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@sinafile

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Saltburn
2023
Directed by Emerald Fennell

This is one of those movies I really don’t want to say much about because I’d rather you go watch it with no expectations, it’s always better that way.

Off the first few scenes from the trailer months ago, I knew I would love this movie.

It was wonderful to watch, the composition was so beautiful that you never wanted to look away even during the most obscure scenes.

The boxy format makes you feel as if you are looking through a window. You only get to glance at the extravagance, you’re a spectator, just like Oliver.

The use or lack of lighting to dramatize the close up shots was soooo well done. The tight detailed shots of eyes, lips, and just pure facial expressions were my favorite.

I love when movies make you feel smart, they allow you to come to your own conclusions before the plot is revealed. I don’t think I ever got bored, I was intrigued for the entire duration.
I don’t have any complaints other than I think the third act was a tad lazy.

This was a piece of art so well crafted and curated I need to rewatch asap, I just know there’s so many details I probably looked past. I love when you can watch a film in retrospect and feel as excited as you were on the first watch.

Definitely in my top 3 of the year. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

2023

Directed by Francis Lawrence

I’ll keep the review short and sweet even though the movie was anything but.

Hands down the best cinematography of the entire HG franchise. The world building is so crazy and intricate, I love how after you watch you are still left with so many variables so much to discuss and ponder.

There was significantly less use of VFX in this film compared to the others and somehow it just made everything more intense. No bells or whistles like the other films this was blunt and jarring. At the end you too were left with a moral human dilemma, kill or be killed?

Main complaint is that it went on for 45 minutes too long and if they were going to let it run that long after the game when the entire first half is focused on the game then yea they should’ve just cut it into two parts.

I typically don’t care for a musical but miss Ziegler can sang…
Viola Davis had the best performance duh
And Tom Blyth is going to be booked and busy after this.

I love how this part of the story is so small in retrospect and I can’t wait to re watch the HG series with my new found insight. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

Priscilla
2023
Directed by Sofia Coppola

A top contender for my favorite film of the year, Coppola makes the grim life of a lonely girl appear as a fantasy.

Some might have found the lack of dialogue from Spaeny disappointing, I on the other hand found that it made the most sense. The entire point was that Priscilla didn’t have a voice or opinion, she wasn’t allowed to. She was conditioned into this role of the unwavering supporter, whether she wanted to be or not, that was her place. Every expression on Spaenys face was felt, no words were needed.

Elordi’s portrayal of the warm, charismatic lady’s man that turns into Mr.Hyde behind closed doors was jarring to witness. The chemistry between the two leads worked so well, there were moments so mesmerizing you’d forget she was being groomed.

To say that I could relate to this film is probably an understatement. Being in love with a narcissist is synonymous with being surrounded by people and still feeling alone.
I love how this film puts you in Priscilla’s shoes. It showed how it felt to be with someone that’s admired by everyone, along with the alienation she felt knowing that he was actually a horrible person. We get to see her on top of the world because he puts her there and then we experience the downfall, watching as he’s also the one that tears her down.

Coppola creates worlds within each of her films and it’s my favorite thing about her style. The sets were meticulously curated to place the actors in the environment/headspace of the actual people they were portraying. This doesn’t feel like you’re watching a Priscilla Presley bio pic, it feels like you’re in their house watching her life unfold from behind a curtain. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

Talk to Me
Directed by Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
2023

Absolutely disturbing in the best possible way. This movie was an unexpected gem.

I didn’t think about watching this in theaters, if anything I was going to wait to stream it. That was until I read some reviews and got some requests to review it myself, so I caved. So glad I did because I enjoyed it so much.

It’s clear why A24 picked this up. It’s refreshing, sharp, weird, fun, and really uncomfortable.

The cold opening was perfect, the sound design was fucking great and I thought the run time was just right.
I hate to compare this to anything else but I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a horror movie this much since Hereditary. There were so many moments where I couldn’t help but smile while the most gruesome things were happening. It was almost like being on a roller coaster scared shitless but you’re also having the best time.

