This is so good! 100% agree with you re: one liner reviews and movies failing to break through due to their lack of memeability. These two things put me off joining letterboxd, it looked like people were just interested in having the most witty and catchy one liner review than really having something meaningful to say about what they watched.
I really enjoyed “Conclave” when I say it in theaters but did not expect the Internet to latch onto it as old man yaoi 💀
“The End” is on my watch list now that it’s streaming on Hulu.
Well, I still use Letterboxd, because why shouldn't movie lovers have a safe space for dropping a solid one-liner about a certain movie? The issue is that the counterpoint to this is "critics" as some same-thought monolith, represented by a percentage number on this site, or that site. People are getting their "reviews" from headlines.
I distinctly remember malding off the planet when I found out that this one wasn't going to come to my then-local theater. I've now had it in my watchlist for a couple months, yet to pull the trigger on account of streaming-calibrated decision overload and having Too Much Else To Get Done at home. I'll definitely be diving in this coming week.
Anyway, I myself am all-prayer-no-coffee when it comes to hope these days, and I know I don't have to tell you how apt I find the parallel between the state of film criticism/engagement, and the state of the world you make here. The only normal thing going on right now is our collective depressed response to the steeper-and-steeper nosedive that society has been making.
If I were wishful, I would say to hold on to hope on account of there still being so much to live for. Instead, I'll say to keep embodying it with every fibre of your being as much as you can, friend, because it is and will be necessary for making sure there will be something to live for whenever things stop getting worse. You have already changed lives for the better by doing so. I reckon a share of that change will find its way back to you in time.
Can I just say -- this was my favorite movie of last year, maybe even the decade, and it's crazy to me that it just went and passed with no cultural footprint whatsoever?? I guess people wanted angry "eat the rich" agit prop of the sort that was trendy at the time (like, IDK, "The Menu") and were confused when the film wasn't about mustache-twirling billionaires in a Fuhrerbunker but people justifying their lives as they waste away in mind palaces of their own delusion. (You know, sort of like us.) Saw it in a completely empty Alamo Drafthouse and after the credits rolled I sat in the dark and bawled my eyes out for ten minutes; I am happy to see someone else sticking up for it after its moment has passed. Maybe it'll be ripe for critical re-evaluation in the future -- Oppenheimer being a fairly acclaimed documentarian makes me think it'll keep being analyzed in the context of his whole career.
And P.S., as to the specific criticism that the actors can't sing -- did everyone just go to the bathroom during Moses Ingram's numbers? What a heartbreaking performance.
from experience, darkness (and depression) have ways of narrowing your vision so that it has all of your focus which makes it's easy to miss any trace of light or good. it also loves to feed you thoughts like "I don't belong here" or "things will never change" or "I don't make a difference" but that is why it is so important to see those lies for what they are. Because you may not fit inside this grotesque system known as american life but that does not mean for a second you do not belong in this world. You're still here aren't you? which makes you a shining example of human resiliency and perseverance. You still care (while else would this "current state of things grieve you so?) when everything tried to rip that emotion out of you which is to say you're still human when everything tried to shape you otherwise. and is this not a victory? is this not proof that things can turnaround at any moment because what I know of humanity is yes its capacity for wickedness and evil deeds but I also know of the light - the desire to connect. to grow. to transform. these things exist right alongside the darkness and as the state of darkness grows so does the light. it has to. so keep holding on. it will not always be this way. there's still so much to look forward to - and to build.
Thanks for eloquently expressing what so many of us of differing experiences are feeling right now. You're right that Hollywood isn't exactly rising to the occasion. But I'm personally finding some comfort in expressing myself through my writing, trying to hold up some light to the darkness, so that's enough for me for now.
Sorry you're depressed, man.. I'm sure it doesn't help to have your mayor arrested for being where he was legitimately in every right to be as mayor. I hated this movie so much that I never got through... Asif Kapadi's 2073 is a much better (and sadly, more depressing) apocalyptic movie.
This is so good! 100% agree with you re: one liner reviews and movies failing to break through due to their lack of memeability. These two things put me off joining letterboxd, it looked like people were just interested in having the most witty and catchy one liner review than really having something meaningful to say about what they watched.
