Chris' Movie Reviews

To Be Continued…

Hey everyone, just a small update on the status of this blog/review site. As you can tell, I’m going to be doing a lot less of the reviews. I’m not done entirely, it’s just become very time-consuming, not to mention mentally exhausting. In the future I may start ramping this up, but between a pandemic, school, and looking for a real-world job, I just need to step back and focus on me. Again, I may start this up again one day, but for now, stay safe and hope that movies do come back.

-Chris

A Slice of American Pie

I can’t even count how many ways I relate to American Pie. From the band geek I was in high school to trying to get a girl (real smart, Chris…) to being in this group of friends where sex seemed to be the #1 discussion. Everything in this movie felt like it was me and my group of friends. But instead of essentially repeating my last review for Animal House, I want to complain/celebrate just a hair.

In the 21 years since this film came out (oh, the irony) a lot has happened to society’s ideals. One of the biggest of those is the acceptance of everybody. If you’ve been reading these blogs (or watching my YouTube Channel) you will know that I identify as LGBTQ+. And no, I’m not going to complain about how this film didn’t have any gay characters and really the only mention of it was Stiffler calling someone gay. No, what I want is to have a movie with the same cultural relevancy as American Pie or as Animal House but have a gay character. And not something like Love, Simon where the whole coming out is the story. No, I want a movie where there’s a group of friends trying to get through High School and one of them is gay.

And we are getting there. Again, I’m not asking for domination, I’m asking for representation. As someone who was in the closet throughout high school, I can only imagine what it would have looked like to see someone like me in a film as great as American Pie. The Entertainment industry is catching on to this and we’re getting a whole lot more of it. But man, I would just love to have a comedic film set in high school with LGBTQ+ representation. And shows like Sex Education are doing this where we have actual representation. But as great as that is, American Pie is just such a well done movie that it’s nearly impossible to replicate, so we can only try…

Comment down below what your opinions of this movie are, and don’t forget to check out my Instagram Page (@ChrisMovieReviews), catch up on past reviews and new movie reviews on my YouTube (bit.ly/CMRYT), look at all the movies I’ve yet to review, and submit which movie you want me to review next! And don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter and leave a comment for me to read during one of my reviews. Stay healthy and safe out there!

Toga! Toga!

It’s incredible when you think of the cultural impact a movie can have. There are movies that live in our psyche for just a few weeks, maybe a few months, but the truly astonishing ones have influenced entire generations. Animal House is one of those movies.

Any movie you watch about college probably takes at least inspiration from Animal House. Whether it be the pillow fight in the ladies dorm, the dueling frats, the wound up dean, toga parties, rambunctious shouting, and everything in between. Perhaps older movies did this but Animal House is the one that did it all.

The Test of Time

While all the references and elements may have survived the test of time, I also want to mention that there are some parts that, well, don’t. From peeking into the ladies dorm to some outright gross party motions, we’ve grown to know that these things are wrong. Yet we still regard this movie as one of the greatest. In a world of cancelling and boycotting, how can we possibly see this movie as “Good”?

I’ve already told you: Because we know it’s wrong. And listen, it’s not every scene that’s wrong. Just a few things that wouldn’t float well in today’s cinema. When we watch Animal House, we see these scenes and recognize that the actions portrayed are not right. I don’t like the phrase”A sign of the times” but in this case it’s applicable. Excusable? No. But applicable. Movies shouldn’t be disregarded due to the thought processes of the past. By growing and realizing how different we are from those times we can still appreciate the movie, without getting too offended by it.

Now Boarding: First-Class

Let me get this out of the way: I always travel in whatever the cheapest seat is. I’m not complaining, just making a statement that I can’t even imagine flying in first class. Perhaps that’s why “Snowpiercer” was so poignant to me. Bong Joon Ho loves to add questions of morality into his movies, in this one looking at the class divide. And it’s brutally obvious that the divide exists.

And I can’t stop thinking how true this is. Now clearly we’re not all on a post-apocalyptic train circling the Earth, but look around. Jeff Bezos is about to become a trillionaire. Meanwhile millions are out of their jobs, out of health insurance, and are being forced to live in ways that shouldn’t be. It may sound silly, but if this were a train, well, the class divide would be very apparent.

