Nocturnal Animals (2016)
3.45 out of 4stars
“A successful Los Angeles art-gallery owner is shaken by the arrival of a manuscript written by her first husband, with whom she is estranged. As Susan reads the book it destabilizes her life, upending her present while it forces her to examine her past and confront some dark truths.”
An excellent neo-noir psychological thriller that is deep and symbolic while bringing style, atmosphere, and darkly captivating entertainment. Kudos to zombie kopitar for reminding me of this movie I’ve put off for too long. While on the surface it’s a movie about tragedy, trauma, and revenge/justice, and a great one at that, the film is deeper than that. It’s about the corruption of one’s self from the pressures of capitalism, media, and society (and arguably family here too). We lose sight of our true selves in an environment that “brainwashes” us to make as much money as we can, buy as many nice things as we can, and to ourselves become and marry the most wealthy and beautiful people we can find. Behind the scenes of this surface level idealism for some can be an empty and depressive immoral problem-ladened nightmare, especially if one takes drastic and harsh steps to get to that position. Coming full circle, the harm and evil from those steps can cause lingering profound pain that manifests in its victims, even if the perpetrator tries to repress or forget them. Every scene is filled with meaning, and all are well acted across the board. And there is the whole meta-ness of art being self-expression as it reminds us that while we are being entertained watching this film: the creation of this movie, of the novel in the movie, and of the art gallery in the movie, are all purpose driven mind fabricated entities. Now, I feel if I start explaining all the meanings and symbolism of the story within the story, which are very smart and smooth and powerful, I know I will ruin the film and likely write an essay’s length of words, so I shall stop here. By all means, this is an engaging and thought provoking film that has a lot to offer.
Safe (1995)
3.00 out of 4stars
“In 1987, an upper class suburban housewife named Carol in Los Angeles has her monotonous life abruptly changed when she becomes sick with a mysterious illness caused by the environment all around her.”
A great psychological drama nightmare with an ambiguous slow burn approach that is quietly unsettling no matter what way you interpret it. While we get no definitive answer or diagnosis on what our protagonist is actually dealing with affliction wise, the film is more about Carol’s life and symptoms “and” how she is trying to deal with it and how the world suggests her to deal with it. Carol is in a living hell because of a possible or self-created illness and fear of said illness that can strike her paralyzed or even possibly kill her at any moment. Because of that “Carol is allergic to almost everything” indirectly or directly and her mind almost constantly races defensively on this, and understandably so given those circumstances. Carol herself and projections from other’s make her seek out medical practitioners, psychologists, allergy specialists, holistic and alternative medicine practitioners, treatment centers, and a health retreat that I would consider “rehab-esque” with self-help advisors. I will not tell you how Carol’s tale goes exactly, but I took the message from the film as no matter what you are dealing with or going through, a positive/self-loving/self-forgiving and accepting mindset can help lower one’s misery. As far as Carol’s symptoms go, they can be interpreted as psychosomatic, a different psychological disorder/mental illness, severe allergies, or some real undiagnosed condition created from the effects of new unknown pollutants/chemicals. There seems to also be social commentary on the upper class and the monotony of life alongside all the medical/psychological/industrial commentary. Julianne Moore is perfect in the role.
No Exit (2022)
2.70 out of 4stars
“During a blizzard and stranded at an isolated highway rest stop in the mountains, a recovering drug addict discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a car belonging to one of the people inside.”
A good enough thriller mystery that delivers good twists and lots of good tension 1 setting movie, but repeatedly evades becoming a great movie. I forgot who posted a review on this, and the search function didn’t help, but I think they were spot on with their review. While it’s nothing world changing, on its purpose of popcorn entertainment pretty well over the last 2/3 of the movie. It’s well acted and well directed too, but feels lacking in a few obvious areas. For those curious going in, I’d say the dialogue is subpar, main mystery gets broken 30minutes in so there isn’t too much mystery going on aside from the revolving door of new twists (which does create a “what will happen next” kind of vibe still amongst the tense situations), and the story, aside from being unbelievable, feels a bit choppy.
