Wednesday, May 22, 2024

I Saw the TV Glow

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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 Saw the TV Glow                                                      OK
A 7th grade boy befriends a 9th grade girl obsessed with a TV show he eventually gets into.  It takes place in 1996 at first, then 1998, and a couple time periods after.  The themes may be common (obsessions, reality vs. fiction) and the storyline is fairly straightforward, but the execution is unique in its own little way; this film isn’t for everyone.  [I’ve been meaning to check out director Jane Schoenbrun’s other film, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, and now I’m more curious].  It’s being billed as a horror drama, promoted heavily in the horror community, but I guess my description would be a surrealist, slightly coming-of-age, drama with horror elements.  I always welcome movies that dare to be different, but I also need to take something away from them, even if my interpretation is my own.  I was mesmerized by this film’s dreamlike quality, there being a Lynchian feel to it, but it ultimately felt like something was still missing, making this a case of style over substance (much emphasis on the former).  I read an interpretation afterwards which did make the film more compelling, metaphorically, but it wasn’t what I was thinking at all while watching.  I know I’m probably going to have to watch this again (something I said to another patron exiting the theater, a gentleman older than I, to which he replied, “yup, probably a couple times”), but I hate when movies make me do that in order to know how I truly feel about them!  Then again, some movies that I ended up loving I had to watch more than once.  Therefore, my opinion might change after another viewing.  5/21/2024

Bonus review:

Good Boy
One of several movies with the same title (only with an exclamation point at the end) was a family movie involving dogs.  This Norwegian movie (yes, that means subtitles) released last year involves a dog, of sorts.  You see, a rich man (due to his late parents) has a dog, but this “dog” is a human in a dog costume acting like a dog (apparently there really are people like this out in the world).  He meets a girl online and after she meets the “dog” she walks away (I don’t know who wouldn’t though).  After some coaxing from a friend and some pondering, she agrees to meet up with him again, because he was a nice guy, and, you know, the rich part.  All three (him, her, the “dog”) go to a cabin together (usually not the best idea in a horror movie).  This actually seemed like it would be a pretty interesting film, and I was very curious to see how it would all pan out, (here comes the…) but it ends up being more silly than disturbing (I know, what did I expect from such a concept?), ultimately feeling a little less than satisfactory [I mentally yelled at one character for making a mistake characters often make in similar situations too].  5/11/2024

Other movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):

Baghead (2024)  >>>OK

The Camp Host  >>>OK

Foe (2023)  >>>EH

He Went That Way  >>>EH/OK

Killer Body Count  >>>OK

Lovely, Dark, and Deep  >>>OK

Monster (2024)  >>>EH/OK
   (Netflix; In Indonesian with subtitles, but mostly dialogue-free)

Nightmare on 34th Street  >>>EH/OK

The Portrait (2023)  >>>EH

Punch (2024)  >>>EH

The Tunnel (2011)  >>>OK

---Sean O.
5/22/2024

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