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Reviews
Midsommar (2019)
A really bad trip
If you liked Hereditary you'll probably like this. I'm not sure how general horror audiences will react to this since it is definately quite long, and pretty slow. Also something that I loved, but some people might not, is I found that unlike most horror films which have scary things happen to progress the plot, Midsommer just WAS scary. The whole atmosphere from beginning to end was non stop tension and anxiety. There was more of a psychadelic aesthetic in Midsommer than there was in Hereditary, and if you've ever had a bad trip the feeling this film will give you will seem very familiar.
Really good spooky film about family. Watch it.
Oh yeah it was beautiful also.
Sleepless (2017)
They said it was just gonna be an easy grab
Well it ain't no easy grab, they got T!
This movie was excellent. the characters are so deep and three- dimensional. the filmmaker is very easily able to communicate two vital pieces of information. 1. Is that they said it was just going to be an easy grab. and 2. in a genius twist of dramatic irony it is revealed that: it ain't no easy grab, and furthermore, they got T. Jamie Foxx's character was brilliantly written. the audience can see that this is a man with a lot of enemies, he's got a lot of enemies, he's got a lot of people trying to drain him of his energy. what's interesting about the fact that he's got a lot of enemies is that it adds a new dynamic to the plot: that it is these enemies, the very men trying to drain him of his energy, who've got T. because when you've got a lot of enemies, it ain't no easy grab. They got T.
La La Land (2016)
A brilliant musical and a brilliant film. Best of 2016 so far
I had watched La La Land at TIFF 2016, and it was a definite highlight of the festival. Having had seen director Damien Chazelle's previous film Whiplash and being utterly blown away by it, I went into La La Land with very high expectations. I'm happy to say, I was far from disappointed. Tonally, La La Land was very different from Whiplash, (one was an intense and dark psychological thriller whereas this was a brilliant, comedic, and emotional romance) but Chazelle's style can still be seen in this film. With two stellar films under his belt, I'm incredibly exited for Chazelle's next project.
Performances from Ryan Gosling and especially Emma Stone were absolutely astounding. Both of the stars were able to authentically portray such a vast range of emotion as well as deliver great musical performances. The chemistry between the two actors was great. Gosling and Stone were able to believably play off of one another and it made for an entertaining and emotionally engaging relationship to watch unfold. John Legend gave a good performance in his supporting role, although he was outshone by the stars of the film.
The costume and set design were expertly done and well utilized in the story. Where a lesser film may establish character through expository dialogue, Chazelle tells the audience what there is to know about his characters by showing us details like the color of her dress, the dustiness of his apartment, or even the make of his car. The mise-en-scene is employed to establish the tone of the movie. For example, there are multiple comedic scenes in which the comedy is derived from the clash between the costumes and setting. A more dramatic, tragic scene uses the lighting to communicate to us the emotions which the characters are trying to communicate to each other. The lighting would often be used as a way to transport the film from the real world to a more dream-like, surreal, timeless space. In many scenes, the hue of the lighting is used to represent emotion or even to represent a particular character. The use of spotlights was also helpful to establish tone and mood.
The cinematography is stunning. With a wide variety of beautiful shots, La La Land is able to convey emotion. A simple point-of-view shot can turn a stereo speaker into a symbol of longing or a stained ceiling into a symbol of desperation. The production of some of the shots were impressive, especially during the musical numbers. These scenes employed a variety of long shots, crane shots, and dolly shots. Another example of raw talent to be marveled at.
The editing was good. Chazelle knew when to cut and when not to cut. Cuts were strategically placed for the sake of comedy, similarly, other shots would linger for a decent length to emphasize the drama and tension of the scene.
This entire review can be spent discussing the film's soundtrack. Not only did this film display what is perhaps this decade's greatest soundtrack yet, but the score was so essential to the movie. Whenever placed in the film, the lyrics and tone of the music perfectly compliment the tone and plot. Every single piece of music in this film is so expertly written and fits so superbly within the film. There are plenty of clever double and triple entendres in songs like City of Stars which comment on the plot and the larger themes of the film all at once. The musical performances by Gosling, Stone and John Legend were all out of this world. The soundtrack is the highlight of this film and it will, without a doubt, win La La Land at least one Oscar come February.
The story was simplistic yet admirably written. Unlike many romantic films that will force in some contrived conflict between the two leads in order to push the film into the third act, every plot point in La La Land feels natural and believable. There are a couple of encounters and events towards the beginning of the film that feel a little too coincidental. But as long as you can suspend your disbelief a little, they won't be anything that will ruin the movie. If I had to choose I would say that the plot is the weakest element of this film, if not only because every other aspect was done so perfectly.
