#2021 film

[boardchairman-blog]

**Shots of the Movie**

West Side Story (2021)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cinematographer: Janusz Kamiński

[4dmc]

Movie Reviews From Under A Rock: Licorice Pizza

Licorize Pizza is a 2021 American film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

A romantic, coming-of-age comedy film set in the 70s, centered around the 2 main characters: 25 year old Alana Kane and 15 year old Gary Valentine. The two struggle with their relationship, family issues, growing pains and finding ways to earn money.

WARNING: Some minor spoilers.

The Bad first: the whole age gap/different age romance is something that IS a great factor regarding the 2 main characters' struggles/conflict in the plot. The age-gap romance is intertwined with the movie's themes of how flawed people are.

My problem with it is that it does give us the same-old rhetoric about glorifying their age-difference romance. Gary is only 15 years old.

However, this Bad thing is part of the story highlighting the flaws of the reality that both characters are navigating as two fumbling teens/young adults do. But alright, I will be expanding upon this as we move forward....

Another Bad thing, and this is probably more so to the personal experience of any moviegoer if they're going to watch this film, is that the style of this film is quite unconventional. Licorice Pizza is highly a "Slice of Life" sort of movie.

Literally, a Slice of Licorice Pizza is near 3 hours long and to a moviegoer who wants things in a straightforward fashion or is used to conventional styles of plot and pace, this is going to be a chunky, near plotless, meandering movie.

That itself isn't truly a Bad thing for a format/style of a movie, but rather for the audience/viewer who will see something like this and may lose track of the story. Or feel like it's going nowhere.

There's also a few, miniscule moments of racist stereotyping; as this is set in the 70s, some Japanese/Asian characters are blatantly stereotyped. Without spoiling, it's because a few of the lead characters are involved with making business in opening the first "Japanese" restaurant chains in the USA. And you can imagine how awkward that is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then the Good: Cinematography, the cast, the emotional beats and themes of the story are this film's greatest strengths.

It actually tells a rather simple, open-ended tale about two people having to grow up and making the best out of everything that they set their minds to. The lead, Alana, is in this state of painfully trying to become mature, especially since she's 25 years old. Gary, on the other hand, appears that he's trying his best to fit into this adult mold he thinks he ought to be, as any 15 year old tries to interpret their maturity.

And all the while the way the film shoots these moments are fantastic. Simple, everyday moments are just when every cast is simply in this still frame. Whilst tense, argumentative moments are further highlighted by both a quiet and this slight tilt in the over-the-shoulder perspective. The film wastes no time in using every camera technique to visually show a lot of the moments the characters go through: whether going to New York City to perform on stage, or on a waterbed falling asleep, it is eye-candy.

I think what's best about this coming-of-age film is its depictions of many adults, specifically Alana's new adulthood. She's young but she's literally now an adult and she has this urgency that she feels she's already missing out on what it is to be "an adult". Yet she's stuck with the same circle of friends, most of which are below 18 year olds, and you get a sense that she wants out of it. It also doesn't help that her own family, her fellow peers around her age group (mostly just her sisters) and even some adults in her various jobs further puts her in this dizzyingly exhausting situation. Like after everything that's happened, she's back to square one.

I discussed before in the Bad section about the age-gap thing. I want to make it clear that, yes, their romance is something the audience/viewer will definitely put into question and criticize. And its ending regarding Alana and Gary's relationship will likely not be different to the viewers criticizing this aspect.

But the film itself is grey-neutral about this flawed relationship. It's not neutral that it passively accepts the romance both Alana and Gary have for one another. But rather the entirety of this film presents a very flawed, mundane adulthood, and an honest imperfect journey to their maturity. Even if it actually means the two of them aren't there yet as the film ends. It knows their relationship is wrong, but the film isn't about making moral statements. Only honestly portraying it.

It's a comedy film; it shows their journey and the ups and downs of their relationship with one another, with other friends and adults, with a dash of absurdism. This is further highlighted as these young characters mingle with businessmen and Hollywood has-beens and aggressive, upcoming actors; all because they want to earn money and make it big.

And it's in these situations of trying to find income that Alana and Gary fight one another, all the while wrestling with their desires for one another: Gary, as a hormonal teen, speaks to Alana about seeing her breasts. Alana, on the other hand, being the adult, refuses at first, but in her impulsivity and anger, she eventually does show her breasts to him.

