Raya and the Last Dragon is one of those COVID-19 films, that were due in the cinemas in 2020, but since world has been kind of strange, it got pushed back, amongs many others. When it got finally released on Disney+, I’ve heard mixed reviews, where people were either underwhelmed, or just “whelmed”. I have yet to see somebody to praise this really highly (well, my girlfriend really liked it, so I am guessing I have finally seen somebody, who really adores this film).

For what its worth, I think I fall into the “whelmed” camp, where I thought this film was pretty cool, cute, colourful and at places, slightly unpredictable (I knew how the story will go/end up, just didn’t guess the route it took, so that’s a plus in my book) Disney movie, that mainly suffers from being a bit too long. I thought for the story and how it went about telling it, the movie had about 10 minutes too long.

I really appreciated the slightly new(ish) spin on all too familiar story (hero, or in this case, heroine, who needs to save the world, that used to be great, and while doing that, she might learn a lesson or two) but I thought at places the movie dragged on (or dragoned…? No? Ok I’ll see myself out then) a bit too much. What I also didn’t understand was how often then movie repeated itself, when comes to names of the dragons, or how our protagonists would talk about “we are approaching *insert a place named after a dragon body part here*, finally!” just for us to get the big font title screen with *insert a place named after a dragon body part here, you know, the one we’ve just mentioned 5 seconds ago*. I understand this is a movie for kids, but trust me, kids nowadays are not dumb and they catch on quickly, you don’t need to spell everything out for them.

I thought the voice casting was perfect. I really enjoyed both Kelly Marie Tran voice and performance. What I was surprised by was the fact how much I enjoyed Awkwafina‘s performance. I am not going to lie, it always takes me out of the movie slightly when characters, especially the ones that are supposed to live “long time ago”, speak in modern slang and use popular phrases. So it took me a while to get used to Awkwafina’s performance, but there was something about her voice that quickly convinced me and I loved it. Also, she definitely had some funny lines, definitely a perfect example of a great comedic character, that could have been annoying, but wasn’t.

Raya and the Last Dragon is also a great example of stunning animation, where the characters don’t necessarily look real-life, but everything around them does. Mainly the water animation, the level of attention to details, some of those desert shots… I loved how colourful this film was, it was truly joy to look at and it never felt like too much, or something would look off. But then again, it is Disney, so they can afford to spend some decent money on their movies.

Towards the end, when I started to fell the extra length of some scenes, I was really on the edge when comes to my rating, but then as I alluded to at the start of my review, things I expected to happen, happened. But way differently then I imagined. And I really liked that. Some of you might be thinking, what does it matter how it goes about it, if you know from the very beginning, how the story ends? Well, I really much believe in the rule of “it’s the journey, not the destination” so that is why to me, these tiny details matter. It’s easier to take the road that’s more travelled, so I do appreciate this film for at least throwing something slightly unexpected at us.

Overall, Raya and the Last Dragon is a prime example of Disney movie, that you can say it’s pretty great. It’s visually beautiful, mostly funny adventure, where you know what you are getting yourself into, but also the movie might surprise you at times by the path(s) it takes to get there. It can’t be measured with the likes of Pixar however, as not only it was a bit too long for me, I felt like there was nothing deeper in it. Don’t get me wrong, the movie’s message about “people being people” and “we are best when we come together, trust and help each other” is a good lesson. But compared to the “the cream of the crop” animated movies of the last 20 years or so, it does feel a bit on the shallow side, like there isn’t much meat on these bones. But it’s a great family movie nevertheless, and I don’t think you will regret watching this cute, colourful film.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I remember when the first Borat (aka Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, 2007) came out and how shocking it was. It was this movie, that made learn who Sacha Baron Cohen was and because of it, I have started to follow him more closely, as I liked his edginess, how we managed to mock people, by just allowing them to express themselves. But how do you top that? How do you make a sequel to a film like that, without solving some issues. First of all, the culture has progressed so much, we are so desensitized, plenty of things no longer shock us and more importantly, the Borat character became so known all over the world, it would be next to impossible to find enough people, who wouldn’t know what’s happening (as shown by the beginning of this film). And this is where the brilliance of casting Maria Bakalova comes in. Whether it was Sacha himself, or one of his screenwriters, they deserve the praise, as not only it was genius move, but she was superb.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (aka Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) feels more cinematic than its predecessor, and not because of technical reasons (camera work etc.), no. Because of everything that’s happened (election, COVID pandemic and mainly the entire storyline with his daughter) there actually seemed to be a cohesive narrative, not just like the first movie, where the main story was about him looking to marry Pamela Anderson. And honestly, Maria has a lot to do with that fact.

