Just recently I started keeping a list of movies I want to watch cuz I wanna appreciate them more and have my own taste in movies which atm I don't quite, so this page will include the occasional tale about that
Movie count 2023: 12
Movie count 2024: 2 and counting
Well that's a rather nationalistic start of the year. It compells me to seek out the stories of my culture too. Central Do Brasil is an example of a kind of Brazilian movie there's little market for, and an example of why you should WEEP over that. It's a drama rooted in Brazilianness. Struggles, characterization, narrative flow, all deeply embedded in Brazil. The sprawling national highway network is almost a character unto itself. It's truly beautiful. The sort of thing that makes you wonder what else the country could pull off if there was an audience for national drama like this. As it stands though, if the country has a hit it's usually a campy Globo style comedy. That said, art can come out of that, see Auto Da Compadecida. It's an adaptation of the work by Ariano Suassuna, a man who lived all his life without ever leaving Brazil, and without ever caring for an audience outside of his 200 million compatriots. That movie is straight up unstranslatable. Quotables from start to end, in a setting purely Brazilian even in its depiction of heaven. It's on the nose, but in a very earnest way. These two are the full spectrum: A movie too good for you, and a movie you can't even pretend you're too good for. Brazil is a country that produces great art. I can only hope one day my compatriots will think that too
20-2-2024
17:32Truly, the rom-com is a lost artform. I'm sure I've enjoyed rom-coms before but I've never been like, impressed by them. They've never felt like grand cinema. This one? It won three Oscars including best screenplay and it shows. Every plot thread unravels perfectly, every character is compelling, every performance is excellent. I suppose rom-coms don't get enough appreciation because they're stories of the mundane. And not the gritty, ignroed underbelly of the mundane that indie cinema loves so much. These are normal people, relatable even, you might recognize them in simple, normal people you've met before. In this way I find this movie not just romantic, but Romanticist. There once was a YouTube channel called every frame a painting, and in this movie it truly feels so. Specifically Romanticist painting. Depictions of normal things, simple things, ugly things, embarassing things, as the most compelling in the world. Also they use one of my favorite operas as both a motif in the score and a major plot point, which is just pandering. Cher and Nicolas Cage both deliver performances that show a level and a type of talent beyond what you'd expect from them. It's entertaining, it's accessible, but it's also compelling and masterfully executed. What wouldn't I give for more of that.
25-08-2023
12:37There's something deeply frustrating about the experience of first dipping your toes into a new genre of art. Even if you are aware of the quality of what you're exposing yourself to, you're not familiar enough with the medium to properly appreciate it. The underappreciated medium of the day is old Hollywood. Yes I know I've talked about Charlie Chaplin but his work was all out comedy. Outside of that my familiarity with old Hollywood doesn't go past the hyper-feminine musicals My Fair Lady and The Sound Of Music. Clearly, a Hitchcock picture is something entirely new to me. I tried to steer clear of his contributions to horro and his more intense thrillers as those would be entirely lost on me, but it seems even then I chose a movie with quite a reputation behind it. North By Northwest required more shedding of my modern sensibilities than I went in prepared to do, but at least it had a lot of substance to deliver on the other side of that necessary intellectual Olive Branch. Even the movie's leading lady, whose character at first glance is a played out misogynistic archetype, reveals herself to be well rounded and compelling once you let go of the knee jerk reaction and remember this movie established the cliché rather than play into it. The leading man has a hint of Mary Sue to him, but when one removes the cinicism lens we get someone very human and very relatable going through extraordinary things (quite how Hitchcock intended it). I'm no cinema expert (yet) so I don't know how this proto-James-Bond affected the action/adventure genre going forward, but just by watching it I can tell it inevitably would. Its fast paced, chopped into bits story has the effect of creating something made to be remembered, quoted, reference. The genre it pioneers has certainly risen past it, but it retains the allure of the blueprint, of the first idea before the construct came to be. In the future I'll get to know old Hollywood better, and I hope one day I acquire the maturity to properly recognize the brilliance here at hand
21-08-2023
12:00First of all the format above is how every post will be titled from now on. Got it? Kay
Second of all, this post will not do my feelings about that movie justice. The experience of seeing that in the cinema was insane. By the end of it I wanted to write three posts on here but unfortunately I'm not a movie critic and have not yet built the skillset to articulate my feelings about movies at this level so let's just have one rather long boy
While their association started entirely because of aesthetics and target audiences, Barbie and Oppenheimer presented an unintentionally excellent movie cocktail. Among other things I expected from both, I knew guys everywhere would grossly misunderand the feeling they should take away from both. Barbie has already gotten pegged as anti-man despite a proeminent character arc involving a man who gets taken for granted being acknowledged and understood, which I find to be a kinder taken on men than most cinema for men presents even. Oppenheimer presents a much greater issue though. Let's first establish that Cillian Murphy is simply inherently cool. It's very, very difficult to not admire a character played by him. All the more when the character in question is the genius behind the atom bomb. Now It is known media literacy is at an all time low, and in the age of the smartphone and social media media availability is at an all time high. All this to say a lot of guys who can't grasp the nuances of how the atomic bomb was above all a group effort and Oppenheimer was above all a VERY flawed man will see this movie and fawn over its lead with no critical thinking thrown into the mix. Latching onto the lead character's bossy douchebaggery without any of the genius to show for it. Honestly the other end also holds true there are enough hateful comments about this "male-centric" and "American-centric" narrative out there from the people whose whole schtick is ending masculinity. It's an ugly reminder of the fact that the idea of a man is one of those things many people only take in extremes in a vacuum these days. Though Oppenheimer throws rocks into that hornet's nest, it is in itself a story of very complicated, very flawed, very human characters, even if those humans were extraordinary. I appreciate the art of having such a plot driven narrative and still manage to make it all about character exploration