This is just among their many fights, some trivial, others about their values and singling out the other's flaws. And in their conflict, you can't help but awkwardly and even point out how absurd their fights are, and laugh. But in the end, in some ways you can't help but sympathize these 2 characters because their problems will likely be similar to ours.

Personally, I thought I was going to relate to Alana as she's the closest my age and also it's true that adults still go through a lot of growing up. Adulthood is not perfect. But I ended up more relating and even more entertained with Gary's character. He is forced to grow and mature because of his absent father, and felt he had to shoulder an equal share to his single mom's burden, particularly earning money.

Despite his age and even some of the typical 15 year old hi-jinks, Gary is shown strugglinh in this in-between state of just being young, a teen with ambitions but still not encumbered with any kind of adult responsibility, or at least he's not supposed to; but he is, as he had taken upon himself to hustle both for their family's financial state, as well as having to act like a grown-up, even taking on akin to being a "de facto" leader; as at one point in the film, he became a manager.

All in all, Licorice Pizza may visually intrigue us with the cinematic nostalgia for the 70s, but perhaps even more so for the current teens and new adults in their 20s, who may find the setting and meandering slice of life story, despite it being in a generation not of their own, reminiscent of what they used to be. Or what they want to be, and do, fully acknowledging the awkward and imperfect moments of teenhood and early adulthood.

And simultaneously, its visuals harmonizes with the overlapping themes of the story presented to us: the imperfections of growing up and becoming adults, or even as adults. And the relationships between people, no matter how bad it gets, are worth working hard to maintain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ugly: Visually, sonically and production-wise, this is a solid film in those arenas. And yes, this film is depicting an age-gap romance, not to mention some Asian stereotyping. There's even the actual length and pacing of the film. There's no denying this film is long and the attention span of the audience can be put to the test with this one, especially since its style of story telling is stylized.

But there's also Bradley Cooper's character here, Jon Peters. Jon Peters was a former hairdresser and film producer. He's also real. In here, he's depicted as among those aggro 70's director/producer, who's super rich and 100% an aHHhole.

The thing is, one research on Jon Peters himself reveals a lot of issues about him. Sure, he has an illustrious career, spanning 7 decades, all starting from when he was an extra from a 50s film The Ten Commandments, to when he became a hairdresser and designed a wig for Barbra Streisand, all the way to when he was a Hollywood producer.

But then there's the fact that he was among the reasons why The Sandman live adaptation had been stuck in development hell since 2011; to sexually harassing a secretary; having very wild ideas for the iconic character, Superman, that got him banned from Christopher Nolan's set of the Man of Steel film (according to him); and down to his own failed marriages.

So yeah...a very interesting little "ugly" thing that doesn't have any connection to this film....except Anderson had Bradley Cooper depict a fictional version of this guy in this movie.

Make of this info what you will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Beauty: I already said it's cinematography is good, but the best thing I found in this film is this very precise perspectives and camera work. There is nothing too shaky when they characters are running or if there are any of these action scenes happening.

In fact, some of the most "Ah sh!t wtf!" moments are framed in with the camera so still, whilst that "AAhh! Wtf!" happened right before your eyes. It's like you, the audience, have just bear witnessed to some spectacular accident or even an incident as you happen to be there.

Despite these moments, the story is mostly set in these quiet, mundane moments. The perspective of the camera frames them as the moment is fit: if there's melodrama, the camera respects that moment and even hangs in there to let us view the emotion of a character. And this is even painstakingly done on minor characters.

The set design is done with verisimilitude in mind. This is not shot with the 70s glorified. The places where they go has trash strewn, the shop they converted to become an arcade has seen better days. The cars, the technology, the diner, even etc. could've been straight out of our parents' or grandparents' memories. And that's another thing: Paul Thomas Anderson wanted the 70s to come alive in this film, and he has referenced various people, places and even his own experiences when he was a kid into the film.

Costumes are definitely contemporaneous. People's fashions are definitely depicted to be as close to what ordinary people wore in the 70s. With some celebrity characters co-mingling with them, whilst others are from a subculture, the dresses and clothing are made for what they're supposed to do. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sonically, the soundtrack of this film definitely borrows from or are playing actual 70s songs to better fit the setting. To just truly put us into their world, combined with original songs that further color and highlight moments in this film. The original sounds excel in those slow, mundane and poignant points in the film, with some of their downbeat and slow sound harmonizing to the story.

