Just when I thought I was down and out for the count for good, I get encouragement from every direction to start the reviews up again. I'm grateful for how many people appreciate the stuff I put out, y'all keep me motivated and push me to be the best I can be!
#movies #moviereview #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview
N.E.X.O. seen slicing above!
Thanks to all that have lended a hand, we were able to film all of the killing scenes for N.E.X.O. Here is a sneak peak into what we filmed with the amount raised and thanks to an incredibly talented group of 30 students.
We will continue to post the crew as the days go on, but below is a shoutout of the amazing department heads!
Director: @jonny.n0.h
DP: @crabybara
Gaffer: @theunofficialjustinlee
Sound Mixer: @patrickta76
Art Director: @yyv0nneee
Costume Designer: @sydneysfreemyer
Co-Producer: @hb.kari
Co-Producer: @distressedstoat
In order to film the remainder of this student short please consider supporting us. Even $10 can make a big impact!
LINK IN OUR BIO TO DONATE (and more info!)
#shortfilm #horrorshort #slashershort #practicaleffects #bayareafilmmakers
We decided to give the shot recreation competition by ShotDeck a try and the results speak for themselves.
We sifted through various frames before landing on this one from Spellbound (1945). This beautiful shot of Ingrid Bergman had an interesting texture we thought would be a compelling challenge to recreate.
We initially had a fence built but the scale unfortunately didn't match so last minute we had to buy clear acrylic and fine thread to make something that would accurately recreate the spacing of the bars from the original frame. A bit of paper tape goes a long way. We considered shooting in a studio before realizing the amount of depth required to recreate the frame meant asking to shoot in a good friend's backyard, he kindly obliged.
The two biggest challenges for us was finding the right angle for our 600d to hit our 8x8 bounce to match that cone of light on the right side of the frame and getting just enough light to softly wrap around our lead talent
Our adept team came together and honestly killed it with costumes, talent, lighting, and camera. Win or lose, these folks are always fun to collaborate with.
@patrickta76@acsico@crabybara@theunofficialjustinlee@sydneysfreemyer@johnnie.le.goat
And one and only Jake Ohlhausen
#recreations2025 #shotdeck
The title of The Brutalist is appropriate as this is an oppressive feature that towers over the audience but welcomes interpretation and inspection as a beautiful piece of art.
Stunning visuals capture not only the feeling of seeing a piece of brutalism but also the harsh reality of the immigrant experience. The pacing and direction by Brandy Corbet is phenomenal. The film is an uncomfortable watch due to the subject matter and keeps the audience engaged for the 3.5-hour runtime. The score creates such a perfect tone of dread, hope, and idealism. The audience immediately understands the implications the lighting creates, if our lead is isolated and scared we feel that through the lighting. It is no small feat to shape the light so it doesn’t distract but enough so the audience implicitly understands nuanced emotions while still crafting a beautiful frame.
Brutalism as an art form, as a design style, is a confrontational idea. One that strips down the artifice to the bare minimum and exposes the literal building blocks of structures. The film doesn’t shy away from this, using these essential ideas around brutalism to expose the building blocks of xenophobia, capitalism, and the American dream. The way the working class, specifically the immigrant working class, is abused and exploited. This film like the brutalist structures it admires will continue to find new meanings as the years go by.
This picture is a monument to the skill of every person involved, an absolutely stunning cinematic experience.
#movies #moviereviews #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview #a24 #thebrutalist #brandycorbet
The story around the film is far more interesting than this picture is.
As it stands, Emilia Pérez is a strange, messy film that takes a long time to reach an abrupt and deeply unsatisfying end. It is a musical with a mostly mediocre soundtrack, with two truly awful exceptions that never should have been approved to choreograph and film. The actual themes the film attempts, badly, might I add, are admittedly interesting; one can’t escape the sins of a past life even when trying to be true to oneself.
The hate the movie is receiving mainly concerns the acclaim it’s been receiving this awards season. It most certainly doesn’t deserve the awards, but people are angry without deconstructing why this film is problematic and how it's just flat-out not that good. This is presented as a Trans Mexican story, cartels, corruption, and love oh my, but every aspect of this is a mockery. This is written and directed by a Frenchman, who did no research, it was shot in France on a soundstage, and features barely any Mexican actors.
This isn’t to say you can’t tell stories outside of your identities; this is a medium of pretend, but you can’t jump in without researching and respecting the cultures you wish to depict. This is particularly egregious when someone from the Global North wants to create a story about and in the Global South. The core of this story has nothing to do with Mexico, it would have the same if not better impact if it was placed elsewhere. It is a story about trying to overcome the sins of a past life, that can take place anywhere.
