Change Your Image
ASuiGeneris
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againThese films captivate and transport the audience to another place, another world, another dimension for a few hours. The end of the film feels like the waking of a dream...
Reviews
Saranghandago Malhaejweo (2023)
Loud Applause
Minuses:
- Repetition. Overplayed theme song. It is actually a very good song. Oddly with English lyrics, the melody is moving and soothing. Unfortunately, when played at least three to four times each episode (opening with credits, closing with next episode preview scenes, and at least a couple key scenes during the one hour episode), it gets rather tedious. Not only with the next episode preview scenes at the end of each episode, but also throughout the runtime in flashbacks, scenes are often replayed. The replayed scenes are actually very nice when they are replayed from a different character perspective or with significant additional information, but not when it is the same exact scene. Understand that it might be in order to name it watchable as a stand alone episode, but given the frequency, I find that not to be a good enough reason. Viewers who want to watch this as an anthology should have to be forced to deal with some slight confusion, rather than sacrifice precious time for the more devoted audience members.
- Some slow scenes and lulls. There are a few subplots that feel superfluous. Leads to more unresolved side stories.
Pluses:
- Art & Music. Plays a huge role in this series, with the male protagonist being a painter, working as a teacher for hard of hearing students at an art center & gallery as well as painting on the side in his studio at home; and the female protagonist working in a cafe across the street from the art center, to supplement her where her main focus, becoming a stage actress. Her best friend and roommate works as a director. Her childhood male friend is a composer and works in the pop music industry, some supporting characters likewise work within the arts field. Several pivotal moments taking place around trips to the sea, a secret nighttime graffiti artist slash mural painter, a missed concert, her first starring role in a play which he is her support sitting in the audience despite his inability to hear.
- Addressing mental and physical disabilities accurately, compassionately, and eloquently. Besides the most prominent "disability"of deafness and the stigma associated with it, there is the percipacious examination of guilt, trauma, living up to parental and societal expectations, morality in various situations. Male protagonist grew up in an orphanage, and his best friend, a recurring character, was his closest friend there, and is now married to a hard of hearing woman. Somehow, this Korean series successfully manages a meaningful yet sensitive portrayal of all this without becoming contrived and therefore ineffective like so many of its "woke" American counterparts.
- This might be the highest compliment that can be given. Watching this made me almost wish to have a significant other that is hard of hearing. Why? It would force us both to slow down and really listen to each other. To fight to communicate effectively. Because as a man unwilling to hear at all, the male protagonist in this series puts more effort in than anyone to hear and successfully listens better than most fully hearing people, and the female protagonist, although a hearing individual, is compelled to allow down and take her time communicating. She, therefore, also listens better than she probably would with more rushed conversations with a fully hearing person.
Grab bags: ?- This is the epitome of a slow burn. There are many moments where viewers will find themselves impatient and wanting to go so something else or fast forward. Most of these moments will be while the two protagonists are having to slowly type out their words, writing them long hand, use their hands to communicate with sign language, or to repeat things that were not understood, usually very slowly due to the language barrier. But is this not exactly what a hard of hearing individual would have to go through constantly, far more often than expressed in the scenes presented during these one hour long episodes? This very impatience is what makes this series so persuasive in conveying the difficulties faced by those different in society; those deemed abnormal.
The loudest applause for the actors, director, and writers for this powerfully beautiful narrative that plays not only to our eyes and ears that we take for granted, but our hearts.
Sur l'Adamant (2023)
The greatness of what is being documented should not be confused with the greatness of the documentary.
The film is a portrait of the L'Adamant Day Center in Paris. This is a floating building located at the foot of the Charles de Gaulle Bridge on the right bank of the Seine. The unique daycare center welcomes adults with mental disorders from the first four arrondissements of Paris. It offers patients a daily routine that is structured in terms of time and space and helps them to regain their footing in everyday life with therapeutic workshops and psychosocial rehabilitation support. The Adamant team consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists, specialist educators, psychomotor specialists, care coordinators, hospital staff, and various external artists and art therapists.
The Adamant is a most admirable philosophy and program in action by France. But the accolades deserved by the documentarian's choice of study does not equate to accolades for their work. Audiences should not confuse the two. Nicolas Philibert had nothing to do with establishing or even operating The Adamant. He was there, filming it and its people is all.
Uneven. Many slow, even boring lulls, but also some undoubtedly intriguing scenes and sensitive portrayals of troubled minds.
Like in real life, I like my connections in depth. While trying to do the "unintrusive documentation" shtick has its purposes, some stories, like this one, deserve something more personal and less removed. It almost feels uncompassionate and neglectful at times, selectively skimming their stories from behind an invisible wall, randomly inserting interrogations in the disconcerting form of an unidentified voice asking interview questions.
