#movie reviews
A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY!
Doge want MOOOOOORE!!! Best Star Wars since very first original! So much great story detail! Much planning for story of where need be for ep 4! Fantastic rebel cast, especially Felicity Jones. DOGE IS ONE WITH THE FORCE, THE FORCE IS WITH DOGE! Interesting known cast members for movie with plenty of lesser known. Great CGI of older cast to tie into ep 4. Great idea bringing back Jimmy Smits for older Bail Organa, low key smartest idea in movie. SOOOO much sass from droid K-2SO, love it! Fantastic fight scenes building up at ending. Just fantastic. Doge saw twice opening weekend, and have tickets for Imax next week. Go see it if you haven’t, though you probably all have already. 4 Paws up!!!
Lots fun! Big magical adventure! Great strong female lead for story with great new voice actress. Beautiful animation, especially lots water detail everywhere. Best Disney music, possibly best since Lion King, def better than Frozen, but Doge love anything with Lin-Manuel Miranda! Good competition for best animated movie oscar! 4 Paws up!
*tries not to scream* *screams* AHH SO GOOD! Wow new wizarding america! Much new people, terms, creatures, and more! Very more acting potential with older, experienced cast, allows for darker tones in what was darker movie, will probably continue with darker movies in sequels. Big mysterious mystery, figure out who is who (Doge figured out both parts of this, but I’m getting better at doing that). Fantastic big magic action fight scenes, reminiscent of HP7part2. Such anticipating sequel because only get bigger and darker. Can’t want to see Ilvermony (next movie, PLEASE!!!)! Must watch again to catch new creatures and terminology again and learn, study all before sequel. AHHH! 4 Paws!
Very much MARVELous! Big action world twisting, reminiscent of Inception but on next level. Good pacing, develops new world of magic in MCU, building on pre-existing universe. Such understand explanation of new items and abilities in Doctor Strange comics with ties to other MCU movies (Thor?) Cool fight scenes, especially with mirror universe. Must have gigantic effects budget because DAMN! Such non-apologetic and sassy performance from Beautiful Cumquat (yes, he’s hotter than Beck Bennet). Now able to predict ties to future MCU movies, especially Thor-Ragonorak and Hulk tie in. Of course some suffer from origin story, but not enough to bring movie down. Maybe best origin story in MCU yet. 3 ½ paws up!
Oooh wow. Very woah. Much falling into Rachel’s experience, crazy cameras work for drunken experience. Mixes up with other characters well, great line tying all together at end. Dark work for dark characters. No loving any characters, but done purposefully, more sympathetic if anything. Interesting cast at time, especially Kudrow and Prepon. But probably most outstanding performance ever from Emily Blunt, totally Oscar nomination worthy if not given. That said, not necessarily fast paced, but draws viewer in. Even with parts of mystery predictable (Doge figure out who done it halfway through but not full details) still want full situation. Not a movie for everyone, but totally audience exist for this. For fans of Gone Girl (duh?) 3 ½ paws up!
My overall feeling is that I’m eager to see it again.
Love how Gotham looks. It’s creaky and creepy. Love the gothic interiors of Wayne Manor and the church.
It’s really beautifully lit. You can still track what’s going on because it’s lit so well or makes use of silhouette.
This movie takes its time … with … everything … it’s really deliberate. In one sense it makes it really easy to follow along, like this isn’t so fast-paced and jam packed that it’s just overstimulating you.
Love the cast. To a person, everyone delivers. I was an optiminist about these casting choices from jump street and I think they aquit themselves really well. Up until I saw this movie
This is so heavily focued on Batman. Lest that seem obvious there is very little Bruce Wayne TM in this movie. Like the best iterations of Batman before it, this movie gets that Bruce Wayne is the mask. It also makes the choice not to use the advantages Brucy Wayne has to try to change the city. By the end he realizes he has to be more than just vengance and presumably that includes useing the billionaire-playboy Bruce Wayne cover to do recon etc.
The beginning of this movie is so strong. The intrigue and working the case with Batman and Gordon then Batman and Alfred are probably my favorite scenes.