This is a musical where most of the songs are mediocre, one is good, and more than a few are bad. Emilia Pérez wishes you to perceive it as visionary and different, but it fails to truly reach that status with its messy cuts, score, and storytelling. For a French musical that succeeds in its artistic vision, please go watch The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
#movies #moviereviews #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview #emiliaperez #ecoute #theumbrellasofcherbourg #mrsdoubtfire #jacquesaudiard #zoesaldana
Intimacy is more than physical.
Babygirl wants us to come to terms with the sensuality innate in control and communication. This is a sexy film but not in the way most might conceive of sexy, it revels in the deep intimacy of giving oneself over completely to another, to trust them to fulfill your desires. That’s not to say there isn’t any sex, the film is full of it but Halina Rejin, the director, is far more concerned with depicting realistic intimate sex.
The loose camerawork at play mimics the freedom the lead, played excellently by Nicole Kidman, discovers throughout the story. The score heightens the eroticism and tension as Kidman's character becomes comfortable with her desire and what brings her pleasure. The way the story plays out, particularly the last act, was engaging, surprising, and deeply satisfying.
Being comfortable with yourself and your desires is a difficult realization to achieve, even more so to try to communicate this to your loved ones. True control is an exchange with communication; to give it away is to take hold of your life and your pleasure.
#movies #moviereviews #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview #a24 #babygirl #halinareijn #nicolekidman #harrisdickinson #antoniobanderas
What are we, but the people we choose to surround ourselves with?
A Complete Unknown is more concerned with how Bob Dylan affected the folk scene and the handful of people he knew rather than telling us who he is. The film creates fictional scenarios and fuses real ones together to create a compelling idea of who he is to this specific subset of people. If the film continued with the spirit of this framing, the film could’ve truly stood above the biopic label. It avoids some issues with music biopics but continues with most. Displaying Dylan as unlikeable is refreshing, but the film is far too long and the extended sequences of his songs are painfully gratuitous.
Timothée Chalamet should not be Bob Dylan. His voice is distracting, and he comes off far more petulant than rebellious, as Dylan should be. This film likely wouldn’t have been made without a star of his scale, but he only distracted from the picture. The supporting cast doesn't have this issue in the slightest. Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, and Boyd Holbrook were all a delight to watch.
The film looks fantastic and captures 60s New York, the mise-en-scene and indoor/daytime lighting look great. The conceit is solid, but the execution is lacking. The direction by James Mangold doesn’t know how not to idealize Dylan, the length and pacing suffer due to his lack of restraint. If you want a film that truly captures the mystical spirit of Bob Dylan, check out “I’m Not There”
#movies #moviereviews #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview #acompleteunknown #imnotthere #dylangoeselectric #bobdylan #jamesmangold #timotheechalamet #edwardnorton #monicabarbaro #boydholbrook
Repression and sensuality in the structures of men.
Nosferatu is the ultimate vampire tale of desire and class. The vampire desires a bride to live in eternal undeath with; from that description, you’d think the woman would be the main character having to fend off his invitations and assaults. Instead, most vampire stories center on the husband protecting his wife from a vampiric threat. This is a long-winded way of explaining that these versions of the story place women more as stationery property than active characters.
Robert Eggers seeks to create stories that feel true to the time period they take place in but reflect a message that is relevant to our culture. Nosferatu is no exception, Eggers shifts the protagonist role to Ellen, it is her story of comfort and taking control in a society that actively minimizes her. By placing Ellen at the center the film becomes a far more interesting tale, taking the already rich thematic material of class and belief and mixing in feminist ideas of sexuality and control.
The filmmaking techniques and lighting styles utilize only enhance the themes and story at play. The camera movement and framing within the sets by Jarin Blaschke is consistently stunning and sinks the audience into the world of 1800s Germany. The camera uses its depth of field to perfection and the lighting is some of the strongest this year. The acting is a particular highlight with the standout being Bill Skarsgård, he is unrecognizable as Count Orlock. His voice is still ringing in my head just as it would for the characters. Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen is a great protagonist and places us in the heat of the situation. The best scenes in this feature are the handful of interactions between Orlock and Ellen, they're powerfully written, reminiscent of beautiful but haunting poetry.
To gush anymore about this film is a disservice to your experience if you haven’t seen it, just know it’s a horrifying and enrapturing tale of sexuality in an age of repression.
#movies #moviereviews #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview #nosferatu #roberteggers #jarinblaschke #lilyrosedepp #billskarsgard
Love is a foreign concept, we struggle and yearn to hold it for our own.
