This is the most amazing movie I have ever seen. This is art. This movie will become minimum 10% of my personality from today until the day I die. I walked out of the movie theater a changed man. Some of my favorite moments from the movie:
Dakota Johnson starts off the movie by stealing a taxi. Nobody questions this. She spends the entire movie driving this stolen taxi. She removes the license plates from the taxi to apparently make it more inconspicuous (???). She crashes the taxi into a diner, completely ruining it. She still drives the taxi. No character questions this at all. This has become her car. She then randomly decides to go to PERU (????). She drives the taxi to the airport. Then she drives back home in the taxi. This implies that she parks the stolen taxi, which is beat up, busted, and has no license plates, at the airport for at least a week with nobody asking questions.
Dakota Johnson's sole superpower in this movie is vehicular manslaughter. I am not kidding. The main way she deals with the bad guy is by crashing a big vehicle into him unexpectedly. Not once, but twice in the movie. Also, this bad guy can see the future. And it still happens. Incredible.
This movie is sponsored by Pepsi. Dakota Johnson spends five minutes of the movie trying (and failing) to open the most blue, unblemished can of Pepsi I have ever seen in my life. Five minutes she is just holding this thing, rubbing it, stroking it like a genie, pulling the tab, tapping it. She never opens it.
Also, the villain is defeated when the gigantic neon letter P from the logo on the exploding Pepsi-Co factory falls on him and squishes him to death.
There is not a single line in this movie spoken by the villain that was not ADRed. It's fantastic. He sounds exactly like Tommy Wiseau.
During a dramatic flashback in the movie, we watch Dakota Johnson's mother find out that her child was going to have a disability. But in case any of the viewers are too dull to interpret the literal dialogue that she is saying correctly, Dakota Johnson is providing CONSTANT dialogue in addition to this explaining to the dull viewers exactly what's going on. "But I don't have muscular distrophy..." "So THAT'S why you went to find the spiders." And my personal favorite, "You did it..." The way Dakota Johnson says "You did it" is seared into my brain and will be forever how I say those words from now on. They are just too fucking funny.
Dakota Johnson uses the taxi from earlier to kidnap a bunch of teenagers and decides to leave them in the forest for hours. The teenagers literally say "Maybe you shouldn't be leaving us in a forest like this?" and Dakota is just like "No stay right there, byeeee" and then goes back to NYC in the stolen taxi and cries with her cat about her mom and spiders. Then she gets mad when the teenagers go to a diner to get food because she also left them in the forest without anything to eat and without any way to contact her. In fact the moment a teenager mentioned a cell phone, she immediately threw the cell phone out the window without asking any questions.
This movie is OBSESSED with letting you know that it takes place in the 2000s. Britney Spears' 'Toxic' plays on the radio and the DJ is like "This song is going to be a HUGE hit!" Dakota parks her stolen taxi in front of a Dangerously In Love billboard. Dakota spends 120 seconds anxiously listening to a voicemail message on her ancient home phone to progress the plot.
Dakota Johnson falls into the river and gets hit in the eye with a firecracker (exploding Pepsi factory) and is blinded after she defeats the villain. The girls she's taking care of have to pull her out of the river and perform CPR on her. This exact sequence of events (minus the blinding) happens earlier in the movie.
Dakota Johnson then goes to the hospital. Nurse asks "Oh, is everyone here family?" Dakota Johnson says (with the sappiest smile ever, and with a ridiculous bandage covering her eyes) "Yes, they're mine" and "I have everything I need right here" (blegh)
Then the last five minutes of this movie are the most hilarious five minutes I've ever seen in cinema ever. Everyone in the theater was cackling. I was almost crying from laughter.
Dakota Johnson has the fugliest and most ridiculous pair of sunglasses I have ever seen in my life. There is also this ugly fucking SPIDERWEB WINDOW that apparently got added to her apartment that it is never explained how it got there. Also, SHE IS IN A WHEELCHAIR!!!! Girl is just blind!!!!!! WHY IS SHE IN A WHEELCHAIR????
Well the girls she's watching get back home. Then she does the slowest, funniest, most dramatic and comedic turn around in the wheelchair to face them I have ever seen. And the sunglasses just make it so much worse. By her smile alone you can tell she is finished with this movie and wants her paycheck so she can get the fuck out. Hilarious.
Absolutely the most incredible thing I have ever seen.
Ok, first of all, i'm not that much of commentator on this platform, so i try my best to "review" this movie here.
Or at least i try to put down my thoughts.
First thing i want to mention, that this movie finally did it. I'm never ever gonna watch a movie from MNS again, nor do i watch a movie again, where i know a (former) wrestling star takes part in.
