More
    Consultancy Services
    Scripts
    Services
    Home Blog Page 13

    Snatchers (2019)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Snatchers (2019)

    A teenage girl has sex for the first time and wakes up the next day pregnant with an alien who wants to multiply and conquer the world.

    Funny and entertaining, that’s it! Starting with living, breathing high school clichés, I couldn’t see how this would be promising. Boy, am I glad to be wrong. Snatchers might not be horror per se but, as aforementioned, it is funny and highly entertaining! Mary Nepi, Gabrielle Elyse, J.J. Nolan, Austin Fryberger, Rich Fulcher, and Ashley Argota are nailing their parts and under the meticulous guidance of the directors Stephen Cedars and Benji Kleiman, who are in full control of every shot they’ve taken, and through ‘snappy’ editing, they control the narrative’s pace and rhythm throughout all acts. I know it’s not a film that has been or will be discussed, but films like Snatchers highly indicate that editing defines principal photography. In other words, postproduction starts in preproduction, however convoluted that may sound.

    There is so much to say about specific filmmaking details, just like the one mentioned above, but honestly, I find no reason to implicate film theories when you can just enjoy it without my verbosity. It makes one wonder about the reasons behind certain malicious reviews when even just watching the trailer, you know what you signed up for. The script’s nonsensical trajectory makes actually sense as it adds to the non-believability which is actually intentional and slyly parodies similar actual horror films that most of us have grown up with.

    To sum it up, Snatchers is great fun, especially for millennials but not only. Don’t take it seriously as, again, intentionally, it doesn’t take seriously itself. Something that I actually prefer to self-righteous and self-important films that aim to pseudo-philosophise, be wannabe didactic, or end up being pedantic. Based on the 2015 6-minute homonymous short film by the same directors and main actors, Snatchers earns its stripes in the comedy/horror pantheon, and I look forward to watching Kleiman’s and Cedars’ next project. Remember, the comedy-horror balance is not written in stone, and it takes a whole village to be achieved.

    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!

    Kate (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Kate (2021)

    A female assassin races against time to find out and kill the person who poisoned her and whoever else stands in her way.

    Great fun (not) for the whole family! First, the bad news: It’s not an original script! It’s been done before in numerous variations, so it won’t shock you with its lack of authenticity. Now, for the good news…

    Mary Elizabeth Winstead kicks a$$! She’s a very talented actress, an extremely gorgeous woman, and Kate proves that there is no role she cannot take on. Her performance is remarkable, and I couldn’t help but notice her astonishing similarity with Ripley – arguably the greatest bada$$! Combined, later on, with the red eye and the half-damaged face… (you’ll see!) Speaking of great performances, Miku Patricia Martineau deserves an extra round of applause for her fearless performance! Woody Harrelson and Jun Kunimura add quality to the film by just appearing in it, and no matter what I say, it will not make them look greater than they already are.

    The fight scenes, however choreographed, are a match for the John Wick franchise, and Winstead does her absolute best to add (pseudo)realism to what usually doesn’t really look convincing. My hat off to the choreographers and the stunts that make her look even more remarkable and make something so ugly (that kind of fighting, not professional) look so beautiful.

    Umair Aleem and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan manage to write and direct, respectively, a great action flick that, surprisingly, evokes the desired feelings. Now, that is authentic! To watch a film like Kate and before, during, and after the action scenes, you feel, at times, that your heart skips a beat and your breath is short. I’ve said it numerous times: no genre can stand alone without drama. Even comedy. Especially comedy, actually. See King of Comedy (1982) if you have any doubts. Nicolas-Troyan and Winstead will make you feel for Kate as a character and as a film. Highly recommended!

    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!

    Halloween Kills (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Halloween Kills (2021)

    Michael Myers escapes from the trap he was led into and kills whoever stands in his way in the town of Haddonfield.

    David Gordon Green and Danny McBride keep the legend alive and perpetuate the thrill of Michael Myers. Great almost 20′ investment to introduce new characters and resurface some of the old ones. That’s also a great way to bridge the past and the present and move on to what will happen. The first massacre was a bit too “Hollywood” for me; too fast, too bloody… something like an out-of-context standoff that the filmmakers felt like throwing in. Before I even managed to process it properly, though, the home invasion sequence was more vicious than expected. I mean… vicious!

    After that, there is just a roller coaster of death! Haddonfield’s suppressed fear turns into exasperation; people men up and women up, respectively, and everyone gets their sequence of blood and gore. None of them couldn’t be bloodier; some are funnier than others, some are suspenseful and others not at all, but, ultimately and most importantly, Laurie Strode is back! 43 years later, Jamie Lee Curtis is still on the ball, believing in her character and John Carpenter’s original vision and comes back swinging with everything she’s got. Carpenter himself puts the producer’s hat on and immensely contributes to the horror’s perpetuation. The excerpts from his original films make all the difference in the world. Onto two crucial points, now…

    One of the franchise’s forgettable and non-canon Halloween timelines explains that Myers is not mortal on Halloween day and that he’s been taken over by a demon, and that’s why he is, ostensibly, unstoppable. Remember that that’s the only explanation ever given, until now, about Myers’ mortality. Green and McBride, though, offer a different and vague explanation of Halloween Kills. See for yourselves and interpret it however, you feel like it. It is open to interpretation anyway. I found it more philosophical than literal, but I can’t wait to hear what other people think of Laurie’s theory.

    Then, I feel there is something else that needs to be addressed. It is an underrated issue that has gone largely unnoticed. The importance of Michael’s mask. His face has not yet been disclosed, and why it is so important to him to have it on constantly. As you may be aware, I host a podcast on horror, and my next interview with the incredible psychologist Michelle Satchwell will reveal undisclosed much information about the role of masks in the horror genre, their effectiveness, and where everything derives from. Stay tuned for more…

    There are so many production details to discuss, but hey, it’s Halloween week, so all you need to do is enjoy it yourselves out there in the real world. If you decide to stay in and turn the lights off, enjoy a good night in, with Myers finding new ways to crawl under your skin. Horror should only be enjoyable in books, on the small or big screen. If you are out and about…

    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!

    The Night House (2020)

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Night House (2020)

    After her husband dies, a woman starts dreaming of people and places that reveal secrets that should have been left buried with him.

    I’ll start with the very obvious: Rebecca Hall is amazing at anything she’s in. She’s a phenomenal actress who deserves every praise. Here, she’s wearing the executive producer’s hat as well, so more ‘congratulations’ are in order. On to the story now…

    The film’s best part is that it slowly and gradually builds up the suspense. It spreads the “crumbs” so delicately that it informs, to a certain extent, misleads while, at the same time, keeping you on your toes. For example, the scene is haunting when Beth falls asleep on Claire’s lap. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Wait until the end and see where these “crumbs” lead. Writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski prepare a great finale for their already well-developed story, and director David Bruckner envisions it in an, honestly, unique and original way. Bruckner seems to always find ways to project human phobias in ways that shock and mesmerise at the same time. But don’t take my word for it. Watch his previous films, such as VHS (2012), Southbound (2015), and The Ritual (2017), and see for yourselves. He’s a brilliant director with so much to offer to the horror genre. Can’t wait for his next project.

    Definitely, go for it! It’s a refreshing change for the genre, using mainly practical effects and deviating from the standard Hollywood clichés that have damaged horror films, thankfully, not irreparably. An extra round of applause to the actors Sarah Goldberg and Vondie Curtis-Hall for their amazing support. You will not know what to look for, which is why you will not see it coming. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Happy Halloween!

    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!

    Malignant (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Malignant (2021)

    A woman starts having horrible nightmares that turn out to be visions of actual violent crimes in which she is unwillingly involved.

    Amazing opening shot followed by an hour and fifty minutes of Hollywood dumbness. I hate writing about films this way, especially horror films. I’ve said it numerous times. Horror fans might be somewhat eccentric and geeks, but we are not dumb! James Wan, especially New Line Cinema, should know and respect that. Even though the story is decent, its development is dumb, the character development is beyond understanding and that should stop! Let me rephrase: it should have stopped a long time ago. “Jump Scares” is a tool for narrative, not a narrative pattern, to build a whole film on. The same applies to the cardboard cut-out characters that no one can empathise with.

    Why is it that you hear the word ‘dumb’ and its permutations again and again? Because a solid narrative does not rely on constant music to evoke the desired emotions and feelings. That applies to every genre, in this instance, though, for both the drama and the horror unfolding in the story. Take Winnie, for example, a Hollywood typical. Ingrid Bisu, often cast by Wan, is a wonderful woman (and actress), and she pretends to be a geek who the person she has a crush on won’t even consider looking her that way. Also, she seems like a cat person who can’t find love. PLEASE! Honestly, name one girl who looks like that, is a geek, and cannot find someone (she co-wrote it, by the way).

    James Wan is a solid director. I especially love his tracking shots and his use of close-ups. But it’s not enough, though. Malignant’s script is full of plot holes, and that shows so much more on the big screen. And no filmmaking technique or decent acting can make that right. I wish I could be less harsh on the film, but trust me, I’m already holding my punches.

    P.S. OK, the prison and police station sequences were gruesomely entertaining!

    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!

    Tsotsi (2005)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Tsotsi (2005)

    When a young gangster commits a crime he never expected, he experiences emotions he never had before.

    Mise-en-scene and editing enhance the narrative, moving the story forward and emphasising the pain but also hope. Tsotsi, which, from what I read, means “thug” in Johannesburg slang, was the rightful Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year in 2006!

    When I first watched it back then, I may have had no idea about who Gavin Hood was, or may not have known about films what I know now, or even could not understand what I understand now about South Africa’s torment… but still, I was filled with tears in the end while watching it mouth agape. Tsotsi is the torn (anti)hero’s journey that will make you hate him, feel for him, and then be left with so many mixed feelings, rethinking of Boston’s “decency” – and “redemption” (my addition). Megan Hill’s editing plays a tremendous role in narratives such as this, as it paces the audience’s emotions and defines the film’s rhythm. It is a masterclass! There are so many more technical details that I could urge you to pay attention to, but no need. Let the film speak to you.

    I was fresh out of the special forces back then, and, to a certain extent, Tsotsi helped me reevaluate certain aspects of life. That is the power of cinema, and, like every other form of art, it is part of our lives, affecting it in ways we could never predict or plan. As much as I liked Hood’s Official Secrets (2019), Tsotsi remains my all-time favourite of his. Last but not least, Presley Chweneyagae’s realistic incarnation of Tsotsi will make you forget he is acting. Enjoy the thrill!

    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!

    My Son (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    My Son (2021)

    After suspecting that his son has been kidnapped, a father does everything in his power to find him.

    A parent’s worst fear depicted in a sorrowful yet mysterious way. James McAvoy could not be a mediocre actor even if he tried his best. The guy is phenomenal! His acting is out of this world. Writer/director Christian Carion, who adapted his own homonymous film My Son (2017), applied the same technique he did back then: Everyone but McAvoy had received the script, so his reactions to every stimulus of the story are genuine. On to that story, then…

    The first act concerns the missing boy, the parents’ tribulations, the mother’s new boyfriend, and their triangle. Somewhere there, you get the odd questions from Inspector Roy that start complicating the issue further, but the focus, rightfully, stays on the parents and the missing boy. Until then, the drama and the mystery are well-balanced, and one can only feel for both of them and hope for a happy ending. Imagine: I hate happy endings, and I most certainly wished for one.

    The second act is taken over by mystery, where McAvoy, like Liam Neeson, applies some basic investigating skills without a plan but is hell-bent on finding his son. The outcome of his actions is natural and believable as he has not previously displayed any similar skills whatsoever, just a dad willing to do anything to find his son. Eventually, it turns into a nail-biting thriller that, in the end… confuses with the turn of events. There might not be a narrative twist, but there is an emotional one. Personally, I found myself wondering how the ending was befitting, and even though I understood it to some degree, it evoked mixed feelings inside me. It seemed somewhat rushed, and even though Act I and II bothered to explain what was going on – which you might find unnecessary – it abruptly ended, giving away nothing. Again, I understand open endings, but I struggled, and still do, to find meaning in that one. But that is just me.

    I hope you enjoy the thrill it offers and yet another stupendous performance from McAvoy. Quick note: I’ve praised Claire Foy in everything she has been in before, and her acting here is nothing but remarkable, too. I just think that she deserved more screen time.

    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!

    Reminiscence (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Reminiscence (2021)

    A private investigator with access to people’s memories unfolds a conspiracy that also involves the disappearance of his beloved woman.

