#2019 films

[isobelleposts]

“Eat The Rich” — My Favorite Genre in Film

by Isobelle Cruz [February 1, 2022]

The Menu (2022) dir. by Mark Mylod

The phrase in the title comes from political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s quote, “When people have nothing to eat, they will eat the rich.” The last film I watched that had me surprised they did not literally eat the rich was The Menu by Mark Mylod.

This film never took itself too seriously despite its center around the wealthy and the lengths they go to just to experience the finer things in life. It is fully aware of its bizarreness and adds bits of humor here and there, making it enjoyable despite mostly taking place in one setting.

As the first film I had seen this year, The Menu truly sets up expectations and a fresh path to more of what the industry has in store for the rest of the year. Moving on, here are four more films to see if you enjoyed The Menu:

Triangle of Sadness (2022) dir. by Ruben Östlund

Starting off strong with one of my final watches of 2022 that had me saying “what the fuck?” under my breath every few minutes is Triangle of Sadness directed by Ruben Östlund. What initially caught my interest in watching this film was a clip in the opening part wherein we see a bit of the modeling industry and its quirks, or so, ridiculousness. What I didn’t know, and certainly wasn’t prepared for,  was what I would witness next.

I went into this film after refraining myself from spoilers or even a hint of what it could be about, preparing myself to be either disappointed or pleased with what I was about to be met with. And that is exactly what I suggest to you as well. Ditch the synopsis and logline and head straight into this experience. Just know that you’ll be met with great dialogue, delicate cinematography, and a whole lot of shit—both figuratively and literally.

Parasite (2019) dir. by Bong Joon-ho

Behind my little song to the clouds to tuck its raindrops away, a certain thought would always lie at the back of my head while growing up. As we celebrate a class suspension and give thanks for the chilly weather in the desert-like heat of the Philippines, I wonder what life is like for those living by the rivers, whose roofs are made with cheap iron or yero and whose walls are made of thin wood.

It hasn’t occurred to me before how important these thoughts were until I encountered this film a few years back. Parasite presents its audience with the rich’s ignorance of their surroundings and several contrasts between the everyday life scenes of a wealthy and poor family. 

Parasite is precise, well-written, and surely deserving of its multiple awards.

Knives Out (2019) dir. by Rian Johnson

Whodunnit—-they say that when you see them once, you’ve seen them all. And that may be true, but Knives Out’s fast pacing and quick cuts from past to present still kept my eyes glued to the screen. It’s a classic murder mystery, encouraging the audience to say things like “It’s too early on for such an obvious clue.”

This will keep you thinking throughout its length, asking questions again and again in your head, eager to beat the ending before the killer’s reveal. Though predictable for some, Knives Out nonetheless offers a fun view into the world of a money-starved family and their deceased father, along with a bunch of odd and entertaining characters.

The Handmaiden (2016) dir. by Park Chan-wook

Of course I found a way to sneak The Handmaiden into this list. 

The film follows Kim Tae-ri’s character who falls in deep romance with Lady Hideko, the woman she works for. Just when you think it is about to finally end, a sharp turn comes and it’s as if the story had only begun then—this happens thrice, by the way.

As we go further along the story we encounter money’s play in the wickedness of men and are left with our mouths agape after another unexpected revelation or scene. 

The Handmaiden is not only a story of forbidden romance between two women but also a showcasing of comradeship and care for another in suffering. Looking past its long length and adult scenes is a mind-boggling and thoroughly written story accompanied by excellent direction, camera work, and acting.

#eat the rich #film review #the menu #triangle of sadness #the handmaiden #knives out #film list #parasite #asian cinema #2022 films #2019 films #park chan wook #bong joon ho #kim taeri #anya taylor joy #rian johnson #Ruben Östlund #mark mylod #film reviews #kill the rich #film recommendation #movie recommendation

[adamwatchesmovies]

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Jojo Rabbit walks a delicate line. One scene is laugh-out-loud, darkly comedic. The next is soul-crushing. When you look at it on paper, it shouldn’t work. On the screen, it’s memorable, tender, hilarious and insightful - a picture like none other. There are some who will find it tasteless but for the rest, it's one you'll be compelled to revisit.

In the final years of WWII, Ten-year-old Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) dreams of serving in Nazi Germany's army like his absent father. While at Hitler Youth Camp, Jojo follows the advice of his imaginary best friend, a child’s rendition of Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). After an accident cripples him, he is sent back home. There, he discovers his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is harbouring a Jewish teenaged girl (Thomasin McKenzie).