I couldn't connect with any of the characters in this movie. Least with Batista. Basically i cared for no one in this movie.
it didn't matter for me who died why or whatever happened in this movie
The whole plot was so predictable and nowhere suprising. And what i disliked the most, it didn't make sense at all, at any point in the movie.
And the ending, oh boy, was it stupid and not trustworthy at all. The whole character development (if i even can call it like that) between the parents was based on the fact that never ever would anyone of them would kill the other one, but still the movie suggests that andrew killed eric at the end, due to the fact that the "apocalypse" has been stopped. But in my opinion this is complete bullshit, because, based on what the characters did and said, eric must have killed himself. But like this, it's just stupid, that we shall believe Andrew did that.
But the most stupiest thing, where i really had to hold myself back to not laugh out loud in the middle of the movie theatre was The "Four Horsemen" reference, or whatever they tried to say with that. "Healing", "Caring", "Malice", and "Guidance" ?! Like, really? are you freaking kidding me? Thats literally the complete opposite for what the four horsemen stand.
All in all it was a big disaster of a movie in every aspect. Actors that didn't act well, Camera Operator who couldn't even get a clear image in most of the shots. And on top a really bad and predictable story that builds no tension at all. It took like maybe 10 minutes into the movie, from where on i knew how the movie was going and it how its gonna end.
"The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
Let me start off by saying that I might be a bit too positive but I don't care. Bond movies are the ones I grew up with thanks to my dad. We've seen all the ones up until Casino Royale together at home when my mother and I gave him that special edition Casino Royale box set with every Bond movie up until then on DVD along came a poker set. Before that I only really knew about the Pierce Brosnan movies and I enjoyed them a lot. We've had the most fun with the Roger Moore movies because he's just the most over-the-top Bond. The silly movies. But each of the movies never gave us a chance to be bored. Still love those times.
But Casino Royale brought me another kind of Bond along with Daniel Craig making him more human and the action these new kind of Bond films brought felt more brutal. He clicked for me as Bond as I entered my twenties and seen them all at the cinema (except for this one). There was a dud and some down the middle of road ones but they never bored me. What I try to explain with too many words is that James Bond is one of those movie franchises that I just adore. I know they aren't all cinematic wonders but they entertain me, a lot.
So with that being said No Time to Die is one of the best looking Bond movies out there. It is simply stunning. The action is fantastic but they tried to make it too big. The running time could've been fine if the villain Lyutsifer Safin played by Rami Malek would've been more interesting. I had more fun seeing Bond talking to Blofeld. Safin just felt meh and the foreshadowing of Bond dying was all out there. Just a little too much right?
Still it hurt seeing James Bond finally bite the dust. It could've been a little bit more cliche but who cares. It felt like the end of an era. Sixty years in the making. Loads of great action scenes, one-liners, humor, exotic locations, beautiful Bond-girls and iconic villains. Six different actors shined their light to the character and each brought something unique. But now all I have left to wonder is how will this franchise return? A new 007 would be great. Maybe there is a alternate universe? All we know is that the guy that has to follow up Daniel Craig has such huge shoes to fill that I wouldn't wish that to my worst enemy.
No Time to Die has it flaws but for me it is an entertaining final chapter to the Daniel Craig era of Bond. My favorite era.
This film was actually pretty good, very reminiscent of "Dragons - Riders of Berk" in terms of the appearance and personality of the main characters. It was perhaps a little too psychedelic, but that didn't detract rom the film in any way. The plot offered nothing new really, but overall it was an entertaining family film which I and my two teen daughters enjoyed.
What really saddens me is the horrific homophobic bigotry from most of the people commenting on here. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for your pathetic gay hatred that is evident from your comments. There is no "woke agenda" or forcing any LGBTQ+ equality or sexual scenes upon the viewers in this film. Disney, in a very tasteful and mild way, was simply portraying a very common everyday occurrence - two teenagers being in love with each other, and so what if they were the same sex? It clearly didn't matter to any of the characters in the movie, even his overly macho, egotistical old grandad. If Ethan's love interest had been female then their relationship almost certainly wouldn't even have been mentioned by any of you in your comments. It didn't matter that it wasn't instrumental to the plot. Plenty of other films, whether or not they're Disney animations or live-action productions by any studio, have characters who are in open relationships, where the relationship itself isn't part of the plot, other than trying to portray a bit of realistic backstory to the characters, and it doesn't detract from the quality of those films. It's fairly safe to say that at least 90% of Hollywood blockbuster films have overt heterosexual activity in them - the protagonist (most often male) either saves a 'damsel in distress' and then ends up 'sleeping' with them, or else they're already in a heterosexual relationship, and they are very frequently shown to be hugging and kissing, or even more. Would you say that these films are "forcing a heterosexual agenda" on their viewers? No, of course you wouldn't. None of you making these homophobic comments have called out any of those other films because they've had a protagonist (or antagonist) in a non-essential-to-the-plot heterosexual relationship. Which is total proof that your comments DO stem from your own hypocritical, bigoted personal opinions. Trakt is not the place to air your closed-minded prejudices; the comments are for balanced reviews of films and shows. If you can't keep your hateful bigotry out of the comments, don't comment in the first place.
