Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black, American Pie) is trapped in a Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadooloop until she learns to swim, and catches the rhythm of the strokes..... COMPLETELY clichéd, but oddly watchable, if only for the creative ways she keeps managing to off herself, in spite of desperately trying not to.
Jeez that was a tough episode to watch, I thought this was supposed to be a feel good comedy farming show! :cry:
The real question is why the hell did the guy charge money for snacks at the white house?
The movie might be showing its age, or maybe I'm showing mine. The structure just felt off. The pacing was much too slow until the last quarter. There's something grating about Maverick's character—there's supposed to be, but I couldn't really find anything to like about him. And of course the romance is entirely unnecessary, but that's been a Hollywood problem since long before this movie (and still is).
I'm half tempted to give this full marks just for daring to play Radiohead's Everything in Its Right Place during your typical military in dropship scene. Anyway my boy Gareth knocked out another cracking piece of scifi. You really don't mind when a director takes a few years off and comes back with something like this. There's certainly a fair amount of Rogue One, Blade Runner and Terminator in the mix, the latter of which he takes the Judgement Day plot and turns it on its head defying expectations where I assumed it was going just due to the tropes of the genre.
There's also a lot of stuff on screen for 80mill in comparison to other recent effects heavy films. Gets you wondering if budgets elsewhere escalate to $200 mill mark due to talent demands or that something like this has less behind the scenes VFX artists but take longer to bake? I dunno. Either way, check it out. The trailer gives too much away (as always my opinion) however there's plenty more that isn't shown.
NB. Watch out for the Scarif Easter egg
As an uncultured gay, it pains me to admit that I have not read the novel and I have nothing to compare this adaptation to, but my own expectations and this movie totally meets them. The chemistry between the two leads, the back and forth banter, the well-portrayed and sensual sex scenes; it is a 10 out of 10 recommendation.
Midsommar is a complicated beast. Those going for something as linear as Hereditary will be immediately disappointed by Midsommars somewhat convoluted plot elements and meandering pace. I sat in the cinema as the credits rolled by, deep in thought about what I just watched, and if it was any good. Nothing really sat well with me, and the film didn't really connect upon immediate completion, but I gave it time to digest.
Ari Asters two movies are very much at odds with each other. Hereditary slaps you with it's excellent presentation, pace, sense of dread and quality of acting on display. Then, upon further inspection, it's woven plot elements and symbolism shine through on subsequent viewing.
Midsommar is very much the opposite. The film almost dawdles in it's presentation and doesn't fully attack you with it's acting chops or narrative (although Florence is simply stunning in her portrayal of Dani). Midsommar more presents it's parts in a very matter-of-fact fashion, and then leaves it up to you to connect the dots of both the plot and what's on display. While there is far too much to unpack in this small comment section, I'd just like to detail some of my favourite themes on display in Midsommar, and why it went from a 6/10 during my cinema viewing, to a solid 8 - 8.5/10 upon reflection.
--- LONG DISCUSSION OF SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT ---
One of Midsommars central parallels is the individualism/selfishness of Western life and it's stark comparison to the commune we are introduced to. Examples of this are: During the intro, Dani is going through the trauma of a suicidal family member and her boyfriend, Christian, is encouraged by his friends to abandon her in her time of need telling her to see her therapist as it's not his problem. Christian echos these sentiments directly to Dani about her sister, telling her to leave her alone as she is just doing this for attention. Upon arriving at the commune in Sweden, Mark is unwilling to wait for Dani to be ready to take shrooms. Josh, knowing of Dani's recent trauma involving death, subjects her to the suicide of the elders for his own thesis and research. Christian uses the situation to further his own academic efforts, much to the annoyance of Josh. Everyone is acting in their own self interest regardless of the emotional toll this takes on their friendships. This is a stark contrast to how we see the commune deal with distress, emotion and personal issues. When Dani sees Christian cheating on her, the female members of the commune bawl, weep, scream and cry along with Dani, literally experiencing her burden with her to lessen the load. As described by Pelle, the commune "hold" you during your distress, helping you cope and living through those emotions with you. This is further cemented by the scene earlier in the movie, shortly after Dani's sister commits suicide. We see Dani hunched over Christian's lap overcome with emotion, screaming out the pain of the loss of her sister. Christian is anything but present however, his eyes vacant as if he weren't there with her at all. This is possibly my favourite theme of the movie, as it really paints how alone we are in modern society regardless of how many people we surround ourselves with. How many people are actually there for us in our time of need? Sure, they might be physically present, but are they actually there, sharing our pain? It's truly terrifying to think about.
