Wowsers - this guy was a dick! It's not the festival goers I necessarily feel sorry for - they had money to burn by all accounts - but its the people who worked on this event, especially the Bahamians, who didn't get paid, that were hit the worst. Billy McFarland needs to take stock of his life and BACK OFF from doing anything like this again.
A great doc, certainly eye opening, and a valuable lesson for those people in Billy's shoes right now.
Trakt doesn't allow emojis in comments, but If it were, my comment would be somerhing like: The soundtrack in this show is fire emoji fire emoji fire emoji.
Not sure how I feel about dedicating an entire episode to a new character. We mainly watch this show for James and Alyssa so it was odd not seeing them at all here. I didn't mind too much because episodes are only 25 mins and the story itself wasn't too bad here, I'm sure it'll have more purpose as the season goes on. But there are only 8 episodes this season so fingers crossed we get plenty of the two we love now.
"Looks like you found some solace in our show. Stay if you like. In 30 minutes, we start over."
In addition to just being a god-awful episode that rushes through what could have been a decent if predictable season arc in one episode, this episode pulled the good old rape as backstory. But not just that, gang rape of a teenager. There's nothing wrong with dealing with those tough issues in media, but this show does NOT have the tact and respect necessary for these issues, and it comes across as anything from pandering and misguided, to being unsure how to deal with female characters, to oddly, uncomfortable and almost certainly unintentionally voyeuristic. There's one moment, in a flashback, that shows one of the main characters as a teenager (no exactly defined age, but implied to be around 16) just after being raped, with her breast hanging out of her bra and shown on camera.
This may just be the single most tasteless moment I have ever seen on TV. This is a teenager (in this case portrayed by a 23yo actress, but that doesn't change the text) after being sexually violated by a group of men in what the episode sets up to be her lowest moment...and you feel the need to show us her breasts? WHY? What is the point of that? That was a completely unnecessary shot and there is no justification for it anywhere else in the episode - which is prone to gratuitous nudity in an unusual departure from the rest of the season - either. Just disgusting. The entire way this was framed was disgusting and in poor taste. And while this may not come through clearly in this comment, it will be absolutely clear to you when watching. Just let me reiterate: the problem is NOT the subject matter. No subject matter is off-limits for art. The problem is the framing of it.
They better have a very good thing on their sleeve for this finale because Rose and Luisa was what I was looking foward the most... as for her death, very cheesy and unbelievable and that's why it's great, it reminded me of a few brazilian telenovelas villain's deaths so they really paid it a good homage.
About Michael, well... As I said countless times before, they shouldn't have messed with that plot-line and this closure for him felt.. sour, because the whole thing was so unnecessary and killed a major emotional story arc of the series and that will forever undermine my feelings for the series even though I loved everything before this. It's just eh, but I'll live with this.
I just hope they have something else up on their sleeve because this whole Rogelio-and-Xo-moving-to-New-York thing is not the biggest cliffhanger for a novela ending
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.
Twilight becomes both much more funny and much more bearable when you are familiar with the genre and take it as the film equivalent of a shōjo manga or otome game, including all the same tropes. Under these criteria, it's actually a pretty fun movie.
Hot Take: If you can tolerate James Bond movies but this one somehow makes you feel weird, perhaps it's because you're more used to or more comfortable with male fantasies of sexual desirability. Either way, I used to hate Twilight because I felt superior to all the stupid girls who liked it. Now I just accept it for what it is: wish-fulfilment. Sure, Edward would be a creepy stalker and borderline abusive if not for story mechanics that tell us he can be trusted because he's a good guy, but that's the beauty of fiction: in real life there's no such thing as "good guys" and "bad guys," but in stories, there is. Similarly, James Bond would be a serial sexual harasser if not for the fact that all the women he encounters are super into him, but again, that's the beauty of fiction: they always are, and we know it's okay for him to be a dick sometimes because he is, you guessed it, a good guy. And yes, there's some weird puritan ideology here about the dangers of male sexuality, but that's still a hundred times better than for instance the subtext of Bram Stoker's Dracula (which, funnily enough, is about the dangers of female sexuality).
So, once more for the people in the back: Twilight is silly, implausible, and often ridiculous. And that's absolutely okay.
That being said, things I like about this film: the great way in which it captures teenage awkwardness (which I find hilarious and at this point have to believe is intentional); the fact that Bella just accepts he's a vampire because it's the most logical conclusion, and there's no drawn out "I can't believe this guy stopped a car with his bare hands, I'm going to tell everyone about it - oh no, no one believes me!"; the quotability of so much of the dialogue (coming close to the SW prequel trilogy in that department); the absolute dead-pan way in which everyone delivers their lines ("It's like diamonds. You're beautiful." - "Beautiful. This is the skin of a killer, Bella."); The way literally no one looks like they want to be there; the fact that Bella does not seem to be able to fully close her mouth; the implication that vegetarians are "never fully satisfied"; Seemingly endless scenes of piggyback rides (now I finally know why they never actually show how The Flash carries people - it just looks so fucking weird); the shot of Bella's father rolling his friend in the wheelchair right in front of the stairs leading up to his house, followed by a cut so that it's never explained how he actually got inside; the fact that Bella just seems absolutely chill with everything ("I don't sleep." - "Never?" - "No, never." - "Okay.").
