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mattflohr
Reviews
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Filled with contempt for Tolkien, his fans and general audiences
The Rings of Power is a cynical cash grab that fails on virtually every level. The lore is bastardized. Character arcs and motivations don't connect or are nonexistent. Attempts to shoehorn in elements of the stories that don't belong are transparent member-berries. The acting is woeful with characters throwing in rolled R's seemingly at random and flatly scowling through their scenes. The show tries to have action but it's storytelling is endlessly dull and daft. Scenes are frequently edited without any sense of reason. Attempts to modernize elements like humanizing the Orcs are laughable. Filled with empty virtue signalling and cringe-inducing romantic 'shipping'. This show is a travesty.
Dung che sai duk (1994)
7/10???
This rating is shocking. Ashes of Time is a stunning masterpiece on all levels. A living, breathing entity. I love the performances, the cinematography, the music, the action, the direction. Feels like wandering through a dream. Endlessly haunting. Full of heart and soul. Cinematic poetry. Easily one of Wong Kar Wai's best. Filled to the brim with emotional resonance and meaning. Left me thinking about it long after the credits had rolled. Memory, time, love, loss, pain and existence are like characters. The desert landscapes are a rich, sweeping canvas and every shot is a painting. Absolutely mesmerizing in every way imaginable.
Dip huet gai tau (1990)
One of the best action films I've ever seen
Perfect in every way. Instantly into my top 25 favourite films. Three Hong Kong bros run to Vietnam for a job and to escape the law after a gangland killing. They end up stealing a case full of gold, trying to escape the Vietnam war, experiencing high levels of bromance and killing hundreds of more people. Once the bloody carnage starts it does not let up for the entire last 90 minutes of the film. Some of the best action ever shot ensues as they blast their way through a nightclub, war-torn streets, war-torn rivers and a war-torn POW camp. Helicopters, tanks, boats and cars all get in on the action. Bodies pile and the shootouts and massive explosions seemingly never end. The characters try to hold their friendship and their sanity together as the world around them lights on fire. They suffer loss, heartache and desolation. And just when you think it's all over it hits you with another spectacular action setpiece involving a car chase/smash em up derby, more shooting, and more fiery explosions. But John Woo executes masterfully and it all comes together, with another wonderful performance by the great Tony Leung, and Jacky Cheung and Simon Yam also lighting up the screen. This is now my second favourite Woo film after Hard Boiled. Sheer perfection.
The Stuff (1985)
One taste and I became a Stuffy
Larry Cohen's The Stuff is a true achievement of horror-comedy filmmaking. It's a poignant satire of consumerism, marketing and the modern human diet. It's an eye-popping and inventive creature-feature made with simple things like fire-retardant foam and shaving cream. It's got great practical gore effects. It's idiosyncratic and improvisational. It's silly and hilarious. Endlessly quotable. It has a song jingle that will never leave your head. The cast and crew were clearly having a lot of fun making it, and that sense of fun shows through in every scene. Michael Moriarty's performance is so smooth, so cool and yet so ridiculous that it's impossible to look away from. A must watch.
Córki dancingu (2015)
Jumps off the high-dive, does a quadruple flip, and then belly-flops
The Lure was a very disappointing experience. I really liked the first half. The first few dance numbers are fairly arresting visually and musically. The style and concept are interesting and I was fairly engaged. It's extremely weird but I have no problem with these kinds of films when executed well. But as it continued the lack of substance became more and more apparent. The actors are charming at first but their performances never rise above an amateur level. Story beats, character motivations and emotional connections are often nonexistent. Things happen and characters appear and disappear, frequently doing things that don't connect to anything else. The film can't decide what it wants to be. Its gory, then it's sexual, then it's romantic, then brooding, then mystical, and never comes together. The meanings of HCA's original story are nowhere to be seen. The song lyrics add nothing to the proceedings. The whole film is baffling with no sense of storytelling or logic. The ending made me angry. I like the theatrical Polish style but the film doesn't have a heart to earn anything it tries to do. A huge misfire.
The Devils (1971)
Puts the fun in anti-fundamentalism!
