Art House Asshole

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : White Girl

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 White Girl.

–

This is the comedy of the year. I don’t care if it’s September and there are months where funnier or better comedy films could come out. Mel Brooks could release his magnum opus next week, and this would still be the funniest movie of the year. All of this because this film doesn’t want to be funny. This film wants to shock you with how dangerous and disgusting today’s youth culture is, but instead shocks you at how hilariously this film is misinformed.

White Girl follows a college freshman in New York who moves into a new neighborhood with her best friend and then falls into the drug scene of the outer limits of New York. But when her new drug dealer boyfriend gets arrested for possession, she fights to set him free! This film is ridiculous. The characters are both unlikable and stupid beyond belief. The acting is either fantastic or absolutely revolting, I honestly can’t tell. The big thing this film has going for it in terms of actual good filmmaking is that the cinematography isn’t atrocious. But let’s get into this because I literally can’t stop thinking about this film.

The main character is played by everyone’s least favorite part of Homeland, Morgan Saylor. I liked her in the beginning and toward the middle, but she just kept doing the same mistake over and over and over again that I really didn’t care about the character. You can tell that there was suppose to be this downward spiral of drugs and sex and abuse for her character. The only problem is that literally after becoming friends with the drug dealer next door, she light switches her behavior for the rest of the movie. Instead of a downward spiral, she just flipped over the railing and fell to the bottom in a matter of seconds. This makes me not really have any sympathy for the character later on in the film. I didn’t feel like she accidentally found herself in this horrible situation. If she hadn’t moved into this neighborhood, her character was so stupid that she probably would have accidentally stepped in front of bus thinking it was a big dog. The drugs didn’t mess up her life, her own lack of intelligence did.

The most likable and relatable character in this film is actually the drug dealer she befriends or dates. This might have something to do with the fact that he isn’t in the film all that much as he is in jail most of the film. But the glimpses we have of him show that he doesn’t want to be in this drug dealing world. He talks about getting out. You can tell in certain scenes that he is a good guy and in a bad situation. So why isn’t he the main character in this story? If we followed him I might actually care about the outcome. But instead we have bowling pin number three to follow instead. You might be able to argue that is the point. That this film is arguing something about racism and love or whatever. But based on what the writer/director had the characters do and act, I feel if that is in the film it was an accident.

Critics have been comparing this film to Kids by Larry Clark. I can see where this film might remind some of those aspects. I certainly could see those aspects as well. But the major difference is that in Kids there is this sense of knowing what they are doing is wrong. The kids are smart, they just made bad choices. You can understand where the characters are coming from. White Girl wants to be Kids, but doesn’t know why. White Girl wants to shock you, but doesn’t understand why the audience was shocked when Kids came out. Kids works because when the characters learn of their AIDS and how destroyed their lives are going to be now, the characters get it and act accordingly. The audience shares the thoughts and shock that the characters are feeling. White Girl talks down to the audience so much that it’s insulting. It makes the main character so stupid that whenever something happens there needs to be five additional minutes to explain what just happened. You don’t feel sorry for the characters in White Girl because it is so poorly written that despite Morgan Saylor doing the best acting I’ve seen her do, I have no sympathy for this character because I know this character doesn’t exist. There is no immersion when your main character is so poorly written that you know it would never happen in real life.

The only reason why this film isn’t a half star film is because of two reasons. One, the cinematography is actually kind of good. The color palette used throughout the film is nice and it does help the film in certain scenes. It’s nothing revolutionary, but anything that’s good is better than most in this film. The second reason is that half way through I just started watching it as a straight up comedy. The theater I saw this in was around half full and by the end of the film we were all belly laughing at the film. This isn’t what the filmmaker wanted, but this is the best reason to watch the film. Normally I will say that a film that tries to say something and fails is better than a film that doesn’t try to say anything at all. This film is the exception to that rule.

Do I recommend this film? God no. Never think I am recommend this film. Watch this film with your friends and laugh at how stupid this film is. You won’t be shocked like the director wants. But you probably haven’t seen anything like this, this year. A so bad it’s good type of film. The film is called White Girl because the main girl is white but also that a nickname for cocaine is “white girl”. That is where the subtlety ends in this film.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : The Great Beauty

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 The Great Beauty.

—

If you remember correctly my list on the 2015 Filmsplosion, Youth directed by Paolo Sorrentino was my favorite film from 2015. Since that episode, I have seen more films from that year that are now in my top ten of 2015. But as of writing this article, Youth is still my number one film from 2015. So when I decided to watch this film, I had pretty high expectations. And I will tell you straight up right now, The Great Beauty might be one of my favorite films from 2013. Sorrention has blown me away again with this film. It might sound like I’m gushing this review, but that’s the overall of what this review is going to be like.