While I mentioned this in my review, I think it’s worth noting things that aren’t shown. In creative writing, you’re taught to show, not tell. If you want to show somebody is an asshole, you show that, you don’t just have someone say “Look at that asshole”. Yet we unveil a whole new level of that in this movie. Near the end as they discuss the first month on the train we find out everything that went on, from mutilation to cannibalism. It’s a truly disgusting prospect.

We are very used to having walls built around us. Walls that shield us from others, to remind us that we are in our place and we should stay there. And I ask why? Why should we be contained to live in the tail end when the head has steak?

Crosswinds on the High Seas

I remember watching the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise as I grew up (mind you, I was 8 when the first movie came out). And I don’t remember when I last watched the earlier films. Of course, I watched and reviewed “The Curse of the Black Pearl” earlier this year and it only made sense to continue the series. I have to say I was much happier with this movie, but something surprising happened when I was watching the movie: There was no negotiation scene.

Well, of course there wasn’t, that was in the third movie (which I’ll eventually review). But I got to the end of the movie and I went through it again. We had the wheel sword fight, we had Davy Jones, we had the “jar of dirt” scene. My brain had combined the two movies.

Saga or Story?

The issue that will always exist with sagas and franchises is always that one certain scene, whatever it may be. You think it’s in the third movie, it’s actually in the fourth. Of course, that does mean the writers have done a great job and have stitched everything together as a cohesive story. But when you go back and watch it you can be stunned to see your favorite scene not there.

It’s not good enough to have a saga, you want each movie to be its own, to exist within its own right, knowing that it’s different from the last. I suppose it’ll be interesting when I review “At World’s End”, whether it blends in too much with this movie or can stand on its own. I fear that these two movies will blend in too much with each other.

Of course, that’s not to say I don’t want all movies to be different. I still want that overall through-line to tell the story. But I want enough distinction to be able to tell movies apart. Without it, why even make more movies?

“So, What Did You Think?”

Perhaps the most asked question of movie theater goers, we are always looking for ways to discuss why we thought the movie we just watched was good or why we just couldn’t stand reading the subtitles. In our connected world, we still want to be able to sit down and experience the human connection that comes with entertainment.

Of course, we don’t watch entertainment just for ourselves. In ancient Greece plays were put on for the masses. And, really, what’s the difference between that and the movie theater? At the end of the activity we want to be left with something that we can talk about the next day at the water cooler (although when that will happen again is beyond me). We want to be engaged with others.

For a movie review blog, the concept of wearables is…difficult. See, movies are typically a sit-down activity so no Apple Watch or similar device. Watching the movie with Google Glass would just be distracting, almost like Amazon Prime’s X-ray vision. Although niche, there are some possible ways to utilize wearables for Chris’ Movie Reviews.

VR Movies

I love the movie theater. I love the seats, the smell of popcorn, and just that feeling of being in a place that is so uniquely only about movies. We don’t get that same feeling when we watch a film on our iPhone or laptop. But developing technology could be useful in this situation. By now you’ve heard of VR, or Virtual Reality. Now it’s far from perfect but when I had a pair of VR goggles from Samsung (I don’t have an adapter for my new phone, unfortunately) I remember there was a movie theater option and you could watch a video as if you were actually in the theater. Of course, you’re missing the smell of popcorn, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Apps

Yes, here’s another idea for an app. In fact, I believe Letterboxd has beaten me to the punch here. A social app where you can share your movie reviews. Of course, this blog would have to grow quite some bit before that becomes feasible, and I’d have ot learn how to make an app. Still, there have been worse ideas.

A Different App?

Hang in there with me. You know QR codes? Those weird squares with smaller white and black squares?

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Well just about every phone nowadays can scan them and bring up a page. In fact, some phones don’t even need a QR code and can just see something through the camera and place an overlay on it (like a Snapchat filter).

Now jump a few months ahead in time. Isolation is over and we get to go to the movies. Of course, all the studios just dumped everything because they need money. So you’re sitting there with 10 different options. You pull out your phone, hover over the poster of the movie…

And ratings appear.

I’m talking RottenTomatoes, IMDB, and of course, my very own rating. This can even be combined with an app where afterwards you get to rate the movie yourself and that information gets uploaded to change the rating to help everybody else out. How cool would that be? And think about if Google Glass had become widespread. I think I’d spend more time at the movies hovering over each of the posters than actually watching the movie.