A noticeable difference watching Oppenheimer after Barbie is that Oppenheimer used the whole screen, no blacked out ends (which Barbie had horizontally), and it made great use of the sound, and the size of the shots, and the atmosphere, just, it was a cinematic experience. The deal with these cinematic experiences though, is they are inherently ephemeral. Oppenheimer's theater run will end and then people won't have it again, maybe ever. Sure, they can watch it at home, but a movie like Oppenheimer is explicitly thought up with the intent of being seen in theaters, which raises the question, is the authorial intent lost? Is there something incomplete when a movie like this is watched at home? Should theater reruns be more prevalent on account of works like these? Of course, I'm overthinking this. People will still enjoy Oppenheimer when they see it on streaming, myself included. It's just sad to be aware that a work of art will from here onwards even at its best be a translation. With books I can go through the toil of learning a new language to get to the original text, but I can't build a cinema. Worth noting whatever passion is noted in this paragraph is newfound. Yes I had earlier decided I wanted to explore movies more which is why this page exists, but after this movie I feel as though it is a mission to understand movies better. It made me recall being 15 and hearing Emotions by Mariah Carey for the first time. Sure I'd been listening to music before, but hearing the power of those vocals, that version of pop that was entirely foreign to me, those high notes I didn't know were possible, it all opened my eyes to the fact that music was still hiding things from me. Years later I am an all out music buff, and I can't wait to get there with movies. Truly a life changing experience. Thank you Christopher Nolan
Cards on the table from the historian to be: I didn't know anything about J. Robert Oppenheimer going into this. Of course I'd heard the name before and I knew some stuff about the Manhattan project, but the history presented in this movie was a gap in my knowledge of the time periods shown. The movie presents a very narrow version of history, it's true, and it's been criticized for that. It shouldn't be. The narrowness serves the authorial intent of highlighting the self-absorbed nature of the endeavor, plus if you want a story about nuclear bombs from the perspective of Japan you can get them in Japanese cinema. Honestly Christopher Nolan would probably have done a horrible job had he tried to cater to that demographic. The movie requires some reflection before one can drag a full picture out of it, and I hope that reflection happens a lot, because the impact of pop culture on the general perception of bits of history cannot be overstated. Christopher Nolan's masterful portrait of the disturbing reach of a genius' ego runs the risk of becoming a Wolf of Wall Street style accidental glamorization. Only time will tell though. Whatever the movie's fame does to history, the movie itself is a respectful, artistically engaging portrait of it and I'll only ever see it as such
There's a Scorsese movie coming out soon, Killers Of The Flower Moon. I definitely wanna go see it. I wonder it'll make blockbuster money. Oppenheimer was decidedly serious cinema first even movie second, and while notoriety would have come anyways I don't think the dollars would have rolled in without the Barbie tie-in. It showed in the audiences too, a lot of people's comments online and in the room behaviour (including in my row when I went to see it, fucking hell) showed it dragged in people outside the traditional artsy cinema crowd. Now I don't think they'll all come back, but certainly some will. From shot composition to acting to sound to story to dialogue, Oppenheimer is an impeccable introduction to the powers of cinema, and I hope it keeps many people coming back. Certainly left an impression on me, and for that. Cinema is a lovely thing, and like no other this movie has left me desirous of experiencing more of it
21-08-2023
11:41It has never been more appropriate for this page to be called 'Film Feelings', cuz boy, I felt some feelings about this film. I won't deny it's overexposed, and I expect its position in some people's regard might experience something of a bell curve, but it will gain a deserved position as a classic. It's not for everyone, it's very feminine and VERY on the nose, but for people that like that (AKA me) it's a treat and a half. Its tonal shifts worked very well for me because the grief and grace juxtaposed are quintessentially feminine. I also loved its treatment of masculinity. Sadly the people who should get it are raging against it, but I like that in the end Ken's fears, flaws and insecurities are acknowledged with kindness and he gets an apology and a second chance. I didn't like that the soundtrack's two best songs were used as leitmotifs, not because they didn't make for great ones but because it undercut the impact of the songs' moments, especially "What Was I Made For". That said those are flaws that only exist because I already listened to those songs so much before the movie. Really it's a tight project with gravitas for days. It hit me with the things I relate to, the things I aspire to and the things I can't have. I really hope Greta Gerwig gets an Oscar for this. Oppenheimer can have best picture but I want a golden statue for this labour of love. It really is a joy getting to witness the appearance of a classic.
