67% on Rotten Tomatoes
Chloe's thoughts: It's alright
Watch it if you: Like Christian Bale; Want to see a messed up film with dark humour; Want to be very creeped out
I've seen the memes, I've seen the gifs, and now I've decided to watch this movie. I can see why this is a cult classic, and I can also see why it's a very divisive film.
This black comedy revolves around Patrick Bateman, an investment banker who doesn't seem to actually do much work, and yet is very wealthy. As a result, he lives a life of luxury, where skin care is more a privilege than a routine obligation, where your own friends are so absorbed in their own self-worth that they have difficulty telling you apart from the next handsomely-suited banker, and where the most stressful part of work is making sure your business card is better than your colleagues'. But then, what happens when your levels of insanity don't quite match the well-off and kept-together image you portray? Well, you become an American Psycho.
Let's just say, this film is really messed up. I mean, the main character has some weird hunger for murder that needs to be satiated quite regularly. That in itself is probably a strong contender for why many do not really like this film. I myself didn't really like it (I mean, it was okay, but I won't watch it anytime soon), but I actually found the plot pretty interesting. In fact, I think the main issues I had were some pacing issues, as the film feels like it drags on for a bit. Also, the last act of the film was really messed up and confused me to no end. I get that it was meant to be confusing, but I don't know... it just didn't sit right with me. I did read up on some stuff, though, and I think that the directors didn't execute their intended ending well enough, hence the confusion (in fact they even said it's not meant to be as confusing as it is, so it's probably their fault for making it so).
So in the end, it's an okay movie with an interesting plot that kind of goes downhill at the end. Though I think what makes this film so memorable to people is the cast. Christian Bale is amazing in this, but I also didn't realise that there were other great actors, such as Willem Dafoe, Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, etc. The story's messed up and maniacal plotline allows for some really interesting themes to explore, but its nature means it's not for everyone.
85% on Rotten Tomatoes
Chloe's thoughts: It's alright
Watch it if you: Like weird time travel stories; Want some psychological horror to spruce up your nighttime
I watched this just a few days prior to watching American Psycho, and I'm not too sure if that was a good idea. I think I was still recovering from this film, and then I was plunged into the manic depths of American Psycho!
This is a really weird movie to sum up, but I'll try. Our protagonist Donnie Darko is a bit of a troubled child. I won't say much more other than: he kind of hallucinates. There's also a bit of time travel (sort of not really?). Things get messed up.
But honestly, what a confusing movie. Seriously... this film made even less sense than American Psycho. I love me a good time travel film (one of my favourite sci-fi topics to explore), and I love figuring out the fun stuff with paradoxes, and new time lines, and all that, but this is unsolveable. The film has a lot of elements put into it that I'm not too sure even has anything to do with the time travel, which makes it even more bizarre than if they were indeed related.
The cast was pretty good in this film though, with Jake Gyllenhaal giving a great creepy performance (also go watch him in Nightcrawler (2014); he is fantastic with eerie characters), Jena Malone being adorable here, and Drew Barrymore and Maggie Gyllenhaal also being pleasant familiars.
I honestly don't know what else to say, except go watch it so you can tell me WHAT ON EARTH WAS GOING ON.
85% on Rotten Tomatoes
Chloe's thoughts: Signed, sealed and recommended by Chloe
Watch it if you: Want to see a very original and creative take on humanity; Want to see a refreshing and original visual way of storytelling
Seems like this blog's theme is all about being creeped out. But at least with this film you may get a little turned on while getting creeped out?
Taking place in Scotland, an alien woman seduces men (she literally drives around a van and asks them to get in), and weird stuff happens.
This is not a film for everyone, but I actually quite liked it. It was very unique, and I think that made it quite refreshing.
Of course, it's still EXTREMELY unsettling, but the story has some great deeper themes on humanity. There's very little dialogue (and most of the dialogue that's in this film is actually natural dialogue Scarlett Johansson had with random strangers on the street who didn't know they were being filmed), and yet the plot, the acting, the editing, and the music are all able to tell a beautiful story about what it means to be a human, what it means to be lonely, lost, scared, internally conflicted, and I guess more importantly, what it means to grow. Honestly, her character arc was portrayed amazingly for a film with such lack of dialogue.
The movie has moments where it feels like it's dragging out, but I think this just adds to the feeling of unsettlement, and the soundtrack keeps you suspended, almost as if you were a victim yourself, being entranced by this beautiful alien.
The film also switches very quickly and suddenly from being extremely, extremely realistic, to very very figurative and abstract. This is quite a jarring experience, but at the same time it's absolutely fantastic, and I think it was well worth the gamble.
In the end I do recommend this film, but just note that it is not for everyone, it's a very artsy, indie sort of film, that's focused on philosophical themes more than anything else, so don't say I didn't warn you.
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