Mad respect for those involved in the day to say operations on this floating refuge, as well as to the courageous individuals who agreed to be documented for surviving another day in the endless battle for meaningful life.
Inside Out 2 (2024)
Anxiety Finally Recognized Appropriately!
Anxiety really is the worst emotion of them all. This might be a grass is greener on the other side comment, but as a lifelong survivor of medication and treatment resistant severe depression, OCD, PTSD, I have to say it. I am glad a widely released film has finally recognized this fact. Because anxiety is often overlooked, the repercussions and its impact not as readily evident as some other negative emotions.
A rare occurrence, this sequel was better to me than the original!
Minus some points for no accompanying short, though! Very disappointing, as it has become an expectation from the very beginning for all Pixar films.
Wirey Spindell (1999)
Eric Schaeffer is his own worst enemy.
This is not quite as bad as the critical reviewers are saying. Although I understand why the low ratings. Eric Schaeffer is a perfect example of a talented writer, director, and sometimes actor who is foiled by his own attitude and self-indulgence. His best films are the ones he doesn't star in; otherwise, his best films could have been even better if he did not insist on making it almost solely for his benefit. You can practically make out his voice screaming "me, me, me!" in many of the films he directed, wrote, and needed to be the lead actor in as well. My favorite from him is actually Boy Meets Girl. It is no coincidence that this is one of the few in his filmography where he is not an actor. Before I Go is also very good. Also no Eric Schaeffer, actor, in that one.
Alas, in this semi biographical Wirey Spindell, Eric Schaeffer stars as the womanizing $#@& who takes us down memory lane as he struggles with doubts for his wedding only days away.
It has a few great moments. Many not so great ones. But what even the naysayers cannot truthfully deny is that Eric Schaeffer does have some excellent writing skills, conveyed with engaging dialogue and the occasional witticism.
A pity, still, that he lets it all go to his head.
Insaeng-eun areumdaweo (2022)
Life Is Beautiful Without Your Cruel Ungrateful Husband
I do not care what else he did, ever. When they first met, after the draft, during her going away party, before she died. Irrelevant. The husband is the biggest *@$& ever. The way he insanely, unashamedly laughed at her when she found out her first true love was actually in love with her best friend was the cruelest thing I have witnessed. Worse than any physical abuse, worse than any conniving adultery. His behaviors the rest of the film was already bad enough. The fact that she kept staying with him all these years, then throughout the road trip as he continued his cruel assault? Unfathomable. Then the fact that she was loving to him, after he laughed in her face like that in one of her lowest moments? Uh, no you didn't. Could have been an 8/10, even a 9. For being one of the only Korean musicals easily accessible out there, for some very colorful and playful musical numbers, and an overall overused but still charming in its moments terminal illness redemption trope plot. But after this villain husband laughed in her face like that, you could even see the complete lack of any remorse in his face; even as she sat there, obviously in devastated shock, he continues complaining about being embarrassed. Can you be any more cruel and selfish?
After that, I was done. Yes, there was some redemption. He was much nicer after they concluded their little road trip, but he still never even directly apologized and the filmmakers carried on as if this was perfectly understandable, that his laughing in her face was excusable did to his complex grieving? Then she even tells him later, "You were my first love after all". Nope. Not acceptable.
Margaret (2011)
Needed Some Darlings Killed!
Am I the only one who feels that Anna Paquin's acting is not the best, but probably the worst aspect of this film? For the entirety of the overlong runtime, but most markedly in the several outlandish scenes with Mr. Aaron, a strangely cast Matt Damon, her reading of the lines was overdone and unnatural. The intonation and pitch, among other things, seemed extremely forced and, well, like acting! In one scene, she accuses Emily of being "strident" and when she gets upset, modifies it to "emphatic". Official dictionary definitions would tell us that the key difference between the two words is the negative connotation that accompanies the former. Well, Paquin's acting and delivery of her lines can be described as strident, not emphatic.
The aforementioned scene is actually an example of the cleverness and wit found in Kenneth Lonergan's script, and I am confident that a book version of this film would garner a much higher rating from me. The premise is ingenious and the story engaging. The relevant scenes were insightful and thought provoking, inviting hours of discussion. Unfortunately, the critical word in that sentence is "relevant", because this lost potential of a masterpiece film was full of irrelevant scenes. Even irrelevant characters. A significant amount of time is dedicated to some high school classroom political debates, which would be quite compelling in another context, but distracting and confusing here, given its inapplicability to Lisa Cohen's narrative. Even the film title is irrelevant! I am actually partial to clever or not obvious film titles, but "Margaret" is neither of these. It refers to yet another inconsequential scene that should have been edited out, more specifically to the Gerard Manley Hopkins poem read aloud in her English class. The narrator in the poem speaks to a young girl named Margaret, who is grieving the death of autumn leaves as if they were dying friends explaining to her that although it feels profound, grieving is an inescapable part of the human condition. This scene is not long enough, nor the message prolific enough to warrant the naming of the entire 3 hour film.