It’s still rare, in almost 100 years of Oscar existence, to be nominated for a performance in comedy film. I believe the number of people who managed to get nominated for that (and again, we are not talking about screenplays, just purely acting) would still be single digits. That’s how rare it is and that is why it always feels almost questionable, when somebody manages to do that. When Maria’s nomination was announced, I was shocked and it made me want to watch this film even more. And now I can say that I can see why she was nominated. She had a such a tough job – be on the same level of insanity as Sacha’s character, but at the same time, she needed to be more of a “straight woman”, for some of his jokes to work. As the golden rule of comedy goes, somebody needs to be the crazy one and somebody needs to be straight one, to make the crazy one standout and for the jokes to bounce off each other well. If both (or multiple) characters try to top each other and be the crazy, comedic one, it doesn’t work (for an unfortunate example of that, please see the Ghostbusters (2016) reboot, that’s not really a reboot?) So she already had her work cut out with that, but she not only nailed that part, but her character had an actual growth throughout the movie, where at the end of it, you couldn’t really laugh at her anymore. And that is no easy job to convey, in Borat movie! I was honestly impressed with her acting chops and I can’t wait to see her in other movies.

The main thing I loved about this film was how many obstacles they had to jump through (mainly the COVID-19 pandemic) and how brilliantly they incorporated them into the actual film. Just the fact Sacha actually lived for almost a week with the conservative people in their cabin, having to go to sleep and wake up in the character of Borat, is insane. On top of that, throughout the movie, he manages to stay as edgy as ever with a splash of brilliance on top (the whole abortion bit is just great).

My only issue is the same thing I praised the film for just a few sentences before – wait, what…? Yes. Because of more narrative, and because this feels more like your conventional movie, the last 30 minutes or so do feel like the film loses a bit of steam. Maybe it was because in most of it, Maria wasn’t there…? Yeah, she is back for the now infamous Rudy bit (which was probably the most uncomfortable moment in the entire thing and that is saying something) and the very end, but I still felt like the film might have been a bit too long. I do have to say, the final pay-off is worth it.

Overall, I would recommend this, as I thought it’s still a clever, funny movie, that yet again exposes certain people for who they are. If I were to make any distinctions between this film and the first Borat movie, I would say they are both great in their own right. It depends what you are in mood for. If you want to watch something with little to no narrative and laugh basically every single moment of the film, go for the original one. If you prefer something with more of a story, narrative structure and great performance(s) with actual growth, go for this sequel. I think you shouldn’t be disappointed either way.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

If you ever seen any movie by Park Chan-Wook, you know he’s unique in every sense of that word and his films reflect that. They tend to be really raw, often bloody movies, with dark, twisted sense of humour. Thirst is no exception… except it is, as at some points, you can’t help but laugh at scenes you were not supposed to. I think that’s this film’s biggest sticking point, some scenes don’t work as they might have been intended.

I really liked the concept behind this film – priest volunteers for a vaccine trial (watching this in COVID-19 times, this definitely hits slightly differently), and then, he dies. Except he doesn’t. He is just a bit more “vampirey” than before. And needs to drink blood to heal, as that’s the only thing that seems to be keeping the virus under control. So he struggles with morality, he’s trying not to kill, but of course, nothing is that simple. And his biggest challenge, seemingly innocent girl he starts falling fall, might not be as innocent. This is everything I will share about this film, as anything beyond would just be ruining some surprises this movie has in store for you.

