“Scripts are what matter. If you get the foundations right and then you get the right ingredients on top, you stand a shot… but if you get those foundations wrong, then you absolutely don’t stand a shot. It’s very rare – almost never – that a good film gets made from a bad screenplay.”
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Braveheart (1995)
Mel Gibson thought he was too old for the role of William Wallace and initially refused it. However, Paramount told him that without him, they wouldn’t have funding, so… he accepted!
The Oscars Art or Politics
The Oscars: A celebration of cinematic art – or a stage for politics and status? From its origins to its controversies, let’s explore what the Academy Awards represent and the debates they continue to spark.
Humane (2024)
A family gathers to discuss personal affairs while the environment collapses and the governments impose inhumane measures.
It cuts right to the chase but holds its punches. Humane tackles the environmental and human crisis we currently experience. In this dystopian future, mankind has managed to damage planet Earth irreparably and now faces the consequences. Netflix produced a similar one to a very dissimilar way. Nowhere (2023): https://kaygazpro.com/nowhere-2023/ focuses on one woman’s effort to survive these austerity measures, whereas Humane focuses on the way the family members fight one another and the government that never took measures to prevent this from happening but make the people pay for it – rings a bell?
Director Caitlin Cronenberg makes a decent effort to distance herself from her brother Brandon and her father David, who have significantly different cinematic styles. Her approach is not the problem. Arguably, it is Michael Sparaga’s script that is weak and undecided about what message it wants to convey – something that obviously affects all three acts.
Just a few examples: The first dinner sequence was not daring. There are cinematic family fights out there that keep you pinned on your seats. This was very… conservative. Admittedly, the second fight was much better. Then, the first plot point and how Cronenberg shows it will get your attention. I guess what they say is true. You only show your true colours when you’re with your back against the wall. So, there are strong moments and weak moments in the film. Overall, though, it is not as impactful as it could have been, despite the great cast.
It is my understanding that more films and/or series will come out addressing the way we treat this world and one another, the way we see governments, and the whole notion of “system.” We are ruining ourselves and this world, so making a film that accurately depicts that will be a Herculean task. Let’s stop the self-destruction regardless of the accuracy of the films we make.
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James Cameron
Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you’re a director. Everything after that, you’re just negotiating your budget and your fee.
The Four Stairs (1951)
Unheard of at the time and for the first time in the history of Greek cinema, a woman wears a suit and pretends to be a man.
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
When Bruno attempts to cross the street, two cars almost run him over. The scene and the reactions are entirely genuine as… two cars really did nearly run him over.
Cinema and Cultural Appropriation Whose Story Is It
Cinema has the power to tell stories that connect us, but what happens when those stories misrepresent cultures or aren’t told by the people who lived them? Let’s explore cultural appropriation in film – its impact, its controversies, and the steps toward authentic representation.
Alfred Hitchcock
“To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script, and the script.”
A City of Sadness (1989)
Tony Leung Chiu Wai’s character ended up mute and deaf because the actor couldn’t convincingly speak Taiwanese or Mandarin, and the film was shot with live sound.
The Gorge (2025)
Two snipers are tasked with spending a year on opposite sides of a gorge, making sure monstrous beings that dwell in it don’t escape.
Romantic, superficial and only a fragment of what it could have been. There is not much to say, really. And that speaks volumes about the film. Director Scott Derrickson, the man behind top-shelf horrors such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), Sinister (2012), Deliver Us From Evil (2014), and Black Phone (2021), accepted from Apple TV, a watered-down version of Silent Hill (2006) meets The Mist (2007) that is meant to appeal to Valentine’s Day couples. Why? I guess the money?
Here’s what you sign up for: a great story with a nonsensical and full of plot holes script. In Zach Dean’s script, you are watching snipers who have mastered sectors that have nothing to do with their speciality – for example, repairing automatic weapons, engineering mines, and operating a film projector of a past era that happened to have one reel in front of it that explains what happened to the place, etc.