From Salon:
Rarely has a film with such a great cast and so many moments of terrific writing and such high dramatic goals, overdone but beautiful cinematography, been so messy and disorganized and fundamentally bad... like going to a friend's house for dinner to discover that they've apparently had a breakdown, and bought all sorts of delicious ingredients with no recipe in mind: Ice cream followed by lentil soup followed by sashimi followed by uncooked root vegetables, with half-kneaded bread dough and Pinot Noir poured over your head.
True, I watched the 36 minutes longer extended 3 hours and 6 minutes version, but I suspect I would have actually been even more dissatisfied with the shorter versions, since even more subplots were left hanging. Even in this full extended version, too much was left unresolved. Not surprising, given the labyrinth mess of plots and subplots, arbitrary detours and illogical tangents. "Margaret" is a film that would have dearly benefited from some serious killing of the darlings. And one look into the long process and legal drama surrounding the release of this film will indicate that I'm far from alone in this thinking!
Such loss of potential. Could have been a masterpiece. Alas, the best I can grant is a 6/10, and that's even with the extra points that come with any Mark Ruffalo film (stellar as always, even in his limited character time)!
Mul-an-e-seo (2023)
Not All Gimmicks Work
"A director, a cinematographer, and an actress spend the days leading up to a movie shoot together on-location, waiting for the director to come up with an idea for what the film will be about."
Typical Hong Sang Soo. Relatively short, which is a blessing this time, because most of the time Hong's creative choices regarding framing, looping, repetition, time shifts, etcetera are, although gimmicky, somehow handled adeptly and work overall.
Here, the choice to shoot most of the film out of focus, supposedly as a representation of the protagonist's creative block and inability to focus on what exactly he wants, made the viewing experience annoying and distracting. Unlike his other films, this inhibited an involvement with the characters and storyline.
The Fox (1967)
D.H. Lawrence would be ashamed.
Yet another wonderful piece of literature slaughtered by a film adaptation. While that assessment may be a little harsh, this particular adaptation by first time director Mark Rydell only stays faithful enough to the basic story line from D. H. Lawrence's novella by the same name, changing the protagonist names, as well as the time and setting. The lesbian sexual scenes shown are only implied by Lawrence. Shot on location in rural Ontario in a cold, desolate snow filled landscape, this Canadian film managed to nab the Golden Globe for best foreign film in the English language- the only Canadian film to have been bestowed this honor. Its much more controversial claim to fame is the film's involvement in a federal court case on the constitutionality of the state of Mississippi's obscenity statute for including scenes of nudity, masturbation, sexual activity involving Paul and Ellen, and physical relations between two women.
Interestingly, the most glaring flaw in this otherwise engaging enough drama (sometimes for no other reason than "this is so weirdly bad it has to be going somewhere") is the score. A minority opinion, it seems, since it garnered an Academy Awards nomination. Alas, for me it was not only intrusive to the flow of the story, but also felt extremely out of place. The closed captioning humorously described it as "anxious flute tone"; "anxious violin music"; "light and anxious guitar music"; "tense ensemble music". All I know is that it was constant, excessive, and often seemed arbitrary.
Performances were uneven. As nonchalant, stoic, lonely souls, sure, it works. But there was no chemistry whatsoever between any of the characters in this supposed love triangle. Worst is Paul and Ellen. About one hour into the film, Paul sequesters her in the barn to tell her, "I want you. I knew from the first moment that I wanted to marry you." For the audience at least, this is out of the blue. So far, the two characters have shared nothing but passing glances. And not even meaningful ones. Any emotion shown so far as affinity goes were actually between Paul and Banford. In fact, Banford was the one who practically begged Ellen to let him stay on the farm with them in the first place. Obviously uncomfortable, Ellen tries to get around him. After some verbal struggle, she does. However, some time later, in the house this time, Paul again lassoes her into a confrontation by the stairs, by some supernatural force it seems, because I'm every other scene Ellen is a headstrong, stubborn, even brash young woman. It is completely out of character, then, that with no physical force he badgers her to "Say yes. You know it's right. Say you'll marry me." She says no, she does not wish to discuss it. Multiple times. Under no physical limitation to walk away from him, somehow, magically, she crumbles into a milquetoast subservient and says, "Yes, yes, whatever you say, as long as you let me go." As if his voice has some supernatural hold on her.
