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It Comes At Night (2017) - Movie Review

★★★★½  / ★★★★★

The biggest horror is what real people will do when their lives and their loved one’s lives are in danger, no matter how real that danger actually is. It Comes at Night is not a “scary” movie necessarily, but it takes a look at the psychological horrors that occur when a man and his family are threatened by an outside dangerous outbreak and a new incoming family that are looking for shelter. The title is used metaphorically for the real fear that comes from what could be hiding in the dark, more than it is about an actual creature that only comes at night.

The movie unfortunately, did leave a few important questions unanswered and unresolved, which is why it did not receive a perfect score from me. The point of the film was not to answer what exactly is the cause of this sickness, and why is it happening. However, there are a few questions that are important to character motivations and behaviour that needed to be explored and were just never brought up again. There was also an over-reliance on the use of “dream sequences,” where I was fine with it for a while because it showed how much more afraid one character was getting and their paranoia becoming worse, but it was used a bit too often.

The film was more of a character-driven story, and in that way, the film did that perfectly. I was feeling terrified because the characters and the acting demonstrated how scary they felt and I felt that for them as well. There was a moment near the end of the film, where a character had to do something terrible, and I was feeling everyone’s pain in that situation and had visible goosebumps and was trembling because I was so immersed in the film. The fact that the film gave me such a strong and emotional reaction made me able to excuse some of the problems I had (mentioned above). The film was very atmospheric and took time to make the characters worth caring about. I loved this film and plan on rewatching it very soon!

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The Circle (2017) - Movie Review

½ / ★★★★★

This movie was a huge disappointment. I have liked and even loved some of the director, James Ponsoldt's previous movies, so after hearing negative reviews about this movie, I went in hoping that I would see some things that I liked about his previous movies in this one. Unfortunately, I honestly can't think of a single positive for this movie. I was thinking whether it truly deserved a half-star rating and whether I was being too harsh, so I thought to myself "are there any redeeming qualities?" And I came up blank.

The movie is set up to be a thriller of some sorts, where this social media-based company is becoming more and more invasive in people's personal lives and privacy and even bordering on certain illegal behaviour. The main character however, never does anything to question what she is asked to do and even goes as far as putting herself as an ambassador to the lack of privacy. There are a few moments where she would sometimes give a questioning look; or where her childhood friend and her parents questions what she is doing, however the movie plays out as just displaying these events without actually doing or saying anything about it. It does not play out as a thriller, it only has a singular moment of "tension" where something goes wrong, but it leads to no consequence or anything substantial. The plot was so simplistic and didn't do anything to make it out of the ordinary and it was overall just a drab to watch and was extremely frustrating because of the lack of any conflict, tension, drama, or any sort of emotional response whatsoever! It also failed to comment on any real-world issue (directly or even indirectly) in my opinion. The movie simply presented these situations that any normal person would be alarmed by and does nothing with it. If it least tried to be satirical it could work, but they don't even go in that direction either.

I thought the acting was atrocious, specifically from Emma Watson who has a horrible American accent, and Ellar Coltrane (the boy from Boyhood) who sounds like he was reading his lines for the first time as the camera rolled. The other actors, such as Tom Hanks (who I usually love), John Boyega, etc. was at best just okay, but then again they were never really given any good dialogue or moments where it would be possible for them to stand-out or be better.

Overall after finishing the movie, I was utterly frustrated at how dumb it was. That's it... the best word to describe this movie is "dumb." The movie wasn't smart or good enough to deserve a better word.

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Everybody Wants Some!! (2016) - Movie Review

★★★★ / ★★★★★

This movie not only captures the 80s perfectly, but it also creates a comedy that has the same spirit as a comedy that would have come out in the 80s. It is lighthearted, and just like Dazed and Confused, it does not rely on plot but of the joy of following these characters in their day-to-day lives (or in this case the first couple days before college classes start). The jokes are not forced, and you just constantly feel giddy throughout the movie, because you feel as though they are genuinely enjoying themselves - and by extension, so is the audience. The outfits are hilarious (men crop tops and short shorts) but still feel authentic to the time and the characters. The movie features many stars in the making, and by doing so, you care more about the characters instead of big actor names. Richard Linklater does it once again in capturing the human spirit, instead of trying to make it event/plot-heavy but instead focus on human spirit and simply having a good time.

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Frank (2014) - Movie Review

★★★★★ / ★★★★★

Frank is a 2014 film directed by Lenny Abrahamson, starring Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, etc. The film manages to walk a thin line of being a comedy about people with mental illnesses without actually making fun of them. It is a quirky comedy (similar comedic tone as a Wes Anderson film) that explores deeper themes of mental illness, accepting who you are (or aren’t) and trying to release your inner creativity. It is completely imaginative and is unlike any other movie, yet it succeeds in remaining simple.

The movie follows Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), an average man attempting to cure his life-long writer’s block. He soon meets a group of people witnessing their keyboardist attempting to drown himself in the ocean while being hauled off by the paramedics. This group is being led by none other than Frank (Michael Fassbender), the lead singer who performs and lives his day-to-day life wearing a giant mask. Of course, they are now in need of a new keyboardist and this provides Jon with the perfect opportunity of releasing his creative juices with a group of eccentric “weirdos.” 

That is all you need to know of the plot, even though the movie is not necessarily plot-centered. The movie isn’t even about the quality of the music; and more often than not, you are constantly asking yourself “is this music actually good?” or “can this be considered music?” or “what is this sound?” It is much more of an experience and you eventually find yourself loving it because of the process of its creation. The movie is much more focused on its characters and how Jon learns to accept that he is completely in the ordinary. 

This is honestly one of my favourite movies, and has gotten better each time that I have watched it. I cannot recommend this movie more, and it is a shame that it is not more known and appreciated (especially now that the same director has been nominated for an Oscar for his directorial work in the 2015 film, Room). Of course I can accept that it may not be everyone’s taste, because it isn’t necessarily a “haha” funny or a drama either, and it is also an indie film. However, I do hope that more people come to appreciate - and hopefully come to love the artistry that is Frank.