I’d rather if I didn’t slag it off more. It just doesn’t make sense when it could have been the new Silent Hill. Shame. At least, it does one thing quite right: it doesn’t try to trick you or undermine your intelligence. The story is pretty straightforward and easily digestible, with entertaining action that will make you forget your problems for a couple of hours. Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy make a good onscreen couple, and Sigourney Weaver is amazing in whatever she does. Have low expectations, and you’ll enjoy it.
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V/H/S/ Beyond (2024)
From aliens to robots to human experiments, V/H/S/ Beyond continues the franchise’s legacy with surrealism and obscenity.
Bloody, gory, funny and entertaining. Twelve years after the first one, V/H/S/ Beyond keeps it (un)real with a main story that holds the film together like a spine and random grotesque stories that break up the main story and spice it up with diversity. Zombies, robot stars, aliens, psychopathic taxidermists… make it up to two hours of your time that will make you forget your problems.
The execution, like every other found-footage horror, is a tad problematic as, more often than not, you don’t get what it is that you are seeing. While this is arguably intentional – for technical and artistic reasons – the result remains problematic. But here’s the trick: By sitting down to watch a film like V/H/S, you know what you are signing up for. Regardless, it can get tiring for the eyes.
V/H/S Beyond maintains the franchise’s initial quality and is made with love for all horror fans.
P.S. It’s funny how Justin Long wrote an episode for it, and, more specifically, the one that the film that it is based on was heavily criticised.
P.P.S. Good to see Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel abandoning (hopefully not momentarily) woke projects.
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Louis Malle
“If you have someone on set for the hair, why would you not have someone for the words?”
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck shed tears of joy on the first day of shooting after waiting five years to see the amazing Robin Williams and Stellan Skarsgård do justice to their script.
Gladiator II (2024)
After losing everything and everyone he loves, a gladiator fights for his life and, gradually, for a Rome that belongs to its people.
Epic, yet a convoluted narratological mess. Gladiator II is a film in which many things could have been said. An epic film that should require more analysis than a simple film review. Yet, this is not the case. The beautiful soundtrack and open credits serve their purpose and prepare you for the epicness that is about to follow. But without building up, Sir Ridley Scott cuts right to it. The first epic battle is impressive, and even though it could have been a lot more emotional due to the death of his beloved one, it isn’t.
From then on, the characters’ emotions constantly change without coherence; Jugurtha, the amazing Peter Mensah (also an exceptional martial artist), dies ridiculously and inexplicably immediately, and what you have until the very end is a script that makes minimum sense. The glorious and gory battles lose their meaning from the absolute lack of historicity to revelations that make zero sense to not producing any emotion whatsoever. The production design is immaculate, the visual and sound effects amazing, and the soundtrack is beautiful, but the plot and the dialogue are, unfortunately, disastrous.
It is a shame that so many positives are overshadowed by such a bad script. It really is. Twenty-four years after the original, one would expect that Scott and Paramount would have got it right. They really didn’t.
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Morality and the Antihero
Antiheroes – symbols of justice or rebels against a broken system? This episode explores their origins, appeal, and what they reveal about our society.
Gladiator (2000)
“Aren’t I compassionate?” Joaquin Phoenix shouts at Connie Nielsen unexpectedly, and her frightened reaction is genuine.
We Only Have One Life (1958)
Although of Greek origin, Yvonne Sanson was dubbed by Theano Ioannidou because her Greek wasn’t very good.
Caddo Lake (2024)
An 8-year-old girl’s disappearance starts linking to past deaths and missing people, revealing things no one could imagine.
Mind-bending, jaw-dropping, and hair-raising. Caddo Lake will knock you out of the park! What starts as a mysterious disappearance that ostensibly leads to kidnapping ends up as a beyond-understanding reality that no one could have ever possibly known. Logan George and Celine Held wrote and directed this brilliant film that lingers way after the end credits stop scrolling down. The film’s pace and rhythm are perfect, and the way the events connect shows how much effort they put in the cutting room to stitch them all up (especially George) and present this coherent result. And making it look and sound coherent with such a script is a Herculean task. Probably one of the very few occasions where the director is also the editor, and the result is astonishing.
