A very interesting portrayal of the banality of evil. The horror is not in what’s shown, but what isn’t. The compartmentalization, the routine. While gunshots and screams echo and smoke billows, they have their idyllic little life, better than they dreamed. Anything that brings too much attention to the other side of their life is an intrusion, an annoyance, like the mother who can’t stand the flames. The droning score and the bright colors underscore this, banging at the door to be let in and acknowledged and shut out by this family. Most striking of these was Rudolf under a blindingly white sky while a soundscape of death paints the picture, and a close up of the flowers of their happy garden while the ashes of the people they’ve murdered rest in the soil.
The revulsion the film inspires with Rudolf sharing how the only thing he could think about at a party was the logistics of how to gas them all, as if it’s a fun thought experiment and anecdote, is impressive. As is Hedwig’s entitlement towards her idea of a perfect life and her lashing out at the Jewish servants when it’s threatened. Or the eldest son playing a cruel trick on his younger brother, licking him in a greenhouse door and imitating a gas chamber.
It’s all so innocuous to them. Just background noise of their life. The repetition is as droning as the score, leaving you desperate to escape this mindset and terrified of the ways that we too suffer from it.
Didn't love it, didn't hate it, it was alright. Saltburn tries to do too much (subplots, themes, genres...) which leads to it not focusing on anything, enough. The end result feels messy but I appreciate how ambitious it is. It has some original shocking moments i've never seen before but the story itself is nothing original. The themes felt convoluted to me and the pacing isn't very good.
I really enjoyed the first act, it offers an intriguing mystery and interesting characters. The introduction to the Saltburn mansion was the strongest part of the movie. The story got a little boring for me after that but what kept me engaged was the characters. Then you get to the third act and it's a complete cringe fest of sillyness. They spoon feed you with a montage (the same ones they do in the Saw franchise once the twist is revealed). It's a good twist but I totally predicted it. After that our main character does some illogical decision making that'll get him arrested for sure. Everything is suddenly rushed and we get an immature last scene that means nothing really. The movie should have ended just before the montage... now nothing is left to interpretation.
A stellar cast, stunning set, shot extremely well, perfect needle drops, the boxed in aspect ratio gives the characters more proximity and the dark comedy was my favorite aspect of the movie. Barry Keoghan's character is one of the most interesting i've seen in a while and an Oscar worthy performance from him. Rosamund Pike was hilarious here, couldn't get enough of her. Archie Madekwe surprised me. Also, thank god for subtitles!
"Those are... flamingos."
What in the nonplussed, haunting soliloquy was that?! Went in completely blind and that was the right choice. It felt like watching an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's essentially a psychological drama comedy with a "mysterious event" happening in the background—a great mix! The characters are interesting, the drama works because of this and some well-placed sharp comedy. It's weird, creepy and the mystery is intriguing.
This was actually my first time seeing Julia Roberts in a movie and she was hilarious. Really good acting from everyone. Myha'la is a newfound favorite. Simple yet effective suspenceful score, artistic visuals, nice camerawork and editing. The back and forth between two suspenceful scenes technique is done really well here. Incredible how many themes this movie tackles, there's always something to disect on-screen.
Some weird nonsensical character decisions that are a bit frustrating at times. Too long of a runtime which would make a rewatch difficult, it was totally possible to trim down. Favorite moments are the boat scene and the Tesla scene—on the edge of my seat! I thought the ending was perfect. There are sooo many clues and hints dropped throughout the movie that there's no way it could feel unresolved at the end.
I've never watched Friends
Round 3 of Gareth Edwards proving he’s a great visual director that doesn’t know how to breathe life in his scripts. Its best asset is easily the worldbuilding, combining influences from other science fiction material to create a new world that feels fresh. The technical execution is also really well done, with its cinematography and CGI being among some of the most visionary stuff I’ve seen since Avatar 2. Unfortunately, the sci-fi concepts this is working with are stale, it’s all stuff you’ve seen before and the movie doesn’t know how to put its own creative spin on it. Add to that a bunch of characters that aren’t written in the most compelling way (as well as bland, understated performances that will keep everyone questioning whether JDW is actually a good actor), and you have a movie that’s already pretty dull from the start. Now, a big saving grace of Rogue One and Godzilla were their strong climaxes, however that’s not the case here. Instead, The Creator starts to rush to the finish line, which leads to the big emotional beats not hitting the mark. It’s like the pacing of this movie is constantly either rushing or dragging, annoying my inner Terence Fletcher in the process. Overall, while I’d love to champion this as the savior of original science fiction, there’s not much more originality here than a typical franchise film. I don’t want to call Edwards another Zack Snyder, because I think he’s certainly more talented, but he’s suffering from the same problems and doesn’t seem to learn from his previous mistakes.
5/10
Despite the glowing advance reviews, "The Flash" is not the best superhero film of all time, the year, or even the month. But it is definitely a good movie overall. The humor is mostly spot on, the effects are impressive, and Ezra Miller is consistently convincing in the lead role. Michael Keaton still fits the Batman mantle pretty well, and Sasha Calle also delivers an excellent first impression as Supergirl. On top of that, of course, there are some neat cameos.
The pacing of the film isn't bad, either. It starts with a really entertaining sequence before the time travel plot picks up speed. The plot is comprehensible throughout and, above all, not as overly convoluted as in many other genre representatives. However, "The Flash" also has the usual problem of similar stories, that the fate of the characters never really gets to your heart, since it is not crucial for the "canon" anyway. But there is no such thing in the dying DCU anyway. In addition, there is not really a good villain, but then again, none was really needed here.
Overall, I would say that "The Flash" is neither a good conclusion to the old DCEU nor a good transition into the new DCU. You can still have a good time at the cinema, though, as the film works on its own and should appeal to fans of old DC works as well.
Adored this movie. Solid performances, amazing screenplay, and McDonagh’s most gorgeous looking film to date. All of the actors were fantastic in this. This has to be my favorite film of the year.
One of my favorite moments of the film was Siobhan correcting Colm about Mozart. It shows that Colm was not as smart as he appeared to be, and cracked open his wise old man facade. He was being truthful to about his reasons for tanking the friendship, but his methods for doing so are still bullshit. He is wise, but also bitter and stubborn, and that so he thinks that the key to breaking his monotony is by suffering.
Colm resents Pádraic for being content with his simple life and not being concerned with having a legacy or being remembered beyond those he cares about in life. Colm, due to his frustration with his own existence, concludes that the only reason Pádraic is so content and untroubled is because he is dull and stupid.
Ironically I think Pádraic is actually Colm's muse, after each encounter with an impassioned Pádraic Colm seems to progress with his work on his magnum opus 'The Banshees of Inisherin'.
Moral of the story, in my opinion, is that men create meaningless conflict for contrived reasons and that leads to innocents being hurt (kind of like a civil war).
