While the single take execution on display here is certainly deserving of praise, I can't help but think of it as the cherry on top of an already great film. The writing and performances are brilliant. The efficiency of character development is absolutely masterful, as the film somehow manages to juggle a large ensemble cast in 90 minutes. Some of these characters don't get more than a few minutes of focus and a few lines of dialogue, but that's all this film needs to make them feel real. This is all anchored and elevated by the powerhouse central performance of Stephen Graham. I am so impressed with the writing and execution of this character. It would have been easy to turn him into a very non-sympathetic caricature of the angry chef, but that's not what we get here. Yes, we get some profanity laced outbursts, but we also get heartfelt apologies and acknowledgements of his own responsibility. This is a man whose life is spiraling out of control and he knows exactly who is to blame: himself. This makes his interactions with his staff all the more tragic. Every time they are caught in the fallout of his mistakes he hates himself all the more. It's an effective portrait of someone who is desperately trying to be a good person, but addiction and self-sabotage are making that an impossible task.
My only critiques would perhaps be that the ending felt a little rushed and that the Alastair Sky storyline didn't feel quite as natural as everything else.
so, maybe i missed it, but did they ever mention how long they've been on Earth?
also, did the Lannisters send their regards?
An easily forgettable, watered-down version of "Emma", that couldn't hold a candle to its latest (2020) adaptation... Which is in a wholly different league. As someone already commented, they also tried to go the "Bridgerton" route, but the end result was indeed a poor imitation of its way sassier, glitzier source of inspiration.
With its dirty glam sheen, bright chunks of color floating in filth, and an odor you can feel wafting off the screen, After Blue is all about making vomit cool again.
To be incoherent means to have faith in cinema, it means to have a romantic approach, unformatted, free, disturbed and dreamlike, cinegenic, an epic narration.
-Writer / Director Bertrand Mandico in his Incoherence Manifesto (2012)
After Blue is a surreal road trip where, if you aren't sure you're going to like it before you see it, then you're going to hate it. Fortunately, I knew I was going to like it because I'm a big fan of Bertrand Mandico after seeing his The Wild Boys (2017).
As someone who sees a movie everyday, a filmmaker who goes all out, who commits 100% to the bit and turns the style up to 11, makes the kind of movies I want to see because they're going to stand far out from the dump of rom-coms and family dramas that litter the cinema every week.
Look, let's be honest, you're not going to like After Blue so I can't recommend seeing it. It's just too weird. But if you want to watch a technicolor burp spew across the screen, if you like movies with a trippy 70's vibe, if you're into Ken Russell pompous extravagance then you might like After Blue but don't blame me if you don't.
(Mini-rant you don't need to read: Honestly, I don't get the criticisms saying After Blue is 'unintelligible' . Hell, I can tell you what it's about and I'm not even a native French speaker! In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman (Roxy, or 'Toxic' to the people of the village) finds a woman buried up to her neck in the ground. Roxy helps the woman out of the sand, only to learn this woman (Kate(rina) Bush(owsky)) was buried there to be executed when the tide rose. 'Kate Bush' gives her three wishes, but the women of the village tell Roxy and her mother that they have to go on a road trip, find Kate and kill her. Yes, it's a surreal film, but those who say there isn't a story either didn't pay attention or they wrote a review based only on other critics' articles because they didn't see the film themselves.)
Such a visually stunning film. This is a haunting, dreamy and mysterious folk horror/revenge tale unpacking past trauma through images that witness fragments of the past violence blurred into nightmare. It starts off really slow before transforming into something hypnotic and surreal with imagery that are still running through my mind. Definitely not a scary film but the way it at times swings between arthouse and nonsensical is just so delightful and Alice Krige is more than stunning in her performance.
A thoroughly entertaining giallo-inspired gothic horror that's absolutely bizarre in the best way possible. It's definitely a film where it favors style over substance, yet it delivers a complex and subversive tale that lingers in the memory with an excellent combination of haunting atmosphere, striking cinematography, dark humor and gothic bleakness. It's truly fascinating how this film manages an unbelievable balancing act of cinematic craft and exploitational elements few films can follow through on. Don’t want to reveal too much, just go see it. It's an amazing experience and at under 80 minutes I would recommend this to anyone.
"A man's got to to do what a man's got to do" LOL, that line alone made the movie for me!
This movie unapologetically knows it's audience.
Pretty fun time. I love what they did with the color and visuals! So over-the-top and creative. I liked the main characters, they're funny and genuinely seem having a really good time. The musical part was super cheesy but I liked it! The message could be more powerful if they didn't hold back.