    Interesting yet intricate plot that tells more than it shows. What has happened, but not to the full extent, becomes pretty straightforward from the very beginning. Until the inciting incident, a sci-fi, neo-noir unfolds that emphasises nostalgia. Once it becomes clear what the story is about, the plot and the subplot become respectively unclear. I struggled to figure out which is which. One is a decent love story, and the other is a decent crime one. But which one is the plot? And what are they together if both of them are the plot? Or the subplot? See the confusion?

    There is a jigsaw waiting to be put in order, and Hugh Jackman, Thandiwe Newton, Rebecca Ferguson, and (the massively underrated) Cliff Curtis do a great job putting it together, but the film’s imbalance and the editing’s rhythm and pace do not help. Director Lisa Joy, the woman behind Westworld (2016-2022) gets Newton and Angela Sarafyan on board and even though she did a very decent job putting it together the result was not probably exactly what she hoped for. That said, the extremely poor box office does not reflect on that result – Budget: $54,000,000 (estimated) / International Box Office: $11,900,000. You will not regret watching it, so go for it.

    Here’s another one for you. At times, it felt like this was a film about Hugh Jackman, who, in his fifties, still looks the same awesome, well-trained, good-looking man he was ten and twenty years ago. I’m not saying this is positive or negative, but it becomes yet another factor that takes the focus away from the story and, consequently, distracts. Again, I hope you forget your problems for about two hours and enjoy it.

    P.S. Fun fact: Lisa Joy is the wife of Jonathan Nolan, brother of Christopher Nolan, who directed Hugh Jackman in Prestige (2006)

    P.P.S. Fun fact 2: Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson worked together before in The Greatest Showman (2017)

    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!

    Unhinged (2020)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Unhinged (2020)

    A road rage incident makes an unstable man go berserk on a young mother and everyone she cares about.

    Intense and brutal action/thriller with a bat-sh*t crazy Crowe! The film doesn’t lack anything. Great performances, relatable characters, chase sequences, realistic violence, and great editing pace and rhythm. Yet, it didn’t do that well at the box office, but I guess being one of the first theatrical release entries after the US lockdown is the main reason. Director Derrick Borte envisages this horrific American reality: Russell Crowe and Caren Pistorius go full throttle against each other on screen, and the result is definitely worth your time. It is not a film you’ll be constantly talking about after the end credits start scrolling down, but it’s a great addition to the series of thrillers/horrors where someone… unhinged, with unknown motives, goes after the hero/ine while committing atrocities. I can’t hide that my favourite one is Steven Spielberg’s original Duel (1971).

    To cut a long story short, I greatly enjoyed it and highly recommend it to suspense lovers like myself. Rachel’s decisions occasionally annoy, but it’s not her fault, as the Hollywood-type script dictates such decisions. Unfortunately, we live in a world where road rage has spread like pestilence, and it’s everywhere. Hideous crimes happen daily on the streets just because someone happened to hit the break abruptly. It’s shocking, horrible, uncivilised, and inhumane. Watching Unhinged and saying “reality is worse” is not encouraging. We all need to chill the f@€% out.

    P.S. For those who think that Crow has completely let himself go, please know that he had been consulting a dietitian to achieve that result throughout the film.

    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!

    Other People (2016)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Other People (2016)

    An underachieving gay writer returns home after many years to support his terminally ill mom… and face the rest of the family.

    The type of American cinema that knows what to cut out, when, and how to balance feelings. Succeeding in comedy/drama is as complex as making a comedy/horror. And Other People will make you laugh as much as it will make you cry. Jesse Plemons and Molly Shannon make an excellent on-screen duet, and writer/director Chris Kelly allows them to shine and evoke all the intended emotions.

    Tragicomedy describes all three acts with little things such as the milkshake order, which in its simplicity I found genuinely hilarious, or mum farting. The dialogues are authentic, and the performances are immense. There is so much I could say about connecting film theories on cinematic realism to independent American cinema, but I see no reason to do so. Therefore, I’ll keep this one shorter than usual and hope you get the chance to watch it, laugh and cry and, respectively, recommend it to as many people as possible to share your experience. Because, as we tend to think, real-life events such as the ones unfolding in the film are situations experienced only by… other people.

    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!

    Joe Bell (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Joe Bell (2021)

    A father from Oregon makes it a mission to walk to New York and preach along the way against bullying after his teenage son gets tortured for being gay.

    Mixed feelings throughout all three acts. Right off the bat, from the first flashbacks, the first impression is that a working-class dad who surprisingly supports his son for being gay does not support him enough to have him parade it in his front yard. Therefore, my question was: his problem was showing it off? Then, I thought to myself that it is biographical, so if this is how it was, this is how it was. Then, I got a different problem. As the story develops, I thought that it doesn’t let you think for yourself at all; it spoon-feeds you the message all the way through. It forces you to side with Jadin by telling you – not showing you – who the “bad” guy is and who the “good” guy is in a black-or-white manner. Then, there is another “then”: Jadin accusing Joe of not being supportive enough, and Joe accusing Jadin of not handling it (in the present era) creates a vague grey area in the film’s otherwise “black or white” scheme for the supportive people but questions their level of support. Here’s my two cents in general…

    People, and more specifically bullies, need to feel what it is like to be bullied without being bullied, hated or criticised for thinking and acting the way they do. They need to understand that, to other people, they are as different as the people they pick on. I did some research and this is what the real Joe Bell tried to do. He was non-violently preaching against it because his son faced the consequences, and he wanted, to his best abilities, to make the world a better place. A friendly for all of us place so no one has to suffer what his son did, and, consequently, any other boy, girl, man, woman, or non-binary person out there.

    However, Mark Wahlberg as Joe Bell, the late Larry McMurtry (RIP) and Diana Ossana’s script, and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s directing do not reflect that. Joe Bell does not know where to focus and massively holds back on the emotions it means to evoke. Take, for example, when his mother, Lola (Connie Britton), finds out. This should have been the moment where the toughest one breaks. And one wonders, how can this be with so many A-list names wearing the producer’s hat: Mark Wahlberg, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, and 17 more…

    To cut a long story short, Joe Bell makes it more about Joe Bell rather than his incredibly noble and courageous mission. Ironically, he says it himself to the sheriff while opening up. And he keeps doing it. Shame really as if it wasn’t for this film I, and potentially hundreds of thousands of others, wouldn’t have known about this mission. But the real shame is that his mission’s message doesn’t really permeate. It does not sink in; therefore, there is nothing much to take away from it. And the Bell family’s story is absolutely f@£$!^% tragic!

    I really do hope each of us finds an honourable way to make this world feel like… home. For everyone!

    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!

    Don’t Breathe 2 (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Don’t Breathe 2 (2021)

    A gang of highly skilled killers invades the blind man’s house to kidnap his daughter, not knowing what he is capable of.

    Worthy sequel shot in a standard Hollywood manner. Acting first: Stephen Lang is an incredible actor. That’s it.

    Moving on to the plot, it gets trickier. The first act sets a thrilling foundation that promises horrific brutality that potentially matches the first. The first plot point’s protracted tracking shot increases the tension while making it obvious what will happen next. And what is actually happening is quite brutal. As brutal as promised, though? Yes! So, what are the differences with Don’t Breathe (2016)?

    Don’t Breathe 2 is a lot more far-fetched but reasonable enough for a sequel. Not a problem, it’s expected. Then… In the first one, what we have is poor, untalented boys and girls – harmless thieves who have no idea what they are up against – enter the blind man’s house whose intentions are revealed to be shockingly sinister and unfathomably perverse. In Don’t Breathe 2, the competition is way tougher and, against all odds, he is (somehow) the victim – even though the twist and, consequently, the intentions come to a tad early. But the confrontation (act 2) is not restricted to just a house and develops the story and leads it even further than expected, to, actually, extremely unexpected paths. As I can’t say much about the plot’s development, I’ll focus on the one thing that got me asking: What the hell was going on in writer/director Rodo Sayagues’ head while balancing the characters’ morality? What everyone has done, is doing, and what is about to do is just beyond me. And I leave you with that. From a filmmaking point of view, there is nothing much to say. Other than the aforementioned protracted shot, nothing much stands out. From a narrative point of view, the film walks a tightrope, risking to lose the audience by tipping the scales as to who to root for – the morality issue.

    Watch it and see for yourselves what I mean. It does not necessarily mean that it’s “good” or “bad”, that’s hardly ever the case anyway. Overall, I found it enjoyable and do recommend it. It’s the kind of morbid entertainment that doesn’t come even remotely close to the horrific reality we are currently facing.

    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!

    The Woman in the Window (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Woman in the Window (2021)

    An agoraphobic woman witnesses a crime that, to take action, she will have to face her deepest fear.

    Interesting premise and great acting, yet it fails to deliver on many fronts. Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Wyatt Russell are great. That’s the elephant in the room. Tracy Letts’ script and Joe Wright’s directing create a significant issue, though: they increase, by the minute, the distance between the audience and Anna – admittedly, not intentionally. The close-ups and the Dutch angles, the tracking shots, and the low and high angles are plenty. It would be exciting to ask the editor, Valerio Bonelli, about his experience editing it. It feels like its pace is all over the place, and its rhythm is like a song you want to like, but you are too confused to dance to it. Bonelli seems like the person who puts together scattered pieces of visuals that the filmmakers had no idea what to do with. That causes the twists not to be able to find their place in the plot, and consequently, they lose their gravitas. The fact that A.J. Finn’s book has been receiving rave reviews and the film nothing but scathing makes Wright’s film a mediocre adaptation for the big screen. I haven’t read the book, though; therefore, I cannot really comment on that, just putting it out.

    This character-driven story shouldn’t have been Brian DePalma meets Alfred Hitchcock, but Body Double (1984) meets Rear Window (1954). It’s a real shame to have so many talented people involved in front and behind the cameras and get that head-scratching result. There are too many techniques and influences that, ultimately, cancel each other out and leave the audience indifferent, at best. In the end, I didn’t know if the plot’s drama or the final cuts made me want to cry. I’ll go with the latter.

    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!

    Upstate Story (2018)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Upstate Story (2018)

    A peek at the week of a man who struggles to go through it.

    Well-written story that deserves some budget to take off. Upstate Story is the case where the script is better than the film. Not because writer/director Shaun Rose doesn’t have the skills to pull it off, but strictly due to budgetary restraints that don’t allow him to develop it the way he envisioned it.

    Upstate Story surfaces an enormous problem many people fail to address and, consequently, deal with unfulfillment. The notion that we could have done so much more with our lives if we were just given the chance. What makes it worse is asking, to the point of begging, for this chance from people who have been given that chance and didn’t deserve it, to begin with. And then time goes by, and that chance seems further and further away, sucking, at first, our energy and then our lives like a black hole of despair. And while these nihilistic thoughts consume us like woodworms, during these darkest hours, Upstate Story‘s hidden positivity urges us to always hang onto whatever we consider a lighthouse in our lives and be guided by it so we don’t crash on the rocks.

    Ellis Martin is a real-life, relatable character who can be developed into a person who one day will find the purpose he so eagerly seeks and write a book called “Against All Odds” or “Finding the Strength”, but he can also become the person who grabs a gun and enters a mall. He represents a surprisingly huge portion of people out there who have unexplored skills that could make all the difference in the world. A person’s thoughts represent them, and Ellis’ choice of words renders him the poster child of the endless Freudian battle between id, ego, and superego.

    Yes, a few minutes from here and there could be shaved off in the cutting room, and yes, a lot more could have been done to make it visually more impressive, but that leads us back to the no-budget-indie-filmmaking issue. Just try to be in the hero’s shoes for an hour and, maybe imagine that this minimalism expresses and represents countless people who struggle with a dead-end nine-to-survive job. If it were a small-budget film, it would have swept through the festivals and be an Oscar bait if Billy Bob Thornton was in it. Even so, it was selected as a semi-finalist at the Los Angeles Cinefest and proud winner of the Feature Film Silver Award at CINEMAFEST 2018.

    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!

    Friday the 13th – An Unlucky Day (?) and the Birth of an Instant Classic

    Kay
    -
    0

    Tonight, Michelle Satchwell comes back once more with intriguing information regarding Friday the 13th, both as a day and as a film. Is it actually an unlucky day? Does it still impact us and the society we live in? What made it a great horror film back then, and why is it still considered a cult today?

    https://open.spotify.com/episode/5VB6cIflDlxov3nxFYYlWB

    References

    Michelle’s book: Psychology Review: A-level Exam Skills and Practice Paperback – 30 Oct. 2020 ISBN-10: 1398308013

    Baron-Cohen, S (2001). Theory of Mind in normal development and Autism. Department of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, Cambridge. 