My other favourite theme is who is and isn't a bad person. I've seen many people online say they think Christian is a horrible boyfriend for how he treats Dani. While I can understand their position, I struggle to see how Christian is the bad guy for his actions. Christian finds himself in a dying relationship which he is mentally checked out from but decides to stay to help her through the grief of losing her parents and sister. Christian even goes as far as to bring her on vacation with him to help her through her trauma, even though he wants to split up with her. Would the audience have prefered Christian leave Dani right after she lost her family? That would have been MUCH worse. Do these actions warrant what happens to Christian? I don't think so at all. Christian is so misunderstood in this movie, I can't wait to see it again to draw more conclusions on his character. Is Josh a bad person for wanting to fully envelope himself in a foreign culture? Although we know it is largely for academic gain, Josh does seem to love learning about the culture of these people, wanting to see how they operate and know every intricacy of their faith. Does this warrant his murder for trying to document their sacred texts? Should an outsider be murdered for enjoying and absorbing someone elses culture and customs, or should they be thanked for their interest and passion? (Sidenote, I see Josh's character as a direct reflection of the usual racial stereotypes we see in movies of this ilk. Usually we see the white academic researching the savage native/minority tribe, but Josh is the exactly flip of this, which is a nice touch). Were Connie and Simon wrong for coming into another culture and expressing disgust at their customs? Should they have been so outwardly disgusted and vocal about their disapproval while being welcomed in by the commune? Sure it didn't warrant their ultimate fate, but this small subplot asks an interesting question about outsiders attempting to shape and alter other cultures and customs as it doesn't sit with their ideals.
Other small details:
While it's directly conveyed to the viewer that the red haired girl is attempting to cast a love incantation on Christian via pubes in his pie and runes under his bed, very little attention is given to the fact that Christians drink is a slight shade darker than everyone elses. From the tapestry we see at the start of the festival, we know exactly what the red haired girl has slipped into his drink :face_vomiting: Fantastic subtle horror/grossness.
Pelle talks about how his parents died in a fire and the commune helped him through the trauma of that loss. After the ending, it's pretty clear the fire wasn't an accident, and they evidently died for some kind of ritual.
Artwork above Dani's bed at the beginning shows a girl with crown kissing a bear. While direct foreshadowing to latter events, it also asks the question if this was all fate. Dani's sister's final message reads "I see black now" (potentially a reference to The Black One) before killing herself and her parents. Were Dani's parents 72 and this was the end of their cycle? Was Dani's sister already a distant member of the commune?
Runes are scattered all throughout the film to foreshadow certain character arcs or add more meaning. My favourite hidden rune is the doors to the temple, which when open, make the rune for "Opening" or "Portal". Amazing attention to detail.
Yeah, this movie is much MUCH better on reflection and I absolutely cannot wait to see it again. I really hope Ari's 3 hour 40 minute directors cut is released so there is more to dissect. While not as immediately impressive has Hereditary, Midsommar definitely has the layers and complexity to be a slowburn horror classic.
EDIT: I am now 4 days out from my first viewing and I've not stopped thinking about this movie. I've become a frequent visitor of the films subreddit and have even purchased/listened to the films dread-inducing yet somehow joyous soundtrack a number of times throughout the days. I've been reading up on runes and their meanings, reading up set analysis for hidden meanings and any other small details others can find. A movie hasn't vibed with me like this for a long long time so to reflect this, I think it's only right I bump my score from an 8/10 to a 9/10. When I can get my hands on the digital download/Blu-Ray, I'm sure this might even go higher.
Don't believe the pack mentality concerning The Snowman. This Cult of Rotten Tomatoes and piling on after one bad review is a tad ridiculous, especially concerning solid films like this one. For example, I liked the filming style here and found the cinematography often gorgeous.
On the other hand, the story was like a child who tries too hard to be clever, and watching Michael Fassbender act is like making love to someone who's always looking in the mirror when he fucks because he's more interested in his own image than your pleasure. On top of that, what was up with Val Kilmer's voice that they had to dub all of his scenes? Whatever the reason, the Christian Bale Batman voice they chose was extremely distracting...
Bottom line: don't believe everything you read. Like with every other movie, see it and judge it for yourself. Don't let other people tell you what you think!
All episodes are wrong ! please fix it !
A comedy should be judged by if you laugh. A horror movie should be judged by if it is frightening. If this movie was judged by its ability to put an audience to sleep, it would be great. It's a horror movie, though, so a fail. I'm not saying I saw the end coming, but all the characters acted like they were just serving the plot instead of being actual people. Toni Collette's performance (or was it the script?) was incredibly uneven as she moved from unaffected to completely traumatized...sometimes within the same sequence. I actually liked the final story reveal and it was certainly built throughout. The problem is it took forever to get there and I hated every character so much, I couldn't care less if they lived or died. Garbage that every critic wanted to use "heightened" in a review will be lining up to kiss its ass. Here's the thing...my theater was full and never even a gasp. Did hear one dude snoring, though. See at your own risk.