The Great Beauty follows an aged writer in Rome as he wanders through his twilight trying to find purpose. The film also follows his interactions with his fellow aged artists, his friends from his past, and younger people he decides to converse with. Very similar to Youth this is very much a talkie drama about aging and looking back on your life. The biggest complaint you will find about Youth is that it is too similar to The Great Beauty. Where I can certainly see that point of view, Michael Cain and Toni Servillo look pretty much identical in the film and have very similar characters, there are major differences. I think Youth is a far more pessimistic look at life and aging, whereas Servillo looks at life like one long joke with an unfunny punchline.

Toni Servillo plays Jep Gambardella, a man who knows everyone but has also disappointed everyone he has ever met. The film wouldn’t work if Servillo couldn’t deliver these lines with fantastic timing and charisma. Servillo’s character is just so light hearted that you feel like you know this person. After the first hour of the film, you look at him like every other character looks at him, the fun older guy who doesn’t talk much. He makes you laugh when you need to and he makes you think when it’s required. In the general sense, he’s what I would call the perfect protagonist. He is the lead and walks through the story, but at the same time he guides the audience with him and he has you experience certain things with him as well. All of this while never breaking the fourth wall. It all comes from his performance and the writing.

Speaking of the writing, the dialogue in this film is phenomenal. The story is pretty minimal, even more so than Youth, but where the film lacks in traditional story it makes up for in fantastic thought provoking dialogue. There are so many great moments in the film that convey sadness and loneliness so well. A lot of the film is a critique of art in general and how an artist creates their art, something that I know a lot of people won’t be able to relate. As an artist, it completely hit me hard, but understand that this aspect of the film might not click for you if you aren’t an artist or know much about the artistic process. The character interactions between Servillo’s character and the rest of the city, specifically the daughter of an old friend who is now a forty-year-old stripper, are both heartbreaking and heartwarming as time goes on. You learn to respect Jep in ways while also disagreeing with him on some of his stances. He feels like a friend, not someone you agree with but has the respect to understand why you don’t agree with him.

The film, much like Youth, is shot absolutely beautifully. The camera moves in a fluid fashion, making the film feel like a dream, but it never does it in a way where it’s distracting. When the camera moves you get a stream of conscience point of view of the world. You as the audience member feel as though you are walking through Rome and dancing at these parties. It is a master craft of cinematography, not in an every shot a painting kind of way but in a telling the story through camera movement kind of way.

I know I’ve been gushing on this film and obviously, I’m going to recommend it. Even though there are the aspects of the film that I don’t think will resonate with a non-artist audience member, the rest of the film is so well done that it will still make a fantastic film that you won’t regret watching. I decided to review this film today because if all goes according to schedule, I don’t expect to like the film I will be reviewing next week.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : A Bigger Splash

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 A Bigger Splash.

—

As a heads up, we missed the first week of this series last week. The reason for that was that I was moving into my new apartment in New York City. Because of this, I will be able to go see Art House films more regularly and have better access to films I normally wouldn’t be able to see. So look forward to more obscure cinema that is currently playing in theaters in the future of this article series.

—

Watching this film is like watching two mutual friends who don’t like each other slowly realize they have the hots for each other. It’s uncomfortable and kind of gross, but it’s also kind of beautiful. Is it beautiful enough to make you want to hang out with those two mutual friends while they bicker about what kind of furniture they are going to buy? Depends on how much you like your friends. And after thirty minutes of trying to figure out how to write the first paragraph of this film review, that is the best way I can describe this film. Let’s get into it.

A Bigger Splash is an English-Language, Italian-French erotic psychological drama. The film is directed by Luca Guadagnino, an Italian director and frequent collaborator of Tilda Swinton. Guadagnino and Swinton’s works together include The Protagonists, I Am Love and this film. The film also stars Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Dakota Johnson. The film feels very much like a mixing pot of talent, but if the pot wasn’t smooth yet and was still really chunky.

First and foremost, we should talk about the acting in the film. This is probably what drew you to this film in the first place if you are debating on whether or not to see this film. The four leads in the film are phenomenal. A Bigger Splash follows four people as they vacation at one of their homes in Italy. Tilda Swinton plays a rock star who is post surgery and must remain fairly quiet. Matthias Schoenaerts is a documentary filmmaker and Swinton’s lover. Ralph Fiennes plays Swinton’s former agent/manager and friend. Finally, Dakota Johnson plays Fiennes’ newly discovered daughter whom he brings on the trip with him. Ralph Fiennes consistently impresses me with his acting, I want to say this is one of his best performances, but that isn’t saying much. Fiennes blends the line of his characters asshole like nature with his lovable nature so perfectly that he feels like an actual human being, something that isn’t common in film. Tilda Swinton’s character can’t talk for most of the film, but you honestly forget this in multiple scenes. Swinton conveys so much emotion with her face and body alone, to the point where dialogue for her character really isn’t needed. When she does talk, she does so in a whispery kind of voice and it is only when the character feels she needs to speak. It is a very impressive performance and one that few actresses could pull off. Matthias Schoenaerts is very quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. I discovered him back in 2012 in Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone, then fell in love with him again in last year’s Far from the Madding Crowd. To show you how much I believe in this actor, with him co-starring in a film with Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton, he was who I was the most excited about. He completely knocks it out of the park once again as the most relatable character of the bunch. Dakota Johnson is more tricky than the rest. She is good. For a young actress like herself, she holds her own with these heavy hitters really well. However, toward the end of the film, I realized that she was supposed to symbolize something, and I have no idea what that is. We can get into that later, but understand that I don’t blame Johnson for this. A combination of the performers will get you in the seat, but if you have followed this film there is probably something else you are thinking. Don’t worry, we will talk about Ralph Fiennes penis later.

