#quick movie review

[alexisgentry]

It’s the Heathers of 2023 in the very best way

[kickasspt]

Avatar: The Way of Water | 2022 | 3h 12m | PG-13

James Cameron is back with a sequel to Avatar made with remarkable passion and dedication, with astonishing underwater scenes that elevate the experience...

Full quick review on letterboxd

Directed by: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

[k-wame]

violently spat out my oatmeal

[pricelesscinemas]

[belle-keys]

Saltburn: The Reign of British Bourgeois (Meta)

I recently had an interesting conversation with a close friend of mine who said, "I don't think Saltburn is really about class." She said she thought it was mainly about obsession, in the most individualist and interpersonal way possible. I naturally disagreed, and we argued about it for an hour. But I think the reason she didn't think it was really about class was because the film had a categorically anti-Marxist conclusion. That is, a very British conclusion. In many ways, Saltburn is a Thatcherite's wet dream. Let's discuss.

Saltburn isn’t an “Eat The Rich” narrative. It’s an “Absorb The Rich” narrative. I disagree that Saltburn is merely about an individual’s obsession with a particular guy or family. Saltburn is about the bourgeoisie’s obsession with the old English aristocracy.

Let’s establish the establishment: the modern English aristocracy whose family seats litter the shires. Saltburn aims to satirize the English Country House family drama, and then some. This is made evident when Felix informs Ollie that, whoa, the Evelyn Waugh himself based Brideshead Revisited and other works on Saltburn, on Felix’s family. The film, in my opinion, was kinda ballsy to go there and to do it so bluntly. So yeah, Saltburn wants to poke fun at the long-established English tradition of aristocratic family dramas such as Downton Abbey, Brideshead Revisited, Bridgerton, Poldark, Rebecca, etc. It’s no coincidence that the movie begins with an egregiously stereotypical sketch of Ollie struggling to fit in at Oxford, à la Charles Ryder. Felix Catton is Sebastian Flyte, and then some. And Ollie is obsessed with him, because look at him. Except… I believe Ollie’s obsession with Felix is less of an interpersonal homoerotic deranged clusterfuck than it is the bourgeois boy’s perennial fixation with the unreachable closed-door English aristocracy, the national pinnacle of inherited class and status in a nation founded on inherited class and status.

Saltburn, butler and all, is a perfect symbol of English aristocratic privilege (seconded by none other than Oxford, but the film didn’t care to explore the hierarchies present in British education and instead chose to focus on family in lieu of academia). Saltburn is grand, medieval, kitchy, isolated in the middle of whereverthefuckshire. One would think that Ollie was intending to infiltrate Saltburn to possess Felix, but I rather think he was intending to infiltrate Felix in order to possess Saltburn. To possess Saltburn is to possess the rank and place of the Catton’s in the world, to be the world. And Ollie doesn’t want to destroy the Cattons nearly as much as he wants to embody them.

I suppose Ollie’s need to absorb, to consume, to possess and to incarnate is obvious through his actions—drinking Felix’s semen in the bathtub, the period blood bit, the grave-fucking debacle. He worms his way through every aspect of the family members’ lives with the intent to become them, to suck them dry (see: “I’m a vampire”, how gothic). By the end when the Cattons are all dead, Ollie celebrates the privilege he has grasped, and in turn, the film applauds his feat rather than condemns him. Saltburn is a film that congratulates Ollie’s usurping of wealth and privilege, rooting for him from beginning to end. And the film never tries to interrogate itself and ask why Ollie is our hero. Ollie, who does not want to break the wheel as much as he wants to be in the room where it happens, even if that means destroying everyone else in his path. Ollie’s obsession, generally speaking, arises from the desire for status and rank rather than an inoccuous maniacal insanity. This is symbolized by his possession and control of Saltburn. If Saltburn were a gothic ghost story, then Ollie is our specter. And Saltburn is definitely rooting for the specter, full stop.

