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I think I need to rewatch this movie. 

The first go-around, I thought it was interesting but things were clicking for me. I felt like there were a billion things going on at once making it a melting pot of themes and information. 

There are themes of absurdist / satirical humor, romance, and dystopia. I feel like movies with these elements need more nurturing when watching because there are little details that can be missed, OR we can also just take it for face value.

Watched on Thursday February 27, 2025.

This review may contain spoilers.

This film had the perfect mix of heavy action and absurdist humor~

Of course a lot of the fighting scenes are exaggerated but like — it’s done in a fun and nostalgic way with a modern editing twist to it. I love when fighting scenes are edited / cut very quickly — makes it more engaging + entertaining to watch!!

I liked that each character had their own goofie little quirk and “dumb” moments during the movie — especially Marshawn Lynch — he was mad funnie 😹

One thing I will say that I got fatigued by was the constant mention of Valentine’s Day being the theme. It was like 3 days worth of time that took place in the movie and they kept making a reference to “Valentine’s Day” so I kinda was over that part. But besides that, I really enjoyed the film and definitely recommend it !!!

Also, I love that Ke Huy Quan is having his moment. He’s a middle aged Asian man taking on these characters bad ass fighting characters — and that those roles are not just reserved for younger people. I hope to see him in more action movies because he’s killin’ it fr!!

Watched on Monday January 20, 2025.

This review may contain spoilers.

So many things to unpack with this one. 

I liked that the movie didn’t require much dialog for us to understand the message(s). I think the hyperbolic examples and moments also was helpful for us (the viewers) to empathize or sympathize for Demi’s character. 

While watching, I thought of a few themes:

(1) The contrast between how young vs older women are perceived + treated in society (e.g., the neighbor + motorcycle guy talking to Sue vs. Elisabeth)

(2) The silent suffering + endurance of beauty standards (e.g., fixing hair + makeup every few minutes + gives up)

(3) The dichotomy of self-satisfaction vs. self-worth (or, the black hole of self-image sucking the life out of you)

(4) The appeasement of the male gaze (e.g., all the people of “power” and production crews were all men)

(5) Finding a “shortcut” for a “long-term” solution (e.g., “the substance” could be analogous to modern day “aesthetic solutions” — such as plastic surgery, ozempic, botox, etc.)

Overall, I felt one of the biggest messages that stuck out to me was: 

If you never recognize qualities that you like about yourself, you’ll never like yourself. 

+ It’ll become a perpetual loop to self-improve — fueled by upward social comparison + the need to always be “better”

I have mixed feelings. 

I didn’t watch the original, but I felt it was over-sexualized. I asked my friend who watched the original and she said they def added the sex stuff to this remake. 

I think Lily-Rose Depp was great at acting — along with the cast — but the script was a wee bit mid for me at certain points. I also felt like the movie did not need to be that long — it just felt like a run-on (not in an anticipation type of way either).

The movie had a strong start but as you get to the climax of it all, and descend into the end of the film, it gets worse. The visuals and cinematography was great — but the story just lacked a bit for me.

If you were a fan of Wicked on Broadway, I feel like this’ll hit even more especially if you were in the nosebleeds of the theater when watching it live. 

The director and cast did the Broadway version justice and both Cynthia + Ariana had amazing voices. I also really love how they were able to have a bit of their own spin on the original songs as well — like they were able to add in their own singing personalities~

I def wanna watch the sing-along version at some point!!

It was an interesting plot, but I felt like there were too many clichés or moments where I was like — “of course that happened”. 

Nonetheless, not a horrible movie~

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This review may contain spoilers.

After watching this movie, I was definitely stunned. The progression of Oliver’s obsession was very interesting to watch, and to be honest, made the outcome of the ending to be a little bit predictable. Maybe not as predictable as the entire family being killed, but at least Felix. 

I initially thought he had some version of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), as it’s often associated with fear of abandonment — in this case, with Felix. Some symptoms of BPD come with pathological lying for the sake of specific attention they seek, grandiosity / superiority complex, antisocial behavior, and narcissism. From “out-smarting” Felix and his family through manipulation to his superiority complex that took over whenever somebody challenged him, Oliver exhibited many of the listed symptoms I mentioned. 

As the movie was nearing to the end, I realized that the stone Oliver threw for his Dad didn’t make it into the water because that was foreshadowing that his Dad wasn’t actually dead. Another moment I noticed something odd was when Venetia’s stone was thrown into the water, Felix’s wasn’t there — which then is revealed at the end that Oliver had taken it out.

Additionally, there were two scenes that stuck out to me where Oliver may have slipped up his true self: (1) When Oliver and Farleigh were with the professor at the start of the film, and Oliver snapped back at him; and (2) the runny egg scene, because Oliver seemed to have a very “agreeable” personality, but when it came to the runny eggs, he rejected them and wanted them remade — but tried to cover up this slip up by apologizing excessively to the butler. 