Sadly, the performances are the only fantastic parts of the film. The story and dialogue are pretty bland and have been told before and better. Part of the film revolves around the fact that Ralph Fiennes previously dated Tilda Swinton years ago and introduced Swinton to Schoenaerts. So a lot of the film revolves around jealousy. Which is fine, but you never really agree with Fiennes. The entire time Fiennes is trying to convince Swinton to come back to him, you don’t want her to but you also don’t really care enough about the characters to be conflicted if they do get back together. These types of stories can work absolutely beautifully. But when you do these types of stories you have to feel for both characters, not just have it be a complete one sided discussion. This film is a perfect example of the acting being far superior to the writing, but that also not ruining the performances. The writing overall is okay but is a weaker part of the film.

The biggest issue of the film is by far the editing. If you’ve seen Luc Besson’s Lucy then you know about those strange edits where the film cuts away and shows you a mouse getting caught in a trap or a gazelle being eaten by a lion. The same types of editing are in this film. They aren’t downplaying to the audience like Lucy, but they are brash and intrusive edits into the film. I feel as though these edits were done to convey a sense of tension, but I wasn’t feeling tense when watching the film, I just felt annoyed. Every time one of these edits happened, and they happened a lot, it would take me out of the film and make me feel less invested in the story because I had to get over how unnecessary of a decision it was to put that edit there. This is the same reason why I don’t blame Johnson for not getting the message of what her character was supposed to represent. Every time her character was on screen, I would often still be thinking about how stupid it was that there was a sudden jump cut to a lime that she was eating.

Let’s talk about what everyone is thinking about. Ralph Fiennes and Matthias Schoenaerts glorious genitalia. This film is notorious because of the explicit full frontal male nudity. There have been countless articles about this film surrounding the fact that both the male leads choose to do full frontal nudity and a discussion as to why male actors aren’t expected to do nudity, but female actresses are. I went into this film expecting Ralph Fiennes to start helicoptering but was shown something else. Yes, both Fiennes and Schoenaerts have full frontal male nudity. But I would say that they have as much as both their female co-stars. I’m not going to discuss why male actors aren’t expected to do nudity. That is a huge subject that I don’t think is necessary to this review. Whenever there was nudity in this film, it felt warranted. And at the end of the day, that is what is important in my mind when it comes to nudity in the film. Is the shot of his swinging genitals necessary? Is the shot of her bouncing breasts necessary? That is the question that you need to ask when you want to form an opinion on a nudity in the film. It doesn’t matter about gender. It matters about what is needed.

I struggle to recommend this film. It is certainly good. And I have no issue saying that. I wouldn’t recommend you rush out and see the film. As of writing this review, you can only get it online for fourteen dollars and I might wait until it is easier to get a hold of. If you wanted to see it, by all means go and see it. But if you were on the edge, maybe wait until it is easier to access or skip this one.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Tokyo Tribe

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 Tokyo Tribe.

–

This film is insane. The film has so much going for it that it is hard not to enjoy this film. Sure you might walk away from the film not knowing really what happened. But god damn, will you enjoy watching this film unfold. I’m not really sure how to launch into this review so I will say this upfront, this is unlike any film you have probably ever seen. But that might not be a good thing.

Tokyo Tribe is a Japanese action film from director Sion Sono. Sono is previously known for Why Don’t You Play in Hell?, another action film, and Love Exposure, a bizarre romance film. This film fits into that bizarre culture that he has established in his previous films, but this film is balls-to-the-wall insane. Tokyo Tribe, or known in Japan as Tokyo Tribes2, is based on a long time established manga/anime called Tokyo Tribes2. I didn’t know this going into the film, but when I found this out, it didn’t surprise me in the least. The action and the comedy are very similar to the kind you would see in a basic action anime. The impressiveness of the film comes from the fact that it captures anime action violence, in a live action film. This film has some of the best stunt work I have seen in a film in a very long time. If you are tempted to see this film, I would check it out for the fight choreography and stunt work alone.

Tokyo Tribe follows the lives of various people living in a near future Tokyo. At this point in time, gang activity has taken over the city and has split the city into four major gangs, or “tribes”. As tension rises, and residence of the city start sticking their noses into areas where they don’t belong, all out warfare starts to break out between the tribes causing all out destruction and chaos. I went into this film pretty much blind. The poster intrigued me enough to want to check it out. The big thing that I didn’t know about the film before watching it is that it is straight up a musical. This is a Japanese gang violence musical. There are very few moments in the film where the characters aren’t singing. To be clear, the music is almost all rap, so if you don’t consider that music I hope the early 90s are treating you well. So on top of all the craziness that is the action, there is also random rap and hip-hop thrown into the mix. Like I said, this is unlike any film you will probably ever see.

