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Pearl (2022)
Wildly original without being a confusing mess
Pearl, another A24 horror film, is a tough film to recommend. It makes you uncomfortable almost its entire run length.
However, it has so much originality, especially for a horror film, that you have to watch it. I'm not even sure what to compare it to.
Fortunately, the acting is better than you expect in a horror film; even by A24 standards this is really impressive stuff.
I cannot say I enjoyed this film, but I am so very glad it exists. If one the key functions of a good horror film is to make you keen to return to reality and to help you appreciate your oh-so boring life, then this film might just be the future of the psychological horror genre.
1408 (2007)
Can be viewed through so many relatable filters
You can view this film as just a good, creepy psychological thriller without too many jump scares, but it also works as a tale of an alcoholic who is in denial about his problems. Or, you can relate to dreams/nightmares which felt so real. We have all had dreams where you could swear you had talked with someone but of course it was all a dream. And it is also relatable to THC users who go past their limits and are sure they are dead and surrounded by demons (it is relatively common and has been written about by NYT journos who took 10 pot brownies on her first attempt, for example).
So many of the main character's actions (his rudeness towards post office staff, loudly banging around a hotel room while drunk, etc) are consistent with these alternative theories and are wonderful frameworks for repeated viewings.
Unlike a lot of Stephen King movie adaptations, this one isn't too inconsistent in the way that, say, the IT tv series was let down by the final scenes. The CGI holds up pretty well; although the digitally generated dead people I thought was a poor choice for a psychological thriller where you want to remain in the realm of the "plausible" as much as possible.
Yeah, it is all a bit fantastical and full of horror tropes, but, for this viewer at least, it does it better than most. If you enjoy this genre, are willing to suspend disbelief (duh!), and like a story that has multiple interpretations, this could be a good choice.
I particularly appreciate the way they played with the horror film "happy ending" and didn't just finish the movie at its logical spot. You'll know it when you see it, but I don't want to spoil the movie in any way so let's let leave it there.
Enjoy!
The Cure: Trilogy (2003)
I hated the cure as a kid...
...but I was forced to watch this concert film and realized two things.
Firstly, many of my favorite film sountrack songs are by the cure. It's stupefiying how many of these songs I've heard from TV and movies. And loved them all. Disintegration is effectively a movie soundtrack best hits compilation. Why did I never do the mental math on how all those awesome tunes were by the same band? Yeah I have no rationalization for that momentus blunder. Maybe I wanted to give myself a gift of musical wonder when I was older?
OK and then, secondly, this concert demonstrated skill, innovation, cohesion and pure musical talent. Even if I had never heard any of these glorious songs, I still would have become an instant fan owing to their overwhelming talent.
So there you go. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge back in 1986.
Loki: The Variant (2021)
Please don't fall into the Disney trap
Wanda vision started off great, it hooked the adults, then catered for the kids in a way that never hooks kids and upsets adults. But that is their formula. Whether it is Wanda vision, the last Jedi, etc etc. To date, these Loki episodes have well thought out, intricate plots with nuance and intrigue. I'm pretty sure by episode 4 we will have thor doing trampoline jumps and kids casting magic, but it would be so wonderful if I was wrong. Anyway, I'm grateful to have these initial episodes. P.s. Think of films that kids love now, and that you loved in the past. They are invariably not targeted for kids. The list is way too long for this site but think of Star Wars A New A Hope, the empire strikes back (especially the empire strikes back), aliens, seven, robocop, etc etc. The data is overwhelming.
Pitch Meetings (2017)
The solution for subscribing to pitch meeting without getting the rest of screen rant
If you spin off pitch meeting into a separate youtube channel - as so so so many people have requested - it would leave a miserable number of followers for the main screen rant channel. So I wouldn't hold your breath for that change. But there is your temporary work around: simply add the pitch meeting playlist to your YT library and unsubscribe from screen rant. You can find the pitch meeting playlist on the screen rant youtube home page under... (checks notes)... playlists. Problem solved. Now you can check the playlist once a week for new pitch meetings. (Plus new pitch meeting videos will most likely still appear in your home page feed even if you don't subscribe to screen rant they just won't appear in your subscription feed). And also subscribe to Ryan George's personal youtube station for more comedic truth telling. Those comedic set ups may not be quite as brilliant as his pitch meetings but they are nonetheless still brilliant. My work here is done.