joshslittlemoviereviews

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Perfect Blue

Spirited Away and Pulse released in the same year, 2001. Both are classics in their respective genres - anime and J-horror. Expressionist coloring and whimsical linework fill the former, while Pulse opts for bleak undertones and uncanny shotmaking. I always thought the two were complete opposites in Japanese filmmaking, but I was completely wrong. Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue, an animated psychological surrealist thriller released a few years before, somehow outdid both in their respective lanes. Kon uses shots and movement techniques straight out of a J-horror and animates them with expressionist pastels that get hotter and hotter along with the story. Perhaps the most impactful examples are the sequences of our main character, Mima, in her room, as part of cuts between her on stage as a J-pop idol and her living her life. The cuts introduce a key theme - the separation between one’s public persona and true self in the then-new age of the internet. Comfortable shotmaking frames Mima as she goes about her life for almost 5 minutes, all in comfortable pastels. We see Mima as another person, and her well-being starts to matter. Amongst the things she does is ripping down a poster of her and her idol group - both a symbol of her transition out of that life and a Chekov’s gun for later down the road. Mima returns to her room in another scene with a computer and navigates the internet for the first time. She finds an online page that speaks from her point of view, describing intimate details such as what milk she buys at the grocery store and how she forgot to feed her fish. The point of view completely changes here. Suddenly, the viewer feels as if they are looking into it. The setting and the lighting are the same, but just because of an angle change, the shot feels unnerving and voyeuristic instead. It’s moments like these that really make Perfect Blue. Satoshi Kon uses all the storytelling techniques from every genre he takes from and weaves them together seamlessly. There’s no exaggeration when I say I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie do so much in such a cohesive, flawless manner. I love this movie.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

That was fun. A no holds barred action movie that doesn't take itself too seriously is rare these days, and Mutant Mayhem is just that. Marvel and DC's sterile, boring screens can't hold a candle to the beautifully misshapen animation present in this film. The characters aren't just visually imperfect - somehow, these animated animals have more personality than any live-action superhero in the last 5 years. Each has real human flaws and strengths, with the only exception being the main villain, SuperFly. However, his entire character is just pure ridiculousness, so I actually like it in this context. Mutant Mayhem only falls short when it doesn't go comical enough; the one shortcoming I see (or hear) is the score. 4-count synth stabs and New York classics play throughout. This works, but feels stale given how much better the Spider-Verse films used similar techniques. For instance, Can I Kick It playing in the credits, while sonically pleasing, leaves the film feeling a lot less comical than it actually was. But for most of its runtime, the film plays to its strengths expertly, and in the end, is one of the most purely fun movies of the year.

9/10

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Lady Bird

This is one of the most emotional movies I have ever seen. It's hard to choose a standout area for Lady Bird - the storytelling is gripping, the shotmaking is stunning, and the acting is some of the most believable in modern cinema. If I were to choose an area where the film really went above and beyond, the dialogue really makes a lot of scenes. Each character's lines truly feel as if they came from their own mind, and the pacing and placement of the lines are flawless. Whether this is because the screenplay or the actors' own delivery doesn't matter, as in any case, both are great. The characters, while admittedly realistic, were at times very unlikable. The titular character in particular was very annoying, coming across as very entitled. Aside from this personal gripe, Lady Bird is a touching, technically flawless masterpiece of a movie. 

9.9/10

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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

David Fincher's The Social Network, Se7en, Fight Club, and Zodiac are all incredible films. I was very excited going into The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, understandably, because all four of those films are nothing short of thrilling. This movie certainly hit the spot, but falls short in other areas compared to Fincher's masterpieces. Mind you, most of my complaints are nitpicks. The film is pretty damn good; a gripping murder mystery full of twists and turns and good acting. The writing is pretty excellent, and the plot, borrowed from a Swedish novel, is one of the most engaging I've seen brought onto the screen. Unfortunately, the film is brought down by inconsistent and at times eye-hurting cinematography. This is very surprising - the director of photography for this film worked on Fight Club and The Social Network, two films elevated by how they were shot. Then again, the primary issue in many scenes here was the lighting, which one can only do so much about. Furthermore, the sex was a bit over the top. While the intent may have been the juxtaposition between her life before and after, I do feel that especially the more brutal rape scenes were very unnecessary.