The production design and wardrobe department also shine in this film. There are approximately a thousand characters in this film. For the most part, each one of them has a distinct style and I didn’t really have any problem distinguishing who was who. Some of the characters serve no purpose, but we’ll get to that later. The film really sets up this world of a near future Japan really well. I can’t imagine how expensive this film was to make because it looks like everything was a built set. The neon street lights were beautiful. The interior of each gang’s hideout was gorgeous. This film puts every action film in the US to shame. On top of having better action than almost every US Action film I’ve seen, the attention to detail in the film is uncanny and makes every US Action look lazy. This is without getting into the design of each of the characters. The main antagonist is named Mera and his design in his clothing made him one of my favorite characters in the film and possible one of the more interesting characters I’ve seen in a film in a long time.

From that let’s talk about the acting. I’ve seen a couple films that are adaptations of anime or manga to a live action medium. Some ranging from absolutely horrendous to something like this film. If you want another Anime based live action film to watch, check out Joker Game from 2015. It is equally over-the-top but is more spy and thriller than this film. That is this film’s second biggest problem, though. If you don’t want an over the top film, this isn’t for you. The ending of this film is so silly that I can see it undermining the rest of the film for some people. I won’t say exactly what the ending is, but I would say it fits the overall tone of the film even if it is the stupidest thing I have seen on screen in a very long time. Like I said the character of Mera, who is played by Ryokei Suzuki, completely steals every scene he is in. He is over the top when the story allows such, but can dial it down to be threatening in times when it is needed. Everyone else in the film stays at eleven for the entire film. But Suzuki manages to have a range of emotions and levels in the film. Another major issue of the film is that the entire film, for the most part, is told through rap and hip-hop. But a majority of the actors in the film are god awful rappers. There were multiple parts in the film where the singing/rapping parts of the film felt like a middle-school choir recital. It felt more like they were saying the lyrics rather than singing/rapping them. The main characters are fairly good at this portion, it is just when you get the minor characters in there and you see that not everyone should be part of this musical number.

I was saving this for last, because this is honestly the only real downfall of the film in my mind. The film is based on a manga and anime. I haven’t seen the previous material and the film really relies that you have read the manga or watched the anime. There are a ton of characters in this film that I’m sure are fan favorites, but just feel like they are shoehorned in. These are characters that I’m sure serve more as fan service than anything else. The problem is that I’m not a fan. So I’m trying to figure out how this guy fits into this story, when really he is only there to be badass. This happens so often in the film that I didn’t really know what the story of the film was until a couple hours after the film ended. If you just follow the character who ends up being the main character and what he is trying to do, the film is probably around twenty-five minutes long. It is every other character in the film that really isn’t needed that makes this a two hour long film.

I very much enjoyed this film, even if there were a good amount of problems. I would recommend it, but it should also be known as a Transformers type film. This is a film where if you don’t care about the plot or the story or the characters, you will have a much better time. But if you tend to focus on those aspects, it might make it harder to enjoy. So like I said at the beginning of this review you will probably have a fun time watching this film, but you won’t know what you watched until your brain is able to decipher everything that just happened. And when you do that, you might end up realizing the film wasn’t as good as you hoped it would be.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Embrace of the Serpent

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 Embrace of the Serpent.

—

Embrace of the Serpent is the first, and so far only, Colombian Film to be nominated for the “Best Foreign Language Film” for the Oscars. I haven’t seen many of the other nominees yet but god damn this film is incredible. This is the kind of film that you watch and realize that you will never get a film like this made in America. This film is so deep in theme and visuals that it’s hard to look away from the screen, not because you will miss something and become lost, but because you will miss a throw-away line that has more meaning and depth to it than most feature length scripts.

The film at its core is an Adventure Film. The film follows Karamakate, a Shaman and the last surviving member of his tribe on the Amazon river. You see him in two different parts of his life, when he is young in 1909 and when he is old in 1940. In 1909 he and Theodor Koch-Grünberg, a German ethnologist, set down the river in search of yakruna. Yakruna being the only plant that can cure Theodor’s disease. In 1940, Karamakate leads Richard Evans Schultes an American Botanist, down the river in search of the same flower for reasons that are kept a secret until the end of the film. The film is very reminiscent of fun and lovely adventure films from the 80s. So imagine those films but super dark and smart, but without most of the fun. That’s what you get with Embrace the Serpent.