Haters of religion rejoice. This masterful telling of a true historical event features real-life hedonist Oliver Reed as an unorthodox but righteous priest on trial for witchcraft, which is really a thinly disguised political coup. Church corruption and manipulation abound. It sounds dark and disturbing on the surface, and by the end it is, but it's also darkly hilarious, with tons of devilish whimsy, a little bit of torture, piles of dead bodies, naked women gleefully running around chaotic scenes of attempted exorcism, lavish sets and costumes, scenery-chewing performances by Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Graham Armitage and especially Michael Gothard, and an unabashed sense of antireligious fervour. A widely banned scene involving a sex orgy with a statue of Jesus borders on nunsploitation porn, but I'm happy I was able to track it down. The film also has wonderful period dialogue, delivered perfectly in particular by Oliver Reed who exudes intelligence, eloquence and an unforgettable earnestness. A truthful, impactful and entertaining indictment of religious fundamentalism. A must see.
Hable con ella (2002)
I'd like to talk to the critics
Big fan of Almodovar here, but I have some thoughts on this one. This is a well-shot film with some good performances. But the story really does not work. It's melodramatic at best and offensive at worst. The main characters are unsympathetic creeps and the characters I did care about are treated awfully. The one woman is stalked, molested, and raped and yet has almost no character arc. She has a baby that dies and is never mentioned again. Another great female lead is killed off offscreen and never mentioned again. The rapist kills himself with pills and I'm supposed to care. The film suggests that people in comas can hear what people are saying but this is never explored. I really don't understand where this film's morals and heart are supposed to be. The fact that this one was the critical and Academy darling baffles me. Bad Education ahd The Skin I Live In are far superior. The more I think about this film the more I dislike it.
Sexy Beast (2000)
Don loves Gal, perhaps as more than a friend
I don't hear too many people talking about this so I wanted to throw it out there. I think Don and Gal's story is about more than lost friendship, more than just doing a job, it's about unrequited romantic love. I love this film and I think it's loaded with fascinating gay subtext. It's established early on that Teddy is bisexual so it's not so farfetched to think that others in his organization could be as well. This also sets a sexually liberal tone that seems to he there for.a reason. What other subtle clues are there? The first part of Don that we see is his butt. His way of walking, his style of dress. His body language is very interesting especially when he's with Gal. The jealous way he treats Dee Dee and Aitch like they've stolen Gal away from him. The way he tells Gal he loves the loveable lummox, party boy, big oaf. The way he looks at the pool boy like Gal is interested in him. The way Gal broods in the buff after a certain shocking event happens with Don. He seems truly sad and regretful, and what else would cause him to feel this way about such a monster of a man? I'm sure there's more details I'm forgetting. Maybe I'm totally wrong. But this is my theory.
Taeksi woonjunsa (2017)
A triumph on every level
I'm shaking as I type this review. This film is so powerful, so real, and so important that I'm just stunned. Could be the best Korean film I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot as Korea is one of my favourite filmmaking countries. I had no idea about this event beforehand, and the way this true story is told is masterful and educational, while still feeling grounded and human. The direction is immense. The cinematography and music are sweeping and epic. The violence is haunting. The performances staggering. Song Kang-ho is one of the best actors of our time. Thomas Kreschmann is phenomenal. These ordinary, flawed men from different nations become heroes and brothers, coming together during an unthinkable atrocity to strike a blow for humanity, democracy and journalism. This is a film that should be seen by everyone. One of the most moving films I've ever seen. Gripped me from start to finish.
Braindead (1992)
The best splatter movie ever made and yet doesn't get the renown it deserves
This is one of my favourite movies of all time. I've shown it to multiple groups of friends in the past, who mostly thought that there was something wrong with me, as I laughed my ass off for the entire 90 minutes. One scene involving a dog made one of my friends have to run to the bathroom, god bless her she is no longer with us, but it's a moment I will always cherish with her.
Where to begin with Braindead? Or Dead Alive? What's in a name anyways? This is the third film from Peter Jackson after his first commandos vs aliens splatter film Bad Taste and his puppet splatter extravaganza Meet the Feebles. Both of these films are pretty good and worth a look. But before you do, you should probably know that Peter Jackson LOVES to gross people out. So if you are easily grossed out, what are you even doing here?
To properly enjoy a film like Braindead, you not only need a strong stomach, you need to REVEL in blood and viscera. You need to be able to laugh at a man trying to run and slipping around on a floor covered in blood like a Looney Tunes character, before finding traction on a series of severed limbs. You need to be okay with zombies having sex and eating each other at the same time. You need to not only be okay with a zombie baby, you need to be able to laugh at it getting the crap beat out of it repeatedly. It's so over the top bloody yet so gleefully slapstick that you need to forget about what you think you like and just go with it.
