I watched four movies on the planes to and from Europe. Here’s my uneducated take on all four.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
This was entertaining and well acted, but… I just didn’t get it.
You set up this whole story with Rick and Cliff and it’s fun to watch them and they have a cool dynamic and there’s some ups and downs.
Then you randomly throw in Sharon Tate every now and then who doesn’t really do much.
And this whole two and a half hours builds up to this over-the-top cringe-y Tarantino-y violent break-in scene which I assume is some alternate reality from what actually happened. And I hated this scene, I really hated it.
And that’s it.
It was charming, funny, entertaining, but way too long and just good – a let down from the expectation that was set.
Movie snobs will scoff at the above I’m sure, but if this movie was groundbreaking, I certainly didn’t pick up on why, and I doubt most people did.
Final Score: 6.5/10
Joker
Another one where the expectation was set very high.
For a ‘super hero’ film it was more personally violent than the traditional things-blowing-up or car crashes. Having murders on screen was a little surprising.
Joaquin carries the film and he’s pretty fascinating. You see how Arthur develops and ends up as the Joker. It seemed a grand statement on out-casts in society, specifically related to mental health, which I thought was pretty obvious but apparently that’s not the case? I don’t care enough to research it.
But it just lacked the it-factor to have a lasting effect for me. I liked it but it just didn’t blow me away and I can’t pin point why.
Final Score: 7.25/10
Parasite
Finally, a movie that lived up to the hype! Small spoilers ahead.
The gradual build and believe-ability of how all the family members become integrated to start is great.
Then shit really hits the fan when the old maid comes back and you find out the twist. The climax at the birthday party gives a sense of fulfillment, with the dad finally saying ‘fuck you’ to the rich.
It’s odd though because they didn’t make the rich family that hate-able and they didn’t make the poor family that likeable, which I actually liked.
I’ve heard people didn’t like the ending, but I didn’t think twice about it. I liked it. How else should it have ended?
Worthy of winning Best Picture, much more so than OUATIH or Joker.
Final Score: 9/10
The Peanut Butter Falcon
I had no expectations going in but I thought this movie was great.
Shia and Zack had a fantastic dynamic. The humor of it got me more than anything – “Whats rule #1“.
The journey was a bit out there though. To just be wandering down this river night after night with no real food or anything seems… far fetched. The relationship between Shia and Dakota was believable and although the two dudes trying to kill Shia relentlessly felt overboard, I guess it was necessary for the plot.
All in all just a feel good movie that was unique and well acted despite nothing really happening. Would 100% watch again.
Recent Comments