Letterboxd — Your life in film

The monster the friendzone'd guy really is. Jokes aside, Maniac does a fantastic job in showcasing feelings of anxiety and loneliness. It also does an extraordinary job, thanks to Elijah Wood's outstanding performance and the stylistic choice of a largely point of view shots, in creating a truly creepy atmosphere. Throughout the whole film one wishes to escape from the titular maniac's body and that's pretty much what any slasher should aim to do. It should be mentioned that it has a great soundtrack and stylish visuals. Maniac is an incredibly effective horror film that I will no doubt be watching again.

Much like the parties in the film, a large portion of it was loud and disorienting. Once the parties in the The Great Gatsby slowed down, so did the movie. It wasn't until the confrontation between Tom and Jay and (almost) everything that occurs afterwards that film really pulled me in. When Luhrmann tones down his flashy style, the actors (specifically Joel Edgerton) and the film really have an opportunity to shine. This, however, just makes it so much more unfortunate that the movie only finds it's footing during the after party.

Rubber's Lover, while visually inspired, suffers from poor execution in almost all other aspects. The imagery within the film is exciting and amazing, but it only hardly makes the 90 minute run time bearable.

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Exactly what you would expect from a Tom Cruise movie directed by the Tron Legacy guy. With plot taking a backseat to visuals and action (however less so than Tron Legacy), Oblivion is an uninspired sci-fi flick that doesn't really address anything that hasn't already been said. The film functions more as a Frankenstien of of other sci-fi films, which is to say it is not entirely original. That being said, the action is adequate and, as expected, the special effects and the visuals are so very stylish.

Simple, elegant, and surprisingly emotional, Plastic Bag is fantastic story regarding the search for meaning in one's existence. Love, community, fleeting joy and loss are all touched upon. The flight of the titular Plastic Bag is almost magical and his journey is equally engaging. The voice work by Werner Herzog, while seemingly gimmicky at first, accentuated the bag's alien look at the world in a way that is similar to Herzog's own Lessons of Darkness. Plastic Bag, while not having much new to say, is a delightful and sometimes heartbreaking short film that does so much with a tiny piece of plastic.

Sex is a terrifying thing and Anatomy of Hell demonstrates this perfectly. I had been given the impression that this was a horror film by various people an users, so I expected such. While the movie gave, perhaps, the most horrific sexual organs without drifting away from reality, Anatomy of Hell came off as more of a lecture on gender politics than anything else. This is not a bad thing. However, the film was, on the whole, a little dry for a pornographic drama.