[93]

A fascinating film to me for several reasons, the biggest of which might be its demonstration of cinema as a cantilever of force on a national stage as well as its ability to not only maintain relevance, but actually garner more traction over a century after its release. Granted, that traction is not of amicable nature—it is an ugly, reprehensible agency, but an agency nonetheless, and to ignore its influence on not just cinema but the United States of…

[91]

After being highly receptive of every Tsai film I’ve seen thus far, I figured it was about time I tried to dive more in-depth about the essence of his very style, and why I find his particular brand of stoicism fundamentally more alluring and captivating than many others’. THE RIVER completely knocked my socks off, and not only does it contain some of the most painfully lingering sequences in Tsai’s canon (and I say that as a good thing),…

[40]

A bunch of completely innocent teenage girls dead and we are ultimately asked to commiserate with the detectives and policemen involved? Not discrediting their work nor the toll such things would undeniably have on one’s psychological well-being, but the leverage seems rather rotten, doesn’t it? Counterargument A: ”But there’s no other way to depict it!” Counterargument B: ”The deaths of these specific girls are irrelevant and totally not the point of the film!” Partially true on both counts, I…

[63]

Not as obsessively bodily as much of his father’s work—which is, for me, a good thing—but appropriately creepy when it decides to be either grotesque (that mask…ugh) or downright gruesome (the teeth…the eyeball…the fingers…), distributing its unsettling attributes little by little in a multitude of ways. Deceptively nuanced, too; Christopher Abbott genuinely looks as though he’s lost within his own body, and his psychological game of King of the Hill unfolds with exceptional elegance. Cronenberg even throws in some…

[47]

Wasn't even feeding into my most deep-seated contrarian instincts as the credits rolled and I asked myself, “what do people see in this?” Perhaps I know too much about Cuarón and his obsession with ostentatious construction to not be annoyed by the barrage of slowly oscillating (and equally inconsequential) long takes. Seriously, over half the movie is filmed like the final scene of THE CONVERSATION; at least there it served a metaphorical purpose. While others have cited “immersion” and…

[57]

I am frankly sick and fucking tired of this movie and the dichotomy it has created within the film community. You’ve got a surprising majority of people claiming it’s a cinematic masterpiece - the next CITIZEN KANE, 10/10, A++, “would let Chris Nolan fingerbang my senses again” - alongside a smaller but equally vocal minority lamenting that it’s the most vile, disgusting, contrived, and overrated waste of space ever created. With all respect, I will never understand people who…