Like it or not, same-sex relationships are part of real human culture and everyday life (as they have been for centuries) but as of the last 20 years or so in the entire western world, they have become perfectly legal and fall under the same levels of acceptance as heterosexual relationships. Therefore, their portrayal in an everyday life context in films is merely a reflection of modern society. There is globally a huge problem with teenagers - as they realise when they go through adolescence that they're attracted to the same sex as themselves - committing suicide because of homophobic bullying and intolerance from fellow schoolchildren and even their own parents. With that in mind, perhaps the portrayal on mainstream films and TV shows of same-sex relationships as a completely normal, acceptable thing just like heterosexual relationships is actually a good thing, because it helps to normalise them without it specifically being "an agenda" or some nefarious plot to "encourage/convert children into becoming gay" - which is a massively ignorant and ridiculous viewpoint anyway, as someone's sexuality is no more a choice than their skin colour or eye colour. Why don't all you homophobes try to convert your sexuality for a week or two to being gay or lesbian? No? You'd find that disgusting, or simply couldn't do it because you're inherently heterosexual? Well, that's exactly how it is for someone who's gay or lesbian - they find the idea of personally engaging in heterosexual relationships equally repugnant, and conversion to heterosexuality equally impossible. So perhaps practice a little bit of 'do as you would be done by' or, in other words, "only ever treat others as you would have them treat you".
HOLY SHT! Ha that was insane! That person was on my list of possible victims but I never imagined it went down like that!
So who do we think won in this Armond vs Shane conflict? Cause yeah Armond is dead but Shane is gonna have to live with the fact that he killed him! and if this series does something is literally show us that white rich americans are good at moving on from inconvenient stuff BUT we also see Shane’s flaw is holding on to stuff and throwing a tantrum like a big baby, so he’s never getting over this, Armond is gonna hunt him down in his nightmares, so if you ask me Armond won! I hope that gives him peace in the beyond
I loved this show so much, I loved that it was subtle but captivating, and like some of the other comments mentioned it focused on the gray areas, and I love gray areas cause that’s life! I’m always complaining about shows being so focused on right vs wrong but that’s so unrealistic! Like with Tanya and Belinda, did Tanya owe Belinda to become business partners? :asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:Nope:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:. Did Belinda have to be so compassionate, helpful and go out of her way to help a guest? :asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:Nope:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol: and she should never (unless they are in danger) cause that isn’t her job. Was Tanya in the wrong getting Belindas’s hopes up about a business? :asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol: Totally:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol: Was Belinda kinda trying to take advantage of a clearly mentally unstable woman? :asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:Totally!:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol: So I loved how this show makes you have an internal debate about who or if someone’s in the wrong.
What I didn’t love of the show was that sepia filter! I hate when filters are used in shows/movies; and I feel like Jennifer’s character didn’t interact that much with the other guests, she just had the boat scene with Shane and Rachel, but she was missing a connection with the Msomething family. Also I would love for Tanya to come back in the next seasons and that’s totally realistic cause we know her relationship with Greg isn’t gonna last so she’s repeating the cycle, and she’s gonna come back but this time with his ashes. Oh and for next season I hope Lani comes back too!
I wonder what happens with Quinn, my guess is the family don’t even notice he stayed till they arrived to California? (I think that’s where they live?) so then the parents go back to get him and then they make a deal about him coming back next summer or going with them to that one trip but then coming back and finishing high school, regardless I love that he had this grow as a person and found this new love to life! I’m envious of him!
And I guess the one thing didn’t make sense was the Msomething family booking a single suite instead of booking a two bedroom suite, so the parents had a room, the girls another one and Quinn could’ve slept on the sofa bed, we know money isn’t an issue (but I guess this was on purpose for plot purposes)
At first, I thought it was gonna be an "And Then There Were None" situation. Because I thought it was deliberate that each guest's stay was unsatisfactory; Tanya not being able to book a massage, the newlyweds not getting their suite in addition to Armond's persistent avoidance and incompetence which felt malignant and deliberate. Mark and Quinn Mossbacher trying to find an activity to do on the island and finding out they're all booked or unavailable at the moment or something else. I don't know much but it all felt deliberate to me like someone was set on ruining the guests' vacations.
Honestly a bit disappointed it wasn't lol. That would've been interesting and fun to watch.