3.45 out of 4stars
“A successful Los Angeles art-gallery owner is shaken by the arrival of a manuscript written by her first husband, with whom she is estranged. As Susan reads the book it destabilizes her life, upending her present while it forces her to examine her past and confront some dark truths.”
An excellent neo-noir psychological thriller that is deep and symbolic while bringing style, atmosphere, and darkly captivating entertainment. Kudos to zombie kopitar for reminding me of this movie I’ve put off for too long. While on the surface it’s a movie about tragedy, trauma, and revenge/justice, and a great one at that, the film is deeper than that. It’s about the corruption of one’s self from the pressures of capitalism, media, and society (and arguably family here too). We lose sight of our true selves in an environment that “brainwashes” us to make as much money as we can, buy as many nice things as we can, and to ourselves become and marry the most wealthy and beautiful people we can find. Behind the scenes of this surface level idealism for some can be an empty and depressive immoral problem-ladened nightmare, especially if one takes drastic and harsh steps to get to that position. Coming full circle, the harm and evil from those steps can cause lingering profound pain that manifests in its victims, even if the perpetrator tries to repress or forget them. Every scene is filled with meaning, and all are well acted across the board. And there is the whole meta-ness of art being self-expression as it reminds us that while we are being entertained watching this film: the creation of this movie, of the novel in the movie, and of the art gallery in the movie, are all purpose driven mind fabricated entities. Now, I feel if I start explaining all the meanings and symbolism of the story within the story, which are very smart and smooth and powerful, I know I will ruin the film and likely write an essay’s length of words, so I shall stop here. By all means, this is an engaging and thought provoking film that has a lot to offer.
Safe (1995)
3.00 out of 4stars
“In 1987, an upper class suburban housewife named Carol in Los Angeles has her monotonous life abruptly changed when she becomes sick with a mysterious illness caused by the environment all around her.”
A great psychological drama nightmare with an ambiguous slow burn approach that is quietly unsettling no matter what way you interpret it. While we get no definitive answer or diagnosis on what our protagonist is actually dealing with affliction wise, the film is more about Carol’s life and symptoms “and” how she is trying to deal with it and how the world suggests her to deal with it. Carol is in a living hell because of a possible or self-created illness and fear of said illness that can strike her paralyzed or even possibly kill her at any moment. Because of that “Carol is allergic to almost everything” indirectly or directly and her mind almost constantly races defensively on this, and understandably so given those circumstances. Carol herself and projections from other’s make her seek out medical practitioners, psychologists, allergy specialists, holistic and alternative medicine practitioners, treatment centers, and a health retreat that I would consider “rehab-esque” with self-help advisors. I will not tell you how Carol’s tale goes exactly, but I took the message from the film as no matter what you are dealing with or going through, a positive/self-loving/self-forgiving and accepting mindset can help lower one’s misery. As far as Carol’s symptoms go, they can be interpreted as psychosomatic, a different psychological disorder/mental illness, severe allergies, or some real undiagnosed condition created from the effects of new unknown pollutants/chemicals. There seems to also be social commentary on the upper class and the monotony of life alongside all the medical/psychological/industrial commentary. Julianne Moore is perfect in the role.
No Exit (2022)
2.70 out of 4stars
“During a blizzard and stranded at an isolated highway rest stop in the mountains, a recovering drug addict discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a car belonging to one of the people inside.”
A good enough thriller mystery that delivers good twists and lots of good tension 1 setting movie, but repeatedly evades becoming a great movie. I forgot who posted a review on this, and the search function didn’t help, but I think they were spot on with their review. While it’s nothing world changing, on its purpose of popcorn entertainment pretty well over the last 2/3 of the movie. It’s well acted and well directed too, but feels lacking in a few obvious areas. For those curious going in, I’d say the dialogue is subpar, main mystery gets broken 30minutes in so there isn’t too much mystery going on aside from the revolving door of new twists (which does create a “what will happen next” kind of vibe still amongst the tense situations), and the story, aside from being unbelievable, feels a bit choppy.
