Twin Peaks: The Return is bold a departure from the hauntingly beautiful soap opera that is the original series; Lynch essentially uses the audience’s nostalgia and expectations as a weapon against them. It’s a brilliant move by Frost and Lynch, but it definitely brought with it much divisiveness…but that’s never been a concern of theirs anyway.
I haven’t seen this since its original run in 2017, so there was a lot I didn’t remember; experiencing The Return with new eyes…
Its dreamy set design & photography, assured tone, and performances drew me in and had me under its spell, for better or worse. While its superficiality is evident, I still rode the waves of its shallowness, admiring the audacity it takes to create such a piece.
I found myself appreciating Fennell’s ability to turn what some might dismiss as shallow into a delightful, sure maybe trashy, but boldly executed cinematic experience of a sociopath’s confession.
With its comforting atmosphere, The Holdovers claims the title of the coziest film of the year—a warm hug, akin to sipping hot cocoa or tea by the crackling fire.
It’s certainly not the most innovative film, turning to familiar and often overused story beats; yet, it deftly embraces these beats, earning each moment with a genuine and authentic touch. Though simple, its writing and performances elevate it to greatness!
My rating is generous, but I don’t care I was moved!
It delivers on its title!
I was both scared and captivated by the degeneracy. Definitely not everyone’s (probably most people’s) cup of tea, but it worked for me! It’s raw, uncomfortable, and frankly horrific, but Korine embraces it fully, never shying away from his unfiltered vision of societal decay.
Also, the character’s laughs are going to stick with me, for better or worse!
De Palma is a wizard with his cinematic techniques. Seeing how he pulls the strings with each distinct artistic choice is half of the brilliance - Blow Out especially uses the medium to its fullest effect, crafting a story that is entirely heightened by his filmic sensibilities.
His specific techniques (split-screen/diopter, tracking shots, slow motion, etc) aren’t merely enhancements; they are integral to the fabric of the visual storytelling. Not to mention the sound design, which not only has plot…
"If you died you'd forget me. I want to be remembered."
Don't watch this movie unless you want a guaranteed broken heart in just under 90 minutes 😭
Inspiring in its creativity. The seamlessly constructed one-take is impressive, and the fact the film is ultra low-budget heightens its achievement. It’s clear the entire team was committed to bringing this to life. They pulled off something fairly ambitious with ease, using its simplicity to its advantage.
Highly entertaining and super charming, a fresh take on time loop films. Very clever. Very short. A very easy watch.
This would make a fantastic double feature alongside One Cut of the Dead.
“My uncle says we live three times as long since man invented movies... It means movies give us twice what we get from daily life."
Life affirming, soul stirring. Humanity is captured so gently by Yang. Definitely teared up a few times, but the ending reallyyy got me.
This will certainly be a 5 for me on a second viewing, but I’ll keep it here for now…it gives me a reason to revisit!
“There is not a single cloud, not a single tree, that is not beautiful. People should be like that too.”
Fnaf lacked any excitement with its predictable, dull story. I just did not find myself caring about anyone or anything in the film.
It does not offer anything of substance to anyone who is not a fan or familiar with the franchise like myself.
“Prefer the present to those fine promises.
Even a drum sounds melodious from afar…
prefer the present..."