7/10

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Videodrome

Going into this, I knew my enjoyment of this film would be lower than it could have been. The movie is obviously about TV, something which has fallen out of prevalence in today's society. So already, the theme of Videodrome was very much lost on me. The movie, a surrealist, sci-fi commentary on how TVs are (were) becoming integral to the human mind, dulls down the impact of its message even more with gratuitous spectacle. Violence and gore really steal the spotlight, but what else can you expect from David Cronenberg, the king of body horror?

5/10

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Enemy

Denis Villeneuve is one of the best directors of the last decade. Dune and Blade Runner 2049, two adaptations of preexisting works, are both masterpieces. Prisoner, a child abduction film, was not quite as impressive, with unrealistic depiction of American life plaguing the film throughout. Enemy, made the same year as Prisoner, is my favorite film of his so far. While not as visually captivating as 2049 or Dune, Enemy's visuals are far more inventive. Surrealist imagery throughout gives the film accompanied by sparse, strange bass hits make the film feel darkly psychedelic. The reveal at the end explains story and makes it much more emotionally resonant, combining the pure shock value with actual substance. Enemy is amazing.

9.5/10

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Oppenheimer

Many of my favorite films are far from flawless. The Prestige by Christopher Nolan, for instance, may be gimmicky at points and gimmicky in concept, even, and yet I love it. My personal taste simply makes me prefer movies that are shot better and sound better, akin to how I prefer songs that use the power of stereo in every way. Oppenheimer, another Nolan film, appeals to me in a similar way. The sound is amazing and immersive, as are the beautiful visuals and sequences. Furthermore, Oppenheimer distinguishes itself from many of Nolan's other films through its superiority in all other aspects. The story of the man who created the atom bomb is told in a surprisingly human manner, using the grand nature of the filmmaking to make a very personal story even more powerful. Movie of the year.

10/10

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The Flash

I thought that the modern superhero genre had hit an undisputed, unrivaled low with films such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania and Thor: Love and Thunder. The Flash is not quite as much of an abomination, but it proves that we can consistently achieve this level of quality (or lack thereof.)

A prime example of the lack of regard for trying to make a good movie that the filmmakers possessed is that Ezra Miller, who has quite literally been charged with felonies involving abuse of minors, puts a baby in the microwave as the Flash during a supposedly heroic scene. Talk about a lack of taste. The entire film is riddled with this.

Fortunately, the film has a few saving graces. The primary one is obviously Micheal Keaton. He's badass despite doing very little. The cameos, if not ridiculously stupid, are occasionally funny. Ben Affleck's Batman isn't bad either. While the final fight scene was yet another horrible CGIfest, the pre-climax fights were pretty nice - definitely better than any recent MCU.

The Flash is a fitting end to the DCEU, and that's probably the most positive thing I can say about it.

2/10

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Spider Man Across the Spider-Verse

The first film in the Spider-Verse franchise, 2018's Into the Spider-Verse, is one of the best superhero movies of all time, up there with the MCU's finest works and the good outings DC occasionally has which all seem to Batman films for some reason. Miles Morales is effortlessly cool, a good kid wearing Jordans and a black-and-red spider suit. Everything was perfect. Across the Spider-Verse is not perfect, and yet it is just as amazing, if not more amazing, than its predecessor.

