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petrichw
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The 20th Century (2019)
don't listen to the others
Fantastic graphics, mesmerizing actors and actresses, the film is fun as hell and makes something as dry as Canadian federal politics in the early 20th century something with a crazy adrenaline kick / drug fever to it. Ive never seen a Guy Maddin film which takes inspiration from but I think it is very unique and I will revisit this film a lot more in the future.
Nightmare Beach (1989)
Corny Death
I don't want to knock this film for what it is. What is it? Its a good time, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and I mean its spring break mixed with a crazy priest who kills spring breakers for being sinners. I didn't believe the main character when he saw his best friend dead. I liked how silly it was but the reason why this is a 6 from me is that its very predictable! I mean no surprise the two main characters who ultimately got into a relationship made it out alive, solved the scooby doo mystery, and hit the highway leaving this forsaken beach town. Felt like stereotypes of people more at times than legitimate people with feelings.
Film d'amore e d'anarchia, ovvero 'stamattina alle 10 in via dei Fiori nella nota casa di tolleranza...' (1973)
The dialog is where the heart is
The dialog before the climax scene (he misses the assassination of Mussolini) reveals important dialog about the many different perspectives of fulfilling the anarchist dream of assassinating Mussolini. Many perspectives are considered and many pieces of the chess board fell into place. Many things about this film make it great (actresses who play prostitutes, as well as Mussolini's strong arm character), cinematography, music, the pacing. Its the dialog here which revealed to me the brilliance of Love and Anarchy. I consider this dialog scene which more power and force than the main characters death scene!
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Like a photograph that sucks you in
There were times where I was so stunned with the cinematography that I thought I was looking at stellar photographs and I had to remind myself oh yeah this is a moving image.
This film has a lot of heart and you can feel it hardcore. I love all of the city of San Francisco depicted (frat boys, singing men on the street, to even the relationship of the two protagonists and their friends who make fun of them).
I love the movement of the film (eg. trolley, skateboard, bus, truck).
There were so many excellent components that worked for this film and debut filmmaker as well as the cast and crew should be really proud of this release. I put this above other films I've seen recently in which they have more training so I expect more from them and was disappointed (eg. Midsommar, Motherless Brooklyn).
Its the commitment to the fine details, the architecture of the house (when the protagonists lived in there versus when the house was open for a viewing and the interior changed), that makes me think highly of this film.
Something I wish they could have explored more in the film was the hazmat suits and the community that opened the film up. If the film contrasted more of what exactly was the air pollution and its impact in that community versus the Golden Gate house community, i probably would have bumped this up to a 9.
Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016)
Its a history lesson with archival film and photos
What a story, eh?
Nitrate film found under a skate rink in Yukon airlifted to Ottawa and this is the unravelling of those films to be functional and for the viewer to be mesmerized by the film. It also kind of acts like a historical book about Dawson City also incorporating still images and text depicted on screen. Its a film where you are left to yourself for a while to take in all this old ephemera and brought back with the curators of the local museum. There are not many films like this and this has left me in awe for many years after seeing it at the IFC Centre.
Not Cool (2014)
I didnt think it would of been this bad but
Out of curiousity, I watched this film since it was talked about online about how bad this film is.
Yes its BAD. Stay away from this. I am giving you that 2+ hours of your life. Don't waste it on this.
The Graduate (1967)
Why do I keep coming back to this film?
Is it because Simon and Garfunkel did the soundtrack?
Is it because it tells the universal story of a sexy neighbor seducing the awkward virgin young man who doesn't know wants to do with his life and then he falls in love with that neighbor's daughter?
Is it the hip LA vibe to it?
Its honestly all of the above and more...
Its one of my favourite films. I love the script.
I love when Dustin's character tries to talk to Mrs. Robinson in bed and she doesn't want to talk to him in return. Plus a bunch of other iconic scenes.
Gisaengchung (2019)
Watched this film before all the Oscar Wins
The hype following this film was real and I saw it at the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto in Dec 2019. And I left that theatre stunned and in a trance of bad ass cinema.
The peach montage scene alone... I think its somewhere between 5 to 8 minutes and there are 60 shots in that. That alone will make your jaw drop.
The detail in this movie is masterful and this does what cinema or what a great movie should do: it should grip you, expand your mind, captivate you, and take you on a hell of a story that involves a fine balance of acting, sound, visuals, and believing in the story. This film did all that and RESPECT!!!!!!
Il posto (1961)
Universality of Capitalism
You have to love a film released 59 years ago thats still relevant.
In our modern age of massive unemployment, fear of gaining employment, and the "im greatful to have a job" mantra that many, including me, have said over this pandemic year.
With that said, I appreciate so many things about this film. The family residing outside the big city and their expectations their son will gain employment, the big city making him one of dozens of eager candidates for a job even though he seems indifferent to get the job. His demeanour seems to change when he meets the young girl and the systemic machine determining those two in different work shifts determines their fate of seeing each other.
The brutal loneliness of this film, the strange feeling of yes im lucky to be employed but ain't i just another clog in the machine?, the fear of not really going after what one really wants to do in their life...its depicted in this film very well.
One thing is certain. If someone leaves their work position, the desperate workers will fight with each other to "move on up". In the film, the moving on up looks more symbolic than actual dollar figures / power.
This is a film that will stand the test of time as long as people continue to conform to what the big corporation machine asks of them: their time and to be exploited.
This film shows us two young characters who are not exposed to this system that leaves workers drained however not completely drained with that wonder NYE event that happens near the end of the film.