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238603356_Theory_of_Mind_in_normal_development_and_autism

    Yuki, Metal (2007). Are the windows to the soul the same in East and West? Cultural differences in using the eyes and mouth as cues to recognise emotions in Japan and United States. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (43), pp 303 -311. 

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222549401_Are_the_windows_to_the_soul_the_same_in_the_East_and_West_Cultural_differences_in_using_the_eyes_and_mouth_as_cues_to_recognize_emotions_in_Japan_and_the_United_States

    Rosenthal, A. M. (1964). Thirty-eight witnesses: The Kitty Genovese Case. Melville House Publishing. https://www.mhpbooks.com/books/thirty-eight-witnesses/

    In-group and Out-group in Social Identity Theory (in reference to bullies); Tajfel, H (1979). Individuals and groups in psychology. British Journal of Social and Critical Psychology (18), pp 183 -190. 

    https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1979.tb00324.x

    Skinner, B, F (1948). ‘Superstition’ in the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Psychology (38), pp. 166 -172. 

    https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1948-04299-001

    (Behaviourists / Learning Theory Approach) Negative Reinforcement in Operant Conditioning of phobias; https://www.psychologyhub.co.uk/the-behavioural-approach-to-explaining-and-treating-phobias-the-two-process-model-including-classical-and-operant-conditioning/

    (Social Learning Theory Approach) Role Models; 

    https://gcse-psychology.fandom.com/wiki/Social_Learning_Theory_-_Phobias

    (Cognitive Approach) Confirmation bias; https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/seeing-what-others-dont/201905/the-curious-case-confirmation-bias

    (Anomalistic Approach) Discriminative stimulus; https://www.murdoch.edu.au/news/articles/on-friday-the-13th-leave-the-superstitions-at-home


    (Psychodynamic Approach in relation to the Mother-Son bond) Oedipus Complex in Phallic Stage of Psychosexual Development; Freud, S (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. Standard Edition (7), pp. 123 – 246. https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Freud_SE_Three_Essays_complete.pdf
    (Psychodynamic Approach in relation to the Mother-Son bond) Schizophrenogenic Mother; Fromm-Reichmann, F (1948) Notes on the development of treatment of schizophrenics by psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Psychiatry, 11(3), 263–273.

    (Evolutionary Approach in relation to the Mother-Son bond) Bowlby, J. (1956). Mother-child separation. Mental Health and Infant Development, 1, 117 – 122. 

    https://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html

    (Evolutionary Approach in relation to the Mother-Son bond) Bowlby, J. (1944). Forty-four juvenile thieves: Their characters and home life. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 25(19-52), 107-127. 

    https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Forty-four-juvenile-thieves%3A-their-characters-and-Bowlby/ecc5eeaef75614e4129f0088bb472c5de2a7800c

    Uncanny Valley

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-uncanny-valley-human-look-alikes-put-us-on-edge/

    SOCIOLOGY SPECIFIC:
    Stephen: The murder that changed a nation. (2018). https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b0br42 (Three part documentary looking at institutional racism in the UK in the 1990s). 

    Halo effect; Thorndike, E (1920). The constant error in psychological ratings. Teachers College, Columbia University. http://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/biases/4_J_Applied_Psychology_25_(Thorndike).pdf

    Anti-school subcultures and working class as bullies; Willis, P (1977). Learning to Labour. Columbia University Press Edition https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/classic-texts-paul-willis-learning-to-labour-1977
    Anti-school subcultures form in working class; Mac an Ghaill (1994). The making of men. Oxford University Press. 

    https://hecticteachersalevelsociologysite.wordpress.com/roles-and-processes-in-school/student-sub-cultures/

    Youth buy their identity; Polhemus, T. Supermarket of Style. http://www.tedpolhemus.com/main_concept5%20467.html

    GENERIC:

    Paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday 13th); https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-friday-the-13th-phobia-paraskevidekatriaphobia-or-friggatriskaidekaphobia/

    Triskaidekaphobia (fear of number 13); https://www.verywellmind.com/triskaidekaphobia-2671880

    Tetraphobia (fear of number 4); https://people.howstuffworks.com/number-4-unlucky.htm

    Heptadecaphobia (fear of number 17); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heptadecaphobia

    Frequency of Friday 13th; https://www.inverse.com/article/26371-friday-the-13th-upcoming-dates

    History behind Friday 13th and social impact; https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/friday-the-13thhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/what-is-friday-13th-superstition-facts-sciencehttps://people.howstuffworks.com/friday-thirteenth.htm
    https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/do-you-fear-now-that-friday-the-13th-is-here.html

    How odd: We’re hard-wired to prefer even numbers; https://www.wired.co.uk/article/alex-bellos

    Male nudity; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080761/trivia

    Lunacy etymology; https://www.etymonline.com/word/lunacy

    Let Him Go (2020)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Let Him Go (2020)

    After losing their only son and their remarried daughter-in-law moves away against her will with their grandson, a retired sheriff and his wife set out to bring them back.

    An amazing on-screen couple in a suspenseful yet emotionally superficial story. My suspicions about the depth started with the inciting incident, which was the death of their son. It would have really made me cry if writer/director Thomas Bezucha let Kevin Costner be the actor he really is and then cut to Diane Lane’s response. A father losing his only son is a scene that would break anyone in half. Let alone followed by the mother’s reaction. And Let Him Go… lets it go quite easily – no pun intended. I get the hard-macho-old-sheriff-ranch man who doesn’t show many feelings, but they develop strong bonds with their sons (and daughters).

    Having said that, what Bezucha does well is build up the suspense. The moment they start asking about Donnie Weboy, it gets quite intense. It gets, actually, surprisingly intense. Then they made it to dinner with the Weboys, where I could hear the heartbeat. I say no more about that because you must watch it for yourselves. But the emotions keep fluctuating throughout and neither build up nor reach climax. It’s a shame, really, because the story has all the right ingredients that are lost in the plot’s development.

    Diane Lane and Kevin Costner were a great couple as Clark Kent’s parents and are a great couple here as well. They play it really well from the beginning of the motel room to the revenge. Let Him Go is definitely worth watching. Even though it could dwell on the drama a lot more, it most definitely transcends the difference between the way men and women think and how that affects them both. Plus, the final scene in the house pays off.

    But forget what I or anyone else thinks about it and, as I said, have a go at it. Lane and Costner are in the same film. In the meantime…

    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!

    Lorelei (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Lorelei (2021)

    A man who just came out of prison is trying to rehabilitate, but life seems to have more downs than expected.

    Working-class problems and unfulfilled dreams are portrayed in a disjointed way. Watching it, I tried to figure it out. I was wondering… why do I find it disjointed? Halfway there, it somewhat hit me. It felt like writer/director Sabrina Doyle hadn’t experienced what she had written and directed. And, if I’m mistaken, and she has, she hasn’t been able to translate it to the screen. The same applies to Pablo Schreiber and Jena Malone’s capacity as executive producers because, as actors, they are doing a fine job, but as producers, they should have contributed, I believe, a lot more. They are really great actors, but Doyle’s script and directing tie their hands behind their backs. I honestly feel like the film misses the depth it deserves, and both Schreiber and Malone shine. Schreiber especially puts a lot of physical and emotional effort into it. Malone, on the other hand, is amazing as she always has been in every film she’s been in.

    Regardless of what I say, though, Lorelei did critically well, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Sounds contradictory? I couldn’t be happier about a film doing well that deals with working-class issues, second chances, and chasing dreams. And that’s what it deals with at the end of the day: The chances we have been looking for in life that we were never afforded. The dreadful questions every morning when we struggle to get out of bed: what have I done wrong, or why can I not fix it? Lorelei‘s intentions are honest and even though it could have been made differently, it still urges the viewers to go after their dreams. I hope one day we all manage to stay up all night and watch the sunrise from the ocean.

    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!

    The Forever Purge (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Forever Purge (2021)

    Most pro-Purgers take the law into their own hands and extend the New Founding Fathers of America’s tradition… indefinitely.

    The burning issues of modern society under the microscope of a tired annual blood holiday. I liked the opening credits’ titles, to be fair, as they were creative and summed up many of the issues we currently face that either make us ashamed of ourselves, depress us, enrage us, or cut our breath short. This Purge, though, doesn’t build up like its predecessors did, and the reason is none other than the obvious: this purge does not end; it is merely the beginning. And as much as this could be something refreshing in the franchise, it ends up being pedantic, to say the least. It lacks depth and premasticates the meaning for you, intending to unnecessarily lead and intentionally prevent you from thinking for yourselves.

    Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the honest message behind it, but I don’t appreciate how Hollywood undermines the audience’s intelligence. I don’t like badly criticising films that dozens of talented people have starred in and thousands of also talented people have worked in all three stages of production. For example, the two-and-a-half-minute shot is remarkable, and even though it has been done before and has been done better, the fact still remains that both cast and crew have put their hearts and souls into it. Producers Michael Bay and Jason Blum should give a lot more credit to those who spend money and time on their entertainment. Like me, all horror fans and cinephiles want to appreciate at least a decent cinematic experience. That’s all we ask. They are talented filmmakers with years of experience under their belt, and I would be honoured if I were to work with them. Films like The Forever Purge, though, feel more like capitalising on the decay our world experiences rather than urging people to think about why they feel or act the way they do and where they stand in a world that craves diversity and unity.

    Writer James DeMonaco and the studios should have ended the franchise a long time ago, but I’ll leave you with a positive note. If you make it to the closing credits, blast the music and enjoy! It’s an awesome and meaningful song!

    P.S. Still, my thoughts and prayers go out to the people who suffer from real-life horrors and dramas, such as the unspeakable wildfires that swallow everything in their path and their aftermath!

    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!

    Blood Red Sky (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Blood Red Sky (2021)

    Hijackers take over a plane, not possibly knowing that there’s a woman on board suffering from a monstrous illness.

    Unique, gripping, and, if you ignore logic at certain points, a great R-rated entertainment. The film starts with a meaningful flashback that serves the narrative perfectly and builds up the heroine’s backstory. The fast-edited shots right before, though, don’t do it too much justice, as we are meant to get thrilled about something we know nothing about. Then it starts pacing and finding rhythm even with the flashback within the flashback. Well, you are about to watch the following: a vampire with a kid, before fully turning, unleashes the beast inside her in a hijacked plane full of civilians and trained assassins! As an audience, you just hope the filmmakers don’t blow it out of proportion and stick to the strong plot that the dramatic yet horrifying subplot supports so well. Does it, then?

    Before I go into it, Peri Baumeister is the first one who deserves praise. Her role is extremely challenging, and she absolutely nails it. Her performance is terrifying as it is dramatic, which is exactly what her character should be. Writer/director Peter Thorwarth and co-writer Stefan Holtz are next on the list for coming up with and bringing this project to life. It is something that we most certainly haven’t seen before. Due to its uniqueness, the film takes an entirely unexpected turn where everything goes. And indeed, everything does go. Some bits and bobs may not add up, but come on, don’t go too hard on it. It’s trying to fool no one, and the dramatic level matches the horrifying. Try to think of it as Die Hard (1988) meets Blade II (2002), and you’ll definitely enjoy it.

    I very much enjoyed the diversity and, especially, the role of Muslims, as, for a change, it breaks the stereotypes and portrays them as they can be in real life: scientific and/or heroic like any other religious or non-religious human being.

    P.S. My thoughts and prayers right now go out to the people who suffer from real-life horrors and dramas, such as the unspeakable wildfires that swallow everything in their path and their aftermath!

    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!

    The Vanishing (2018)

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Vanishing (2018)

    A wooden chest of gold and greed initiates a chain of events leading to the disappearance of the three lighthouse keepers.

    Intense, dark, suspenseful, unpredictable, and superb performances! The Vanishing becomes a thrilling treat because it’s based on the mystery of the Flannan Isles’ actual lighthouse keepers and their controversial logbooks. The film’s beauty is that even though you know what will happen in the end (the title and tagline imply it), it makes you want to know the speculation of what will become of them. The “when” and “how” alone intensify the suspense and overshadow what we think is obvious. Furthermore, the shockingly realistic performances make you want the resolution delayed so you can see more of Peter Mullan, Gerald Butler, and Connor Swindells on screen. Special mention deserves the editor Morten Højbjerg, who knows when to cut and, more importantly, where not to. His editing focuses on the performances and lets the shot “breathe” enough so you can get the full experience of the thespians. My only objection is the ending, which, I believe I speak for all of us when I say we were really looking forward to it. I found it anticlimactic when so much could have been done with it. Even though the script is the most obvious candidate to take the fall here, director Kristoffer Nyholm should have been the one to expand further and give the film the open ending it deserves. Unfortunately, this is not the case, but that’s what I think. Maybe you’ll feel otherwise.