The acting in the film is worth mentioning as the director used no-experience actors to play most of the natives and Young Karamakate. With that, all of these characters are surprisingly well acted. Young Karamakate is easily one of the best parts of the film and is the primary protagonist of the film. He is the most complex character, yet someone with close to no experience completely knocks the performance out of the park and that is nothing to balk at. The other actor worth mentioning is Jan Bijvoet, who plays Theodor. Jan Bijvoet is known, to me at least, as the actor from The Broken Circle Breakdown from Felix van Groningen. The Broken Circle Breakdown is another fantastic film that I highly recommend. It was also nominated for “Best Foreign Language Film” in its year. So let this be a message to directors from countries other than the US or the UK if you want to be nominated for “Best Foreign Language Film” cast this dude because he is the Meryl Streep of the world. He is also fantastic as you see his relationship with Karamakate, as it swings back and forth between trust and doubt. He is without a doubt the second most interesting character in the film and the chemistry between him and Karamakate is one of the best parts of the film.

The film is gorgeous to look at. The film is shot in black and white, and the cinematographer takes advantage of that. There were a lot of moments in the film where the beauty of Colombia really shined. The film was shot on the actual Amazon river and the film benefits from that completely. The scenery is breath-taking but at the same time adds to the overall tone and to the story. When the character has a bad feeling about a location they are sailing into, you have a bad feeling because yeah, it looks pretty dangerous. It really reminds you that you shouldn’t go into the Amazon and sail the river because you will probably be killed. That’s not a spoiler, by the way, it is just an independent thought I had while watching some of the most disturbing portions of the film. The cinematography is the only problem I had with the film, though. I’m not sure if they used different cameras for the two different areas that the film took place in, but the later era always seemed clearer and shot better. I’m not sure if that was the camera they used or just happen stance, but it is something that I notice while watching the film that the cinematography during the early segments is often not as well developed than the later segments.

This film is based on a true story or true stories as it is adapted from two different diaries of the two explorers. And one of the reasons why I feel as though this film could not be made in America is because the film is told in multiple different languages. Not only that, but the film is told in primarily four languages that are close to extinction. The director, Ciro Guerra, made the choice to have the film told in the original languages of each of the tribes in the Amazon. This is an example of attention to detail that is rarely seen in cinema, it is also one that I highly appreciate when directors take the time to do this. Especially when some of your actors don’t speak those languages.

I highly recommend this film. I don’t think it is depressing or dark enough to turn off a lot of audiences, but I think it has enough of that to keep its own style and individualize tone. I didn’t bring up the themes the film dives into because I think it is better if you just go in not knowing what the film is going to say. But understand that it is extremely rich in themes and you will walk away thinking about at least five of the things the film had to say. The ending might be confusing, but it doesn’t take away from the rest of this almost perfect film. If you have the time to watch this film, do it. You won’t regret it.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Café Society

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 Café Society.

–

Congratulations Woody Allen. You finally did it. You tricked me into seeing one of your films in theaters. I’m not a Woody Allen fan by any means. He has his strengths, and he has his weaknesses that he has decided to make a twilight years career out of. Allen has released a film  every single year since 1982. Does that come as a surprise to you? Well, don’t worry, because most of them are mediocre. I applaud Allen for doing this. Especially for a man who is now in his eighties, it is extremely impressive that he has been able to direct a film every single year for three decades. The problem is that almost all of them are forgettable. For every Midnight in Paris, you get five films that you can’t name because you didn’t care enough to know they exist. Which no big deal, they don’t warrant being known. This is his latest film in this fashion.

Café Society has a wonderful cast, with everyone giving a solid seventy-percent. Jesse Eisenberg plays a young man who moves to the west coast for a change of pace in the golden age of Hollywood, also playing the role that Allen would have played if he was young enough to do so. Kristen Stewart plays a young woman who works on the west coast, she and Eisenberg’s character fall in love. Steve Carrell impresses the audience by blending into the time period so well I almost didn’t recognize him. Carrell plays Eisenberg’s uncle, a big shot in Hollywood, who hires him as his personal assistant. But wacky adventures ensue as it turns out that Carrell is dating Kristen Stewart in secret while Eisenberg falls in lover with her! Besides Carell, the main cast never blew me away. I wanted to get blown away, I enjoy both Eisenberg and Stewart, but I felt that there was always something missing from the two of them. You could say that about almost everyone in the cast. The extended cast, I would say is where the film shines. Corey Stoll steals every scene he is in as Eisenberg’s brother who does some shady gangster like business on the east coast. And surprisingly Blake Lively gives the most genuine performance out of the bunch. I’ve always thought that Lively was a fantastic actress, but was not expecting her to be one of the biggest highlights of the film. Neither of these characters gets as much screen time as I would have liked. By the end of the film, I thought that Stoll’s character was far more interesting than Eisenberg’s and I wish the film was focused on him. I honestly really want to see a Woody Allen gangster movie now. Hopefully, that’s the one we get next year.

