Well done and well researched, with interviews and commentary from former and current members of far right groups. The 1 star reviews are clearly from those butthurt about being exposed and scrutinized, as this is presently and historically accurate, which is what makes it terrifying. Hate does come from all directions, but there is no question on what direction is responsible for the current threats to our nation. Of some comfort are the interviews with former members of hate groups who have grown to understand and change their ways, renouncing their beliefs in white supremacy . Maybe there is some hope for us yet.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Indivisible: Healing Hate
(2022)
It's difficult to watch if you're sensitive to scrutiny
10 February 2023
House of the Dragon
(2022– )
It's the first damn episode
25 August 2022
For the people saying there are no likable characters, character development takes more than a single hour in a pilot episode. I actually thought Matt Smith was fantastic as Damon; violent and aggressive, but with a clear and deep love for his family. We'll see how the story plays out, but for a pilot, I found it gripping. Of course, you have the same brutality that made GOT so watchable. I think this has great potential.
Roar
(2022– )
You won't like it if you can't understand the metaphors
15 May 2022
I didn't realize this was based on the book of stories by Cecelia Ahern, which I own but haven't read yet. On the surface, these stories are abstract, absurd, and likely not for everyone. But if you understand the metaphors (abusive relationships, trophy wives, etc.), this is a well-done, well-written anthology.
Vivarium
(2019)
Shockingly....I enjoyed this
29 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Horror is my genre of choice and I am admittedly not much of a Sci Fi fan. This film, however, while straddling those two genres and including some black comedy, was actually quite enjoyable. Kafkaesque, certainly, as mentioned in other reviews, and a serious statement about suburban life and its repetitive cycle.
The film centers around a young couple looking for a "home" who get railroaded into a showing in a cookie-cutter new development of identical houses. The agent (immediately bizarre AF. I would have noped right the F out of there as soon as he spoke) abandons them in this perfectly staged house, leaving them to see themselves out. Only they can't. There is no out. And regardless of how many times they round the block, attempt escape on foot, or set the place on fire, number 9 still stands. Provisions are delivered by someone unseen, and a second box containing a baby is left on the walk as well....with instructions to raise the child and be released.
What happens next, and what is the bulk of the film, is watching this couple in the endless cycle of day-to-day life that only really differs from reality in the way that they are being forced to live this scenario. You watch as Gemma (Imogen Poots) succumbs to the exhaustion of "motherhood" as she attempts to placate the "child" and attends to its demands for care. You see Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) attempt to escape his reality by throwing himself into a project that is an exercise in futility, and literally digging himself Into an early grave. You see the frustration in both actors, and you watch their relationship move through the natural course of relationships in this very unnatural scenario; loving each other fiercely, resentment, fury, loving fiercely again.
The climax is likely the most telling and relatable moment, as Gemma is somehow traveling through other dimensions where she sees others like herself in the same scenario. A woman at a kitchen table crying while her "child" watches staticky alien gibberish on TV. Gemma recognizes that desperation in her eyes before falling into other homes with other couples raising other imposters, landing on the bathroom floor of someone who just couldn't take it and decided to "release" himself early, before tumbling down the stairs of the inescapable number 9. This is what suburban life is like; behind every picket fence and well-manicured lawn is a family going through their own emotional struggles...all wishing they had their s**t together, but no one ever really does. All at some point wanting to run away from it all, but never really able to.
And, of course, this cycle ends in the inevitable. Death. While the new generation sets to work quickly finding other suckers to rope in.
If you're watching this for what it is on the surface alone, don't bother. You likely won't enjoy it. You likely won't understand the underlying themes. The acting is good, Imogen Poots is GREAT, the art is a 70s trip, and the symbolism is solid.
The film centers around a young couple looking for a "home" who get railroaded into a showing in a cookie-cutter new development of identical houses. The agent (immediately bizarre AF. I would have noped right the F out of there as soon as he spoke) abandons them in this perfectly staged house, leaving them to see themselves out. Only they can't. There is no out. And regardless of how many times they round the block, attempt escape on foot, or set the place on fire, number 9 still stands. Provisions are delivered by someone unseen, and a second box containing a baby is left on the walk as well....with instructions to raise the child and be released.
What happens next, and what is the bulk of the film, is watching this couple in the endless cycle of day-to-day life that only really differs from reality in the way that they are being forced to live this scenario. You watch as Gemma (Imogen Poots) succumbs to the exhaustion of "motherhood" as she attempts to placate the "child" and attends to its demands for care. You see Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) attempt to escape his reality by throwing himself into a project that is an exercise in futility, and literally digging himself Into an early grave. You see the frustration in both actors, and you watch their relationship move through the natural course of relationships in this very unnatural scenario; loving each other fiercely, resentment, fury, loving fiercely again.
The climax is likely the most telling and relatable moment, as Gemma is somehow traveling through other dimensions where she sees others like herself in the same scenario. A woman at a kitchen table crying while her "child" watches staticky alien gibberish on TV. Gemma recognizes that desperation in her eyes before falling into other homes with other couples raising other imposters, landing on the bathroom floor of someone who just couldn't take it and decided to "release" himself early, before tumbling down the stairs of the inescapable number 9. This is what suburban life is like; behind every picket fence and well-manicured lawn is a family going through their own emotional struggles...all wishing they had their s**t together, but no one ever really does. All at some point wanting to run away from it all, but never really able to.
And, of course, this cycle ends in the inevitable. Death. While the new generation sets to work quickly finding other suckers to rope in.
If you're watching this for what it is on the surface alone, don't bother. You likely won't enjoy it. You likely won't understand the underlying themes. The acting is good, Imogen Poots is GREAT, the art is a 70s trip, and the symbolism is solid.
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