Queer is the universal experience of isolation and the desire for companionship. The film explores the specific experience of a white man trying to find love and himself in Central and South America, and in that, we understand the loneliness at the core of unrequited longing. The film never addresses the colonizer aspect of the story, nor the white people exploring global southern nations to “find themselves,” an unfortunate omission to an otherwise excellent story about intimacy.
Luca Guadagnino is free to express his creativity for this story, every technical element comes to such vivid life, that it’s difficult not to be enamored. The pacing does suffer from this freedom with upwards of 5-6 single long shots throughout the film that hold on a character for 2+ minutes. We’re given great insight into the emotional state of the character without a word, but when we’re holding on the same character for an extended period for the 5th time it begins to feel unnecessary and dragging out the pace.
Easily one of the best-looking films this year, with stunning use of lighting direction and framing choices. The dream sequences are particularly beautiful and reminiscent of surrealist paintings of the 40s. The use of miniatures and anachronistic needle drops enhances the dreamlike nature present throughout. The last act takes this to an extreme with visuals that I won’t spoil, but it is a fantastic harmony of editing, VFX, cinematography, and directing.
An intimidating picture with its abstractions, but a worthy experience of yearnful tears.
#movies #moviereviews #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview #queer #a24 #lucaguadagnino #trentreznor #atticusross
The first 20 minutes of this feature are an excellent introduction to an otherwise mediocre story.
The subject matter is disturbing and fascinating, and much of the film's greatness comes from the horrifying historical reality of neo-nazis running wild in the Pacific Northwest and the subtle but widespread presence of The Turner Diaries across America in the 80s.
The action scenes are gritty and well-realized, creating a great sense of tension that uplifts an otherwise unearned slow-burn story structure. The film attempts to create emotional outbursts for the characters in climactic moments that are never built up to or properly characterized. The film is full of these kinds of moments that made me question the motivation behind that direction or acting choice.
Outside of those instances, the performances are one of the stronger aspects, with Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult playing rich characters with plenty of nuance. Law, in particular, plays the lead with a quiet sadness and desperation that is so compelling to watch play out. The cinematography is another aspect that kept me engaged; despite the lackluster script, interesting lighting choices and grounded camera moves create a strong sense of mood.
The script attempts to convey the horror of the situation with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, having characters cry or scream when the plot demands instead of building to those moments naturally from the character development.
The horror comes from how quietly accepted bigoted beliefs are throughout America, which is why the opening act is so effective.
#movies #moviereviews #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview #theorder #theturnerdiaries #justinkurzel #judelaw #nicholashoult
Don’t let the star-studded cast distract you from a script that meanders into an unearned finale.
Maxxxine is a film that lacks a consistent throughline, so many ideas are tossed in without taking the time necessary to make a cohesive film. The pacing for this film is particularly frustrating as the runtime is only 104 minutes, but this comes across as a bloated 2+ hour feature.
The gore and camp elements work when present, but a majority of the runtime is taken far too seriously to blend these tones properly. The previous features in this series ride this line far better, Pearl and X create a deliciously demented tone that's hard not to love.
This film features far too many characters who exist to be blatantly murdered, which is not an uncommon trait in horror characters, but most writers hide this better. Even Ti West has written more dynamic and interesting characters in this series, leading this film to feel like a first draft.
The broad ideas are present, but the film needed far more time to bake and build up to that climax.
By trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, the film is a classic nothing-burger.
A film with nothing to say, no interesting visuals, and flat performances truly make this a difficult watch. It refuses to invest its audience with anything of quality, believing they will immediately love the film upon seeing American icon Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
An ego picture from top to bottom, Johnson recycles the same stoic character he’s been playing for over a decade. Chris Evans, on the other hand, is going back to his snarkier roots with this performance. Evans is fun to watch when the film isn't getting unearned levels of sentimentality.
The only other element of praise is the creature effects in the Krampus section of the film, which, despite the technical quality of the prosthetics, are wildly out of place. The film is full of similarly confusing choices, Santa Claus getting a US military F35 fighter jet escort to the North Pole at the beginning of the film is one of the more egregious and hilarious story choices.
Jake Kasdan, the director, made a modern action blockbuster symptomatic of the Marvel curse, all snark, no heart. I don’t recommend this in the slightest, but if you love cinema, it's key to understand the components of failure that make up the DNA of films like these.
#movies #moviereviews #film #filmreview #cinema #cinemareview #redone #santaclaus #christmas #jakekasdan #dwaynejohnson #chrisevans