I seriously can't believe all the positive reviews of this. So many plot holes and dumb moves by every character. The killer could have been stopped SO many times so easily, by the main characters and the police. A big disappointment, don't waste your time.
I am Ukrainian and I claim that this movie is complete propaganda
Full disclosure, I was and am a HUGE fan of the 1961 WEST SIDE STORY. I know it’s every detail, every word of every lyric, every emotional cue. Rita Moreno was the iconic Rita. So, I went to see this new Spielberg directed, Moreno produced, 2021 version with more curiosity than expectation. Not forgetting that WEST SIDE STORY was inspired by Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET, the general structure of the movies is the same yet contemporary and musical. The 2021 version is grittier. The context of the drama is more developed, setting it in a disappearing New York neighbourhood, which makes the rivalry of the street gangs more a matter of life and death that either the play or the first movie. Rita Moreno is very much celebrated in this new film, with a newly created character and a reallocation of a song. Two musical numbers in the 2021 version paled when compared to the 1961: (1) the dance at the gym didn’t have the battle fever of the original (probably solely due to the incomparable Rita Moreno in 1961) and by moving Tony and Maria’s first meeting from the actual dance to behind the bleachers it lost the transcendent quality of their love at first sight; and (2) Maria’s “I Feel Pretty” scene being moved from a Dress Shop (where the girls worked) to a department store (where they were but a small part of a cleaning crew), despite the clever use of store displays, changed the context from dreaming of a wedding to dreaming of blending into Americana. I also felt that 2021 suffered from the loss of (a) priest, which stripped away marriage vows in a church for promises in a museum (??), and (b) the the loss of the potion separated the lovers and the tragic death of love at the end. HOWEVER, ALL COMPARISONS OR DISAPPOINTMENTS EVAPORATED when Rachel Zegler’s soaring soprano lifted Maria’s first note. It was so beautiful I had to remind myself to breath. Her duets with Amsel Elgort were transporting. What would have been a rating of 7 (good) was made 9 (superb) by Zegler’s performance, making this a must see film. [Musical Drama]
It was nice to watch a movie where I didn't need to use my brain. This was 100% predictable and you knew who the killer was as soon as you saw him on the screen. But I needed something where I didn't need to think tonight so this delivered perfectly.
It could be a very good movie. But it isn't. In the end you understand how powerful this movie could be and how poor it was made. Even The Human Centipede is better than this. Maybe it will serve as inspiration to others make a good movie.
People discovering they have psychic powers, experimenting with it, growing stronger, then falling out and confronting each other. Known story, except this time it's with very young children.
It's actually funny because every little plot issue made to keep the story go on that would normally be very easily spotted and annoying (like "why the hell is this character acting like that, that's so stupid, of course there will be consequences") is washed away by "of course they're children". For instance, Aisha's death was easily preventable, but they just weren't allowed to go out. Though why didn't she take precautions against her mother ? Ida did.
The whole story takes place out of sight of adults, they're just accessories. So much that you're kinda wondering what they're doing. Children are out all the time, unsupervised, even if one is autistic, left to the supervision of her 9yo sister, even when a teenager got killed. No one seems to be noticing Ben's mother absence either. It's an interesting take on the theme, the way the children experiment with their power is totally different from what adults would do, simpler, funnier, in the beginning, and rapidly more cruel too. Even the simple fact that they just simply accept the existence of these powers.
Not a fan of "the innocents" concept. These children are not innocents, it usually implies they wouldn't know the difference between good and evil, but they clearly do, they know what they're doing is bad. Even less a fan of the cliche of the psychopath child killing a cat.
Here it's still important, it's Ida's turning point but still would have rather not see it. Before that she's pretty bad herself, specially with her sister. I mean the broken glass in the shoe ? When she knows that Anna won't say anything and keep hurting herself for a long time, that was pretty hardcore. She was also ok with throwing the cat from the 10th floor, and just drew the limit at crushing his skull afterwards...
I like that we have no idea where these powers came from, and even if the last fight show us that lots of children are at least able to feel what's happening, it's not even a subject, clearly still a secret from adults, and they never interacted with others.
Anyway, even if it's pretty expected the story works, and the tension is still there, the children are actually quite good, specially Anna, and they have a lot of evolution during the story.
Ben is a solid antagonist. It's shown early that he's a psychopath but the getting worse part is well done and you rapidly have no issue accepting that this child must be killed.