23-07-2023
17:33It's interesting to revisit the work of Charlie Chaplin nowadays. Film has changed past recognition since his prime, and the pantomime comedy of silent film is by now a dead artform. Along with that, as comedy is the form of art that tends to age the fastest a chunk of his work is bound to just land awkwardly. Knowing all that I went into this classic of cinema with moderated expectations, and while it's true that there are bits you just need to forgive because they're a product of their time, for one I did laugh here and there, and for another the emotional core of the story hasn't aged a day. Charlie Chaplin's tramp character was very timely in a post Great War world that knew even less social security than it does now and where the middle class was still establishing itself, all the more in 1931 fresh into the great depression. Knowing that, his work takes on a different color for me. Before cinema became a means for epic, sweeping narratives, Charlie Chaplin's work feels like an adult fairy tale. Where so many stories for kids will feature kids going on adventures and doing amazing things, lending a sense of wonder to the childhood being lived by someone who can't even decide when they're allowed outside the house, Chaplin's work allows a grown person to immerse themselves in the adventures of a man who owns nothing but his good will. This is a work invented before cinema discovered bathos and ironic detachment, so for better or worse it wears its heart on its sleeve. It doesn't hit like the absolute masterpiece people talk of it as but I don't think it was meant to even in its inception. It's just something very pretty that is what it is with the most captivating sincerity
30-06-2023
18:53I recently started on this classic novel and as I was reading it I recalled that I had long ago seen a rather silly action/adventure movie based on it so I went and looked it up to watch it again. Oh boy. I knew it'd be bad but this was beyond anything my memory has registered. It was the stupidest straight guy jerk off fantasy I've ever seen come from hollywood outside of Michael Bay movies. The characters are cartoony exaggerations of one single personality trait they're described as having in the source material, the king gets played as a butt of the joke "beta", James Corden is there for some fat jokes, the female characters are more concepts with tits than people, the phrase "boys will be boys" is said unironically, macho coolness is always above the law, consequences are just not a thing, the stakes are non existent, the setting has nothing of fantastical but works with an impossible version of reality for optimal coolness, it's awful. It's a trainwreck. I'm not even counting this one for my movies list cuz that would mean acknowleding it as cinema. Unforgettable in its terribleness. Can't wait to finish the book and watch the Dominic Noble comparision
20-06-2023
19:33There'll always be a bit of a nationalist living in me, and in accordance to that I had to check out this Brazilian Oscar nominee. I sorely regret doing so, not because it's bad but because I am in no state to be confronted with a surrealist/romanticist overly emotional work with themes of family, the ugliness of modernity, the fragility of the child within and the beauty that's been lost versus the lingering beauty we must cherish. I was crying by the end of it. I can't say I'd recommend it, it's a freeform oddball that really gives you very little structure to hold on to, but if you can deal with things that don't try very hard to make sense there is something truly beautiful to be experienced here. It conveys a sense of bigness to the world constrated with a smallness to the characters that really drags you into the dreamlike atmosphere, and if you manage to catch every emotional cue it builds up the payoff can be a subtle but effective emotional gut punch. Truly a work to remember
30-05-2023
01:03So I'm still only just dipping my toes into Studio Ghibli, I've seen five movies as of yet, with the aforementioned two only just entering that list yesterday. Until now I'd only watched Ghibli movies of the whimsical, dreamlike, barely plot having kind. These two were much more structured, Castle In The Sky taking a dreamlike story and making it move like a more structured one, while Princess Monoke takes the aesthetics and the worldbuilding style of the more dreamlike movies and uses it to present the most serious, dramatic, tense story I've seen from Studio Ghibli so far. Honestly Princess Mononoke is my new favourite Ghibli movie. It escapes every gripe I have with most animated movies and takes a story with characters and tension of the type people only associate with live action but then wraps it all around a presentation live action could never achieve. It is a masterclass in how far animation can take storytelling. I loved it
19-05-2023
19:30GOD that was frustrating. Not because it wasn't good. It was. Very good even, but good for what it was. Good for an episodic Batman story. I love animation and it's a huge pet peeve of mine that I can tell so often how animated movies aren't shooting for cinematic greatness and when I see they could it hurts my soul. I mean people call this Mark Hamill's greatest performance as the joker and I believe that, that monologue was fucking excellent I went back and rewatched it for the perfect delivery, but that was just one more addition for a fanservicy adapatation that rests on its laurels instead of trying to be something more than the sum of its very, very kick-ass parts. I really hope one day someone takes animation like this to the next level and gets it some much deserve prestige. For the time being though, if you like Batman watch this it's a good time
06-05-2023 22:20HBO fucking owns DC and yet the one animated Batman movie I wanna watch (The Killing Joke) isn't on there. I just wanted to appreciate Mark Hamill as the Joker TT
06-05-2023 17:35It's very understandable that people are debating over whether Everything Everywhere All At Once is overhyped rn but it feels like a modern movie that'll truly stand the test of time. There's one or two details of it that let slip that it is a movie of the MCU but it's also new and feels like an idea rather than just a product so I expect it to age better than post Phase 3 Marvel
06-05-2023 17:39