What I really liked about Thirst is what I can say about any of Park’s films – his aesthetic is on another level. I don’t know how to describe it, but you just know by how certain scenes are framed, lit, shot, that you are watching something totally different than your “paint by numbers” average film. He’s got a real gift of telling really unique stories in fascinating, unique way, that keeps you watching your screen without blinking, even though what is happening is sometimes bit too graphic to handle, for some people. I always liked that about him, he’s got the balls to go for anything, as in his movies, it’s not just about the extreme violence, or the occasional gore/nudity. There is always something extra underneath.

Take this film for example – it can be viewed as simple vampire story, but it is also about power and what it does to people with no moral compass. How ultimate power can and does corrupt people, what it takes to be a good person. And how even a good person can slip up. That’s what I have always found fascinating about his movies, not only they have great ideas, they consistently throw something unexpected on you. Kind of like taking a shower, where the water gets really cold for a few seconds – it’s something that you don’t expect and definitely wakes you up.

My only issue with this film is some scenes came across more comedic than I think intended. It’s almost like with Thirst, Park Chan-Wook didn’t find the perfect balance between drama and subtext and thus some scenes don’t hit you the way they were meant to. You understand what’s happening, you also understand how were you supposed to feel, but it just doesn’t hit you, you are not sold entirely, it’s almost like there is this disconnect between the viewer and the movie and I don’t think that was intentional.

I need to praise the main duo – Kang-ho Song and Kim Ok-bin. With Kang-ho, I have seen him act so many other times I know he’s a great actor, so I wasn’t that surprised, but I haven’t seen Kim anywhere prior and I was really impressed with her performance, as her character is really complex one, and she nails it. You can argue that she’s the main star of this film, as her character goes through a big journey and it’s Kim’s performance, that makes it work without you questioning it. Without going into any spoilers, what she’s done in this film isn’t easy and can easily derail your movie, if it’s done by a lesser actor. But you always understand her character, where she is coming from and mainly you can see why she ends up the way she does.

Overall, Thirst is definitely an interesting movie with a great premise, some stunning raw visuals and brilliant performances, that’s only hurt by the occasional almost genre fluidity, where you get what the movie is going for, but you can’t take it seriously. It’s worth your time and I don’t think you will regret watching it, but it’s definitely not on the same level of his other movies, such as Oldboy (2003), Stoker (2013) or The Handmaiden (2016).

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

The name Orson Welles definitely stands out even now, almost 40 years after his death. And there is a reason for that, as he made one of the most known, celebrated, influential movies of all time, Citizen Kane (1941). That is the movie he’s known for, even if you are talking to somebody, who isn’t really a movie lover, chances are they have heard of that movie and his name with it. For cinephiles, he’s also known for Touch of Evil (1958, if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour and get that watched) or possibly something like The Trial (1962, my review here) which is more experimental kind of a movie. But I don’t think people even the ones who’d consider themselves cinephiles, would have listed The Stranger as one of his movies instantly and it would have been a shame, as it still holds up. At least when comes to building suspense.

This movie is pretty simple cat and mouse game, where you know pretty much from the very start, who’s the bad guy and who is the good guy. The movie is more about the bad guy (played by Orson himself) and his pretty justified paranoia. As even though he tried to erase his past, it caught up with him and this is something this film does really well – you can feel the imaginary noose around his neck getting tighter by a minute.

I also love the way Orson shoots his movies. That is why he is still considered as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, because his films have always had something extra, something special, you just wouldn’t see in other movies at that time. There is always some either unbroken long take, different angle, or the camera going through a window. Things, we consider normal and not as effective today, as we’ve seen them done so much, we don’t think of those camera tricks as special anymore. But back then, he was really trying to push his craft as much as he could and I always admire people like that.