The action is filmed in long takes. We see bodies fully in the frame. It compares favorably to Nolan’s take in this regard. This Batman can move and the fights go to ground. When people criticized Nolan’s presentation of fighting I’d usually think, wait what? Then on rewatch it became more clear what the criticisms were about. But it didn’t matter as much because I was so affecteed by the story in those cases I remembered the fighting being more like what’s presented here. The violence isn’t impressionistic or overly stylized. The Batman’s suit is obviously bullet-proof because he knows people are going to shoot at him.
Penguin walking like a penguin, lol.
The music is amazing. Like deceptivly simple but so powerful. Love the percussion, too.
Was Selina running a long con and it happened that her friend got murdered? If she was just using Ana to get to Falcone why’d she get the passport back? Also why was there not a mention of the murder weapon used on Mitchell before the third act? We get tthe lingering shot of the odd edge on the floor? Chalk it up to Gotham curruption in the ME’s office, maybe. Why isn’t there mention of like, more security for the other mayoral candidate?
The ending is beatutifyl and hopeful. I really craved one more Alfred scene. Like a moment between Batman and Alfred where he explicitely plans to use the Bruce Wayne persona more. This is a case where the run-time works against this movie. If it’s 3 hours long, why miss a beat?
The story is in a bit of bind because Gordon is a “good cop.” We don’t get the kind of noir that really indicts cops as part of systemic corruption to be overcome to get true justice. The Batman goes as far as allowed in a big budget movie.
The length of this movie makes it necessary to rewatch it. Right now so many of my nit-picks could possibly be eliminated with a closer look. Like why didn’t Batman get closer to detecting the sea wall was at risk? Was the reporter with dirt on the Wayne’s the Riddler’s father? And wasn’t that reporter already dirty, as in he was a reporter on Maroni’s payroll?
My overall feeling is that I’m eager to see it again.
I have complicated feelings about The Last Duel. There’s no way I can deny the affection I have for Ridley Scott as a director. I love Alien. I love Blade Runner. Legend, fuck yes. Thelma and Louise? I love. G.I. Jane, I’m looking respectfully. Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangster, Prometheus, The Counselor … I enjoyed Alien: Covenant. And I’ve watched with excitement all of his other work. I don’t care if it isn’t “great.” I like what he does.
So I was interested in any new Ridley Scott movie purely on the level of being a Ridley Scott fan. It’s also fair to say I’m not a fan of Ben Affleck or Matt Damon. I don’t find their abilities as actors compelling. If there is a lesson to take from them it is to write your own material and make yourself marketable as a player/coach, so to speak. That’s not something they invented. I think Sylvester Stallone is a great example of write-your-own-great-story and cast yourself. Again, it isn’t to suggest that’s easy, but that writing is a good skill and possibly a way to break through, but writing is also a positive emotional outlet.
The Last Duel is based on a book by the same name. The book very carefully lays out how the law works at the time of the tale’s telling. It explains the custom of trial and the recognition of rape as a crime, although it is a crime of property and EW to that. But the book is the kind of detailed, popular history work, that’s accessible to lay readers, like me. I’m not writing a thesis on medieval rape culture of the 14th century but I can follow the twists and turns of the case thanks to the book’s attention to detail.
The movie doesn’t have that depth. Some of that is due to the limits of nuance that movies can convey, but the script is also at fault. I watch this movie and think, “Ohhhh, Damon and/or Affleck came across this book at a galley and thought ‘Ooooh 14th Century #MeToo.’"
The book is fair and unambiguous is believing Marguerite’s account of her rape. The movie lays out Jean’s, and then Le Gris’s account before her’s. To its credit, the movie actually subtitles her account as the "Truth.” But the clearness of her rape and Le Gris’s guilt is apparent early in the book. Giving the game away does not a good movie make, so we have the movie’s three account structure to keep us hooked.
Regarding the limitations of the script I still can’t help but wonder if it was acted by players other than Damon and Affleck would the movie have been better. Indeed, the moments when Jodie Comer and Adam Driver are on screen together feel like a different movie because they are that much better actors.
