Film of the Day

All things films. My Letterboxd

[jonathanhatting]

Barbie (2023) - Review

Barbie is truly in every aspect an effortless, yet deeply effective film. From the production design to the humor, and from the performances to the film’s structure and direction. It is an all-accompanying, enjoyable, and fun film. I seldom think I have smiled so widely for such a long duration while watching a film without it undercutting its purpose or emotional aspects.

The film follows Barbie from her magical world of Barbie Land with all the Barbies and Kens (and Allan) to the real world as her perfect life is turned upside down. In the process she must come to terms with her legacy and who she is as an individual in world that is ultimately hardwired to be against her.

Barbie is in large part a film driven by its performances. Margot Robbie is perfect as Barbie in making her journey from naivety to independence believable, and its done with a great sense of vulnerability.

Ryan Gosling’s Ken is exceptionally hilarious. Someone said that his performance is the closest we have gotten to “fun” method acting where the character was not a deeply terrible person, and the dedication shows. He is in a profoundly symbiotic relationship with his character.

The heart of the film comes in large part from America Ferrera and the grounded reality that she brings to the world of Barbie. Her punchy monologue really drives many of the film’s points home.

The cast is absolutely stacked with an abundance of hilarious minor roles and scene stealers. Michael Cera’s Allan is flawless, despite his limited screen-time.

But the film’s success can only be attributed to the dedication of Greta Gerwig. I am impressed to see how clearly her vision has shown through despite of the film being a big departure from her usual independent films. The message of the film is clear, but never obnoxious.

It drives a bleak contrast between the real world and Barbie Land, and with Ferrera’s speech to the Barbies, it manages to deliver a poignant message of what it means to be a woman and the hardships that follow. The added humor only cements the absurdity of the situation in our real world.

The film’s take on toxic masculinity and the patriarchy is almost exclusively seen through comical ridicule, but how else would you portray such nonsensical concepts?

At the point of the Zack Snyder's Justice League joke, a dude in the audience got offended and yelled “HEY”. And overhearing him and his friends’ reaction when the film was over, I do think the film’s point went miles over their heads.

Nonetheless, this is the most fun I have had in a cinema in a long time. The energy was ecstatic, and while Barbie does have a few minor issues with a few jokes that missed and a lacking pacing in a few scenes, it really is an incredible film.

[jonathanhatting]

Fellini Satyricon (1969) - Review

Taken from the fragmented text of Petronius, Fellini Satyricon pieces the myth together in a phantasmagoria of dreams and legends. It functions as a puzzle of obscure pieces that still fit together against all expectations. 

The film is visually staggering through its stunning sets, use of color, and general attention to detail. It delves in deep contrasts of the beautifully pristine and the filthy, gory, and sexual nature of humanity. It’s distinctively unique. 

The sound of the film was especially arresting through the diverging volumes seamlessly transporting the viewer from intimacy to grandness and back again. 

Fellini Satyricon was a much appreciated pleasant surprise, considering it’s one of Fellini’s lower rated films. I’m glad that I didn’t skip it, and I’m excited to revisit it so I can dive deeper into its subtext and the wonders of its technical achievements.

[jonathanhatting]

Stranger Things and IT [SPOILERS]

Yesterday I finished reading Stephen King's IT, and today I rewatched the first episode of Stranger Things season 4 which got me thinking about the similarities between Stranger Things and IT:

A group of kids fighting an evil entity taking many different forms. A group of boys and a single girl (season 1). A single town that seems cursed with all of the terrible events that occur. Themes of friendship overcoming evil, children versus adults. Season 4 even ends in a similiar way as IT with the kids' hometown breaking apart

But what got my attention was the connection between Eddie Munson and Eddie Kaspbrak.

First of all, their roles in the story are similiar. They are both not the strongest and bravest character in their respective groups, but in the end they end up sacrificing themselves for their friends. Both are left for dead in "the other world" as their friends can't bring out their corpses.

But what got me thinking was; In episode 1 of Stranger Things season 4 Eddie talks about the return of Vecna while playing DnD - Vecna's missing his left arm and eye. And how does Eddie Kasbrak die? He loses his left arm. Could this be a hint toward Eddie Munson coming back to life?

The other part is in relation to the Kas theory that has been going around. This is simply that Eddie's last name from IT is Kaspbrak - Kas-pbrak. Another coinsidence?

Nevertheless the similarities between Stranger Things and IT are plentiful, and it will be interesting to see where the story goes in season 5 of Stranger Things.

[jonathanhatting]

The Batman (2022) - review

Matt Reeves’ The Batman is the latest DC superhero film, taking a similarly approach as The Joker with a more director-driven film, not too worried by an over-arching cinematic universe.

First, the film both looks and feels great. The Batman has taken a lot of inspiration from films like Se7en in its plot and atmosphere, having the city of Gotham feel like a character, living and breathing alongside the people it inhabits. It has found a great tone and atmosphere, but this also becomes a problem. In general, the film offers one of the perhaps best incarnations of the Batman universe put to film, but the tone becomes almost monotone by the end. The film is not lacking humor or levity, it would not fit the film, yet it is missing something for all the individual aspects of the film to come together as a perfect cohesive whole.

Robert Pattinson is a perfectly moody detective who still has not quite found his footing after two years on the job. He is not the perfect hero yet, both physically and emotionally. The film’s focus is wholly on the Batman, and not too much on Bruce Wayne which really did work perfectly for the film, showing his obsession with the mantle. He felt young and immature, growing alongside the film.

