Post by Martin Stett on Jan 21, 2019 19:45:15 GMT
Mother (2009) -- Korean movies are weird, man. 6/10
Breaking Bad (final season) -- This show was always at its best when taking its time, and for the final season it's on rocket fuel to get through the plot and wrap things up. Some good developments here and the finale was fun, but ultimately it left me feeling the way the rest of the show did, as a whole: an enjoyable excursion that doesn't come together into anything meaningful. 7/10
Beast (2017) -- An amateurish, all-over-the-place kinda-thriller. Some of the stuff is pretty interesting, but as a whole this is hampered by a script that can't keep anyone on screen for more than half a minute at a time. 5/10
Inglourious Basterds (2009 rewatch) -- I like the new Tarantino much more than the 90's version. He has more on his mind. Not only is this a MASTERFUL series of suspense pieces and a wicked black comedy, it also says things about the power of propaganda, of violence in movies, and of how cool a crappy David Bowie song can be when used in a montage. 10/10
Disobedience (2017) -- The more I look back on this, the more it slips. This is a pretty decent story of forbidden love, but the trouble is when Lelio tries to tackle the religious side of their lives. It always seemed that Ronit and Esti can't be together because the orthodox Jewish society won't allow it. And that's fine, that should be a part of the narrative. But the story never focuses on the religious side of these two women, of how Esti is married to a rabbi or how Ronit is the daughter of one. Ronit is a fascinating character who was obviously hurt by her father (and in return hurt him just as much), but Esti is a blank slate consisting of "lesbian in an unhappy marriage." You could make a wonderful tale of how Ronit abandoned her family and her faith because of that hurt, and of how Esti could never bear to leave all of that behind and so got married, but all of that has to be guessed at on Esti's side. I think there's an amazing movie trapped in here, but it needs one more polish to come out. P.S. Alessandro Nivola is MVP. 6/10 but I may bump it back up to 7. It keeps bouncing around between the two.
Apocalypse Now (1979 rewatch) -- If I was to ever choose a movie that I would call a cinematic nightmare, there would be no contest. 10/10
The Lovely Bones (2009) --
Breaking Bad (final season) -- This show was always at its best when taking its time, and for the final season it's on rocket fuel to get through the plot and wrap things up. Some good developments here and the finale was fun, but ultimately it left me feeling the way the rest of the show did, as a whole: an enjoyable excursion that doesn't come together into anything meaningful. 7/10
Beast (2017) -- An amateurish, all-over-the-place kinda-thriller. Some of the stuff is pretty interesting, but as a whole this is hampered by a script that can't keep anyone on screen for more than half a minute at a time. 5/10
Inglourious Basterds (2009 rewatch) -- I like the new Tarantino much more than the 90's version. He has more on his mind. Not only is this a MASTERFUL series of suspense pieces and a wicked black comedy, it also says things about the power of propaganda, of violence in movies, and of how cool a crappy David Bowie song can be when used in a montage. 10/10
Disobedience (2017) -- The more I look back on this, the more it slips. This is a pretty decent story of forbidden love, but the trouble is when Lelio tries to tackle the religious side of their lives. It always seemed that Ronit and Esti can't be together because the orthodox Jewish society won't allow it. And that's fine, that should be a part of the narrative. But the story never focuses on the religious side of these two women, of how Esti is married to a rabbi or how Ronit is the daughter of one. Ronit is a fascinating character who was obviously hurt by her father (and in return hurt him just as much), but Esti is a blank slate consisting of "lesbian in an unhappy marriage." You could make a wonderful tale of how Ronit abandoned her family and her faith because of that hurt, and of how Esti could never bear to leave all of that behind and so got married, but all of that has to be guessed at on Esti's side. I think there's an amazing movie trapped in here, but it needs one more polish to come out. P.S. Alessandro Nivola is MVP. 6/10 but I may bump it back up to 7. It keeps bouncing around between the two.
Apocalypse Now (1979 rewatch) -- If I was to ever choose a movie that I would call a cinematic nightmare, there would be no contest. 10/10
The Lovely Bones (2009) --
At one point in this movie, Saoirse Ronan discovers that Heaven is an endless field of flowers filled with prancing murder victims, and she immediately goes back to Earth by possessing the girlfriend of a 2009 model Timothee Chalamet so she can jump his lovely bones.
Good to know that even after death she has her priorities straight.
3/10Good to know that even after death she has her priorities straight.