Ridley Scott blamed millennials for this movie not performing at the box office. Even as a millennial, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he made those comments during the promotion of House of Gucci and his words were less a millennial slam than a marketing ploy. Ironically I didn’t see House of Gucci at the movies, but my Boomer aunts and uncles did.
Having said all that, it does feel really fucking satisfying to see a rapist beaten in a duel to the death and strung up by his boots.
Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel is good, but the book by Eric Jager is better.
A Fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Look Working With Roland Emmerich
The Unseen Terror of A CURE FOR WELLNESS (2017)
also
Entertaining to the MAX
As someone with an… approximate knowledge of the DC universe and more specifically the BatFamily (most of which being from littlenightwing), and as someone who just enjoys really funny comedies and great animation, I pretty much was doomed to love this movie.
But hell, even without all that “””bias””” what makes this movie so especially bitchin’ is how it succeeds at pretty much everything it sets out to do. Make a good follow-up to the Lego Movie? Check. Strike a great balance as a kids movie? Check Two.
Bring the BatFamily to the big screen again (FINALLY) in a way that can make general audiences fall in love with them? All checks. All of them, those checks areyoursnow.
Be a good spoof movie—a genre so dead it needed to be revived with little tiny lego defibrillators? A THUNDERSTORM OF CHECKS RAINING DOWN FROM THE HEAVANS.
Doing a Comic Book Movie
Adapting anything to film is magic trick and a half, but adapting comic books—90 years of them, for that matter—is a whole magic show. It’s no small feat to capture the heart of the characters and world and what makes it so beloved.
Add that on top of the magic you need to perform to make a good spoof movie, which takes that deep understanding and builds off it (ayyyy) in exaggerated, hilarious ways. Plus, like I said, the entire spoof genre has been left in the hands of the people who made the Scary Movie franchise, which has fallen so far from… well, I don’t want to say grace, but you get my point. There’s only been bad parody movies coming out in the mainstream for years now.
But if I’d trust anyone to manage both kinds miracles, I guess I’d have to give it to Phil Lord and Chris Miller! Even if you don’t know their names, you’ve probably laughed at their work (well, with their work): Clone High, Cloudy a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, (A few episodes of) How I Met Your Mother, (the pilot of) Brooklyn 99, and, obviously, the Lego Movieitself.
Basically, these are two writer/directors best bros who I’ve loved ever since I was young with Clone High because that’s exactly my sense of humour—and they’re still killing it to this day.
And thank god, they manage to nail this movie on so many levels.
What really rocks is how thoroughly they understand Batman’s corner of the DC universe—not just for the amazing, nerd-level-100 references from all sorts of Batman media, but because in order for the comedy to really work, they have to make a super-fan love for all things Batman infectious.
And it works. So, so well!
And the parody aspects of this movie work for the same reason. It’s like the old saying goes “it’s funny because it’s true.” Sure, it’s exaggerated for a punchline, but if it didn’t come from a genuine place to begin with that exaggeration wouldn’t be able to carry the movie.
The BatFam and Rogues Gallery
AND THIS IS THE BEST PART.
See, the BatFamily hasn’t come to the big screen aside from the mostly-straight-to-DVD-but-if-they’re-in-theaters-they’re-limited-release animated movies, which leaves legions of starving BatFam fans waiting for their favourite characters to even get a slight mention or blink-and-you’ll-miss-it background reference.
The Arkham games (and of course the comics themselves) are enough to keep them alive, but the fact that 1997′s Batman and Robin killed all possible BatFamily movies for basically 20 years means it’s been rough.
So, now we have the first real inclusion on the BatFamily! It’s a parody of them, but at least since it’s a good parody that does demonstrate some understanding of the characters and how meaningful their relationships are, it’s enough! At least, for now. My hope is that having a popular, awesome movie with some BatFamily members in it will open the door to even more BatFam to come!
Because look, I have to take this character by character for a second to really show why this could hopefully be the building blocks (AYYYYY) for something even greater down the line (or, great in a different way, I should say).