This is a spoiler-free review, so I can’t make comparisons with the series that knocked our socks out a few years ago. But you’ll get it when you watch it and see how George and Held succeeded in doing the same in a less-than-two-hour film. What you want to happen, what will happen, and when you want it to happen and when it will happen will skyrocket the suspense to the extreme. Of course, the story’s believability would not be possible if the actors didn’t do their part. Dylan O’Brien, Eliza Scanlen, Lauren Ambrose, Sam Hennings, Dianna Hopper, and Eric Lange believe in their vision and react to specific stimuli in a way that probably you and I would, something that increases the realism behind the paranoia.
George and Held directed episodes of the also M. Night Shyamalan-produced Servant (2019 – 2023), an extremely well-made series – and Ambrose was the lead. They have also directed episodes of Dark Matter (2024). What I want to say is that they are both accustomed to the mysterious element, the fringe, and the dark, and their work keeps getting better and better. I, for one, can’t wait for their next film.
P.S. Speaking of duos who do great, let’s hope filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead do something extraordinary soon.
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Companion (2025)
What was meant to be a relaxing weekend at a billionaire’s lakeside house turns into a nightmare for a group of friends full of secrets.
Thoroughly enjoyable, with a lot of food for thought. Marrying comedy and horror has never been easy for either the writer, director, or editor. As if making an audience laugh or scaring them is not hard enough, how much you’ll make them laugh, how much you’ll scare them and how you’ll combine these two extremes back to back is beyond understanding. This is what writer/director Drew Hancock has managed to achieve, though: to scare you and then make you laugh and the opposite — sequence after sequence after sequence. Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, Rupert Friend, and Marc Menchaca (special guest) share Hancock’s dream and deliver funny performances while going berserk when needed.
The producers behind Barbarian (2022): https://kaygazpro.com/barbarian-2022-horror-thriller/ and Hancock create a horror/comedy that fits perfectly into today’s society. In a kinda woke manner (Barbarian was kinda woke, too), it satirises women’s position in the US during the 50s and 60s (check Iris’ outfit and hairstyle), patriarchy and whatever is left of it today, our relationship with AI and the AI girlfriends/boyfriends, and the way today’s generation handles situations nowadays. The result pays off. Think of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and the human hybris in a modern and satiric version. If you are looking for a less satirical and more philosophical way to examine the relationship between AI, robotics and society, watch Alex Garland’s Ex Machina (2014).
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Censorship in Film
Is censorship in film ever justified? From the Hays Code to modern-day digital platforms, the debate continues. What should be censored, why and by whom?
Rogue Agent (2022)
A conman who pretends to be an IM5 agent and ruins women’s lives encounters one who makes it her life’s purpose to bring him down.
Shocking, gripping, utterly “life stranger than fiction.” Directors Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson bring to your screen the true story of conman Robert Freegard (James Norton), who ultimately destroyed the lives of many women and some men, and the means it took for a woman, Alice Archer (Gemma Arterton), to put him behind bars. It is an extraordinary story, given in a compelling way. Norton and Arterton make a great on-screen couple, and then rivals and the pace and rhythm of the film are perfectly balanced.
The drama, the thrill, the suspense, and the agony will keep you on the edge of your seats, constantly wanting Archer to bring him down. But it won’t be easy, and it won’t be pleasant. For almost two hours, you will stay engaged and will root for Archer, watching Freegard find ways to get away and keep ruining lives. Upon watching the film, if you want to know what has happened to him, read about the Freegard case or watch Netflix’s true crime docuseries on him called The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman (2022).
Loneliness, mental illness, trauma and other personal and professional reasons can make us lose sight of reality, weaken us, ruin us, you name it. Unfortunately, psychopaths can take advantage of that and kick us or stomp us while we are down. If that ever happens, let’s hope our people are there to protect us or be the people to protect the ones in need.
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Salting the Battlefield (2014)
Having fled Turks & Caicos, Johnny Worricker returns to the UK to face MI5 and the Prime Minister and deal with the accusations against him.
