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The Runner (2022)
A nice 80s inspired short which is good in everything except the plot
I discovered the movie via the band Boy Harsher, which I've been following for a couple of years. I was intrigued by the soundtrack album they release the same day the released the movie I guess. Musically, it's their pinnacle for me, it's so good in all aspects.
The movie serves more as visual arabesques to the music, and, on my opinion, isn't really a standalone thing.
I enjoyed the first part, but then the movie ended without any kind of resolving. In all other aspects except this, the film is nice. It captures Cronnenberg-ish atmosphere and is great at creating a proper 80s horror B-Movie. If you are a fan of a band like I am you can watch it, otherwise, I'd better recommend to rewatch some classics which obviously inspired this film (like, say, Videodrome).
Annette (2021)
So pretentious it forgets to be anything else
Please don't believe people who say 'This film is not for everyone' and that only those who like Marvel and other blockbuster nonsense hate this movie.
I watch a lot of artsy films, but I think this film is a very bad one.
The plot is plain, but the worst thing is that it has no character development, nor it follows traditional dramatic structure. 'Annette' doesn't know what it wants to be and what exact story it's gonna tell us. The cut is so amateurish, sometimes scenes switch without any resolution. Moreover, there is no emotional connection between Driver's and Cotillard's characters, which comes right in your face, especially when they sing 'We Love Each Other So Much'.
Oh, talking about the songs.
Since I'm from Eastern Europe and I am of millennial generation, I have never heard about Sparks before (shame on me). But after this movie I just know I don't like their stuff. I'm a songwriter myself and I also love musicals, but the songs in this film are one of the most sloppy things I've ever seen in mainstream ever. The songs are basically built by the same formula, and, the worst thing, the lyrics of a song usually consist of one single line repeating over and over again (it's not an overstatement).
I actually enjoyed sound design and some music (not songs!) here, and there were also some good shots here and there.
But in the end, I found this movie a huge senseless mess.
It struggles so hard to be artsy and pretentious that in the end it has nothing to offer at all. No good story, no powerful visuals, no emotional impact. Just pretentiousness for being pretentious.
Apostle (2018)
Naive symbolism and weak plot
First of all, I was looking forward to watching this movie for a long time. I heard it should be enjoyable for those who love The Vvitch or Wicker Man. As a fan of those two movies, I must say it's not good at all. Maybe it's a bit similar in the aspect of form, but not the meaning. Those two movies have ideas and messages in them, they are deeper than a random scary things full of gore.
Yeah, I absolutely got their men-exploits-nature statement. It could basically be ok if it wasn't so plain, naive and right in your face. Not to mention dozens of plot holes, a predictable plot and lack of characters' motivation. I also find it very frustrating that the island the story takes place, as well as the cult seem to lack any lore at all. Like, the writers just mixed all possible cliche in a single plot just because everyone does that, and didn't care about tying it all together. (Has anyone understood the origin of that vine-masked guardian guy? Wtf is he and if he's the keeper of the old lady god, then why did he attack the main character?).
I was also absolutely bored by tons of unnecessary graphic violence which does not serve the plot in any case.
The soundtrack is mostly the same music theme playing over and over again.
This was the only movie I had uploaded for an offline watch to my phone, so I had no other options to watch. In this case, it is watchable, if you are ok with tons of graphic violence and stupid horror aspects. In any other case, just take another movie, there are so many good ones that this one can easily be skipped. If you want a good destructive cult movie, better watch Midsommar or the classic Wicker Man, those are masterpieces.
The Invitation (2015)
A misunderstood gem
I enjoyed the movie a lot. The acting is gorgeous, the atmosphere and score are amazing as well. The story seems unsettlingly realistic. I would agree the movie may seem slow (especially for those who are into pop corn movies), but that's how The Invitation builds its tension before a beautiful and violent crescendo. The last scene leaves you even more uncomfortable after all this.
The movie has a medium rating here on IMDB mostly because there are a lot of people who awarded 1/10 and those who awarded 10/10. This is a perfect illustration of how unusual and ambiguous (in a good way) it is. Totally worth watching.