On the other hand,
Armond was a scumbag and he got what he deserved.
I'm not trying to justify Shane's actions; HE IS an entitled, pampered mama's boy after all. But if Armond had been honest and upfront from the beginning and admitted to him that he double-booked the suite, refunded the money, and tried to make it up for the couple, things definitely could've been different.
Not to mention that he STOLE from one of the guests. Doesn't matter what he stole, it matters that he did. Untrustworthy.
Tanya was definitely in the wrong getting Belinda's hopes up, but to be fair, she's been a wreck, and eventually ended up doing what she thought was best for her mental health, to break the cycle of destructive habits.
Belinda was honestly an ass when she rudely refused to help Rachel. I mean, you didn't have to offer to help her in the first place! Plus, Rachel has also been struggling her whole life and she was trying to fix her mistake. Just because she married into a rich family, that doesn't make her a bad person who couldn't use some help??
I know Belinda was devastated during the time Rachel reached out to her, BUT SHE FUCKING OFFERED TO HELP? Just because someone hurt you doesn't mean you get to take it out on others.
Not to mention that Belinda was obviously taking advantage of Tanya, seeing how she was mentally unstable. Belinda wasn't interested in her at all but as soon as Tanya mentioned the business thing she started ass-kissing her.
Proud of Quinn though! Good for him.
I'm happy for Nicole and Mark, I hope things stay good between them.
On another note, Paula was fucking stupid to pull that stunt and ended up fucking Kai's life instead of helping him. I mean yeah white people did steal his land and all but that doesn't mean it's alright for him to steal from anyone JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE WHITE AND RICH? Enough with the stupid generalization
What an interesting show. Didn't think I'd enjoy it like I did, but I did. The ending is somewhat true to tone for the rest of the show, and it was fitting that all the rich people go on with their lives while the poor (regular) people are the ones who suffer. In different ways too, being cheated out of an opportunity, being killed for trying to mess with the rich, or being forgiven but somewhat ignored. The worst offense was Shane, that since he's rich and giving Rachel a stress-free life and basically pulling her up to his level, he's right and she's wrong - and she should be okay with putting her identity aside for the sake of their marriage. That's really bad man...Rachel deserved better but it's realistic that not all relationships are equal and sometimes people are afraid to push back because of the consequences. All in all, a bittersweet ending since the rich people got good stuff going on like a rekindled family and an actual relationship in McQuad's story. But the regular people suffered for it. And the one good character, Quinn, is out there living his dream regardless of money, power, gender, or race.
It would be weird to have a 2nd season - but there probably will be one.
Like the diry movie RJ wanted to make, X transcends the genre.
I saw this originally on SVOD but when it (finally) came to Paris -- one day after Halloween and on only one theater!? (why does France hate Ti West / A24?) -- I leaped at the chance to see it on the big screen and holy fuck am I glad I did.
West's directing here is flawless. I was already a fan of his work after his 2013 found footage flick The Sacrement, but X is next level.
The are edits like the lemonade scene, juxtaposing sex and death. There's the Chekhov's alligator, the amazing angles, the mini-flash forwards, the (sometimes subtle, sometimes overt) references to classic horror like Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre... A true delight for the eyes and mind from beginning to end.
What I appreciated as well was how West held off on the gore until the third act, which adds a sense of drama to the film and makes it more than just another slasher flick. Still, when he goes there -- and he goes there hard -- the gore is gasp-out-loud good.
X is not only the best horror film I've seen this year, it's the best horror I've seen in years.
Wasn’t expecting to see Damien Darhk in Texas, nor Henry from The Good Place (at least he didn’t bring that hideous pair of cowboy boots this time).
I don’t know if it’s for the sake of drama but didn’t know there would be a feud between police officers and firefighters. It’s funny though, seems like every american tv show needs a baseball-themed episode in order for the characters to work out some sort of unresolved issue.
Either way, let me just give a shout-out to Pearce with an “e”. I get that he might be a bit of a handful as an employee, but the poor guy was completely mistreated and manipulated by the so called “good guys”. Not only he was hired under the dumbest pretences, he was also shamed for choosing not to participate in a stupid brawl… does it mean people who choose not to engage in violent activities are now cowards? I’d expect this kind of toxic thinking from mr. privileged-Owen, but Tommy as well? Nah, she’s better than that. I know I’m reading WAY too much into this, but it just doesn’t sit well with me at all.
Anyway, it was nice to see Nancy having her moment and be part of the crew.
Now THIS was a good episode. It's a shame that Michael Sheen couldn't be a part of it because he's such a delight as Martin Whitly. It's still with moments so stupid they could only happen on Prodigal Son still even the description does it.
Knowing that the “Junkyard Killer” was in cahoots with his father, Malcolm goes against the FBI’s wishes and continues to investigate.
