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Under the Silver Lake (2018)
Boy, I love this damn movie
This is one of those rare movies where you watch and it just feels like it was made specifically for you; you were the exact intended audience. I like thrillers; check. I appreciate older classic movies, especially those Noir movies from the 40s like The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, or Out Of The Past, to name a few; this movie references that era and is like an homage to those yarn ball detective stories. I love to get deep into the weeds and analyze movies, ponder the subtext, is it a metaphor for something, what does this or that symbolize, solve a mystery, come up with my own theories if elements are ambiguous or open ended; I was able to do all of this with this movie.
I identified so much with Sam; we're about the same age, we're both products of a 90s childhood. I don't particularly like children; there's a scene where Sam literally fights kids in the street; it's a little extreme but I enjoyed it thoroughly. There are bizarre and absurd elements, unresolved/unexplained plot lines. Subliminal messages, hidden messages, conspiracy theories, secret codes, hidden propaganda in advertising.
Of course, Sam goes down this rabbit hole, he practically needs it. Nothing else going on in his life. He's probably unemployed. Still reeling from a breakup where we can assume he screwed up a really good thing. What better distraction from his own aimless existence than solving a mystery?
The main plot does have a concrete resolution so it didn't bother me that others were left unresolved, I enjoyed all the left turns and detours down the rabbit hole. Parts felt like horror, dark comedy, character study, drama, and mystery/thriller obviously. Hallucination? Is he high right now? Who is the Dog Killer? The Owl's Kiss? That piano man? Doesn't matter that we don't know. That doesn't always work well for a movie, but I felt like it did in this case. I was engaged and entertained the whole time.
I think the final bit with that neighbor lady's bird was a little example that kinda sums up the whole movie: What is that bird saying? We don't know. It doesn't matter. It's a mystery to solve. It's interesting and fun to speculate and theorize. "Oliver!" "Holy f##k!" A friend of mine suggested it's the bird imitating the sound that woman makes when she orgasms. We don't know. We assign meaning to things that are meaningless and trivial. Like Vanna White's blinking "patterns" and eye movements. What makes us want or need to believe that there must be some deeper meaning, message, reason, or agenda behind some little random detail we just happened to notice and we can't stop seeing it?
Listen to me, I'm rambling again. Welp, that about sums her up, I guess. I love this movie. A24 strikes again. This may not be for everyone, but I know I certainly dug it. BTW, this overall rating should be no less than 7 of 10, just saying.
Envy (2004)
Quirky, quotable, off-color, and original. Not for everyone, but I loved it and enjoy it every viewing.
This movie has become one of my favorite comedies and I feel the need to express my opinion about it. I can understand if it's not your cup of tea, but I will never understand how anyone could HATE it; maybe audiences had certain expectations because of Jack Black and Ben Stiller. It has a simple yet very original plot for a comedy; I've never seen one quite like this. The whole cast is great. Probably Christopher Walken's best cameo-type supporting role; some may argue that he steals the show. Even the soundtrack is funny. It definitely has the potential to be a cult favorite. It is very quotable, especially Walken's lines. It is mainly a plot driven type of comedy, but still connects you to the characters along the way. So, ignore all the hate and watch it for yourself before you blow it off as crap.
If this was your cup of tea, I also recommend these other comedies: Gentlemen Broncos, Napoleon Dynamite, Clear History, The Big Lebowski, Election, What About Bob?, Extract, And Super(Rainn Wilson)