I have never known what the 70s looks like, but at least with this film, it let me have a peek at someone's memories and style of what it may have been like.

===============================================

Overall: This is probably not for everyone. But still, this is neither a difficult, mental film, nor is it anything simplified. It's just unconventional in its approach on a simple story of a Girl Meets Boy Meets The World type of thing. I won't deny some of the problematic aspects of this film, both inside the story, and also outside, as there are some real-life people depicted in this movie who has done a lot of questionable stuff (yeah I'm talking about you Jon Peters). So if you want, give this a whirl on a long, listless, nothing-better-to-do weekend. And honestly, either Alana or Gary would've done the same thing.

When I 1st watched it, it was because my uncle and grandma wanted to watch something because they've got nothing else to do. My uncle let me picked something from whatever he had pirated (yeah he pirated Licorice Pizza, among other stuff). The title intrigued me and so, we brought out our chicharon (crispy pork snack), red wine and press play. Wouldn't trade that long afternoon for anything else.

[archivedpaige]

Queen-pins 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

2021 • Comedy • 1h 50m

A frustrated suburban housewife and her best friend hatch an illegal coupon-club scheme that scams millions from corporations and delivers deals to legions of fellow coupon clippers. Hot on their trail is an unlikely duo -- a hapless loss-prevention officer and a determined U.S. postal inspector -- both looking to end their criminal enterprise.

[yesterdanereviews]

Them (2021)

Film review #611

Director: Ignacio Maiso

SYNOPSIS: Humans live the same moments in their lives over and over again. A few manage to break free of the loop and become "them" who watch over the humans. Daniel becomes one of them, and wants to wake up his wife too, but problems arise when he tries to do so...

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Them is a 2021 film. Every so often you come across a film that is so devoid of any redeemable qualities you struggle to even call it a film. This is one of them. The story seems to be about how humans live in a state of repeating the same events in their lives. Sometimes, humans "wake up" and become "them," who watch over the humans. There's...not really much else to the film. The fundamental problem with this film is that absolutely explained or explored. Obviously, it's okay if film's leave things open for interpretation, but there has to be some worldbuilding, rationale, rules...anything by which events unfold. here we get absolutely nothing. If the writers had any kind of vision or reason behind what is going on, it in no way translates to the screen. I felt like maybe there was an attempt at being a mix of Wings of Desire and The Matrix, but there's so little to go on that it no way reaches that kind of level where you can leave things open to interpretation, because there's nothing built up to interpret.

The main core of the story I suppose is centred around Daniel, who "wakes up" from his human existence. He wants to also wake up his wife, but this is considered dangerous, also the fact that it's maybe not his wife at all, just a repeated dream that different people live through, including him. Again, it's very complicated, and the shift between it being personal and impersonal doesn't really create conflict, it just muddies an already incoherent story. Given that this is a human story at its core, the acting is anything but: nearly every scene is just dialogue of people standing around talking, but the performances are so inhuman. I don't think this is just because of bad acting, but it seems to be directed this way? Every single character; human, them, or otherwise, engages in dialogue by leaving a three-second pause between responding, and I simply cannot fathom what for. Maybe you could argue that 'them' would speak this way since they are not human, but the human character's themselves do it too, and makes them seem just a bit weird. There's a character who wants to bring down the whole 'them' organisation and tries to recruit Daniel, but again, we never see anything they do, what their aims are, or how they want to go about it: it's all just dialogue that is eventually just talked away. The supervisor of 'them' also gives nothing away, and just asks for reports from his assistant, which are likewise devoid of significance.

I suppose if you want to defend the decisions of this film, it was made during the Covid-19 pandemic, so you can imagine there's no crowds or big gatherings, but surely there could have been more than just every scene being just two people talking with awkward pauses between every line of dialogue. The film on the whole is simply a bewildering void of any kind of cinematic content, that is unable to establish any kind of characters or worldbuilding. Again, it feels like someone watched Wings of Desire, blended it with The Matrix, and barely understanding what either of them were about, threw together some rough ideas that go nowhere, and with the depth of a piece of paper. Redundant viewing that is simply a waste of time.