Apple had the courage to compare this to some of the well established animated TV shows in the push notification they used to advertise it. While those are comedy shows, Central Park is not one. It’s a musical and a bland one at best.
IF YOU THROW ANOTHER MOON AT ME I’M GONNA LOSE IT
[9.5/10] Louise loves her family. Despite a certain mercenary bent, and above-it-all attitude, deep down, the youngest Belcher kid cannot help but appreciate her mom and dad and siblings as something that gives her holidays, and her life, incredible meaning. That is a simple idea, but a powerful one. The characters who put up the most emotional walls tearing them down in choice moments of openness and affections is an old trick, and also one that's undeniably effective.
So is the setup of “The Plight Before Christmas”. Three Belcher kids have important events at the same time in the lead-up to Xmas, and there’s only two Belcher parents to witness these important moments. What can they do?
The answer is try to make it work! There’s a great franticness to Bob and Linda trying to have at least one parent at Tina’s Thundergirls pageant, Gene’s xylophone recital, and Louise’s poetry readings all at the same time. Poor Linda being emotionally ripped in twain at not getting to see all of them is both hilariously over-the-top and sweet for how devoted a mom Linda is to her kids. Bob urgently trying to sneak out of Gene’s musical performance to cram in Louise’s poem, only to get messed up by a rock-headed cab driver and a jog to the wrong library makes for great stakes and great comedy.
So does Gene’s part in this episode. The humor comes from the fact that the music teacher is out with a family illness, In her place is a flummoxed substitute who knows nothing about music (Tina Fey) who has to try to make heads or tails of the regular instructor’s bizarre notation and a group of sixth graders who know as much about playing the xylophone as they do about social security taxes. The terrible, out-of-sync playing in the first half of their concert is a laugh all its own.
I really like the solution though. Gene proposes that they play “fewer notes”, actively removing some of the keys from the various xylophones so that they can better coordinate and play their parts. It is, admittedly, a bit of a stretch that they could go from junk to funk so easily. But it works in the moment, playing off Gene’s intuitive understanding of melody and sense of creativity, and the central idea of the episode -- that drilling down to something essential and earnest pays incredible dividends.
There’s a lot of laughs in Tina’s pageant as well. The Thundergirls’ troop leader and her overmatched efforts to put on this well-balanced but elaborate presentation of world traditions is a comic delight. Linda’s confusion with Tina being “a star”, not “the star” is on brand and very funny. And one of Tina’s fellow thundergirls envying Tina’s part in such a nothing play lends itself to both humor given the stakes, and eventually, one of the episode’s most clever twists.
In a sideways fashion, Tina may be my favorite part of this. I love the fact that she’s the one who realizes, despite Louise’s protests that she’s there to read a poem about poop, that she’s actually going to read something from the heart and is nervous about anyone else hearing it. I love that Tina selflessly encourages Linda to skip her pageant so that she can be there for Louise’s reading. And when Linda feels pressured to keep stage-handing the pageant, the twist of Tina giving the role of the star to her envious co-star, so that by god, someone will be there when Louise spills her guts, is one of the most wholesome and heartstring-tugging moments Bob’s Burgers has ever pulled off, which is saying something.
Not for nothing, “The Plight Before Christmas” is a tribute to the craft of their series. There is incredible power in a montage -- the way the cinematic form can blend images and sounds to capture something deeper, bigger, and more piercing than dialogue alone. The soundtrack of Gene’s performance, the smiles it puts on the faces of the people listening to these kids finding their way, the tension of whether Lousie will open her heart in public or take the ironic prankster route, the pathos of Linda unable to enjoy all her babies’ triumphs at once, the surprise of a loving sister making the frantic journey to a vulnerable moment to show support where it’s needed most -- I’m getting misty-eyed again just thinking about it. Bob’s Burgers rarely gets this artsy, but when it does, it packs a wallop.
So when Tina does arrive in time to show her sister that she cares, to give her the thumbs up, to listen to whatever she has to say, it’s extra moving. Tina, more than any member of the Belcher family, knows what it means to express yourself through the written word, and how vulnerable an experience that can be. She recognizes the opportunity to facilitate and foster a sister who sometimes struggles to present that more sincere side of herself, and vindicate the beauty and acceptance of that.
