Author Topic: Sam vs. The 2010s: Best of the Decade Marathon  (Read 9416 times)

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Sam vs. The 2010s: Best of the Decade Marathon
« Reply #100 on: August 07, 2021, 05:14:20 PM »
The Bling Ring (2013)

"Sofia Coppola is worried that people won't get The Bling Ring."

That's my opening line of my original review and watching it again it's still the most damning part of the film. The tiny bits of narration and interviews interspersed at the front and back ends of the film are completely unnessary and undercut the generally understated nature of the film.

And it's a shame because I think this is a fascinating look at the sickness of the American celebrity. These kids want to be them but go to the extreme of stealing from them which they actually get away with for quite a long time simply because these people are so rich they don't notice when tens of thousands of dollars worth of possessions disappear from their houses. If that's not a sign of the sickness of celebrity wealth, I'm not sure what is.

I also hate the third act pivot into focusing on Emma Watson's character as I think she's the least interesting member of the cast. I get why it's here because she basically is the one who finds a way to turn all of this into a way to make herself a celebrity but there's just not enough setup in the first act for the last act perspective shift to work.

Honestly, this might be Coppola's weakest film. I need to see Somewhere again, but where that film at least trusts its audience enough to take in the world of the rich and famous and glean the existential dread, here the sinister obsession with celebrity culture is beaten over our heads to the point that this is an uncharacteristly sloppy work from one of the most understated directors working in Hollywood today.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Sam vs. The 2010s: Best of the Decade Marathon
« Reply #101 on: January 01, 2024, 10:03:17 AM »
Don't call it a come back!

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Rewatch in 4K. First viewing since theatrical release.

This time around I better appreciated the story structure and how every 30 minutes the film pivots around a new revelation about what is happening. The film's weakness is the final action set-piece is both uninspired and mostly unnecessary since it's the dramatic moments that make the ending hit, not the explosions. The action plays more like the chaos of a WWII film which I think is the right play given that I think this is a film ultimately about the dehumanizing effect of war on the human psyche.

The concept is super clever and twisty in a way most sci-fi stories aren't without being too cutest or trite. Of course, I imagine this is in large part due to this being a manga adaptation as the Japanese just tend to be better at this style of storytelling than Hollywood is. I hear there's a rumored sequel but I'd rather have a Japanese anime remake with the original title All You Need is Kill which is a much better title than either of the ones we got for this American adaptation.

This will make the list right now and I could see it being there for a long time. It might even make the final list.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2024, 10:05:32 AM by Sam the Cinema Snob »

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Sam vs. The 2010s: Best of the Decade Marathon
« Reply #102 on: January 06, 2024, 02:01:12 PM »
From another thread:

Your Name

Yes, I found this moving, yes I get the appeal, but the further out I get from it, the more I can't get past all the anime cliches that drag down the film.

The film ticks off just about every coming of age anime cliche and the two main characters lack true flaws besides being horny teens.

The music is overproduced J-Pop ballads, there's an awful montage that rushes the end of the first act, and it's mostly the final act where the film started to click for me.

It's enjoyable, middle of the pack Anime when there are so many more better written, paced, and stylized Animes out there. I continue to be baffled by the adoration this studio gets when it's riddled by some of the worst tendencies of Anime.

Just goes to show that whether or not you're an Anime fan, we can all agree Anime fans have terrible taste.
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