No he doesn't. He actually complies with the FBI wishes. It's doing the work on a completely unrelated case that leads him to find out that the cases are directly related. And then to watch the FBI profiler complain about him not staying off her case when he did is just silly.
Ainsly decides that airing the Martin Whitly interview is her "taking control of the narrative" and "telling her own story". This is both stupid and wrong. She was much more relatable in the hospital talking about how she wanted a piece of the action and how she's been denied knowledge of her father her whole life. I LIKED that Ainesly but here she comes off as petulant.
Bringing it home of course is Bellamy Young as Jessica Whitly. Who decides to get some agency and actually takes control of the narrative and maybe from a certain perspective actually tells her own story. She was brilliant. It was emotional and it felt earned.
There's also an A story with Bright discovering a killer's childhood home with twists and stuff but whatever, the only surprise there is that they weren't being poisoned like I thought they were. Bellamy Young has been low key carrying this show when Michael Sheen isn't around.
Rewatch (4th, maybe 5th) - Oct 2020
What a film... A directorial masterpiece and a hell of a tale.
It oozes quality and substance in every shot with a wonderfully flowing narrative.
When you want to celebrate cinema, this is the kind of film you go to. It's not a perfect film but it is almost... And the level that Tarantino is operating at is quite phenomenal.
On that... I often wonder how a director keeps that muscle toned. Like a boxer needing rounds - or a musician can write songs and play often - but a director has one project every 2 or 3 years at most. So how do you come to set and have ideas for great shots without first having to get the ring-rust off you... Just a thought.
There are two negatives I must mention. The first is a big one, and involves the wonderfully atmospheric trip to the old Bounty Law sets. The scene with Bruce Dern falls flat after such a great build up. (I heard Dern interviewed and he said he improvised his lines and Pitt had to work with them. This is likely the reason why...) The rest of that act is fantastic though.
The second negative is the reception of the film. I've not scene an actor cover as much ground as DiCaprio does in this since DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street. The guy has grown into the best actor of his generation and he's showing all of his powers here. To play a guy struggling with the scene and then play the guy nailing the scene... What a a talent. And it pains me that he was largely overlooked for this come awards season.
Brad Pitt. The character of Cliff Booth is the coolest guy since The Dude. And it's such a great twist to see how a cool alpha would deal with the situation that took place on Cielo Drive. I read that McQueen should have been there that night and I wonder what a "man's man" would have done... Well now we don't have to wonder. A sober Booth would have dispatched them no problem (with vicious assistance from Brandy) and a trippy Booth does pretty damn well.
I'd pay good money to see a 4hr version of this with extra scenes and exploration. It's so well shot, full of class and such a riveting event that I hope it gets the Extended Netflix treatment.
If this is 9 of 10 for Mr Tarantino then I hope his swansong is as great as this, Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, Hateful Eight or Django... He's a wizard.
9.25/10
(that rare beast that improves with each watch)
After thoughts:
Bruce Lee. I'm a huge fan and it pains me to see this scene. But the reality of physical combat means its not a million miles from being wrong. Best of 3 would go something like that. And it's interesting that the 3rd point is unresolved. Bruce is struggling but he's still in it. Who knows who would have won...
Francesca, la sposa Italiana... I can't see the marriage lasting a triple homicide within it's first 24 hours on American Soil! Though she may like flamethrowers... Hahaha!
What a film.
I found this to be a disappointing movie. I understand everything in PedroPT's post, but it still seems to me that the religious themes are very superficial.. often obnoxious. The snakes & mazes were especially gimmicky.
All of the characters behaved in reckless and absurd ways. Loki lets snap judgements dictate all of his actions, breaks into basically every house in the movie, and randomly disregards possible leads while doggedly pursuing others. The police chief and him yell at each other constantly and thus encourage each other to act even more rashly (one hopes that this is not how actual police behave). Jackman's character immediately turns violent, psychopathic, and insulting at every opportunity, and worse, the movie seems to justify (or at least consider to be of ambiguous merit) vigilante torture as a means of obtaining information.
It is shocking to me that people believe this movie raises any serious moral questions or issues (whether about torture, vigilantism, or 'the individual and the institution'). As far as I can see, it does not; it has nothing significant whatever to say on these topics.
The connections between the different possibilities which Loki followed are very contrived; is there even a single piece of clue or information that they don't force to be valid and relevant at the end? Perhaps some people see that as a developed and intricate plot, but it makes me feel somewhat like rolling my eyes.
For all that the atmosphere and cinematography were praised, I was also unimpressed with them. Yes, much of it is dark, but I didn't find the use of light or darkness to be particularly meaningful. Maybe I just didn't get the style... I was hoping it would be more like the old german expressionism in use of light, but oh well. I think it would have benefited from some longer and wider shots, but I can't really pretend to know anything about cinematography.
