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Midsommar (2019)
Midsommar (2019)
2019 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Divisive
I’ve heard a lot of good things about this film so I was quite happy to see it available on Prime and finally get a chance to watch it. However I’m afraid to say that this was a complete waste of my time.

Like Hereditary before it, this film is obviously very divisive. I can see why too - it’s well made with some great acting, and if you’re a fan of these cult type films then I can see it being enjoyable. But for me I really didn’t enjoy it. Aside from appreciating the cinematography and acting, the rest of this film just ranged from downright dull to completely bizarre. It also reminded me of every single cult type film that has come before it - the problem with cults is that they’re kind of predictable. The gore was refreshing but it’s a shame this took well over an hour to get to this, and even then it didn’t bring much excitement. The first half, whilst slow, is at least interesting and well acted, but the second half is just bonkers and not in a good way. The nearly 2.5 hour runtime on this makes it a chore to get through as well.
  
Ninja Assassin (2009)
Ninja Assassin (2009)
2009 | Action, Drama
Slept on. A breathless, blood-soaked rager where shurikens get thrown like machine gun bullets and manifold enemies get shredded into human ballistic gel. Totally cockamamie lore put to the backdrop of CGI blade-chains and club music, ancient ninja cults just hanging out and making human sacrifices on rainy city rooftops and shit lmao. Nothing more than an excuse to rip apart a bunch of ninjas, gangsters, and government officials for 99 minutes - a decapitated head ends up in a washing machine at one point - but who wouldn't want to see that? I'll take the opposite opinion of the general consensus and totally gush about the style, I'm all for modernizing cheesy early-mid-2000s duels where we just started to really learn what mainstream stylized action was and went overboard with it. Also has an acute emphasis on physicality and production rather than leaving everything important up to the editing department - has a realized sense of framing and uses CGI as an enhancer rather than the full package. Lovingly embraces martial arts story tropes without undermining their importance, which many actioners would probably jettison out entirely. Feels much, much more like a successful and distinct love letter rather than a ripoff. Aesthetic as fuck, and Rain is godly in it.
  
Under the Silver Lake (2018)
Under the Silver Lake (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Trippy
417. Under the Silver Lake. A pretty wild mind bender, head scratcher, what the fuck just happened good time! A great recommendation from the Movie Ninja, thank you. We meet Sam, he's kind of a slacker, and about to be evicted from his pad, but he is dating a very nice prostitute. One day hanging out on his patio, he spies a beauty, Sarah, chilling by the pool, and meets her later on while hanging around her dog. And after fun night of chilling, poof, she disappears. And Sam apparently really felt a connection with Sarah over those 2 or 3 hours because this dude goes on a hunt for this girl. Through a crazy couple of dreamlike days we follow Sam through some insane conspiracy theories that lead him through a hobo underground, complete with its own king (Fisher King?) secret sex drug parties, getting crazy to a Brimful of Asha (Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow) and of course the billionaire cults preparing for the afterlife. Think Alfred Hitchcock, Brian DePalma and Stanley Kubrick got together for a movie, and it turned out pretty sweet! Starring a former Spider-Man and a former Venom (didn't recognize him at first, Foreskin is all grown up) But yea, I really liked it, gets pretty crazy!! Check it out! Filmbufftim on FB!