I can’t wait to have movie night and make my friends watch this at the crib in the dark. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

Barbie
Directed by Greta Gerwig
2023

I really enjoyed this.
I wasn’t expecting much from this and I wouldn’t say I was necessarily excited to watch this movie but I was pleasantly surprised.

Heartfelt, witty, fun, and meaningful.
I had no idea what a Barbie movie would look like but Greta absolutely killed everything about this. It was so stylistic and perfectly designed. This has to be nominated for costume/prod design bc it’s quite literally insane.

The theme and message are kind of shoved down your throat but I wasn’t mad at it. It was more adult that I expected?? I loved all the slugs at men and the satire.

I didn’t necessarily love the Chevrolet commercial in the middle of the film but hey the funding had to come from somewhere right? And basically the film is a Barbie ad but what did you expect???

Ok why do I feel like this has been Ryan Goslings dream role. Like he took this role so serious and I loved how absolutely unserious his character is.
Margots performance was by far my favorite, I think her best since I, Tonya. And she produced the movie????!?
And America Ferrera did do something to me with that monologue ngl shed a baby tear because felt.

All in all, a really clever movie that I enjoyed way more than I thought I would.

7.5/10 by @sinafile

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3 years ago

Past Lives
Directed by Celine Song
2023

I’ve been waiting to watch this for months and ironically it came out at the perfect time, exactly when I needed to feel something.

This movie made me think about all those moments that happen in your life that you don’t deem significant or worth while. Then when you look at the grand scheme of things it’s all actually very important and those moments got you exactly to where you are today. Of course we always look back on the past and think about the “what ifs” but ultimately we accept that time only goes forward. You have to live in the current moment or else you’ll get stuck in a past life.

This film captured that so effortlessly. Nothing about this movie is dressed up or exaggerated, at 106 minutes and 3 characters everything about it is authentic. The writing, the acting, the direction, the score, the shot composition, authentic.

This was a beautiful, touching, and thought provoking film that left me with such a lasting impression. I didn’t want it to end. This was the type of movie you watch and immediately want to start writing your own.

God it was a gut punch, I don’t know how else to describe the feeling when the lights came on and I realized that was it. The end of the story. I already want to watch it again and again.

Probably my favorite watch of the year so far. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

Asteroid City
Directed by Wes Anderson
2023

Precise.
This movie was precise and I think that was my favorite thing about it. Which is saying a lot because I enjoyed so many things about this.

The writing was great, actually comedic,awkward , and just fun to watch dry humor. You know a film is good when you get genuine reactions out of people. Sitting in a barely half full theatre and stil hearing audible sounds of laughter throughout so many scenes was great, quality>quantity.

The production design for this film is another high point for me. It was so well done and i spent the entire film in awe of how particular everything in the set was, how detailed and orchestrated it felt. This reminded me so much of Grand Budapest in that way, the attention to every minor detail thats the viewer can see. It was delightful and one of my favorite things about Wes’s movies.

The performances that stuck out to me were ofc Scarletts and Jasons but honorable mention the Emma Stone for her two fucking seconds they were great, also loved Tom Hanks character. Oh and Tony Revolori had like 3 lines in the entire film but I loved it so much.

I resonated with the message of this film a lot more than any of his other films. Not knowing your place in the universe is a common theme that myself and the people around me experience daily. Taking time to think about something bigger than yourself is always insightful and brings me a lot of peace for the most part.

I was having an off day before watching this and it definitely raised my spirits. It was short, sweet, and everything I didn’t know I needed. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin Thompson, Kemp Powers
2023

This was exactly what I needed.
I don’t think I have a single complaint about this movie.

The colors, the soundtrack, the animation, the writing, it was all incredible. I need to rewatch soon but just upon first watch and thinking back on how much I enjoyed those two hours, this is probably my favorite animated film since Coraline.

This is how you make a sequel. This was a thousand times better than the first Spider-Verse and easily my favorite Marvel movie.

The humor was adult and actually funny.
The story line was unpredictable.
I had so much fun watching this that I refused to go to the bathroom and suffered for a good 45 minutes.