This film excels at exposing the hypocrisy of the propaganda necessary to keep the Nazi machine (and similar systems) going. Jojo is only a child and even he has difficulty understanding how Elsa can be a demonic creature with horns and wings that drinks blood and can mind control good German boys, is cripplingly fascinated with shiny things and also an enemy the Nazis will easily eliminate. To him, she looks just like a normal girl. None of the interactions they have confirm her as dangerous.

The characters of Elsa, Jojo and his mother are all played relatively straight. Everyone else is a living contradiction. Rebel Wilson plays Fräulein Rahm. Despite being unmarried, she boasts having given birth to 18 children for Germany. How that’s possible, who knows. Her unreleting enthusiasm for the Nazi cause is bizarre considering her job at the Hitler Youth camp is to teach the girls there to dress wounds, take care of the injured… and have children. Not particularly exciting compared to the boys, who get to play with live munitions and enjoy the outdoors. The next noteworthy contradiction within the film is Nazi Germany’s attitude towards children. We’re told they’re the future, that the world will belong to them but as the tide of war shifts, we see the kids become be extremely disposable in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bit of off-sceen gruesomeness. The whole thing is topped by Taika Waititi’s portrayal of Hitler. Self-described as a Polynesian Jew, even if Waititi wasn’t directing and writing, his casting would feel like a smart, subversive inside joke. As the film begins, this Adolf Hitler is Jojo’s best friend. Once the boy starts questioning what the authorities have been feeding him, Hitler becomes increasingly hostile and comical. He’s more “so pathetic you’re glad you can laugh at him” than “funny because it’s so wrong to see Hitler doing this” kind of funny.

Lest you think this film does not take what happened during WWII seriously, understand that key scenes make you forget all about the fanciful imagination of Jojo’s world and bring you back to reality. The scenes with him and his mother, for example, are surprisingly grounded. You can feel the exhasperation Rosie must feel as her son makes all of these statements about Adolf Hitler, the Nazi cause, Jews and Germany. How frustrating it must be for her to endure what she hears. She could tell Jojo what the truth is, but he's a child. He doesn't understand what's really going on and doesn't understand that admitting the truth out loud could have serious consequences.

Though there are some big, memorable laughs within Jojo Rabbit, the dramatic revelations are so sobering that the drama/comedy split doesn't feel like it's down the middle. Said revelations only come in during the latter half of the movie, however, so they hit you when you least expect it - and hit you hard. This is not the kind of movie you easily forget precisely because it makes bold, bizarre-sounding choices. Though there is a chance you'll be so off-put by "Jojo Rabbit" that it won't be your cup of tea, every move that's being made has been carefully considered and the themes used throughout make it a picture I don't hesitate to recommend. (February 10, 2023)

#Jojo Rabbit #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Taika Waititi #Caging Skies #Christine Leunens #Roman Griffin Davis #Thomasin McKenzie #Rebel Wilson #Stephen Merchant #Alfie Allen #Sam Rockwell #Scarlett Johansson #2019 movies #2019 films

[timotheescloset]

Little Women (2019) dir. Greta Gerwig

Who will be interested in a story of domestic struggles and joys? It doesn’t have any real importance, does it? Maybe it doesn’t seem important because people don’t write about them...

#little women #greta gerwig #louisa may alcott #soarsie ronan #littlewomenedit #period film #periodfilmedit #perioddramaedit #2019 films #filmedit #film stills #cinematography #fyeahmovies #cinemapix

[rookie-critic]

Rookie-Critic's Halloween Horror-thon: Part 2 - #6-10

#6: Doctor Sleep: The Director's Cut (2019, dir. Mike Flanagan)

I have, of course, seen Doctor Sleep before, but I am not labeling this as a re-watch because the Director's Cut of this film, while not really that different from a plotting/through line perspective, is a wholly unique experience to the theatrical version of the film from a character perspective. This version of the movie gives you much more context around the its antagonists, The True Knot, and it's secondary protagonist, Abra Stone, that those major story beats existing in both versions hit with much more impact in the director's cut. It bumped this particular work of Flanagan's up in my ranking of his stuff all the way to third behind Hill House and, now, Usher.

Score: 9/10

Not currently available on streaming.

———————————————–

#7: Gemini (1999, dir. Shinya Tsukamoto)

This one surprised me by not being the kind of film I was anticipating it to be (this happened a handful of times this month). Gemini is the story of three characters plagued by their circumstances/upbringings, and a look at classism and people's desire to give and receive love, shot and told in a frenetic, gonzo style that only Japanese cult-director Shinya Tsukamoto can make work. Tear down the walls of your expectations for this one, it's a great watch.

Score: 8/10

Not currently available on streaming.