Let’s start with Dick Grayson as Robin. This Dick Grayson is mostly a parody of the original TV boy wonder, Burt Ward. Which works, even though it’s not an accurate portrayal of more modern incarnations of his character. Michel Cera somehow managed to really make this character endearing when he could’ve been pretty annoying, as high energy as he is.
The best comparison I can make for animation fans is, well, Wander, from Wander Over Yonder, but without the country accent. There’s an adorable beating heart always on display that makes him lovable—he’s even got some quieter moments thrown in there—and the way the lines are delivered never crosses that line into annoying-sidekick territory.
So, this Dick is a good Dick. He still serves the role even modern Dick Grayson did as Robin, to be the hopeful light in the dark knight’s world.
And see, if they took inspiration from lego Dick Grayson at all when adapting modern Dick, I hope they keep that idea intact—because no matter what incarnation of Dick we’re going for, his humour and kind lightheartedness even in the face of a dark world and immeasurable pain—that’s what makes him a wonderful son character for Batman.
Well, that and how much they love each other, obviously, but thankfully, that’s another thing this movie doesn’t skimp out on. Since its a comedy, the writers get away with Dick using the words “dad” or “padre” (dad) or even “batfamily” a glorious amount of times. So even if there’s since going to be a wait before we get to see a serious portrayal of their father-son relationship, it’s honestly enough to knowsome people in Hollywood actually know.
Barbara/Batgirl gets a great role as well. Not necessarily all points are stellar (the recent Killing Joke movie aside, I’ve been told Barbara and Batman don’t have a relationship that’s sexual in nature most of the time, so it’s just kinda… creepy; thank god they didn’t make them end up together in this movie), but it’s small in comparison to the awesomeness of lego Barbara.
Granted, I know much more about Dick Grayson than I do about Barbara (you know who to thank for that), but at the very least, I appreciate that her role in this movie is competent, well-accomplished straight-man and not damsel in distress, which even I know is so not Barbara (The Killing Joke is hard story to adapt without, y’know, using her as a plot device in kinda awful ways, so I’m just glad to see her not be used that way).
That’s the kind of thing I hope they’ll carry over when it’s time for a more serious Barbara story. In this movie, she feels a bit too much like Wild-Style from the first Lego Movie, and I would’ve loved to see even more of Barbara’s character and what makes her unique (again, this is something I need to learn), but yeah, definitely a step in the right direction.
Alfred’s had some great adaptions over the years in terms of movies, but I will say I don’t think it’s been acknowledged before what a father figure (and in turn grandpa figure) he is in the BatFamily. Good to see him get his due.
And I mean overall, there’s this whole other side to Batman, BatDad, that has been sorely missing from cinema. We’ve seen the brooding loner Batman done well, but there’s so many stories to tell when you bring in his surrogate family, and you can see that in this movie!
Oh, and the Joker?
Absolutely adorable. Which… isn’t something I’d normally advocate saying, but they really have fun with his and Batman’s relationship in such a great way. Protect this clown child please (again specifically this version).
And that’s not even counting the dozens of other rogues that get a hilarious cameo in this movie. It’s all so fantastic, I need to rewatch it just to get all the jokes involved with them because I was laughing so hard I missed some.
So it works as a (spoofed) BatFamily story, a comedy and a parody movie, and even just a really well done animated kids movie in general.
This is definitely what I would call a hyper-active movie—the jokes come hard and fast and don’t really stop—but it can also take it’s time for the characters (and hell, even for the comedy; long, quieter jokes that just keep going are always a risk, but like the sloth scene in Zootopia, the times they make that gamble it pays off).
Even just as an animated movie, look at this shit:
The photo-realistic Lego-based animation from the first movie combined with a neon colour scheme that ends up being so fitting for Lego Gotham… is bootiful. It’s some beautiful animation (and the comedic timing just makes it better)!
And the score? The score is always hilariously timed—every song choice is there for a specific purpose. That’s probably the best way to look at this movie: not a moment goes to waste.
