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Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (2020)
interesting subject but falls short, resulting in a bland documentary
I would suggest saving the hour and a half it takes to watch this "documentary" and instead listen to you buddies describe their acid trips. If you don't have friends that dabble in hallucinogenics just watch a 5 minute youtube video instead. The synopsis reads "a thorough investigation of psychedelics" but this is a bold lie. 80% The film is comprised of celebrities describing their experiences with psychedelics with accompanying visuals. anther 15% are used for the "bad tip" Skits, and the remaining 5% features a real researcher describing the science behind psychedelics. And even then, the information given by the researcher is quite common, or would pop up instantly in a quick google search. mY point being that if you expect to gain some new insight into psychedelics after watching this documentary you will be sorely mistaken.
Aside from the lack of information, are the anecdotes interesting and the visuals captivating? well yes and no, Its kinda a hit or miss. The first animation was quite awful to be honest, but some of the others are beautiful and captivating. Same goes for the anecdotes, some were profound and insightful but others, like carrie fisher's, trailed off and offered no real story.
In summation it's just an uninteresting documentary and I doubt i would ever recommend it to a friend let alone watch it again. If you are someone that would like to experience psychedelic drugs and/or wish to expand your knowledge on the subject id suggest watching another documentary. Taking acid and experiencing a bad trip would still be more enjoyable than sitting through this entire film.
Chained for Life (2018)
In the eye of the beholder
A unique film that acts to comment and critique the audiences biases. Technically speaking the film is excellent, with unique shots that fulfill a larger purpose. They didn't film a scene a specific way because it looked good, but because it fit the narrative, or was trying to make the audience as uncomfortable as the actors.
The story is simple and i was there was more meat on the bone, at points it felt like it drifted off focus, and the conclusion felt rushed and underdeveloped. Ultimately the film acts to break down and critique how "abnormal" people are viewed by society and treated in the film industry. It does an excellent job directing this message to the audience, if you pay attention you will understand what the director is saying about our behaviour towards the "abnormal".
Unfortunately i think the movie was held back by some unconvincing performances by Jess Weixler and Stephen Plunkett. Their dialogue felt unnatural and as if they were reading directly off a script. Every other actor did a fine job, especially Adam Pearson, who delivered a stunningly charged performance during a car scene in particular (no spoiler).
I would recommend this film to anyone interested , it could challenge your world view.
Cats (2019)
Gross
This is the most disgusting movie I have ever watched.
Yesterday (2019)
Bland love story masked by a unique idea
The movie is essentially an extremely bland, boring and predictable love story hiding behind the Beatles music. The characters in this movie are borderline insufferable. I only knew one of the characters name by the end of the movie, jack malik, and that is only because his name appears in almost every scene. any other character i could not even guess a name because they were so one dimensional it wasn't worth my time to remember. Most of the characters were bland, with no true motivations and awful chemistry. Jack malik, the main character, seems so unenthusiastic about everything. He doesn't enjoy making music and doesn't act like he loves the female lead until the plot requires conflict. Additionally the movie shoves the idea of "big corporate media is bad" down your throat when it would be much more interesting if it had an ounce of subtly to it.
The technical aspects of the film are all average, the cinematography had some unique shots, but nothing spectacular.
I can honestly say that the only aspect of this film someone could find any ounce of enjoyment from is the Beatles music, and even then it only takes up a small portion of the film.
Shazam! (2019)
The most fun DC movie
Shazam! is a sight for sorer eyes in the DC universe, up until this point DC has yet to capture what makes super hero movies captivating. Shazam! offers a heartfelt story with loveable characters and fantastic humour. However it is held back by the classic super hero tropes. The Main villain was better developed than most, but still isn't very memorable. The seven deadly sins accompanying him were quite boring, the concept lends itself to more unique monster design than just grey, scaly, monsters. Another aspect holding the movie back is the boring final fight, it felt like it dragged on for way too long. The fight introduced an interesting aspect near the end that had a lot of potential to change the fight for the better, but never felt half baked and under-utilized. The story also featured some more harsh and terrifying aspects, people actually being eaten and killed. It was refreshing to see some of the more brutal side of comics. All in All a decent movie with some great characters and a good story, but lacks in the technical aspects (cinematography, CGI, music composition...).
Us (2019)
Good but leaving a lot to be desired
The craftsmanship of this movie is where it truly shines, all of the technical aspects, from the score, to the cinematography, editing, pacing and acting was phenomenal. The part that hold this movie back is the story. The beginning of the movie until the point when the family met their doppelgangers (will be calling the shadows from here on) was exhilarating and captivating. But all the tension built up in the beginning quickly fizzled out. The concept was great, but didn't feel fully realized and was full of plot holes no matter how you interpret the movie. If this movie had remained a metaphor, instead of clumsily trying to explain where the shadows came from and what their plan was, it would've been a much better film. Initially i left the theater feeling disappointed. All the symbolism and metaphors don't feel well thought-out and lack any true meaning. I expected better from Peele but there is still some room for intelligent discussion after the movie ends. I just wish they hadn't shoved in the explanation for the shadows and the "twist" at the end was better executed. I would recommend the film but don't expect a masterpiece like Get Out
Captain Marvel (2019)
Devoid of passion
Once again marvel releases a formulaic and boring mess of a movie. The first half act of the movie until Carol meets fury has pacing issues and was extremely boring and full of exposition. you hear multiple times throughout the movie that carol relies too much on her emotions and it leads to trouble, however you never actually see this. And they beat you over the head with the theme "relying on emotions and gut feelings is okay" with no subtlety at all.
Characters develop unrealistic friendships after meeting each other for 1 hour. None of the humour lands aside from Talos. The action scenes were dull and I felt no investment in the characters. And it may have been my theatre but the audio mixing and sound design was awful, music fading in and out abruptly, and some scenes should have had people reacting but there was absolute silence.
The worst part of the movie may have been Brie Larson. The best way to describe her acting was that she only moved one part of her body at a time, either it was the eyebrows while taking, her arm or her eyes, while the rest of her body remained oddly motionless. She was so static and never acted like a normal human. A sight to behold, but for the wrong reasons.
Ultimately a bad movie, but not the worst marvel movie I have ever seen. The best parts being the supporting characters Talos and Fury, and some of the female empowerment scenes were inspirational.