This might be a bit controversial to say, but I am not sure whether he was such a great actor, especially in this movie. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s alright, he’s by no means bad, but if there is one thing about The Stranger I didn’t really care for, was him in the title role. I do understand he was “jack of all trades”, but I do think sometimes him being in the centre of the story and his face being so well known… it almost felt distracting in a way. Who I liked was Loretta Young. Not only she was stunning, but she was great in her role and her commitment to performing quite dangerous stunt herself towards the end of a movie, where she’s being lifted up to a tower in about 15 meters from the ground without any safety gear, as the cable they tried to use was visible in every take… that takes some balls. Check out the trivia section on IMDb for yourself, but of course, it contains spoilers, so just a heads up.

Overall, I would recommend The Stranger, as I found it surprisingly gripping, even after all those years passed and we have seen elements of story like this done or copied at least hundred times (spy or ex-spy with terrible past, trying to live/hide someplace quiet, but his past always catches up with him). I don’t even know whether this would be considered original, or whether Orson got inspired from some other movie, but I don’t think it matters as much. If he wasn’t “the first”, he definitely was one of the firsts, and I am convinced now, that I need to fill up my gaps when comes to movies he directed. So far, I’ve only seen 4 movies of his and I liked them all, so he might be my cup of hot cocoa.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I don’t know what was more disturbing – watching this movie, or knowing that it’s is based on reality. Compliance is one of those movies, that you watch and it stays with you for a while. It’s a brilliant example of how simple movie can be. You don’t need CGI, multiple locations, extra big budget, you just need a few decent enough actors and story, that grips you and won’t let go until the very end.

The idea behind this movie has been around for a few decades. If you give (extend) power to someone, where they believe they are not “responsible” for their actions, as they are just following orders by authority figure, are they still responsible for the final outcome? Even though they are the ones executing everything, they are just following orders. Because that is what you should do, right? And what happens when the authority figure starts asking you to take it one step further, when is it enough? When will you say “I am not doing that”? That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? We are all heroes in our own stories/lives, we all would like to think “I wouldn’t do that”, but how can we know for sure, unless we are put into that position, where this supposed authority figure is telling us we need to do it, or else…? Would we truly do what we believe is right, or just blindly follow the orders, hoping we are somehow absolved of all responsibility?

Compliance is definitely a movie that will make you feel a lot of ways. It will also make you think about how would you deal with this situation and but most importantly, it makes you doubt everything and yourself and I think that’s a good thing. It’s important to have movies, that can challenge our views, that can make us think about uncomfortable topics. Craig Zobel, director of this movie and the other controversial movie, The Hunt (2020, my review here) definitely seems to be one of those, who isn’t afraid to ask uncomfortable questions. And even though his movies always seem tough to watch and there is always something, that’s (for me) missing or would “blow me away”, his movies are definitely worth it. If you can stomach watching films, that can make you uncomfortable.

There are two main stars of this film – Ann Dowd and Dreama Walker. And I honestly can’t say who’s the star, or who “stole” the movie for herself, as both are great in their own right. Ann is amazing as the manager, who’s just trying to do what she believes will help everybody and ultimately, what she believes is right. She never meant to harm anyone, she was just following orders. Dreama’s role was (obviously) much different, as she’s the victim, and it was heart-breaking seeing her character get slowly, piece by piece, humiliated. Both of these ladies played their roles so well, you feel sorry for both of them at the end, albeit in different way. You feel sorry for Ann’s character, as you can see why she would do, what she did, but at the same time you feel really sorry for Dreama’s character, as nobody should be treated like that, no matter the charges.

The most uncomfortable thing about Compliance is the “simple” fact that not only the situation depicted in the movie actually happened in real life (according to the movie’s closing credits, across 30 states in USA), but it can very well happen again. You’d think people nowadays would have been smarter then to fall for schemes like that, but think about how often you see/hear about people, who still click on different conspiracy theories online, how fast they are to share something, they never bothered to fact-check. And now imagine something like that happening, except maybe it’s over the Internet, not over the phone…? Where somebody doesn’t bother to check whether they are talking to a police officer, and just go along with it… For me, that’s the chilling part about this – even though I’d hope something like this would never happen again, I am 100% convinced it will, as unfortunately, “pranks” (if you can even call something like that a prank) and edginess can often cloud people’s minds. Everybody wants to have their 15 seconds of fame, but at what cost…?