A great denouement to a long and eventful journey. After Page Eight (2011): https://kaygazpro.com/page-eight-2011/ and Turks & Caicos (2014): https://kaygazpro.com/turks-caicos-2014/, Salting the Battlefield concludes Worricker’s journey, bringing back home, facing the consequences of his actions. Of course, it’s a double-edged sword, as the government also needs to face the consequences of its own decisions. Writer/director David Hare and Billy Nigh, Helena Bonham Carter, Rupert Graves, Saskia Reeves, Judy Davis, Ewen Bremner, Felicity Jones, and Ralph Fiennes return to action to deal with unfinished business and put an end to this odyssey that has spiralled out of control.
Salting the Battlefield turns into a manhunt. From numerous cities in Germany and back to London, Worricker (Nigh) and Margot (Carter) run from the government until they come up with a plan that will benefit them as much as it would benefit the “enemy.” As expected, that proves to be more challenging than it sounds – especially when different government departments have various agendas. Pay attention to the ending. Pay attention to how this whole case concluded and ask yourselves what you make out of it.
This is the third and last chapter of Worricker’s life, and I, for one, am glad I watched it back to back. British TV at its best!
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Turks & Caicos (2014)
Having fled the UK, Johnny Worricker lives now in the Caribbean, but his resting days end when he meets a CIA agent and shadowy businessmen.
Great sequel that delivers its promises. Page Eight (2011): https://kaygazpro.com/page-eight-2011/ instigated a spy/drama trilogy with a great cast that only got better. Page Eight highlighted the US concentration camps, emphasising information that marries fact and fiction and engaging the audience with the way that information is presented.
Turks & Caicos sheds a lot more light. In a fictional way, it “explains” how these concentration camps were built. While it is a film, and all characters and particular information are fictional… it actually makes a lot of sense. You will find yourselves wondering if things could be that way. Is it where the US taxes went? Is it that kind of people that get people’s money? How much is it that we don’t know and we should?
Turks & Caicos offers a lot of food for thought. Writer/director David Hare creates an equally thought-provoking sequel that astonishes with its simplicity. Its wonderful cast: Billy Nighy, Christopher Walken, Helena Bonham Carter, Winona Ryder, Rupert Graves, Ewen Bremmer, Dylan Baker, James Naughton, Zach Grenier, and Ralph Fiennes do an excellent job and transfer you to a world that will make you think long and hard about politics, entrepreneurship, the murky or even muddy relationship between the two.
P.S. It is brilliant to read that all the actors did nothing but praise one another for their collaboration.
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Page Eight (2011)
When the head of MI5 dies, Johnny Worricker, a data analyst, discovers a political scandal of international proportions.
Excellent TV spy drama with brilliant performances. Page Eight is the first part of the trilogy. I’ll keep the reviews short as they only intend to pique your interest, just in case you haven’t watched them – and if you have, you can always watch them again.
Page Eight uncovers a scandal about the US concentration camps. What makes the film more relatable is that you know these camps existed (maybe still do?), and you know why they were there, but you don’t know much about them. Upon looking at the undisputed data, Worricker (Billy Nigh) discovers the British government’s involvement and becomes a target himself. In the meantime, his next-door neighbour (Rachel Weisz) has lost her pacifist brother in Palestine – also a British national – and he feels obliged to help her out uncover the truth. Writer/director David Hare blends the two cases naturally, creating a European spy drama that cannot leave you uninvolved. How everything evolves and what eventually happens in the end is up for you to watch and enjoy! Billy Nigh, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon, Judy Davis, Saskia Reeves, Ewen Bremner, Felicity Jones, Ralph Fiennes, and Alice Krige do a remarkable job. Highly recommended!
In a cinematic way, Page Eight brings to light dark pages of history that, on the one hand, make your blood boil. On the other hand, the film brings hope that there are people out there who won’t stop looking for and exposing the truth, regardless of the personal or professional cost. The film also sets the foundation for what is about to happen next: another series of business and financial revelations that also occur in real life while people starve or struggle to pay their taxes.
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Milk & Serial (2024)
A surprise birthday prank ends up going terribly wrong.
An hour and $800 worth of your time. Writer/director/actor Curry Barker manages to create a non-linear found-footage horror about what’s considered normal, funny, psychopathy and the indistinguishable lines in between. Surely, the budget shows throughout every sequence, and the soundtrack shouldn’t be part of the film (found footage, remember?), but Barker makes a point about the American norms, youth and society.
