The movie was kind of gross to watch. It felt like it was clearly made by and for the male gaze. It felt like the story existed for the sex scenes and not the other way around. The only reason I didn’t give it a two star was because the performers did the best they could with the mysoginistic material they were given.
I know this got good reviews, so maybe I’m missing something, but this felt icky.
I’m pretty sure the first five minutes of this movie were my desktop screensaver in seventh grade.
Apart from that, this movie is hard to explain… largely because I don’t think it was a proper movie. I think it could have been a beautiful short film or a poignant stage play, but it just wasn’t there as a feature.
The amount of cheating out felt so forced, even though with the single location conceit it was necessary. And I would…
I was impressed with Kendrick’s direction in her debut. There was a lot of strong atmosphere in this movie. She created tension with sound and camera angles in a way that felt like she’s done this before.
One thing I thought was strange, was that the film felt at odds with what I’ve heard her say in interviews… that Alcala isn’t interesting to her and that Cheryl’s evolution from pawn of the producers to women trusting her gut was the…
Philadelphia Film Festival 2024, Film 6
I’m really sorry, but I don’t get the hype. This movie robbed me the wrong way for several reasons. But to distill it down, there were so many repeat beats (we saw the lead character startle out of bed four times, for example, or irrationally yell at service workers multiple times). It felt tonally flat for most of the movie — just anger beats for comedic effect — and when there was some variation, the reasons for her generator felt neither incisive, insightful, not original.
The hard truth is, this movie didn’t work for me.
Philadelphia Film Festival 2024, Film 5
Prior to today, there have only been two films that left me without anything to say when they finished. After having just watched Nickel Boys, now there are three.
Both haunting and haunted, this first person storytelling burrows deep inside you and it hurts so deeply. The experiment works. There were moments that felt a little amateurish, but when taken in sum, this movie announces RaMell Ross as a force in visual poetry.
I…
Philadelphia Film Festival 2024, Film 4
I just had such a good time watching this. Good production value, strong performances, striking visual storytelling, and a lot of fun.
Sometimes a movie doesn’t have be saying something important to be a great time.
Philadelphia Film Festival 2024, Film 2
Before I give my review, I want to say that there may have been an extra-filmic influence on why I had a hard time getting into it. For the first fifteen minutes, late comers kept coming in and shining a flashlight from their phones on the audience to look for a seat. Is this not considered socially acceptable that my eyes have to suffer (I’m trying to read a movie, here) because you weren’t…