I'm just going to put this out there. This film has the greatest practical gore effects I've ever seen. They are inventive. They are fun. They are jaw-dropping. And they seemingly never end. How they were able to pull off something this ambitious on such a low budget is a testament to Peter Jackson's skill as a filmmaker.
Did I mention that this film is a romantic comedy set in the 50's about a wimpy mama's boy? This is one of my top 15 favourite films. No question about it. And I feel like nobody talks about it anymore.
Kotoko (2011)
WOW
The Solid Metal Nightmares collection is amazing. Tsukamoto is a mad genius. I got to this film late in my watching but I think it might be my favourite one. Virtually everything about it is masterful. I love the way it plays with surreality, hallucinations, anxiety, and just about every emotion one can feel. I felt that I could instantly relate so much to all of it, both as a sufferer of mental illness and as a human being. The characters feel incredibly real, and Cocco's performance is spellbinding. Her musical, writing and artistic contributions to this film are staggering. Her character is so tragically broken, yet has so much inner power and grace that everything in the story feels earned. Shinya's direction and cinematography have never been better. This entire film had my rapt attention from scene one until the last frame. My hand was over my mouth constantly. I gasped and screamed. I laughed and I felt sorrow. It's such a wonderful, heart-wrenching, beautiful portrait of mental illness that I found very therapeutic to watch. This film completely blew my mind and needs to be seen by everyone.
Angmareul boatda (2010)
Does everything I love for 144 solid minutes. Epic on all levels
I Saw the Devil sees special agent Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun) taking on vicious serial killer Jang Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik of Oldboy infamy) when the man brutally murders someone close to him. Soo-hyeon embarks on an odyssey of revenge and risks becoming a monster himself. Sound familiar? Well this film takes modern serial killer tropes and throws them out of a car window going full speed. When the cop catches the killer, mercilessly breaking bones and delivering other forms of brutality, he doesn't find satisfaction in the ideas of killing him or arresting him. Instead he lets him go again, giving him money, tracking his movements electronically. The killer goes right back to hunting victims and even meeting with a fellow killer who is a cannibal. The cop sadistically catches and releases him again and again, each time more bloodied and disfigured than before, but will he finally break and complete the ultimate revenge? Or will staring into the abyss be the cop's undoing? Both men become more and more unhinged over the course of the film; the more pain inflicted, the more the killer fights back, and the more desperate for closure the cop becomes.
This film is such a ride from start to finish. It's got great horror, tons of practical gore, thrilling suspense, heart-wrenching drama, poignant thematic beats, top-tier performances, and of top of all of this, it's a great ACTION film as well. It may sound like torture porn on first glance but it is so much more than that. There are a great many jaw-dropping fight sequences with fantastic camerawork and eye-popping stunts aplenty. Extremely inventive, shocking and unpredictable throughout. This film never lets up for the entirety of the runtime. It is absolutely brutal but it's absolutely entertaining as well and extremely well-made. One of my personal favourite Korean films!
Funny Games (1997)
Characters are always slaves to the script that they're in
This is my fourth Haneke film after watching Cache, The White Ribbon and The Seventh Continent years ago. I thought they were all good but didn't demand a rewatch. After one viewing of Funny Games 1997 I immediately ordered the Criterion. This is easily my favourite of the Haneke films I've seen. I have since also seen The Piano Teacher which is also excellent.
The long-take cinematography is top-notch, extremely tense and eventually harrowing. The acting is unbelievably good. Just when you think you've seen every side of a character they surprise with new emotions and expressions. One moment of explosive emotion near the end was particularly startling, because of how relatively quiet the performances and the relationships had been until that point. Susanne Lothar is particularly brilliant as the increasingly broken yet complex Anna. But I also rooted against her because she was very dumb. Then the movie asked me who I wanted to root for, and suddenly I wasn't so sure.
This movie subverts all expectations at every turn. Brutal violence happens just offscreen while a character casually makes a sandwich. Many things are implied to have happened offscreen in effectively chilling ways. The dialogues between Paul and Peter really got some laughs out of me and I love how they constantly try to guilt-trip and gaslight the family. It never becomes a full-on psychological thriller, but something else entirely. The family is almost comically useless which actually works somehow, and each one of them has a moment where hope is dangled in front of them only to be cruelly snatched away. I found myself rooting for the kid more than the parents, but then realized that it doesn't matter.
There are many surprising fourth wall breaks and winks to the camera. Arno Frisch's delivery of these moments is legendary. The film practically calls you a sicko if you enjoy it. And it tells you that it's cheating you. But the overarching subversion of genre tropes and screenwriting in general is really brilliant. The screenwriter in fact seems to be the one tormenting the family, and keeping Peter and Paul in this endless loop of sick games.
