I'm exhausted. This tension, the politics, the intrigue, even to the last second. So much is happening in this episode. So much concealed under such elegant garments.
In one way I look forward to the finale next week, however I'm not sure how they are going to fit what I was anticipating to be in this episode into the last, unless it is a 3hr episode, but I think it won't be such.
The other way I'm looking forward to the finale, is I no longer will need to invest all my emotion and attention in this concentration of spectacle and the craft of each Actor performing to perfection their role, and appreciating each word, glance, and interaction with their counterparts in such a magnificent, stunning location.
I'll be ready for this finale but until then I'll be soaking in what I've watched today. What a pleasure it is to witness what the Arts can deliver if given a proper opportunity.
Thank you to the Creators, Actors, Crew, and Those That have painstakingly brought this masterpiece to us.
The conundrum has set in... I desperately want to see the last episode now, but I don't want it to be the last show. 10/10
"I do worry sometimes I might just be entertaining myself while staving off the inevitable."
The Banshees of Inisherin is one of the saddest breakup movies since Marriage Story. Well...in the film, they are not a romantic couple, but Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) were good friends, until one day their friendship ends abruptly, just because Colm decides that despite there being no bad blood between them, he does not like him anymore. The reason is: you are dull. In some ways, friendships are like relationships; it starts with the strong bonds you form with each other until that feeling towards them is not the same, and you no longer like/love them anymore.
I mean, everything was fine yesterday.
A strange occurrence that is not explainable but does happen. I believe it starts when one person changes while the other doesn’t. In the movie, Colm is a wise and articulated older man with an artistic ambition that he never acted on and never stopped to think about getting older. Living on a small remote island off the west coast of Ireland, where everybody is freaking boring and gossiping little bitches who love to stick their noses in other people's business and drama, because there is nothing else to do on the island. The movie does a fantastic job of giving you the impression that living on this rock slowly kills you on the inside. While being a supporting character, this is the dilemma with Colm. He does the same thing every day with his ex-friend, going to the pub at two pm and talking endlessly about meaningless crap and nonsense, and who knows what else happens the rest of the day, which is not that interesting, I assume.
The end of their friendship is hard to watch because it leaves the audience with everlasting pain. Brendan Gleeson is remarkable as the desperate and often cold Colm.
Despite what film Twitter tries to tell you, Martin McDonagh has yet to make a bad movie. In the same vein as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, whenever McDonagh makes a new movie, I am 100% there. Every movie this guy has made has been brilliant, and Banshees is no different. A dark comedy at its finest cause you know when things go so wrong to the point it gets funny. Well, Martin McDonagh's movies are like that.
The writing is superb and has plenty of dry humour. The film-making is not anything grand or flashy; some comment on how stagy it is, but I do not feel it needs to be a technical marvel. With that said, there are some beautiful shots of the landscape of Ireland.
Comparing his work in The Batman early this year and this movie proves that Colin Farrell is one of the finest working actors. His character Pádraic Súilleabháin is a dim-minded, polite man who, unlike Colm, has found peace and happiness in his daily life. Farrell brings a child-like vulnerability to the character, where everything he does or says can be funny and depressing. His character arc is incredibly heart-rending.
Pádraic sister, played by Kerry Cordon, another standout performance, and some of her line delivery has implanted itself in my head. Her character Siobhan is trying to find the ultimate purpose in her life, echoing the problems that Colm is facing, which the two get along like a house on fire.
Barry Keoghan plays Dominic, and out of all the characters in the story, he lives the worst life under his abusive father. Keoghan continues to be an excellent actor who is on a winning streak. The character of Dominic is a playful and childish man, but the tragedy of the character is that he is lost in this life and has nowhere to call home, often appearing at the most random of places during odd times.
The score from Carter Burwell immerses you in this story and contributes to the stunning visuals.
Overall rating: On paper, a simple concept of a friendship breaking up, but its approach to mental illness, kindness, art, masculinity, and our inevitable death was strikingly profound. At times, it felt like Shakespeare mixed with the Brothers Grim tale.
It is one of the best movies of 2022.
So after waiting 5 seasons for them to get together, now they go and separate them! WTF!!!!!
Ends on cliff hanger. Starts new ep. 5 minutes in its good. next 40 minutes its quite disappointing. Ends on cliff hanger. Repeat.
How dare they make us care for Nate and how dare they be so good at it?
Three words: I. LOVED. IT.