As others, I'm a fan of Gyllenhaal, but I think it's a shame he does so many bad movies like this. His unique charisma and acting style are probably the only redeeming part of this mess.
Could have been a great or at least skillfully directed "okay" 90s film, but suffers from uneven writing and scene execution typical of films today. It's not terrible, and I even enjoyed it and mildly rooted for the protagonist, but it just doesn't quite work.
Helen Hunt is fine. John Leguizamo is fine, and Sheridan is fine... their characters just aren't that compelling. Call me biased, but I felt the most for Ana de Armas' character. The woman is just sparkling whenever she's onscreen... yet even her character feels like a disappointment in the final scenes, as the story feels like it just doesn't have the stamina to bother being dramatic fiction anymore, and settles for a quick, boringly realistic wrap-up so Bart can get his "Autist shut-in goes to the mall" scene like he didn't just go through 90 minutes of harrowing, first love, sex-lies-and-video screenplay drama.
As an aside, I also have to wonder about the depiction of Bart as "Autistic". I'm on the spectrum myself and did find a number of things that, while generally more extreme than myself, definitely remind me of episodes of social confusion and awkwardness in my life, but Bart's portrayal from scene to scene seems inconsistent if not outright unrealistic. Yes, we can be capable of being more natural, and closer to normal degrees of suaveness like he was when playing back his first meeting with Andrea, but the degree of his clueless, awkward robiticness seems not to match his later degree of very natural social responses when he's only responding to her playback. And then, for the rest of the film, he goes back to the seemingly nearly completely emotionally blind and dumb demi-Rain Man.
It's important to represent the spectrum of atypical mentalities, and I have no problem with showing Bart or Rain Man's Ray, or John Nash's, again, idiot savant, but it would be nice if films would also show autistic, ADHD, OCD, etc. characters that have more subtle and sometimes entirely overlooked cases instead of making all examples those of the " special boy", or "weird but magically gifted novel protagonist".
I don't pretend to understand the struggles of others, but it's a unique struggle of its own to have gone through an especially confusing childhood and teenage life, learning the hard way how people work, but not being quite different enough for anyone competent to ever recognize your actual strengths and deficits.
I want to see those stories if even just as subtly acknowledged character framing.
Eat shit and die, Ricky!
Eat shit and live, Bill.
This movie is wrong in so many ways, one of those films that is so bad that it's good. Super low-budget, a look of a B movie. You'll have some of the worst and best dialogues of all time mixed up, it's really amazing. The killing scenes are inventive to a certain point, although some doesn't make much sense. There's some great special effects job after some kills. And what the hell are those clothes the characters wear?
The acting is pretty bad for most actors (wtf is Aunt Martha's actress doing!?). James Earl Jones's father plays a role in this movie, curiously. Beyond bad acting and illogical actions, like that kid that starts talking to himself under the canoe (why, dude?), the killing scenes show Ricky's arms and hands, and at some point you have Ricky wearing a wig (it does get some laughs, at least). I guess it was supposed to just appear his silhouette (imitating Angela) but the image is too bright, so you can clearly see that is Ricky. From what I looked up, Felissa Rose's parents didn't want her to perform murders, even fake ones, so they put Jonathan Tiersten to do the scenes. I love the "I'm going to murder your soul" stare by Angela. There's even a very noticeable fake mustache worn by an officer, great!
The score is really good, I didn't expect this would be an aspect that this film would excel.
Now, let's talk about the ending, wow, one of the most astonishing and mind-blowing endings ever. There's no way to see it coming, especially the way and how it happens, this is one aspect that made this movie stood out from the rest of the slasher genre. Man, that face and expressions of Angela (aka Peter) are terrifying, the grotesque and animalistic sounds she makes, that insane look and the alternation between body and face shots is disturbing. I'll have nightmares for the rest of my life, so as my girlfriend — she watched it too and now wishes she had not seen it. Then, "Oh my god, she's a boy!", yep, that's the reaction from the bodybuilder character seeing Angela with a head chopped off in her arms and it rolling into ground. Amazing reaction, I'd probably have the same. The movie ends with the frozen frame of Angela's insane look. Brrr, creepy. The whole abuse and torment "Angela" suffered is shocking too, before and during the events of the film, all of that may not have been the one great cause to her going mad but it certainly took big part and led her/him to this extreme point.
I feel like the whole movie was just an excuse so that the director could reach this specific scene he had in mind, that ending. Which if this is really what happened, I cannot complain, well done!
