Okay's Thoughts on Okay Films

This is an incredibly fascinating film, solely due to the massive work and careful planning done on the animation department. I fail to think of any anime film I've ever seen, that surpasses "A Silent Voice" in art, style, look and cinematography. Granted, I haven’t watched as many anime as I would like, but it would be quite a struggle for me to imagine an even greater film in aesthetics than this one.

On the other hand, to say that the story is lacking would be an understatement. I'm not the biggest fan of melodrama, but I still crave for a certain amount of it here and there, and wouldn't mind it in a film if it isn't too excessive. Unfortunately, the following movie has way more of it than I bargained for, and my eyes weren't ready for it, so they kept rolling throughout the entirety of the film’s duration. If you’re not as sensitive to this kind of stuff than I am, then please check this film out, it deserves your attention.

⭐⭐1/2

The last impressive film by Pixar I've seen is "Up", and that was released almost 10 years ago (crazy, right...), so ever since that, I kinda lost interest in the company's products overall. Now that I've seen "Coco", and liked it quite a bit, my hope is starting to restore itself, until I'm slapped back into reality and realise that the company's upcoming films are another bunch of sequels. I mean really..."Toy Story 4", I guess they haven't gotten enough of the billions of dollars in merchandising from that franchise.

Anyway, "Coco" is legitimately a great movie, and I wouldn't mind ranking it among my favourite films of this past year. The animation is great as usual. The story, while having a few holes in it, still managed to effect me emotionally. Surprisingly, quite a few of the jokes were actually funny and made me chuckle. Not to mention, the land of the dead is a captivating place to explore, due to all of the thoughts put into the practicalities of this bizarre universe. Sure, not everything makes total sense, but nothing in the film is completely broken either, which is enough to not make my experience sour.

⭐⭐⭐

What a surprisingly good horror movie, starring a bunch of capable kids with great chemistry, great interactions, and overall a great bond that I became fond of. Though I didn't find anything about the film particularly scary, I still appreciated the effort put into the practical and digital effects. Furthermore, Bill Skarsgård was a fantastic choice as Pennywise, as he was genuinely creepy in his look and demeanour.

The biggest downfall of the movie is the biggest downfall of most horror movies...it's the stupid jumpscares. Why the film-makers think they're so necessary is beyond me. I seriously thought that my eardrums were going to pop, due to the excessive loudness of the post production sound effects. It even escalated to the point where I had to keep decreasing the volume slider whenever any action was occurring. That kind of crap is frustrating man, and it gets on my last nerves every single time.

⭐⭐⭐

If I'm ever asked about the best unnoticed film out there, "Magical Girl" would be my answer. This is the second time I've seen it, and it still remains just as unsettling as it is emotionally exhausting. I don't want to say too much about the plot, since I'd like for whoever is interested to experience the movie completely blind, just trust that it is the type of film that will definitely stay with you after you watch it. It is well shot, well acted, well written, and has most of the ingredients I love seeing in a story.

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Speaking of recommendable movies, this one is not to be recommended. Not just because the film itself is totally absurd, or because it is completely subjective, but it's due to the fact that this is probably Jodrowsky's least accessible film. While I appreciated the content of his movie on my first watch, I encountered nothing but dullness during this second viewing of mine. Which isn't that surprising, since the reason I wanted to revisit specifically this entry of his, was to see if my suspicions were correct. Let me go and watch a few interviews of his, I'm sure I'll find way more enjoyment there than anywhere, and I actually would encourage anyone reading to do so. I could never get enough of him telling the story of his meeting with Kanye West, that's what I call superb storytelling.

⭐⭐1/2

Watching this film a second time really helped my relationship with it. Not only did I get a better understanding of what Haneke was going for, but I was also able to pick up on more details that would increase one's respect and enjoyment of the movie. Granted, I still consider "Happy End" to be his worst film by far, but it's still no where near being a bad film either, which says a lot about the director.

I think the reason why most viewers didn't think much of this specific entry of his, is because of how unfocused the story is. The way information is revealed can also be confusing, so one needs to pay extra attention to fully keep up with the happenings. Not to mention, it's pretty annoying to see the movie described as if it's about the European refugee crisis, when it is really not, so that's kinda misleading. However, my gripes with the film all come from the weak story. We follow numerous characters as they go through their rocky lives, but they're showcased in an unbalanced manner, while also having whatever they're going through not being that interesting, due to the fact that each of their stories are all already feature films by the same director. This is disappointing, especially when Haneke has already proved that he can handle balancing multiple storylines in "71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance".

Presentation wise, the director brings his A game as always. He is such a master craftsman at this point, that it has become tiring mentioning how good at his job he is. I especially love how he's able to control to a tee, what's on the screen and what is not. This is translated into numerous long takes that are perfectly choreographed and beautifully shot. Finally, I was very happy with the end of the film, and that's all I'm gonna say about that.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

You know, I'm very happy for Greta Gerwig and all of the great feedback she's been getting. She's a great person, and I'm sure she will make a film that impresses me enough to grant her this same feedback, because "Lady Bird" definitely isn't it for me. Not saying that it is a bad film or anything of the sorts, matter of fact, it's probably the best coming of age tale I've ever seen on screen. It's overall a pretty good movie with some great aspects to it, but is still the same old story...just better told.

I seriously think as if I've already seen "Lady Bird" over hundreds of times. It was only a year before it was released when another "Lady Bird" came out, only that time, it was called "The Edge of Seventeen" and was worse than its 2017 version. I do give the movie major props for intelligently delving into more complex territory than what we're usually subjected to, but it is still held back by all of the clichés and lack of originality. As for the performances, they sure are good enough, with Laurie Metcalf being the absolute stand-out. The cinematography is good enough as well (this is a directorial début after all), and the humour sure is the best ingredient as it should be, since that's where Gerwig specialises. This would rank a bit low on my list of favourites from 2017, but it is still considered a favourite regardless.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Beforehand, I thought I would have much more to say about the highly talked about comeback of McDonagh, but after finally watching it, I'm neither as impressed as I expected nor as disappointed as I feared. If you know anything about me, you would know that "In Bruges" (McDonagh's first feature film) is my favourite film of all time. It is single-handedly, the one film that made me interested in the medium. Had I not seen it, I highly doubt I would even be a member of this forum. Now, did "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" have a similar effect on me? Nope. Not even close.

With this film of his, I had a hard time adjusting to the occurring ridiculousness, and the snappy unfunny humour of it all, not to mention, the fast paced editing that sometimes looked sloppy. It's hard no to compare this to "In Bruges" and not shake my head in disappointment, when the latter's characters are much more layered and interesting, the humour is much more complex, and the chain of events are almost poetic. I know it always seems as if I hate a film I have mixed feelings about, when I actually really don't, and this is another case of that. Despite all of the missed opportunities, this was still a highly enjoyable watch. After all, the cast does a fantastic job with their not so fantastic characters, and the happenings are interesting enough to keep me wondering about what's to come.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

This is yet another entry I've had the pleasure of seeing because of my fabulous English teacher, and this time, he decided for us to watch a 93 minutes long car commercial. This Fast & Furious knock off did some serious damage to my internal organs, due to all of its cringey factors. To top it off, hearing my classmates laugh at some of the "jokes" in the movie, only left me dazed and confused, but I've become used to that at this point. Looking at the bright side though, this teacher of mine has definitely taught me to appreciate any good a film contains, no matter how little there actually is.

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