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Pineapple Express (2008)
Overrated? Please.
In light of the disappointment of THE INTERVIEW, looking back on PINEAPPLE EXPRESS gives me even more appreciation for it. The use of comic timing was incredibly refreshing, and there were so many moments of off-beat humor that made me laugh my ass off. Much of the humor comes from the main duo's incompetence in all situations, due to their consumption of the devil's lettuce, and that might not seem like a good setup. However, there are some clever nuanced moments that are quite well-crafted.
Granted, I don't think the humor is for everyone and some moments are cringe-inducingly childish, but there's something to be said for this awkward, comedy-of-errors type feel that's present in this film.
A masterpiece? By no means.
Hilarious? Hell, yeah.
Overall, if you want to have a good time with a movie that isn't COMPLETELY brainless, but don't want to think too much, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is the comedy for you.
Paper Towns (2015)
Paper Towns
Let me start out by saying I never read the book, so I can't possibly have any beef in that area. I also didn't see TFIOS previous to this, so I can't compare. However, I was extremely unimpressed by this movie overall.
I was impressed when the anti-climax came, and Margo basically just told Quentin, "Hey, you're crazy for coming all this way. Nothing I did actually was meant for you in any way." At this point, I was thinking, that's pretty ballsy for them to lead all the way up to this nihilistic shattering of idealism for Quentin.
And then they just half-assed it.
I was disappointed when the ending came and they tried to sort of flip it around, like, "Wait, no, it DOES have meaning, see? They had fun!" If they had stuck to the tone of that scene with Margo and Quentin in the parking lot, I would've given this a 6 or a 7 out of 10, even though the rest was just average.
I liked some of the other characters' small changes and the flirting with the idea that they're all going away to college to never see each other, but Quentin's character arc was simply not there. He started as just a spectator, and ended as just a spectator.
Overall, I give this a 5/10 for just being a mediocre movie overall, and the pacing feeling a bit strange sometimes.
Srpski film (2010)
Gratuitous and tasteless, but worth a watch.
First off, I can't comment on this film's supposed metaphor for Serbian "rape" of the people, but I don't think the narrative was very motivated or well thought-out. I'm reviewing the art itself, not the surrounding buzz.
Werner Herzog once said of WrestleMania that we should not avert our eyes, because this is what is coming at us, and I think the same can be said for A Serbian Film.
Credit where credit is due, the lighting and color palette of this movie were extremely impressive. Every scene was lit well for the tone, and most of it is ugly, but with purpose. In the flashback scenes in the latter part of the film, the blown out reds in some of the scenes provided a dissonant color scheme that accompanied what we were seeing well.
Technically, this was a well-put-together film, but it's just torture porn at heart. The narrative feels so contrived just to put together these gratuitously twisted scenes, and one could make an argument that the character of Vukmir is the reason for that, but I couldn't help feeling taken out of it by how clear it was that the plot is just a crutch for more baby-rape, necrophilia, etc.
Despite giving this a 4/10, I'd recommend it to anyone who can stomach it, simply because I think everyone should decide for themselves whether or not pushing everything to the limit like this is really worth it.
I'm not someone who will write off a movie simply for being transgressive art, but A Serbian Film has nothing going for it BUT its exploitative, over-the-top nature.