While the execution is expectedly problematic, the script is fun, and an hour of your life will fly by. The horrifying thing is, though, that people like Milk exist and, more often than not, they are our next-door neighbours.
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The Imitation Game (2014)
Hired by the British government, Alan Turing and a team of mathematicians race against time, trying to crack the “Enigma” code during WWII.
Full of emotion, passion, suspense, and outstanding performances! Writers Graham Moore and Andrew Hodges and director Morten Tyldum have made the nearly perfect film. Of course, that would not have been possible without the excellent main cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech, Rory Kinnear, Matthew Beard, Charles Dance and Mark Strong. Writing, directing, photography, editing and acting synthesise a marvellous film that will make you think long and hard while making you bite your nails and tear your eyes.
The Imitation Game achieves the perfect balance between science and artistic intervention. It informs the audience of the horrific events of WWII and the science behind what the team of codebreakers are trying to achieve and emotionally engages the viewer with the appalling treatment of Alan Turing, a lonely, eccentric hero who just happened to have a different sexual orientation than most. Cumberbatch deserves every praise under the sun as his performance is immaculate!
Over a decade later, the film remains unaffected by time and still cuts my breath like it did back then. A lot has changed in the UK since Turing’s era. For some time now, it has led the way in diversity and inclusion. It has nothing to do with those laws that prohibited homosexuality or marginalised other minorities, and the Royal family has apologised for what the government did to him back then.
Furthermore, the film poses an atrocious dilemma that, while it emphasises it, it cannot provide the appropriate depth as it would then be a different film. I am talking about being in the position of deciding who lives and who dies – the criteria that distinguish the strategic move from the human life itself. Imagine being in the position of either saving or condemning people. It is unclear what the effects of such decisions are. Does one feel like hope or a harbinger of doom? It is a dilemma beyond comprehension; let’s hope we never have to deal with it ever again.
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She Said (2022)
Two New York Times journalists investigate the allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
Beautiful and hair-raising at the same time. Films like She Said sometimes confuse you as to where to start. The acting? The directing? The editing? The script? The story? Let’s start with the latter. The story is shocking and utterly disgusting. What Harvey Weinstein had been doing for all those years was inhumane and monstrous. That applies to the rest of the men doing it, then and now. On the other hand, what Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey did restores the faith in humanity. That applies to the rest of the people doing it, then and now. Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s script’s non-linear narrative pulls that audience in and, engagingly, keeps them on the edge of their seats. The back and forth maintains the suspense, perpetuates it and gives a complete picture of what was happening and when, not when you want but when you need to. The credits here also go to the editor, Hansjörg Weißbrich!
In front of the camera, Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher (his last film – RIP), Jennifer Ehle, Ashley Judd, and the rest of the cast move the audience deeply with their outstanding performances, making you root for them to get to the bottom of it even if you know already what will eventually happen. Director Maria Schrader (always with Weißbrich by her side) made a daring, beautiful film where most elements work perfectly. She is a tremendous director, and She Said is not a one-off. Her also daring miniseries Unorthodox (2020): https://kaygazpro.com/unorthodox-2020-drama/, which also captivates and cuts the viewer’s breath short with its honesty, is the proof you need that her lens is not holding any punches and produces the raw intended result.
You may or may not have heard the reason why Brad Pitt was the producer of this film and Women Talking (2022): https://kaygazpro.com/women-talking-2022-drama/ (other than the performances, I had nothing good to say about that one), also made the same year. Let’s trust Justice on that one. What bothered me about She Said was that people didn’t go to the cinema to watch it. At the premiere, we all thought it would raise significant awareness, something that did not happen, and the film flopped. It’s troubling. It really is. Yet, films like She Said inspire all of us who don’t have that kind of reach to keep on writing, using our honest voice for whoever is listening or reading. So, people like Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey are people we look up to.
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Raymond Chandler
“The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of that little out and still preserve an effect of leisure and natural movement.”