The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) • Movie Review
Jeo Baby directed the great indian kitchen is hard hitting social commentary on the patriarchal society in which we co-exist even in the 21st century. Its not made for entertainment but is meant for a reformation which is very much urgent. A must watch for if you are a man.
www.instagram.com/stream.genx
This documentary about the 800 km / 500 mile hike to Saintiago de Compostela is a nice little jaunt, even if it is a little flat and doesn't go very far.
That said, not gonna lie, I got choked up listening to some of the hikers' tales of sorrow and loss. Hey, I may be a dick but I'm not a monster.
I kinda dig this one. Creepy horror fantasy about a young woman who's still haunted by the incident of the accidental drowning of her twin sister long time ago. She becomes self destructive and she doesn't seem to have a good relationship with her parents. One day she returns to her parents' home to help with their moving, but she finds herself drawn to another dimension where she thinks her sister may still be alive. This is Carlson Young's first role as a writer/director and she definitely crafted something really interesting here. An exploration of unresolved trauma through visuals. I admit that this film falls short in a few aspects but it also has a lot of things to admire and I can appreciate the ambition. It's very striking visually with nightmarish imaginary world, vivid imagery, and amazing lighting that keep me hooked. On top of that, the kooky score perfectly fits the picture and there are some fun references too. I'm interested in whatever she does next. Adding extra star for Udo Kier.
Over-stylized garbage. I don't like this at all. It's painful to sit through and has no redeeming quality whatsoever. I bet the director thinks he's the horror film savior offering something groundbreaking the genre or something. It's boring, plodding and doesn't really go anywhere, if it does it takes forever. The script is shallow and poorly written, the characters are annoying constantly making dumb choices without any good reasoning, the unecessary editing choices, some are cool but it's not enough. Not a single soundtrack or should I call it random noises fit the picture. I was waiting for the "surprise" but there's none. I didn't feel any suspense at all, just confusion and frustration.
sorry but terrible acting !!! beside that the presentation of turkey was not good, yes im a turkish guy and i have restrict parents but i was uncomfortable about that.. Lets talk about cinematography!!! guys you really filmed turkey and decided to shoot only steppe, turkey is not like that yeah we are a multifarious country but i think you could show some good-looking places.
ANYWAYYY QUEER REPRESENTATION!!!!
La Première Marche / The First March: Like watching your little brother in a talent show, not everything is technically perfect, but technically perfect isn't everything.
In 2019, five LGBTQ+ university students who live in Paris's most 'no-go' suburb decide to organize the first pride march not just in the embattled St Denis, but the first march outside of Paris proper. This documentary follows the group from the inception of the project through to the actual demonstration.
While there is some filler in this 70-minute documentary, the journey from the first civic meeting where fewer than ten guests speckle the auditorium to the jam packed streets of the march itself make this sincere and optimistic film a joy to watch.
“I've heard that there's a kind of bird without legs that can only fly and fly, and sleep in the wind when it is tired. The bird only lands once in its life... that's when it dies.”
Each person will come out of this film with a different interpretation for this quote, for me the bird symbolises those who are too terrified of feeling anything real, and so spend their whole lives distracting themselves with anything that will disconnect them from the ground, because they know if they ever come back down, the pain will be too great to bare.
In the first two acts of the film, we see the protagonist attempt to drown the grief that comes from not knowing who his parents are with flings with women (that he never allows to become anything real), sex and occasional violence. It’s only when his adoptive mother finally tells him where his birth mother is that he finally allows himself to face that hurt, which ultimately gets him killed. Like his adoptive mother said, all his life he used not knowing his parents as an excuse for “years of running wild” (like the bird that always flies), but the minute he’d know their identity he would no longer have an excuse for his behaviour and, much like the bird, would be forced to finally ground himself, face his complicated feelings and grow up.
Wong’s ability to explore such complicated human emotions through the story of a man and that specific metaphor is wonderful.
No one does atmosphere, nostalgia and longing quite like the Chinese filmmaker and Days of Being Wild is no exception. The beautiful, intriguing and often suffocating mise-en-scène, the delicious score, and the tantalising use of colour and light make this film yet another dreamy escape for hopeless romantics who just want to understand the pain in their hearts a little better, or rather sit with it for an hour and a half.
The ending feels out of place, but the fact that it eventually functioned as a link into his later film In The Mood For Love, makes the unofficial Love Trilogy all the more fun to experience.