[thedeadtravelfast]

this is the plot right?

[spongebobssquarepants]

[zanephillips]

Mascarpone (2021) dir. Alessandro Guida & Matteo Pilati

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

"There were a couple of scenes [in Dune (2021)] that were all about the training technique. There was one scene that I was quite sad they cut away. There are physical training methods, where Jessica teaches Paul the art of fighting with the knives that he later uses on Jamis [the Fremen warrior played by Babs Olusanmokun]" - Rebecca Ferguson for The Hollywood Reporter

Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica and Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides photographed by Chiabella James on set of Dune (2021) | "The Art and Soul of Dune" and "Dune: Part One : The Photography"

[kteezy997]

The Emperor's Wife// Paul Atreides

Warnings: angst, unrequited love, slow burn kinda

"That princess shall have no more of me than my name. No child of mine nor touch nor softness of glance, nor instant of desire." The promise of Paul Atreides as he ascended your father's throne was held true for some time. But his words began to falter in time, against his will.

He married you, but remained loyal to his concubine, Chani. But he did acknowledge that you had a literary nature, and he entrusted you to sit in on his council meetings as Emperor. The more time you spent around each other, the more you became companions, and the more he relied on your mind to help him keep a balance of things.

You noticed as Paul started to become more relaxed around you. He'd even have a laugh with you now and then. It was clear that he valued your friendship as much as your ability to write and make sense of things.

One day Paul joked that Chani was his wife of passion and you were his intellectual wife. Your feelings had started to form into deep admiration for your husband, so his words were course against your ears. Though you knew that this was the way it had to be, it wasn't any easier to hear him say it.

But there was a look from him, a look where he scanned you, slowly, from head to toe. Your special training had kicked in. You could feel it; it was desire. He thought his momentary glance would go undetected, but that was nary the case.

All the late evenings in the council room, all the discussions you had about history and his interest in your writings, it all bubbled up to his vow being broken. You caught his gaze in a meeting later, and his green eyes could no longer lie to you. He was curious and desirous of you. But he could not do anything about it. He simply could not act on it.

But you, on the other hand, were tired of the intellectual relationship. This feeling was different for you, and you never expected to fall for him. Your body ached, your skin burned for your husband. Even if it was just once, you had to have him.

You hated to admit to yourself the jealousy you felt toward his Fremen woman. You wanted to feel what Chani felt. Just one full moment of Paul's desire. You needed his touch. To exchange passionate breaths with him. To have the weight of the handsome Emperor on top of you. To have his eyes on you, and only you.

..........

You ventured to Paul's sietch, into the private apartment he shared with Chani. The Fremen in the village knew you, so they did not try to stop you, or persuade you to leave. They welcomed you with respect, as you were indeed Muad’Dib’s wife.

The room was quite plain and modest for an Emperor and his woman. The bed, however, looked cozy with glow globes on either side. The scent of cinnamon and coffee hung in the air, laced with the spice melange.

You hoped he'd come soon. You hoped he would be the first one in, and not Chani. You didn't know what to say to her, if that would be the case. She had always been pleasant toward you when you were around her, but you didn’t know if her attitude would remain the same if she knew you wanted to bed her man.

You hoped that he wouldn't be harsh towards you; that he wouldn’t be angry about you invading the space he shared with his concubine. You liked to think that you had broken his walls and exposed the tender side of him. You sat on the bed, waiting.

Finally, you heard footsteps approaching, there was a tired huff from the person outside the door, and you knew the voice instantly. Paul came in, pulling off his still suit the second he entered. He didn't see you at first. You saw his shoulders and chest as he rid himself of the rubbery material. He was strong, with hard muscles and pale skin with minor scars here and there.

You could smell the dirt and sweat that he carried. It did not deter you in the slightest, but made you more eager.

He could sense you there. You knew he could.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, without even turning to face you.

You took a shaky breath, then answered, "I wanted to see you, Paul."

He finished freeing his arms from the constrictive suit, turning to look at you sitting on his bed. "And why?"

You were excited just seeing his shoulders, but now you saw his naked chest, his hard pectoral muscles and small nipples. You nearly shuddered with need. "I-uhm," I want you. "I wanted to make sure that you saw how bright and beautiful the two moons look this evening. And maybe you'd like to see my latest Muad'Dib chronicle?"