I've been a fan of Taylor's music for a long time but for a while I refrained myself from being too vocal about my support for her as a person, because it wasn't cool and we were all supposed to think this and that about her and if you didn't you were labelled all sorts of things, so instead of defending her i just didn't say anything, and enjoyed her music outside of that sphere of drama and controversy. But with Taylor it's really hard to fall in love with her music and not instinctively fall in love with her too, because everything that she is she puts into those songs, those lyrics, those melodies, so if you love her music then that means you love her, and i soon figured that out. The way she's grown and become more vocal about everything we all already thought she had in her is really inspiring and, in my opinion, what she needed to fully become an icon, because icons have to stand for something and help change history with their platform, which is music, which happens to be the wider reaching form of art there is in this world. I'm so so happy she's finally showing the world what she stands for, cus it's not hard to see that privately the values have been there from day one. I really never wanted this docu to end, i wanted it to have 3 hours. Fuck The Irishman, give me 3 and a half hours of Miss Americana instead.
I’m going to state my bias right here, right now: I absolutely love Quentin Tarantino. There are a handful of film-makers that I discovered when I was first developing my tastes in cinema (Edgar Wright, Wes Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Stanley Kubrick, The Coen Brothers and of course Tarantino), these directors will always have a place in my heart and as a result I may be easily persuaded to recommend their latest work. That being said Tim Burton’s Dumbo isn’t exactly going to be making my top 10 this year so don’t take too big a pitch of salt when I tell you that I might have a new best of the year contender.
I would be interested in how this film would be received by someone who is unfamiliar with the previous 8 (or 9 depending how you count them) Tarantino films. I think a large part of my love for this film is down to how it messes with the standard formula of a Tarantino movie while still offering many of the trademarks that have made his style iconic, however I have seen many critics and fans saying they were disappointed in the film for similar reasons. Either way it is clear that this film can only be read effectively through the eyes of the kind of person who knows what like a virgin is really about, what a quarter ponder with cheese is called in Paris and can recite Ezekiel 25:17 by heart.
This is probably the slowest film that Tarantino has brought out to date, large amounts of screen-time are dedicated to watching the characters drive through the painstakingly real looking sets or to fairly mundane conversations with no real baring on the overall plot. This has been an issue I have seen in many reviews but I have to say that it didn’t bother me, the cast are fantastic and so even the most pointless dialogue exchange feels engaging and as I mentioned before the attention to detail in the set design as well as the wardrobe makes every scene a treat to watch.
There are a couple of scenes that have caused controversy for this film. In the interest of keeping this spoiler free I will not go into detail here but lets just say that I don’t see what the problem is.
I do want to talk briefly about the ending, I will try to keep this as vague as I can but if you really want to go in blind then ignore the next paragraph.
A lot of people have compared this film to a fairy tale, given the unexpected and cathartic ending as well as the ‘Once Upon a Time’ title. For me this film reminded me more of a well told joke. A great comedian is able to keep their audience engaged for a long period of time while telling a seemingly mundane story, they will throw in little jokes and go on funny tangents only to come back at the end with the punch line. At the end of the movie when the sub-plot comes in focus and everything goes full Tarantino everyone in my cinema as laughing hysterically. I think that is what Tarantino wanted and what many critics are missing.
Ultimately, this a really great film. You should go see it.
I was ok with the poor character development when the TV series departed from the books. I used to like thinking it was a kind of alternate universe from the "real" one.
They struggled on TV to show daenerys as a spoiled and selfish girl instead of the woman who was learning to have patience and wielding power in a so goodhearted way it asked a high price from her in the books.
But nothing could justify her acts on this episode. After their utter and final SURRENDER she says "guess what I'm gonna burn them all". Not even aiming to Central tower. Just make an open air barbecue of the city. The breaker of chains, mother of the slaves, making all peasants BURN. There is no plot excuse. 7 years of character building thrown out the window.
This is not the only problem in this episode. Arya is useless but survives inferno and has a magical horse appearing. Cersei dies in the most disappointing way. Euron just happens to swim to the EXACT LOCATION Jamie is.
Frankly I would not be surprised if D&D choose to end it next week explaining that all of it was a westworld simulation experienced by androids. Because the Deus Ex Machina limit has been breached a long time ago, and they keep forcing it.
What in the actual f*ck.
I'm a reasonable man, I realize I've been crapping on D&D even more than usual this season but I really do have to give them props for doing exactly what they set out to do. They hoped to subvert our expectations and they did just wonderfully in that regards.
We expected all of that buildup over the years to actually amount to something that at the very least passes for a presentable series finale but instead, we got an incoherent, steaming pile of shit. Expectations subverted!
We expected all of that character development to actually result in a beautiful pay-off that respects the journey of self-discovery each and every one of our beloved characters went through to get to where they are now but instead, we got a painful, disrespectful cycle of character regression. Expectations subverted!
