Went to watch Nightcrawler last night with low expectations. The poster made it look like a Drive clone (car, jacket), and the trailer made the film look cheap and low budget. Was absolutely blown away. It’s nothing like Drive (apart from car, jacket), and appearances of being low budget are because of its thematic focus and elegant restraint.

Some observations:

• Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as sociopath Lou Bloom is enthralling. He even looks it: gaunt, his eyes sunken, the dark circles under his eyes even darker, greasy, slicked back hair. 
• There is not one scene without Jake’s character in it. The film does not break away to show the lives of other characters. They’re always shown in context to Lou Bloom. This reinforces how other people’s lives don’t really matter to a sociopath. They’re just tools.
• True to the title, most scenes were set in the evening. I could count the day scenes in one hand (four, I believe).
• It’s been called a satire of the media, but I’d like to think it more an indictment of certain parts of Internet culture: the obsession to take photos/videos of everything to the point of devaluing the experience of the event itself, and corporate-influenced self-help jargon. The film exposes the sociopathic behaviour at the core of these trends by taking them to their extreme.
• Appropriately compared to Taxi Driver. I imagine if De Niro’s character had access to the Internet he might end up obsessing and spouting about the same subjects.
• The director spared us any kissing and sex scenes with this character. The thought of it is disgusting enough, thank you very much.
• What’s some LA noir without a car chase?
• But really, the events and set pieces of the film are mundane compared to recent Hollywood fare. The car chase is the film at its most bombastic. It’s a thrilling car chase, but the film is strongest during its quiet moments. It’s a testament to Jake’s performance that every conversation with Lou is full of dread and tension.
• Best last line ever.

Movie Review | Last Night at the Alamo (Pennell, 1983)

This review contains mild spoilers.

In my review of Showdown, I recounted the story of my attempt to order a pair of cowboy boots, only for them to get lost in the mail, and for the eventual refund to provide a bit of solace despite not fully numbing the melancholy of my cowboy-boot-free existence. (I should also note that I’ve been too fucking lazy to go buy a pair in person, although with masking requirements having been recently lifted where I am, I’m reluctant to go rectify that at the moment.) Now, this doesn’t have a whole lot of relevance to the story of Last Night at the Alamo, where a couple of losers converge upon their favourite bar the night before it closes down, but you could argue that it has some thematic relevance. You see, I understand that cowboy boots aren’t just practical and stylish footwear, but that they hold symbolic value and come with the weight of certain iconography and mythology. And with that, I could put myself in the shoes (or boots) of these losers who are enamored with a certain cowboy in the movie and what he represents.

The characters in this movie are sketched knowingly and arguably with some affection, but hardly flatteringly. There’s the young crybaby who drags around his long suffering girlfriend, who you spend the movie waiting to dump his ass. There’s the guy who just got kicked out of his house by his wife, who spends the movie arguing with her over the phone and insisting he isn’t drunk in between sips of beer while threatening to burn their house down. (In one of the movie’s more startling moments, this character drops a racial slur. While the movie doesn’t exactly take him to task for this, it also gives him the least flattering portrayal out of this band of losers, so it’s hard to read it as an endorsement.) There’s also a guy (played by Texas Chain Saw Massacre screenwriter Kim Henkel) who barely talks and can’t seem to remember his role in a supposedly amusing anecdote. The effect is a bit like King of the Hill, if that show were populated entirely by Bills and Boomhauers. And like that series, this is very funny in a low key, knowing way.

What these characters all have in common, aside from their presence at the titular bar, is their admiration for a cowboy nicknamed Cowboy. When the character finally arrives, he seems like everything they’re not: cool, self-assured, stylishly dressed, handsome, charismatic. But over the course of the night, that facade starts to unravel, and you can see how he tries lamely to maintain his image through small acts of self deception. Getting turned down by a girl? She was married to a doctor, and he don’t mess with that. Getting his ass kicked in a fight? Well, you should see the other guy. And that hat? It’s not hiding a receding hairline, is it? These might be little lies he’s telling his friends, but by the end when he not only proposes staging an armed defense of the bar but seems drunk enough to try it, you can see he’s bought into his own bullshit.

