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Baby Reindeer (2024)
10 Not High Enough.
This is the most beautiful, perfect thing I have ever watched. I forgot about the required characters to post a review. I would leave it at that first sentence, if I had a choice. Saying nothing is not a choice here. There were so many aspects of this that so clearly articulated the long term effects of being victimized, in ways I have never heard laid so bare - and he managed to do it while making me laugh. Which is appropriate - because it is how so many of us cope with it all, with those who understand, who share that unfortunate circumstance. "The Video" scene was soul shatteringly accurate. Yet the part where he talks to his parents - his father. So little words required for such painful, and still beautiful, emotion, healing connection, understanding.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Vikings (2013)
Love
Generally when I say I love a character, I love them like I love a good idea. I love the stories in a kind of vague way. I don't mean LOVE. I love these characters, particularly Ivar (who reminds me so much of my son it was painful), and Floki. I love the relationships in this series, beautiful, complicated, enduring. Towards the end of season 5 and into season 6, I thought maybe they had ruined the show - I didn't expect much. I was surprised by so much - the full circle moments, the redemption arcs, and the closure. My heart is broken for it having ended, but I am so glad I got to know these people, this story.
Feast of Love (2007)
At a loss
There were so many moments where I found myself wondering if this was a parody, but if it was, they forgot to let the audience in on the joke. There seems to be no other explanation for how such a reliable cast could create such a shallow, sappy yet unemotional movie. It has to be a joke - so why did it also manage to take itself entirely too seriously? The soundtrack suggested a philosophical drama. The relationships could not be more egregiously one dimensional. Their attempts at backstories were painful, and again, absolutely lacking in conviction & believability. The "happy" traumatic ending was sickeningly "sweet" and borderline creepy. If it were parody, and they'd given a hint of self-awareness, I might give it a higher rating. If I were into bad Lifetime style movies, this might get a 3. I am not, and with this cast, I had higher expectations.
A Man Called Otto (2022)
How?
Even setting the book aside, this movie is awful. The acting is absurdly bad, like superficial caricatures of the characters in the book. I JUST finished the book, and walked into the movie expecting to be disappointed, but consciously trying to see the movie as an individual work - that makes it worse, not better.
I do not understand how they could take such a beautiful story, and strip it of every drop of endearing life. It's entirely wrong - which is especially offensive if you've read the book, if you loved the characters. They changed so much that it IS it's own work, and not worth watching.
Most importantly - Ove would never have accepted Sonja's money.
Certain Women (2016)
Perfectly Mediocre
It's easy to dismiss this as boring, about nothing, as many reviewers have. The movie is beautifully shot, the acting superb.
The story is "boring" - most lives are. I don't know what was intended, I don't know what it all "means," but that is what it meant for me. We have a tendency to look at stories and desire something more than life. Then we look at life and want something more, as well. I study family history, and the generally untold stories of humans scraped together from tiny impressions left upon the world. Most lives are this. Your life is probably more of this than it is any of your favorite films. Not a series of intentionally plotted moments, carrying along a story that will end with perfect closure.
But it's probably beautiful, too.
No One Will Save You (2023)
I get it, and I still don't like it.
As someone who feels isolated, outcasted, and trapped by my past mistakes - I get it. I'm picking up what it's putting down. My brain kept screaming, "iTz En AlleeeeggOOOREEE" but that did not make it better. Honestly if you liked Mother!, you'll probably like this. You're probably also pretentious, and don't actually like it as much as you like to claim you like bad, allegorical movies that are "beyond" the taste of plebs. Good on you.
It's beautiful, I'll give it that. However, it's over the top symbolically - I prefer subtlety I guess. Like the entire thing is dripping with "deep" meaning to the point of becoming trite. Also, If you want to do no dialogue - just do it? The endless weird inhaling was obnoxious. Why do you feel the need to fill the silence with her woosahing?
The CONSTANT, incredibly stupid choices from the protagonist, followed by something brilliant, was just lazy. The false ending and real ending were predictable. We've seen these movies before, with more believable plots and significantly more meaningful character development & backstory.
There I hit my character minimum - this movie sucked, I wish it hadn't. I stayed for the vintage, as well as the cute & obviously friendly aliens.
The Affair (2014)
Unexpectedly the best show I've watched -spoilers-
I hated this show, I stayed because the storytelling was interesting & I was killing time. Plus, I couldn't understand why Joshua Jackson was in it. Season three was a confusing disaster, and I hated Brendan Frasier as a bad guy - not sure if this was during Covid, but the storyline dropped and didn't pick back up for closure. Season 4 felt like a new show, and season five went in new directions again. Yet it all felt cohesive and season five made everything before it somehow click into place. Back to the storytelling, this really hit its stride in season 3, the way they show the same scenes with the perception (not just perspective) of different characters was compelling and incredibly interesting - it was so honest to the human experience, how easy it is to see through our unique lens, mood, biases. It was also fascinating how deeply we came to know each individual character, despite it being a strong ensemble cast, spread across storylines, decades, and the country. This meant that as we shifted from one perspective to another, we could find the truth of the moment, because we KNEW the nature of the characters, we recognized when a perceived behavior was out of character. There were also moments that left me wondering if our perception of the characters (particularly Noah & Alison) were WRONG because of the views we had - what did we MISS by our limited perspective? How much of the show was the character lying to themselves?
I've never been more satisfied with a series finale. It was perfect, emotional, healing. It didn't feel like a happily ever after - it felt genuine. I also love some of the things left unsaid. I binged the show, it felt like a movie - a beautiful and complete story.
Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
Beautiful
The critical part of me wants to say that it felt very childish/cheesy, like any other live action Genie movie - but it was so beautiful in every other way, I have to forgive it. Visually it is stunning, the framing & colors are worth savoring. There is humor but I wouldn't call it particularly funny, just bits of wit and absurdity sprinkled in, and really it is so sweet. I don't think the acting was anything spectacular, but I also don't think it needed to be - it was the simplicity there that I think got me. There are so many elements that I know will stick for a long time, and I am walking away inspired.
South Mountain (2019)
There's Magic Here, But Ignore It
There were hints of what this could have been, instead it was disappointing, they didn't pull on any of the threads of potential. I love a movie that can make magic of the mundane, can perfectly demonstrate the beautiful tragedies & joys of the average human experience and relationships. This was the it, this was just dull.
NET Journal: Appalachia: Rich Land, Poor People (1968)
A Favorite
This doc introduced me to the awesome work of Jack Willis. I devour all documentaries on Appalachia that I can find, and this is by far my favorite.
Not Since You (2009)
Holy Awful.
This might be the worst movie I've ever seen. It tries so hard to be dramatic but it is horribly scripted and acted, and the pathetic attempts at establishing backstories and relationships failed miserably. I'm not even sure why these college friends who have drifted apart were brought to this contrived wedding, since they have nothing to do with the couple. Shockingly bad, and nothing actually happens, though several times they seem to think something has happened. I can only assume it was written by the types of people that start their own slow claps after telling a story with no point. It is hard to say who the worst character is, but I'm going to go with the colonel Sanders-based uncle who whips out a truly gag-worthy and cliche speech on love for the benefit of one of the eleven thousand main characters.
The soundtrack is the one redeeming thing - if you completely ignore that it makes zero sense in the context of the scenes the songs are tied to - then again, it would be hard to match a song to a scene where nothing is happening.