Part of my issue with Woody Allen is that his writing always feels super full of itself. This wasn’t the case in this film completely, though. There is one scene in the beginning of the film with Eisenberg and a character played by Anna Camp, which is honestly one of the best-written comedy scenes so far this year. But many of the lines between Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart just feel so bland and hollow. They are lines that don’t sit right with me, maybe this is the performance or maybe this is the writing. But something is definitely wrong here. There are moments that are darkly comical that I very much did enjoy, and I do think that these scenes make this one of the better written Woody Allen films in the past ten years. But the dialogue never clicked in the scenes where it was needed. The story is fairly bland as well. You know what is going to happen, which normally isn’t a problem for me as long as the dialogue is good, which it isn’t. The story essentially ends at the middle of the film, but it keeps going and had me wondering when the film was going to end. Kristen Stewart makes her choice in the middle of the film, and everything after that just feels unneeded. Yes, we see what happens to the characters years after this fact, but it doesn’t really connect with the beginning of the story enough to warrant the entirety of the second half. Lively and Stoll’s characters become kind of the big point of the second half, which is really the only upside to that part of the film. When the film ended I didn’t know what to make of it because it felt as though I had already checked out of this story long ago to the point where I didn’t feel anything at the end. I just thought “Oh, it’s over I guess.” Not angry. Not happy. Just apathetic.

The cinematography, much like the rest of the film, feels uninspired. I would say that a lot of the shots look nice and the lighting is usually what kept me interested in the film, but may of the shots that I would think to stand out have been done to death before. It feels like everyone who worked on this film, both cast and crew, were just going through the motions. Doing what was required without having any kind of passion for what they were doing. It feels hollow. It feels cold when the colors and cinematography tell me I should feel warm. Hell, Woody Allen does the narration for the film and even that feels tired and bored.

I understand that a lot of people hold Woody Allen up as one of the greatest filmmakers to ever live. And I understand that if you have only seen his “Classics”. But he has done nothing but disappoint me for the past couple years now. Woody, take a break. Don’t feel obligated to release a film every single year. Whatever you are trying to prove, you’ve done it already. This feels uninspired. This feels like you don’t really care and are going through the motions. Café Society feels heartless when it should be one of the most lovely films you’ve made recently. Make something you feel passionate towards. And when you do, I can’t wait to see it. But please, don’t end your legendary career with something like this.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Import/Export

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 Import/Export.

–

Three weeks into this series, and I’ve realized that Art House films are almost always negative. Don’t get me wrong, they are more often than not good films that are pure art, but god damn are they negative in tone. This film more so than the previous two films. This film reminds me of Gabriele Muccino’s The Pursuit of Happyness, if it was even more depressing and nothing ever went right and you just end up hating the world and yourself at the end. It’s like that. Cold and depressing, but with a flavor of “I should re-evaluate why I think happiness is even achievable.” Regardless, we should probably talk in depth about this film.

Import/Export or sometimes referred to at simply Import Export is an Austrian film directed by Ulrich Seidl. The reason why I choose this film to review this week is because of the poster. The poster for this film, which I won’t show as I’m unsure of the rules of what I can and can not show on this website, pops up almost every month in my circles. The poster has a nude woman posing in front of something in the top of the poster, the title in the middle, and three strangely dressed elderly men in the bottom of the poster. I always referred to the film as “That Movie with the Girls Butt and the Three Old Dudes”, I never knew what the film was about and I thought this could be a good motivation to make the jump and watch it.

The film follows two different people coming from the Ukraine. One is a young woman named Olga, the other is a young man named Paul. The film chronicles the two as they make their way through Austria in search for a better life. Paul ends up being a truck driver for most of the film, and Olga becomes a sex worker, a maid, and a caretaker at an old folk home. The film is very long, clocking in at just under two and a half hours. I want to say that the parts with Paul in them aren’t necessary, but it isn’t like Olga’s parts are more necessary than Pauls. The only reason I can think of as to why there are two people that are both experiencing similar stories is for the director to say “Look! It doesn’t matter who you are! You’re life is going to be horrible no matter what!”

The writing is bleak. This isn’t a surprise, but I was thinking toward the end of the film “Come on! Give the girl a break!” as literally no one in the winter hellscape would bother giving either Olga or Paul the time of day. Ulrich Seidl is known for making fictional films that are so realistic that he often tricks the audience into thinking that his films are actually documentaries. The big example of this is his Paradise Trilogy. This is the film he made just before that trilogy, so I never thought that this was a documentary. But if this film is so realistic, then I’ve officially decided that all of Eastern Europe is just the worst place on the planet to live. Because it seems that every movie that comes out of there is just to say how much they hate their lives.

Where the film shines is its tone and atmosphere. Which if you haven’t figured out by now, is super dark and depressing. Every shot in the film sends a chill down your spine. This might sound like a complaint, because I’ve really only bagged on the bleakness of the film, but the cinematography is so inline with the rest of the film that you have to give it props for that. If a cinematographer can achieve a feeling of dread through the camera, he or she is doing more that most cinematographers can do.

