sanchez attended awhile back. The chemistry between the love interests as well as friends (mainly Ferrell's and Chris Prine's relationship) feel natural beyond such films like Judd Apatow's "Funny People" or "Knocked Up." This film reminded me much of Woody Allen's "Play It Again, Sam," with it's deep relational reluctances of getting too close. Not only is the story refreshingly original, but its locations and shooting styles are beautiful. Not many films are shot in Jersey City, so each unique location has a flavor of something new and tasteful, not the overused club and Broadway scenes of New York. For anyone wanting to understand not just love but true friendship, I highly recommend this film. Keep an eye out for these three...they're going to be big.