I really enjoyed “Conclave” when I say it in theaters but did not expect the Internet to latch onto it as old man yaoi 💀
“The End” is on my watch list now that it’s streaming on Hulu.
Well, I still use Letterboxd, because why shouldn't movie lovers have a safe space for dropping a solid one-liner about a certain movie? The issue is that the counterpoint to this is "critics" as some same-thought monolith, represented by a percentage number on this site, or that site. People are getting their "reviews" from headlines.
I distinctly remember malding off the planet when I found out that this one wasn't going to come to my then-local theater. I've now had it in my watchlist for a couple months, yet to pull the trigger on account of streaming-calibrated decision overload and having Too Much Else To Get Done at home. I'll definitely be diving in this coming week.
Anyway, I myself am all-prayer-no-coffee when it comes to hope these days, and I know I don't have to tell you how apt I find the parallel between the state of film criticism/engagement, and the state of the world you make here. The only normal thing going on right now is our collective depressed response to the steeper-and-steeper nosedive that society has been making.
If I were wishful, I would say to hold on to hope on account of there still being so much to live for. Instead, I'll say to keep embodying it with every fibre of your being as much as you can, friend, because it is and will be necessary for making sure there will be something to live for whenever things stop getting worse. You have already changed lives for the better by doing so. I reckon a share of that change will find its way back to you in time.
Thank you for your support.
Can I just say -- this was my favorite movie of last year, maybe even the decade, and it's crazy to me that it just went and passed with no cultural footprint whatsoever?? I guess people wanted angry "eat the rich" agit prop of the sort that was trendy at the time (like, IDK, "The Menu") and were confused when the film wasn't about mustache-twirling billionaires in a Fuhrerbunker but people justifying their lives as they waste away in mind palaces of their own delusion. (You know, sort of like us.) Saw it in a completely empty Alamo Drafthouse and after the credits rolled I sat in the dark and bawled my eyes out for ten minutes; I am happy to see someone else sticking up for it after its moment has passed. Maybe it'll be ripe for critical re-evaluation in the future -- Oppenheimer being a fairly acclaimed documentarian makes me think it'll keep being analyzed in the context of his whole career.
And P.S., as to the specific criticism that the actors can't sing -- did everyone just go to the bathroom during Moses Ingram's numbers? What a heartbreaking performance.
Well said! I actually do look forward to seeing it a second time, so much of it stuck with me on an almost-cellular level.
from experience, darkness (and depression) have ways of narrowing your vision so that it has all of your focus which makes it's easy to miss any trace of light or good. it also loves to feed you thoughts like "I don't belong here" or "things will never change" or "I don't make a difference" but that is why it is so important to see those lies for what they are. Because you may not fit inside this grotesque system known as american life but that does not mean for a second you do not belong in this world. You're still here aren't you? which makes you a shining example of human resiliency and perseverance. You still care (while else would this "current state of things grieve you so?) when everything tried to rip that emotion out of you which is to say you're still human when everything tried to shape you otherwise. and is this not a victory? is this not proof that things can turnaround at any moment because what I know of humanity is yes its capacity for wickedness and evil deeds but I also know of the light - the desire to connect. to grow. to transform. these things exist right alongside the darkness and as the state of darkness grows so does the light. it has to. so keep holding on. it will not always be this way. there's still so much to look forward to - and to build.
Thank you.
America is depressing. I try to find pockets of joy when possible. I know it’s hard. I’m sorry.
Pleased to see THE END will stream on Mubi from this Friday. 🙂 (In the UK at least.)
Good news for y'all. In the US, we have it on Hulu currently.
Thanks for eloquently expressing what so many of us of differing experiences are feeling right now. You're right that Hollywood isn't exactly rising to the occasion. But I'm personally finding some comfort in expressing myself through my writing, trying to hold up some light to the darkness, so that's enough for me for now.
Sorry you're depressed, man.. I'm sure it doesn't help to have your mayor arrested for being where he was legitimately in every right to be as mayor. I hated this movie so much that I never got through... Asif Kapadi's 2073 is a much better (and sadly, more depressing) apocalyptic movie.