Paul nodded, "Hm." He stepped over to the window, looking up at the moons, "They are quite beautiful tonight."

You rose from the bed, joining him by the window. You could really feel his presence now, as you usually didn't get quite this close to him. His scent was stronger, too. "I brought my latest writings. If you want to read."

"Sure. You may leave them here."

He was so polite, but never overly kind. He couldn't disrespect Chani. But you so wanted things to change between you and your husband.

"Paul, I really came here to talk to you about something."

He took his eyes off the night sky outside his window and looked into your eyes. "Go on."

Your heart started thumping in your chest, you cleared your throat. "Well, I do not wish to overstep, but I think you and I have both come to enjoy our time together. I think it is safe to say that we are good friends now." You got stuck for second as you got a close look of the sweat glistening on his skin in the glowing light of the dark room.

Paul softly smiled, giving you a nod to keep going.

"But, I need you to know that no matter how amazing the moons might be on a starry night, it is no match for the way I feel when I look at you."

His expression fell, and he shook his head, "Y/n, please. I am very flattered. I appreciate you, and I care for you."

You butted in, "I can sense that you desire me, Paul. You've already broken your oath. I know that you feel distant towards your concubine, and I wonder if it has anything to do with how you feel about me."

He chuckled, walking away from you, "I thought you said you didn't wish to overstep?"

"I cannot help it. I'm sorry. But you know my training." You genuinely didn't want to disrupt anything between him and Chani.

He ran his hand over his face, pushing away the exhaustion of the day, trying to make sense of his own feelings as well. "Y/n, you aren't wrong. Chani knows that my sentiments for you have shifted."

So he admits it!

"You haven't bedded her for weeks now, have you?" you prodded, carefully.

"No," he stepped closer to you, towering over you by several inches, "not that it is any of your business."

"I don't want to make you angry, Paul. But I have seen the way you look at me, the way you brush passed me during council. You've preferred spending more and more time with me lately." You took a step forward this time, just a foot's length away from him.

Paul let his guard down, knowing that you were right about everything. His face softened, and he brought his hand up to caress your face. His hand had been roughed up by the wind and sand if the desert, but you could still see yourself melting against it as he touched you.

Paul went on to say, "You should know by now how I feel for you. But it cannot be. I made a promise. I don't ever want to be cruel to you, my y/n." he licked his dry lips, and you noticed just how blue his eyes were as a result of spice addiction. "I did not marry you for things such as love or children, you know that."

"Yes, I know." you sighed, having heard that piece of information a hundred times during your marriage. "My husband, you are a loyal man. I admired you for that, but I don't wish for anything more than the same love that you have for your concubine. You can share that tenderness with me."

He said nothing, but kept his hand on your cheek, gazing at you so fondly.

You could sense him breaking for you. "Paul," you leaned closer, placing your hand on his exposed chest, "I have seen the way your eyes narrow at me when I bow before you as my Emperor."

Then, his hand wound tightly into your hair, and his lips were being smashed against yours. He pulled you against him, he moaned into your kiss. His hands were on your body, sliding up the curves of your hips.

Your body was electrified, you ran your hands through his hair, not caring how sweaty he was. The hunger was equal on both sides.

Paul pulled away suddenly, sighing as he turned away from you.

He was still wrestling in his mind, you knew it. "I need you." you said, melancholy taking over your tone as you started to believe he was going to refuse you completely, "I need my husband. I want to made love to by Muad'Dib." You went over to him, looking at his back you noticed a scar, larger than the others on his body. You wondered if the mark was result of a fall on a sand dune or maybe the consequence of riding the great sandworm. You reached out, cautiously running your finger along the scar.

He shivered at your touch, but he didn't shy away.

You decided that maybe this plan was fruitless, that he wouldn't, and never could love you the proper way in which a man loved his wife. "Paul, if you do not love me, I will leave now. You'll never see me come back to this place. I will accept being wrong. Things will go back as they were."

"No, please, don't go." he faced you again. He relaxed more, his body language and the look in his eyes was more at ease.

"Then stop me, my dear husband."