The world that the film builds is brimming with equally great characters and a matching cast; Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright and Colin Farrell, just to name a few of the talented people who graces the screen.

In the end, the film was overly too long. It is still captivating and never boring, but it did not need to be almost three hours long. This became especially apparent towards the ending when the film went on after seemingly having already ended multiple times. But they cannot make such a film without having to set up the next film.

This is not a perfect film, but it is the best “Batman”-film, even though Burton’s and perhaps some of Nolan’s films are better films. The future of this Batman universe does look bright, especially if Matt Reeves returns with his vision for the series.

[jonathanhatting]

Drive My Car (2021) - review

To put Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car into mere words is no easy task. It is a meandering tale of loss and sorrow, of art and performance and of life and living with death.

Drive My Car is an immaculately crafted piece of cinema that makes its audience feel every breath of its meticulous characters. It is filled to the brim with great details in both its story and its visuals. Even though the film’s imagery is rather mundane and at times bleak, it is still astonishingly beautiful and surprisingly diverse. Who would have thought that a conversation in a car could be filmed from so many different perspectives?

Hamaguchi’s sense of directing is done with an incredible concern for the film’s characters and the care for the story is indescribable. The extensive three-hour runtime never feels tiring despite its slow pacing and mostly anticlimactic scenes.

The acting is spectacular across the board. Hidetoshi Nishijima’s portrayal is perfectly subdued, never resorting to overacting, but delivering a powerful performance through subtle movements and expressions. To think that not a single performance from this film was recognized by the Academy is simply put atrocious.

It is nice to see that the film has gained some attention from the Academy in multiple awards, and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film seems almost like a lock at this point. Hamaguchi and the rest of the cast deserves all the recognition that they are receiving.

One of the very best films of 2021.

[jonathanhatting]

Licorice Pizza (2021) - review

Licorice Pizza follows 15-year-old entrepreneur Gary, played by the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s son Cooper Hoffman, as he befriends the lovely 25-year-old Alana, played by Alana Haim from Haim. As these characters run, grow and learn in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970’s, they meet a large array of unique characters and treacherous obstructions.

The cast in Licorice Pizza is incredible across the board. Cooper Hoffman delivers a perfectly relatable performance, being both overly confident and childishly naïve. He is open and mature, but still shielded as only a prepubescent child can be. Alana Haim’s performance is just as great with her equal parts of independence and insecurity delivered through an almost restrained presence. Both performances had a definite Oscar potential, but sadly they were not recognized by the Academy.

The audience is never directly told the backstory of these characters. You learn who they are through their actions and through snippets in passing conversations. This is a specialty of Paul Thomas Anderson, having fully three-dimensional characters constructed during the actual film. To have a full understanding of the characters one needs pay attention to the film. The film is therefore structured around its characters which is why it has such a natural atmosphere. There are multiple characters with vital roles who are only in the film for a single scene or sequence. Tom Waits, Sean Penn and Benny Safdie are all welcome additions to the cast, even in their limited roles. But it is Bradley Cooper who truly shines in his restricted role. With both Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley, Bradley Cooper has had a year of some truly unique performances.

Both Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Haim have been frequent collaborators of Anderson, and with his wife Maya Rudolph joining the cast in a brief role as well, Licorice Pizza might be Paul Thomas Anderson’s most personal film to date. It is different in tone than most of his previous films with small stakes and a more comedic approach. It is a welcome change of pace.

The film has met some controversy after its release for two reasons. Some are mad at the age gap between the two main characters due to their sometimes-romantic relationship. The criticism is understandable, yet their relationship is built mostly on friendship and less on a sexual nature as seen in a film like Call Me by Your Name. Furthermore, both characters are somewhat childish in their ways, they learn as they go, and the film never seems to condone the relationship as it exhibits it through a veil of naivety.

The second is perhaps more direct as one of the lesser characters is blatantly racist. I am not one to speak on an issue like this, but to me, his actions never seem condoned by the film as he is mildly put a misogynistic idiot, and his racist actions only reinforces how senseless a character he is. Nevertheless, it should perhaps have been omitted from the film.

Licorice Pizza is a powerful film, focusing on the mundane aspects of growing up, falling in love and finding yourself. A film I thoroughly enjoyed.

[jonathanhatting]

Flee (2021) - review

Flee, a documentary directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, chronicles Amin in his journey to Denmark as a refugee from Afghanistan and the life which he has built for himself in the foreign country. The film dives into his shunned out past through the visual medium of animation, delivering one of the most personal films of 2021.

Animation can be a tricky art form to wield in that it can quickly feel redundant if not utilized correctly. Having a film like Flee, that let alone is a documentary, but also a film that delves in an utterly unpretentious subject matter be animated, is a bold choice. The film’s purpose is to evoke an emotional response in its viewer while still having a grip in its very real story.

Luckily Flee succeeds in just that. Through the animation the lines between the present day Amin and his memories are blurred, creating a clear connection between them. In doing so the film creates a bond with its viewer, perfectly placing them inside of Amin’s head, inside his memories.

The film utilizes the animation as a device to create the deepest possible connection between the story’s subject and the viewer. The film could not have been made with the same effect in any other way.

Through its subject matter, many might view Flee as a political film of sorts. A film with the purpose of expressing a political idea or stance. But that is not the case. By focusing solely on Amin’s story the film avoids taking a political perspective to the story, instead leaving it up to viewer to think what they want about Amin’s circumstances.

Flee is ultimately a thoughtful film with a strong narrative, and one of the best films of 2021.