If you’re going to do celeb culture then it better be hard-hitting satire, and Flack delivered.
Searching Amazon video, I saw Anna Paquin’s name, and I knew she’d be quite discerning about her next role. With so much sex, drugs, and bad behavior it’s a two-season long train crash, and I wish there was more.
These are the people fucking over our world, the paid liars whom the other paid liars go to when they fuck up. It should be depressing, but it’s damned funny and twisted at times. Some of the moments are so tense, it’s hard to believe it’s just a TV show about publicity.
What ties it all together, thematically, is the frailty of human nature. Everyone’s on a journey to screw up somewhere. That much shines through, and so many possibilities present themselves, for perpetrating and for redemption. It’s quite a good show, if you like that sort of thing.
The second I saw that was Anya, I was sold. She’s just the top. I’m also a fan of films about cults, and so this was absolutely the first thing to see as soon as it became available.
The best horror/drama films retain a connection to reality, feasibility. I don’t usually go in for that hocus pocus nonsense, #unimpressed. But, if they can keep it plausibly possible then I’ll keep watching.
As I said, I would watch Anya all day, even when the love interest she arrives with is the most annoying prick ever, and you just want a good old horror-film end to him as soon as possible. I suspected it would be a slow-burn, and it was. Half the film before things ramp up, but there is quite a bit of setup and characterization, and I did appreciate that.
An eccentric restaurant for the over-privileged is a great idea for a cult. Add in a touch of class struggle, Norman Bates’ mother, and a bunch of liars, and it does succeed in what it set out to do. No spoilers.
This film is possibly the greatest action thriller ever made. The stunts put Hollywood to shame. Everything is real, kinetic, and life-endangering.
Whether or not you like Mel Gibson, he brought Mad Max to the world, and his world is brutal, chaotic, and sublime. The Road Warrior stood as untouchable for thirty years until George Miller delivered Mad Max: Fury Roadin 2015, and we had something to finally compare it to.
The Humungous
The opening montage sequence is a bit dated in its style, and perhaps underwhelming as an opening. Start at the first frame after it, however, and all bets are off. The music also seemed a tad old school, but the action is jaw dropping and center stage.
The plot of The Road Warrior revolves around a siege, that of an old oil refinery in the desert, surrounded by The Humungous and his dogs of war. The refinery people have a small society, straining to keep civilization going in contrast to the scavengers of the wastelands. Max must decide which world he belongs to.
And he’s not a great guy.
But he’s not a bad guy either.
What he is is a damaged guy for a damaged world. And he keeps his word.
It’s interesting how everyone sees value in him, but not himself. He seems to consider himself worthless, a rat scavenging guzzoline wherever he can find it. That’s all he’s capable of aspiring to.
I cited The Road Warrior as a major influence on my 2014 novel Transfixion. There is also a siege and with a school bus lodged across the front gate of a school. I made sure there was a truck/car chase sequence or two as well. It truly was effective, if you believe the readers.
It’s not all about Max. Supporting characters make this movie. Top spot goes to the feral kid, whom you have to stop and just cheer for. The feral kid is amazing. We’d never seen him before or since, and he’s perfect. Max’s gyrocopter-flying sidekick is also a key man in the story. And the helicopter afforded magnificent aerial shots of desert chaos that make sense, and so you never think twice as to why they have all these grand overhead views. It’s just magnificent filmmaking.
The Road Warrior is must-see cinema. End of discussion.
The tens of thousands of men, women and children bombed to death by craven American 'top guns' will never see this Tom Cruise movie. Only the brain dead will applaud it. https://t.co/RQApF7BdSl
VERGOGNA!!! 🎥 Il Presidente dell' #Ucrania@ZelenskyyUa , qualche anno fa , usó questo spot in campagna presidenziale, promettendo che così si sarebbe liberato dei politici corrotti filo Russi . pic.twitter.com/qkpT5QFmdJ
This unexpected drama delved into the lives of war children. I couldn’t help but see the parallels with Syria: religious extremism, atrocities, and gangs of opportunists moving in and taking over to rule through terror.
The story rang true and may have been. It was a small story about a much larger tragedy. The best part was the kid. He was good, and I heartily recommend this movie.
The bulk of the film is in black and white and kind of a dull, washed-out greyness. I hoped for a bit more literal contrast, but they opted for an ugly world, generally. Aesthetically, this was a drawback, but the intent is obvious.
The religion made my blood boil, and it was only a minute part of the tale. It’s just such child abuse to grant raving meatballs dominion over kids to brainwash them and terrorize them into compliance and obedience. Clearly child abuse, psychological damage, the results end up on the evening news in place after place.
The Irish can always be counted on to deliver loads of character, charm and wit. We can certainly use more films like this one.
Okay, so the most trite buzzline imaginable is: Wicker Man for anthropology students. Now I know that’s reductionist assholery, but on a base level it could be perceived that way. They are literal anthropology students doing anthropology student stuff. This does bog it down a bit. And while some of the horror aesthetics annoyed me at the beginning, I was turned around when the contingent made their trek to northern Sweden.
THE WICKER MAN (1973)
Because, while The Wicker Man was firmly set against the return to pagan ritualism, Midsommar seems on the fence. Where spills and chills poured naturally from the conflict against the English detective and his invasion of their lands, in Midsommar it’s not all malevolence–or is it? There’s a sales pitch that accompanies the human sacrifices. I did like that part.
And the unstated anti-sales pitch for American “bros” and their culture deserves a nod. The…
Arguably the best movie I have ever seen, you would be a fool to miss this. I must have seen between 3 and 5 thousand of the bastards.
This is bold, beautiful, and a masterpiece. Edgar Wright is now at the top of his game. Anya-Taylor Joy just delivers flawlessly. And the plot is quite a ride.
I should mention my own project Time of Death has a similar worlds touching through a ghostly connection thing. It’s also about a first-year, unstable, artsy student. So, I was hooked entirely, as Edgar did it so well. The technical side is ahead of the viewer by far.
You don’t need to know any more and risk spoilers reading internet crap like this. Just go see it.
Keira Knightly plays Katharine Gun, and the result is a tense political thriller, and also a newsroom hunt and a courtroom drama. It’s quite powerful, and I actually missed the key scene because of a DVD scratch. Still I urge everyone to watch this if just to keep up on the relevant history you’re living through.
I don’t feel right about giving spoilers. So, I won’t even post the trailer. Trust me. This is an important film.
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