Louise’s poem is pitch perfect. It’s not overly flowery or tin-eared for something an elementary school student might write. And still, it’s earnest, about how on the day of the year when kids are supposed to be the most excited about the toys and trinkets under the tree, what she appreciates the most are the people she’s sharing the day with. The sentiment is lovely, and it has extra force and resonance coming from someone who’s stingy with that kind of sincerity, who finds the strength and feels the support, to where she’s comfortable expressing such a personal sentiment in front of the whole world (or at least the denizens of the Belcher’s local library).
“The Plight Before Christmas” cuts the treacle a bit with an adorable, teasing declaration of “You love your family!” from Tina on the drive home. But it leans back into the sweetness with another heartwarming montage of the exact sort of family joy that Louise penned a paean to. Linda tends to her husband’s knees while they remark on the gob-smacking poem their daughter wrote. Gene shares their momentous achievement with the teacher in the hospital via Bob’s camcorder. And most of all, the Belchers sit around the tree, opening their gifts, basking in the exact sort of enervating togetherness the youngest member of their clan gushed over in a tense but courageous way.
How is a show this good at a holiday episode in its eleventh at-bat? That's its own sort of Xmas miracle, one that's as worth of celebrating this time of year as any, and a vindication of the spirit of the season, that asks for kindness, support, honesty, and acceptance from all of us, and invites us to revel in the spaces where we find such comfort, solace, and care.
This is going from bad to worse. I love Star Trek and I hoped with Patrick Stewart it will be better, but every episode makes this even worse.
Loved seeing Doug Jones without makeup. Felt like classic Trek with the race switching
Once more Marisa carried the show, every other character is just a tragically lacklustre experience. And by every other I do mean every other.
Spoiler alert:
How they didn't explain at all that the dying character in the cube was "the Authority" is just another typical failure by the showrunners.
Timothee Chalamet absolutely won over my heart with this one. When I was growing up I loved both renditions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so when I heard they were making a prequel I was definitely intrigued. This was everything my heart could want and more, the songs were sombre and bittersweet - like something out of your childhood dreams. The acting was good, corny at times, but it was the sheer wittiness that gave this film its charm. I would definitely recommend checking this out.
For me 1890 has the best story, followed by 2023. Didn’t like the 1941 timeline much yet.
Raise your hand if you replayed the "I was wrong" dance.
A nicer ending than the books. The book ending left me with more questions than answers. This ending is more satisfying. Yet still too faithful to the books ending. While it’s a more happy ending there’s still questions in the end that were never answered.
Spoiler warning: For instance. Season 1 teased us season long that the Quagmire parents were the Baudelaire parents. Yet, now that we know they aren’t. The writers wrote them out basically and they are never reunited with their children.
I guess since it’s a coming of age story. About children learning to not need the help from grown-ups and growing up. So just like the books. The Baudelaires and Quagmires aren’t reunited with parents that are teased to be alive.
Most meta episode ever?
I loved the shot the writers took at people that want more space adventures like in season 1. "What does that even mean?", lol
Didn't Janeway memorise all conduits and Jeffrey's tube of Voyager but doesn't know where a Junction Room is?
As a long time fan I was slightly concerned that Steve Coogan’s most famous character being rebooted ran the risk of tarnishing its top-notch reputation.
No need to worry - it’s an inspired move to allow AP onto prime time national telly. After all these years he’s got the break. And he’s done the ‘rags’ part, why not the ‘riches’?
The question is of course, how will he avoid the axe if his trademark tactless and petty behaviour continues?
It matters not, just enjoy the ride while it lasts.
His cringe-inducing antics don’t feel like they were overly scripted, so are credible. His feeble attempts to play the Paxman on the ‘hacktivist’, interrupted by his agonisingly embarrassing attempted chat-up of Emily Maitless. Maitland. That’s what I said.
It’s wonderful to see Lynne get some laughs of her own - the way she verbally crucified Alan’s joke stealing sofa-partner was priceless.
Shame that the main punchline of this episode is Graham Linehan's (at the time) thinly veiled transphobia
Thumbs up if you said "What the fuck..." to your TV before the opening credits.
are you even an ally if you don't drop an episode at the beginning of pride month where an uncensored naked dude enters the dickhole of his lover? are you?¿?
The final scene of the episode was definitely repugnant. Another rape? REALLY? [...]
I'm not sure what I just watched. Was this totally brilliant, or a smelly turd? I... I really don't now.
How did no one point out that using pheromones to seduce people into sex is rape? Someone who is under the influence of pheromones that make them attracted to someone can't consent, that's like saying a person who's so drunk they can't see can consent.