We expected the final season of this show to keep us at the edge of our seats with thrilling writing that didn't subvert our expectations for the sake of subverting our expectations via low-quality shock value-seeking writing, but to introduce plot twists that make sense within the overall narrative of the story but instead, we got CW-level predictable, cringe material. Expectations subverted!
I get it. I really do. GRRM let them down by not getting the books ready in time and so they had to improvise away from his influence, but this? This? For a long while, Game of Thrones lived up to the slogan of its parent network, it wasn't just TV, it was something different, something unique and now to have to see it come to this... it's nothing short of disappointing.
On the bright side though, at least this episode didn't suck completely. The acting, score and cinematography were all on point, so I guess it's nice that I didn't walk out of it having appreciated absolutely nothing about it.
So why do I even bother anymore? I honestly could not tell you, though it's probably a mixture of masochism and a faint sliver of hope that they won't flush our collective investment into this series down the drain by the end of it, just one more episode dammit.
As a horror movie fan, Pet Semetary is perfectly servicable. It's production is a little disjointed in places and it lacks the polish we've seen from recent hits such as Hereditary or Us, but as a standard horror movie it stands it's ground and delivers what most will be going to see; some jumps scares, a little gore, and a glimpse into one of Stephen Kings most notorious novels without having to read 480 pages.
As someone who only recently read the book however, this was a little disappointing to say the least. This movie does a pretty horrendous job of conveying the basic themes and story from the original novel in an orderly manner, even skimming over some of the areas that would have worked great for a screen adaptation. (Where was my late night beer talks between Jud and Louis, dammit!) It's rare for me to say, but I think this movie could have done with an extra 30 - 40 minutes of runtime to just bring down the pace and allow for some extra development. Pet Sematary shines best as a moody, dread-filled slow burn that slowly catches up to the new inhabitants of Ludlow before they even have time to realise they are ensnared. It's deep rooted messages about death, the afterlife, losing love for those we know are dying and desperately trying to hold onto our loved ones deserved much more time and care. With movies like Hereditary tackling similarly heavy themes with such quality and grace, it really is a shame to see Pet Semetary get relegated to this level of delivery.
TL;DR as a stock horror movie, it'll serve you well, but as a fan of the book, it might be better to bury this one in the Micmac burial ground and hope it comes back better in the future.
--- SPOILERS BELOW HERE ---
Small complaints as a Book Reader:
Why did they mishandle Jud's characterisation so badly? In the book he is described as loving, warm and a father figure to Louis. Here he is just a vessel for explaining the burial ground and then drugged and murdered. It hurts more that they got John Lithgow, an absolutely amazing casting choice for Jud, and wasted him. Not even an "Ayuh"? For shame.
Ellies love for Church is completely downplayed and understated, making the burying of the cat scene lose so much heft. Ellies awareness that the cat has changed adds to the creepy factor of the burial ground and it's power, but here it just scratches her and she asks for her door to be closed so he can't get in.
Rachels backstory with Zelda is explained, but all the superfluous details that make that backstory so gutwrenching and powerful are clipped. There is no explanation of how Zelda became hated by the family, how the idea of the "model death patient" is a total misconception and in death many of us go unceremoniously, unloved by our families because of the monster our affliction turns us into.
Ah well, I guess I shouldn't read the books of things right before seeing them :P
I finally watched A Star Is Born, and boy... was I just blown away. This film is a literal whirlwind of emotions culminating in one truly tragic ending. I was hyped for this movie for months, and it definitely lived up to expectations (even exceeded them). I was totally floored by the performances of Lady Gaga and especially Bradley Cooper who completely disappears into his role of Jackson Maine (in a good way). The soundtrack to this movie is just spectacular with some of the best ballads that I've heard in a long time in both "Shallow" and "I'll Never Love Again". That first scene where Gaga and Cooper perform together on stage is just a revelation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo_efYhYU2A
While this is a story that has been done many times (literally, this is the 4th remake), Cooper's version is just masterfully built and developed amazingly well even though it does run a bit long. It was over 2 hours long (135 mins), but at times I actually wish that it could have been longer due to how much I connected with the characters. It's a true "modern take" on a classic tale. And definitely prepare to cry as well. My god, the last 20 minutes of the movie were just... beyond brutal. If you've ever dealt with or really known/loved someone with addiction and/or depression problems, this movie hits so close to home that it is scary.
A Star Is Born is an instant classic and a definite Oscar favorite in multiple categories. If you told me that in 2018 the guy who played Sack in Wedding Crashers 13 years ago would direct and star in an emotional and moving film like this, I'd call you crazy. I'm definitely going to watch this again, but those last 15 minutes of the movie truly were gut-wrenching. Maybe I'll just stick with listening to the soundtrack over and over again... :P