The characters commiserate but lack the self-awareness for it to translate to any real introspection, let alone self-loathing. The movie emerges as a critique of a certain kind of masculinity, one which mistakes cowboy iconography for character and uneasily grapples with modernity. The guy with with wife trouble seems jealous of the computer programmer who lives down the street. Cowboy pointedly plans to star in western movies, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were a genre in decline at the time. And when he rails against the bar down the street for its Yankee influence, nobody seems to really care about the difference in whatever character he’s attributing to the different establishments, as one watering hole is as good as another. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel a tinge of sympathy. Some would argue that my city is a gentrified hellscape that’s being steadily engulfed in condos, and I can’t help but feel some nostalgia for some of the places we’ve lost over the years, if only for the memories I attach to them.

Now, while these characters are not ones I’d like to hang out with were I sober, I did enjoy spending time in this movie, with its stark black and white images, boozy rhythms and rich dialogue written with an ear for drunken inanities. This was a great little movie to stumble into and out of.

First and foremost! This movie has strong triggers dealing with alcoholism, suicide and possible parental abuse so please keep that in mind. 

Went to see A Star is Born after hearing amazing reviews about it, and definitely worth it. The story is intense and passionate and downright weird at times, and has an amazing soundtrack to boot. I don’t really love bluegrass music, but this movie has definitely made me a fan. And I loved seeing this side of Lady Gaga, she is so beautiful and was an amazing actress. After a tumultuous ride, the ending was almost cathartic if also heartbreaking and as you can all tell from my title, I think it’s going to be a strong Oscar contender. 

Highlights: 

• Bradley Cooper produced and directed this movie and he’s an evil evil man for making me feel so hard 
• He’s also fan-fucking-tastic in this role. He’s gruff but sweet and sensitive and vulnerable and aggressive and stubborn he just wowed me
• Lady Gaga is! so! gorgeous! And with a powerhouse of a voice. I loved her music in this movie, mostly the songs where she really lets her talent shine
• Bradley’s brother in the movie is a very underrated character but I adored him and his relationship with Jackson. 
• Their puppy! I’m sobbing! 
• Anthony Ramos! My not so curly haired angel on the big screen for all to admire! He was so excited this whole movie, just bouncing around and smiling his whole face off. God I love him. 
• Soundtrack is amazing. I didn’t love the more pop-esque music that Ally did, but the bluegrass stuff was awesome and I downloaded the soundtrack the second I got home
• The cinematography was very unique and I liked how they cut scenes together. They didn’t utilize a lot of standard use transitions, instead just leaping into the next scene. It adds to the overall feel of the movie
• The relationship between Jackson and Ally is really odd at first and kinda made me uncomfortable with how forward Jackson was, but it evolves into something more tender as the movie progresses
• I do think they’re some very harmful elements to their relationship though.I think the way Ally takes care of him and the way Jackson idealizes her is borderline toxic, but I can also admit that they have a very strong love for each other. 
• The circumstances they end up in are really just tragic at the end of the day, but they do love each other and to them that was all the really mattered. Which is very romantic and heartwarming to think about. 
• The final song kinda drives that home and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house

My overall rating is a 8/10. A Star is Born is real and tragic and heartwarming and I think it’s a must watch. It’s a remake and while I haven’t seen the previous version, I do think this one stands apart simply because of the way the events are planned. So I’m going to listen to Shallow another 15 times and not cry, so please grab your tissues and head to the theater!