    Maybe we’ll never find out what became of them 120+ years ago, but upon watching it, we can tell with certainty that films like this showcase Butler’s true talent without having to water down his striking Scottish accent. Hollywood should have utilised his skills more in films like this than in typical cash cows. Having said that, Greenland (2020) was realistically terrifying and he and Morena Baccarin were excellent leads. The same applies to Mullan, whose versatility is undeniable – see Ozark (2017) – and he’s breathtaking in everything he’s in.

    Definitely worth the shot for an intriguing night full of mystery and a show-don’t-tell lesson that everything comes with a price.

    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!

    Gaia (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Gaia (2021)

    Two forest rangers go deep into a jungle where nature is an ancient force to be reckoned with.

    Visually stunning with a convoluted yet powerful message. Great opening sequence that warns: If you were not born in this jungle… Do. Not. Enter. You would never guess! They did (face slap). Well, just think of it this way: if they hadn’t, we wouldn’t have watched it, and I wouldn’t have reviewed it. So, does Gaia live up to its expectations?

    From a filmmaking point of view, you get Dutch angles, 180-degree reverse angles, drone long shots, tracking shots… everything! While we are at it, Jorrie van der Walt’s photography is truly admirable. This will probably be the first time you watch a film with the aspect ratio changing four times to cover the forest’s vastness to the heroes’ most claustrophobic feelings and deepest fears. Leon Visser edits the film with mastery, maintaining continuity, battling confusion, and effectively building up the suspense. His work’s peak, though, is the hallucinatory montage sequences that create micro-narratives within the macro-narrative and make us feel even more lost in a reality that has nothing to do with ours. Costume designer Mariechen Vosloo also deserves a round of applause as everything Barend, Stefan, and Gabi (later on) wear is handmade! Kudos to their fantastic effort. Finally, Pierre-Henri Wicomb’s original music, the art department, the sound department, the visual department, the make-up department, and all the cast crew deserve tremendous recognition as, without their hard work, this film, like any other film, wouldn’t have been made.

    Writer Tertius Kapp and director Jaco Bower have created a world in the heart of our world with plenty of visuals and strong opinions. Somewhere in between, Bower felt like constantly teasing us with Stefan and Gabi’s sexual tension and for better or for worse, he left us hanging. Maybe one of the reasons is the focus on the message. I will not go into it as you need to pay attention to Barend’s monologues on civilisation. They are as powerful as they are intriguing. Utterances like these, written in lockdown, leave quite a bitter taste because they carry dark and painful truths that came to the surface while feeling like living in isolation, as many people experienced. As per IMDb, the lockdown was announced a week into the shooting, so most of the crew parted ways at different times and went to different places. The film’s message expresses that loss we all felt – some more than others – and the aforementioned truths sting us, as well as the society we live in. There is a poignant accusation in the Biblical references and the way we have been functioning as humans, individually but also collectively. There is a great resemblance to In the Earth (2021); there is much to compare and contrast. I found Gaia‘s ending psychologically brutal but depressingly befitting.

    How this pandemic affected our lives and, consequently, filmmaking has already started showing, but I have a feeling that its full force has yet to strike, and it’s still patiently building up. As much I adore dark, horror films, deep down, it aches when you know how many people have unfathomably suffered (especially) the last couple of years. The news broadcasts daily from drama to horror, and the child inside me wishes these genres belonged only to the cinema. I hope you are keeping well wherever you are, whatever you do.

    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!

    Pig (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Pig (2021)

    A truffle hunter who lives alone in the woods returns after many years to the city that once gave him a reputation after his pig gets kidnapped.

    Pig is the kind of film that, when you know nothing about it, you get a surprising cinematic experience. Well, you get that with most Nicolas Cage films anyway, but the narrative looks like Pig was written for Cage, and that’s it. Therefore, unexpected narrative + Cage = double the surprise!

    I will just give you a one-line summary and keep it short to avoid spoiling the crucial parts. The once best and hard-as-nails chef in Portland, who also had an extraordinary reputation in underground restaurant fights (???) and once disappeared into the woods, resurfaces himself, raising hell when his pig gets kidnapped. I mean… WTF?! How does one green-light such a concept? How does one even conceive it, to begin with? It sounds like writer/director Michael Sarnoski, a David Lynch fan, liked John Wick (2014), smoked a couple, and then put it together. Remember, everything is happening because someone stole his pig. How does Lynch come into play? The two Cage monologues. The first one sounds completely irrelevant – or is it? It was as if Rob listened to a different story and recited something from a different movie. Check Amir’s reaction that reflects the audience’s. This brings us to the second one, which is all about Chef Derek’s (David Knell) close-up reaction as the story evolves. His reaction is priceless. That is Lynch through and through, and Sarnoski brilliantly encapsulates it.

    There is so much I could say about this film, but I won’t. I’ve already said enough, and it will just ruin the experience. Principal photography lasted 20 days, and all cast and crew had to work like a Swiss watch as the budget was tiny. And after they actually did, about an hour was taken out in the cutting room because Neon thought it was too long.

    Definitely worth the watch! Will you find meaning, eventually? Only if you put your phones down, turn the lights off, and understand why Rob’s journey takes place. A journey explicated though his stories and attitude towards people and circumstances. But also… what the pig means to him and why. I hope you enjoy it!

    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!

    Arctic (2018)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Arctic (2018)

    Long after his plane crash-landed in the Arctic, a man must decide whether to stay at the crash site or set out for the unknown to seek help.

    The European way of unfolding a narrative with a touch of Scandinavian darkness and a taste of Icelandic identity. Writer/director Joe Penna and writer/editor Ryan Morrison have beautifully paced the drama that leads to the fork that saves your life or points you to certain death. And regardless of what road you take, you can’t know which is which. Until it’s probably too late… Penna and Morrison have been collaborating since the beginning of their career to this very day. If you haven’t watched their sci-fi Stowaway (2021), you definitely need to. Special mention deserves the cinematographer Tómas Örn Tómasson – native Icelander – who knows exactly what he needs to shoot and how. All three collaborate perfectly behind the camera and give you great value for your money.

    While the crew works tirelessly behind the camera, the person in front of the camera who cuts your breath is none other than the highly expressive and diverse Mads Mikkelsen. All the struggle, frustration, agony, and horror are written on his forehead while he’s trying to keep it together and save both their lives. Seeing is believing, so go for it and see for yourselves.

    Arctic, Penna’s feature film debut, rightfully received a 10-minute standing ovation at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Interestingly, I watched George Clooney’s The Midnight Sky (2020) only a few months ago, and I couldn’t help but compare the differences and similarities. As much as it’s tempting to present them or some of them now, I’ll resist. They are, essentially, different films, and for various reasons, I liked them both. If you watch or have watched them both, though, ask yourselves this: What drives you? What is it that keeps you going through life’s hardship? When all hope seems lost, how do you find the strength to “squeeze hard”? Don’t undermine Clooney either, as both he and Penna present the world through their lens. As we experience life through our eyes.

    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!

    Fear Street – Part Three: 1666 (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Fear Street – Part Three: 1666 (2021)

    Through Sarah Fier’s eyes, Deena experiences the horrors she had to endure and discovers how the curse of Shadyside really began.

    The entertaining horror finale in the trilogy of entertaining horrors! Beware of what you read before watching it, though! My beloved Ioanna urged me to watch it, so here it goes. Have the exact expectations for Part One and Part Two, and you will not regret watching it if you like the other two. Let me start with the most essential element. The similarities to 1978 – certain narrative juxtapositions – are meant to be striking to remind us that there are people out there who would still go after you with modern torches and pitchforks just because you are different from the majority. People who would ignore even stomp on values such as diversity, inclusion, and freedom of choice. Therefore, the intention is there; that’s not what you need to be preoccupied with.

    Now, the execution is what caused, from what I’ve heard, all the unnecessary negativity. People who didn’t like the other two shouldn’t have watched it, to begin with. People who did like the other two shouldn’t be moaning. Part Three refers to the same diverse yet enormously narrowed-down Netflix audience I’ve spoken to before, so I fail to see what the same audience didn’t like. Was it the accents? The accents are not to be taken more seriously than the plot itself. The lesbian drama? Some people (or cultures) still take infidelity and homosexuality as seriously as back then. So, it’s trying. It really is. But I believe the film’s message is as confusing as its audience – consequently, is it the film to blame? And since I’m not really that trilogy’s audience, I just enjoy the confusion, turn it off, and go to bed.

    Alas, the execution is that particular crowd-pleasing(?) result that, ultimately, is not Scream (1996), Friday the 13th (1980), or The Witch (2015). But don’t be overly alarmed because it’s Fear Street! And it has its own character and is the product of its era. Imagine you open a nightclub. Are you gonna play whatever song everyone is asking you to play, or will you stick to the music that characterises and defines your night club – and whoever the hell likes it? Unfortunately, as a filmmaker, putting up with ignorant producers is a dilemma. As an audience, try to respect the complex work thousands of people have put into any project. And Leigh Janiak, and all cast and crew, have put a lot of work.

    P.S. Did anyone comment that maybe there is a connection between “Fear” Street and Sarah “Fier”? Food for thought…

    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!

    Fear Street: Part Two – 1978 (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Fear Street: Part Two – 1978 (2021)

    The only survivors of the 1994 incidents, in an attempt to find a way to stop the evil, meet one of the survivors of the 1978 incident who remembers the horror.

    Great modern, pop horror/comedy flick that entertains! Part Two resembles a lot more the 70s than Part 1 does the 90s. I guess cinema (technologically) evolves, and it can’t really reenact the past. The vintage look seems to be just… gone. But then the atmosphere cannot fully be accurate either. Most likely, it was because very few of the cast and crew were alive or old enough to remember how people were talking or acting. There are film archives and means to find out, but it seems that this accuracy will always be missing. I guess yet another reason will always be the consideration of the audience. If it was ‘too 70s’, who would watch it?! Netflix seems to have established a particular audience already. It may be socially diverse, but it looks narrowed down otherwise. Just in case you feel like casting stones, I have already surfaced and will keep surfacing exceptions that are a shock to the system – especially its documentaries. 

    Focusing more on the film, as I mentioned above, Part Two is entertainingly brutal! McCabe Sly makes a decent possessed/psycho ‘axe-man’, and Sadie Sink and Emily Rudd are great on-screen sisters who face their demons way before the ‘axe-man’ starts taking heads off, and everyone starts running amok. Overall, the sub-plot smoothly permeates the plot and patiently escalates, leading to the climax. The references to Stephen King (and ‘Shining’, for whoever got it), Friday the 13th series, and a couple more that I cannot reveal indicate the hard work that the crew has put into it to give us a good feel, ‘throwback-style’ horror. Indicative, composers Marco Beltrami and Brandon Roberts have done an excellent job with the soundtrack, paying a great tribute to the one and only Jerry Goldsmith.

    There are a few flaws that I could pick on, as well as numerous strengths (such as the sisters/climax scene). But I’m not going to do it. Leigh Janiak seems to have a lot of passion for what she does, and she does it well. Watch it, enjoy it, and… onto Part Three!

    P.S. It was great seeing Gillian Jacobs and Ryan Simpkins again in the same movie. Especially after their stellar performances in the brilliant and underrated Gardens of the Night (2008)

    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!

    The Tomorrow War (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Tomorrow War (2021)

    On an ordinary day, a group of soldiers arrives from the future to warn and train people and send them to the year 2051 to fight.

    Visually stunning naivety for the whole family! Past the inciting incident, one can spot a realistic approach right off the bat. An approach that a high dose of Americanism will soon replace. I’m not saying this is a good or a bad thing, but I’m saying that it focuses on a particular type of audience. Why do I focus on that more than other times? Because it’s meant to be addressing an international audience. It’s about saving the world and not a particular country.

    During recruitment and basic training, I didn’t feel it. Stanley Kubrick set the example in 1987, and it seems that Hollywood is still struggling to evoke or balance emotions. As the first encounter with the aliens, coincidentally, John McTiernan set another example the very same year. Scrolling credits aside, the film is about two hours and ten minutes long, and still feels rushed. Something a tad more comparable to Full Metal Jacket and Predator, respectively, would be War of the Worlds (2005). Steven Spielberg first dealt with aliens in the masterpiece Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and in 2005, he blew our socks off with realistically dramatic reactions to events deriving from science fiction to our deepest fears.