All About My Mother (1999)
Once upon a time, in an Argentine theatre, the power went out, and they had to postpone the show. The actress Lola Membrives announced it to the audience and promised them that if they stayed, they would hear her life story (everyone stayed). This story is the basis for the monologue of Argado.
Daddy’s Head (2024)
A boy loses his father in a tragic accident, and he and his stepmother find themselves against a horrifying creature.
Great premise and atmosphere, but with an unsatisfying ending. Daddy’s Head is brilliantly made. Directing, photography, soundtrack, editing, acting… they all work like a Swiss watch. However, what was left outside the equation is yet another main ingredient: the script. Two-thirds of it works great! The setup and the confrontation (Act I and II) lay the foundation for an immense indie folk horror that, from time to time, cuts your breath. And when it doesn’t, it delves into the drama. Writer/director Benjamin Barfoot guides really well the main actors, Julia Brown, Rupert Turnbull and Nathaniel Martello-White, who do a great job as struggling people who try to understand what is happening while coping with loss and despair. So, everything works. Until that third part, the resolution (Act III).
The ending is arguably the most challenging part of the film. The way to climax what you have built for almost a couple of hours is integral. It is what the audience expects to see and think to themselves that what they have witnessed, endured, or experienced until the end makes sense, creating the WOW effect! Especially in horror. Open endings can cause that, too. One of the latest profound examples is Red Rooms (2023): https://kaygazpro.com/red-rooms-2023/. Open endings can make you think of that ending long after the credits roll down.
Unfortunately, Daddy’s Head‘s ending is unfulfilling, making one wonder about some of the elements of the previous acts. What was that white light against her eyes in the beginning? What about that fire that no one found? Have you watched The Hole in the Ground (2019): https://kaygazpro.com/the-hole-in-the-ground-2019-drama-horror-mystery/? The folklore concept of the Changelings rings a bell here, too, but what that creature actually is, it’s ultimately up to you to decide. The Hole in the Ground‘s ending also shares the same fate, by the way.
Barfoot, the numerous producers behind it and Shudder made horror for us to enjoy. While I find the ending unfulfilling, I do recommend it as it will keep you on the edge of your seat for the most part.
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His Three Daughters (2023)
While their father is dying, three estranged sisters try to mend fences with one another.
An impactful drama that holds its punches. Writer/director Azazel Jacobs creates a relatable family drama that gets your attention immediately and promises that things will escalate. Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen do a brilliant job as estranged sisters and, right from the start, seem at each others’ throats. But, again, with the potential to escalate to the extreme.
Personally, this promise was not delivered. An outburst set the foundation for this escalation, but it only remained the foundation. Coon, Lyonne, and Olsen have tremendous acting capabilities as they are brilliant thespians. The script, though, allowed them to express that to a certain extent. Speaking of the script, to me, the ending was, again, to a certain extent, anticlimactic. It felt like it had to spoonfeed the audience to understand the father’s anxiety or fear about his daughters. Contrastingly, what I would like to know more about is what really troubles Christina (Olsen) and acts this way.
There are some interesting artistic choices, such as when to reveal certain characters and how long to reveal them. Furthermore, the dialogue’s realism is profound, hence my negative view of its development – or lack thereof. The premise is very much relatable and the problem the three sisters face will resonate with you. So, His Three Daughters still has a lot to offer, regardless of my negative observations.
To get an idea of what I consider an earth-shattering climax in such a confined environment, see The Father (2020): https://kaygazpro.com/the-father-2020-drama/
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Third Cinema
What is Third Cinema? Emerging as a revolutionary film movement in the 60s and 70s, it challenged Hollywood’s profit-driven blockbusters and Europe’s personal arthouse films. Rooted in anti-colonial ideals, it sought to inspire change and amplify marginalized voices.
Image References
IMDb
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
When Xiao Si’r’s parents get angry, the film switches from Cantonese to Mandarin.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The scene where Andy (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman) talk in prison, and Red throws him the baseball took 9 hours to film. He threw the ball for 9 hours – without complaint! The next day, he showed up on set with a support folder.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Steven Spielberg chose Matt Damon for the role of Ryan because he wanted a relatively unknown young actor with an American look. Little did he know that by the time the film was released, Matt would be nominated for 2 Oscars and win one – Good Will Hunting (1997).