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#8: Nightmare Detective 2 (2008, dir. Shinya Tsukamoto)

The sequel to Tsukamoto's lukewarmly received 2006 film Nightmare Detective (which you will see further down on this list), this one makes the original look like a litmus test for the concept. A much more restrained and patient film compared to just about all of Tsukamoto's prior efforts, Nightmare Detective 2 sits in the corner, quietly analyzing its core cast in a story about misfits and generational trauma. Really, a lot of the themes and ideas presented here would be honed in on and presented again, albeit from a different viewpoint, in Kotoko. This one really feels like a turning point for Tsukamoto in terms of tone and approach. Not to say that his earlier, more frantic films aren't sometimes just as good, it's just the mark of a talent that's willing to evolve.

Score: 8/10

Not currently available on streaming (this film has actually never seen any kind of official release in the States at all, so unless you're willing to do a little swashbuckling, this one's out of your reach).

———————————————–

#9: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970, dir. Dario Argento)

Horror icon Dario Argento's (Suspiria, Deep Red) debut feature is an unrivaled "whodunit" mystery thriller with that hallmark giallo flair that Argento would become known for. There isn't a whole lot to say about this one other than this was one of the most singularly entertaining of my October viewings, and that I highly recommend it for just about anyone.

Score: 8/10

Currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

———————————————–

#10: Noroi: The Curse (2005, dir. Koji Shiraishi)

This is the best Japanese found footage horror has to offer. Noroi is told in a documentary style, acting as the discovered footage of the final film made by a supernatural investigator that has disappeared without a trace. This was my final watch of the Horror-thon and I couldn't think of a better way to send off the spooky month, because this was one of, if not the scariest watch of the entire month. It had me wanting to turn the lights on and sleep with one eye open, and certain images from the film's final moments will be burned into my retinas until I die. If I had any complaints, it's that I honestly could have used even more, although I guess an argument could be made that that's actually one of the film's good qualities.

Score: 8/10

Currently streaming on AMC+/Shudder.

#Rookie-Critic's Halloween Horror-Thon #Halloween #Horror #Doctor Sleep #Dr. Sleep #Gemini #Gemini 1999 #Nightmare Detective 2 #Nightmare Detective #Noroi: The Curse #Noroi #Mike Flanagan #Shinya Tsukamoto #Dario Argento #Koji Shiraishi #2019 films #1999 films #2008 films #1970 films #2005 films #film review #movie review

[littlesugarwords]

𝙢 𝙤 𝙫 𝙞 𝙚 𝙨   𝙩 𝙝 𝙖 𝙩   𝙡 𝙞 𝙫 𝙚   𝙞 𝙣   𝙢 𝙮   𝙝 𝙚 𝙖 𝙧 𝙩

　⇢　p a r a s i t e （2 0 1 9）

#favourite movies #favourite films #fav movies #fav films #korean movie #korean film #parasite #parasite 2019 #parasite movie #parasite film #oscars #the oscars #the academy awards #academy awards #oscars 2020 #2019 movies #2019 movie #2019 films #2019 film #favourites #my favourites #my favs #favs #bong joon ho #horror film #horror films #deep movies #deep films #films that make you think #movies that make you think

[cressida-jayoungr]

Warning: (Non-explicit) blood below the cut!

One Dress a Day Challenge

June: Weddings

Ready or Not / Samara Weaving as Grace

The things I do for this blog! I am really, really not a horror fan--far too squeamish. But I was curious about this dress from @coeli1000's description of it when she recommended it to me. Plus, the top image in this post did look pretty badass! So I went ahead and rented the movie, and I at least found that it had enough dark humor in it to keep me entertained.

The story concerns a young woman who finds out that the family she's just married into have a strange ritual that involves her having to survive a night of being hunted across their estate. So she runs around in the wedding dress for the whole movie, and it gets very messy by the end. One sleeve gets ripped off to serve as a bandage when her hand is injured, for example. By the end of the movie, it looks like this:

#ready or not #wedding costumes #samara weaving #one dress a day challenge #one dress a week challenge #movie costumes #2019 films #2019 movies #2010s fashion #2010s style #wedding dresses

[astolfocinema]

The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily (2019) ______________ dir. Lorenzo Mattotti cs. France; Italy

#the bears' famous invasion of sicily #la famosa invasione degli orsi in sicilia #La Fameuse Invasion des ours en Sicile #italian animated movies #french animated movies #italian animation #france animation #lorenzo mattotti #2019 films #2019 movies

[tumorousfilm]

SOUND OF METAL (2019)

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (8/10)

#sound of metal #film #movie #sound of metal 2019 #sound of metal 2020 #2019 films #2019 movies #tumorousfilm 2023

[limelightbae]

can’t believe this was three years ago …

#joel miller x you #you netflix #jenna ortega #2019 films

[lost-the-plot-reviews]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) – 2019

Dir. Céline Sciamma

Date watched: Mar 15, 2023    Platform: Netflix UK

TW: Suicide, Fire, Abortion, Solitude, Nudity

Synopsis: In the late 1700s, on an isolated island in Brittany, Marianne has been commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse. Unfortunately due to Héloïse’s stubbornness to get married she will not sit or pose for a portrait. Marianne has the difficult task of creating her portrait only from the sketches she has secretly captured on their walks together but observing her subject so intimately during her last few days of freedom creates a powerful bond.