Later on, before Paul leaves to return to his ship, promising to return in a week to collect his bride, Ellen and Paul consummate their relationship. Still no believability in their chemistry.
While he is gone, Banford finally verbalizes her feelings for Ellen and they, too, consummate their relationship. With slightly more believability in the attraction between the two, but that really isn't saying much. Their feelings for each other finally out in the open, Ellen writes Paul, telling him not to return, because she belongs on the farm with her girlfriend.
Finally, the end comes- not a moment too soon. And not to be outdone, this ending is another hilariously bad, what the *$&@? Moment. Paul returns unexpectedly while the two girls are trying to chop down a towering oak tree. He offers his manly prowess and in a completely illogical battle of wills, he tells Banford to move because the tree "might twist". She, however, insists the oak tree is obviously facing the other way. Close up on his eyes. Zoom in on her squint. Surprise, surprise, the tree falls in the next moment, and she stands frozen in place, doesn't even try to move. She apparently dies instantly. In the next scene, Ellen and Paul are getting rid of her things in the house, ready to move on with their lives together as a couple now. Her farewell letter to him all but forgotten now, apparently. The final frame is yet another bewildering choice. Yes, we understand the intended symbolism of the dead fox skin hanging on the barn door. But the close up on it accompanied by the intense symphonic music reminiscent of horror films feels like a final incongruous tonal shift.
The Fox does have some moments of interest and genuine intrigue, but fails overall.
RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) (2022)
Haters can hate my dislike, but I speak the truth.
Obviously only my opinion, but making a film primarily to flaunt special effects and supposedly great musical tunes, sacrificing a coherent, plausible story, character development, and dragging out a film to an unnecessary three hours, does not equate such rave reviews. Furthermore, the special effects were not even superior. The animals and other animation was clearly fake. I cannot understand why this is such a widely lauded film, critically acclaimed almost unanimously. Not to mention it seeing multiple records for box office success, although that is more understandable than the critical acclaim received.
Maybe something to do with the lyrics being lost in translation, but the Academy Award winning song was slightly above average at best. Admittedly, the accompanying battle scene was exemplary, but that should not be considered in the evaluation for best song. The performances were fine. Everything was average or slightly above average, but weighed alongside the endless seeming runtime, overdone special effects, and sans a good story, it means little.
Would recommend not watching this, but apparently I am in the vast minority here in that everything I disliked is precisely what most other viewers were impressed with here. Possibly because I cannot relate to the underlying nationalist Indian pride, nor the obvious borrowing from the myth Rama, the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu (names included), but I theorize a large part of audience adoration (possibly subconscious) can be attributed to the pro gun, pro war, pro violence stance taken. Would even go so far as to say pro discrimination, with the representation (or misrepresentation) in regards to the caste system, politics, and religion.
Yes, there were several entertaining action sequences, including admittedly creative and innovative directorial choices, but that is what YouTube clips are for. It does not necessitate being forced to endure three hours that includes subpar filler nonsense!
* Vague Spoilers *
Last but certainly not the least flaw with this film is that the multiple character motivation and modus operandi shifts (in both the protagonists), would have been much more believable if they were accompanied by improved character development, less capricious, less extreme, and less frequent. From such deadly, inhumanely savage violence towards each other to sacrificing everything near and dear including their lives for each other, even in the name of national pride versus friendship, would make much more sense in the hands of a more competent director and scriptwriter.
Thelma the Unicorn (2024)
Simple Fun
Glitter, fantasy, pink, unicorns. Check, check, check, check. Another film about staying true to who you are; having fun while doing it! Yes, there are plenty of predictable cliches here, but a fun watch for some distraction. As long as you are you expecting any in depth meaning with lasting emotional influence. Not to say there are not good lessons and themes played on throughout the film, but they are not presented in any way that we have not all seen before. It is based on characters in the book by Aaron Blabey, actually two books. Blabey also did The Bad Guys, highly recommended books + film. These illustrated children's books do indeed follow the same general truth for adult's books- namely, that books are almost always better than the film!
Shigatsu no nagai yume (2017)
Meandering through beauty, finding subtle truths along the way!
About to be cliche, do what everyone else did, remember the quotes, because sometimes it is what everyone else did for a reason.
Dear Hatsumi,
I have written many letters to you, but this will probably be my last. Someone once said that love letters shouldn't be about what you want to say, but rather about what makes the recipient smile. I always had that in mind, but looking back now, I think maybe I just wrote about what I wanted to say. This isn't anyone's fault. It's just the way things are. It's definitely not your fault, so don't believe what they say. Please forget me and be happy.