Of course, these are all ideas. And with everything going on in the world, who even knows. But until we hear more, all we can do is hang in there, continue to listen to experts, and keep watching movies. As always, make sure you stay connected by following my Instagram Page (@ChrisMovieReviews), catch up on past reviews and new movie reviews on my YouTube (bit.ly/CMRYT), look at all the movies I’ve yet to review, and submit which movie you want me to review next!

Why is Parasite in Korean?

When “Parasite” first came out, and then again when it when the Oscar for Best Picture, a lot of people were upset because they had to read. That’s right, because if you can’t understand Korean there were subtitles. And that pissed people off.

Now as someone who has lived in America my whole life and has a genetic history whiter than printer paper, I’m truly ashamed at the amount of people who would put off a movie simply because you have to read the subtitles. There are mounds and mounds of films available in different languages. It’s one thing if they’re not subtitled. But nowadays almost every film has subtitles in different languages.

Which reminds me: Consider how much media is produced by English speaking countries. The fact that you can access those simply because you can read English makes you lucky. And at the same time it makes you unlucky.

Our society is very much about ourselves. I mean, take a look around. We’ve got people protesting stay-at-home orders because they want a haircut. Meanwhile other countries are through the worst part of it because they realized it was a group effort to quarantine. God forbid we talk about helping the elderly or the sick. No, in America it’s me, me, me.

Now I’m sorry if I’ve gone off on a tangent, but it’s only because I truly believe that art is better when it is shared. Blocking something out simply because you don’t want to read the subtitles is idiotic. “Parasite” is one of the best films I’ve seen in a while. That it won the Best Picture Oscar is nothing shy of surprising and amazing. But take a look inside your brain. Do you watch foreign media? If not, why? Give it a shot. Just try.

And, of course, I need to answer the question that heads this blog post: Why is “Parasite” in Korean?

Because it’s a Korean film.

Seriously, if you haven’t yet, go watch it. It’s on Hulu so you have almost no excuse.

Another thank you to Max Kutsch for joining me in my review and discussing the movie with me! You can check out his blog at maxkutsch.wordpress.com

When does Rogue One take place?

If you’ve watched my review of Rogue One, you will know that in it I discussed how the movie begins to delve into the time between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope”. One of the most amazing parts of Star Wars is that because it is so huge, there is a litany of possible stories to come out of it. We’ve recently been treated to “The Mandalorian”, taking place about seven years after “Return of the Jedi”, “Solo”, which takes place somewhere between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope”, and rumors of tales from the Old Republic (which would be pre-Phantom Menace), new Television series, and now even a new film directed by Taika Waititi. Oh, and that doesn’t even begin to consider the books, comics, and numerous other entertainment sources that provide us all with a little more Star Wars.

But now I have to complain, or at least say my cautions. Too much dessert will make one sick. I love Star Wars. I talked about my love for it when I reviewed Episode IX and I think there is truly something special about it. I love how much the universe has expanded, how we’ve been getting these gritty films, but we teeter on the edge of too much. Part of the magic of Star Wars is the imagination aspect.

I can only imagine being a kid in 1977 having just seen Star Wars. I think of the next day on the playground, pretending to be Darth Vader or maybe a hoard of Jawas. And you wouldn’t just reenact the movie, you would make your own scenes up. With each iteration of Star Wars we essentially got a new box of LEGO to add to our collection (A fine addition to our collection) and we could build together all of these scenes that are ours. Kids grow up and become writers or actors or SFX workers or any number of things because of the creativity they experience with Star Wars. If Disney fills in too many holes, then the fun is gone.

I do believe that there are critical moments that should be shown on film, the events of “Rogue One” included. And it’s nice to see how Han got his start. But we also have to remember not to focus too much on these. Films are great and obviously bring in tons of money but they only work if you keep your audience engaged.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

I’d like, if I may, to use this space to discuss the beauty of the human body and its use in art, including films. Now I don’t mean it’s beautiful in that naked people are sexy. In fact, this has nothing to do with sex. Instead, it’s celebrating the human condition. While watching (and then reviewing) Portrait of a Lady on Fire, we encounter several scenes where there is clear nudity. Heck, even in Titanic there’s the infamous nude scene and in many other movies there are instances of nude (or mostly-nude) scenes.