Rating: 4.5/5

Review: This has been on my list to watch for a wee while, and I had initially downloaded it to watch during a power-cut in 2021 but fortunately our power was restored before we needed it and it has just sat on the back burner since. But wow, sad I left it this long. This film is so beautifully shot in 8K making it feel both contemporary and timeless like a painting. The colours pop against the plain backgrounds putting the characters like subjects at the forefront. This film feels modest at times as it only has four named characters, all female, and the dialogue is limited which is a plus if you are not used to subtitled non-English films. Despite being limited the script is powerful and if you are at all familiar with French grammar you might notice the formal ‘Vous’ being used when referring to ‘You’ until the very end where the last line spoken between the two leads which features the informal ‘Tu/Toi’ . This film explores class and female friendship with equality, Sophie the serving girl has the third most screen-time and is presented more as a peer to the characters and less of a servant. The only character that holds any authority over the others is Héloïse’s mother and after she leaves the house for five days all the class divisions disappear and the characters all feel equal which was refreshing to watch and I am aware that Sciamma did this on purpose. This is ultimately a beautifully crafted love story that starts off small and cold and slowly becomes big and alive. There is little music in this film as there is no score. Other than working girls chanting at a festival, the only piece of music featured is Summer from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. A piece famous for being raw and intense, a metaphor for the love between the two heroines. This is most apparent in the final scene, a prolonged shot of Héloïse while the music from the concert swells.

I had heard of this film beforehand but only really in the circles of people obsessed with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, I was wondering why I hadn’t seen so much of it during the award seasons but unfortunately it had come out the same year as Parasite so understandably it was a bit overshadowed. I might do a review of Parasite but if I don’t that is another non-English language film that I highly urge everyone to watch as it is so crazy and filled with so many twists and turns that I believe everyone should try and watch it at least once.

This film is raw, passionate and thrilling, I recommend even for those who have trouble with subtitles as it is far more visual than anything else. The story beautifully told through the point of view of the protagonists and the various paintings created. Not the usual tragic LGBT+ stories we see time and time again, sad but still hopeful with an ending teasing a future.

#film review #movie review #portrait of a lady on fire #celine sciamma #lgtbqplus #lgbtqia #lgbtqia films #lgbtqia movies #queer #queer media #2019 films #2019 movies #non english films #foreign film #french film #french

[unseenunheard]

Now watching

The Lighthouse, 2019, dir. Robert Eggers

#the lighthouse #robert patterson #willem defoe #robert eggers #2019 films #Horror #gothic #black and white #now watching

[adamwatchesmovies]

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Doctor Sleep is a sequel to The Shining 40+ years in the making. Taking its cues from the follow-up novel by Stephen King and the Stanley Kubrick classic, it’s a different but robust sequel nonetheless. Rather than try and recreate what worked about the first film (an impossible task, the 1977 horror classic is a one-in-a-million kind of movie), it tells its own story while paying homage to its predecessor and giving the fans what they want to see. Yes, it’s long at 152 but there’s an even longer director’s cut I’d love to visit sometime.

31 years after escaping the Overlook Hotel, Dan "Danny" Torrance (Ewan McGregor) is haunted by childhood trauma and struggles with alcoholism. When a young telepathic girl named Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran) reaches out to warn him of a group who “Shine” and feed upon people with psychic abilities, he chooses to work with her to stop them.

Unlike The Shining, Doctor Sleep isn’t a horror movie. It’s more of a drama/thriller, with action-y bits coming in the later half and some horror sprinkled on top. For a good chunk of the story, we’re following a traumatized, ruined Danny Torrance trying his best to hold at bay the lingering ghosts of the Overlook Hotel while getting over his addiction, finding his place in the world and befriending Abra. There’s a lot of great material as Danny talks to his AA group about the way he relates to his father more than ever now that he is also a prisoner of the “demon in a bottle”. The way he and Abra’s childhoods differ make for great character-based moments.