Really, it’s a family of excellent elements all working together to make one hell of a whole.
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Here is my spoiler-free review for Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Enjoy!
On this episode of the #MenInTightsPodcast I talk about why I believe you should never listen to movie critics. Enjoy!
For the audio only version you can find it on Spotify, Google Podcast, Castbox, RadioPublic, Breaker and Anchor.
On this episode of “Giant Mess”, giant mess Neal Lynch talks about…
- Bojack Horseman Season 6 (The Final Season)
- Dark Waters movie starring Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, and Bill Pullman
- Erin Brockovich movie starring Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, and Aaron Eckhart
- That Awkward…
The time has come, the iheartvincentprice.tumblr.com blogger said, to talk of other things! You guessed it, dear cabbages – it’s time for another delightfully ghoulish Vincent Price movie review!
Our second review of the month concerns the “horror-comedy” The Raven (1963), starring Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and, of course, Vincey. According to the always-accurate Wikipedia, The Raven was the fifth in a series of Edgar Allan Poe stories adapted to the big screen by horror king, Roger Corman.
Our story opens with another typical night at Sinister Castle de Vincent Price ® sometime in the 15th century. As in The Pit and the Pendulum (am I detecting a theme here?), we find Vincey in mourning of his deceased wife, Lenore (Hazel Court), though as his cheeky blonde daughter (Olive Sturgess) gently points out, it has been two years since she died – ya think it might be time to start thinking about boarding the old “moveon.org” train?
But Vincent will hear nothing of it. His wife was an amazing woman – perfect, actually, and no one compares to her (holla Sinead O’Connor). So instead of nursing his broken heart by constructing a half-assed profile on OkCupid like the rest of us, Vincey busies himself with his nightly routine of listlessly dusting his wife’s coffin (which they keep…IN THE HOUSE???), quaffing goblets of hot milk, and repeatedly tripping over the huge telescope in his study (can you say sight gag?).
When suddenly, a crotchety, demanding raven swoops (literally!) into his life! Yes, cabbages, VP gets to play opposite an actual animal in this movie. Many actors consider this to be the ultimate pain-in-the-ass challenge, but being the talented, sexy beast he is, Vincey pulls it off effortlessly.
The raven claims to be a man named Dr. Bedlo (Peter Lorre), who was transformed into a bird by the evil sorcerer, Dr. Scarabus (Boris Karloff). The kindhearted Vincey uses his own training in sorcery to help Bedlo return to his human form (at least partially).
After working out the kinks (I mean it is sorcery - you can’t expect things to be perfect right out the gate, y'all), Dr. Bedlo’s human body is fully restored. You’d think the movie would pretty much end right here, but nooooo: Lorre is thirsty for revenge on Scarabus! And he knows that Vincey has the skills of sorcery to help him take down the evil wizard!
At first, Vincent doesn’t want to get involved. Keep me out of this, man. Scarabus intimidates him, what with his ability to conduct magic with hand gestures alone! And as he points out: “Magic by gesture of the hands is the most advanced sorcery.” (good to know)
But Bedlo gets Vincent to change his mind after he says he saw Vincent’s wife’s ghost at Scarabus’ castle (I suspect foul play). Desperate to see his beloved wife again, he finally agrees to accompany Bedlo on his ill-advised revenge-a-thon. And after donning a stylish fur-trimmed coat and matching hat, they are on their way!
Accompanying them is Vincent’s daughter and Bedlo’s idiot son, played by some young oaf who seems to choke on his lines an awful lot. I wonder if this guy ever made it in Hollywood, or if he just vanished into the throes of oblivion like so many other ill-fated actors…
…oh holy crap, that’s Jack Nicholson! My bad.
This movie is totally more star-studded than I realized!
They arrive at the castle and meet the eve-ull Dr. Scarabus. And, uh, Vincent? That lovely dead wife of yours you revered so much? She never died. She just pretended to die so she could run away with Scarabus, cuz she’s attracted to power (duh) and Scarabus is the most talented sorcerer in all the land (…or ishe?*devious cackle*).
