A Quiet Place: Day One Film Review

17 Thursday Oct 2024

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Significantly weaker than the previous two, especially the first one. I was waiting for the character to sacrifice herself, but her story was disappointingly, well, pointless. Also imagine pitching this film, and the execs asking ‘so the character’s want is pizza?’ It’s not, but it takes them too long to explain why she wants to go to this specific pizzeria in Harlem. There should have been more hints throughout the film. I was also unhappy with a random British bloke keeping her company. It’s always a British guy, for whatever reason. Seeing New York in ruins, people covered in dust from fallen buildings, especially the image of the Brooklyn Bridge collapsing and falling into the river, hurt even this non-New Yorker, who’s only visited the Big Apple a few times. The rating is mostly for the 9/11 metaphor, which made the film feel less futuristic. I still haven’t seen Pig by Sarnoski, but I’ve heard good things and I can’t wait to check it out this Halloween.

5/10

Longlegs Film Review

16 Wednesday Oct 2024

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In the last few years Nic Cage has desperately tried to break away from being known as ‘that guy in every movie ever’, by choosing weirder and darker characters and starring in more horrors, and showcasing his range. An average viewer nowadays has not seen Bringing Out the Dead, or Moonstruck and it’s a shame. It’s surreal to see younger viewers being introduced to his work through these odd horrors. Here he shines as Longlegs and I wish he had more screen time. I’m glad to see Maika Monroe’s career doing so well, we all wanted her to go far after the success of It Follows. Longlegs is a fun and messed up horror that really deserved a better resolution. Oh and I’ve always said it but Maika Monroe’s facial features look like a perfect mix of Gwen Stefani and Keira Knightley’s faces, it’s actually startling. I really like Osgood Perkins previous work, including The Blackcoat’s Daughter with Emma Roberts and Kiernan Shipka and Gretel and Hansel, so no surprise that this one worked so well. I will also be seeing his next film based on a Stephen King novela The Monkey.

7/10

Am I OK? Film Review

16 Wednesday Oct 2024

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I have not come across a film this relatable since I watched Disobedience in 2018. Am I OK? is a stunningly written story of a 32 year old girl named Lucy who finally comes to terms with being gay, as her best friend of many years is about to move abroad. Lucy feels confused, lonely and abandoned, but decides to give herself a chance to find the type of love she was always meant to experience. I loved Lucy’s observaton that Jane has control issues, because as a teenager she was forced to move from her home country, the UK to the US. The girls discuss long distance friendships, and have this Sex and the City type of frienship where they discuss sexual encounters, which adds a comedic element to the film. It has a really beautifully written coming out scene since which covers anything from feeling confused about not figuring out she was gay earlier to not enjoying sexual relationships with men. This may be my second favourite film of 2022, after The Quiet Girl, because it’s so beautifully written I simply cannot wait to see what Lauren Pomerantz writes next.

9/10

The Substance Film Review

16 Wednesday Oct 2024

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What Barbie should have been. Less telling, more showing. The Substance is the perfect mix of that Stephen King novela where the obese person becomes just deflated skin, The Blob and that R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps book where the girl can’t take her Halloween mask off, and it’s a mix I loved. Since The Leftovers I have enjoyed Margaret Qualley’s acting and she really was the perfect fit for this role. And so was Dennis Quaid as the crazy producer named, surely intentionally, Harvey. I would have preferred someone else as Elisabeth, and throughout the film I kept thinking that this role would have been perfect for Julianne Moore, but this is one of Demi’s better performances. The Substance is an excellent, even though literal, commentary on aging and the pursuit of fame. And I have never seen a more stunning billboard on the Sunset Strip or anywhere around LA, I will now research who took that beautiful photo.

8/10

Film Reviews: Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields. The Quiet Girl. The Whale. A Man Called Otto. 80 For Brady. Moving On. The Blue Angel. Orphan The First Kill. Rugrats: The Movie

20 Thursday Apr 2023

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Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields

I’ve waited 15+ years for Brooke to tell her story, since I first heard of the naked pictures her mom let a photographer take of Shields when she was just 10 years old. Pretty Baby is an excrutiating documentary. Shields spends most of it talking about her mother’s alcoholism and defending her. One of the moments that broke me was when she was discussing using dissociation, a coping mechanism learned during filming one of the sex scenes she was subjected to as a teenager, in a personal horrifying event. I loved that she found her voice at Princeton, because that’s what college is for, finding yourself, and her sad realization that if she hadn’t gone to college, her career would have continued rising. It’s a wonderful documentary I hope you all watch. And seriously, how is she okay?

