Tag: movie reivew

Anatomy of a Fall (2023): How Far Can We Know?

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“With no witnesses or confessions, one must interpret”, towards the final third portion of the film, one returns to the courtroom and gets reminded that one has been speculating, hypothesising and interpreting an immensely private matter. Anatomy of a Fall (now seems more like Anatomy of a Marriage) juxtaposes the private and the public, the personal and the institutional, the moral and the legal. What matters is no longer who killed Samuel, but how a state apparatus violently disseminates an imperfect private union, and how one’s personal poignancy gets publicised and exploited.

Eternals (2021): What Went Wrong

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Eternals is a paradox, perhaps from the very beginning. For Marvel, it is meant to be a reset, or a glorious beginning, after the Avengers trilogy. Chloé Zhao was recruited to direct the film shortly after her Oscar win for Nomadland. Eternals also unmistakably features an ensemble cast more diverse, more cosmopolitan than any other Marvel production. It is an ambitious, soul-searching production about the fate of humanity, free will and femininity. Its scope covers major events in human history while making scattered references to other Marvel films (. In short, Eternals feels like a mission impossible.

Phantom Thread (2018): Love is Toxic, Literally

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We all need some magic mushrooms sometimes. I do not mean the ones you can buy on the streets of Amsterdam. I mean the ones that effectively poison our husbands/wives (but don't kill them) so that they become sick, vulnerable and needy. The extent of neediness is essential. And hallucinations about dead parents are a bonus. These magic mushrooms remind our loved ones of the importance of our companionship and the limit of their outsized ego. They play a key role in a lasting, healthy, self-correcting relationship. After all, love is toxic, literally.

Camera and Moral Imagination

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Documentary is equally guilty of manipulating reality and privileging certain images, opinions and narratives over others. Still, documentary is often associated with its moral language. The audience of a documentary (rather than, for example, a fictional horror) are more likely to feel compelled to act in a certain way and to ethically respond to a situation. How can one reconcile the implicit manipulation of reality and the strong moral imperative that seem to coexist in a documentary?

Feeling 4.0: Redefined Intimacy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

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On the whole, Her is a sharp, witty film depicting modern human relationship and what we have become without realising. It is as realistic as it is speculative. While in the past semester I have been mostly studying the economic and technical aspects of the fourth industrial revolution, I want to reflect on something personal in this essay. I want to reflect on how the fourth industrial revolution may change interpersonal relationships and how one perceives reality, love and intimacy. Like the film, my reflection can be speculative at times and make certain assumptions, and I do not claim that this reflection accurately predicts the future. I also do not claim to be pessimistic about the future. This reflection is at best the melancholic afterthought following the fourth industrial revolution, or what I call it, Feeling 4.0, after not just jobs, but also conventional conceptions of human existence and metaphysics are lost, for better or worse. 

God’s Own Country (2017): An Earnest, Affecting Depiction of Humanity

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The 2017 British independent film God's Own Country is about the Yorkshire countryside, two homosexual men, plenty of sheep and a sense of nostalgia. Filled with the ambition of timelessness, the story, or a dreamy fairytale, does not happen in a specified time. Characters speak with a strong regional accent, and I struggle to catch every word. But that turns out to be a minor concern: the film does not demand its audience to catch every word; instead, it invites them for a visually intimate experience with two blessed young men falling in love, alongside an earnest, affecting depiction of humanity.

The Tree of Life (2011): Where are You? How Can I Endure This Frail Existence?

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10/10

Every great story is a stroy of pain, and The Tree of Life is no exception. It is a story of unbearable and chronic discomfort: the pain of life, growth and death, or to put them together, the pain of mortal existence. It is difficult to reivew this movie in one short blog post, but I think it is worth a try, for the movie deals with the most fundamental pain of human existence, or should I say the worst kind of pain among all.

Manchester by the Sea (2017): Wounds that Can Never be Healed

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Set in a pain-striking town near Boston, Manchester by the Sea narrates a simpler lifestyle, an affecting story and the complexity of forgiveness. I am often puzzled by people feeling better after watching a sad movie or listening to a sad song, and Manchester by the Sea does nothing but affirms that proposition. I assign the movie a 9/10 as it is one of the best movies I have watched in a year, for its authenticity despite its minimalistic direction, acting and storytelling, and for it captures the emotional subtlety that other contemporary work often struggles to balance.

Interstellar (2014): Don’t Go Gentle into that Good Night

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8/10 When you look into the dark, mysterious night sky, what are the thoughts and feelings that come to you? Fear, wonder, relief, solitude, or nostalgia? Christopher Nolan offers his unique answer in his well-received scientific fantasy Interstellar (2014) of which Nolan is the director, screenplay writer and producer. Contrary to many scientific fantasy directors,… Continue reading Interstellar (2014): Don’t Go Gentle into that Good Night

Room(2015): Another Chance to Know the World

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8.5/10 In an era when movies overly feature celebrities, sometimes messy visual effects and exaggerated hormone-stimulation scenes, I should cherish movies like Room, where life-affirming inspiration and joyful tears stem from a simple, compelling story and authentic performances. It was my first time sitting in a cinema hall enjoying a movie alone, thanks to the timing.… Continue reading Room(2015): Another Chance to Know the World