A lot of what makes Across the Spider-Verse is the fact that it is the second film in the series; the emotional moments become even more emotional since we have a preexisting connection to the characters based of how well Into the Spider-Verse introduced them to us, for instance. This also works to the film's detriment, as this film is Part 1 to the upcoming Beyond the Spider-Verse, essentially being the first half of one larger film. The story is inherently flawed as a standalone in this way since the arc is incomplete, so technically, yes, this film is imperfect. But as a viewer, I didn't feel that way at all because of one major aspect of the film's greatness- the pacing. Somehow, it overcomes the lack of a plot climax or even arc whatsoever with amazing storytelling and separation of individual events. It may have ended on a cliffhanger where it had just reached its technical climax, but in no way did this film feel incomplete. That's a testament to the writers and animators in a way that even the first film didn't reach. Needless to say, I cannot wait for Beyond the Spider-Verse.

10/10

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The Talented Mr Ripley

This movie is dark. Very dark.

A plethora of things make it dark, first and foremost being the events that transpire in its 2h 19m runtime. Matt Damon plays the talented, troubled, passionate Mr Ripley excellently, surrounded by actors who can hold their own as well. Jude Law's great, Gwyneth Paltrow was great, Philip Seymour Hoffman's great... the acting overall was top-notch. The plot was extremely twisty, full of complex nuances and different paces to really accentuate the story they are trying to tell. The ending, unlike the previous film I watched, took the film up another level.

9/10

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Frenzy

Did you know that Hitchcock made a R-rated movie? No, I didn't either.

I'm definitely not that into film, so I've only skimmed the surface when it comes to the king of suspense's works, but I would expect Frenzy to be a lot more well-known. It has the elementary Hitchcock tension but adds something new to the mix - a more creative setting and real explicit scenes. We literally witness a man rape and strangle a woman with very little left to the imagination. There's a lot of nudity and blood in this film, something that I would not expect whatsoever given films like Rope and Dial M for Murder. Frenzy was fresh and exciting for me. It's nowhere near Hitchcock's best filmmaking - the ending, in particular, was pretty bad - but because of how different it is compared to his other works, I still liked it a good amount.

8/10

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Synecdoche, New York

Is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. I'm not gonna lie and say that I enjoyed it or even understood it, but I've never seen a movie with such feeling.

Synecdoche, New York is yet another postmodern film that polarized its viewers with how strange it is, but what makes it special is how imperative the unconventional is in telling its story. Almost the entire runtime is spent in some sort of fantasy, causing the viewer to understand on a deeper level.

Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance as a dying theater director is striking, working flawlessly with Charlie Kaufman's bold ideas. Sure, the story and everything that happens provides insight into the character, but without Hoffman already letting us know who he's about with some amazing acting, it wouldn't be as remarkable.

As the film progresses, it becomes more and more insane, as with most postmodern films of its kind. The difference is that it also becomes more and more a study of the main character's mind, so as these weird things start happening, we know why - this is the main character, in his most true nature. And that hit hard.

10/10

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Mother

South Korean thrillers seem to be on a hot streak. Parasite, for example, was one of the best movies of 2019. Mother is yet another very well done thriller. It's not quite Decision to Leave or the aforementioned 2019 film, but it is very good.

The area in which Mother falls behind is definitely the storytelling itself. Decision to Leave and Parasite were very inventive and used different techniques to add to whatever emotion they were trying to invoke, but apart from Flashback scenes and playing with memory occasionally, Mother feels a lot more bland.

7/10

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LA Confidential

I was expecting an epic. 2h 17 runtime - that's a pretty decent amount of minutes. And yet, LA Confidential feels like a pretty small movie.

The subject matter is not small. Police corruption, drugs, prostitution, moral dilemmas, all that, and yet the vibe of the film reduces the spectacle. I can't fault the film for that as it seems more or less purposeful in that manner, but I do find that for such a grand premise it could have been a lot more thrilling. The film reduces its grandness even more in its very one dimensional characters. It's very black-and-white, with the characters mostly lacking nuance save Kevin Spacey's. Fortunately, these boring characters are acted out by very skilled actors who bring them life. Guy Pearce and Russel Crowe in particular make very good protagonists.