Britain is a nation of ranks and hierarchies, naturally averse to watering down pristine intergenerational blue blood with filthy postmodern capitalist dollars. “Stay in your place”, that is the Tory way. Even in a “modern, democratic” nation nonetheless governed by an antiquated Tory hegemony and quite opposed to both radicalism and revolution. Ollie, however, wants to be in the room where it happens in a world where only those who are born in that room ever get to enter it. It is why he faces this overwhelming yearning for Felix’s world and Saltburn’s beauty – it is, by default, off-limits to him no matter how hard he tries to reach it. In my opinion, Ollie’s fascination with Saltburn isn’t due to a homoerotic fixation on Felix. It’s due to an outsider’s bourgeois fixation on the romantic world of inherited English rank, status, and wealth. The romance of Saltburn, our need to romanticize the privileged upper class, is evident in the stunning cinematography and costuming. Farleigh is the first person in the family to notice Ollie’s insecurities and see it for what it is – he’s begging to be let in. Farleigh likewise takes the opportunity to constantly, antagonistically remind Ollie that Saltburn isn’t his world, that he will never fit in and will never be accepted as one of them: the tux will never perfectly fit. It is the tragedy of the almost-theres. So Ollie decides to just get rid of everyone in his way and prance about naked since the tux refuses to bloody fit.

It’s just so English, culturally speaking. To claw your way to the top to sit with the big boys rather than to criticize the system that bred the arduous, back-breaking, fatal climb in the first place. This is Tory meritocracy, founded on decades of policies to reduce taxes on properties such as Saltburn in Britain, to keep old peers in the Lords. Felix Catton is Sebastian Flyte is Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher who, despite brandishing her “common” background as a selling point during her political career, painstakingly perfected the Received Pronunciation of her Eton parliamentary peers and successfully died with the coveted title of Baroness added to her name. Thatcher, an Oxford scholarship kid like Ollie, who wormed her way into a title and country house and was yet forever plagued by her average, middle-class upbringing.

Ollie is obsessed with much more than a mere man. If Saltburn were a Marxist class story, truly dedicated to class critcism or subverting the English Country House drama, Ollie would have burned the whole damn place down. But Saltburn is rather a Tory class story about the insane lengths the British bouregoisie, obsessed with ascending class hierarchies and disillusioned by the lies of meritocracy, will go to possess the near-unpossessable ranks at the peak of English-textured privilege. The film is a performance in English upper-class tomfoolery and a celebration of its infiltration by the almost-theres.

And yet, the cycle perpetuates itself. Saltburn is ruled by a new lord. Nothing, really, has changed.

[dimitrisatticus]

Saltburn is a baroque feast for the eyes! An alluring story of obsession and desire in the vein of Patricia Highsmith with an absolute tour de force by Barry Keoghan.

[repmet]

Ngl, despite my apprehension (i.e. I'm old and cynical), I'm interested to see what they do with the Red, White & Royal Blue sequel partly since I know in the book bonus chapter, Henry gives up his title - I haven't actually read it so idk if he's actually described as 'abdicating' or fandom just decided to use that term (which is not exactly correct).

But the book lacks a lot of accuracy around the British Royal family where as the movie put in a bit more effort (e.g. Henry's Mum being Duchess of Edinburgh not Princess of Wales) and since in the United Kingdom, Henry can't step out of the line of succession without an Act of Parliament which isn't an insignificant thing, I wonder if the movie will focus on that or if it will gloss over it or just go in a brand new direction entirely for a new audience who aren't familiar with the book.

Personally, I hope for the latter partially because the parallels to certain real life royals would get distracting but mostly because I'd love to see Henry use the position he once felt suffocated by to advocate for and empower others.

Though being honest, I'm mostly just hoping they don't fall into the romance sequel trope of breaking them up to get them back together again.

To be clear though, in real life I think the entire monarchy should be abolished - but in this gay little movie world I have other thoughts :)

[pan-annigans]

mario movie was mid, sorry ;-;

but i liked it when these two dumb idiots beat each other into a pulp and then went on a rivals to lovers arc. y'know, like men

they're either doing a manly fist bump or they're about to kill each other for the 8th time

[randomlynormalgirl]

my take on saltburn is that it is a class commentary but not in the way people are thinking.

It’s not an eat the rich story, it’s more of a ‘look how desperate the English middle class are’. 

