Promising Young Woman

Hello, hello!
I finally found the time to review the movie everybody and their grandma have been talking about since the first trailer dropped. To be fair, I have been beyond curious to see Promising Young Woman ever since that first glimpse. So, let’s get talking!

The Plot (as found on Rotten Tomatoes):

Nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be — she’s wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she’s living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.

Promising Young Woman on RT

The Rating:

Oh my, where to begin?

I know opinions on this movie are very mixed – people seem to either love or hate it. No in-between. I for my part enjoyed it a lot. It’s not a perfect film, but it was very intriguing and quite different from your usual (revenge) flicks. Everything I need to discuss that’s spoilers is under the *read more* cut!

Before we get into the nitty gritty details, I want to give a big ass shoutout to Carey Mulligan who gave a tremendous performance. I’m glad she got recognition for it, as she was nominated for numerous awards. She’s, however, not the only cast-member that deserves praise. The cast list is superb and everybody delivered here.

Emerald Fennell really surprised with her directional debut and for with this screenplay. I think one of the most intriguing things about the film is that you can tell it was made by a woman. How certain things are prortraied, what is shown on screen, and what is not. The vibe is just different.

Audition (1999)

Hello, hello!

The Plot (according to RT):

This disturbing Japanese thriller follows Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower who decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend (Jun Kunimura), Aoyama uses auditions for a fake production to function as a dating service. When Aoyama becomes intrigued by the withdrawn, gorgeous Asami (Eihi Shiina), they begin a relationship. However, he begins to realize that Asami isn’t as reserved as she appears to be, leading to gradually increased tension and a harrowing climax.

Audtion on RT

The Rating:

This was quite a ride. I went into Audition basically blind. I had no idea what the story was, all I was told was that’s it’s a horror movie. You can imagine how intrigued and surprised I was watching this!

So, first things first. The story twists and turns a lot and will leave you wondering. We get moments that reminded me of David Lynch. Which basically means at times you will not be sure what exactly is gong on and even after the movie is over you’ll be left speculating on some aspects. Personally, I really enjoy films that make you think, that require some effort from the audience. I like movies that are smart and don’t just spell everything out in giant glowing neon letters. For me, the story worked. It’s a great film that keeps you on your toes but I can see why other people might feel frustrated after the credits have rolled. Consider yourself warned. 😉

I want to talk about some specific details after the *read more* so beware of spoilers from here on out!

Mary & Max

Hello, hello!
Another day, another rewatch. Today I want to talk about Mary & Max, one of the most adorable movies of all time. I was rather surprised that apparently I never wrote a full review about this one. That simply won’t do, so let’s have a chat about Mary & Max!

The Plot (as found on RT):

A lonely Australian girl (Toni Collette) and an elderly Jewish man (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in New York develop an unlikely friendship through letters.

Mary & Max on RT

The Rating:

It’s almost impossible to give a description of Mary & Max that does the movie justice. It’s one of the most adorable yet also weirdest and saddest thing I have ever seen.

Let’s talk about the movie design and intricacy for a moment. Over 200 puppets and almost 500 miniature props where included to make this film. That just blows my mind. Imagine how many people had to work on that and how long it must have taken to finish every little detail. Just mad respect to everybody involved in that!
The finished project is absolutely beautiful. Even if you don’t care for the story, yu cannot deny that this is magnificiently done.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

Hello, hello!
I recently became aware that all the Spongebob movies are on Netflix. Since I have only ever seen the very first one, I decided to sit down and binge the lot. However, for completeness’s sake, we naturally begin with the original film!

The Plot (according to Rotten Tomatoes):

In this lively animated adventure, undersea oddball SpongeBob SquarePants and his starfish friend, Patrick, embark on a quest to clear the name of Mr. Krabs, the owner of the Krusty Krab restaurant, who has been framed for stealing the crown of ocean deity King Neptune. Leaving the familiar confines of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob and Patrick venture out towards Shell City, where they hope to find Neptune’s crown, but numerous obstacles stand (or float) in their way.

The Rating:

This is cute. This is fun!
Sure, it’s not the most sophisticated movie or the most intricate of stories. Granted, it’s not on one level with your average Pixar of Disney flick. By a long shot. But films don’t have to be perfect to be enjoyable.

Growing up I really liked watching Spongebob Squarepants, so it’s no surprise that I liked this movie as well. It captures the spirit of the show rather well and made me smile.

Dogma

Hello, my lovely readers!
I recently rewatched Dogma and I absolutely couldn’t belive that I had never reviewed it. Let’s remedy that right away, shall we?

The Plot (according to RT):

Two fallen angels who were ejected from paradise find themselves banned in Wisconsin. They are now headed for New Jersey where they find a loophole that can get them back into heaven. The only catch is that it will destroy humanity. A group bands together to stop them.

Dogma on RT

The Rating:

This movie is just brilliant!
I mean, sure a shit-ton of people will certainly be offended by it, but it’s just 100% my jam. The movie is ripe with Christian mythology and I’m pretty sure that most people who complain about the film will actually know less about Christianity than the guys who wrote the script. You can tell that lots of research must have gone into this, otherwise you can not write a story this brilliant. Returning readers will know by now that I’m a sucker for a well-researched story that will teach you something new and leave you with the desire to explore further on Wikipedia. Dogma certainly does that!

Where do I even begin? Two angels try to bullshit their way back into heaven and might just annihilate the entire world while doing so. Those two angels are played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Affleck really is hit or miss for me, sometimes he’s great and sometimes he plays Batman. But here it’s just perfect! Affleck and Damon interating with each other is a sight for sore eyes and for once I have nothing to complain about!

To Die For

Hello, my darlings!
I’ve been rewatching some old favorites of mine recently, hoping that I will still enjoying after 10+ years. On top of my list of films to rewatch was To Die For, a black comedy drama staring a young Nicole Kidman and an even younger Joaquin Phoenix.

The Plot (as found on RT):

Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman) is a weather reporter at her small-town cable station, but she dreams of being a big-time news anchor. However, she feels that her middle-class husband (Matt Dillon) is holding her back, so she decides to have him murdered. For this, she enlists Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix), a high school boy who is enamored with her. The plan doesn’t work exactly as she intended, though, and her husband’s family starts to suspect that she was involved in his death.

To Die For on RT

The Rating:

The first surprise already came when the opening credits appeared on screen. I had a vivid memory of both Kidman and Phoenix in this film, but I had apparaently completely forgotten about all the other big names such as Casey Affleck, Holland Taylor or Matt Dillon!

Despite remembering some of the scenes very clearly, I there was a great deal about this film that I didn’t recall at all. I am, however, happy to report that even after not seeing this film for 10+ years, I still enjoyed it tremendously. Far to often the memory of things is better than the actual thing was, but this flick really held up well!