Things I don't like about this film: how everyone takes it so goddamned seriously. Oh, and that there is absolutely no instance of "What are you?" - "A waitress."
I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this show to people and especially not to people who have a hard time with teenagers and drama, but personally I thought it was entertaining. I wouldn't call it high quality or unique, but it did surprise me positively. The first two episodes were kind of slow and lacking something, but from episode 3 on something clicked for me and I enjoyed it.
So all in all I was surprised by a few things and ended up enjoying it and I'm looking forward to an announcement for season 2 :)
I don't think Jane had to apologize for anything. Jorge was a real douche about Mateo, but okay...
Rafael is acting like a disgusting child, "manipulating" Mateo to get what he wants. Michael would never do something like that to Jane because he loves her. I honestly can't understand why someone would prefer him over Michael. I even believe that Michael is too good for Jane sometimes. He respects her, is honest, caring and thoughful. And also he IS THE VICTIM of this situation. Jane's life is falling apart but he was kidnapped and tortured and lost his whole life!
That was a crazy long monologue Jane gave in the middle- I think that's the longest monologue from her we've ever heard. Also the longest TV monologue I've heard from anyone. I kept waiting for Alba or Xio to do something or to say something.
Gina looks more in shape then I remember from season 4- it's probably all the work she did for Miss Bala.
Of course there has to be an amnesia plot in it. this is a telenovela after all.
wow that monologue was an amazing performance from Gina Rodriguez, and a great tv moment!
"STEVE, YOUR CHILDREN ARE HERE!" The most accurate line that's been said on the show.
I had put out of my mind the memory of how fucked up the end of last season turned out. I would love the stuff to be resolved like it never happened. There's already a Sherlock in London so I want our knockoff back in NY. AND I want Joan's hair back in black.
It just goes to show how likeable the old Lakewood clique was, isn’t?
I had some issues with this ending.
It raised some problems I had with the show as a whole but they were issues I'd forgotten I had problems with since the show had a way of distracting me with the latest shiny experience of Rebeccas'.
I don't know that not taking any of those choices is better than choosing not to choose.... Also how does she know her next career path isn't just another "dress" she's trying to fit into any more than the ones before?
It also kinda felt like the same happy ending it was trying to avoid. I'm gonna have to think about this more and read a few reviews but it almost felt too much about Rachel Bloom and not enough about Rebecca Bunch. I know there was a wide overlap there and that Bex is an extreme hyperbole of Bloom, but it felt more true to the author than the character, and overall too meta. On the other hand, not sure what the right ending would have been. Probably Josh.
Honestly, it ended just the way I expected for this show to end. I am quite annoyed that she didn’t end up choosing Nathaniel—the undoubtably perfect choice. I wish that they didn’t end the show on such an obvious note, but I get why they did it. It plays perfectly with strong feminist undertone of the show’s root.
I see many people here complaining that the message of this episode was blatantly obvious and simple, but I don't really think that is the point of the episode.
In my interpretation, this episode was mainly here to tell a story of a tragic character that does immoral things out of desperation whilst also showing glimpses of humanity in his actions, which in no way justify his actions. Similarly, they try to humanise each and every side of this story. Even the big CEO of the company that arguably does a lot of social evil has his big humanising moment, where he admits that it all spun out of control, and I think we can all relate to that.
There is no evil character. It is all a complex web that creates evil, and the point, as I see it, was not to bash into the heads of people to not text and drive, or to stop using social media, but simply to tell a story. A story that utilises the all-consuming technology in our society, and I think it does that job fantastically. It is suspenseful, layered, and incredibly moving.
"How does it feel to be in a womans body?" Idk dude, just pick her yourself next round
Huh. Y'all can skip this one
There's obviously some good intentions here, and Rami Malek is a decent Freddie Mercury (not to mention some other minor positives), but this film is just an objective mess. It's painfully uninteresting, terrible written, poorly shot and just overall bad.
Some people will love this, and that's fine. Good for you if you do.
Me personally, I hated it. But that's just me.
oscars best picture nom? not even near
matt: im gonna put on some pants
foggy: no
same
An artist's vision of a great artist. Schnabel uses the camera as his canvas to compel the audience to see the world as Van Gogh saw it. Unfortunately, it fractured the storytelling and left this viewer bored (I actually fell asleep, uncharacteristically). Even the fine performances (Willem Defoe earned an Oscar nod) could not rescue this movie. People will love it as art or hate it as a waste of time. I give this film a 5 (meh) out of 10. [BioPic]
It wasn't awful, but, I think I must be the only person in the world who didn't think it was great. There were times when breaking out into song mid-conversation without some sort of elaborate set-change didn't make sense, The 2 leads weren't exactly talented singers or dancers -- no wow numbers. The sets improved by the time the final number rolled around, but the singing and dancing remained an afterthought.
I really wish we would’ve a few episodes without Mitch and Cam. I’m so tired of them.
Good n gay. Lotta blood.
