Post by Martin Stett on Jun 12, 2017 16:36:29 GMT
Train to Busan (2016) -- Outrageous and ridiculous in all the right ways, this is a shallow but deeply entertaining action movie that plays the cliches so well that you can enjoy it even without the forced -- but never over-the-top -- moralizing thrown in there. 7/10
Into the Forest (2015) -- I'm a sucker for the post-apocalyptic genre. When it's done right, at least. Into the Forest is most definitely done right. This is a story that never cares about worldbuilding or plot; it is simply the story of two sisters who love each other, put into a situation that tests their resilience and how much they truly care. This is what post-apoc can do at its finest: take ordinary people and put them in extraordinary circumstances, so that we can see who they truly are. What comes out of this story are two of the finest, most sympathetic characters I've encountered in a long time. 9/10
Café Society (2016) -- I'm a sucker for stories based in the 1920s/1930s. When it's done right, at least. And by "done right," I mean that all of the guys wear nice suits and the women wear sexy dresses and everyone listens to jazz music while drinking and generally making life look awesome. So yeah, this is definitely my cup of hooch. What makes it special outside of appealing to my superficial Midnight in Paris longings for a sexier time period that happens to be right in the middle of the Great Depression is that Woody Allen never looks down on these characters. They all make decisions that we can understand and sympathize with; no one is ever a villain or a hero. They're just people, striving for a happier life. This often pits everyone against each other, but the story never takes sides, and I came out caring for everyone equally. In other news, I'm beginning to become a Steve Carell fan between this and The Big Short. Never would have thought the day would come. 8/10
Everest (2015) -- The movie was an entertaining adventure film (albeit with characters devoid of personality) until everyone began dying. The disaster is prolonged and ugly and none of it matters because we don't know these people. I understand that the film wanted to be respectful of the real men and woman who lost their lives on that day, but it comes off as exploitation of their deaths in the end because it never suitably explains why they would make this trip. Ego? That's really all I can come up with, because the film keeps such a respectful distance from the characters, refusing to give us a window into their motivations. 5/10
The Boy and the Beast (2015) -- My head hurts from all of the anvils this movie dropped on it. There were plenty of good things about it (especially Kaede teaching Ren how to read; that was a genuinely interesting plotline), but they all get swallowed up by the movie shouting its messages about... well, that's the thing. Despite the movie talking about not letting bitterness take over your heart, and despite the movie talking about reaching for a better life, none of the anvils are actually supported by the narrative itself, which fails to develop the villain's motivations in any way, fails to make the friendship between the two main characters anything more than buddy movie cliches, and fails to make any of the plotlines come together. A lot of interesting little elements in a movie that needed some serious rewrites. 5/10
Into the Forest (2015) -- I'm a sucker for the post-apocalyptic genre. When it's done right, at least. Into the Forest is most definitely done right. This is a story that never cares about worldbuilding or plot; it is simply the story of two sisters who love each other, put into a situation that tests their resilience and how much they truly care. This is what post-apoc can do at its finest: take ordinary people and put them in extraordinary circumstances, so that we can see who they truly are. What comes out of this story are two of the finest, most sympathetic characters I've encountered in a long time. 9/10
Café Society (2016) -- I'm a sucker for stories based in the 1920s/1930s. When it's done right, at least. And by "done right," I mean that all of the guys wear nice suits and the women wear sexy dresses and everyone listens to jazz music while drinking and generally making life look awesome. So yeah, this is definitely my cup of hooch. What makes it special outside of appealing to my superficial Midnight in Paris longings for a sexier time period that happens to be right in the middle of the Great Depression is that Woody Allen never looks down on these characters. They all make decisions that we can understand and sympathize with; no one is ever a villain or a hero. They're just people, striving for a happier life. This often pits everyone against each other, but the story never takes sides, and I came out caring for everyone equally. In other news, I'm beginning to become a Steve Carell fan between this and The Big Short. Never would have thought the day would come. 8/10
Everest (2015) -- The movie was an entertaining adventure film (albeit with characters devoid of personality) until everyone began dying. The disaster is prolonged and ugly and none of it matters because we don't know these people. I understand that the film wanted to be respectful of the real men and woman who lost their lives on that day, but it comes off as exploitation of their deaths in the end because it never suitably explains why they would make this trip. Ego? That's really all I can come up with, because the film keeps such a respectful distance from the characters, refusing to give us a window into their motivations. 5/10
The Boy and the Beast (2015) -- My head hurts from all of the anvils this movie dropped on it. There were plenty of good things about it (especially Kaede teaching Ren how to read; that was a genuinely interesting plotline), but they all get swallowed up by the movie shouting its messages about... well, that's the thing. Despite the movie talking about not letting bitterness take over your heart, and despite the movie talking about reaching for a better life, none of the anvils are actually supported by the narrative itself, which fails to develop the villain's motivations in any way, fails to make the friendship between the two main characters anything more than buddy movie cliches, and fails to make any of the plotlines come together. A lot of interesting little elements in a movie that needed some serious rewrites. 5/10