Paul likes to think he's in control, with his rewind trick, but he's just a character in a movie too. The existentialist dialogue on the boat at the end kind of hammers this home. It also asks the question of the audience whether they want their expectations satisfied or subverted, and whether or not we accept challenging cinema or simply want to be comforted. I always want to be challenged and stimulated intellectually, and this film did that for me. Well done Mr. Haneke.
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)
Made me love Shredded Wheat again
Faithfully adapted from the seminal video game series Farmville, Rebel Wheat 2: the Cerealgiver is the new cinematic tv sci-fi farming epic from Zack Snyder. Takes the brilliant concept of Spaceballs: The Breakfast Cereal and runs with it. The best film of its kind since the sci-fi yeast farming saga Gentlemen Broncos. Probably the best wheat-farming cinematography ever put to screen. The endless shots of scythes slashing through the air in slow motion evoke the mortality of man and the great circle of wheaty life. And they make a man hunger for a good hearty breakfast. Beautiful stalks of golden deliciousness swaying in the space-winds and lens flares. And the shots of the grains gracefully flying through the air are a breakfast cereal lover's dream come true. Casting Wil Wheaton (and cameos from the band Wheatus) as the wheat was a stroke of genius, and he should definitely be considered for the academy award. Truly life-changing and tasty. During this film I drank 8 tall cans of German Weissbeer in celebration of its wheaty glory. My only question is, how do the bad guys know what tasty wheat tastes like? Maybe what they think tasty wheat tastes like actually tastes like oatmeal or tuna fish? Either way we all need more whole grains in our diets, and this film advertises this health benefit to great effect. I've since bought 10 bulk cases of Shredded Wheat and now it and wheat beer is all I consume.
I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
Fugue state poetry
Maybe I'm a Charlie Kaufman stan but this film is really exceptional. Not quite up to the level of something like Synecdoche New York, but that's my third favourite film of all time, so it's okay.
Experiencing I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a bit like thinking that you're awake, but then slowly realizing that you're having a strange dream, that continues to get more strange and uncanny, with no escape in sight. Like having a psychotic break, identity, time, and reality begin to fray apart and then merge back together into something else entirely. A beautifully mad kind of sense emerges from the weirdness, something that needs to be felt more than it needs to be pieces together. Are we awake or not? Who are we? When? It doesn't matter. It's intelligent, beautiful, captivating and the meaning can be whatever the viewer thinks it is.
Jessie Buckley instantly became one of my favourite actresses. The whole cast is great, but Jessie in particular is wonderfully nuanced and very well-suited to this type of challenging and surreal storytelling. She held my attention the entire way through. I will say that the story of the movie is pretty depressing and the ending is extremely baffling but I got a lot out of it. It's largely an existential dialogue between the two leads that is truly mind-bending and constantly made me think. It's a poignant relationship drama, a surrealist roller coaster and has loads of Kaufman's signature brand of quirky dark comedy, and I'm really appreciative of films like this. Just want to get it on physical media someday.
Kamera o tomeru na! (2017)
A horror comedy gem, and surprisingly a heartwarming story about family
This film really took me by surprise. The first section of the film was campy and corny and I thought the trope of one-shot filmmaking wasn't very original and the meta-commentary felt tired. But 35 minutes into the film everything changes and the entire rest of the film makes the opening so much better, when all the corny moments begin to pay off in surprising and ingenious ways. The finale is so much fun, hilarious and brilliantly executed. All of the actors shine. It becomes a true love letter to gonzo indie filmmaking, and a touching story about family, friendship and overcoming challenges together. I didn't expect this movie to get me in the feels but it really did. I absolutely recommend everybody checks this one out.
Gokseong (2016)
Top tier horror thriller
Just watched this finally for the first time. This movie left me nearly speechless. It has a slow burn buildup as it sets up the horror and the mystery, but patience is absolutely rewarded. The middle act is completely wild and the third act to the finale is the most bonkers thing I've seen in a long time. It's an absolute ride that threw me for a loop multiple times. Plot twists, mysterious supernatural occurrences, harrowing family drama, moments of wicked dark comedy, scenes of horrific bloody carnage, adrenaline-fueled revenge pursuits, this film has it all. The father and daughter deliver maybe the two best Korean performances I've ever seen. Absolutely heart-wrenching demonic or ghost possession drama. Possibly a disease or zombie outbreak. Maybe witchcraft or necromancy. You never have any idea where it will go next or what the truth is until the end. The story has poignant themes about scapegoating and mob mentality. But also about normal people faced with forces completely beyond their reckoning. The character arcs are perfect. The pacing is perfect. The gore and makeup effects are top notch. The cinematography isn't the best I've seen from Korea but it services the story very well by not doing too many things too often. There are some great shots in this movie of course but it's all part of a balanced, focused whole. The direction is impeccable. A jaw-dropping film on almost every level. One I will definitely be rewatching as well.
