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Roberthmyers33
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The Acolyte (2024)
I want it to be good so badly
It pains me to say it but everything about the show is subpar:
Writing is often painful
Acting is mostly wooden
Costumes look cheap and unlived in.
Lighting and sets overwhelmingly poor with few highlights.
7 episodes in and no clue where this is going. Perhaps something, something, ACAB?
Episode 5's fight scene is AMAZING! It's easily the best in the entire history of Star Wars. No lie. Anything not that fight is silly.
I have no clue where this reported budget went. Special effects are fine and there some newish things but it's a slog to get through. If my curiosity didn't have a hold of me I'd just skip it like I did with S3 of Mando.
There are worse things and I'm sure some of the poor reviews are brigading by culture warriors who haven't watched this far, but the overall score is pretty fair. All episodes: 2.9, episode 5: 8.1 for the fight alone.
Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion (2024)
Zero point.
There wasn't a need for this. Clothes are cheap and disposable but everyone in this is or was totally on board for it. Until they weren't a part of it.
This wants to be "White Hot: Abercrombie" from two years ago so bad you can taste it.
Old guys make tasteless and wildly inappropriate jokes on a private text chain- shocking to no one.
People are hired and fired based on surface level appearance- live by the sword die by the sword.
This is a faux doc for the self obsessed that parades out a pastiche of green concern for the earth, or something. None of these people care even a little bit.
Nothing new and nothing even remotely surprising to be had here.
All of Us Strangers (2023)
It's not for me and that's ok
Underwhelming in every way.
I expected more from the interactions with the parents and got nothing meaningful of interesting.
I don't understand the neighbor's role at all.
This was lost on me and maybe that's simply due to having a wildly different background as a straight American who never lost his parents. This must be cathartic for some people but I was bored and a little annoyed at a total lack of resolution or meaning.
If there was some kind of breakthrough or change at the end for the protagonist I'd feel warmer towards it. The production value was solid and the score was great. My hang up is entirely with the story.
Call Me by Your Name (2017)
I didn't believe they were in love, or even attracted to each other
As the title says, the entire thing hinges on the performances in the central relationship and I was unable to get to a place where I believed these guys were in love, or even attracted to each other.
Nearly the first hour passes without the leads showing any interest in each other outside of sharing space and then, all of a sudden, there's a mention of their suppressed attraction. I have no idea where it came from as I saw nothing to indicate they were remotely into each other.
It's entirely possible, being a straight man, that I don't know what cues a man gives off when he's attracted to someone as I'm never the recipient. It could be this is what that looks like. However, I'm unconvinced.
I LOVED Broke Back Mountain, and the attraction between the leads was crystal clear. I had no problem recognizing it, and the film worked as a result.
It could be a failing in acting, directing, or certainly in the performances, but I didn't believe the central relationship, and with it, found the movie a curious exercise.
The film is beautifully shot and Italy makes for a hell of a backdrop for lazy summer days. That said, I don't know what the fuss was about, truly.
Eileen (2023)
Riveting! A masterclass of feeling and subverting expectation.
Eileen is masterful in its pacing and world building. I was unable to look away the whole film and found myself tickled at each sprinkled moment of comedy.
This is a masterclass in subversion of expectations. A delight in imagery and metaphor; the prisons within prisons within prisons, and how we often hold the keys. The sincere glee and joy in desire and the rekindling of what's possible in our lives is presented deftly with a master's touch. You FEEL what Eileen feels at every turn.
Many take issue with the third act and seem to find it unsatisfying. I was let down for a moment, but not because the story telling was imperfect, but because I wanted to spend more time with these characters, in this world. I wish this film was 3 hours long.
It's been 3 days and I haven't been able to stop thinking about this movie, and I watch a lot of movies - 334 in total in 2023.
I'd urge anyone to give this a watch for perfect performances, writing, and brilliant direction. This film is 5 times larger in scope and significance than its budget or placement would lead one to believe.
Priscilla (2023)
Made for $1 Million in two weeks?
I'm a huge Sophia Coppola fan and as such, I can't help but compare this to Marie Antoinette - another story of a young woman tied to a famous, imperfect man, and focusing the lens on her story.
This movie was small, flat, and looked awful. It appeared shot in two weeks with a shoestring budget. That's not to say a smaller approach couldn't have worked here, but that's not what was attempted. For instance, the whole film could have taken place over the several weeks they spent in Elvis' room; that would have been daring and small-scale.
Completely absent are Coppola's usual hallmarks; color, world-building, and curated music, all evoking a sense of time, place, and feeling. Instead, we have muddy visuals that take place in 5 rooms, all with the camera at eye-level. Compare this to Marie Antoinette which explodes with visuals that carry the protagonist from a sense of wonder through stifling doldrums, back to love and agency.
This is Lifetime/Hallmark film levels of production and worse, with a story that dares to say NOTHING new.
Was Elvis a damaged human that groomed Priscilla? Clearly. Did Coppola opt to steer into that narrative and create a sense of claustrophobia, ennui, and despair? If she intended to, the final product didn't come out that way.
If I saw one more shot of Jacob Elordi slap boxing his pals I was going to eat a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.
As someone who respects the Director's ability to tell a story of a young woman paired to an older, revered man, she was thwarted in this attempt, either by budget, time, or her own imagination.
Good Boys (2019)
It just kept getting worse.
Why? The whole movie was worse than a local stage play with massive plot wholes. Just garbage storytelling.
None of the characters were real, nor their beliefs that they lived in this world.