Kazama Kentaro
You are still young, so maybe you think life is all about what you have. That was what I thought until I got older. Now, I think, maybe life is really about the things we lose. Every time you lose something, you have to discover another piece of your true person.
May the 12th Be with You (2024)
Collect The Memes, Throw The Characters Together!
Synopsis
It's Mother's Day and Marge Simpson takes the moms of Disney+ on a special holiday outing that turns into an epic galactic adventure filled with heroes, villains, and a surprising old friend.
For four minutes, viewers will be assaulted with a myriad of cheap Easter egg references and not funny but certainly a noble amateur awkward attempt laughs.
Alas, taking all the mother's from various Disney owned films, including Star Wars and playing on the Hulu + Disney Plus partnership, throwing them together and haphazardly adding one liners is not equivalent to something watchable, let alone a short film.
Try again, Disney. This time, maybe take at least a few minutes to develop an actual story.
The Inland Road (2017)
Nuanced Grieving
The little things; nuanced, subtle in its creation of an ambiance during the short but sweet runtime. Examination of grief in all its illogical and wild forms. Survivor's guilt. The aftermath.
Minor complaint with the "romance" scene(s) plus the backstory with Tia's tattoo, something revealed almost as an afterthought in the last few minutes of the film. Although, to van Beek's credit, it was done in a mature manner with credible performances, making it plausible enough, given the vulnerability of the characters. However, still feel like it was unnecessary, distracted from the depth and mood.
Excellent debut performance by the young Gloria Popata as 16 year old Tia. A unique coming of age film with her as a runaway, hitching a ride with two young guys which ends in a deadly accident. Fortunately, Tia and Will are only hurt, but left to deal with the gaping hole left by Matthew's death. Tia decides to move in with Will and his wife Donna after the funeral, lost and still not wanting to return home. Near strangers, they are bonded by the unspoken guilt, regrets, and repercussions of the accident. The new widow, May, is too distraught to look after their daughter, Lily, and she is taken to Aunt Donna's house to live for a while. Tia takes to looking after 6 year old girl, often as the adults are arguing, clearly one manifestation of their grieving.
In the softly lit, bokeh heavy scenes, viewers are reminded of why young children are so easy to love sometimes. Lily, impressively played by another unknown actress,Georgia Spillane, reveals an innocence and naivety in regards to her father's death that is simply heart wrenching. Even more so when that innocence must inevitably be eroded. We adults are reminded of a nostalgia tinged fantasy; the time before we were hardened by the trials and tribulations of the world, before the hardships and truths forced us to come to terms with the darker reality that is life.
A film that isn't very loud with anything, but quietly leaves viewers with an aching sadness, but redemption is close behind. Overall, a greater appreciation for life, for that is all we can do during our time on Earth- our best with whatever curveballs we are lucky enough to have thrown our way.
Suzume no Tojimari (2022)
Your Name once meant great things, Shinkai, but now please return to The Place Promised in Your Early Days!
Ah, Makoto Shinkai. How you have disappointed me. I say that with the utmost respect for your art. But, you have officially sold out. How I wish you would return to the work Promised in Your Early Days. Although your two best masterpieces are still 5 Centimeters Per Second & The Garden of Words.
Far too long, no plausibility whatsoever on how Suzume fell in love with Souta. And, somebody correct me if I'm missing something. This entire catastrophe that has befallen the entire world that encompasses the entire film is her fault? Because she removed the keystone and left the door open on the first place?
A couple stars for kawaii talking cat versus anthropomorphic three legged chair. One for some genuinely heartfelt moments, another for the humorous moments. Another star for the gorgeous viewing experience. One for the soundtrack. As for everything else, including the characters, the pacing, the story, the takeaway value? Eh.
I hate to say it, Makoto, but Your Name once meant great things. Now it means nervous trepidation to see how much you have sold out.
Jatuh Cinta Seperti di Film-Film (2023)
Has Cheline watched this yet? I mean Celine.
Not usually a huge fan when it comes to films about making films. Even less a fan of gimmicks in films. But they are used so masterfully here that I couldn't resist finding them endearing and even appealing.
I absolutely adored the parts where Bagus would say what he wanted done in the film, then it would be done. "Imagine in black and white." Abracadabra! Done. Even more amazing when Cheline did it late in the film, "What about racing drones?" Done! "Then the audience would be confused as we scale the building, then it would rush down to chase us from behind, then swing over to a front angle!" Check, check, check! "How about we movers behind her, to show the change?" Voila!
Most of the comedy was obvious, which made it all the more ingenious to leave the Cheline Dion one completely deadpan delivery every time.
Maybe I'm weak to have fallen for the cheap gimmicks and romantic comedy tropes. So be it!
Greed (1924)
Usually the director's version is the best version.
Had this been maybe 2.5 rather than 4 hours, I would likely be giving this a 9 rather than a 7. Provided the appropriate parts were edited out. Contrary to the consensus, I actually felt like the subplots were an asset to the film. It was the extremely uneven time spent in what felt like random aspects of the main story that caused me to struggle to get through it, thus preventing me from granting this am exemplary star rating. When it was good, it was really good. But when it was bad, I was very close to quitting. I did in fact, but came back to it eventually.
Loved the messages in this film, which there are many. The montage like still images mixed with action was both disconcerting and distracting as well as unique enough to add interest to the overall viewing experience. The decision to add the color pop utilizing gold tinting and stenciling was an innovative and laudable one. The deep focus use and various other cinematography and lighting choices were excellent and definitely warrants praise for director Erich von Stroheim. I genuinely wish he was able to let go on some of his stubbornness and allow for a competent editor to kill his darlings!
Yes, I am aware there is a video version that is pretty much exactly what was intimated would be desirable, 133 minutes long. Would I have rated that a 9? We will never know now. There is also the original 9+ hours ones. Would I rate that even lower? We definitely will never know now!
Tsisperi mtebi anu daujerebeli ambavi (1983)
Eh.
Yay for a baiting title. The Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story. Refers to one of the slightly chuckles inducing gag with the protagonist trying to get his script read that is never read. Another one is the Greenland painting that is surrounded by bureaucracy to get removed. Other thing is the irksome motoball league that is somehow always playing outside, supposedly the cause of the building falling apart from the vibrations.
When it comes to humor, am I difficult to impress or is this not my type of humor? You tell me. I chuckled in my head maybe a few times, but other than that it was nothing impressive to warrant the ridiculously high ratings, currently 8.7 & 4.0, IMDB & LetterBoxd, respectively. Used repetition, running gags, in a proficient manner that made for an entertaining enough couple hours, but nothing to write home about!
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)
Insert "Talks About" & Replace "s" With "ing"!
Werner Herzog Talks About Eating His Shoe
This is not a spoiler. It is a fair warning to minimize your expectations as far as the working title goes. They slyly edit out Werner ever actually consuming said leather. It is only alluded to, discussed, etcetera. As far as innovatively preparing a shoe to hypothetically be eaten, it is all here. As far as several wise philosophical quotes from the great German director, yes. As far as him waxing poetic regarding following your dreams and doing what it takes to overcome obstacles to pursue your goals in life, check. Plenty of cameras shutter clicking, interview questions being thrown his way to distract from any actual eating, check and check. Charlie Chaplain doing his version in black and white, got that.
At best we have something akin to a clever child supposedly eating his abhorred vegetables. The brush sprouts are pushed around the plate, tomatoes are patted flat, peas are rolled around, they make dinner table small talk, they point to the beautiful day or moon outside. But was anything actually digested?
Excessive amount of time is spent cutting the food into miniscule pieces. One might be slipped into the mouth. A great show of chewing. More chatter. The five hour slow roasted leather shoe looks like the same size, except now in pieces. We are distracted by his charm, though. Alas, dinnertime over. Showtime over. Did he eat even one miniscule piece? Probably? No matter, though, say most of the audience. We got his intellectual insight.
False advertising. Call me a stickler. I do not deal well with dashed expectations.
La terreur des Batignolles (1931)
Humorous Little Prelude
I adore Henri-Georges Clouzot. So glad his first short film did not disappoint, like so many other beginning works from the future prolific auteurs do. Impressive, in fact, for a short. Storytelling elements already impressive, with it's almost poetic ending. More comedic elements here proportionately than any later feature films. Limited dialogue; the first few minutes are played out like a silent film; a good one, actually, complete with some slapstick and cute kitties scaring the great "Terror". Obviously a low budget film, but excellent nonetheless!
Henri-Georges Clouzot's prelude to greatness.
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Redemption Comedy Drama Thriller! Prepare To Be Assaulted.
Redemption more than revenge. A heart wrenching portrayal by an ensemble cast of a lesser recognized tragedy known as survivor's guilt.
Phenomenal performance from Carey Mulligan, which should be nothing less than expected. Bo Burnham in one of his more serious roles is likewise excellent. "More" being the key word, because his sense of humor is what makes his character so endearing.
