party_favors

4.9/5 ⭐️

A deeply funny, dark, & timely sci fi tale teasing the implications of life, labor, & humanity. Bong is a genius at creating renderable tropes in specific worlds where we can imagine ethics while laughing at absurdity.

Robert Pattinson commits to the eponymous Mickey who gets regenerated as needed by a religious-cult-corporation on an ark to a new planet for inhabitation. Each iteration of his temporal life provides different personality quirks though he is anchored by the love of his lives Nasha (the brilliant Naomi Ackie).

The ensemble, featuring, Steven Yuen, Uma Thurman & Mark Ruffalo all play the various kinds of sycophants that thrive in this near future horror world. The ark is a bastion of fanatics following a cartoon demagogue & his pedantic wife.

4.75/5 ⭐️

I saw this movie in theaters when I was 12 & it was one of the most comforting films of my post-9/11 anxiety. This tense political drama gave credence to my pre-pubescent distrust of the American government & the growing suspicion of capitalism.

This may be the first role that made me a Meryl Streep fan. I’d already been raised on Denzel so I was familiar with his game. Liev Schreiber also shines in his role. He holds his fear & doubt so close to the chest that makes him so sympathetic from the beginning. The evolving twists are so enriching to plot each development draws you closer to the characters.

The film’s cinematography also materIalizes the paranoia of the all controlling surveillance state. The POV & Closed circuit shots reiterate how pervasive the conspiracy exists.

Each of the villains are textured & troubling portrait of how the powerful see their humanity over the humanity of others. The greatest villain being the US elites who attempt to play god with international innocents & domestic heroes alike.

4.6/5⭐️

Discourse bores me. The conversations around this film were tenuous yet boring. Outside of critiques of terrible sound mixing, which are legitimate, this films refusal to define all the rules helps its prestige.

The plot was actually very simple if you concede the magic of the world. I think that too often white filmmakers attempt fantasy works based in some sort of legible reality to achieve prestige. Still this fantastic story, plot holes included, offer a deep & intriguing atmosphere.

I think David Washington gets too much critiques for being Denzel Washington son, but he truly is a decent actor. As the protagonist of the drama, he levels the idiosyncrasies of the world. while ever so often, I definitely hear his father and his voice his character betrayal feels singular to his generation. well, in some ways, I think this part could’ve been played by a variety of his peers, I do think he carried the film successfully.

I really enjoyed the secret plot twist of the woman being her own freedom. Upon re-watching I realized how early we saw her survival. I also really enjoyed Robert Pattinson as his compatriot. what made me curious was how geographically wide the movie felt without any specific location locations.

3.75/5 ⭐️

Honestly, coming in as a huge fan of both leads & the press tour, I still wanted to wait a while before watching this. The conceit was honestly more thoughtfully interrogated & felt & realized than the limited discourse I skimmed.

Zendaya is so dynamic as a "fuck-ass' girl who happens to be gorgeous. She really has this incredibly humanizing charm that continually makes her various characters' wild choices shock us. Her version of her character (Emma), however, was overshadowed by Jordyn Curet's portrayal of the younger version, seen primarily in limited-dialogue flashbacks. I think there is also something so logical & material about Emma's journey that gets realized & humanized without excusing larger cultures of racism & violence.

Robert Pattinson also shined as the deceptively average but emotionally vast Charlie. His depth comes with his level of new & funny ways to deescalate that often times backfire. His cumuppance was deserved & because this is a romantic (dark) comedy, they thankfully end up together.

The shots *wink* were thoughtful & didn't ever distract from the story or the characters. So many stills felt llike editorial or stage play. But also we had this POV style shot to feel the crowded, overheard, gossip-filled atmosphere of a wedding.