A.C. Ahn's Blog, page 2
March 4, 2018
Annihilation
The intriguing trailer with "The Alien" melody sold me on watching Annihilation in theaters instead of waiting for it to appear on Netflix. The synthesized notes promised an eerie, captivating, and horrific journey into Alex Garland's adaptation of the first book of the "Southern Reach" trilogy. And horrific is right. Horrifically disappointing.The film follows Lena (Natalie Portman) and fellow scientist/volunteers into a mysterious "Shimmer" that changes the land it encroaches upon. All of the previous military volunteers that have entered are never heard from again, except for Lena's husband (Oscar Issac). In order to save her husband from mysterious health problems, Lena joins a group of scientists to study the "Shimmer" and reach its core at the lighthouse. Interestingly enough, the group is all female, which reflects our current climate of the all female dream team (Ghostbusters, Ocean's). The film has a great cast with amazing performances, blah blah blah. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let's get to the negatives.In the "Shimmer," the group makes groundbreaking discoveries, while attempting to survive. But the film digs its own grave when it comes to caring about the characters and building suspense due to its opening, which shows Lena post journey out of the "Shimmer" being interviewed by scientists. She mentions who dies, who goes missing, and the very fact that she's there in a lab room confirms that she survives as well. So scenes later where danger is imminent, we already have a good idea as to what will happen. Talk about fun.When we compare Annihilation with Alex Garland's previous sci-fi film, Ex Machina, the flaws become obvious. Unlike Ex Machina, Annihilation is not focused. It's an adventure, drama, fantasy, horror, mystery, and thriller. There's the aches of love, the influence of psychology, the beauty of evolution, the creation of monsters, the existence of aliens, and the crisis of existence. The film spreads itself too thin, with more ambitious topics than there are baddies in Spider-Man 3. I would rather watch a story that delves into one or two of these ideas, than try to tackle many parts of a different whole.Like Arrival (which is a much better alien mystery), Annihilation relies on several twists of its own. But compared to the weight that they're given, the twists don't hold enough impact or surprise. You could even say that the final twist is a failed attempt at an Inception like ending. With Inception, viewers are so engrossed with the dream world and its implications that the twist of whether Leo's character is still in a dream or not comes naturally. In Annihilation, a question is asked in the end which falls flat on itself like a teenager trying to sound deeper than s/he actually is. The question shouldn't have been asked. It easily takes away the buildup of the final scene and makes the whole ending laughable.David Ellison, financier at Paramount, was concerned that the film was "too intellectual" and "too complicated" and wanted changes to be made to appeal to a broader audience (in order words, dumb it down). I couldn't disagree more, not for the same reasons as the director, but because there's nothing complicated about the film. Intellectual? Sure, it deals with science. But the actual science within the "Shimmer" is completely fictional and relies on the entertainment value to make any of it believable. Complicated? Now that's just an insult to moviegoers. Although don't be surprised if you run across several people who bought into the film as though-provoking. On the surface, it's shrouded with stupendous fantasy. But at its very core, like the one in the "Shimmer," it is as purposeless as the alien that lives there.Chad: 3/5 (Still, the movie is really pretty (e.g., effects, Shimmer, Natalie Portman) and the soundtrack is chilling.)
February 26, 2018
The Post
Back in the 1960s, while the fruitless conflict in Vietnam raged on, newspapers discovered a massive cover up of government secrets that spanned four U.S. presidents. The Washington Post, lead by Katherine Graham (played by Meryl Streep) and her unyielding news editor, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), takes on the reins to inform the public, despite challenges imposed by President Nixon, legalities, and... deadlines.The Post comments on a time sadly not so different from our own and draws connections to the importance of real news in our democratic society. The film avoids turning out too dry while dealing with complicated laws and self-important bureaucracy by trusting its characters to carry a large weight. While preachy at moments, The Post exemplifies Steven Spielberg's innate skill at storytelling, and succeeds where Best Picture Spotlight falters: displaying a thrilling drama about news reporters doing the right thing, and acting as a visceral reminder of the nostalgia that the printing press holds.The film is nominated for two oscars: Best Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Both nominations have a fair chance of winning, but when considering the opposition, it is definitely not a certainty. Although upon watching The Post, one thing is for certain. Meryl Streep is an artistic master at capturing a character and performing faultlessly in their skin. Katherine Graham does not have a particularly eccentric personality. She is fairly orthodox where acting roles are concerned (not your typical Oscar role). Yet, Streep is able to spin gold from Graham's hesitant demeanor and carry a full, satisfying character arc.Tom Hanks gives a showy performance that rounds out the film with fiery passion and humor. With Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Steven Spielberg—three cinematic powerhouses—the film is expected to be exceptional.But is it as untouchable as its top talents?Not entirely.The film is regrettably forgettable, which is especially unfortunate considering the historical content and timeless message of free speech that it celebrates. The acting is superb, the characters are somewhat interesting, and the well-paced story is captivating in the moment, but there's nothing grand to hold on to. Perhaps this has to do with the film's ending. Or perhaps the corny boastfulness that calls out in triumph as if it's the movie's own dampers the spectacle built from earlier conflicts and developments. Or perhaps it's just me.Whatever it is, let's see if The Post will last in the minds of viewers until the next Oscar bait film decides to portray a team of news reporters.Chad: 3.5/5Alex: 3.5/5
February 21, 2018
Everything the Dark Touches
I heard that on Mars, the stars don't look like starsbut floating gems scattered aimlessly on anendless crown, for a ruler lost in a vast sea of black.The silence, it's deafeningso much sothat the ringing suffocates like smallunknown towns etched on a mass-produced map.You would thinkthat with all the space and air,a home on Mars would be liberating and freebut on the contraryI cannot think of a bigger prisonabsent of security.And while the gems are beautiful,I can't help but feelmy body chained to a chaira throneto fill in a seatno being can obtainwith purity.
February 19, 2018
Black Panther
Welcome to The Ahn Bros's movie review discussion. The transcript below has been lightly edited.Listen to the discussion here: https://goo.gl/zNZmfA
Chad: This movie we're reviewing today is Black Panther. Alex: So Black Panther is the most recent Marvel movie to come out, and basically it's about a prince of an African country who returns home and claims the throne because his father was assassinated. And what he has to deal with is the struggle of bringing together his nation, and also the conflicts of people from the outside coming in, kind of disrupting how everything works.C: Right, and how they use their secret technology: whether they should help the world around them who need it, or just keep to themselves.So this movie obviously has a lot of Black representation, and I feel like it's going to do really well because of it. It's like a movement.A: Yeah, it is.C: Just in opening night, they made $25 million already.A: I'm pretty sure it's made more than all of the other Marvel movies.C: On opening night?A: I think it has sold more presale tickets than any other Marvel movie.C: I believe it.It's definitely a good movie for Hollywood, because it proves that movies like Black Panther and Get Out, movies that consist of a mainly minority cast, can carry their own and make money.A: Well, not exactly minority cast. I would say Black cast.C: Sure, Black cast.A: There's a slight difference now.C: But I think this movie's great. It will hopefully lead to other minorities getting their own movies too. I think we need more Asian representation or Mexican or Middle Eastern. Right?A: It might.C: Cause right now the Oscars is black and white.A: It is, but I mean, we're not sure if America is ready for an all Asian or all Mexican cast movie. Who would even be in an all Mexican cast movie? Are there enough actors to make an all Mexican cast movie?C: That is true. Benecio Del ToroA: Not exactly Mexican. Hispanic, right?But with Blacks, there's a good amount of Black people in America.C: And this movie, Black Panther, has all the top talents.A: Yeah.C: The director, Ryan Coogler directed Fruitvale Station and Creed. Fruitvale Station has to do with Oakland, and surprisingly this movie has Oakland as a central location, which kind of means something to use since we live in the Bay Area. And the movie stars one of his signature actors, Michael B. Jordan, who plays the badass character.Speaking of actors, there's Lupita. A: Lupita, everyone's favorite actress. The new star. The academy award winning actress.I don't really like her, but in this movie, she kind of won me over a little bit, cause she speaks Korean. And she speaks it pretty well.C: That was pretty interesting. With Marvel movies, they seem to be making more of an effort to appeal to the Korean audience, because Koreans seem to love the Marvel universe for some reason. I think this is the second collaboration with Korea. They have a car chase scene in Busan, and for some reason, Lupita's character knows Korean.A: Her Korean is good. Good in the sense that you can understand what she's saying. But do we know that she understands what she's saying though in real life? Can she actually speak more than just the lines she's memorized.C: The way she delivered her lines, it made it seem like she understood Korean. I was convinced.A: I don't know, it's hard to say. But obviously her accent wasn't that great.C: Speaking of accents, the main actor, Chadwick Boseman... he had a pretty solid African accent.A: He does. People might not know, he doesn't actually have an African accent.C: Right, he's African American.A: Let's move on to the story.C: While the movie is overall an above average experience, the story is filled with cliches. The movie's villain is driven by revenge. A pretty big cliche. There's your typical car chase scene. The little sister, the princess, somehow is the technological genius. She's kind of like the guy in James Bond who gives him the suit and weapons.A: All the cool little gadgets.C: Pretty unbelievable.There's also a fight scene in the end where a character comes in at the last minute with his army to turn the tide of the fight. It's kind of like in Lord of the Rings, when Gandalf comes in to save Helm's Deep.A: And there's one more, where the main character never dies. Obviously that's kind of unavoidable in this movie.C: Of course, it's a Marvel movie.A: There are scenes where he should have died, but survives.C: It kind of reminds me of the trend, Explain a Film Plot Badly. You can describe the movie as: Sore loser kills his own cousin to regain power.A: That's a good one.C: What about the music? It's interesting that they had Kendrick Lamar make an album called Black Panther. They have several of his songs throughout the film. Let's listen to a clip of "Pray For Me" by Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd.*plays clipA: That's full of energy, man.C: I'm gonna add that to my workout playlist.A: This movie had a lot of pumped up music, especially when they showed Michael B. Jordan's character.C: Yes, cause his character is from the hood. So they have a lot of hip hop music that signifies his control of the scene.A: But also in a way, it felt out of place sometimes. Right?C: You mean the clash between African American culture and African the continent culture?A: Yeah, exactly. We have someone who's African American Black, coming over and trying to conquer and rule an African country. And although he's related, he's from that country, it felt a little off at times.C: Yeah, it felt off. But it is an attempt to reclaim his roots.Overall, the movie has a very good message.A: It does.C: So what is your rating for it?A (in a horrible African accent): So I give my movie, a 4/5.C: Whoa, that's pretty good.A: So how about you?C: 4/5 is pretty generous. I'd give it a 3.5/5.A (returning to his horrible African accent): That is very harsh.C: That's not harsh. That's above average. The movie is above average in terms of entertainment, message, and theme. But the story, cliches... it's a Marvel film, you've already seen it, done that.A: It's true, but didn't you tell me before that it's one of the better Marvel movies?C: Right, better Marvel movie recently. And that's not really that hard to beat.A: So it's as good as some of the better Marvel movies is what you're saying.C: Yeah.A: It's as good as Age of Ultron.C: Oh, Age of Ultron is not that good.A: Well I think you gave Age of Ultron a 3.5 as well.C: No, I don't think so. I think I gave it a 2.5 or a 3.A: We can check later.C: Okay.Alex: 4Chad: 3.5
Chad: This movie we're reviewing today is Black Panther. Alex: So Black Panther is the most recent Marvel movie to come out, and basically it's about a prince of an African country who returns home and claims the throne because his father was assassinated. And what he has to deal with is the struggle of bringing together his nation, and also the conflicts of people from the outside coming in, kind of disrupting how everything works.C: Right, and how they use their secret technology: whether they should help the world around them who need it, or just keep to themselves.So this movie obviously has a lot of Black representation, and I feel like it's going to do really well because of it. It's like a movement.A: Yeah, it is.C: Just in opening night, they made $25 million already.A: I'm pretty sure it's made more than all of the other Marvel movies.C: On opening night?A: I think it has sold more presale tickets than any other Marvel movie.C: I believe it.It's definitely a good movie for Hollywood, because it proves that movies like Black Panther and Get Out, movies that consist of a mainly minority cast, can carry their own and make money.A: Well, not exactly minority cast. I would say Black cast.C: Sure, Black cast.A: There's a slight difference now.C: But I think this movie's great. It will hopefully lead to other minorities getting their own movies too. I think we need more Asian representation or Mexican or Middle Eastern. Right?A: It might.C: Cause right now the Oscars is black and white.A: It is, but I mean, we're not sure if America is ready for an all Asian or all Mexican cast movie. Who would even be in an all Mexican cast movie? Are there enough actors to make an all Mexican cast movie?C: That is true. Benecio Del ToroA: Not exactly Mexican. Hispanic, right?But with Blacks, there's a good amount of Black people in America.C: And this movie, Black Panther, has all the top talents.A: Yeah.C: The director, Ryan Coogler directed Fruitvale Station and Creed. Fruitvale Station has to do with Oakland, and surprisingly this movie has Oakland as a central location, which kind of means something to use since we live in the Bay Area. And the movie stars one of his signature actors, Michael B. Jordan, who plays the badass character.Speaking of actors, there's Lupita. A: Lupita, everyone's favorite actress. The new star. The academy award winning actress.I don't really like her, but in this movie, she kind of won me over a little bit, cause she speaks Korean. And she speaks it pretty well.C: That was pretty interesting. With Marvel movies, they seem to be making more of an effort to appeal to the Korean audience, because Koreans seem to love the Marvel universe for some reason. I think this is the second collaboration with Korea. They have a car chase scene in Busan, and for some reason, Lupita's character knows Korean.A: Her Korean is good. Good in the sense that you can understand what she's saying. But do we know that she understands what she's saying though in real life? Can she actually speak more than just the lines she's memorized.C: The way she delivered her lines, it made it seem like she understood Korean. I was convinced.A: I don't know, it's hard to say. But obviously her accent wasn't that great.C: Speaking of accents, the main actor, Chadwick Boseman... he had a pretty solid African accent.A: He does. People might not know, he doesn't actually have an African accent.C: Right, he's African American.A: Let's move on to the story.C: While the movie is overall an above average experience, the story is filled with cliches. The movie's villain is driven by revenge. A pretty big cliche. There's your typical car chase scene. The little sister, the princess, somehow is the technological genius. She's kind of like the guy in James Bond who gives him the suit and weapons.A: All the cool little gadgets.C: Pretty unbelievable.There's also a fight scene in the end where a character comes in at the last minute with his army to turn the tide of the fight. It's kind of like in Lord of the Rings, when Gandalf comes in to save Helm's Deep.A: And there's one more, where the main character never dies. Obviously that's kind of unavoidable in this movie.C: Of course, it's a Marvel movie.A: There are scenes where he should have died, but survives.C: It kind of reminds me of the trend, Explain a Film Plot Badly. You can describe the movie as: Sore loser kills his own cousin to regain power.A: That's a good one.C: What about the music? It's interesting that they had Kendrick Lamar make an album called Black Panther. They have several of his songs throughout the film. Let's listen to a clip of "Pray For Me" by Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd.*plays clipA: That's full of energy, man.C: I'm gonna add that to my workout playlist.A: This movie had a lot of pumped up music, especially when they showed Michael B. Jordan's character.C: Yes, cause his character is from the hood. So they have a lot of hip hop music that signifies his control of the scene.A: But also in a way, it felt out of place sometimes. Right?C: You mean the clash between African American culture and African the continent culture?A: Yeah, exactly. We have someone who's African American Black, coming over and trying to conquer and rule an African country. And although he's related, he's from that country, it felt a little off at times.C: Yeah, it felt off. But it is an attempt to reclaim his roots.Overall, the movie has a very good message.A: It does.C: So what is your rating for it?A (in a horrible African accent): So I give my movie, a 4/5.C: Whoa, that's pretty good.A: So how about you?C: 4/5 is pretty generous. I'd give it a 3.5/5.A (returning to his horrible African accent): That is very harsh.C: That's not harsh. That's above average. The movie is above average in terms of entertainment, message, and theme. But the story, cliches... it's a Marvel film, you've already seen it, done that.A: It's true, but didn't you tell me before that it's one of the better Marvel movies?C: Right, better Marvel movie recently. And that's not really that hard to beat.A: So it's as good as some of the better Marvel movies is what you're saying.C: Yeah.A: It's as good as Age of Ultron.C: Oh, Age of Ultron is not that good.A: Well I think you gave Age of Ultron a 3.5 as well.C: No, I don't think so. I think I gave it a 2.5 or a 3.A: We can check later.C: Okay.Alex: 4Chad: 3.5
January 30, 2018
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Welcome to The Ahn Bros's movie review discussion. The transcript below has been lightly edited.
Chad: Okay, so, this movie we're reviewing is called Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.Alright, so let's start with your feelings when you left that theater.Alex: It was fun. I liked it a lot. But I don't know if it was the greatest movie out there, or even of this year.C: I'd have to agree with you. It's definitely a fun movie. It's definitely one of those movies that have you on the edge of your seat. You're rooting for Mildred, the tough protagonist who lost her daughter, even though you know the character is not a good person. I know some people had an issue with the main character being portrayed as being kind of a bitch, and she admits it when her son calls her that. Remember that scene? Mildred is sort of a bad person, but still you pull for her. And it's definitely, from what I've seen, more entertaining than Lady Bird. Not exactly a better film, but more entertaining.A: No, yeah, I'd agree with that 100%, but I wouldn't go as far to say that Mildred is a bad person. She does bad things, but she's not a bad person.C: Yeah, that's good.A: If she was a bad person, then she wouldn't make a very good protagonist.C: Right, right. That's a good point.So what'd you think about the other characters?A: Well obviously, the one who stands out would be Dixon, the hotheaded cop.C: It almost felt like the second half was all about Dixon. It became Dixon's movie almost. I felt like the shift there was a little too much.A: Yeah, the shift was too much for me too.C: It was almost like a completely different movie.A: Are we going into spoilers?C: Sure, we'll say spoilers.A: Yeah, so basically the first half of the movie would be before Woody Harrelson's character, Chief Willoughby, commits suicide, and the second half starts from there. When Dixon receives the note from Chief Willoughby, he does a 180. I feel like that was a little too much.C: I'd have to disagree. I think it worked. Dixon did a lot of bad things, he was hot headed, but once he got that message from Chief Willoughby after he committed suicide, it really left an impact on him. Because Chief Willoughby was the one guy who believed in him. Willoughby left him that message saying that he could make it in life as long as he cooled down. It really left an impact on him. So the 180 wasn't too much. When he went to the hospital after he got burnt and he saw Red, who he threw out the window earlier in the movie, I think that was a really big turning point for him.A: So that shows that the character makes a change, but I'm saying that the change is unbelievable.C: It's a two hour movie. Unbelievable to you maybe.A: But his change didn't start at the beginning of the two hours. And also, the message from the chief was not just be calm, it was also fill yourself with love. Love everyone. And I'm pretty sure this guy, going around beating Black people and throwing Red out the window; I don't think someone like him can fill his life with love in one day.C: Yeah, okay, I see what you're saying. But it's not a huge plot hole. It's not like Star Wars.A: Yeah, it's definitely not some huge plot hole of some love interest coming out of no where.C: Okay, enough about the characters. What about the actors? Frances McDormand is nominated for Best Actress. Do you think she has a shot at winning?A: She definitely has a shot, but I don't know. Her performance wasn't very special to me.C: I completely disagree. She was like the female Clint Eastwood. She was so badass and so gruff, that you could call Clint Eastwood the male Frances McDormand.A: You can say that if you want. She's like a more rugged Meryl Streep. That's how I would describe her. If Meryl Streep's not winning this year, then I don't think this woman deserves to win.C: I think Frances McDormand is more like the peak of Clint Eastwood, not the current Eastwood making that shitty real heroes movie.A: Oh, I just said that Meryl Streep comment without even knowing that Meryl Streep was also nominated.C: Yeah, she's nominated for The Post.A: If Meryl Streep wasn't even nominated then this woman shouldn't win.She was good, but I don't think she was amazing.C: Oh shit.A: She didn't make me feel emotion. Especially in that scene where the deer comes out, or the doe. When she's talking to the doe, it's supposed to be a very emotional scene. But it didn't do anything for me.C: To be honest, the reason why is probably because the CGI was terrible.A: The CGI was pretty bad.C: And you could tell that the deer was fake.A: I don't know why they couldn't get a real deer.C: It kind of looked like it was out of place, that it didn't fit there. So maybe that kind of affected the emotional impact of that scene.A: Yeah, for sure.C: I think they could've done better with that scene. They did pretty well with all the other effects.Anyways, how about Woody Harrelson being nominated for Best Supporting Actor? He came a long way from Cheers. Goofy Cheers boy, now playing a chief in Missouri who has cancer and ends up committing suicide, leaving his family and daughters. That's pretty heavy stuff.A: Again, he has a good chance of winning, but I didn't really like him that much in this movie. Mainly because I feel like if he wins, it's only going to be because of his character and not because of his performance.C: You could say that for a lot of Oscar nominations, right?A: True, the character helps, but it's the performance that's supposed to win you the award.C: I would have to say I don't think he's going to win, because it's Woody Harrelson playing Woody Harrelson.How about the other guy then, the guy that played Dixon, Sam Rockwell?A: I think he's going to win.Supporting?C: Yeah, he's also nominated for Best Supporting Actor.A: Yeah, he's going to win. If it's between him and Woody Harrelson.C: But it's not between him and Woody Harrelson. You're saying he's the better choice.A: I'm not saying they're the only two. They're two from the same movie.C: What about about his performance made you think that?A: Because this guy, he made me really hate his character, or not really hate, but dislike the type of person he was in the first half of the movie.C: The typical stereotypes of being a southern white boy?A: Yeah, and you're like, oh yeah, this is how it is.C: But you see that there's more to him.A: Yeah, there's more to him. The whole part where I don't like how his character's attitude goes 180 is not really part of the performance, right? It's part of the writing.C: Yeah, sure.A: The performance itself is really good. Even after the fire from the station, you can see just in his eyes how much he changes.C: I would have to agree with that.The one reason why I said that Three Billboards was a lot more entertaining than Lady Bird, is because Lady Bird also has that second genre of comedy, but I feel like this movie had a lot more better situational comedy.A: That's true, but I wouldn't say that's the reason why this movie is better than Lady Bird.C: I said that's a reason why it's more entertaining. The comedy works a lot better.A: Yeah, the comedy works a lot better, but that's one of the reasons why I don't think this movie is going to win Best Picture, because there's too much of this dark comedy.C: That's not one of the Oscar checklist.A: It just didn't work that well. I feel like there's too much. Every other scene has something happening that forces the audience to laugh.It was funny. But I don't know if that was really appropriate.C: I thought it worked, I liked the comedy. I like her (Mildred).A: Yeah, I liked it.C: I like her going off and kicking kids in the groin.A: That was like, one of those really dumb movies, something they would do.C: Oh, like Dumb and Dumber?A: Like Superbad or some stupid shit like that.C: I guess I could see how kid groin kicking is kind of out of place. Maybe that's why it was funny. You're laughing because of the absurdity of it? Like, what? What's going on?A: It was a little unnecessary.C: How about that scene where she goes into the police office and calls out, "Hey dipshit" and the guy answers, "huh, what?" And the other guy, the sergeant is saying, "Don't respond to that."A: Yeah, the desk sergeant, "Don't let them call you that. Especially inside the station."C: That was funny.One of the things I had a problem with... well a lot of other people had a problem with is the racial aspect. A lot of the movies that were nominated have some kind of racial issue, or gender issue, or something. This movie had, what, two Black characters? And they were both pretty much model citizens. No, three Black characters, and they were all good people, they didn't have anything wrong with them, besides the woman smoking pot. But that's it, right?A: Yeah.C: All the white characters were three-dimensional. They all had their issues: dark side, light side. Black characters were all just light side.A: Yeah, I agree. The thing is, the story wasn't about them though.C: Yeah, that's the thing. The story wasn't about them. I'm pretty sure if they wanted to dive into them they would have a little more for them, but it wasn't a story about race. It's a story about a mom trying to seek peace about her daughter being raped and killed.A: Yeah, it's not a story about race. Who's saying it is?C: I'm not. But this is America.A: Okay, if you want to talk about race, then don't just talk about the Black guys. Talk about the Mexican people.C: Ah yeah, they totally shitted on the Mexican characters.A: Like the "portly Mexican deliveryman." Okay, way to stereotype.C: The movie did have a lot of stereotypes.A: The white cop goes up to the Mexican people putting up the billboards, but they can't speak English, of course. They direct him to the Black man over there who can.It's not a movie about race.C: No, yeah, it's not a movie about race.A: If you want to watch a movie about race, then watch Get Out.C: It's a movie kind of about revenge. A little bit of revenge. A little bit of misplaced revenge.A: Yeah, revenge.C: What do you think about the ending? For the typical American viewer, it's probably not a satisfying ending. I think that's why a lot of people were turned off by this movie. They say, "Oh yeah, it's a good movie," but they weren't satisfied, because Americans want that happy ending satisfaction.A: Actually, I take back what I said earlier, when you said that the movie is about revenge and I agreed. It's not so much about revenge, it's about frustration. So Mildred, the mother, is frustrated that no one has been caught for this crime. And she's taking it out on the police, even though she knows they're not the bad guys. She even has a good relationship with the chief; even after he dies, there's a nice little thing going on between them. So I think it's more about frustration.C: And I'm pretty sure the chief was frustrated that he couldn't solve the crime before he died. And the chief's death leaves Dixon frustrated.A: That frustration carries on to the end of the movie, where it leaves the audience kind of frustrated because they don't get to see what happens. It's left open. First of all, are they going to go and find this guy? And if they do, are they going to kill him? And second of all, are they ever going to find the real killer of Mildred's daughter?C: The characters are frustrated, the audience are frustrated, but is that a good thing to make the audience feel? Frustrated when you're watching a movie? Do you want to pay $15 dollars to go watch a movie and leave feeling frustrated?A: No, obviously not, but at the same time, I don't think I had a problem with the ending. People put too much focus, too much emphasis on how a movie ends. That shouldn't ruin the rest of the viewing experience.C: So what would you rate the movie?A: I give it a 3.5/5.C: Any thought process behind that?A: That's above average, it's an above average movie. But while you're watching it, from beginning to end, there's that feeling where... it's just missing something. It's missing a little more... suspense? And it has too much black comedy. It's in every other scene.C: Maybe that's just not your type of humor?A: No, I like that kind of humor, but I think it took a lot away from the story.C: So, is this the kind of movie that you'd recommend to your friends?A: Yeah, I think you should still watch it.3.5 is not bad.C: No, 3.5 is not bad. I would also give it a 3.5/5.A: Okay then.C: So our rating for this movie, Three Billboards, is 3.5/5. It's not a bad movie.A: 3.5 billboards.C: Ohhh, 3.5 billboards.Chad: 3.5Alex: 3.5Overall: 3.5/5
Chad: Okay, so, this movie we're reviewing is called Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.Alright, so let's start with your feelings when you left that theater.Alex: It was fun. I liked it a lot. But I don't know if it was the greatest movie out there, or even of this year.C: I'd have to agree with you. It's definitely a fun movie. It's definitely one of those movies that have you on the edge of your seat. You're rooting for Mildred, the tough protagonist who lost her daughter, even though you know the character is not a good person. I know some people had an issue with the main character being portrayed as being kind of a bitch, and she admits it when her son calls her that. Remember that scene? Mildred is sort of a bad person, but still you pull for her. And it's definitely, from what I've seen, more entertaining than Lady Bird. Not exactly a better film, but more entertaining.A: No, yeah, I'd agree with that 100%, but I wouldn't go as far to say that Mildred is a bad person. She does bad things, but she's not a bad person.C: Yeah, that's good.A: If she was a bad person, then she wouldn't make a very good protagonist.C: Right, right. That's a good point.So what'd you think about the other characters?A: Well obviously, the one who stands out would be Dixon, the hotheaded cop.C: It almost felt like the second half was all about Dixon. It became Dixon's movie almost. I felt like the shift there was a little too much.A: Yeah, the shift was too much for me too.C: It was almost like a completely different movie.A: Are we going into spoilers?C: Sure, we'll say spoilers.A: Yeah, so basically the first half of the movie would be before Woody Harrelson's character, Chief Willoughby, commits suicide, and the second half starts from there. When Dixon receives the note from Chief Willoughby, he does a 180. I feel like that was a little too much.C: I'd have to disagree. I think it worked. Dixon did a lot of bad things, he was hot headed, but once he got that message from Chief Willoughby after he committed suicide, it really left an impact on him. Because Chief Willoughby was the one guy who believed in him. Willoughby left him that message saying that he could make it in life as long as he cooled down. It really left an impact on him. So the 180 wasn't too much. When he went to the hospital after he got burnt and he saw Red, who he threw out the window earlier in the movie, I think that was a really big turning point for him.A: So that shows that the character makes a change, but I'm saying that the change is unbelievable.C: It's a two hour movie. Unbelievable to you maybe.A: But his change didn't start at the beginning of the two hours. And also, the message from the chief was not just be calm, it was also fill yourself with love. Love everyone. And I'm pretty sure this guy, going around beating Black people and throwing Red out the window; I don't think someone like him can fill his life with love in one day.C: Yeah, okay, I see what you're saying. But it's not a huge plot hole. It's not like Star Wars.A: Yeah, it's definitely not some huge plot hole of some love interest coming out of no where.C: Okay, enough about the characters. What about the actors? Frances McDormand is nominated for Best Actress. Do you think she has a shot at winning?A: She definitely has a shot, but I don't know. Her performance wasn't very special to me.C: I completely disagree. She was like the female Clint Eastwood. She was so badass and so gruff, that you could call Clint Eastwood the male Frances McDormand.A: You can say that if you want. She's like a more rugged Meryl Streep. That's how I would describe her. If Meryl Streep's not winning this year, then I don't think this woman deserves to win.C: I think Frances McDormand is more like the peak of Clint Eastwood, not the current Eastwood making that shitty real heroes movie.A: Oh, I just said that Meryl Streep comment without even knowing that Meryl Streep was also nominated.C: Yeah, she's nominated for The Post.A: If Meryl Streep wasn't even nominated then this woman shouldn't win.She was good, but I don't think she was amazing.C: Oh shit.A: She didn't make me feel emotion. Especially in that scene where the deer comes out, or the doe. When she's talking to the doe, it's supposed to be a very emotional scene. But it didn't do anything for me.C: To be honest, the reason why is probably because the CGI was terrible.A: The CGI was pretty bad.C: And you could tell that the deer was fake.A: I don't know why they couldn't get a real deer.C: It kind of looked like it was out of place, that it didn't fit there. So maybe that kind of affected the emotional impact of that scene.A: Yeah, for sure.C: I think they could've done better with that scene. They did pretty well with all the other effects.Anyways, how about Woody Harrelson being nominated for Best Supporting Actor? He came a long way from Cheers. Goofy Cheers boy, now playing a chief in Missouri who has cancer and ends up committing suicide, leaving his family and daughters. That's pretty heavy stuff.A: Again, he has a good chance of winning, but I didn't really like him that much in this movie. Mainly because I feel like if he wins, it's only going to be because of his character and not because of his performance.C: You could say that for a lot of Oscar nominations, right?A: True, the character helps, but it's the performance that's supposed to win you the award.C: I would have to say I don't think he's going to win, because it's Woody Harrelson playing Woody Harrelson.How about the other guy then, the guy that played Dixon, Sam Rockwell?A: I think he's going to win.Supporting?C: Yeah, he's also nominated for Best Supporting Actor.A: Yeah, he's going to win. If it's between him and Woody Harrelson.C: But it's not between him and Woody Harrelson. You're saying he's the better choice.A: I'm not saying they're the only two. They're two from the same movie.C: What about about his performance made you think that?A: Because this guy, he made me really hate his character, or not really hate, but dislike the type of person he was in the first half of the movie.C: The typical stereotypes of being a southern white boy?A: Yeah, and you're like, oh yeah, this is how it is.C: But you see that there's more to him.A: Yeah, there's more to him. The whole part where I don't like how his character's attitude goes 180 is not really part of the performance, right? It's part of the writing.C: Yeah, sure.A: The performance itself is really good. Even after the fire from the station, you can see just in his eyes how much he changes.C: I would have to agree with that.The one reason why I said that Three Billboards was a lot more entertaining than Lady Bird, is because Lady Bird also has that second genre of comedy, but I feel like this movie had a lot more better situational comedy.A: That's true, but I wouldn't say that's the reason why this movie is better than Lady Bird.C: I said that's a reason why it's more entertaining. The comedy works a lot better.A: Yeah, the comedy works a lot better, but that's one of the reasons why I don't think this movie is going to win Best Picture, because there's too much of this dark comedy.C: That's not one of the Oscar checklist.A: It just didn't work that well. I feel like there's too much. Every other scene has something happening that forces the audience to laugh.It was funny. But I don't know if that was really appropriate.C: I thought it worked, I liked the comedy. I like her (Mildred).A: Yeah, I liked it.C: I like her going off and kicking kids in the groin.A: That was like, one of those really dumb movies, something they would do.C: Oh, like Dumb and Dumber?A: Like Superbad or some stupid shit like that.C: I guess I could see how kid groin kicking is kind of out of place. Maybe that's why it was funny. You're laughing because of the absurdity of it? Like, what? What's going on?A: It was a little unnecessary.C: How about that scene where she goes into the police office and calls out, "Hey dipshit" and the guy answers, "huh, what?" And the other guy, the sergeant is saying, "Don't respond to that."A: Yeah, the desk sergeant, "Don't let them call you that. Especially inside the station."C: That was funny.One of the things I had a problem with... well a lot of other people had a problem with is the racial aspect. A lot of the movies that were nominated have some kind of racial issue, or gender issue, or something. This movie had, what, two Black characters? And they were both pretty much model citizens. No, three Black characters, and they were all good people, they didn't have anything wrong with them, besides the woman smoking pot. But that's it, right?A: Yeah.C: All the white characters were three-dimensional. They all had their issues: dark side, light side. Black characters were all just light side.A: Yeah, I agree. The thing is, the story wasn't about them though.C: Yeah, that's the thing. The story wasn't about them. I'm pretty sure if they wanted to dive into them they would have a little more for them, but it wasn't a story about race. It's a story about a mom trying to seek peace about her daughter being raped and killed.A: Yeah, it's not a story about race. Who's saying it is?C: I'm not. But this is America.A: Okay, if you want to talk about race, then don't just talk about the Black guys. Talk about the Mexican people.C: Ah yeah, they totally shitted on the Mexican characters.A: Like the "portly Mexican deliveryman." Okay, way to stereotype.C: The movie did have a lot of stereotypes.A: The white cop goes up to the Mexican people putting up the billboards, but they can't speak English, of course. They direct him to the Black man over there who can.It's not a movie about race.C: No, yeah, it's not a movie about race.A: If you want to watch a movie about race, then watch Get Out.C: It's a movie kind of about revenge. A little bit of revenge. A little bit of misplaced revenge.A: Yeah, revenge.C: What do you think about the ending? For the typical American viewer, it's probably not a satisfying ending. I think that's why a lot of people were turned off by this movie. They say, "Oh yeah, it's a good movie," but they weren't satisfied, because Americans want that happy ending satisfaction.A: Actually, I take back what I said earlier, when you said that the movie is about revenge and I agreed. It's not so much about revenge, it's about frustration. So Mildred, the mother, is frustrated that no one has been caught for this crime. And she's taking it out on the police, even though she knows they're not the bad guys. She even has a good relationship with the chief; even after he dies, there's a nice little thing going on between them. So I think it's more about frustration.C: And I'm pretty sure the chief was frustrated that he couldn't solve the crime before he died. And the chief's death leaves Dixon frustrated.A: That frustration carries on to the end of the movie, where it leaves the audience kind of frustrated because they don't get to see what happens. It's left open. First of all, are they going to go and find this guy? And if they do, are they going to kill him? And second of all, are they ever going to find the real killer of Mildred's daughter?C: The characters are frustrated, the audience are frustrated, but is that a good thing to make the audience feel? Frustrated when you're watching a movie? Do you want to pay $15 dollars to go watch a movie and leave feeling frustrated?A: No, obviously not, but at the same time, I don't think I had a problem with the ending. People put too much focus, too much emphasis on how a movie ends. That shouldn't ruin the rest of the viewing experience.C: So what would you rate the movie?A: I give it a 3.5/5.C: Any thought process behind that?A: That's above average, it's an above average movie. But while you're watching it, from beginning to end, there's that feeling where... it's just missing something. It's missing a little more... suspense? And it has too much black comedy. It's in every other scene.C: Maybe that's just not your type of humor?A: No, I like that kind of humor, but I think it took a lot away from the story.C: So, is this the kind of movie that you'd recommend to your friends?A: Yeah, I think you should still watch it.3.5 is not bad.C: No, 3.5 is not bad. I would also give it a 3.5/5.A: Okay then.C: So our rating for this movie, Three Billboards, is 3.5/5. It's not a bad movie.A: 3.5 billboards.C: Ohhh, 3.5 billboards.Chad: 3.5Alex: 3.5Overall: 3.5/5
January 10, 2018
Into My Pocket You Go
You stand in front of a shop of butter and spices,your head tilted as the wind brushes through your hair.Tattered boxes filled with beans align in the background,nothing more than specks of grain to the curves of your face.And in your coat sewn with six strong buttons,your smile is permanent and your eyes always drying.This photo of you I will keep;for as long as the beans can last in their tattered boxesand the wind can hold up the waves in your hair.
The City of Effulgence
It was supposed to be rainingbut we got luckythe sun showered down our necks insteadas we watched, patientlyfor fish to be tossedand coffee to be served—hot, not cold.A necessary commodity—sweet liquid gold.
Window Seat
Out the window, what do you see?Is it the same for everyone?Is it the same for me?Cars? Trees? Bridges? Birds?War? Peace?Don’t be absurd.Whatever you seeI probably don’t see itYour reflection in the windowPretty much guarantees it.
Mistakes Will Be Made
The tea was still hotwhen the lecture was doneI listened to the wordsbut understood noneWas it adolescence that distracted meor the heat from the fire?Perhaps it was the temperament—the languageor my plain lack of desireWith the tea finished, I leftIt was my life, not theirsDecisions, I will makeand should I fail, who cares?
Where Are All The Firefighters?
I cried outBut was completely ignoredOthers chimed inBut the privileged were bored.Enough whining, they snappedAnd everyone fell quietI alone screamed louderA one-man riot.I became a nuisance to the numbA fire alarm with no fireAnd little did they know, unityHad already burned downYears prior.