Overall, Compliance is worth watching, if you are fine with being quite uncomfortable for 90 minutes. If you are looking for a simple, yet effective movie, that knows what it wants to communicate and does it quite well, look no further, but brace yourself for something, that you don’t get to see too often. For better, or worse.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I don’t think there is a movie, that gained more of a cult status in the first decade of the 2000’s, than Napoleon Dynamite. I have not seen it until now and still I knew about the dry sense of humour this movie is famous for, how the main protagonist looks like and that there is a final dance number, that was supposed to be really funny. Well, let me take it step by step…

Any kind of really dry humour is really hit or miss with me. It either really works, or it doesn’t and I suffer through the movie/TV show. But this film is a rare exception confirming the rule, that was kind of in the middle…? I didn’t laugh nearly as much as I thought/wanted, but overall I had some decent chuckles here and there. And even the big final dance was… ok? It was nothing that would have me dying with laughter, maybe I’ve heard about it so much over the years I over-hyped it, or maybe I just don’t find any dancing funny, no matter how funny it should be…? And yet, in this instance, it didn’t bother me. The fact, I didn’t laugh as much didn’t really concern me as with other comedies.

My main thing about this film and why, even though I did not laugh as much as expected, I still rate it highly, I really liked the story. More importantly, how realistic it was, to the point it was almost too painful too watch at times, but at the same time, that’s what made this movie really special in my eyes. Let me give you an example with the ending of this movie. Now, it’s been out for 17+ years and it’s not exactly any twist/shocker, so I will just talk about it without the mandatory spoiler tag. Basically, Napoleon dances his ass off, “wins the day” (well, for his mate, who’s running for the class president) and receives a full on standing ovation. In that one moment, he’s the hero of this tiny, middle of the nowhere school, where nothing much really happens. And yet, the next week or so, where we see him playing with a ball, he’s all alone. He’s not surrounded by 10 new friends, he’s not the “hottest new thing” in his school… Because that’s not how people work and this movie understands it.

Behind this quirkiness, this weirdness of a movie, you will find a really simple story about a guy, who just wants something, but I don’t think he knows, what he wants. He’s really supportive of his friends, but he just wants to take it easy, chill and maybe play with a ball. Because he loves his simple, kind of strange life. And that one moment, a few minutes, even though it happened in front his entire high school, has not really changed that much for him or about him. I really liked that.

Napoleon Dynamite is truly one of the quirkiest, most straight forward movies you will ever see in your entire life. But in this simplicity lies the film’s biggest weapon – it’s honest. Behind everything, you are just seeing a film about a student, who lives in the middle of nowhere (literally) where nothing much happens and he likes it like that. I can kind of relate to this, as I also grew up in this tiny village (population around 3.000 people) where nothing much happened, but unlike Napoleon, that drove me insane, so I’ve changed it and moved.

Overall, if you are up for a movie, that just gives it to you straight, no hidden messages, that doesn’t want you to be a better person after finishing it, you know, just a really simple comedy, that based on your sense of dry humour you might find less or more funny, Napoleon Dynamite might be a film for you. Again, I have heard a lot about it, so maybe I might have overhyped myself, maybe this kind of humour is too dry for my liking, but I really appreciated the simplicity of the story and how natural those unnaturally acting people felt like 🙂

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Sound of Metal is one of those movies, that has everything going for them. Oscar winning performance (this review was written before 2021’s Oscar ceremony, but I’d be genuinely shocked if somebody else snatched that Oscar from Riz Ahmed, as he’s the one everyone keeps talking about), great story about something, that we haven’t seen a lot of prior, something unique (the best sound Oscars should be a formality) and most importantly, it’s an inspirational story. So how come, there was something that just didn’t click with me…?

