Weekly Movie Review: Parasite (2019)

Damn. That’s some crazy shit there. Without giving too much away, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The camera work and cinematography are incredible - lots of nontraditional shots (slant angles, slow pans, overheads, etc.) that work well and add to the progression of the story without being cheesy.

Man, seems like a cute comedy with some sorta dark elements that just explodes into a creepy suspense film. You’re certainly not bored at all while watching this film and it does a good job of sustaining that momentum from start to finish. There’s a particular scene during a rain storm/flood where the juxtaposition of different scenes is so seamlessly well done, I almost crapped myself.

Lots of beautiful allusions to class structure, material wealth, envy, and the search for happiness. Sick movie.

9/10

Weekly Movie Review: The Lighthouse (2019)

Beating a dead horse here, but the cinematography is fucking stunning. Holy shit. On a personal note, I liked this way better than The VVitch. But that's not saying much. Eggers creates a superbly creepy island and does well to drive home that creepiness. The constant blaring of the foghorn throughout the entirety of the film, the hallucinations, the masturbation, the lunacy, etc. all works together to create and sustain this dystopia.

Unfortunately, Eggers relies too heavily on metaphor, mythology, and abstraction to drive his points home, making the viewer do more work than necessary for entertainment purposes. What some see as masterful directing, I took as lazy; I don't want to do your work for you, Eggers. I'll happily do some, but not the heavy-lifting.

That's not to say that I didn't find the movie enjoyable. As the credits rolled, I kind of had a "huh, that was weird" initial reaction, but as I digested it a bit more, I saw shreds of clever artistry and more really wonderful camera work, despite not having much to work with on a small, bleak, island.

One thing I found particularly interesting is the evolution of Pattinson's accent as the film goes on. At the start when he's not saying much, it's more on par with Dafoe's, but less pronounced. As the film wears on, and Pattinson starts slipping further into lunacy, it starts becoming more Bostonian, ever so gradually until it's full BAHWS-TAHN.

It's a creepy, cool, refreshing film, but eh, not my favorite.

6/10

Weekly Movie Review: A Ghost Story (2017)

Very conflicted with this one; on the one hand, it’s shot so beautifully and the way sounds/music and camera work mesh to create suspense and sadness is brilliant. On the other hand, i feel that this film could’ve been made to be under an hour, easy. There are a lot of scenes that i personally feel go on for way too long. Sometimes it works, but a lot of times i felt that it was unnecessary. I get we’re supposed to feel like the ghost with the passing of time and whatnot, but meh, i get it, i don’t need to be bludgeoned over the head with it.

There’s also some pseudo-philosophical shit I don’t care for going on as the film progresses, but it’s not incredibly off-putting. “We’re all gonna die, life is pointless, etc. Nietzsche stuff.” Cute, but unnecessary. I’m more interested in the sadness and loneliness of the now fractured relationship.

All in all, it’s definitely worth one watch-through - some really gut-wrenching and heartbreaking scenes, not overly sentimental but still very emotionally charged. I probably wouldn’t watch it again, but I did enjoy it overall.

6/10

Weekly Movie Review: Errementari - The Blacksmith and the Devil (2017)

This movie had been on my radar for some time and I’m glad I finally pulled the trigger on watching it. It was such a pleasant and whimsical surprise.

Firstly, I don’t know if I would classify this as horror; probably more of dark-fantasy/folklore. But man, everything from the casting, to the music, to the storyline, setting, makeup, and costuming was well thought-out and wonderfully crafted.

I highly recommend watching with the Basque language and just having english subtitles as the language is a major factor in really drawing you into the story: it’s so unusual, like a cross between Spanish, Portuguese, and French. It’s lovely.

There are some silly moments, especially those involving chickpeas (???), and a couple chuckle worthy/goofy elements, but I don’t feel that they detract from the film, more so, I feel they help enhance it and keep that whimsy alive throughout.

Damn good flick, highly entertaining, only wish we get to see a final battle in Hell.

7.5/10

Weekly Movie Review: Ma (2019)

Kind of split with this film. On the one hand, I enjoyed the idea of this film: lonely middle-aged woman trying to regain a lost sense of youth. I like the unfolding of her backstory and why she became what she did. I also loved Diana Silver's performance. She's breathtaking.

There was a decent level of creepiness, but multiple times, execution seemed sloppy and lazy. Lots of things that happened didn't seem to make sense, mainly why the moronic kids kept going back to Ma's house after establishing she is a lunatic. Big plot-hole.

Ending was also super anticlimactic and seemingly thrown together. It's entertaining enough and a fun watch regardless, but probably not worthy of repeat viewings.

5.5/10

Weekly Movie Review: Black Christmas (1974)

The original Slasher film that inspired the likes of Halloween and Friday the 13th, it’s groundbreaking and horrifying and just as creepy 45 years later. Jess, our final girl (which became a widely used horror trope) played beautifully by Olivia Hussey (oh my god, she’s so freaking gorgeous) has a lot of shit on her plate, especially from her overbearing boyfriend Peter. To make matters worse, she’s being terrorized by our lunatic killer who keeps prank calling the house, saying disgusting things and torturing people on the other end of the line. What Jess doesn’t know is that the killer is inside the house, and is picking off her sorority friends one by one.

The last 20 minutes are gripping and captivating as we see what unfolds for Jess, her boyfriend, and the insane killer. It’s a classic, and incredibly original from virtually every standpoint.

8/10

Weekly Movie Review: Ready or Not (2019)

Truly “killer” flick; nice pun ya?

Seriously though: old mansion, rich devil worshippers, great plot and backstory sprinkled throughout as the movie goes along.  The devil in this one, Mr. LeBail (clever anagram for Belial, Hebrew’s OG King of Evil) needs a sacrifice before dawn or this wealthy family is fucked.

The cast is phenomenal. The dude from the OC (Daniel) provided some brilliant sarcasm and dry humor that lightened the movie up wonderfully. Great mix of humor and horror here.

I love that we see the deterioration of the protagonist’s wedding dress the more the movie goes along, symbolizing the deterioration of her less than day old marriage. In addition, she uses parts of her dress as a deadly weapon. What begins as a dazzling white dress is nothing but blackened and bloody rags by the film’s conclusion.

Kills are gruesome and sometimes silly, but overall well done. Film took on a slightly Purge-like feel, but meh, hard to be 100% original these days. At least it’s not another fucking superhero garbage remake.

8.5/10