Also I want to touch on something in the movie that isn’t spoiler free so I’ll include it below. Please don’t continue if you don’t want to be spoiled. TW: Suicide

So one of the most important parts of the movie, at least to me, was at the very end when Ally and Jackson’s brother (Bobby) are talking and Ally is crying and overthinking about what she last said to Jackson before he died and Bobby looks at her and tells her it’s not her fault that he died, it’s Jackson’s fault. This really meant a lot to me and I’m glad they included that in the movie, because at the end of the day when someone commits suicide it is their fault. And I don’t mean to say that in a negative, victim blaming way like people just do this for no reason– there’s always a reason and it’s always important. The reason isn’t their fault, but the action is. I just remember when I was depressed and suicidal in my teenage years and how I would blame my parents and my friends and society and my circumstances for why I was feeling suicidal and my current therapist told me that if I killed myself, I couldn’t blame anyone but myself. Because at the end of the day, no one is forcing you to die and there has to be some option out there that’s better than dying. That was really a turning point in my life and I’m really glad the movie touched on this. 

And I don’t intend to speak on behalf of anyone who has felt or is depressed because my opinions and situations are not universal and I totally understand if people disagree with me. 

pricelessmaple:

Maurice

Ok so this is an old movie set in the old times, which may make it sound very boring, BUT I was actually not bored??? when I watched it like 3 years ago it was in 360p and sound quality was terrible but I STILL persevered because I was so invested in the lives of these pre ww1 gays. Hugh grants HAIRRR❤ hugh grants moustache . It has a HAPPY ENDING!!! This is a pretty incoherent review but just understand that it is incredibly gay and british and old and really good. brb I think I’m gonna go rewatch this now. 9/10

The living end

I literally got like half an hour through and then turned it off. It was just so boring??? I won’t rate cause that would be unfair but understand that out of what I’ve seen it would probably be quite low lmao. Maybe one day I’ll try to finish it idk

Carol

I literally dont know why I haven’t reviewed this movie yet. Uhhhhh it was pretty good. obviously the age gap is slightly weird but tbh it didn’t FEEL weird. Its not like the main girl was 17 like another movie I think we all know. Otherwise it was very beautiful how they say so much without saying anything and all that. I would be lying if I said I also wouldnt drop everything for cate blanchett. 8.5/10

Rocky horror picture show

Literally 100 minutes of the best fever dream you’ve ever had. 10/10

Imagine me and you

Imagine your basic Hugh grant british rom com but with lesbians. Idk why but watching this was actually kinda cool?? Like it felt like every other rom com, with the cliche airport ending(although not actually an airport in this) and the cheesy everything, but there were two girls as the main couple. This is what happiest season TRIED to be, or at least what everyone thought it would be. It’s just two ladies falling in love and it’s treated pretty much like a straight couple. (Ok so there is a bit of homophobia and the premise is kind of iffy, like one of them is already married??) It’s not REALLY a coming out story or at least that’s not the point of it. Not really my kind of movie though. 7/10 Piper perabo gives it an extra half point

Water lillies

this was a decent movie, definitely not the most exciting thing ever tho. It did also get a little bit weird with how much the main character (who is supposed to be like 13) had very few clothes on? It is French tho idk if that means something. Also stars Adele Haenel from portrait of a lady on fire which was a nice surprise. personally wouldn’t recommend 5.5/10 edit: JUST found out it’s written and directed by the same lady who did portrait of a lady on fire???? I can kind of see that but POALOF is a lot better

The favourite

I did not expect this movie to be a comedy? It’s loosely based on a queen from some point in history but I think it’s pretty lose. The comedy is slightly strange but it works well and I laughed a bit. Emma stone and Rachel Weisz are both competing to be the favourite of Olivia Colman who is the queen. Some people say the soundtrack is weird but tbh I don’t remember it. Definitely not for everyone and I wasn’t interested the whole time. It was decent 7/10.