@gatoenlaciudad @thebetawolfgirl @musicandbooksaremyhappyplace @softhecreator @tchalamss @bitchyunknownuser @lixzey @kpopgirlbtssvt @ducktapebar

[namchyoon]

day 306/547 until joon returns cr. jung-koook

[btsjk-biased]

Delicate spring look ✿

[ video source cr. 0613data ]

[mrnotsosilent]

While watching marcel the shell with shoes on, I can feel all the abandonment issues starting to pop up—whether it's intentional abandonment or not. It felt like I am in a retreat while watching the film, and the emotional punch is really punching. I think marcel is in its phase of teenage life and the perspective on how to deal with it is pretty heartwarming. The fear of being left out of someone, be it a family, a living friend, or a dead one, is something we will carry for the rest of our lives. It is painful, yet we learn how to deal with it—we outgrow it. It also tackles how important a support group is—a community that helps you during your ups and downs. This is one of the best films of A24!!!

[horrorwomensource]

Fear Street Part Two: 1978

[yesterdanereviews]

Super Apartment Wife (2021)

Film review #603

Director: Anna Nagasaki

SYNOPSIS: A yakuza boss needs to divert attention away from his mistress, Anna, as his wife is becoming increasingly suspicious of him. She is ordered to move in with newcomer Sho Nagasaki, and pretend to be his partner. However, the relationship becomes complicated when the yakuza boss has to engineer their "break up," as well as the small matter of Anna being the daughter of an evil God who wants to wipe out humanity...

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Super Apartment Wife is a 2021 sci-fi film. Starring, written, and directed by Anna Nagasaki, the plot concerns a yakuza boss who needs to hide his mistress from his suspicious wife. They plan for a newbie, Sho Nagasaki, to pretend to be her partner, and have her move in with him to try and fool the private detective the boss's wife has hired. A simple enough plot, which I'm sure has the potential for some comedy or typical romance stuff, but there's no real sense of what the film should be: I think it's mostly meant to be taken seriously, but the stunted and sparse dialogue from the main characters makes it difficult to get to grips with what they are thinking. The whole film seems to have very little idea what it is doing, with Nagasaki never having written, directed, or starred in a film (her background is as an influencer). I think there's a germ of an idea in here somewhere, but it fails to blossom in any way.

If you think the plot is already quite odd, then we haven't even addressed the really weird stuff yet: it turns out that Anna is the daughter of "Darkness of Love" (it's hard to translate the Japanese name), who is basically evil God, who wants to destroy humanity and replace them with more interesting species or something. Stranger still, it is implied this God (who looks like he belongs in The Matrix) is the Christian God, as he talks about creating Adam and Eve and whatnot. He visits Anna and reveals who he is, and tries to tempt her to embrace her evil powers and destroy humanity. We get there's something special about her earlier because of these odd flashbacks of her Mother telling her not to get emotionally involved and accidentally unleash her demon powers or whatever, and there's also this odd scene at a dentist as a flashback, which I can't remotely fathom why it is in there or what it is meant to signify. So anyway, Anna eventually is consumed by her evil powers as she thinks Sho is seeing another woman, who is actually part of the yakuza boss's plan to break up the couple so his wife doesn't get suspicious, and this other woman is actually one of God's other children, and maybe the yakuza boss's wife is too? Honestly, I got completely lost at this point, as the film turns into this battle for the Earth at it's climax, and everyone duking it out with God-like powers, and the yakuza trying to shoot them. The whole experience is just so surreal and chaotic I'm still at a lost of how to process it. Fortunately (?) the film does have a happy ending, as Anna and Sho have a kid and live happily ever after or something, but again, this just doesn't really follow on from the madness that ensues at the climax; it's just a bunch of half-cooked ideas thrown together with barely any structure to make them stick.

What makes this film feel truly amateur is the production and effects: a lot of the film looks like it was set on a stage at a local theatre, or an industrial estate just around the corner. The CGI is all very basic 3D models, and the greenscreen effects are clearly not done right, as they bleed into the actors constantly, The whole film (if this even counts as a film) is a half-baked mess of ideas, with zero chemistry between the characters to create any sense of romance or drama, and a bizarre angle concerning an evil God wanting to wipe out humanity that adds a completely different level of incomprehensibility. It clearly has no budget and a severe lack of expertise, so you can't be too hard on the end product based on what it was working with, but there are some things which would have been easily improved. I can see what it's trying to do, but every step it takes towards it is misplaced and ends up somewhere completely different. Probably worth a watch only if you really want to indulge in something completely insane and devoid of sense.