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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated 1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going to review every single movie I see. I’m going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future). You can always ask me why I gave the ratings for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses under the ‘About Me’ section).
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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated 1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going to review every single movie I see. I’m going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future). You can always ask me why I gave the ratings for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses under the ‘About Me’ section).
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I’m Thinking of Ending
Things
Recently released Netflix film beginning with a young woman and her boyfriend traveling in a snowstorm to meet his parents. It’s fairly straightforward initially, despite the parents being kooky AF, and then it gets bizarre. Really bizarre. Charlie Kaufman, the writer of interestingly bizarre films like Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, wrote and directed this based on a book of the same name by Iain Reid. If you’re looking for a feel-good, straightforward “meet the parents” drama, it’s best if you don’t bother with this one. It is rather bleak, in addition to its mindfuckery. I was a bit impatient at times, it is over 2 hours and half the film takes place in a car with the two main characters, but part of me is recommending it solely on how unconventional it really is and not quite knowing where it would lead (I like movies like that). I have a feeling I’m going to need another viewing eventually, I think I’ll read the book by Mr. Reid first (I am interested in checking it out after this), and, because of that, I’m not giving it a rating just yet since I don’t feel like I got some sort of definitive conclusion. Although I might’ve taken away a few things, I read an article afterwards online (posted below) providing explanations wherein I never would’ve initially thought for some of them. I’m willing to hear anyone’s thoughts on this film. 9/13/2020
Watch the movie
before reading this article:
[ https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/im-thinking-of-ending-things-ending-explained/?fbclid=IwAR23q4esaUU2f08kp1GUi6Wdw5Tklbtlzgk0GJV6PPbdEE5m3SxLDq69ozk ]
Recently released Netflix film beginning with a young woman and her boyfriend traveling in a snowstorm to meet his parents. It’s fairly straightforward initially, despite the parents being kooky AF, and then it gets bizarre. Really bizarre. Charlie Kaufman, the writer of interestingly bizarre films like Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, wrote and directed this based on a book of the same name by Iain Reid. If you’re looking for a feel-good, straightforward “meet the parents” drama, it’s best if you don’t bother with this one. It is rather bleak, in addition to its mindfuckery. I was a bit impatient at times, it is over 2 hours and half the film takes place in a car with the two main characters, but part of me is recommending it solely on how unconventional it really is and not quite knowing where it would lead (I like movies like that). I have a feeling I’m going to need another viewing eventually, I think I’ll read the book by Mr. Reid first (I am interested in checking it out after this), and, because of that, I’m not giving it a rating just yet since I don’t feel like I got some sort of definitive conclusion. Although I might’ve taken away a few things, I read an article afterwards online (posted below) providing explanations wherein I never would’ve initially thought for some of them. I’m willing to hear anyone’s thoughts on this film. 9/13/2020
[ https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/im-thinking-of-ending-things-ending-explained/?fbclid=IwAR23q4esaUU2f08kp1GUi6Wdw5Tklbtlzgk0GJV6PPbdEE5m3SxLDq69ozk ]
Bonus reviews:
Starfish OK
A girl attends her friend’s funeral and breaks into her apartment afterwards. Eventually things take a turn for the strange when sound waves allegedly cause an apocalypse wherein everyone (but her) disappears and otherworldly creatures gain access to our world. A movie that came to mind the most was The Mist, but whereas that film focused on a microcosm (a group of people in a supermarket) of a world ravaged by otherworldly beings, this film involved just one person in an abandoned town. The creatures weren’t nearly as impressive here either, although one large one with very little screen-time was a bit fascinating, nor did they make as much of an appearance. This film seemed to have so much potential that it unfortunately didn’t adequately produce, containing a treasure hunt of sorts bearing very little excitement, coming off as weird just for the sake of being weird at times, and, like always, was ruined by utilizing crappy CGI. Currently available on Shudder. 9/14/2020