Now, I’m not here to get all preachy. I’m not here to tell you whether or not god is real or how we came to be. What I want to say is simply that we (i.e. Humans) are beautiful. We are truly remarkable works of nature. We grow hair, we talk, we can mimic other, and we can reproduce. There is a stigma around nudity and it’s something that we don’t think about. Again not preaching anything but every depiction of Adam and Eve has them covering up their “private” parts with something.

When it comes to film, and indeed art as a whole, nudity is something that seems to, unfortunately, be clamored over for the sake of profit (at least in modern times). Think of al those High School coming of age stories like American Pie. Why are they well known? Boobs. Yes they have comedic elements but the primary draw is scantily clad women. And, by the way, I’m not shaming you if that’s why you watch it. Just know that the human body can be used in a beautiful way that isn’t sexualized.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a wonderful example of this. We see the nudity as an expression of openness, of the vulnerability of being in this new setting. Yes, at times it is sexualized, but only, as I recall, during one scene. And even then, sex can be beautiful. It’s the ultimate level of intimacy and one of the things that is unique among humans. Sex for us is not just about making a baby. It is for a pleasure with someone who, in theory, we care deeply about. And even if we are having a one night stand, it’s because we crave the attention of human contact.

The human body can be used as a ploy for the audience. Heck, go to the world’s #1 porn site (you know which one it is) and you’ll see all the ways that the human body can be used and sexualized. But then look at art. Of course during these times museums aren’t open, but try to find art. Look at the meaning behind the piece and investigate why that woman has her breasts out, why the man isn’t wearing anything. There are so many other reasons to celebrate the human body aside from sexualizing it. Yes, from time to time it’s nice to look and experience the body in an intimate fashion. But at the end of the day it’s a truly beautiful thing to be human, to know humans, and to experience the human condition, even if it means not wearing pants.

It’s Lonely Out in Space

There’s something about watching a movie that’s done so emotionally right. When I reviewed Bohemian Rhapsody I mentioned how there was little passion for the in-between scenes, the scenes where music takes a backseat and we instead get a look at the musician’s life. Where Bohemian Rhapsody failed, Rocketman excelled. There was so much raw emotion throughout the emotion. Yes, I think it helped that Rocketman focused on Elton John while Bohemian Rhapsody had to contend with both Freddie Mercury and Queen. I want to talk about how each respective artist dealt with their problems, but I really don’t know how Freddie Mercury and Queen dealt with that. It simply wasn’t explained in the movie.

Slurs

I want to take a moment of this blog and discuss something that I know is a sensitive subject: the use of slurs. Now, in Rocketman we hear quite a few different words and aside from your standard swears, we hear homophobic swears. Now I won’t pretend to be an expert on this and my word is obviously not final on this. The film starts in the 1950s when homophobia was prevalent. While social attitudes did improve throughout the years, there is even still some stigma around the LGBTQ+ community. So I suppose the question becomes this:

Is it ok to use a slur when writing?

First off, slurs are like swears. When someone in a movie constantly swears, you don’t get the impact of it. Same thing with slurs. Does that mean you can use slurs sparingly?

Second, It is time appropriate. As mentioned the 1950s were a horrendous time for the LGBTQ+ community, and even during the AIDS crisis in the 80s these terms would still be used. If a movie is set during a homophobic period does that mean it can use slurs?

Third, it brings attention to certain aspects of the accused. Elton John is gay and this movie shows his fight with coming to terms. Hearing slurs is one of the ways he would actually have experienced this. Does that make it OK to use slurs?

Fourth, and finally, it depends. If you are using a slur in your writing just to use it, then don’t. But if you’re using the slur to make a point, to emphasize something then yes perhaps it’s OK. “To Kill a Mockingbird” famously uses the N-word I believe it’s three times. Not because Harper Lee wanted to, but because it portrayed such an emotion to tie together with the rest of the story that it was almost necessary.

And, by the way, I’m not saying that the two slurs or really any slurs are better or worse than another or that the associated peoples had better or worse circumstances. Simply that if you do choose to use a slur, it has to be such a specific circumstance in your writing. You must search and see if there’s a different way of portraying that emotion. At all costs you should avoid using slurs but if it truly does warrant being used, than use it sparingly. I’m not mad at Rocketman for these slurs because the slurs used did fit in the narrative. They were time accurate and would have been something Elton John actually heard. They made the story more poignant and added another level to the emotion presented in the film.