    I’m gonna stop rumbling now, though, cause I sound bitter and spiteful, and that was not my intention. So, I’m gonna end with a huge positive note. Director Chris McKay has brought Zach Dean’s script to life, and the result is generally fulfilling. The film’s strongest moment is the closure of the father/future-daughter relationship, which is well-shot and written and most definitely pays off. While at it, Yvonne Strahovski gets my round of applause here as she shines. It’s like she’s so proud of taking that role, and she acts like it. She’s amazing. The Tomorrow War is a decent sci-fi summer flick with several standard Hollywood flaws but a great way to spend just over two hours with your favourite company – that includes your own. We may not have been attacked by aliens or saved the world yet, but we surely need a good-feel action to excite us. Give it a shot. It’s worth it.

    P.S. You need to check these trivia about J.K. Simmons and his physique:

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9777666/trivia?item=tr5821635

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9777666/trivia?item=tr5821752

    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!

    The Unholy (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Unholy (2021)

    A disgraced journalist accidentally stumbles upon a girl who performs miracles that are of an unholy nature.

    Too fast, too soon, too much! Screen Gems used to know how to build up horrors, but, as it’s Sony’s property, it produces standard, mainstream Hollywood, spoon-fed popcorn flicks. It’s like they summed up a bunch of clichés and put them together, making absolutely sure they didn’t miss any. What really makes you wanna keep watching is Jeffrey Dean Morgan. And if you have kept watching, it gets a tad better. Actually, you’ll get to find out what the Vatican considers a miracle and how they disprove it. Is that enough to keep watching, though?

    My issue with the aforementioned standard Hollywood films is that they treat them as byproducts. Cheap meat comes out of the grinder for masses that studios consider unintellectual. Considering that, the studios seem to be taking no chances to explore different types of narrative. In The Unholy, the writing, after the inciting incident, gets solid, it’s just there is nothing to watch; nothing visually stunning stands out. Plus, all the information you want is there the moment you want it. That decimates the suspense and leaves you with cheap jump-scares and nothing more. There are nano-to-low-budget films that break the rules or even invent new ones. It’s a shame to have millions to spend, be a mid-tier player, and take no risks. Why is this happening? As said earlier, they think that their audience is dumb. And that’s not nice. Horror fans are eccentric as they are insightful. Horror fans are resilient and are always up for the challenge. Studios should respect that and should challenge us with everything they have.

    Oh, did I mention that CGI ruins horrors? I’m telling you again: the story is solid, but the way the plot unfolds ruins it, and the CGI follows as a wrecking ball and smashes it down. My comments are quite bitter not because of writer/director Evan Spiliotopoulos, who does a decent job, but because of producer Sam Raimi, who used to dominate the genre and now has given in to Hollywood standards and, as I’m a huge fan of his, I expect so much more because I know he can do so much more. And I hope we get to see that sooner rather than later.

    Oh well… At least, devout Catholics will get (even more) confused about faith and the Church. That’s something.

    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!

    Fear Street Part One – 1994

    Kay
    -
    0
    Fear Street Part One – 1994

    A group of teenagers finds themselves against an ancient evil that has plagued their town since the witch-hunt.

    More entertaining than it is scary, the inciting incident is, hands down, a tribute to the late Wes Craven and Scream (1996). Kudos to director Leigh Janiak for that and the good old (somewhat) 90s feeling. Then… we come to the rest of acts 1, 2, and 3. On a serious note, the film’s initial mystery is pivotal. What is it, the curse of the witches or the conundrum of postmodern American society? Keep that question in mind… but not for the film. More likely, for a painful conversation every time you turn on the news and see young American men, women, and non-binary people have lost their lives to another young person who just happened to get a gun in their hands. But it’s neither the time nor the place for it.

    On a less serious note, the answer to the question is rather simple. It’s the witch, and that’s it. Fear Street Part 1 is allegedly a concoction of elements from the 90s, which it isn’t. It’s supposed to be scary – at times – but it isn’t. Respectively, it’s meant to be funny – at times – and even though it kinda is, it isn’t really. Think of it as… 90s for millennials? It sounds a bit unhinged, a combination of two worlds that cannot really be combined. In addition, as much as I crave for diversity, I am against the forced one. The diversity that doesn’t benefit minorities but sells more tickets – or increases viewings. Craven, Carpenter, Romero, Raimi, etc… would never see this film as anything that remotely resembles that era. Why? Because they weren’t making movies worrying about what the social media, couch warriors and keyboard fighters might think of it afterwards. They didn’t try to please the masses. Did you like what they did? Awesome! Didn’t you like it? Awesome again! Until the next one…

    Having said that… Fear Street Part 1 is just an enjoyable Netflix-level comedy/horror flick that will make you forget (some of) your problems with decent acting, editing, and directing. Admittedly, I haven’t read the books but the script is a tad lazy. Gimmicks, jump scares, questionable last-minute saves, and clichés, unfortunately, reduce the suspense as well as the thrill. Maybe I am not the filmmakers’ target audience and you’ll find it fascinating. If that’s the case, or whatever the case, I hope you enjoy it; it seems that the cast and crew have gone the extra mile for it. Know what you sign up for, and you’ll be all right.

    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!

    A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

    Right after losing her husband, Evelyn needs to take her kids to a safe place and find a way to use their new “weapon” of defence.

    Intense, horrifying, and breathtaking first act (Day 1) that captivates before catching up with the present. From then on, and after the first “hunt”, the pace slows down, but the thrill remains.

    The parallel stories unfold equally well, and their suspense escalates effectively, maintaining the initial thrill. For that, the credits go to the film’s editor, Michael P. Shawver. A good editor always controls the film’s pace and rhythm and reveals what only needs to be revealed and not what you or I would like to be revealed. The good editor also knows the footage they have, weaves the story’s plot, and defines the final cut – alongside actor/director John Krasinski, in this instance. The problem with so many match-cuts and identical parallel action is that it makes the plot more sci-fi than the alien beings themselves. That level of synchronisation, potentially for a more mature audience, ruins whatever believability a genre like that can have. Regardless, Krasinski’s greatest achievement here is directing the actors. He proves to be an actors’ director, which shows in the dramatic sequences – that’s what I think anyway. Without drama, there is nothing to be thrilled about or anyone to empathise with. The incredible performances from Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmons, Noah Jupe, and Djimon Hounsou make you feel for each and every one of them for everything that’s happening to them. Furthermore, pay attention to the excellent use of sound… or the lack thereof!

    There will always be the question regarding whether certain decisions were stupid or not, but then, if not every, almost every classic horror deals with ambiguous or moronic decisions for narrative purposes. A Quiet Place Part II respects its audience’s intelligence and offers a post-apocalyptic sci-fi/horror worthy of its predecessor that, in just over an hour and a half, excites and makes you forget pandemics, lockdowns, increased number of cases, vaccinations, and ridiculous politics.

    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!

    Another Round (2020)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Another Round (2020)

    Four high school teachers go out one night and decide, as part of an experiment, to consume daily certain amounts of alcohol and observe how that affects their lives.

    Rightful Oscar and BAFTA winner for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ and ‘Best Film Not in the English Language’ categories, respectively! Actually, all 41 wins and 55 nominations are firmly deserved! Extremely well written, shot, edited, directed, and acted! Another Round is Denmark’s instant classic! The first act patiently lays the foundation for the character establishment and justifies the reason and bizarre philosophy behind the unprecedented experiment. Each and every one of them has a story to tell and a way to contribute towards it. The second act sets the cogs in motion and bears the fruits of their experimentation, shocking the audience with its pseudo-scientific data and the pseudo-realistic cause-and-effect results. Writing, editing, framing, directing, and acting work together perfectly, creating a dark yet realistic effect that alcohol has on us and the people around us. We get to experience through Martin, Tommy, Nicolaj, and Peter how life’s difficulties can cloud our judgement and mislead us to places that no human should ever visit, but, ironically, we learn from them and come back stronger. Or not…

    The third act is the narrative’s unexpected culmination but most definitely the totally unexpected hero’s arc. There is nothing I can say without spoiling it, so it is up to you to watch it, connect the dots, and, above all, unleash your feelings. Just know that it’s all Mads Mikkelsen is doing.

    Martin was meant to have a son and a daughter, with the daughter being the director Thomas Vinterberg’s daughter. Tragically, four days into filming, at the age of 19, she died in a car crash – the film was dedicated to her and was shot in her old classroom with her classmates. I can’t even begin to imagine how he completed it. Part of the film’s idea was hers, as alcoholism has been having a severe effect on Denmark’s youth for years now. As Vinterberg put it, the film is ‘a survey and exploration not only of alcohol usage but of the uncontrollable.’ Another Round is a must-watch, and it is no wonder why it became critically and financially successful. A lot of heart and soul has been put into it, and it is available to explore.

    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!

    Crisis (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Crisis (2021)

    The stories of an undercover cop, a grieving mother, and a professor facing a dangerous dilemma interweave as they find themselves fighting, in their own way, the war against drugs.

    Very well-structured and paced thriller from the very beginning. The inciting incident occurs in the opening sequence, and from then on, every player is introduced in minutes, making clear who they are and what they do. The tragedy that hits Claire, every parent’s worst nightmare, is expressed vividly and tearfully by Evangeline Lilly. Respectively, Armie Hammer, Gary Oldman, Michelle Rodriguez, Greg Kinnear and Luke Evans become the characters they represent and shine on screen. Indira Varma and Mia Kirshner, even though they have small roles, add to the film’s great cast.

    Crisis unfolds like a bomb waiting to explode. A pharmaceutical corporate thriller, an undercover mission, and a mother hell-bent on finding what happened to her dead son, gradually, through meticulously paced editing, start blending into one story that pins you to your seats. All three stories are equally dramatic and thrilling, so when they come together, you get the full force the script intended to offer. Nicholas Jarecki, the man behind Arbitrage (2012), pens that script, acts in it, directs it and manages to attract a plethora of the aforementioned A-list actors.

    I’m afraid I’ll have to address the elephant in the room. Due to Hammer’s bad reputation and accusations, the film did not perform well, but let me be clear… thousands of people have worked on this film, and they deserve recognition. Don’t let one name prevent you from a very decent cinematic experience. Crisis tackles very successfully, if not the most, one of the most severe plagues to have ever hit this planet. And it’s a realistic depiction of the war I mentioned above. A war that, unfortunately, seems to have no end. I hope you enjoy it.

    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!

    Censor (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Censor (2021)

    A film censor starts investigating a “video nasty” that awfully resembles the case of her little sister’s disappearance.

    Hauntingly realistic psychological horror that crawls under your skin. And so does the dramatic subplot that drives the story to its unexpected turn. What is it that we see? What is it that we want to see? How do we perceive what we see? Why do we perceive it the way we do? What is actually real? Keep these questions in mind… but not just throughout the film.

    For those who are unfamiliar with the logline’s term, “video nasty” is a colloquial British term regarding mostly low-budget films that include, among others, explicit gore and pornography. Even though they did have quite an impact in the UK, the impact was not as severe as the film makes it to be. Having said that, Censor will have an impact on you. For a film that deals explicitly with gore, it becomes the definition of psychological horror. Adapting her short film Nasty (2015), in less than an hour and a half, writer/director Prano Bailey-Bond fully develops Enid’s obscurity, deliberately misleads you using restrictive narrative – Enid’s perception – and presents to you the darkest side of cinema that becomes cult for the hardcore fans and appalling taboo for the masses. I’m not going to divulge anything about the narrative, watch it and pay attention to the minor details that explain what happens in the end. It makes it somewhat obvious but not overly obvious and, to a certain extent, open to interpretation.

    From a filmmaking point of view, the Dutch angles, the transitions between locations, but also dark reality and nightmare, and the match-cuts that signify/betray that dark, distorted reality… reveal the behind-the-curtains (unconscious?) side of our lives that we fail (or choose to) not to look. Ultimately, the film tackles how we perceive films and their role in our society. Is it film imitating life or the other way around? Are films to blame for the release of our darkest side? What about for what we do to one another? I guess the answer can also be found in the role of art in our lives. Other than Bailey-Bond, my round of applause goes to all cast and crew who believed in her project, and especially to Niamh Algar, who nails her part, Annika Summerson’s cinematography, and Mark Towns’ editing, who has been behind equally amazing horrors, such as The Ritual (2017) and St. Maud (2020).

    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!

    The Courier (2020)

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Courier (2020)

    MI6 and the CIA approach an ordinary businessman to help them prevent the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    Shockingly brilliant! The first act’s light mood raises suspicions about how a horrific historical event, such as that Crisis, can be approached in such a manner. The suspicions fade away in warp speed, though, as Benedict Cumberbatch is thoroughly enjoyable, and no one can moan about his performance. On the other hand, Rachel Brosnahan plays her part equally amazingly and together, they create the illusion that thrill, British phlegmatic humour, and action will entertain you for the rest of the film… Wrong!