Hereditary (2018)
Scary Good
Toni was too good in this movie. The little creepy girl, and the young son, and the creepy friend that befriends Toni at the support meeting was all convincing. Even the stiff husband of Toni too. Loved the aesthetic of the house, the colors, and the story of Pagan haunting the household.
Colin Stetson's soundtrack holds up very well here.
Anything I did not like? Because of that head pole scene, and the body freeze scene in the classroom, this makes me want to not watch the film again. Aster uses these body disfigure scenes it seems not just here but Midsommar too, and its usually these scenes that stick out like a sore thumb.
I think the film could of been stronger if there were scenes of the grandma doing pagan ritual scenes, shown when she was alive, and instead of the big reveal at the end have a little more pagan sprinkled throughout the last hour (kind of what I said about Midsommar too). Instead of reading a book about Pagan mythology, maybe Toni's character stumbled into a Devil Church and walked into it out of curiosity and all the same people in that church were present at the cabin in the last scene.
Midsommar (2019)
Hype over substance
Its weird to say I really wanted to love this film. I watched Hereditary and thought it was great; thought Ari and A24 would deliver big time here. All i knew about this film (for a year) was that epic flower dress Dani wore and even a friend of mine dressed up in that flower dress at my work once. I thought how cool that was and this film was going to deliver!
What went wrong? Too cliche. One by one, the foreigners were picked off by the Hårga people. C'mon! Even in Sweden, they fall into this common American familiar movie trope.
Important Q: How long can you watch a film where you can't stand one of the key characters? That's how I felt with Christian even though Dani was also hard to keep an attention span for.
Credit is given where its due: I loved the colors of the Hårga village, loved their togetherness and their shared emotions towards crying and orgasms, the illustrations foreshadowing what will happen, loved the vast difference with their lifestyle versus the main cast in America, the music score was fantastic, and the idea of a horror in the daytime is very smart.
Instead of the last 10? 15? minutes where everything is exposed (the butterfly organs shown of the one British resident in the shed Christian sees, showing the human scarecrows, showing Josh's leg in the garden, I think the film would of been much greater if this was exposed maybe over the span of 30 or 40 minutes, maybe over an hour. So it becomes less of a "we know the Hårga people are killing the young tourists, just waiting for the reveal" and more of a "we are actively killing these tourists and the audience would get a better understanding of their lack of empathy towards the tourists". It would of made the film more fascinating than the cliche way it was delivered.
Lets start with the British couple, it was so obvious the Harga people killed them but if they showed scenes of the couple's fear and the Harga indifference, maybe that would of made it much more sinister for the ultimate ending with Christian and Dani.
O.J.: Made in America (2016)
Masterclass of documentary film
Sure you can say its too long. But its this long because it NEEDS to be this long. Other films, such as The Irishman and Motherless Brooklyn are too long. They could have been cut down. This film, this 8+ hour long film, figured out how to appropriately represent all it needed to say in this length of time. I constantly think of this film in the highest standard and I could care less about football!
Delivered Vacant (1992)
Watched this at UnionDocs (NYC)
And its one of the best films I've ever seen.
Shot over eight years, the length of the film suits the story. We get a glimpse into the worlds of the gentrification process (e.g. city council, housing advocates, real estate sellers and developers, the Hoboken citizens, the yuppies, etc). A master class of documentary film.
Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019)
I binged GoT during the pandemic
My best friend constantly told me: YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS SHOW, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
I went to work with people who went on and on about this show; geeked out about the set design and elaborate world building.
My old roommate invited me to a GoT watching party back when I lived in NYC; I declined.
I briefly dated someone who went to watch new GoT episodes with her family after we hung out.
I was slowly convinced that this show was a blessing to humanity and that I truly was missing out on this phenomenon.
So my best friend told me again, you need to watch this! (hes been telling me this for years). I tried once and stopped 3 episodes in because I was bored. However, this year I binged GoT and was hooked on Ep4 S1 and everyone was right. This show was truly special... until about the end of season 4 (maybe season 5).
So here we go. Its been many months since I've watched this episode but lets go! Dany becomes hitler. The metaphorical dragon burning the throne. Jon Snow somehow not being put to death and being allowed to go to the wall. Bram the broken becoming king. Its shocking how bad this show became and in a weird way I appreciate being one of the many fans who felt betrayed through this writing process from D&D. Catharsis through the pain of bad writing.
Why is this 4 and not 1? I gave those stars for the production crew, the acting, and basically everyone involved that wasn't the writing team.
Why is this important to write this review now? I'm not sure I have the answer to that but I wanted to make sure to add these two cents on here!
Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
Show, Don't Tell and its Two Movies as Once
1. Show, Don't Tell
There were many scenes I thought where you see characters such as William Defoe's character just telling Edward's character about who his brother (Moses) is. All the maneuvering, politics, master of puppets pulling the strings kind of thing. Norton could have showed all of this but instead chose to tell with Williams character. Especially a character like Moses, people familiar with Robert Caro's The Power Broker (like me) were disappointed to just to have a film tell me all this versus showing me all this. Imagine all the exciting b-roll of Alec's Moses evoking his power across the city. I would of bumped this up to an 8 for a change like that.
2. Two Movies at Once
I really felt like Norton was trying to cram two different movies into one. I understand the connections Moses and his brother had with Laura and the jazz bar family but I kept thinking "what is this story about" and "what doesn't belong here" some storytelling advice I received when I took a storytelling course many years ago.
Acting is strong, and the film is visually stunning. There were a bunch of cliches (Laura and Edward's character being saved by the trumpet player on the roof especially) and I think this could have been edited it down!