It might sound like this is the worst film of all time. It’s not. It’s actually a fantastic film. With films like this, where the message and experience aren’t as fun as you might want it to be, you have to think about why that is. Did you have a miserable time because the film was clunky and disorganized? Did you hate it because every time the lead character spoke, you could hear a disingenuousness to it? Or did you hate it because you disagree with what the message of the film is? Did you have a miserable time because that is the exact experience that the director wanted you to have? You have to ask yourself these things when watching art house films because more often than not, you don’t dislike the film for how it’s made, you dislike the film because you disagree with what it is saying or doing. I may have had a horrible time watching this film, but I will be thinking about this film for a very long time. The director wanted you as the audience member to walk away sad from this film. And whether we like it or not, he completely achieved this.

Do I recommend this film? Of course not. Primarily because I don’t want you to kill yourself. This is a hard film to get through. Either you will get bored of the film and turn it off, or you won’t and will have to go to therapy after finishing the film. I’m not sure if I want to wish that upon someone. If this sounds like your kind of thing, I don’t know what kind of masochistic kind of person you are, but by all means, check it out! It’s a beautifully made film, even if it’s the most unenjoyable film you will watch in a long time.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : Felt

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 Felt.

–

I’m not a fan of Lars Von Trier. As far as I know, he has nothing to do with this film, but I say this as something that might help this review later on. Felt is not a pleasant film. Before watching the film, you should know some facts surrounding the film. The film was directed by Jason Banker who is primarily a cinematographer, this being his second narrative feature. It is co-written by Amy Everson, who also stars as the lead in the film. If you aren’t aware of who Amy Everson is, she is a contemporary artist who specializes in rape culture, with many of her pieces of artwork dealing with genitalia in various different forms, such as felt. Yeah, this is one of those films.

All things considered, I was not expecting much from this film. Critics have been pretty split on the film, and from what I read I was expecting to fall under the “hate it” category. To my pleasant surprise, I didn’t hate it. I didn’t love it. But it was pretty okay. Not the complete disaster I was expecting. But I was able to find a lot I did like about the film. Let’s start with those, that way I can ease you into some of the more messed up parts of the film.

Firstly, let’s talk about the director. Earlier I said that he is primarily a cinematographer. I’ve found that the first three films that are directed by a cinematographer end up looking absolutely gorgeous but lack story and character elements that are needed more so.  So needless to say, this film looks absolutely gorgeous. It wasn’t as bad as something like Meadowland directed by Reed Morano, but it did have its downfalls in terms of development, such as the pacing being painfully slow in parts.

Though the film is directed by Jason Banker, the person you are going to walk away talking about is Amy Everson. I feel like this is one of those cases where Everson probably had a lot of control over the direction as well but gave the formal title to Banker. Everson’s art is shocking, to say the least. This film is based on her art project called “Felt”, which consists of pictures of male genitals in various different scenarios. These scenarios consist of being mounted on a wall like a deer head, being hung on a fishhook, and being transformed into a little baby Hitler. Again, this is one of those kinds of films.

The film follows Amy Everson’s semi-autobiographical character, named Amy. Amy is an artist who recently became a rape victim. The film follows her as she attempts to move on from the incident through her art, where she dressed up in a felt onesie and becomes a “superhero” alter-ego. The biggest surprise is Amy Everson’s acting ability. For someone who hasn’t acted before and has served as primarily an Art Director on music videos, she has a god given talent. Some critics have gone to say that the acting is so authentic that it feels like a documentary, something that I can definitely agree with. Now, with the film coming from Everson’s own life experiences this should make a little sense, but it is hard to describe how free and genuine she is in the film. That is one-hundred percent the biggest highlight of the film.

The first problem with the film is the pacing. The fantastic acting and gorgeous cinematography only carried the film for the first twenty minutes or so before I started checking my watch. The charm wears off very quickly leaving you just waiting for the film to end, even with it’s short run time of 80 minutes. Halfway through the film, it seemed to me that they had run out of things to say and were just dragging it along until it hits the soonest point in which they could put the ending. The film feels like it would make a fantastic short film, but wanted to be a feature film so badly that they crammed in a lot of stuff that honestly served no purpose other than to bore the audience.

The writing has no massive problems on the surface. I often think that writing and acting go hand and hand. You can’t have one be good without the other being good as well. And the acting in the film is great enough that I never noticed any lines that I thought were out of place or unnatural. This being said, I also want to make it clear that the film is very sex driven. I would say that 80 percent of the lines in this film revolve around sex and genitals. Not in a “this is so sexy and cool” kind of way, but in a “this is sad and crossing a line” kind of way. This is obviously what the film is going for, I just want to mention that this is far from a feel good sex romp.

The film is a super art house film that is what most movie goers hate. I’ve tried to explain the film the best I can, but I think it is hard to fully grasp without seeing the film for yourself. Do not think, however, that I am recommending this film. I am not recommending this film on a blanket slate, if everything I mentioned above sounds like something you might be interested in, go on and check it out. The next paragraph is going to deal with the ending and the final scene, which has my biggest problem. So if you want to see the film, don’t read the next paragraph. If you have no interest in the film but are interested in the biggest problem in the film, keep reading.