9/10

The Quiet Girl

I really hope this gets an Oscar nom. I cried like a baby during the final scene on my flight to Boston. It’s a good thing I was wearing a mask so no one could tell, but I was sobbing uncontrollably!

9/10

The Whale

Watched on my flight back from LA. You’d think that between binge eating disorder, suicide, writing, being gay and father and daughter relationship, this film would be perfect for me. And you’re right, it was. But why so short.

7/10

A Man Called Otto

Depressing, uplifting and extremely relatable story about a grieving grumpy old man who hates everyone and everything and just wants to kill himself. I need to watch the original right away.

8/10

80 For Brady

Sally Field accidentally slapping some guy while dancing is exactly what I expected to see from this silly film I’ve waited a very long time for.

‘It figures that she would have really cool friends.’

6/10

Moving On

A wonderul rape and revenge drama about a long-term friendship where one of the characters is gay? Sounds very much like something I would have written. It may have been executed better, but it was smart, moving and funny. Moving On stars Hollywood legends and real life besties Grace and Frankie, I mean Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin and it manages to be both deep and light. I really hope these two make another 10 films together and that they take Sally Field on this journey with them. (And Rita Moreno, but it may be less realistic to get all four of them together again).

8/10

The Blue Angel

The Blue Angel focuses on sexual repression, sacrificing your own happiness for someone you love and humiliation. Truly wonderful stuff.

8/10

Orphan: The First Kill

I loved the first one, and was looking forward to this, and obviously it wasn’t nearly as good, but I liked the plot twist, and that they introduced it in the first half of the film.

6/10

Rugrats: the Movie

Only here for I Throw My Toys Around by No Doubt. But also, I’m a 90s kid, I feel like I know these characters well enough, without ever being obsessed with this series.

5/10

Film Reviews: No Time to Die. Hair. Luckiest Girl Alive. 13: The Musical. Glass Onion. Don’t Worry Darling. The Watcher. Halloween Ends. Everything Everywhere All At Once

19 Thursday Jan 2023

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No Time to Die

This is how my dad and I spent our Christmas Eve. I’m struggling to see how Bond will return after this, but nonetheless No Time to Die was a fun addition to the franchise. I still wish they cast Tomasz Kot as the villain, like Danny Boyle wanted, he would have been amazing in this role.

8/10

Hair

I watched this previously as a kid, but didn’t remember it well. The ending is the perfect metaphor for how unprepared American youth were for the Vietnam War. They take it very literally, preseting us with a shocking ending, as one of the characters cries as he boards the plane, to later meet a tragic end.

7/10

Luckiest Girl Alive

I was surprised to learn Jessica Knoll wrote the script, because the film was so much weaker than her book. Chiara Aurelia plays the younger version of Mila’s character and is just as amazing in this role as she was in Tell Me Your Secrets and Cruel Summer.

6/10

13: The Musical

Sometimes I wonder if anyone still remembers that Liz Gillies and Ariana Grande both got their start in the original 13. Graham Phillips, who later starred on The Good Wife, played Evan in the Broadway version. I love musicals, so naturally I still remembered the chorus to two songs from this one and didn’t hate this movie.

5/10

Glass Onion

Absolutely nothing happens in the first hour of this film, which is also significantly worse than the first one, with very average acting and characters who happen to be both extremely annoying and pretentious. The murder couldn’t be less original… and yet they are still making a third one of these somehow?

4/10

Don’t Worry Darling

Matthew Libatique sure knows how to film things prettily. His shots and Pugh’s acting save the show.

5/10

The Watcher

I watched this because Murphy cast Naomi Watts as one of the main characters, but I ended up loving almost every minute of it.

8/10

Halloween Ends

Not enough Laurie Strode or Michael Myers. And the new male lead was annoying.

5/10

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The self-harm aka the paper cut scene made me furious and there were some other things I didn’t like, but I sure enjoyed Michelle Yeoh’s acting.

6/10

Film Reviews: Don’t Make Me Go. The Life Ahead. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts. The Brood. Walkabout. The Poseidon Adventure. The Ridiculous 6. Rome, Open City. Ivan, The Terrible, Part 3

13 Thursday Oct 2022

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Don’t Make Me Go

A beautiful coming of age story about saying goodbye to your loved one. Also, they played Hella Good by No Doubt during the fight scene which made my day! The soundtrack also includes The Strokes and girl in red.

8/10

The Life Ahead

A lovely film directed by Sophia Loren’s son Edoardo Ponti that also happens to feature a song by Maneskin before they won Eurovision and became famous! I’m embarrassed it took me this long to watch this film, because I love Sophia and Two Women is one of my favorite films! I still haven’t seen Madame Rosa, which is based on the same book, but it’s on my watchlist.