Overall, Barry did a great job with his creepy character. There were so many moments in the film where I felt bad for him, but also extremely disgusted by him. He did well for evolving his character from protagonist to antagonist. However, I’ll have to watch again to take a closer look at the details and see if I missed anything.

This review may contain spoilers.

For context, I watched this film after Emma Stone won a Golden Globe, and also did not read the plot and did not watch any trailers. 

After watching the film, I realized why Emma had won the Golden Globe. The evolution of her character transitioned seamlessly throughout — and the script itself seemed very difficult to articulate (I don’t have background in acting or theatre so who am I to say).  

Initially, my thought while watching was “this movie is so male-code — why did they have to show her topless so many times?” As I thought about it more, my opinion had changed. The first scene where Max saw Bella’s breast, I had thought it foreshadowed the start of her sexual exploration. My friend added on and believed the scene signifying Max preserving Bella’s “innocence”, since all the other men after that scene did not cover her up. 

However, Bella’s character brought out so many truths about the female experience. For instance, the way Bella described her doing sex work, she said something along the lines of “I don’t have money. There is a job where I get paid and pleasured. Why wouldn’t I do it?” Plain and simple — she’s doing it for herself and it’s nobody’s business! Another key turn scene was when Duncan was seeking Bella’s attention but she was reading on the deck. He whispered to Bella that he missed her “cute way of speaking”, which symbolizes the innocence he enjoyed in his relationship with her — a stage of her that he could control. As soon as she started to develop a true sense of self, he couldn’t bear being around her. 

Overall, I guess what I’m trying to say is that the film wasn’t male-coded, it was female-coded. In other words, it was meant to empower the female identity and experiences. Yorgos Lanthimos — I felt — had amazing visuals and consistency throughout the movie, and to be honest, I can’t even find the words to describe Emma’s acting because it was just extremely well done. I’ll have to watch this movie again to capture any missing details!

i watched this movie back in 2013-2014 but i didn't until i started watching it again. 

overall, i felt like it was an interesting storyline and it also immediately reminded me of Interstellar which came out a year after Elysium (the ring world — unless this is a common future-esque “alternative planet” form that i am unaware of). 

i thought the casting for the younger Max was very well done for Matt Damon’s character. Agent Kruger was very good at being fricken annoying but did well in the role. i think this movie was definitely a good 2013 movie and didn’t age too poorly. 

i felt that the dystopian during that time is the dystopian that’s on the way to us in 2024 and onward. however, this movie made me think about the topic of robots / AI  — that the tech isn’t bad or evil, it’s the people who use them.

i really liked the visuals and the authenticity of storytelling that ties superhero movie realities to the real world and its nuances. it was the perfect blend of action and quirk — and i appreciated the focus on family values throughout. in my opinion, i felt it was told in a cohesive way and brought out true empathy / emotions out as a viewer. 

i’m excited for this DC Era and would love to see a sequel.

Watched on Thursday January 4, 2024.

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i haven’t researched anything about this but i feel like this was jennifer lawrence’s attempt at a comeback. 

i didn’t find the movie captivating and it felt very disconnected from reality for a movie that attempted to nod to reality at the same time. transparently, when i watched the movie on netflix, i couldn’t picture it being any better in theaters.

This review may contain spoilers.

the only impressive thing about this movie is the behavioral portrayal of gracie, joe, and elizabeth. the subtlety in body language as well as the way the characters spoke to one another created a decent picture of what the dynamic could’ve been within the relationship. 

however, the movie lacked cohesion. personally, i didn’t enjoy the dramatic zoom ins and outs with the intense music that reminded me of The Room. it almost felt satirical when the music plays when this film should be far from fitting in that category. 

although it was interesting to get the perspective of the person analyzing the relationship — natalie portman’s character — i felt it was somewhat unneeded. she just stirred the pot and didn’t really help guide the psychological understanding and value that come with the complexities of these peoples experiences (considering it’s inspired by a true story). 

overall, i felt this movie was overhyped. the actors / actresses performed the best that they could — the cohesion of the story was what lacked for me.

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Watched on Wednesday January 3, 2024.

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This review may contain spoilers.

[SPOILER ALERT] watched in english dub which probably made the storyline less cohesive to understand. however, i do feel the underlying message was something along the lines of taking control of what you can and letting go of what you can’t.

since his mom ed, and his new mom was pregnant, all the boy wanted to do was to find an escape probably from the fear of a new reality — especially after finding out about having a new sibling on the way. 

after the whole fiasco in the spiritual world and talking with the dying pelican, a new perspective was formed — that the boy needed to accept and adapt to the new reality in order to live life to the fullest. similar to the dying pelican who said the pelicans were born to adapt and eat the floating lil creatures / souls in order to survive.