Look, I am not going to say this film is a bad one, no. Quite the opposite, it’s a really great piece of cinema, that pulls you in, gives you a tour de soul of this young drummer, who only wants to do one thing and one thing only – be a drummer. That’s something I appreciated, we get how much this means to Riz’s character without having to see some sort of montage of how he used to drum ever since he was a little boy. The reason we don’t need that is because of his performance. The movie definitely is one man show, where he doesn’t have to say a lot for you to understand how much he’s freaking out, how much he hates, what’s happening to him, how much he’s hurt by it… On this front, the movie succeeded 100%.

I also loved all the sound choices, that might seem obvious, but they were not. For example, I think (and this is just my theory) that the way we hear the movie totally depends on Riz’s mind. What I mean by that – I’ve noticed that in scenes where he’s “getting better”, he’s trying to face his condition, the sound is clear, even though he still can’t hear anything. But when he “slips out”, when he makes some questionable decisions, that’s where we go back to the sound of the movie being distorted. Maybe the movie is telling us that deep down, he knows what he’s doing is wrong? Or maybe I am reading too much into this…? Who knows, but the second half of the movie (especially the scenes on the farm) seemed like that was definitely a purposeful choice. And I can only applaud to that.

But unfortunately the movie also starts to drag on a bit, towards the end. I think my main issue with it was (and this might sound really bizarre, but hear me out here) Riz’s performance was so great, you knew where this guy was going, before he made his move. You knew, how he thinks, what he will do. And once you understand him, that is when the movie needs to either give you something really entertaining (read different), as the “mystery” is gone, maybe for something unexpected to happen, but no. Everything that happens to him you could tell from about halfway through the movie, which speaks to his level of great performance, but also that means that the second hour of this film drags on, as nothing surprises you anymore, so the movie doesn’t feel as fresh, but slightly more like a chore to finish.

Also, I will say this – I understand this movie was supposed to be mainly about Riz’s character and his journey and I get that, but I still thought we could have used more scenes with him and Olivia Cooke. Their interactions felt real, raw, sincere and especially towards the end (which again, you see what will happen with him, so there is no surprise) that moment those two characters shared, felt earned. I feel like movie kind of undercut itself by having such a great actress and somebody, who could go toe-to-toe with Riz, only for her to be gone for most of it. Again, I understood why they did it, I just wish they would have given them more scenes together, as that couple dynamic really worked for me.

This is one of those movies I (already) can’t wait to re-visit couple of years from now, to see whether my perspective changes, as sometimes it happens. You watch a movie everybody seems to love and you “only like it”, and then, once you see it again, with a clear head couple of years from your first viewing, you find things you haven’t found the first time around. Because I need to say this again, Sound of Metal is not a bad movie. I was just waiting for something, that would punch me in the stomach, something that would deliver the final blow and it hasn’t… Ok, let me put it this way – before COVID-19, remember those magical places called restaurants? The establishments, that you would go into, you’d sit down, had some nice food…? Yeah, so now imagine, you go to one of those, you’ve heard a lot of great stuff about it, you order a starter, a main and a dessert. The starter is great, but you could’ve used a little bit more of it (in this metaphor, that would be his relationship with Olivia’s character), the main is excellent piece of food, where you have no complaints whatsoever (Riz and what the movie is trying to do, the story it’s telling) and then the dessert arrives. And you are looking for that fine looking dessert to give you that great, sweet finish, but instead of that, it leaves you kind of… indifferent. Sure, the starter and the main was still great, so the overall experience isn’t ruined by any means, but you can’t help but feeling like there was something missing from the perfect experience. And also, now I am hungry.

Overall, Sound of Metal is definitely a movie, you need to see. It’s different, it’s told from a unique point of view, it has great performances all around. Personally, there was just something that was missing for me to call this movie excellent. It’s still really, really great piece of film though, so do give it a chance.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke