Month: June 2017

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Okja

You know how when you’re wanting to go to the movie theater and you look up all the films that are showing and there are alway at least three that you’ve never heard of, let alone have any interest in seeing? Well, good news! I’ve seen those movies. I spend most of my theater experiences in art house theaters watching those movies that you’ve never heard of and then never watch. Yeah, I’m that hipster asshole. My goal with this is to spread information out about these films, that way you can decide one of the following. “That actually sounds pretty cool! I want to see that now!” or “Man, I’m glad I decided to go see the new superhero movie!”. So without further ado, here is my article and review of Okja.

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I’m going to make an effort to not talk about Netflix in this review because it isn’t necessary. With all the talk about the premiere of this film at Cannes Film Festival, the debate of is this actually a film or is this a television movie has sparked. But at the same time, who cares? If a release is what determines a film’s legitimacy then that’s kind of stupid. Some of the best films are never released to theaters, whether they be just on HBO, Netflix, or even just straight to VOD. Transformers: The Last Knight had one of the widest releases this year and I don’t think that film is any more a film than this one. So if your definition of a film is determined by where you put your ass before watching it, then maybe re-evaluate what your film priorities are.

Okja is the new film from South Korean Director Bong Joon-Ho, known for Memories of Murder and The Host, or how most American viewers know him as the director of Snowpiercer. Okja follows more of a situation than a character. Okja is about the discovery/invention of a new creature that produces requires less feed, produces less waste, and most importantly tastes amazing. One of these “Super Pigs”, as they are called, is named Okja and is own by a small Korean girl named Mija. The corporation that controls Okja comes and takes Okja away to be slaughtered and Mija ain’t having that. Thus Mija goes across the world to save her pet with the help from various characters along the way.

If you have seen Joon-Ho’s work in the past, you know that he does not shy away from things. His films are often brutal in nature and show things that the audience does not want to see. Okja is no exception to this. And I think I might have trouble recommending this film to animal lovers due to how brutal the film is in terms of the slaughterhouses and all of the stuff that comes with this kind of subject matter. And this isn’t brutal in a Marley & Me kind of way either. This is never a cute thing that becomes tragic, this film is straight tragic from beginning to end. It is very much in line with Joon-Ho’s filmography. So keep that in mind before watching the film because it might not be the feel-good film you are looking for or even the emotional animal film you are looking for.

The acting in the film is incredible. Everyone will be talking about Tilda Swinton playing the head of the corporation and for good reason. Tilda Swinton is incredible in this film, just like she is in every film she takes part in. Ahn Seo-hyun, who plays Mija, is also fantastic in the film and does an amazing job with emoting both silently and verbally. In a film that does the same thing that Scooby-Doo did with the CGI animal, Seo-hyun does an amazing job as does the rest of the cast. The person I want to acknowledge the most, however, is actually Jake Gyllenhaal, who gives probably my favorite performance of 2017 thus far. Is it the best performance of 2017, no, but I had so much fun watching Gyllenhaal perform in this film that he was easily my favorite part of the film. Some describe his performance as campy, but I disagree.

The idea of “campy” has been thrown around for this film for in my opinion no merit. Some have complained that the can’t find a balance between Campiness and Seriousness. Which I don’t believe that there really is a lot of campiness to Okja, I strongly believe that the film is just having fun in certain aspects. For example, Paul Dano leads a group of ecoterrorists. The humor to it is that these are the friendlies terrorists you will ever see. The ecoterrorists in the film were another highlight because the humor with them works so well, and as a heads up, there is an after credits scene with them that has one of the best jokes in the entire film. And there is a look of that “quirky” or “fun” humor to it, but I would never call it campy. Campy implies some kind of poor taste or some kind of irony, neither of which is present in the film. When a film is called Campy, it is usually in defense for something bad in the film, and there is nothing really bad enough in this film to warrant the film being called Campy.

I won’t spoil it, but the ending is I think the best part of the film. The last thirty minutes of the film is easily the best part of the film. There is a scene involving the slaughter house and is haunting and one of the best scenes of the year, and the scene following it is the final scene and that is what I think makes this film. The final scene has the overall melancholic feeling to it. It’s a cold scene when it shouldn’t be. And these two scenes alone show how this is the best-directed film of the year. It isn’t the best film of the year, but it is extremely well done. 

Episodes, Volume Six (261-312)

Ep. 306: Optimus Crime

The Reel Nerds change from cars to bots when they review Transformers: The Last Knight.

Episodes, Volume Six (261-312)

Ep. 305: Carjacked

The Reel Nerds are forced into retirement when they review Cars 3.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Son of Saul

You know how when you’re wanting to go to the movie theater and you look up all the films that are showing and there are alway at least three that you’ve never heard of, let alone have any interest in seeing? Well, good news! I’ve seen those movies. I spend most of my theater experiences in art house theaters watching those movies that you’ve never heard of and then never watch. Yeah, I’m that hipster asshole. My goal with this is to spread information out about these films, that way you can decide one of the following. “That actually sounds pretty cool! I want to see that now!” or “Man, I’m glad I decided to go see the new superhero movie!”. So without further ado, here is my article and review of Son of Saul.

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Well, this certainly took me long enough. This has been one of those films that I’ve been wanting to see since it won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2015. So you are probably wondering, “Hey! If you wanted to see it since then, why are you now watching it in June of 2017?” That’s a good question voice in my head that gives me all my insecurities. Admittedly I’ve kind of always put this film off because of the subject matter. I had always heard of good things from the film, especially following it winning Best Foreign Film at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes, this film is the first time a Hungarian Film has won the Golden Globe. And I’ve always recommended the film to people, without seeing it. Thinking about it now, I don’t think I’ve ever heard any heavy criticism of the film. From what I’ve seen the film has only been given universal praise. But with a film like this, it isn’t something that I’ve ever wanted to jump in and eat a bucket of popcorn with. But we’ll get into it.

Son of Saul is a Holocaust film concerning a member of the Sonderkommando. In other words, our main character is a prisoner in Auschwitz who has the job of moving and burning the deceased. Are you having fun yet? No? Well, don’t worry, because the film is about to get more sad. The plot of the film follows as Saul moves bodies until he recognizes one of them, whom he thinks is the body of his dead son. The film then follows as he does everything in his ability to give the body a proper Jewish Burial. So yeah. You can probably tell why I haven’t leaped into watching this film.

It’s interesting, both this film and Schindler’s List are on that list of films I have that I need to watch but have always not had the motivation to do so. And in the same week, I watched both. And they are both fantastic films but have different tones to them. In Schindler’s List, you have this horrible depressing but magnificently made film. You get the same thing in Son of Saul, the exception being that you can still tell that Spielberg made Schindler’s List because there is this magical element to it. That isn’t in Son of Saul when you hear the bodies burning and the children screaming in pain, you can’t ignore it. The director, László Nemes, doesn’t shy away from showing the horror and pain of the Holocaust, and he shouldn’t. The film has a dark and dirty and painful point of view and it isn’t for someone with a weak heart.

The film is shot in 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Often times the camera will stay on a close up for an extended period of time, to the point where I’m sure the shot list to the film was much shorter than the average feature film. At a certain point, would forget the last time there was a cut in the film because it would stay on a close up for so long that it just pulls you in. The shallow depth of field the film uses really puts you in the mind of the main character and drags you through the hell that the main character is experiencing. It keeps almost everything except the face out of focus to where you can’t focus on the dead bodies, you can’t focus on the details. This done in a way where you see how the main character is so apathetic to the situation because of how much of the horror he has had to see. You aren’t sensitive to everything being presented because the main character has become so desensitized to the horror that he doesn’t see it either. It’s very well shot, not in a compositional kind of way but in a psychological kind of way.

Yes it took me awhile to check it out, but I am very glad that I did. It’s a wonderfully crafted film, and one that deserves all of the praise it has gotten. Would it have cracked my top ten of 2015? Probably not, there are very small sound issues that end up being the weakest part of the film, but it is worth checking out. So if you are like me and haven’t made the jump, go ahead. You won’t have fun, but you will be glad you did it.

Episodes, Volume Six (261-312)

Ep. 304: Dork Universe

The Reel Nerds find out she is real when they review The Mummy.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Afterimage

You know how when you’re wanting to go to the movie theater and you look up all the films that are showing and there are alway at least three that you’ve never heard of, let alone have any interest in seeing? Well, good news! I’ve seen those movies. I spend most of my theater experiences in art house theaters watching those movies that you’ve never heard of and then never watch. Yeah, I’m that hipster asshole. My goal with this is to spread information out about these films, that way you can decide one of the following. “That actually sounds pretty cool! I want to see that now!” or “Man, I’m glad I decided to go see the new superhero movie!”. So without further ado, here is my article and review of Afterimage.

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I don’t want to be too harsh on this film. And that isn’t to say that the film has qualities that warrant being harsh on it, far from it. But this is the director, Andrzej Wajda’s, last film. If you haven’t heard of Wajda, no worries! Admittedly I was no familiar with Wajda before going into this film. But in a quick run down of his work, Wajda is a legendary Polish director who won the Palme D’Or and an honorary Academy Award. Wajda also directed this film at 90 years old before passing away before the film’s premiere. So I don’t want to be too harsh on this film because I know fans of Wajda are going to have a different reaction. From reading about the film’s premiere it is clear there are strong emotions attached to this film, especially considering the film’s subject matter.

Afterimage follows an Avant-Garde painter living in Poland a few years before Polish October. In other words, it’s about how much Communism in Poland sucked. As the film progresses you get to see the painter evolve from being a well-beloved art profession and notable painter to the decay and eventual demise to the painter. It is not a feel good kind of film. It is more of a “dear god everything is awful and nothing is going to work out and I need to stop taking everything I have for granted” kind of film. After everything in the film, the only thing I take away from the film is that Communism is awful and that living in Poland during Stalin’s empire was also awful.

I think the aspect of the film that shines the most is the cinematography. There are a lot of shots that show the decay of both Poland and the painter. The color palette of the film slowly evolves from a bright and vivid color scheme to a dark and murky color scheme. By the end of the film, we see the world as almost dystopian in nature while the beginning is almost comically bright and happy. I remember seeing the opening scene and thinking this is too happy, possibly to contrast the rest of the film and the murkiness of the scenes. Something in the beginning that I thought was a flaw ended up being one of the strongest parts of the film.

I think the acting in the film is quite good, especially by the lead actor Bogusław Linda. Linda, being a 63-year-old actor at the time of production, looks around ninety in this film. And where the rest of the cast is forgettable in terms of their characters, they give hefty performances. The only performance that I would say isn’t spectacular is the girl who plays Linda’s daughter. But even that, it never got me to roll my eyes or wish her scene was over, it just didn’t fully grasp my attention.

Another thing to keep in mind with this film is that it is extremely slow paced. Don’t expect anything to get exciting. There is one scene in an art gallery that is kind of exciting, but other than that, you are watching an elderly man get sad and depressed for an hour and a half. So if you don’t like that, do not watch this film. Even by my standards, I was getting a little bored by the film. Partly because the film is pure sadness and decay, which I applaud as this is a true story and Wajda did not simplify the film for an audience. At the end of the day, the film has a very bold stance and it sticks to it. It shows you how God awful the Communist Regime was and how it affected the people of Poland specifically.

As time goes on I do like this film more, or I think a more accurate term would be that I respect it more. But at the end of the day that isn’t making me think it’s a better film in general. And where I wish it wasn’t true, I do feel as though I will forget this film in due time. There isn’t a lot of this film that would make me think about it or want to revisit it. One of the constant struggles of extremely depressing films is that they don’t draw much from me in terms of lasting image. Which is ironic given the title and message of this film.

Episodes, Volume Six (261-312)

Ep. 303: Wonderful

The Reel Nerds learn power, grace, wisdom, and wonder when Corinne joins in to review Wonder Woman.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Mustang

You know how when you’re wanting to go to the movie theater and you look up all the films that are showing and there are alway at least three that you’ve never heard of, let alone have any interest in seeing? Well, good news! I’ve seen those movies. I spend most of my theater experiences in art house theaters watching those movies that you’ve never heard of and then never watch. Yeah, I’m that hipster asshole. My goal with this is to spread information out about these films, that way you can decide one of the following. “That actually sounds pretty cool! I want to see that now!” or “Man, I’m glad I decided to go see the new superhero movie!”. So without further ado, here is my article and review of Mustang.

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Jeez. This film is a lot more depressing than I thought it would be. I was really hoping this would be the feel good film that I could enjoy about girls being girls and having a good time and growing up. I should have known better, because those kinds of films don’t get nominated for Best Foreign film, nor do they get made honestly. Instead, we have this depressing film about how awful it is to be a girl in Turkey. So yeah. Know that going in because it never gets happy.

Mustang tells the story of five orphan girls living together in a small village in Turkey. Their caregivers are very strict and conservative making their lives not great, and by not great I mean their entire lives revolve around arranged marriage. So we follow the girls as they are married off to a bunch of men they don’t like and are generally miserable. The story is fine honestly. Despite it being about the complex subject of forced marriage, it is actually pretty straight forward and extremely easy to follow. My only issue story-wise is that there are very few traits that distinguish the girls from one another, besides age. I never felt like we got to learn a lot about each individual girl, it always put the story over character development. But that didn’t bother me too much so I can let it slide.

The direction of the film is good if not anything spectacular. The director, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, is a first time directing woman, which is always welcome especially around these parts. The film is put together well even if the film lacks anything special in terms of style. I’ve read that the film is somewhat autobiographical, and if that is the case I can see why the story would come first over the style. I also read that Ergüven directed the entire film while pregnant (eat your heart out Prevenge), so that adds major props to the filmmaker. So if you are looking for a straight forward story this might be up your alley. But ever since the film came out I’ve heard only rave reviews so I was a little disappointed by how standard the film is. But that didn’t bother me too much so I can let it slide.

If I had to say something in the film that is blatantly bad, I would be inclined to point to the cinematography. The cinematography is done by two fairly new DPs and it looks very artificial and fake in certain points. But I wouldn’t call it bad, I would more along the lines call it passable. There were only a few points in the film where the cinematography took me out of the film, one being when they went to the futball game. But other than that it didn’t bother me. It didn’t ever scale into anything worthwhile, but it didn’t bother me too much so I’ll let it slide.

I would say that I’m disappointed by this film, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad per say. I might have gone into the film with much higher of expectations than I should have expected. This and Son of Saul are the only films nominated from this year for Best Foreign Language that I have not seen. And Theeb, A War, and Embrace of the Serpent all have been better than this film. So this film might be the weakest nominee. Which isn’t a bad thing. This is still a very well made and provocative film. The only downside is that the film goes all out with its story to the point where everything else falls by the wayside. It’s a finely put together film and I believe that Ergüven has a bright future ahead of her, but I am more interested in seeing what she does next than watch this film again. Maybe I’m not the target audience, it is a very heavily female based film. But this film ended up just being a bit of a disappointment.

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