And then come Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and the members of the True Knot cult. If there’s one area where the film bites off more than it can chew, it’s with the villains. There are too many of them and several wind up being nothing more than generic baddies but otherwise, they’re the kind of villains you love to hate. As Rose the Hat puts it, the “steam” they steal from other shiners tastes best when the victim is young, terrified and in pain. If seeing kids die is something you can’t handle, know that writer/director Mike Flanagan has no mercy regardless of his characters' age.

The members of the True Knot gang who are fleshed out make for great, complex characters. One of the best examples is Snakebite Andi (Emily Alyn Lind). Under normal circumstances, she would be heroic but when she joins a group of psychic vampires who prey on children just so they can expand their lifespans… the support your initially support for her evaporates. These vampires act high and mighty but when it comes down to it, they’re just as prone to petty emotions as the rest of us, which makes every victory Dan and Abra score feel extra good.

So far, none of this sounds anything like The Shining. Psychic vampires? That’s far removed from a haunted hotel. You’re right, but Doctor Sleep makes it fit. It isn’t merely people that can shine; it’s the dead - such as the ghost from Room 237 - and places - like the Overlook - too. What we thought was a haunted building is actually much more and if that makes you wish we could get just one more look at that iconic location, the film obliges. This is where it feels most fanboy-ish, as we get pretty much every single prop and shot recreated: the blood flowing from the elevator, the twins, the tricycle down those corridors with the weird carpet, etc. Before we start docking points, however. I’d like to see anyone who didn’t want - even a little bit - to see the Overlook again. That's what I thought.

What makes these references and recreations work is how well they’re done. We see Dan confront Lloyd (Henry Thomas), who says he’s merely the Overlook's bartender but looks strikingly like Jack Nicholson. It isn’t an exact match (obviously) but even this inconsistency works. It’s a twisted memory, a ghost held captive by the Overlook looking to use a familiar image against the now grown boy who narrowly escaped its clutches years ago. The resemblance is so uncanny and the flashback and callback scenes so well done (Alex Essoe does a spot-on impersonation of Shelley Duvall) they don’t feel self-indulgent.

While we didn’t need Doctor Sleep, Stephen King felt the characters were worth returning to. Based on this effort, it’s hard to disagree. This sequel is telling its own story AND giving us more of what we enjoyed before. The performances are strong, the characters compelling and the callbacks are so well done that it makes the overlong running time feel… merely long. (December 17, 2021)

#Doctor Sleep #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Mike Flanagan #Stephen King #Ewan McGregor #Rebecca Ferguson #Kyleigh Curran #CLiff Curtis #2019 movies #2019 films

[prokopetz]

Insisting that there's only one good MCU film can be a much more effective way of winding up MCU fans than insisting that they all suck, but you've gotta pick the right one. If you claim Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the only good MCU film, they'll probably just be like "I disagree, but I can understand how you'd feel that way"; if you insist with a straight face that Thor: The Dark World is the only good MCU film you can get them to write entire essays about how wrong you are.

#media #movies #marvel #mcu #fandom #trolling #expert mode: claim that joker (2019) is the only good mcu film

[filmnoirsbian]

People who say 2019 cats is a crazy/weird masterpiece have never seen an actually crazy weird movie in their lives I'm so sick of 2019 cats propaganda it's not even entertaining bad it's literally completely devoid of creativity and artistry and I'm SICK of people acting like its anything more than bad acting and bad cgi the visuals aren't even that weird!! Nothing pisses me off more than someone acting like 2019 cats is anything more than a poorly made normie film. It's a "weird" film for disney fans that's it.

#go watch rubber go watch eraserhead go watch pink flamingos go watch mad god and tbh even THOSE are like. well known weird films. #scratch the surface of weird cinema I'm begging u #tcp #is there a 2019 cats hate fandom im there im in it

[sd-grls-clb]

#midsommar #florence pugh #ari aster #2019 films #cult #sadgirlsclub

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Week Challenge

May: Gold & Silver

The Hustle / Anne Hathaway as Josephine Chesterfield

In this scene, Josephine is pretending to be a naive (but wealthy) tourist so she can pull off her con unsuspected. For that purpose, this sequin-covered dress with puffed sleeves and cutout back makes her stand out visually from her surroundings. According to Shop Your Movies, it's designed by Carolina Herrera.

I haven't actually seen this whole movie, but I know it's a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which I have seen--and also the movie that was based on, with David Niven in the sophisticated con artist role. I think it was called Bedtime Story.

#one dress a day challenge #the hustle #one dress a week challenge #silver dresses #anne hathaway #movie costumes #2019 movies #2019 films #carolina herrera #2010s fashion #2010s style #silver dress