Black swan

UM WHY HAVE I NOT WATCHED THIS UNTIL NOW???? I literally just finished it and OMG? There’s not tons of gay in it I’ll admit, but I classify an lgbt movie as having a main character that is gay. And technically you could say that the main character Nina (natalie Portman) is bisexual. So I’m gonna review it anyway. WHATTTTT WAS THIS MOVIE!!! bro I was hooked from the start and as it went on it literally got so much more interesting and I had so many questions but they were all answered (kind of??) So basically Natalie Portman is a ballerina and so is Mila kunis and the movie is about their ballet company preparing for a new performance of swan lake except it’s different bc the choreographer wants the black swan and the white swan to be played by the same person? I think that’s it anyways. There’s a bit of background going on as well with a former balerina and Natalie’s mum is a whole other thing. And obviously there’s a lot more going in the story (particularly with Nina) than just ballet dancing. The acting is amazing and the movie progresses so smoothly. There’s metaphors and stuff that even my dumbass understood and the way it ends is perfect. Lmao sorry for the ramble but I literally can’t get over this movie. Plz watch 10/10 I know I said the handmaiden was my favourite movie but idk man I think this might be it

Happy together

This movie was ok? I got kind of bored if I’m honest and the story was a bit random and hard to understand for me. I’m pretty sure the plot jumps back and forward in time but I couldn’t tell when everything was happening. If you do watch this be warned for graphic sex as soon as the movie starts, which I usually don’t mind but it was a bit out of place. The colouring is nice 5/10

Alex Strangelove

As a fun gay comedy this works really well. Its nice to see a story about discovering your sexuality that isn’t sad or really deep. I didn’t love it but it’s not really my kind of movie so if you like comedies then definitely watch this. 7.5/10

Elisa & Marcela

This movie is almost ALL in black and white so if I’m honest that’s already points off lmao. Its based on a true story and it’s cute and all but I had to take breaks while watching cause it was kind of boring. Maybe I was just tired. Apart from that it’s beautifully shot and the acting is very believable. 6.5/10

The handmaiden

GO AND WATCH THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW!!!! this is my number one favourite movie ever. It’s set in 1930s Korea and that is all I’m going to tell you because there’s so many twists and I don’t want to give anything away BUT little spoilers it’s a happy, gay ending. Literally everything about it is amazing and after it ended I literally had to sit there for like 10 minutes just to take it all in. Very very explicit sex (like actually porno level) and some gore at the end, but honestly it’s so amazing otherwise that if you don’t want to watch those bits you can skip them and its still absolutley worth it. 10/10 I’m so tempted to give 11 but I won’t

Jongens (Boys)

SPORTS GAYS! This is a Dutch drama about Sieger, who runs a lot and his budding relationship with one of his teammates, Marc. The movie is innocent and gentle, and it feels very real especially because of the massive use of outdoor spaces that are literally so beautiful. Its pretty short for a movie but it does everything it needs to and didn’t feel like it was cut off short. There are a few too many shots of people just excersizing tho. very beautiful movie 8.5/10

The way he looks

Sweet is the best word to describe this movie. Its literally just so heartwarming and it made me smile. Its a coming of age type film about Leonardo who is blind and wants to have more independence away from his parents, then a new boy comes to his school… and you can guess where it goes from there lol. There are some second hand embarrassment scenes and I had to remind myself it’s just a film so I didn’t implode BUT apart from that it’s literally just a beautiful cute film that you should definitely watch 8/10

Edit 5 months later: I’m sorry but I lied all of what I said is true but I was actually pretty bored everyone loves this movie so much I tried to convince myself I loved it but I didn’t 6/10

Love, Simon

Look this isn’t my favourite movie ever, it’s probably not even in the top 25% BUT I can absolutley see why this movie was so popular when it came out. Its about Simon (Nick robinson) who is very closeted and starts emailing another anonymous gay guy at his school. There’s loads of cliches and the plot is predictable but its fun. Its just a cute gay story about being yourself and coming out and there aren’t many of those in mainstream media. Definitely watch this literally just to watch it if you haven’t already. 7.5/10

My days of mercy

Lucy (Eliot page) is anti death penalty and Mercy (Kate mara) is pro death penalty. Weird premise for a love story right? but somehow it WORKS?? I watched this movie the day it was put on Netflix and afterwards I was literally so amazed at how much I enjoyed it? if I’m remember it correctly the ending is ambiguous but hopeful. Graphic sex and obviously it’s a pretty serious movie so don’t watch if you want a Rom com lmao. 9/10