Listen, I'm a simple bitch, okay? Let's establish that right out of the gate. I can make fun of tropes all day long (especially the romantic ones) but in the end, I will eat that shit right up and walk out of the theater with the biggest grin on my face. Arthur and Mera accidentally hold hands and suddenly I turn into your 80-year-old grandma Gladys clutching her pearls and going "oh my". Jason Momoa and Amber Heard are DCEU's new dynamite duo (as much as I love Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, they've been knocked off the top spot for me). Their chemistry makes my skin tingle. Was the romance cliche? Hell yeah it was! And I adored every second of it!
Of course some stuff besides the romance also happens (but who cares about that? Not Gladys, that's for sure). The main plotline of finding the Trident does feel kinda like a treasure hunt with Arthur and Mera hopping from place to place, but because their chemistry and dynamic is just THAT good, it's all very fun and watchable. The villain is... well, he certainly is, eh? Actually there's two of them, but neither really made me feel anything. Still better than Steppenwolf, I guess? Although that's not saying much. The jokes hit more often than they miss and the movie did get a few good laughs out of me. But the more serious moments hit home for me as well, whether it's Arthur's reunion with his mother or his admission that he knows he doesn't deserve the Trident but it's his only hope of saving the people he loves. The tone feels pretty consistent and the transitions between the dramatic and comedic moments don't seem as jarring as in some other DCEU installments. The fight scenes are awesome. Especially the one in Sicily really made me feel pumped.
My favorite scene was by far Mera really experiencing the life on land for the first time. Her wide-eyed wonder (no pun intended, I guess) not only reminded me of Diana arriving in London, but it also had something wonderfully Little Mermaid-like (and not just because of the hair) about it. It was soft. It was pure. It made me feel warm inside. Mera eating the roses and Arthur immediately doing the same? Nobody's ever gonna ride for me this hard. Those are the kind of scenes that ground these huge superhero movies, that make them feel relatable to me and allow me to take a breath and really connect with the characters. And when 20 minutes later Mera goes full Bad Bitch In Charge on those soldiers and kills them with deadly wine spikes? Oh, I just about lost my mind. I want her to murder me. But aside from that entire sequence, there were plenty of other moments that really got my attention: little Arthur at the aquarium, Arthur and Mera's escape from Atlantis (such a fun chase!), our favorite power couple emerging from the ocean looking like they're on Baywatch (it was great, don't @ me), every time Mera used her powers (the glowing eyes!), the list goes on.
The visuals are absolutely stunning. Gone are the dreary grays of some lesser DCEU movies. Instead we get beautiful colors (Atlantis is beyond gorgeous), some great shots (Arthur and Mera swimming with the flare while surrounded by thousands of Trench people is breathtaking) and of course incredible CGI. It's a very aesthetically pleasing movie. And the music! I loved the music. This is one of the soundtracks I'm definitely gonna need to listen to at some point. And it takes some big balls to put a cover of Toto's Africa in your movie. I appreciate that. Some people are definitely gonna cringe when they hear it, but I had the biggest grin on my face.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable ride. It's quite long, but it didn't drag. I was invested in Arthur's journey. I thought the casting was perfect (and gosh darn do Jason Momoa and Amber Heard look good together! That has to be one of the most visually stunning pairings to have ever graced the big screen). And I just... felt super happy afterwards. I still can't stop smiling. It's a good movie not just by DCEU standards, but in general. I'd love to see it again and I'll definitely try to do so over the holidays. I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I did. What a great surprise.
Like gravedigging, you have to dig deep if you want to get the payoff.
Alex Garland's film about the abuse of women succeeds thanks to its rich tapestry of jarring images. While fans of traditional horror may feel disappointed by its lack of jump scares, those who appreciate the more cerebral psychology of neo-horror (à la Hereditary) will find what they are looking for here.
The film is largely a success thanks to its strong cast and rampant symbolism, though Garland's choice to focus more on the women as victims rather than the titular men as aggressors means the movie misses its mark when it comes to demanding receipts.
My interpretation of the symbolism:
:rotating_light::construction::octagonal_sign::warning:MAJOR SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT:warning::octagonal_sign::construction::rotating_light:
The film, obviously, is on a mission to portray women (or at least one woman) as a victim to the male gender. That the director wants to paint all men with this broad stroke is evident in the choice to have the same actor (Rory Kinnear) play all of the aggressors, saying, in essence, that deep down all men are the same man: a being that's driven to hurt women.