You'll see that it's definitely a movie based on a play: 4 characters in a single space (an apartment) and a lot of verbal exchanges. And that's my only qualm, I believe that a film gives you much more to play with, meaning that's free of all the limitations of a play with a live audience. I haven't seen the play, so I can't compare which one is better. That aside, I think it's a clever story with lots of things that may resonate with many couples, whether gay or straight. What I do appreciate is the level of maturity in which the topics were handled. The comedic moments do stand out, and the actors' performances are a delight.
Like a $2000 stimmy check, Snyder's Justice League is worth the wait.
An epic super hero opera, every person even remotely connected to this film, from the actors to the writers to the janitor, takes themselves dangerously too seriously, but that's so much better than not doing nothing at all.
Maybe the experience is different if you're American and/or you have no prior knowledge of what was going on in Gitmo (we been knew), but this movie -- while not too bad -- was not as good as it could have been.
The script takes middle-of-the-road approach and never really goes for the jugular. Sure, we can call the onscreen depictions of torture "brave" but it's not like it is the first movie to do so. The tone was confusing, there was a lot of jokes for a story that's about inhumane torture. I don't know what function the dream scenes were supposed to perform in the movie, some of them were disorienting, which I suppose is intentional to demonstrate Mo's mental state, but I wonder if they were necessary at all.
The acting was great though, I have no misgivings about the acting. I've always liked Tahar Rahim, but the poor guy is really typecast in America, in Europe they trust him with roles that have nothing to do with his background, because he's just that good.
Great film. Carey Mulligan is amazing in it. I just want to say: Death to the rapist patriarchy . Also, great soundtrack. Very cool all around.
Mads Mikkelsen dancing and spinning around is one of the most beautiful cinematic moments in 2020
He's so good , great cast all around and a top notch movie
I think the very best films are those that are able to speak to us, without being showy, of the rhythms and undercurrents that underpin our own lives. Sweeping emotional climaxes have never appealed to me as much as slow-burning, subtle explorations of our relationships with ourselves and others. Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir contains no grand climax, no catharsis, no resolutions. Instead it flows, shifting direction, twisting ever so slightly, looping back on itself and moving on anew. From reading the reactions to it, some have objected to its lack of obvious plot or its intensely personal nature, but these are the qualities I found myself relishing.
It's beautifully shot, full of muted tones and the grain of 16mm, and the use of space and light are remarkable—the feeling of a cramped student flat is captured perfectly. We move constantly back and forward between the living room, the bedroom, the stairwell. When Julie and Anthony are out for dinner they're shot from a low position, just a table in amongst the others. Close-ups are rare and all the more impactful for when they do appear.
What resonated deeply with me is the sense of being in a relationship that clearly isn't healthy but has enough charm, enough life, in it that it seems as if there really is no alternative. I have had relationships like that, where my partner would be equally controlling and encouraging. I was young and impressionable and even after it became clear to everyone else that there was only one way things could end I clung to it. I understand Julie: I understand why she stays with Anthony and goes back to him and indulges him; I understand it when she apologises to him for his bad behaviour; I understand it when she begins to borrow money from her parents to fund his lifestyle, remaining wilfully ignorant of its realities. There are seldom great, dramatic ruptures in real-life relationships and so it is here.
The performances from all of the actors involved are astonishingly good. Hogg spoke about casting Swinton Byrne because she seemed uncomfortable in front of the camera, like an artist and not an actor. This has proved to work very well as Julie seems, genuinely, like a young woman who hasn't figured out who she is personally or artistically. Tom Burke's arrogant, golden-tongued Anthony has a sort of feline character to him, sly and charming and managing to convey much with just his eyes. He worms his way into Julie's life, setting boundaries and then breaking them, pushing her far beyond what any partner should have to do. He encourages her, cajoles her, bullies her and it fills the heart with despair to see the relationship go where he directs it. Richard Ayoade has a memorable cameo and Tilda Swinton is typically magnificent as Julie's mother—a highly-strung parent who gets 'shopping headaches' and makes Julie and Anthony sleep in separate rooms.
Hogg also spoke of her lack of desire to make a film about class and yet class is everywhere in The Souvenir. It's in the sets, the clothes, the accents. It's in Julie's desire to make films about dockworkers in Sunderland, shown disdain by working-class and bourgeois characters alike. It's in the family dynamics, the parties, the cheques that pay for the dinners. It hangs obliquely over everything, and while Julie is often quick to acknowledge her own privilege it is clear that she occupies a rarefied existence.
The film's close comes almost delicately, and without the sweep that might be expected from a lesser, more obvious picture. It made me feel a quiet, deep sense of loss that I'm still thinking about days later. I will come back to it, revisit it, think about it. That is what I want from cinema.