6/10

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts

I cannot believe it’s been 21 years since we fell in love with these kids. I remember how utterly obsessed my best friend was with this series. I think everyone under 10 was enchanted with it at the time. I started bawling when Robbie Coltrane talked about next generations watching Harry Potter 50 years from now and Hagrid surviving him. I love how much screen time Helena Bonham Carter got in this documentary, and I really wish Maggie Smith appeared in it too.

‘You could be watching it in 50 years’ time, easy. I’ll not be here, sadly, but Hagrid will’.

10/10

The Brood

I loved this, but I kept thinking about Don’t Look Now the entire time. If you’ve seen both films, you know exactly why.

8/10

Walkabout

This masterpiece has been on my watchlist since my fascination with Australia began twenty years ago. I finally watched it on Prime today and this may be one of my favourite coming of age films. It’s profound complexity is hidden underneath what appears to be a simple story, until it isn’t. All changes applied to the events from the book it’s based on are for the better. I have a feeling I will be rewatching this one every year.

9/10

The Poseidon Adventure

I didn’t remember this film being fattist, but It really feels like an ad against obesity.

7/10

The Ridiculous 6

I think we all know I watched this for Mr. Stefani and I did enjoy the bit where he shoots the cuckoo from the cuckoo clock, a lot.

3/10

Rome, Open City

I have rewatched this today for my Italian cinema class and I remembered most of it, but the brief lesbian element. Then again, it’s not a positive representation, so maybe that is why I have no recollection of seeing it before.

10/10

Ivan the Terrible, Part 3

The close-ups and all the eye movement! It’s a real tragedy only 4 minutes of the third part survived.

3/10

Film Reviews: Jurassic World Dominion. Top Gun: Maverick. Falling. Men. Maid. Louder Than Bombs. The Father. Burlesque. Goodbye Soviet Union

06 Saturday Aug 2022

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Jurassic World Dominion

Possibly the weakest from the franchise, but that won’t stop me from seeing it 10 times this summer. I’ve already seen it twice today, and as expected, it is better in 3D. The script is a mess, but I watched it for nostalgia and special effects, not the story. They’ve put so many random scenarios in here, as it’s allegedly the last Jurassic film. This is a spectacular franchise and I seriously hope this is not the end and seeing how much money these have made we can expect another one in ten years. I’m seeing it for the third time tomorrow, because why the hell not.

6/10

Top Gun: Maverick

I have seen Top Gun a few times, last time probably about two years ago and yet I was super confused about what was going on half the time. Why introduce so many new characters? Why was Val Kilmer only in one scene? What happened to Kelly McGillis’ character? They replaced her with a new character played by Jennifer Connelly that we’re supposed to know somehow? The musical score is one of the things I remember vividly about the first film, and here it’s replaced with a Lady Gaga song? The first film, even though clearly not a masterpiece, definitely had its appeal and was so much more entertaining. This film is curently the 169th highest rated film on Letterboxd and this leaves me even more buffled.

5/10

Falling

If you don’t have an offensive family member just like Willis, you’re either younger than a millennial, or come from a progressive family and I’m jealous of you. A wonderful drama about childhood trauma that would have benefited from giving Laura Linney more screen time.

7/10

Men

A wonderful psychological horror. People who think they can handle living in the woods alone, here’s why you can’t.

7/10

Maid

This is one of the best posters I’ve seen in a while, a still from the series that will stay with you for a long time. The vacuum cleaner just says it all. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful, just like the show. Maid is a limited series loosely based on a true story and produced by John Wells. The US version of Shameless has been one of my most beloved shows since it premiered in 2011 so naturally I had to check this out. If you’re a fan of social issues films, go watch it on Netflix. My whole family loved it.

8/10

Louder Than Bombs

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a poster this irrelevant to the film it’s promoting. I was disappointed with the beginning, but it got much better halfway through and I loved the letter/monologue the kid wrote about his life. I wish Isabelle Huppert had more screen time though.

7/10

The Father

Excrutiating film about growing old and losing yourself in the process. This will be all of us one day and that’s why we should all watch this film.

8/10

Burlesque

I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much at the movies. I was sobbing uncontrollably for the last hour at the threat of not one but two characters dying. I followed this series week by week as it aired and visited Highclere Castle a few times because everyone in my family loved this series so much. I really hope there’s another film I can look forward to.

5/10

Goodbye Soviet Union

A realistic portrayal of the mid and Eastern European dream of the US (and the West). And I agree, Dumle is the best candy, I would also toss a Snickers bar from the balcony if I was promised a Dumle, they’re just superior. Remember the banana flavour? They really need to resume selling them.

7/10