Of course, her abusive husband, James, isn’t played by Rory Kinnear. Does this mean he’s somehow different than the other men who appear later in the film? Absolutely not, and proof of that is Jame’s injuries. After he falls / jumps from the building, we see that a gate post splits his right arm from his elbow to his hand, and that his left ankle is broken. Later on in the film, all of the men in the town who besiege Harper are shown to share these exact same injuries, illustrating that they are the same man as the abusive estranged husband.
This point is also reinforced by the presence of 'the naked man'. 'The naked man' is the personification of "The Green Man" (who is also symbolized in the stone carving on the church altar). According to Wikipedia, “The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring,” which indicates that, as violence breeds violence, the cycle of violent men will continue with no end in sight. This is also what’s meant by the endless cycle of men birthing men that we witness in the film’s climax.
A quick glance at the film’s characters shows us several types of abusers that exist in society.
First, her husband, who starts off emotionally abusing his wife -- “If you leave me, I’ll kill myself” -- before graduating to physical abuse.
Then there’s Geoffrey, the man who rents her the mansion. He represents the “nice guy” who imposes his generosity on women and, when he’s later rebuffed, hurls insults at the women who aren’t interested in him.
The priest represents the patriarchy of religion and the structure put in place to perpetuate male domination and abuse.
Samuel is the young man 'frat bro' who feels he’s entitled to his ‘bit of fun’ and rebukes women who dare refuse him what he considers to be his due.
The police officer represents authority because, when he arrives at Harper’s rental property the night of the home invasion, he stands in her front yard yet neither says nor does anything. He’s as useless and impotent as the police and other authorities women might turn to when they seek assistance.
All of this is not to say that Jessie doesn’t have her allies. There is her best friend Riley (Gayle Rankin) who provides moral support throughout the film, and the kind policewoman who speaks with Harper when the police initially arrest the naked man. Garland’s point here is that the best place for a woman to get the support and assistance she needs is with other women.
This concept is driven home by the second figure etched into the altar (on the opposite face of The Green Man), that of the sheela na gig. The sheela na gig is a carving of a woman with an exaggerated vulva and is used to symbolize fertility and protection against evil.
That’s a brief rundown of the symbolism in Men, and also serves to illustrate what I appreciate about the film: it’s not because it’s horror that I have to turn off my brain. [/spoiler]
Outstanding episode that shows how Michael, deep down, believes in what he does and the people he supervises, no matter how inept he may be at his job. There's lots of laughs in his embarrassing speech to Ryan's class, and lots of great human moments, like when he gives Pam the acceptance she needs when her art show's going poorly. Really great work on both the comedy and emotion front.
I swear to God there's a special place in hell for these fucking antivax motherfuckers.
Denis Villeneuve is the man!
There’s only one word that came into my mind after watching it: finally.
Finally, a blockbuster that isn’t afraid to be primarily driven by drama and tension, and doesn’t undercut its own tone by throwing in a joke every 30 seconds.
Finally, a blockbuster that puts actual effort in its cinematography, and doesn’t have a bland or calculated colour palette.
Finally, a blockbuster with a story that has actual substance and themes, and doesn’t rely on intertextual references or nostalgia to create a fake sheen of depth.
Finally, a blockbuster that doesn’t pander to China by having big, loud and overblown action sequences, but relies on practical and grounded spectacle instead (it has big sand worms, you really don’t need to throw anything at the screen besides that).
Finally, a blockbuster that actually feels big, because it isn’t primarily shot in close ups, or on a sound stage.
And of course: finally, a blockbuster that isn’t a fucking prequel, sequel, or connected to an already established IP somehow.
(Yeah, I know Tenet did those things as well, but I couldn’t get into that because the characters were so flat and uninteresting).
This just checks all the boxes. An engaging story with subtext, very well set up characters, great acting (like James Gunn, Villeneuve's great at accentuating the strengths of limited actors like Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa), spectecular visuals and art design (desaturated but not in an ugly washed out way), pacing (slow but it never drags), directing, one of Hans Zimmer’s best scores: it’s all here.
I only have one real criticism: there’s too much exposition, especially in the first half.
It can occasionally hold your hand by referencing things that have already been established previously, and some scenes of characters explaining stuff to each other could’ve been conveyed more visually.
Other than that, it’s easily one of the best films of the year.
I’ve seen some people critiquing it for being incomplete, which is true, but this isn’t just a set up for a future film.