Hollywood: The Origins of the Golden Age
Hollywood – the birthplace of cinematic dreams. From Selig Polyscope’s early experiments to the rise of the Big Five studios, the Great Depression, and the Golden Age, the story of Hollywood is one of ambition, resilience, and innovation.
Image References: IMDb / The Vanity Fair / Wikipedia / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Lowlifes (2024)
A road-tripping family needs to spend the night at a local family’s house in the middle of nowhere without possibly knowing what is going to happen.
It changes the rules, but how effective is it? Structure-wise, it cuts right to the chase, building no suspense whatsoever. While that is not effective, everything else from then on is. The twist comes not long after but right in time to pique your interest.
Lowlifes is written and directed in such a manner that I can’t say much without giving away the best parts. I’ll tell you this, though… stereotypes are meant to be broken, and Lowlifes does that quite well. Despite the ineffective opening sequence, writer Al Kaplan and directors Tesh Guttikonda and Mitch Oliver do a pretty good job balancing class, values, morals, taboos, patriarchy, and… cannibalism.
This is an underrated horror that deserves the attention of every horror fan out there. Given its minimum budget, the result is profound and highly effective. Your emotional balance will be constantly switching until all is revealed to everyone involved. On top of everything, Amanda Fix, Matthew MacCaull, Brenna Llewellyn, Elyse Levesque, Josh Zaharia, Cassandra Sawtell, and the rest of the cast do a great job in front of the camera. Lastly, the ending will… well… you’ll see how you’ll feel when you get there.
You might find Keith and his family’s morals funny or think that they serve as comedy within the horror, but they are not funny, and they don’t serve that. Think of American Psycho (2000) and Patrick Bateman. When you apply specific values in your personal life and act in such a manner in society, while it creates a comedic effect, it also speaks volumes about mental state, societal norms, and, to a certain extent, national identity. Think about it.
For those who think that low budget means peanuts, check the end credits till the end and see how many have worked on a low-budget production like this. Congratulations to Tubi and all of the crew for contributing to this film. And all of them who contribute to every film we watch.
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Hugh Laurie
“Screenwriting is the most prized of all the cinematic arts. Actually, it isn’t, but it should be.”
The Platform 2 (2024)
Hundreds of inmates in a mysterious platform with hundreds of layers try to survive, attempting to distribute food equally.
The French Revolution meets “The Animal Farm” meets “Anarchy Unbound: Why Self-Governance Works Better Than You Think.” But The Platform 2 doesn’t meet its own expectations. It starts off by reintroducing the platform, its inmates, and the way the system works. Not long after, though, some things don’t add up, and soon, the audience realises that The Platform 2 is not a sequel but a prequel. So far, so good.
The two major positives are the visuals and the acting. Great cinematography and editing, and well-acted by all the characters. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, though, if the script is bad or, in this case, way too convoluted, and the things people miss keep adding up, and the questions become significantly more than the answers, everything else fails. One would expect that being The Platform 2 a prequel, it would provide some context. What is this platform? Who built it? When? Where? Why? When does it take place? What is this antigravitational technology?
To be clear (as one can be in this case), the ostensible message of The Platform (2019): https://kaygazpro.com/the-platform-2019-horror-sci-fi-thriller/ addressed the capitalistic system and, more particularly, class and wealth distribution, but it was not. The appearance of the kid, as well as what happened in the end, indicated that the people behind the system itself, the ones who think they control it, don’t. Class inequalities have now been replaced by ideological polarisation and extremism, and while that’s not an issue, a connection between the two films should have been made. The introduction of children in a similar place to the platform, the pyramid they form and the way(s) they connect to the adults create an even bigger mystery and open possibilities for more theories, providing fewer and fewer answers.
I have mapped certain theories, but surely you can find a plethora of answers online. None of them, though, can be confirmed or answer questions. Ultimately, co-writer/director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia consumes the audience with questions, such as: What is fair? Who should be in charge? Is there actually anyone in charge? Who’s free? Free to do what? From whom? How long for?