La La Land was an amazing, alluring, magnificent, emotional roller-coaster of a film. I am excited to see it again when it opens next week, and to see it win at the Oscars. The opening scene alone is worthy of multiple Oscars so it wouldn't be surprising if this took home best picture. This film is an anthem for all the fools who dream. 9/10. Best film of 2016 so far.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)
Had many good qualities, didn't meet its potential.
I watched this movie because the premise reminded me of a British film I'd seen, "Fish Tank". Maybe it was because of that high benchmark that I was thoroughly disappointed with "Diary of a Teenage Girl".
I am not the main demographic for this film, but that in no way should be used to excuse the faults it has. Despite the film being intended for teenage girls, its themes are universal. Themes like insecurity of identity, longing for love, and the confusing loneliness of adolescence are feelings known by nearly everyone. The issue this film has, thematically, is how it portrays its themes. Too often our protagonist, Minnie, would simply talk to her diary (a surrogate for the audience) about how she felt without any visual representation to convey those feelings.
For the most part the acting was stellar. Performances by Bel Powely and especially Alexander Skargard were particularly great. Kristen Wiig's performance was a little on the weak side, but due to her characters lack of contribution to the plot, it's excusable. The costume and set design were nothing special, they realistically portrayed the 70's which is all they really needed to do.
The cinematography was hit and miss. There certainly were some very pretty shots within the film. The two main problems with the cinematography were a lack of shot variation and how it was used to tell the story. Just about the entirety of the film was shot in either close up or a medium shot. The majority of the film was Minnie's face as she looked at something, and every now and then there would be a shot of what she was looking at. There was no notable camera movement and rarely were there more than 2 characters in a frame, neither of those things are necessarily bad but when it's all the film does for nearly 2 hours it gets stale fast. The visual metaphors were lacking in this film. As said before, Minnie would simply talk the themes at the audience directly rather than the film showing them through visual motifs. The only scenes with visual motifs present were those where she lays in the bath or looks at herself in the mirror and ponders her loneliness. But even those scenes feature her voice-over narration explaining her emotions rather than allowing the audience to decipher them alone.
The editing was slightly above average. The pacing was pretty good, although some scenes were cut short and then later referred to as being relevant when they didn't feel so. The sex scenes were kept at an appropriate length. Often films with prevalent sexual themes will shoot and edit sex scenes in a drawn out manner for the sake of shock value. This was not the case in "Diary of a Teenage Girl". Other good uses of editing were a few examples of cutting to sound to start a scene. Aside from that the editing was pretty standard.
The sound was not great. The music choice didn't work for this film, most of the songs sounded like typical indie/folk rock songs made from the last decade. The soundtrack didn't need to be "Dazed and Confused" but for a film set in the 70's, it would do it some justice to have at least one recognizable 70's song.
Much like the cinematography, the script was very hit and miss. The characters were all written to have the maturity of a teenager, even the PhD step-dad character. This was either done as a commentary on parenting in that generation, or as a way of showing how Minnie sees her world; as inhabited by those with a maturity level akin to her own. None of the characters, not even Minnie, were very likable although that was probably done intentionally. One fault the script had was the lack of development Minnie goes through. Towards the very end she does grow a little, but for the vast majority of the film the only changes to her character are external. Meaning things like how much drugs she's taking or how much sex she's having change, but internally she stays the same. It's only at the very end that her general attitude and her attitude towards Monroe change. There was no dialogue that stood out as especially clever but there was also no dialogue that was especially stupid.
This film had its fair share of good bits but it failed to use them to tell a great story. With its plot dealing with such engaging subject matter, this film really fell short of its potential.
It was mediocre, maybe slightly below average. If you tend to like films like this, you'll probably get a decent amount of enjoyment out of it. Unfortunately, I did not. I'm rating this film as a weak 6/10, it might change to a 5/10 in the future.
Luke Cage (2016)
Has nothing to offer, just a poorly made mess
I went into this with zero expectations. I was a big fan of Daredevil and Jessica Jones so there was already a high precedent for Luke Cage to meet. unfortunately, Luke Cage was infinitely worse than either of those shows.
The action was minimal, and the action scenes that existed were disappointing. to go from the highly coordinated elaborate fights in Daredevil to the generic boring dribble in Luke Cage is a huge downgrade.
The editing was poor as well. Certain scenes would drag on with seemingly no point or any end in sight. Even amateur mistakes like breaking the 180 degree rule can be seen in dialogue scenes. On the subject of dialogue, it was a kind of lazy usually reserved for daytime soap- operas.
The weakest part of this show was the writing. Character motivations made no sense, it was riddled with plot holes, and plot points were spit out so lazily that the show was not remotely believable.
Good music and special effects. 4/10