A girl attends her friend’s funeral and breaks into her apartment afterwards. Eventually things take a turn for the strange when sound waves allegedly cause an apocalypse wherein everyone (but her) disappears and otherworldly creatures gain access to our world. A movie that came to mind the most was The Mist, but whereas that film focused on a microcosm (a group of people in a supermarket) of a world ravaged by otherworldly beings, this film involved just one person in an abandoned town. The creatures weren’t nearly as impressive here either, although one large one with very little screen-time was a bit fascinating, nor did they make as much of an appearance. This film seemed to have so much potential that it unfortunately didn’t adequately produce, containing a treasure hunt of sorts bearing very little excitement, coming off as weird just for the sake of being weird at times, and, like always, was ruined by utilizing crappy CGI. Currently available on Shudder. 9/14/2020
Door into Darkness
Four-part anthology series from 1973 that I never would’ve known of had I not seen it advertised in an e-mail Shudder sent me about upcoming releases. Dario Argento, the famous Italian filmmaker, is the producer, writer/director of two episodes, and the “Cryptkeeper” introducing each segment (the shortest being 54 minutes, the longest, 61). It is an Italian series, so, yes, that means subtitles if you don’t know a word of Italian. “The Neighbor” is definitely atmospheric, involving a couple moving into an apartment with their baby below a man that just murdered his wife. It is inconclusive, but any well-educated (be it in film or otherwise) individual should be able to deduce at least one possible outcome. “The Tram” is a murder mystery in which we watch the performers figure out who murdered a young woman on a (…) tram at night without being detected. It is fairly straightforward, but well-rounded characters make it watchable. “Eyewitness” involves a woman that believes she witnessed a murder while driving at night, and while the twist may have been innovative in 1973, you should be able to figure it out right away if seeing for the first time in 2020. Lastly, “The Doll” was also probably groundbreaking at the time for including a twist (that still was slightly surprising) after distracting you with a red herring. There were nice POV shots from the escapee in the beginning too. All in all, it’s a decent anthology series that only lasted 4 episodes, although I, personally, don’t think it would’ve mattered one way or the other if it stayed in obscurity (even though I do love anthology shows/movies as anyone that knows me should know); it’s certainly dated (1973, what do you expect?) and patience is needed to watch all of them (something fast(er)-paced modern audiences aren’t likely used to), but there are good characterizations in all of them and the entire series will only take up roughly 4 hours of your time. 9/15/2020
Four-part anthology series from 1973 that I never would’ve known of had I not seen it advertised in an e-mail Shudder sent me about upcoming releases. Dario Argento, the famous Italian filmmaker, is the producer, writer/director of two episodes, and the “Cryptkeeper” introducing each segment (the shortest being 54 minutes, the longest, 61). It is an Italian series, so, yes, that means subtitles if you don’t know a word of Italian. “The Neighbor” is definitely atmospheric, involving a couple moving into an apartment with their baby below a man that just murdered his wife. It is inconclusive, but any well-educated (be it in film or otherwise) individual should be able to deduce at least one possible outcome. “The Tram” is a murder mystery in which we watch the performers figure out who murdered a young woman on a (…) tram at night without being detected. It is fairly straightforward, but well-rounded characters make it watchable. “Eyewitness” involves a woman that believes she witnessed a murder while driving at night, and while the twist may have been innovative in 1973, you should be able to figure it out right away if seeing for the first time in 2020. Lastly, “The Doll” was also probably groundbreaking at the time for including a twist (that still was slightly surprising) after distracting you with a red herring. There were nice POV shots from the escapee in the beginning too. All in all, it’s a decent anthology series that only lasted 4 episodes, although I, personally, don’t think it would’ve mattered one way or the other if it stayed in obscurity (even though I do love anthology shows/movies as anyone that knows me should know); it’s certainly dated (1973, what do you expect?) and patience is needed to watch all of them (something fast(er)-paced modern audiences aren’t likely used to), but there are good characterizations in all of them and the entire series will only take up roughly 4 hours of your time. 9/15/2020
Other
movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):
(Netflix)
---Sean O.
9/18/2020
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