I hope you enjoy it either way. It is a couple of hours of suspenseful action that will make your problems go away. Then, back to reality…
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In a Violent Nature (2024)
A vengeful spirit takes over a corpse that belonged to a young man and kills whoever stands in its way.
Not for the faint-hearted. In a Violent Nature is sadistic, brutal, gory and pretty much disgusting. Who would recommend such a film? Definitely me! BUT… as stated above, this is not for everyone. It is for the hardcore horror fans and lovers of brutal cinematic deaths – where they should belong. So, the phenomenal opening sequence dives right into it. Slow-paced, diegetic (natural) sounds, omnipresent (invisibly following) camera capturing the action, and meticulous mise-en-scene (what you see, where, and how within the frame) promise a great horror with Jason Vorhees vibes.
What makes the film stand out is the omnipresent camera. That means the camera is everywhere, following the action wherever it takes place, the whole time. Writer/director Chris Nash “forces” the audience to experience Johnny’s every malicious intent. In a nutshell, here’s what you sign up for: vicious and ungodly murders of young men and women with utter devaluation of human life or death. Deaths so innovatively brutal that you won’t hesitate to rewind them or produce whatever kind of sound while they are happening. It is pure sadism! In a Violent Nature is one of the most bloody, gory, and brutal slashers you have ever seen. With uncut, uncensored, and peacefully paced (like the killer) slaughters.
This is basically the film; you follow around Johnny, watching him annihilate everyone. What I consider a major foul, though, is not that. I don’t know if Nash did it on purpose, but almost every character is indifferent, which makes you not care much about them when they die. And that kills the drama behind the horror. And without drama, it gets monotonous. The subplot that could have provided that drama is spreading thinner and thinner as the story unfolds, and you just wait for the next creative atrocity to happen. Finally, without giving away anything, I’ll just tell you that the ending is also anticlimactic.
Ultimately, the voyeuristic camera that forces the audience to watch, which is also the film’s strongest suit, is not enough. It distinguishes itself from The Terrifier franchise by taking the “fun” out, so you have an incarnated psychopathic demon who does not laugh or take pleasure from what it does. But one who feels nothing, like Jason Vorhees on steroids.
IFC Films and Shudder invite you to enjoy a trip to the cabin in the woods. What can go wrong, right?
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Please, don’t forget to share and subscribe. If you enjoy my work and dedication to films, please feel free to support me on https://www.patreon.com/kaygazpro. Any contribution is much appreciated and valued.
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The Order (2024)
The rise of a white supremacist group in 1983 get the attention of an FBI agent who makes it his mission to take them down.
Brilliant American indie that keeps you glued to your seats. This is very current. While I have no evidence to support the following, I can’t just accept that it’s a coincidence. With Trump coming to power – and extreme nationalism and paranoia with him – a film on the radical Christians, hate speeches and the continuation of the KKK cannot be a coincidence. Especially when it’s based on true events and real-life references are made, such as “The Turner Diaries” book, the meticulous plan to infiltrate democracy, and the Capitol invasion.
Based on the script of Zach Baylin and the book by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, director Justin Kurzel brings to life a crime/drama/thriller that hurts to watch. These are real heroes and villains that, in their way, they made a change. And these villains keep spreading like pestilence, and these heroes still fight with everything they have. The irony? Both want what’s best for their country. Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult – both Brits – Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, and the rest of the cast do an excellent job in front of the camera, incarnating those heroes and villains. Kurzel is a daring director, and while it feels like he is holding his punches here, his final cut delivers. The story and character development, and the plot, and the subplot work like a Swiss watch in all three acts. So, highly recommended for all the fans of the independent American cinema – and everyone else.
P.S. Of course, if you haven’t seen Kurzel’s debut, one of the most disturbingly realistic films made to date, you need to sit down and watch it – Snowtown (2011) https://kaygazpro.com/snowtown-2011-biography-crime-drama/.
Thanks for reading!
Please, don’t forget to share and subscribe. If you enjoy my work and dedication to films, please feel free to support me on https://www.patreon.com/kaygazpro. Any contribution is much appreciated and valued.
Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!