    The light mood is replaced by a genuine Cold War thriller that, if you weren’t around at the time, will make you feel its threat to humanity and how close our world was to being devastated (again) by a third World War. Both character and story development move the story forward, intensify the suspense, and keep you on the edge of your seats by brilliantly pacing and unfolding actual events that shocked everyone when they saw the light of day.

    As Greville Wynne’s story is not well-known, though, and for most people, it remains to be seen what will become of him, Cumberbatch makes sure not to betray that and succeeds in doing so. His performance shocks the system, following the narrative’s turn towards the worst. Merab Ninidze’s presence is also captivating, putting the viewer in Oleg Penkovsky’s shoes and the imminent danger he’s in.

    What I also found shocking upon reading about it is that, on IMDb, The Courier has 1 nomination… 1 nomination! That’s it! I have been reading, writing, and researching this industry for so many years, and I still find myself scratching my head regarding who’s getting rewarded and under what criteria. Weinstein is gone (good riddance), but it seems that the gatekeepers and/or festivals still have ambiguous criteria for selecting their nominees and winners. Don’t let that put you off though. The film opened worldwide on Greville’s birthday, and Tom O’Connor’s script shows justice to the relationship between the two men. Ultimately, Dominic Cooke’s The Courier is a masterpiece, and it is definitely worth your time. An absolute must-watch spy thriller!

    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!

    In the Earth (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    In the Earth (2021)

    While a pandemic has swept the world, a scientist and a park ranger venture into the woods to find a fellow scientist who may have had a significant breakthrough.

    Brutal, psychedelic, relatable, but overly intricate horror that defies Hollywood’s conventions. From the very beginning to the first plot point, one feels that the editing choices – the jump cuts – are eager to move the story forward. Moving it towards where is a good question. In the meantime, Martin’s secrets and, somehow, obvious dishonesty seem to be preparing the ground for something that will play a role when the twist reveals itself.

    Scenes like the “stitching” and the “ritual” turn the sci-fi from torture horror into something more… folklore! As the psychological drama keeps blending with the gore, the suspense intensifies, and one can only wonder how this can possibly have a happy ending. Before you find out what kind of ending the film will have, the experimental chase sequence reveals more information, and, in an intricate way, the combination of utterances and actions up to that point starts making sense. Due to the film’s nature, it is difficult to go into it further without spoiling for you, so this is where I will stop.

    Ever since Kill List (2011), writer/editor/director Ben Wheatley has been one of my favourite filmmakers of his generation. Kill List was his first and massively successful effort to switch from a realistically gritty thriller to a cult horror that defies reason. In the Earth is not far off, but its experimental, hallucinatory and psychedelic nature, at times, gives a whole new different vibe. The film’s photography (Nick Gillespie) and 80s music score (Clint Mansell) become assets to a convoluted and head-scratching narrative that ultimately confuses. Still, I’ll dare say that it does not disappoint. I’ve heard a truckload of awfully negative comments, and I believe this results from false expectations. Small things that influenced me a tad negatively are sequences that involve the aforementioned secrecy and dishonesty that didn’t really lead anywhere; therefore, it was just misleading for no apparent reason. Other than that, Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires, and Reece Sharesmith have great chemistry and deliver amazingly convincing performances.

    What you’ll make of it depends on your understanding of the narrative. Pay close attention to what is said in all three acts. Our current pandemic is obviously the film’s source of inspiration, but its development is a Ben Wheatley original film with twists and rich visuals.

    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!

    The Father (2020)

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Father (2020)

    An old man who refuses his daughter’s help feels like he is losing the earth under his feet when his home and the people around him constantly change.

    A soul-destroying cinematic realism when your life comes crashing down. Based on the homonymous play by writer/director Florian Zeller and co-writer Christopher Hampton, the cinematic adaptation resembles a play, and the interchangeable locations 1 and 2 confuse as much as the restricted narrative dictates. Anthony’s condition does not cause The Father‘s suspense; how it affects him, and the people around him cause it. Moreover, as it is an extremely sensitive subject, it is also caused by how Zeller approaches it and how Sir Anthony Hopkins delivers it. Ultimately, as the narrative unfolds, the nail-biting suspense is caused by the heart-wrenching drama that raises the question, what will become of him?

    The Father‘s full force hits you on two levels: One, on the level of having a beloved person suffering from it. In this case, you are experiencing their transition from one of the most dynamic people in the world and, maybe, your true inspiration in life to someone you wish they never become; someone who doesn’t recognise you anymore and… you don’t recognise either. Two, on the level of suffering it yourself. In this case, whoever you may have been is no longer. Dishevelled, helpless, or “losing all your leaves” may be ways to describe it, but no one has or ever will be prepared for when it, unfortunately, happens.

    Either way, no one should ever wish it to their worst foe, but fortunately, word has it that, around the date of this review, certain scientists may have had a significant breakthrough. I truly believe that all of us, no matter where we are in the world, no matter how we look, whatever we believe in politically or religiously, regardless of our sexual orientation, are keeping our fingers crossed and our hopes high. Remember, no disease has ever discriminated.

    Excellent music by Ludovico Einaudi! Feel free to listen to the film’s soundtrack over and over again. Extra credits go to Cinematographer Ben Smithard, Production Designer Peter Francis and editor Yorgos Lamprinos. “Anthony” is named after Hopkins himself, the first and only choice for Florian Zeller. If it weren’t for him, he would have adapted it for the French audience, and even though I’m positive the experience would have been equally shuttering, it would definitely be different. Olivia Colman, Olivia Williams, Rufus Sewell, and Mark Gatiss have great chemistry with each other and deliver powerful performances. They are absolutely amazing. In the end, Sir Anthony Hopkins’ performance will break you, take your breath away, and maybe make you reevaluate your life’s journey from the moment it started to where you are now to where (you think) it’s heading.

    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!

    Time out of Mind (2014)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Time out of Mind (2014)

    A homeless man is going from shelter to shelter, trying to find a way to approach his estranged daughter.

    In a depressing and honest way, it reveals an America to which most people turn a blind eye. One can easily extrapolate and claim that it reveals a world most people turn a blind eye to. Writer/Director Oren Moverman, the man behind The Messenger (2009), Rampart (2011), and The Dinner (2017) does an extensive research on homelessness in New York and brings to our attention an issue that we walk past daily no matter where we live. Richard Gere, a man who is an advocate for the homeless in real life, fully understands Moverman’s vision and commits 100% to the character, delivering a totally different than usual performance. Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski frames him through reflections, amongst bystanders, and from a distance (also careful when to go close), and shows without telling how George positions himself within society. Respectively, editor Alex Hall leaves that protracted zoom-in and zoom-out shots uncut, making the audience “look” for a significant amount of time what the bystanders don’t – parallelism with ourselves that have probably done the same in real life. An excellent example of mise-en-scène and how it creates meaning.

    The off-screen space, though, also speaks volumes. Very interestingly, most of the time, you listen to dialogues from an unspecified location. With a decent surround, one can tell if it’s from behind, left, or right, but it is of no importance. What matters is that it is happening, George listens to it as we do, but as he pays no attention to who says what, it stays out of the frame. A personal interpretation is that all this diegetic sound is pointing at how loud and verbose the big city is and how little it matters to someone who doesn’t know if or where he will find his next meal and bed.

    I highly recommend this film, but a warning needs to be issued. The film feels like one act. Something that someone should have probably noticed in postproduction and shave off about half an hour. Time out of Mind feels endless as, unfortunately, nothing is happening. Ben Vereen and Jena Malone support him to their best abilities, but their role is limited. Once again, unfortunately, what at first seems to be an extensive character development stagnates the story development and can lose the audience’s attention with its inactivity.

    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!

    Fast & Furious 9 (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Fast & Furious 9 (2021)

    Dom and his “family” reunite once more as his unknown to everyone else younger brother has teamed up with a terrorist group to initiate a weapon of mass destruction.

    Muscles, guns, explosions, supercars, and spies… all in the mix for a global audience of specific age. F9 did what most of its predecessors also did in previous years. It exceeded every unrealistic expectation! From The Fast and the Furious (2001) to Fast and Furious 8 (2017), whoever follows the saga sees the gang first forming with the intent to steal and sell VCRs and DVD players and end up driving against submarines. Each instalment has been seen getting crazier and crazier, and the level of believability has been dropping exponentially. Now, it’s facing a free fall. A free fall of 2 hours and 25 minutes; the longest Fast & Furious in the franchise.

    Where do I begin… Dom’s initial refusal to participate has been a cliché for a couple of decades now. One would expect that writers would have moved on in the third decade of the 21st century. Apparently not. Then, as the previous films did, this one also introduces a new weapon and/or technology. Like an uneducated Sesame Street, get to know about not even laughable rocket science and ridiculous electromagnetism here. I’m not even gonna touch on the “hacking” parts. As for this type of slapstick comedy, some might find it funny, so I’m not gonna go into it.

    To cut the long story short, let’s talk fast, without fury, about the driving. The driving and the chemistry between Vin Diesel, the late Paul Walker (RIP), Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster made most of us fall in love with the first three or four films. Both of them are lost now. The sky-high level of implausibility, and therefore unfathomable CGI scenes, destroyed both. The filmmakers are now milking the cow and are competing with The Expendables (2010), and like most of these films, what massively irritates me is that they are undermining people’s intelligence. No film should ever undermine its audience’s intelligence. And that’s what F9 does. What was the amazing Charlene Theron thinking? A villain that didn’t even sweat. As if the non-existent, so far, Dom’s brother (John Cena) is not a gimmick enough, the rest of the antagonists are just shambles. Helen Mirren and Kurt Russel are there for the easy money, I get it. The rest… I don’t!

    To summarise, maybe, and that’s just a speculation, you might find it exciting if you are around 12 y/o. But I hope you don’t, so maybe Hollywood producers reevaluate and learn how to respect their audience. By all means, if you are into VFX and the MTV style of filmmaking, give it a go. It will make you forget the unpleasant times we are currently experiencing, anyway. But know what you sign up for. Justin Lin is a respectful director/producer but goes for the money. After the franchise is gone, I believe we’ll see something amazing from him. Something that will beautifully surprise both in terms of character and story development. Finally, I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: Michael Rooker is a great actor and should be getting more screening time in everything he’s in.

    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!

    Wrath of Man (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Wrath of Man (2021)

    A mysterious man gets a job at an armoured vehicle company that transports money to find the people responsible for a crime that cost him dearly.

    Crowd-pleasing and entertaining, Wrath of Man makes a decent remake of the French thriller Cash Track (2004). Fourth collaboration between the actor Jason Statham and director/producer Guy Richie that proves to be time and time again a recipe for success – at least financially. You need to remember before or while watching it that the film is not to be taken very seriously by any stretch of the imagination. It probably represents the opposite of the cinematic realism film theorists argue about (for decades). Let’s start with the basics: No one heals and reaches peak conditions that fast from multiple gunshots – if they survive. Also, no one can achieve so many headshots easily. Furthermore, no one would come up with that plan as it will likely fail in more ways than I can count. So, deliberately ignoring the film’s unrealistic scenario, let’s focus on the positives.

    Statham is still kicking a$$, which makes him the right man to be in front of the camera. Richie still finds intriguing, non-linear ways to develop the story’s plot, which makes him the right man behind the camera. Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett, Scott Eastwood, Andy Garcia, and Niamh Algar are great members of the cast (comment to follow on that). Finally, what everyone hoped to be decent is actually more than decent: the action. Wrath of Man is a series of action-packed sequences that satisfy the neurons and neuroglia of the animalistic part of our brain.

    I will never mind Statham not changing his accent. I live in Derby, and he’s from Derbyshire, so I wouldn’t want him to speak any other way. I actually love it! Generally, though, and that’s probably because I am not a kid anymore; I do mind the hero/ine not having a decent antagonist or people surrounding him, which is the case here. The film’s great cast (not just the ones mentioned above) is massively overshadowed by his presence, making him look leagues above everyone else. His crew, the enemy, and the security company have nothing on him, something that exponentially reduces the suspense. Eastwood’s character had a lot of potential to be a great psycho and, consequently, a great villain. That is not the case, though. Having said that, the guys guarding the safe are tough as nails, but their role is limited. Something else that would potentially make us empathise with ‘H’ a bit more is the underdeveloped drama he had to endure. Unfortunately, it took the back seat. As a last and trivial note, listening to British humour in American accents is interesting.