But this clearcut storytelling hurts the film in other ways. The villain, Dudley, becomes very comical. Nuance is lacking, depriving the film of what stakes it could have had.

6/10

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The Wire: Final Review

In The Wire, nothing changes. To quote D'Angelo Barksdale, "the king stay a king."

Marlo and Avon are always kings - only difference is, Marlo won. It's not just the kings, though. The Wire shows that there is no mobility in the game, in the battle. You could do everything right and remain a pawn. "Unless they some smart-ass pawns," to quote Bodie.

Bodie is one of the best characters on The Wire. He starts off as one of D'Angelo's mentees, eventually running his own corner. He stays steady through two different leaders, constantly hustling and working. He thought he could become more - "if they make it to the end, they become top dog." It just wasn't the case. The war is rigged.

It's not just in the drug game - there is very little change in any aspect of The Wire by the end. The politicians are still corrupt. Even in little ways the cycle is shown - Kima becomes McNulty. Micheal becomes Omar. Dukie becomes Bubbles. Randy becomes Bodie. Carver becomes Daniels.

It's a beautiful message that I feel is very rarely told. Most pieces of art about this kind of subject matter try to tell a story of triumph, of hope, a story that ends. But that's the thing about the chess game that The Wire shows - you can't call it a war. Wars end.

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The Wire S4

The most depressing season yet.

Be it Bodie realizing that he's a pawn, Randy's "you gonna look out for me?", or the audience's realization that Marlo is pure evil, Season 4 is the darkest season yet.

Part of that is the amount of falling happening in Season 4. By the end, we know that McNulty is going to become the monster he was for the last three seasons again. Carcetti was a beacon of hope, but they all disappoint. Dukie becomes a corner boy - he's smart, but the life he was born in overpowers that. Micheal becomes a killer.

Even more depressing is that when you step back, there's also a lot of improvement happening, but it doesn't change the situation at all. Carver, for instance, has gone from a Herc-level cop (speaking of which, Herc ruins everything in this season) to good police. He tries his hardest to save Randy, but in the end, the system is no less evil than the corners.

And sure, we see a glimpse of hope when Colvin saves Namond, but that's one kid. The rest of his old crew? They're out there working, knowing that in a couple of years, they'll be another body.

This is some of the best stuff that I've seen on the TV screen, period.

10/10

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The Wire S3

Season 2 was missing the gangster aspect, that city aspect that I felt was much more engaging. Season 3 doubles down on that aspect, as a gang war erupts between the Stanfield and Barksdale organizations.

We see a lot of the other side as well - police work is up heavy in this season, as Bunny Colvin runs a little experiment with Hamsterdam. Avon Barksdale returns, and while it is brief, he definitely reinforces his legacy as the best drug kingpin shown in The Wire.

Stringer Bell exits the show gracefully, as his arrogance catches up to him in the form of two men he tried to play. That episode - E11, Middle Ground, is a true masterpiece.

There's this one scene that Avon and Stringer share that is just depressing - they are on a rooftop, looking over the city which they basically run. The exchange is awkward, and you can tell that both know that this is the end and it came because of the other.

The relationship between these two is a focal point of the season, as it is what brings the fall of Barksdale - it's not Marlo or McNulty - it's the growing rift between gangster and businessman.

In particular, it's Stringer's fault. As Avon says, Stringer is a man without a country - not hard enough for the gangsters and "maybe, just maybe, not smart enough for them out there."

In the end, both shortcomings catch up to him, be it Clay Davis playing him or him being killed.

Season 3 feels like a true continuation to the first, and for that, I love it.

Unfortunately, what Season 3 lacks is the depth that the previous two had. Sure, some episodes had it, but it wasn't consistent in the way 1 and 2 were. This season seemed to prioritize engaging plot lines and characters, and didn't quite strike the balance.

9/10