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Whiplash (2014)
When sickos reigned supreme
Exhilarating, yet the mentor is a raging narcissist who would never actually be employed for very long in any real university. Perhaps if his bona fides had been presented prior to his eviscerating displays, the film would resonate more with people in tune with the context of his passion and ruthless enforcement of his standards. The film does a good job of exploring the co-opting of jazz for the glory of the white man, the conversion of a genuine art form into an ego plantation in a perfectly prosaic setting. The focus on Buddy Rich as the pinnacle of jazz drumming makes for a first-glance justification for all that follows as real jazz remains an illegible footnote. Nevertheless, Whiplash is a very compelling story, indeed.
Slackers (2002)
A Memorably Hilarious Flik for The College-Aged
A good combination of elements come into play in this feature, from love and all the weird stuff in its orbit, to the inner struggles of sewing one's wild oats with the freedoms and curiosities of college life in hand while trying to face fast-approaching adulthood. Our protagonist navigates these rites in a quixotic bit cunning way as an entrepreneurial slacker, and the contradiction at the heart of his cheater-for-hire work helps bring the substance to the anxiety and desire to hold onto one's youthful autonomy. It's all well-seasoned with a potently absurd humor served up by likable, or at least amusing, characters.
Surface (2022)
Slick Yet Lacking in Texture
The production quality meets standards and the suspense manages to persist despite the occasionally dragging plot. I pity anyone who has to bear the absurdity of the use of brute-force password dongles as the season approaches its climax consciously, though. This is probably most satisfying for a wine-swilling housewife who couldn't care less about the technical details.
Succession (2018)
I think that fart might have given me a disease
Keep in mind that I'm watching the pilot as I write this.
It seems forced and contrived. Most noticeable right off the bat is the constant camera zooms which beg you to feel impressed - "Please clap" comes to mind. Sincr the show can't do a Goddamned thing to make anyone's life unpleasant if they don't watch it, I don't know what little they're hoping to gain by gaslighting viewers into believing that this isn't something like Downton Abby meets West Wing for the soulless.
The Babysitter (2017)
Fixed it in post
Wow, this was not deserving of a 6.3. I guess Americans value editing and effects more than I thought. Might be good to watch with a first date when you're 17.
The Perfection (2018)
Get Out?
This was the worst movie I've seen in a long, long time; the kind that leaves me a bit perplexed, bemused, and chuckling at the absurdity of it all a day later if I should happen to think of it. What stuck out to me was the form of the movie, not really in terms of plot, but of concept. It brought the kind of surreal horror of "Get Out" to mind, though I can safely say that if it was aspiring to its sort of clever, brave while witty, and well-crafted tale, it only deemed itself unoriginal - and this sits near the top of its list of self-injury. Finally, the flash-back sequences, which explain key events for the viewer were right up there with the things of ABC dramas.