Ripley (2024)
I love the Mingella film but this is so good that it puts it to shame
I have not read the books or seen Purple Noon, saw Ripley's Game which is decent, but this feels like such a better adaptation than the Matt Damon one. That film gave too many motivations to the character, oversold the importance of his sexuality, made Dickie an unsympathetic bully. Here it's more intriguing by being more simple, Tom's actions seem more morivated by pure jealousy, but are also somewhat ambiguous, which I think works so much better. Making him more straightforward and focused actually makes the character more interesting whereas the movie's choices undercut him. "He's too weird to have a normal sexual relationship" says Margie in episode 4, and in this whole scene she really gets him in a way that Mingella's script never did.
Still working my way through the episodes, but it's already a 10. Scott, Flynn and Fanning all deliver tremendous performances. I really think Flynn in particular is going to get a lot of attention after this role. I also liked him in The Outfit. I also want to say that the legendary Robert Elswit's cinematography is some of the best I've ever seen on a small screen. The black and white is so gorgeous, and the shots so Imax-level huge it feels like I'm watching the arena scene from Dune 2 again. There's a sense of scale, attention to detail and nail-biting suspense that reminds me of Hitchcock, particularly in episode 3 which feels like an homage to him, and it's masterful.
Andrew Scott's understated brilliance also carries nearly the entire show, with his sinister intelligence coming through in the ways he meticulously enacts his plans, but it feels like there's always a chance he won't get away with it. I love the pure luck of some of the things that happen in his favour. Blatantly showing people the passport with the wrong photo is a huge risk. Makes me think he's after the life but also the adrenaline rush of it all. There is no inner monologue from Tom, everything about him we learn visually and from how he speaks. Sometimes to himself. Sometimes to his ghosts. Sometimes putting the pieces of the character together yourself is more fun than having the whole picture handed to you. Ripley is nuanced, challenging, suspenseful and undeniable. A must-watch.
Midsommar (2019)
The perfect breakup movie
Midsommar is a film that gets better each time I watch it, I finally got the DVD and it's a more than worthy addition to my collection. So nych more than just s horror film. It's not just visually and atmospherically unnerving, it's loaded with nuance, subtext, and foreshadowing details that pay off very satisfactorily. Basing it all on real cultural practises is both respectful and poignant. Florence Pugh's performance is a 10/10. She's strong, but vulnerable, damaged, but capable. Broken and triumphant. She's gone through hell, stands strong and still gets treated like a nuisance. Her boyfriend tries but he doesn't really understand her. He lets his douchey friends push him into resentment and negativity. This story is at its heart about letting go of the things in life that hold you back. And not fighting back against the inevitable. And Dani finds a way through her pain, a path of strength and endurance, a path of fire and blood. This is an extremely good film on all levels.
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Sloppy, meandering
Really expected more from Guillermo. Performances are okay, particularly from Rooney Mara. However this film has boring style and a dearth of substance. Technically it's dull and safe. Doesn't have Del Toro's signature stamp on it. Story and character beats fall flat, the subject matter feels too familiar and obvious in the modern day, dialogue is clunky and inaudible, and at several points is totally mismatched to the movement of the characters' mouths. Editing issues abound, both structurally and within scenes. Bradley Cooper is serviceable but overrated in my opinion, and he fails to elevate this material. Willem Dafoe, Ron Perlman, and Holt McCallany are totally wasted. David Straithairn is pretty good. Toni Colette is excellent. Richard Jenkins I would watch read the phone book. But the story doesn't pay off the good performances in any satisfying way. The ending falls flat. Overall would not recommend.
Mandy (2018)
It shouldn't work at all... but it does
Panos Cosmatos delivers a very solid blow to the pineal gland in this absolutely exhilarating psychedelic grindhouse throwback. A blood-soaked odyssey through realms both tangible and phantasmagorical. Enchanting and horrifying.