(By the way, this theme of dead wives turning out to be alive all along seems to be a pretty common thing with these movies, no?)
Of course, finding out your wife ditched you because you weren’t “magical” enough is the kind of thing that would put a damper on anyone’s day, but Vincey takes it in stride. I mean, let’s face it: it’s way easier to get over someone once you’ve realized they’re a shallow douchebag than when you thought they were your perfect dream girl/guy, right?
Towards the end of the movie, Vincent and Scarabus engage in a “duel to the death” (I LOVE these!), during which VP digs deep down and shows his magical stuff in order to defeat the evil homewrecker: he levitates in his chair and even shoots neon green animated sparks out of his fingertips
Super high tech stuff, homies.
It turns out, ol’ Vincent was holding out on us – and himself – all along: He is a great magician – he was just afraid of his own talent. Vincent defeats Scarabus and decides that he’ll never let his unique gift go to waste again.
Quoth the raven, “NEVAHMOAH!”
The movie as a whole makes for a fun evening of horror-star-studded entertainment, and as fully expected, Vincent does an excellent job of bringing his unique brand of elegance to a comedic role. Seriously, the man was the epitome of elegance, yet he wasn’t afraid to chow down on a piece of screwball comedy pie from time to time.
It’s one of the many things that make him great – and the ultimate dead man crush.
Welcome, foolish mortals, to iheartvincentprice.tumblr.com: a month-long celebration of one of the hottest man-gods ever to walk the face of this good, green earth…
…and my ultimate dead man crush.
(insert VP-esque-end-of-Michael-Jackson’s-Thriller-type-maniacal-laughter here)
Before we dive in, a note: I will not be announcing spoiler alerts in this blog. If you’re brave enough to read about a lecherous 28-year-old ladybaby lusting over a dead guy, trust me: you’re also brave enough to take the risk that you might swallow some unexpected movie spoilers along the way. Such is lust. Such is life.
And now, for the first deliciously diabolical movie review of the month: 
Ah yes. The Pit and the Pendulum. What better way to kick off an entire month of VP lovin’ than to review this unforgettable Edgar Allan Poe tale of torture (are you surprised?), grief and, plain ol’ crazy-tude. No one plays insane like Vincey. He is simply a pro when it comes to maniacal facial expressions (including, but in no way limited to an astoundingly well-executed version of “the crazy eye”), gibbering, fevered monologues, and sadistic, uncontrollable cackling.
But first, some background: ThePit and the Pendulum was released in 1961 and directed by Roger Corman (diehard musical theater geeks will recognize him as the creator of the original, non-musical film The Little Shop of Horrors). It’s set in Spain in the 16th century in a sinister castle (hawt), where Vincey lives with his supportive and sympathetic sister (Luana Anders) and is mourning the recent death of his beloved wife Elizabeth (Barbara Steele).
Seems like a great life, right? But wait! There’s a foreboding stranger at the door! And blast! It’s none other than Elizabeth’s brother, (John Kerr - all growed up since his role as the awkward teenager-turned-cougar-lovah in Tea & Sympathy). Dubious and (understandably) suspicious, he arrives at Castle Price demanding to know the “true reason” behind Elizabeth’s untimely death. She couldn’t have died from a rare blood disease. She just couldn’t have!
Having provided the basic backstory, let us now dive into the lusty, lascivious portion of tonight’s opera.
First, allow me state the obvious: there’s nothing sexier than a tormented, brooding man.
I’m not trying to get all manic-pixie-dream-girl on ya, but it’s true. Let’s face it, cabbages. We’ve all met the opposite of the broody-man, and he’s not all that interesting, is he? Oh sure, he’s chock full of energy and positivity (yawn). He can’t wait to go to Vegas with his bros next month (check please). He’s pumped (and will actually use the word “pumped”) about the presentation he’s giving at his job this Thursday (gag me with a spoon).
These types of men remind me of Dalmatian puppies. They’re adorable in that they seem to possess an endless reservoir of energy and zest for life…but let’s face it: that shit gets old.
