^Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Joker is as good if not better than Heath Ledger’s brilliant Oscar winning portrayal, and if that were a gauge, it would be Phoenix’s first Oscar win after 3 nominations. Despite the gore and violence (hey MTRCB!) this movie showed critics that it can be a winner and blockbuster. It can become the second superhero acting nomination (and win) after Ledger for Phoenix, and possibly the first superhero movie to be nominated for an Oscar best picture, though Marvel executives are pushing for Avengers Endgame to receive also an Oscar nom in the acting (for RDJ) and picture categories. I rave for this film because it’s how superhero movies can become edgy and darker (than The Dark Knight) without losing its appeal and still connect with the audience. Yes, this should be a 10/10. Rotten Tomatoes has it at a barely passing 69% despite an audience score of 90% and IMDB has it at 9.
Just watched Parasite and as mad and dark as it is, it was an enjoyable roller-coaster ride. I almost thought I was watching a Pinoy rom-com-murder mystery drama The idea that one family can change overnight from being grossly poor to being with a rich family is hilarious and misplaced, but it did and that is the premise for this film. In the end, when another family/couple engages themselves with the same scheme (or scam) and displaces the first family, that is when chaos reigns throughout. The victor is the father who kills the original rich owner and then takes the place of the "parasite ghost" that lived in a hidden bunker under the rich family's house, hence the title of this rip-roarious Korean dark comedy. 9/10
The Dead Don’t Die is another Jim Jarmursch dark comedy romp with nice apocalyptic throes. I posted a trailer before in another thread so it was on tap on my next viewing activity. Kind of campy and boring for most part, the comedy though less than stellar. Bill Murray says his lines with brilliant deadpan delivery. Other than him, it was cold. 6/10
Thumbs up for Zombieland Double Tap. For a sequel, given a 10 year gap, it didn’t feel like they made this movie just to make some money. The story was good, the old gang still worked well together, and the new ones fit in. I suggest watching the first one before watching the sequel just for a refresher, it’s on Netflix anyway. “Nut up or shut up!” is so 2009. “It’s time to kick some dicks!”
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil 6.5/10 A good sequel to the first. Awesome production design and costumes. Maybe if I were 12 or 13 years old, I'd thoroughly enjoy this. Angelina still manages to pull through a good performance.
Terminator Dark Fate 8.5. The best Terminator movie since T2. Mackenzie Davis and Linda Hamilton kicked ass. Ah nold is back. Looking forward to a sequel.
Black Swan (2010) Easily Natalie Portman's best performance to date - a portrayal of a dedicated yet fragile ballerina slowly descending into madness as she struggles to perfect the duality of the demanding role that she has long sought for. Darren Aronofsky's direction effectively captures the instability of reality - in the form of bizarre hallucinations - as it shifts in and out of it, by completely framing the movie's perspective through the lenses of the fractured mind of its lead actress. By the time she gets to perform her coveted role, the reality and fantasy merges into an enthralling, towering conclusion. By the time the credits rolled, I was stunned. Truly one of my favorite movies ever released. 9/10
Because it was Halloween, we decided to watch Midsommar because it was both cerebral and spooky. It wasn’t, spooky though, but it was kind of The Wicker Man in some respects (the burning in the end). The mythology that came with it is borne from Swedish tradition and since we aren’t familiar with how they, ehem, are hospitable to their visitors and have sex with them, we leave it as it is to wonder why they go to all the trouble of waiting 90 years to do their thing. The saving grace of this movie is Florence Pugh, the Charlie in The Little Drummer Girl, who cries a lot and doesn’t seem to have lost weight at all. But when you have a shitty boyfriend, burning him in the end seems like the best revenge. 8/10
Doctor Sleep (2019) The movie initially is glacially paced, and fragmented, which makes it confusing, at times dull but midway, when it gains momentum and pieces start to fall, its intensity of terror and unnerving suspense cannot be denied. The story involves dealing with a cult of nearly immortal vampire-like beings called true knots, which look exactly like normal human beings - that feed on children who shine. Dying children who shine emit steam, which is what they consume, this entails torturing their victims to death as fear makes the steam more delicious. Children who happens to shine have powers, some have telepathy, some have telekinesis, can talk to the dead, etc. Ewan McGregor plays Danny - an adult who has shined and has gifts which he engages in alcoholism to suppress it and his trauma from his childhood which is explored in Part 1 - the shining. The movie ties beautifully with the predecessor which some consider it a masterpiece (for me, I wasn’t head over heels with the shining). This is a worthy sequel which at times, felt like a marvel movie as it features fantastic visual sequences - astral projection wherein the head of cult hunts shining children by floating in the clouds to reveal the location of their prey. Eerie and beautiful. There’s one particular scene that’s shocking - a child being slowly being consumed; people walked out of it. Shame though, they missed the fantastic third act which redeemed the movie for me. 8/10.
Aniara 8/10 Saw it on Hulu. Pretty good movie for Sci-Fi fans. It's a Dansih movie with English subtitles. About a group of passengers being transported from Earth to Mars, and they're knocked of course, uncertain about their fate, they try to figure out how to get back to Mars.
Inglourious Basterds. Watched it in living color on a 65-inch 4K TV with Dolby Atmos speaker system and Sonos all around, and it’s not even mine. This guy should be arrested for insane theater specs, almost like iMax but can’t fit his damn small condo though. So the entire time we are almost face-to-face with Brad Pitt’s Aldo Raine and Christoph Waltz’s Colonel Hans Landa. You could almost see the nosehairs there. No.2 best film by Tarantino after, well, Pulp Fiction. Also, did I espy Madeleine Swann aka Mrs Bond in the prologue? Still a 9.5/10 for me. The 0.5 was the theater experience by the way.
Marriage Story (2019) A powerful, stirring, compassionate portrayal of an ending marriage as a couple files for a divorce, ultimately stemming from the inability to understand each other. Easily Scarlet Johansson's and Adam driver's best performances to date. They truly deserve the accolades. Credit must be given to the director as well - Noah Bumbach's direction captures the emotional complexity and depth of the pain of undergoing a separation. This is truly one of the best films of the year. 8.5/10