Oliver puts on a facade of being worse off than he is, similar to how the British middle class try to appropriate working class culture and struggles whilst at the same time aspiring to an upper class lifestyle and actively putting down working class people.

The movie also doesn’t portray richness as evil but it does show it as odd and those who HAVE richness as alienating - having customs that can only be known if you were born into it and that is what separates the middle from the upper classes in England. 

Oliver is a satire of the middle class hunger and desire for infiltration and assimilation into the upper classes, not a scathing satire of working class desperation, nor is he a working class hero.

[alexisgentry]

Quick movie review for Drive-Away Dolls

[apriiciitty]

SALTBURN DESTROYED ME BECAUSE IT LEFT MY HEAD FULL OF THOUGHTS.

the problem with me is, once I’ve watched a movie or series etc, I can’t just simply shut up it.

so here is a small ranting;

saltburn, cinematically speaking, was like a mixture of baz luhrmann dropped somewhere in the early 2006 and mid 90s.

specifically, the whole theme/vibe (forgive me I don’t know how to describe the atmosphere) reminded me a lot of the ‘party’ scene in Romeo and Juliet 1996 and (I hope some of yall watched it) the ad baz luhrmann did for H&M in 2017 ‘the secret life of flowers’

but it was a chaotic mess. you didn’t know what to expect, you were not very sure what was about to come because the atmosphere felt to be filled and heavy with thoughts and moments.

like you could sense that Oliver was up to something but it wasn’t clear enough what.

every guess i had while watching this movie, came out to be mostly wrong or didn’t went as expected.

the ‘thriller’ element was missing in my opinion because of the ‘lack of act’ HOWEVER the psychological element was there from second one.

Ooooog there is so much to talk about but overall, Oliver was a disturbing figure.

[unreeled]

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

A crew worthy of a story.

(This article can also be found on my substack).

Adapting Dracula is not something that has ever been done seamlessly. In the 127 years since it’s publication, in what is likely hundreds of adaptations and retellings between stage plays, films, and novels, there is no adaptation that has truly followed the story from beginning to end. There are many reasons for this, as what worked in a novel in 1897 may not work in a modern day film, but adapting the full story is never what The Last Voyage of the Demeter set out to do, anyway. They are adapting a single chapter.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is just what it says in the title: it is the story of the ship Demeter as it carries cargo from Carpathia to London, and in the process, becomes a nightmare for the crewmen on board. It chiefly follows Corey Hawkins in the role of Clemens, a doctor who joined the ship at the start of the journey and quickly becomes caught in the middle of the struggle to come.

One of the most difficult parts of telling a story that is, from the start, open about the fact that there are no survivors, is that you still want the audience to care for your cast. You want the deaths to hit despite the fact that they are already being braced for. And in this respect, the film succeeds. All it takes is a strong cast and a solid script for them to work from. The aforementioned Corey Hawkins shines in his role as the ship’s doctor and a man of reason, struggling to reconcile the evidence of the supernatural with the logic he’s holds tight to. Other standout performances come from David Dastmalchian as Wojchek, the ship’s first mate who attempts to maintain order throughout the voyage, and Woody Norman in the role of Toby, the captain’s grandson and the only child aboard the Demeter.

Each member of the Demeter’s crew may fulfill a familiar archetype, be it from the horror genre in general or in other stories of seafaring men, but ultimately, the performances by this cast round them out into something that feels much more real. There is a sense that these men have worked together for a very long time, and that there is more to their lives than this single voyage. And then you begin to watch as they get picked off, one by one.

The films more solid scares are when they play more intimately with this cast. Stuck on a tight ship, isolated on a stormy sea, there is plenty of opportunity to create an environment that feels claustrophobic. Though these are not always taken, there are still wonderfully dreadful moments awaiting the viewer. Some of the best even happen in the light of day.

Where this film thrives the most, however, is in it’s sound design. That should come as no surprise when you begin with a score composed by Bear McCreary, who is responsible for, among others, the award-winning scores for the video games God of War and God of War Ragnarok, the title theme to Black Sails, and the score to 2019’s Godzilla: King of Monsters. Intense, full of thematic strings and playing often with the feeling of being on a creaking ship out at sea, this film could not have asked for a better backing to tie it together.

