This is right in my wheelhouse, and yet, I disliked it more than anyone I know of. The cinematography is relatively strong, but that's where my faint praise ends. The writing, direction, pacing, and even the performances—including Sonne's, who I thought was a revelation in Holiday—are overwrought to the point of parody. As a purveyor of bleak European dramas, even this was a bridge too far (read: affected, forced) for me.
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Eureka 2023
Highly recommend avoiding plot descriptions for this film as they completely spoil the film's biggest surprises.
Had to consult my review of Jauja to even remember what I thought of it, and while I primarily praised Alonso's formalism in his previous film while lamenting the lack of substance, I'm glad I can't say the same of his follow up. Eureka is a gloriously inscrutable film which I found enrapturing for the bulk of its runtime. Its unique structure is the…
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Central Station 1998
Based on the plot description, poster, tagline, etc. I assumed this would be your typical weepy movie about a jaded older person forced to take care of a child who slowly warms their heart and helps them atone for their past failures, etc. But for 30 minutes or so, this bucked my expectations, avoiding sentimentality and leaning into the grittier elements as it develops the characters and sets up the story. Once they depart the titular station, though, it quickly becomes exactly the film I anticipated, and while the performances do a great job of elevating the material, it still fundamentally feels formulaic and sappy.
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Center Jenny 2013
In high school, my friends and I burned a CD with 15 tracks of just this one song "Hyper Lenny", wrote "The Greatest Mix CD of All Time" on it, and put it in the CD binder in my car, so that when unsuspecting people would see it and request to listen to it, I would reply "sure but we have to listen to at least 3 songs." This feels (both in title and vibes) like an extension of that inside joke/bit, and I had a great time with it.
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Nowhere 1997
Brain-dead Easton Ellis. Araki describes his own film as "Beverly Hills 90210 on acid," but it plays more like SNL's The Californians on K2. The soundtrack and set design are doing all of the heavy lifting. Doesn't take its characters or content seriously enough to qualify as social commentary, nor is it anywhere near incisive enough to pass as satire. A total jerk-off-motion of a movie.
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Last Summer 2023
I knew the plot going in, and I consider myself pretty unfazed by taboo content like this, and yet I still said "jesus christ" out loud during two different scenes. But even considering that the film managed to surprise me, not only with its content but specifically the thrilling direction it takes in the second half, the ending is too disappointing and deflating to give this an emphatic recommendation.
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Sonic the Hedgehog 2020
Packed full of cringy, lazy "jokes," but, at under 100 minutes, it rarely feels dull, and the CGI is surprisingly good. Also the whole cast is really committed, especially Carrey, which helps it not feel completely soulless. Would be a borderline 2/5, but it did get one genuine hearty laugh out of me—the throwaway fitbit joke, not that anyone would remember it—and that's honestly enough for a passing grade at this point.
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Memoir of a Snail 2024
Whether it's the intentionally repulsive aesthetic, the exhausting and unrelenting pleas for pity, the children's storybook vibe to it all, or the clashing mix of all three, this was a chore to get through, only made watchable by the undeniably impressive craft apparent in the details of every frame.
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Blitz 2024
McQueen going full Spielberg, and though his approach adds a bit of grit to the mix (and, it should go without saying, a solid craftsmanship), the cartoonish characterization, blunt themes, and overbearing sense of childlike wonder and hope do it no favors. We only need one Sentimental Steve. Or do we even?
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Remember the Night 1940
Interesting concept and structure, but not on a scene-to-scene basis, unfortunately. The ending's fantastic, but even at a paltry 94 minutes, the journey to get there isn't compelling enough to recommend this.