Demon bikers, drug trips, evil cultists, visions from other worlds. All of this and more wonderfully realized on camera, Cosmatos truly showing his technical mastery. The narrative is basic but that never matters. It's endlessly entertaining. This film is wild but if you let yourself get immersed in the eye-popping visuals, the unhinged weirdness, and the heavy metal of it all, you will not be disappointed. It's somehow absolutely brilliant, an unforgettable cinematic experience.
The whole cast completely sells this story and more, but Andrea Riseborough feels like something from another world, and Nicolas Cage is astonishing beyond words. His transformation throughout this film is mind boggling. He goes from an everyman to a broken man, to a man remade, reforged. The action sequences are excellent and he absolutely embodies the spirit of a warrior imbued with divine purpose.
The script is jam packed with insane moments and instantly memorable one-liners. My only negative is that some of the more surreal elements just seem to be there for no reason, such as the insect-sting drug and the caged tiger. Think David Lynch but the worst parts of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. It all looks interesting but I'm lost to explain what some of it means. But this film does have heart and substance so I forgive its few indulgences.
Films like this and Beyond the Black Rainbow are proof that you can take any ludicrous idea and make it work on screen through hard work and meticulous execution. I for one cannot wait for the next film from this mad genius.
The Green Knight (2021)
Best fantasy film in years
What an underrated gem this film is. Rich, beautiful and enchanting from start to finish. Dev Patel owns the screen as do Sean Harris and Alicia Vikander. Barry Keoghan is brilliant as always. Kate Dickie also needs to be in everything ever. After seeing Dev in Monkey Man and loving it I had to go back and watch this. I'm very glad I did and on physical dvd as well. The cinematography is like a moving painting. The music is haunting and immersive. The story is absolutely brilliant, very intelligent themes throughout, much celebration and subversion of mythology and archetypes, many surprises and a great many things to ponder. Great poetic dialogue that adds to the wonderful atmosphere without feeling stilted. Swept me up like an intoxicating dream.
Immaculate (2024)
Zzzzz
Not a good horror film. Sydney Sweeney tries but nothing about this grabbed me. Right from the opening scene most things that happen are completely pointless. None of the women wear bras and you can constantly see their nipples through their clothes. Very pedestrian. Obvious jump scares. Cheesy religious overtones and a derivative story you've seen a million times. Performances are forgettable. There is little direction to speak of. Visuals are boring. The music is okay. Characters I didn't care about. Main girl is too squeamish to butcher a chicken, but does it later anyways just for a selfish reason, which happens offscreen with no impact on her character. Plot is ridiculous nonsense. Script and editing is a mess. Extremely predictable. Totally humorless. Almost fell asleep in the theatre. Zero artistry, zero scares, felt long at 90 minutes.
Monkey Man (2024)
Art-house action spectacular
Monkey Man is the new action film from first time director Dev Patel, who also stars in, wrote and produced the film. On all counts his work here is excellent. He lays it all on the line and his passion is in every frame. The film is a stylish smorgasbord of violence and beauty loaded with interesting cultural themes and wonderfully executed fights and stunts. The story is a predictable hero's journey but that's okay. The film's sweeping, dreamlike visual storytelling and rock-solid performances more than make up for it. The blockbuster fight sequences rival those of modern classics like John Wick and The Raid. Best camerawork I've seen in years. It's gritty, kinetic and visceral. My favourite part is when the trans people get in on the fighting. Great lgbtq representation. If I have one complaint it's that the accents were a bit too thick at times to understand. Might rewatch with subs. I had a great time seeing this on the big screen, many people clapped at the end and I was one of them. Big recommend!
Edit: I just watched it a second time and noticed numerous cool details that I missed the first time, and have subsequently upgraded my rating to a 10/10 :)
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Fun and interesting
Had a great time seeing this last night on the big screen. A friend from work recommended it. I've liked David Dastmalchian in everything I've seen him in so far, and he doesn't disappoint leading this indie gem. His performance is understated but very entertaining. The supporting cast is also excellent, in particular Ingrid Torelli as Lily taking the trope of a demon-possessed little girl and making the role unique and very spooky. Great quirky tone and atmosphere keeps the proceedings fairly light and gleefully creepy. The film has a lot of laughs, many gasps, nice sound design, lots of great practical gore effects, and nice digital effects working well with the 70s feel to the cinematography. The story is well thought out, full of little clues and details that elevate it beyond a typical genre piece. The ending makes a lot of sense and left me thinking about it a lot. It's not a masterpiece but definitely a cut above most horror fare that gets released these days. Definitely worth seeing and supporting!