And the score isn’t where the sound design ends, either. The attention of detail paid to the acoustics of the ship, from the way the storage hold is home to quiet echos to the way ever-present sea sloshes against the ship, comes together to create a deeply immersive atmosphere. A gimmick introduced early on in the film even plays with sound; Toby, while cheerfully giving a tour to the ship’s new doctor, tells him that he can knock on the hold at any time to communicate with other crew across the ship. One of the highlights of seeing this film when it was screening in theaters was being able to hear this knock echo, front to back, all the way down the ship, and knowing it would return to haunt us.

One common complaint from audiences of modern horror are that the films are, visually, too dark. In a way that fails to create atmosphere and instead hinders the viewing experience, creating an image that can hardly be parsed. This is not a complaint that could be found with The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Light and shadow are constantly at play through this film, found largely in the stark differences between the warm safety of lamplight and the cold, blue-tinted darkness at it’s edges. These contrasts often create something beautiful, even when there is danger lurking in the dark.

Stepping into the role of that danger is Javier Botet. Dracula is far from the first time that Botet has been the movie monster; from The Conjuring 2’s Crooked Man to some of the ghosts of Crimson Peak, he is no stranger to playing the supernatural. Dracula, in this film, takes a more animalistic approach. He is a creature that is desperate, and hungry, and has little time to toy with his food. It would seem he does retain some of his personality in the way he lures in or taunts his victims, which are the highlight moments of his kills.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is, overall, an adaptation worthy of the haunting chapter of Dracula that it takes the bones of it’s story from. Clemens is a character that feels as if he could have been a part of the Dracula canon from the start, and the story he belongs to no less so. With a powerful score and a strong core cast, the Demeter’s final trip is a voyage worth taking, especially on a stormy afternoon.

[pricelesscinemas]

[legit9thlunaticwarrior]

i watched saltburn today and if you were on the fence abt watching it; don’t. you probably have more productive and better things to do with 2 hours and 11 minutes of your life.

barry keoghan is unsettling to look at (i find his nose cute tho), jacob elordi is not that great of an actor and i think is only popular because he’s attractive; he’s just the next noah centineo

it was a boring movie that only had one scene that held my attention (in a good way) which was felix (elordi) finding out that oliver (keoghan) lied about his family

the bath water scene, the scene with oliver and venetia in the garden, and whatever that was with oliver and farleigh made me all types of uncomfortable. maybe that’s prudish of me but i’ve scene a lot of movies with body horror, gore, i saw c/\nnibal h0l0caust (one of the most gory movies in cinema history); and those didn’t make me feel the way those did

and on a funnier note; they had the AUDACITY to try and write barry keoghan as this ‘dommy mcdomerson on domerson lane’ type guy. they got him doing all that 6’7 talk in a 5’8 stature. that attitude is against the bylaws. (the only acceptable 5’8 man that can act like that is jeremy allen white)

and idk what oliver was supposed to be for the birthday party but he ended up looking like the mf’er from fall out boy’s acclaimed music video for “sugar we’re goin down”. and that feels disrespectful to fall out boy and the guy in the video

and the ending scene with him dancing to “murder on the dance floor” was just dumb. y’all need to find classic, iconic, music in better ways because knowing this song from just this movie is *IN MY OPINION* embarrassing

anyways, that was my review of saltburn

[todayisafridaynight]

Since you mentioned it, what did you think of Speak No Evil? I was thinking of watching it myself :0

i really liked it ............ my friend scoffed at me when i told her i was watchin it so take my opinion with a grain of salt tho </3

[imthefailedartist]

Saw someone say they didn't like Saltburn because the movie doesn't explain Oliver's mental state and why/what led him to do what he did.

And I. . . What? We are doomed. The children are being left behind, and they have no media literacy. No comprehension of nuance. Put down the YouTube, movies explained, and over analyzed reviews masquerading as film essays and pick-up books.

Other than the fact that not everything needs to be explained to make something understandable or even good, it is explained. Oliver wants what they have. That's it.

(Not fully it, but the majority)

Maybe him growing up upper middle class confused them, but still.