    To sum up, it’s very enjoyable. Don’t get caught up in the details (like I do), and spend a couple of hours watching a funny and thrilling heist with a lot of shooting and punchlines.

    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!

    The Night has Come (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0

    A day that finds a woman struggling with her reality brings a night of biblical chaos and darkness.

    DISCLAIMER: This story contains strong language and is intended for an older youth audience. Listener discretion is advised.

    Based on my homonymous short script, The Night has Come.

    © 2021 Konstantinos Papathanasiou. All rights reserved.

    Announcement: This is the last podcast before summer. More interviews and horror stories are coming in September so, stay tuned for more. Thank you ever so much for your support, and look forward to meeting you all up soon! Have an amazing summer, and always… Stay safe!

    https://open.spotify.com/episode/6bO9BlkjhffHA9i9YsGkbW

    Army of the Dead (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Army of the Dead (2021)

    Mercenaries are hired to pull off a heist in quarantined, walled-off, and inundated with zombies in Las Vegas.

    A friend of mine called me the other day, saying: “Man, have you seen the Army of the Dead? Damn, it’s been years since the last time I watched something so wank”. He then added: “I mean, it’s like gathering every Hollywood cliché under the sun, putting it in, carefully trying not to miss any.”

    Well, as a Zack Snyder fan, I was going to watch it anyway, but I was not in a rush. Why? For the same reason I am not in a rush to watch any film interested in profiting from the pandemic. So, it’s not personal. The good news is that the beginning is like Watchmen (2009) meets Sucker Punch (2011) a bit. The bad news is that it’s neither. Actually, everything else is bad. Starting with the characters…

    Everyone is a breathing, walking, talking cliché. Sex, sexual orientation, and race – most of the burning issues of today – have been exploited by typically low Hollywood standards for commercial purposes, an event that raises questions regarding who its audience really is. Don’t bang your heads against the wall, though; the answer is: masses! The typically unspecified Hollywood audience likes unrealistic people who are nowhere to be found in our world. A surrealistic misrepresentation of every human being out there. And that’s just the characters.

    The narrative… Chaos! The absolute mess! Nothing is convincing, and nothing makes sense. Everything you’ve seen and experienced before, you relive it with little to no surprise. Slapstick humour with some drama in between topped up with some (quite decent, I might say) action-packed sequences. In the end, which emotion stands out? None! It’s neither funny nor dramatic nor thrilling. It’s nothing! Two and a half hours of plot holes that include, but are not limited to (no spoilers): soldiers who escort a weapon of mass destruction and have no training whatsoever, a girl with no training whatsoever who delivers headshots like pancakes, the zombie head that could have been immediately retrieved and end our suffering, zombies moving faster than helicopters, people knowing that a nuclear is about to hit them and indifferently chat… the list is endless! Oh, and no matter what happens, do not, I repeat, do not fall for the “time” theory (no spoilers). It was way out of character and out of space. Pure buffoonery to cause you an extra headache! Do. Not. Fall. For it.

    This is the worst Zack Snyder film yet! I like Snyder’s style, but Army of the Dead is atrocious, and its atrocity has nothing to do with technical aspects such as the “dead pixels” or the too “out-of-focus” issues caused by Red cameras combined with Canon lenses from the 60s. The average viewer does not care about that. Instead, they care about not being insulted by the narrative. No one wants their intelligence undermined and this is exactly what the Army of the Dead does. It considers its audience as dumb as the Shamblers – not sure about the Alphas.

    Final notes: Ella Purnell is a really good actress, but her character is unwatchable. The same applies to Dave Bautista, who, unfortunately, is the only one who actually offers some drama. The only person I rooted for, though, was Chambers (Samantha Win), who literally kicked a$$! Two more highlights were the “tiger kill” and the non-CGI zombies. But if you want to watch a great outbreak film, then refer to Snyder’s directorial debut, Dawn of the Dead (2004).

    Food for thought: Twenty years ago, still at Uni, I discovered the term “Third Cinema”. This term defined the differences between the “First” and the “Second”. Focusing on the First… “Solanas and Getino’s manifesto considers First Cinema to be the Hollywood production model that idealizes bourgeois values to a passive audience through escapist spectacle and individual characters.” Please keep in mind that the Hollywood they are referring to is considered leagues above today’s. For more on film history, read David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson’s Film History: An Introduction (2003).

    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!

    Dredd (2012)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Dredd (2012)

    In a dystopian future, where the police are judges, juries, and executioners, Judge Dredd and a rookie are sent to take down a violent gang that deals an extremely dangerous drug.

    Misunderstood yet highly entertaining! Dredd makes you forget whatever is happening out there, but this was not the case when it was released. Back then, it evoked mixed feelings, and, unfortunately, the vast majority didn’t appreciate it. The rest of us signed a petition for a sequel to no avail. Times have changed, we have moved on, and so have the actors. Karl Urban is leading The Boys (2019) now, and he couldn’t care less about a role in which he doesn’t show his face, and people doubt it. Having said that, as far as I read recently, he wouldn’t mind taking on the role if offered. It won’t be, though. What’s more, it’s interesting to watch Olivia Thirlby coming out of her comfort zone, shooting everything and everyone up, and seeing the transformed but wonderful Lena Headey running the vicious gang.

    Dredd remains loyal to the graphic novel with the city blocks’ names, the judge’s helmet and the golden chain in MaMa’s penthouse, the “fatties”, and, of course, the Clint Eastwood voice tribute to stand out. For those who are unaware, the character is partially based on Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” so, the voice will always be that reminder.

    Pete Travis, a director who deserves a lot more spotlight [see also Omagh (2004) and Vantage Point (2008)] as mentioned above, has deeply understood the anti-hero’s nature and the dystopian futuristic”cyberpunk” world, giving us a final cut that, we, the fans deeply enjoyed and, unfortunately, won’t see more of it. The reasons vary: Came out in a bad time? People didn’t really appreciate it? Studios saw only numbers and didn’t care about its quality? Whatever your pick is, it’s a shame.

    I just wanted to remind you of it. After all, that’s what every dystopia is: a reminder. And, if you haven’t watched it, knock yourselves out! It’s quite the experience.

    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!

    Nobody (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Nobody (2021)

    An ostensibly ordinary family man is proven to have certain skills when he becomes the target of the Russian mafia and the vicious lobby behind it.

    Every time someone told me, “It’s like John Wick,” I replied, “You know it’s written by the same guy, yeah?” If you ask me, A History of Violence (2005) is a lot more similar to Nobody’s plot, so it’s kind of one-meets-the-other.

    As for the film itself, admittedly, it’s very entertaining. Bob Odenkirk has a certain style of acting that transcends frustration and anger like very few nowadays can. One could argue that he actually acts/expresses certain aspects of his character. Regardless, he is the man for this job, and Nobody proves that Hollywood can turn you from a lawyer who can’t slap a mosquito (Saul Goodman) to an ex-black-ops “badass” (Hutch Mansell) in no time. Fair enough! Nobody shows that his acting range is surprisingly wider than we all thought, and the fact that he had been training for two years prior to the film’s principal photography to nail the part speaks volumes about his dedication. Speaking of acting, I can’t leave the legendary Christopher Lloyd out, who nails every part given to him in his 46-year (and counting) career. Furthermore, Connie Nielsen adds to the cast with her talent and beauty, brightening up every shot she’s in.

    Ilya Naishuller, well known for Hardcore Henry (2015), shows once more that he knows how to approach hardcore action scenes and, more importantly, Derek Kolstad’s meticulously written action scenes. Ari Aster’s Director of Photography, Pawel Pogorzelski, and experienced Hollywood editors Evan Schiff and William Yeh complete the main crew and give an extremely satisfying result that will make you want a sequel or, at least, a prequel of the film.

    The plot holes are humongous, but do yourselves a favour and leave them out. The action-packed sequences and phlegmatic humour definitely compensate. I hope you enjoy it and forget, even for an hour and a half, the dark times we are still going through!

    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!

    Oxygen (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Oxygen (2021)

    A woman wakes in an advanced pod, not knowing exactly what it is or how or why she got there. She only has ninety minutes to find a way out.

    Claustrophobic and captivating! From the very beginning, the questions “What’s happening?” and “How on Earth is she gonna make it?” are raised. As the narrative unfolds, the next question is, “What would I do if I were her?” Before even putting it on, Buried (2010) came to my mind, which is probably the most claustrophobic film I have ever watched. Therefore, unintentional comparisons were unavoidable.

    Oxygen lets you “catch your breath” a lot more than once, which I’m not sure if it should have. What’s more, I object a tad to its constant non-diegetic sound, and let me tell you why. Without wanting to know for a fact, I would assume that if I were trapped in there, I wouldn’t be listening to any music – just my increased heartbeat and my heavy breathing – the dietetic sound. But that’s just me.

    Writer Christie LeBlanc and director Alexandre Aja restrict the narrative till halfway through. What you know is strictly what Liz does. When the subplot becomes clear(er), the twist is revealed, everything starts making sense, and claustrophobia is lost but relatable to all of us drama replaces it. In short, a culminating moment defines the outcome and justifies everything you have found out that far. And that is as far as I go. I hope you enjoy it!

    Aja has given us brutal – and I mean brutal – horrors such as Haute Tension (2003), and The Hills Have Eyes (2006), some funny or less believable horrors such as Piranha 3D (2010) and Crawl (2019), but also more psychological or paranormal ones such as Mirrors (2008) and The 9th Life of Luis Drax (2016) – and Horns (2013). Oxygen successfully adds to his list of horror/thriller diversity.

    Despite their similarities and differences, I will make only one comparison between Buried and Oxygen: the identical dolly-out shot. I am sure Aja has watched Rodrigo Cortés’ film, and I found it very interesting, even peculiar, that the exact same shot was used. Anyway, if you haven’t watched Buried and you somewhat liked Oxygen, then it’s a must-watch!

    Last but most certainly not least, Mélanie Laurent nails her part. Without her superb performance, everything else would have failed. She’s absolutely amazing and gets my round of applause!

    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!

    On the Bridge (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0

    Driving in the middle of the night, a man stops when he sees a woman sitting at the edge of a bridge, he sits with her and listens to her haunting and sinister story.

    DISCLAIMER: This story contains strong language and is intended for an older youth audience. Listener discretion is advised.

    Based on my homonymous short script, On the Bridge.

    © 2021 Konstantinos Papathanasiou. All rights reserved.

    https://open.spotify.com/episode/08JhknfPtHDsC8l82nmYDg

    Dark Waters (2019)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Dark Waters (2019)

    Unsubstantiated evidence against a giant chemical company is thoroughly examined by a corporate defence attorney who sees what everyone else is turning a blind eye to and fights tooth and nail against them.

    Dark Waters’ cast and theme are its two major selling points: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman, and Bill Camp need no introduction, and no matter what I say, it can make them better thespians than they already are. This brings me to the second selling point straight away: the theme. One person tries to take down a colossal chemical company while having everything to lose – special emphasis on “everything.”

    Automatically, in my books, whoever dares that against any company of that magnitude, or any magnitude, or their government is a hero. Half an hour into the film, you want him to crash them with everything he’s got! Rob Bilott is one of the most relatable heroes out there. The world needs more of him, and we root for him to do what the rest of us can’t – or haven’t had the chance yet. The thrilling and dramatic narrative unfolds beautifully through parallel editing that moves the story forward, provides the necessary information, and increases the tension to pin you to your seat. Ruffalo is the man of the hour, and who could direct him better than director Todd Haynes, who has mastered biographic films or films “based on true events”.

    It makes you sick to your stomach that innumerable companies like these get away with such crimes for so long or forever. It makes you sick that money is worth more than lives – humans, animals, and plants. There are two major takeaways here:

    1. However bad you think you’ve had it, there are people who have had it a lot worse than most of us.
    2. YOU can make a difference! No matter how small you think you are or how much “you against the world” you feel, you can make a difference!

    P.S. Are you ready? As per IMDb: “DuPont’s stock price dropped by 7.15 points from 72.18 to 65.03 the week this movie was released on 12th November”. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9071322/trivia?item=tr5294319

    P.P.S. I’ll start doing a lot more reviews like Dark Waters.

    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!

    Nomadland (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Nomadland (2021)

    Losing everything in the Great Recession, a middle-aged woman decides to lead a nomadic way of life, meet people and explore places she has never had.