The overall message has been debated by critics and fans. Some saying that the ending undermines the message and completely goes against everything the film is trying to say. I disagree. The film’s message, in my mind, is that rape is a horrible thing that will destroy a person both physically and emotionally for a very long time if not the rest of their lives. The film ends with Amy losing her mind with her boyfriend, killing him, and cutting off his penis before attaching it to herself. The ending sticks with that message. The film never made Amy out to be a good person. It made her out to be a broken person. So in the end when she brutally murders and cuts off a guy’s penis, this happens because of the fact that she is so broken and is obsessed with the male genitalia and it’s symbol for power, that it has lead to this. This isn’t my problem with the scene. The problem is that it happens so suddenly, that you have to come to the conclusion that I came to at the end of the credits because it gives you no time to think. The editing is choppy and intrusive. This is the only time where the acting is weaker than the rest of the film. It seems almost as if they always wanted this ending, but ran out of money and had to shoot and finish the scene as quickly as possible. It just feels sloppy. The bigger issue at hand though is the cutting off of the penis. I don’t have anything against this. In Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist, there is both a penis cutting scene and a labia cutting scene. It can work really well, such as in Antichrist. The problem is that Trier did is so well in 2009, that every extreme symbolism director has his or her own version of it at this point. I never thought I would say this, but genital mutilation is a cliché at this point. And if you don’t knock it out of the park, it just feels like something that I have to watch at least twice a year. And with all of the things mentioned before, the genital mutilation part of the scene feels just as rushed and sloppy as the rest. This might not be a problem if this wasn’t the climax and emotional selling point of the film.

Overall, I can’t recommend this film. There is a lot that it does right, but there is also a lot that it does wrong. And with the intense subject matter and explicit scenes in the film, I can’t bring myself to recommend this even to the biggest of art house fans. It wasn’t extremely terrible, but that isn’t really an excuse.

Art House Asshole, Articles, Review

Art House Asshole : The Wailing

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 The Wailing.

The Wailing is a Korean film made by Na Hong-jin. This was his third film following his debut with Chaser in 2008 and The Yellow Sea in 2010. Na Hong-jin has made a name for himself as a master of Crime Thrillers in the Korean film circuit, but this is his first film where the tone of the film goes beyond Thriller and into straight horror. The plot of the film follows a small town a few miles out of Seoul as a mysterious sickness starts spreading, causing deaths ranging from bizarre to down right horrifying. A cowardly police officer of the town takes interest in the sickness after he finds that his daughter becomes infected. This forces him to solve the mystery behind the disease to save his daughter and the remaining members of his town.

While watching the film, I was trying to find a good film that I could compare it to, but the film evolves in such a way that it is hard to really describe. I’ve seen some critic compare the film to The Exorcist but I’m not quite sure if that would be right. The film can probably be best described as Se7en meets The Conjuring. In most horror films, the most forgettable points of the film are often the parts in-between the real horror. But in The Wailing’s case, when you aren’t horrified by what is on-screen, you are still invested in the overall story that the main character is trying to solve. Which makes for a great multi-genre film, that has very few low points.

The film is very long though. It clocks in at just under two hours and forty minutes. I wouldn’t say the films drags. I would say the film keeps going for longer than you expect it too, but a wide margin. There is a moment where I thought the film was ending, when it was the beginning of the third act. The third act is the best part of the film, but I wasn’t expecting it would keep going to the point where it answered questions I didn’t even know I had. Along with that same moment, there are two more moments where you think the film is going to end, but it doesn’t. Each “ending” the film gives an extra piece of information that makes the film better and better, leading to hard gut wrenching ending, but it does feel almost like an endurance battle toward the end.

The acting is superb in the film. There wasn’t a single weak link of the film, including the young Kim Hwan-hee who plays the infected daughter. The lead in the film, Kwak Do-won is fantastic as the lovable and complex lead. This is Kwak Do-won’s second collaboration with Na Hong-jin as they both worked together in The Yellow Sea. Kwan Do-won is arguably best known for his role in The Attorney, for which he received multiple award nominations. The most notable of all the actors, however, is Jun Kunimura. Jun Kunimura makes his Korean debut in the film, though he speaks only Japanese. Kunimura would be best known to American audiences as Boss Tanaka in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Much of the film revolves around Kunimura’s character and I don’t want to spoil what his character ends up doing throughout the film.

I would say that The Wailing is a fantastic Horror film. Many claim that it is one of the best Korean Horror films made in the past ten years, I haven’t seen enough Korean Horror films to have a strong opinion on the matter, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Yes, the film is very long. But the mystery fused with the horror makes for a film that had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was telling the truth and who is right.  It takes a little while to get going and find it’s horror, but that only makes the horror that much more disturbing. If you are a fan of Horror, especially Korean Horror apparently, then I would check this out when you get the chance.

Scroll to top