And if you’re a non-dingbat individual in possession of even an iota of personal substance or emotional depth?
It’s the tormented, brooding, conflicted men you really wanna fuck.
Am I right, y’all?
Needless to say, VP’s got the tormented, tortured act down. To a Tee. To a Tee PLUS, homies. As his character’s anguish intensifies, you, my fellow Vincent Price lovahs, will be delighted to know that he performs:
1) a very sensual fainting take, and
2) one very sexy/hilarious expression in response to accidentally stumbling into some thick spider webs (I mean, who doesn’t feel sexy stumbling into a spider web the size of freakin’ KANSAS?).
But the best part? He does it all in an extremely prominent 16th century ruffled collar:
Oh yeah. I’m getting hot.
But the best and Vincey Priciest of acting comes in the last third of the film, when he follows his dead wife’s beckoning all the way down into the torture chamber in his basement (don’t act like you never thought of getting one), and then during the glorious finale when he goes stark raving cray cray and starts channeling his sadistic, torture-obsessed father.
The movie as a whole holds up as a rather entertaining and suspenseful chunk of work. If you’ve ever read anything by Edgar Allan Poe, you hopefully already know that the man: 1) was probably a mental case, and 2) knew how to tap into primal human fears like none other (okay, maybe Stephen King, but he came way later). One of those fears is of being buried alive (ahem: “premature interment” as they refer to it in the film - and yes, I am consciously choosing to refrain from making a joke about it). And I must say that even in a 52-year-old movie, the concept does not fail to pack an emotional punch. The penultimate pendulum scene (hah! I got to use an SAT word) builds tremendous suspense: it actually had me gasping a few times (Imagine! Moi! Gasping!) And from a psychological standpoint, the movie is great fun and contains plenty of post-film discussion fodder: there’s daddy issues, dissociation and lunacy. What more could a twisted, depraved moviegoer ask for?
“Am I not the spawn of his depraved blood?” Yes, Vincey, you are.
Maybe I’m biased (wellOFCOURSEIam), but I really don’t think the movie could have been as entertaining without ol’ Vincent in the lead role. One of the man’s great talents lay in his ability to be totally and utterly believable in some of the most unbelievable roles…and to bring a sense of humor to those roles at the same time. To see his transformation from weak-and-resigned-widower-in-mourning-turned-stark-raving-lunatic is nothing short of mesmerizing.
Not to mention incredibly sexy.
But you already knew I was going to say that.
i want people to feel about my writing the way roger ebert feels about the mummy
I just watched 1917 and wow. Wow.
I put off watching this for so long bc I thought it was just going to be another Dunkirk. I loved Dunkirk, don’t get me wrong. But I wasn’t in the mood to watch a copy. While watching, though I noticed some similarities, I was delighted at how different this was.
The absolute emptiness I felt at the end of this movie was indescribable. All of that, for a measly handshake and a lousy “well done lad.” All of that, just for us to sit back down by a tree. We don’t even get a thank you from the man who’s military career we just saved. Just from the man who’s brother we couldn’t save. And as we sit down at that tree that brother is missing from the shot, making you feel even worse. And you don’t feel peace. The bit of relief you get is quite short lived.
This movie does such a good job of putting us in the protagonist’s POV. The way the camera follows him, and strictly him. The way we lack information for a whole bunch of scenes, because this is exactly the amount of information the character has. The way the music swells and dies at exactly the right moments. The amount of things we have to process and the little amount of time we get to do so. The stress you feel throughout the entire movie, even in moments where the characters are sitting down (Dunkirk was really good at that aspect too.) The way the camera constantly twists around the protagonist because he needs to be aware of his surroundings at all times. I almost wish they didn’t subtitle the french bit just to get into character even more, with what little french this soldier understands (obviously subtitles are necessary for accessibility, but to solve that they could have put subtitles in french, and not translate them to english. I am aware of how this wouldn’t work the same for the people who do speak or understand french, like me, but i feel like the point that would make would still stand)
This is a masterpiece of a movie. I truly recommend.