    There are two selling points here: Francis McDormand and Chloé Zhao. McDormand is one of the best actresses alive, and no matter what anyone else or I say, I cannot give enough praise for any of her performances. Nomadland is no exception, as her performance is a masterclass. The second selling point is Zhao’s documentary-style filmmaking that expanded to seven states, making it look like a chronicle of a nomad who tries to turn a situation around. It is a great modern example of cinema verité that, if anything, will travel you around the States and show you a way of life that you may not have encountered before. As much as I know poverty very well, this lifestyle/tradition is known to me only through films that have not properly explored it. So, I can’t comment on what I heard regarding its inauthentic depiction. Honestly, it would be wrong if I did.

    As for the script, though, I was trying to establish throughout the film whether her choices were actually hers and, if yes, to what extent. Did she partially want this way of life? Was this what she fully wanted? Was it escapism from herself and the people around her? I believe the answer determines the purpose of this hero’s journey. As a huge fan of David Strathairn, I think he deserved more screening time.

    Extra credits go to Zhao’s frequent director of photography, Joshua James Richards, whose work is just captivating. Pay attention to the little yet very important elements of the film. The use of diegetic (natural) and non-diegetic (music) sounds, Ludovico Einaudi’s piano, the minimalistic editing and montage in its simplest form, the non-actors acting, and a side of America and certain American people that none of us get to see in either studio or indie level. Oscars for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, and Best Achievement in Directing were very much deserved. All 227 wins & 135 nominations were very much deserved. I hope you enjoy it.

    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!

    The Importance of Dystopia in Sci-fi / Horror

    Kay
    -
    0
    The Importance of Dystopia in Sci-fi / Horror

    Turning on the news, what takes over is a… disheartening presentiment about the future. Questionable governments, selfish, narrow-minded masses voting for these governments, sociological dyspepsia, misanthropy, pandemic, psychological decadence… If the present feels that way, it is no wonder why filmmakers “see” the future in a cataclysmic and calamitous light.

    Society: “A large group of people who live together in an organised way, making decisions about how to do things and sharing the work that needs to be done”. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/society)

    Utopia: “A perfect society in which people work well with each other and are happy”. Imagine a world where everyone is happy, the laws favour everyone, the economy flourishes, and the government looks after their people. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/utopia)

    On the other hand…

    Dystopia: “A very bad or unfair society in which there is a lot of suffering, especially an imaginary society in the future, after something terrible has happened”. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dystopia)

    I wholeheartedly believe that there is no soul out there who believes in a utopian future. Why? Because the present firmly and regrettably indicates otherwise. We usually say that something impossible is science fiction, but, in this instance, it is merely naïve. But! There is another reason, too. Constructing the “perfect” society is nothing like creating a “seemingly” perfect society. And that is for two reasons:

    “Utopia” creates a problem and begs a fundamental question from the very beginning of the definition: What does “perfect” mean? Consequently, what does “perfect society” mean? How would a filmmaker define and depict the “perfect society”? The short answer is that they can’t. Because there is no “perfect”, if it did, humans wouldn’t be it, and therefore, they cannot form the “perfect society”. That is why it is called u-topia (??-????? in Greek). It exists nowhere, much less on the small or big screen.

    The second issue is that even if it miraculously existed, where would the story lead? Everything is “perfect”, everyone is happy. That is beyond science fiction and cinematically unimportant, indifferent, idle, yawnsome, and most likely a box-office bomb.

    Dystopia, though, is inundated with messages and parables. In films, the world has fallen apart due to:

    • Economy Collapse
    • Climatic Disaster
    • World War
    • Nuclear Holocaust
    • Pandemic (sore point)
    • Comet’s Impact
    • Divine Judgement
    • Alien Invasion
    • Zombie Rise
    • AI Takeover
    • …

    Your imagination is your limit! And that’s just in the foreseeable future (hopefully, not too foreseeable).* Despite your pick, survival and reversing the situation to make the world a better place would most likely be the film’s theme. How everything started, how it will play out, and how it will end are the thrilling parts and the reasons all of us go to the movies to watch films of that sort.

    *I wouldn’t want to expand to the distant future’s sci-fi as the focal point is mainly different, such as life in different, colonised planets or space issues.

    One of my favourite types of dystopias is the one that starts as a utopia only to reveal the fake and the rot behind society’s epidermically beautiful facade. Yes, the concept of Brave New World. The concept of a deconstructed society that, if it revolted would mean its end is also another favourite of mine. Yes, Snowpiercer (2013) has made an impression on me. Authors such as Aldous Huxley, Jacques Lob, Philp K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Octavia Butler, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke have thoroughly, and with imagination aplenty, criticised the society they have lived in. Tomorrow’s dystopia is today’s society’s existence, living, breathing, and proudly walking on this Earth complications. Our current insecurities, anxieties, fears, misconceptions, and personal and societal problems are projected into our escalated faulty future, leaving so much to the imagination.

    Is this how we will end? Would I have made it? What would I do if I did make it? Would I be able to rise to the occasion and become one of the heroes I see on screen? What would I do if everyone I knew was gone? These are but a few questions we all ask ourselves while sitting back and relaxing and experiencing something impressive and entertaining yet educational and ill-wishing.

    Dystopias are there to warn us! Plato’s Dialogues is the perfect place to start reading about the origin of such concepts and terms and their purpose. The aforementioned authors, their books, and the films that came out of their adaptations are fascinating places to unfold and enrich your journey, discovering from creative to deranged ways that our world as we know it comes to an end.

    As the title implies, this article is deliberately short and aims to emphasise the importance of dystopia in sci-fi. I don’t believe there is a top 5 or top 10 when it comes to such a subgenre. Below, you can find my all-time favourite films and series that have powerfully depicted our dystopic future world in the way the filmmakers truly envisaged it. Keep in mind that some of these films’ future belongs now to our past. How accurate were their predictions? Does filmmaking’s evolution affect the accuracy of films’ predictions about the future? What do you think?

    References

    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/society

    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/utopia

    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dystopia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Dialogues_of_Plato

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Lob

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavia_E._Butler

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke

    http://theworldofapu.com/category/film-analysis/

    Dystopian Films

    Metropolis (1927)

    The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

    Alphaville (1965)

    Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

    The Omega Man (1971)

    A Clockwork Orange (1971)

    THX 1138 (1971)

    Mad Max Franchise (1979, 1981, 1985, 2015)

    Brave New World (1980)

    Escape from New York (1981)

    Blade Runner (1982)

    Videodrome (1983)

    Nineteen Sighty-Four (1984)

    Threads (1984)

    Brazil (1985)

    Dead Man’s Letters (1986)

    RoboCop (1987)

    The Running Man (1987)

    Total Recall (1990)

    Demolition Man (1993)

    Fortress (1993)

    The Stand (1994)

    The City of Lost Children (1995)

    Judge Dredd (1995)

    12 Monkeys (1995)

    Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

    Strange Days (1995)

    Waterworld (1995)

    Starship Troopers (1997)

    The Fifth Element (1997)

    Gattaca (1997)

    The Postman (1997)

    Dark City (1998)

    Pleasantville (1998)

    eXistenZ (1999)

    The Matrix (1999)

    Battle Royale (2000)

    On the Beach (2000)

    A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

    Equilibrium (2002)

    Minority Report (2002)

    Resident Evil (2002)

    The Time Machine (2002)

    28 Days Later (2002)

    Code 46 (2003)

    I, Robot (2004)

    The Island (2005)

    V for Vendetta (2005)

    A Scanner Darkly (2006)

    I Am Legend (2007)

    28 Weeks Later (2007)

    Children of Men (2008)

    Blindness (2008)

    Daybreakers (2009)

    District 9 (2009)

    The Road (2009)

    Watchmen (2009)

    Book of Eli (2010)

    Never Let Me Go (2010)

    The Divide (2011)

    Cloud Atlas (2012)

    Looper (2012)

    Snowpiercer (2013)

    The Congress (2013)

    Elysium (2013)

    The Purge (2013)

    The Zero Theorem (2013)

    The Rover (2014)

    Z for Zachariah (2015)

    Westworld (2016 – )

    The Handmaid’s Tale (2017 – )

    Hotel Artemis (2018)

    Ready Player One (2018)

    Brave New World (2020)

    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!

    Mother (2009)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Mother (2009)

    After her son is jailed for a girl’s brutal murder, a mother does everything in her power to prove his innocence.

    The mixed feelings begin from the opening shot and extend all the way through the first act. The music, the acting, the character development, the mother/son relationship, and all utterances and actions make one question why IMDb describes it as a crime, drama, and mystery. Twenty minutes into it, it starts looking that way, but still… Yoon Do-joon’s mental disability and the way his surrounding environment and authorities perceive him make it unclear what it really is.

    The role of his mother, though, somehow, despite the odd human behaviour, intensifies the drama in the second act and turns it into a whodunit with the stamp of Bong Joon Ho. After Memories of Murder (2003) and The Host (2006) and before Snowpiercer (2013), Okja (2017), and Parasite (2019), Bong Joon Ho feels confident directing Mother, most certainly knowing that unpredictable feelings will be evoked. Definitely not for everyone, but it’s the kind of cinema that allows Westerners, through art, to discover a variety of cultural idiosyncrasies so different to their own.

    Far too many years ago, someone told me that if I ended up in hell, my mother would be the only one to find a way to sneak out of heaven, descent, and trade places with me, so it is she that withstands eternal suffering instead of me. Mother ends up being the soul-crushing drama that emphasises the mother’s sacrifice, loneliness, and the unbearable task of carrying a personal cross all the way to the top of Golgotha.

    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!

    Chaos Walking (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Chaos Walking (2021)

    Many years into the future, on an unknown planet, a male-only settlement is after two youngsters who are in search of truth.

    Interesting premise! Like any decent sci-fi, there is a metaphor behind the top dollar spent and the fancy visual effects. Chaos Walking is the actual settlers’ terraforma atrocities. Arguably though, that takes the back seat when the film decides to focus on the projection of the human inability to control their thoughts; men’s anyway.

    As the story unfolds, more truths and metaphors emerge, eventually overshadowed, too, by men’s uncontrollable projected thoughts. Regardless, pay attention to the mayor’s and the priest’s roles. If you’ve read a thing or two about colonisation, you won’t be surprised about their character development. 

    After the script’s many rewritings, extensive $15M re-shoots took place, during which Tom Holland broke his nose, passed out trying to hold his breath underwater, and had his wisdom teeth pulled out. No wonder why the film’s release date was pushed back a year… And after all that, humongous plot holes are still there, like stains that have failed to come off after many washings. The most striking was the shuttle that no one saw falling from the sky. A shuttle that no one heard or felt crashed next to the farm, either. The best part? By the time Todd saw it, some pieces were still on fire, but Viola had already dag 2 graves and was out and about stealing food. I mean… never mind!

    It’s a shame that experienced directors like Doug Liman and studios like Lionsgate Entertainment still struggle that much when money and resources are not an issue. That’s why audiences think outside the box diminish Hollywood productions. It’s a shame, really.

    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!

    Stowaway (2021)

    Kay
    -
    0
    Stowaway (2021)

    A series of dilemmas and decisions divide a crew on its way to Mars when they discover a passenger who shouldn’t have been there.

    Very well-written and shot in the first act, paying extra attention to the orbital mechanics’ math but also the heroes’ reactions during the launch. The discovery of the stowaway passenger intensifies the thrill, and the agony regarding who this person is and why he’s there begins… Well, not immediately!

    The second act starts off a bit slow, not interested in providing crucial information immediately. Don’t be put off by that, though. Pace yourselves. Everything slowly and steadily is falling into place. When the dilemma is presented, questions such as: What would I do? How would I do it? What if I were him? How the hell did it come to that? And maybe more will get you engaged.

    Writer/producer Ryan Morrison and co-writer/producer/director Joe Penna wrote and directed, respectively, a very claustrophobic drama/thriller/sci-fi full of moral decisions and dilemmas. XYZ Films, as always, made sure to invest in the film’s technological realism for a heartbreaking yet kind of believable outcome. Speaking of believability, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson, and Toni Collette give very decent performances and have good chemistry.

    The denouement is arguably overdramatised, but it still serves the narrative’s purpose. I believe that the lukewarm reviews derive from the desire for more action, which the film somewhat lacks. Don’t be discouraged, though; its other qualities compensate. While in lockdown, having nothing much more creative to do, Stowaway becomes the escapism we potentially need/want.

    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!

    1...121314...21Page 13 of 21

    Popular posts

    Carnage for Christmas (2024)

    Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)

    A Blast (2014)

    John Huston

    Featured

    Carnage for Christmas (2024)

    Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)

    A Blast (2014)

    John Huston

    Useful Links

    2024 © Copyright - Made by KayGazPro and serviceTag