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.
Yeah I mean, it is very much that movie. If you want my unfiltered opinion: it's glossy & loud, it's discount Tarantino/Ritchie, it's engineered to be forgotten about almost instantly, it's very Youtube reviewer friendly, it’s edited for people with no attention span, it’s postmodern and cringy; it's all of that. It's aiming to be a 6, and I was kinda expecting it to hit that target given how much I was into David Leitch' previous directorial effort. Unfortunately, this is hampered by the fact that it very much feels like a product of the pandemic. I'm pretty sure everything was shot on sound stages, and you can really tell, because the effects are dogshit. The same goes for the action, most of it feels like it was choreographed based on what was possible for the day. It's a shame, because good visuals and punchy action are two of the key ingredients if you want to make this kind of movie work. Now, its biggest saving grace are the characters and some of the comedy. I think most of the characters are quite well done and colorful (props to the writing and actors), especially the duo played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree-Henry (again, even if they feel like they walked straight out of a Guy Ritchie movie). It did make me laugh occasionally, but there's also a lot of cringe in it, especially with its obnoxious use of bathos and cameos by people I didn't need to see. I'm also getting pretty sick of the Marvelization of movie dialogue, I could’ve sworn some of Pitt’s lines in this were written with Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool in mind. The story itself is a mess pretty much right from the start and completely flies off the rails in the third act (no pun intended). I'm not sure if that's due to the writing or editing though. In true Tarantino fashion it's told out of order, but here it doesn't enhance the experience in a positive way. I don't know, I'd wait for this to appear on streaming, it's only occasionally fun and not really worth of the big screen.
4/10
[7.8/10] Let's address the elephant in the room first. I don't love the fact that Jack turns out to be Picard's son. The long lost offspring is a big cliché, and Wrath of Khan influences or not, I could probably do without it.
That said, I like how Star Trek: Picard uses it here. The bad guys want Picard and the Titan to turn Jack over. It prompts one of those classic, Next Generation-style moral dilemmas that were always so fascinating. Do you hand him over to the bad guys because, true to that Wrath of Khan homage, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and there's 500 crew members at risk? Or do you stand your ground because, scoundrel or not, this young man deserves a fair trial and a chance at rehabilitation rather than swift judgment and likely a summary execution.
This is Star Trek, so we pretty much know how it's going to go down. But seeing Picard explore the issue, get to know this kid, see if there's a way out of this situation through guile or diplomacy, is some classic TNG-esque stuff. Sure, it's all magnified with the grittiness and bombast of modern television, but I appreciate that this is, at base, the kind of boardroom debate where the philosophical meets the practical that was the lifeblood of the old show.
So was the personal getting in the way of all this. I appreciate how Picard elides the questions of this young man's parentage because he already knows the answer in his heart and doesn't want to confront it. But I love how all it takes is one look from Beverly, a soft exchange of expressions that shows they still have the intuitive shorthand of twenty years ago, and he can deny the truth no longer. This is his son, a son as reckless but valiant as they once were, and by god, they're going to protect him.
For all the added pomp and circumstance, that's the core of this one, and for that reason alone, borrowing the rhythms that made The Next Generation famous, this is one of my favorite outings from Star Trek: Picard yet, despite the questionable cliché at the heart of the story.
Reviewing The Mechanic was something I didn't think I would do, as I really didn't care all that much for it the first time around, but seeing as there's a sequel soon hitting the cinemas, I thought I'd give it a shot.
The Mechanic starts rather good. Statham and Sutherland has a few rather good scenes in the opening of the film and all is well...
...then Ben Foster hits the scene, and everything goes meh.
Don't get me wrong. The action is good, the locations and the cinematography are good, and Statham does his stonefaced persona well enough...yet again. What made this go somewhat bad is the total lack of sympathy for the characters. Foster plays a whiny and impulsive brat...badly, Statham, even though he usually kills bad guys, doesn't come off as particularly sympathetic either. There's something about the story and the fact that these guys kill for money without much remorse that rubs me the wrong way. There's no noble cause or anything to make you even a tiny bit sympathetic with the protagonists.
Anyway...I'm going to see the sequel just because Statham is one of my favourite actors when I just want to spend some time relaxing, but I don't think I'll ever see this one again...
This was the first time I watched the whole show (BluRay looks amazing). I was literally smiling for all of the 120 episodes. Yes, I remembered a somewhat borderline silly show (part of that might be because up to now I only knew the German dubbed version) but re-discovered a true TV gem of old .
It is understandable that people who only know the modern day superhero shows are laughing this off. Batman is not without flaws, it has highs and lows. And you can feel, even today, over the course of the three seasons they made, the quality dripping away. But if you take the analytical approach here, you probably won't understand this show.
This show was a street sweeper in 1966. A must see for kids and adults alike. It had something for everyone. The dialogue was great and you got a lot of puns and double meanings (which didn't work all that well today). It was part comedy, part satire, but always presented in a serious manner.
You can see the standing this show had if you look at the array of guest villains. Which in itself was genious not calling them guest stars like every other show did. They were special, household Hollywood names, who lined up for a chance to do an episode. Granted, some villains were better than others but most of them were fun.
I love how everything was labeled, even things like a secret chamber had a sign saying "secret chamber". There was a bat-thingy for everything. Positively hilarious.
Give it a go, but don't take it to serious. It's entertainment. To quote the late Adam West: "Always grotesque but never bizarre"
To the Bat-poles !