Where to begin? Starting with the "checking up on the drunk girl but really taking advantage" trope, walking away the next morning with red donut filling dripping down her arm, obviously a play on blood. The expertly matched soundtrack in minor and pivotal scenes alike. Dean Walker's psychological punishment scene in her office, revealing how different something appears when it is applied to a loved one versus a stranger. The lawyer scene where Cassandra might as well symbolize the Virgin Mary, an exemplary showcase of the fact that most things are forgivable, given true remorse. Gail's enviable friendship and support to the vulnerable Cassandra and the engaging banter the two have. The appealing pop of color palette and set design in both the coffee shop and her home- particularly when Madison pays her a visit. The hairstyles and costume choices throughout, most notably Cassandra's nurse costume for the climactic bachelor party with the bubblegum neon colored wig, of course perfectly matched with actual bubblegum. The symbolic and literal importance Cassandra and Nina's heart friendship necklaces play as they bring the film to its gratifying close.
Difficult choice, but Bo Burnham singing "Stars Are Blind" by Paris Hilton while playfully flirting with Carey Mulligan is probably the funnest scene, but even more so, the most anguishing, given the final realizations Cassandra- us as the audience through her- must come to terms with. Because watching that scene, Bo Burnham was the current reigning dream boyfriend in my book, Mark Ruffalo in "13 Going On 30" some serious competition.
That is, until the eleventh hour. My heart was torn to learn the truth about him, watching Ryan scramble to further cover up as he was confronted, then to finally turn from defensive to selfish pretend remorse, to giving up and lashing out at Cassandra. Alas, everyone makes mistakes, but the important thing is to feel remorse and learn from them and become better, which I so wanted to believe Ryan did. But then he kept letting the opportunities to truly show his remorse slip by. Yes, in the many years since medical school. Yes, even in the current time he spends with Cassandra. Alas, had he only ended his friendship with the guys; had he only had the guts to confess to this girl he claimed he was falling in love with; had he only come clean when the detective came to see him; had he only said something at the wedding!
The fact that long after the credits roll, we are tempted to rationalize Ryan's actions are not only a testament to Burnham's acting, Fennell's casting, directing, and writing, but also to the very real "nice guy" fallacy we do not recognize enough; the idea that the person timid enough to hide behind inaction might be deemed as bad and egregious as the person bold enough to do the crime, as much as our brains and society try to tell us otherwise.
Ending orchestrated beautifully. Enough hints to keep viewers on the edge, but the main twist was still unexpected. Poetic ending that leaves us feeling charged, even though it isn't what one would imagine it to be. No fairy tale ending here, but practically as satisfying.
Family Romance, LLC (2019)
Something To Adopt Here!
"Family Romance is admirable. I think it's an incredible company. You create illusions to make life of your clients better. That should make you feel good. That's really praiseworthy, isn't it?"
"At Family Romance, we are not allowed to love or to be loved. So, I need to be more careful... this time, you should rent a death."
Google will tell you more regarding "Family Rental Service".
A most fascinating and thought provoking business model that I highly recommend we adopt in this country. I would love to work for a family rental service. The closest thing we have to it here is those third party matching websites like rent a friend and rent a date. Not quite the same thing as making a career out of an admirable business the way they show here.
Docudrama style but fictional, making it almost a mockumentary but not quite? Little slow in parts, compensated by beautiful cinematography, almost like a mini travelogue.
Past Lives (2023)
Excellent Introduction To Slow Cinema
Decent performances, gorgeous cinematography. Nice interludes showcasing New York & Seoul. What galls me is that although this is an excellent South Korea film, it is getting far more acclaim than other often superior South Korean films, I would hypothesize because the director was able to distribute through the highly regarded A24 studios and features a few B-List American actors and actress. Yes, I understand this is technically an American film, but it has a large portion of the dialogue in Korean, is filmed in part in Korea, and shares the same character focused, not much action, contemplative cinema philosophies as found much more commonly in Asian films rather than its western counterparts. This demonstrates, to me, the unfortunate lack of exposure for said similar and sometimes superior foreign films that have no American actors and aren't able to afford distribution by a studio like A24.
What makes those other films superior? In other words, what was lacking here? Contrary to some opinions, the only character I could care about was Arthur. His performance was commendable, the subtle facial features and body language that showed his insecurities with Nora, despite an overall confidence in their marriage and knowing his wife. Na Young, Hae Sung, adult Nora Moon and Hae Sung, although fine enough performances, did not convey believable chemistry and I found it difficult sometimes to muster much empathy for their love tragedy. All the emotions induced so poetically by the film were centered on the idea of in-yun and a lost love that is not meant to be, not their specific story.
My greatest aspiration for this film is for it to draw attention to similar East Asian films and maybe even more ambitiously, foreign films as a whole where, yes, viewers might have to pay attention to subtitles and deal with not having Michael Bay superficial ADHD distractors, but will be rewarded will get more meaningful stories!