It feels like a whole meal, there are pay offs in this, and the characters progress (even if, yes, their arcs are still incomplete).
8.5/10
This movie stressed me the fuck out.
Everything I wanted it to be and more. Perfectly cast and excellent soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. Epic Sci-Fi at its best.
Best episode so far. I pride myself on seeing most things coming in a series, but this episode blew my mind. I had no idea Bernard was one of them untill he said 'What door' near the end of the episode.
I don't think many people realize how important this episode, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine in general, are. The show's talked about many issues, and I think it's very important that this episode focused on white supremacy and police brutality towards the black community. I love Brooklyn Nine-Nine and I think it's one of the most underrated sitcoms of this generation. More people should focus on this show. Please do not get it cancelled.
An unnecessary and well made epilogue for one of the best characters from Breaking Bad. Aaron Paul is great and I loved getting more time with Jesse Pinkman and some of the other characters.
Dude. The fucking cinematography man.
honestly the cutest episode i have ever seen. makes me believe that true love is real and satan is no longer with me.
Lord knows that if The Office was going to get anything right, it needed to be Jim expressing his feelings for Pam, and boy does it pull that off here. The confession is harrowing, sad, and heartening all at the same time, with Pam's shock and reaction to something she, deep down, already knows, adds to the charged atmosphere. The rest of the episode is fun, as Michael inadvertently inviting two dates to the same event is a bit of cliche but still full of comedy, and the other antics around the work party are enjoyable. But it's that last moment, that pays off so much built up emotion and drama, that really makes this one great.
Dwight: Everyday, for eight years, I have brought pepper spray into this office to protect myself and my fellow employees.
And everyday, for eight years, people have laughed at me.
Well, who's laughing now?
Trivias
+The kiss between Michael and Oscar in the conference room was not scripted. The scene had been shot a couple of times with Steve Carell not kissing Oscar Nunez. Then on one take, Oscar saw "[Carell's] lips coming closer and closer". Nunez recalled "I'm like, 'Dear God, he's going to kiss me.' And sure enough, he planted one on my face." The other cast members were laughing during the kiss but because the camera stay focused on Carell and Nunez, the scene was still usable.
+It won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.
+First appearance of Andy Bernard (Ed Helms).
+The exterior shot of the Stamford Branch was formerly the office location for the company Starwood, and is directly across the water from NBC Sports in Stamford, CT. NBC is the network that aired The Office.
"I never thought I`d see you this high without a broom under you" made my day.
Ok, bets are on. Will Sean Bean survive the entire second season? ;)
NOW THIS IS GOOD TELEVISION. I CANT EVEN PUT IT INTO WORDS. NINE-NINE!
As an origin story, this still has all the hallmarks of a Bond film, but this is one of those rare Bond films that successfully attempts to delve a little bit deeper into the character. It is a bold step taking the audience back to the beginning of Bond as a 00 agent, but credit to the writers and director as it allows them to focus on how Bond developed into the character seen in all the other films. Craig is perfect for the role of a Bond at the start of his career. In his work, Bond is much more a force of nature, raw and brutal, and there are doubts over his ability to remain detached. Its his emotional state that the film explores which makes this a much more interesting take on the character. Consequently, there is a greater stake in his relationship with Eva Green's character, who manages to make a far more memorable Bond girl than many of the recent ones from the Brosnan era. A great start to a new cycle of Bond films.
What a Bloody outstanding show! This is the first time I've ever wanted to give a show a genuine 11/10!
The writing brings out all of the respect, honour and dignity, even in deception. I love this epic and especially this episode (although once I see next week's episode I'll no doubt rave over that too), there is no dumbing down for the audience, you need to be immersed.
When 'Mariko' translating as she does 'Blackthorne's' words to 'Toranaga' and the sublime transition turning to 'Blackthorne' with eyes the sharpness of a sword, to ask "Shall I translate this too, or is this directed to me". Outstanding.
Each and every actor, no matter who they represent in this epic 'goes all in', for their character, their craft in acting is flawless. If there was any legitimacy in the Academy or in any entertainment award for actors, crew and show, Shōgun would do a clean sweep without exception, even though we still have two episodes to go.
Shōgun is definitely the pinnacle of any show I've had the privilege of watching in my six decades of life. This is not a throw away comment as I am an enthusiast in quality entertainment for most my life.
I cannot wait to own this on UHD Bluray boxset when it's released. Outstandingly Brilliant. 11/10