There were parts where I wanted to dance, parts where I wanted to cry, and parts that just really fascinated me. There is so much effort and precision that goes into animation, so many details and you can really tell when you get to marvel at the work of art in the theatre. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

The Little Mermaid
Directed by Rob Marshall
2023

I am a sucker for nostalgia so this movie had a bigger effect on me than I initially thought it would. This might come as a shock to some but it shouldn’t, this movie is quite literally a live action scene by scene remake of the little mermaid so please don’t expect anything different and then say it’s a bad movie. It’s the little mermaid point blank, so if you enjoy the nostalgia then I‘d say you’d enjoy watching this.

A third of the movie is spent in song, which also happens in the original LM so there is no surprise there. What did surprise me was how insanely similar Halle Bailey’s voice sounds to the original LM, man this girl really said copy paste. Her singing 10, her acting, well I give it a pass because she sang so well and it is her cinematic debut as one of the most iconic characters created so….pressure. No it wasn’t bad, you can just tell it was her first movie. Plus this is a children’s movie so who will actually notice or care.

Jonah Hauer-King who plays Eric fucking killed it actually and I can’t wait to see him in more roles.

Okay alright let’s talk color grading…it was dark as fuck. At least all the under water scenes were and granted I get it, its dark underwater…. but come on her hair was barely red. It just wasn’t as vibrant as I would’ve liked to see. It has been a theme in cinema lately, to keep it very low light, but some shots would’ve been so much better if they were colored and lighted correctly.

Score was amazing. I was super close to singing along but the theatre was packed and I’m embarrassing.

And for my last critique, the pacing and the run time….Maybe it was because I knew exactly what was going to happen but this movie lasted 30 minutes longer than it needed to. The first two thirds took literally forever and the last act was packed into the last 15 minutes of the film.

All in all I’d say go watch or don’t because you’ve probably already seen it and know exactly what will happen. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

Guardians of the Galaxy vol.3
Directed by James Gunn
2023

Well I already wanted to cry when they opened up the movie to Rocket singing creep. Needless to say I cried the entire fucking time.

Okay marvel why hasn’t it clicked that James Gunn needs to be directing more of branches of the MCU because gotg is honestly the only one that really does it for me. Since 2022 Marvel has been putting out absolute garbage throw away movies and after this I finally left the theater not regretful of the money I spent on the ticket.
The movie ran for 2.5 hours which I didn’t feel at all I honestly felt like was a good 1hr45. I think I liked this better than vol 2 and it was decently funny. The writing was quick and witty and not dull, the suspense was there, I love dave bautista and ryan gosling as rocket.
Not very many complaints tbh a very solid watch. by @sinafile

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3 years ago

Tár
Directed by Todd Field
2022

Honestly pretty good and this is coming from someone who had little to no interest in watching this film. The shots were beautiful, the plot was sharp, and the performances were convincing.

Few critics include what most films have been lacking for me: more conflict. I just wanted to see more heat and explosiveness and maybe that’s just me I’m the drama but yea the climax of the film didn’t do it for me, I wanted more. Also the run time was 45 minutes longer than it needed to be, took way too long to get to the point and once it did the movie just plateaued.

I don’t want to give away too much because I think y’all should give this a watch if you have the patience. This was like a more practical Black Swan if that makes any sense. This movie did do what I love though and that's to make it seem like I was watching a real event unfold. It was written very well and Cate Blanchett did amazing portraying the complexity that is Lydia Tar. by @sinafile

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4 years ago

Creed III
Directed by Michael B. Jordan
2023

Here’s what I enjoyed:

-cool fight scenes, they were shot very well and very fun to watch

-Jonathan Majors is a great villain

Here’s what I didn’t:

-the Henessey ads

-the plot is meh and the entire conflict of the film is easily resolvable
-the daughter and wife characters didn’t add to the plot
-final act lost me

Overall for his directorial debut Jordan was able to make a fun and entertaining boxing movie that broke records at the box office, I’m not mad at it. by @sinafile

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4 years ago