Aria (1987)
Opera Anthology
Going to be unoriginal here with my comment, which is that this is a mixed bag. Music is great if you love opera. Otherwise, the pervasive vocalizing might border on torturous since it replaces most to all dialogue in the entire film, depending on the segment.
Going to be further unoriginal with my ranking of the ten segments, from worst to best.
Un ballo in maschera by Roeg: Zog looking like a teenage girl with a fake mustache further distracted from the already senseless amateur looking story.
Armide by Godard: Never been much of a fan of this supposed French New Wave "master"; this was no exception. Oh, wow, gay body builders can't be distracted by naked women. Who cares?
La vergine degli angeli by Sturridge: Black & White religious children's redemption? No idea, had to read an explanation to realize, nope, did not miss anything, did not understand because there was nothing to understand.
Nessun dorma by Russell: Surreal dreamlike nonsense, but there were some creative feeling moments with pretty gems with crystals. Sorta brought to mind some Xanadu? 80s?
Abaris ou les Boréades by Altman: We get to watch the audience rather than the stage. Novel approach, at least something different.
Liebestod by Roddam: Tristan und Isolde interpretation along with some childhood nostalgia for me with vintage Fremont Street & Las Vegas. Other than than, literally bloody senselessness.
Glück, das mir verblieb by Beresford: At least it was very pretty with the ornate set design in the desperate Bruges; young Elizabeth Hurley was also pretty.
Vesti la giubba by Brayden: Honestly, it won out because this segment was shown in small parts as intervals between the other nine. Made it much more bearable and allowed for more moments in quiet reflection on the sadness of the protagonist.
Depuis le jour by Jarman: Editing with the flashbacks was done well. The young Tilda Swinton successfully elicited an emotional response with respectable utilization of the music score.
Rigoletto by Temple: By a landslide, the best segment. The only one with a story that actually kept my interest. The only one that made me smile, even laugh a little. The only one that had true artistic merit that persisted throughout. Filmed on location in California's visually fascinating Madonna Inn. Seemed like only a few long shots; camera work was noticeably skillful. Would have given this segment a 7 on its own, maybe even an 8. Every other segment being a 0 to a very generous 5. Yes, the difference was that significant for me.
Dharmaga tongjoguro kan kkadalgun (1989)
Background Buddhism
Great to have on in the background. I am a great appreciator when it comes to slow cinema, but it needs to make enough sense for the viewer to have enough interest to continue viewing. There is slow beauty, there is slow provocative, there is slow whimsical, then there is slow simply for the sake of being slow. And when you add a confusing, meandering, and arguably nonexistent plot to the equation, the slowness because a flat rather than an artful asset.
Probably would have given this a 4 right after the film ends, mostly for the cinematography taken in remote nature. Approaching a 7 after a pondering examination of the Wikipedia plot summary, which explains what I struggled through, disoriented at times. The fact that I had to read a separate article to fully appreciate the film brings me to the 6 stars.
Yes, it presents Korean Buddhism in a creative way. Yes, the mise en scéne is lovely. Yes, the koans introduced by the master monk are fodder for deep philosophical ponderings. But. The slow motion scenes clashed with the overall mood, almost like the director was trying to compel the audience to meditate or be in a hallucinatory state while experiencing his work. The very limited dialogue, paired with the unfamiliar occasional music and things like cow crying or birds calling can be further alienating. Some parts made sense, others might be mesmerizing for someone in an altered mind state, whether that be from drugs or religion or both, others were artful, but the entire film has a slowing, maybe soothing effect. Soothing in a good way or soothing in a make you fall asleep way? I would say more often the latter. Unless you are multitasking and have this in the background! Case in point.
Title Meaning: "The question "Why has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East" is echoed by the young boy's question, "Why have we all left the world?" The entire film can be seen as an answer to that question, so that the film could be said to be a koan.
Garfunkel and Oates (2012)
Brilliance is Born
The beginning of something great. The full series, when eventually released, were amazing. Short songs were shown in full color, like "Pregnant Women Are Smug", the girls' awkward personality whimsies are fleshed out. Easily confused, the eventual show by the same name, but 8 episodes that were each almost 25 minutes each versus the 4 minutes here, made a significant difference. Released by The Independent Film Channel in 2014, but devastatingly only lasted one season until 2015, expands on the female answer to The Flight of the Conchords. While competitions to other stars might typically be avoided, in this case it is a compliment of the highest honor.
Digital shorts released by HBO, this 2012 series is an excellent demonstration of the power of more funding and artistic freedom to develop a promising concept. What was slightly quirky and cute, but lacking any lasting substance here becomes something great; two girls you will fall in love with. Watch this, but only as a prelude to the 2014 Garfunkel & Oates, starring the underappreciated Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, members of the titular musical duo!