Swan's 2017 Movie Adventures

The Gift - +
(Joel Edgerton, 2015)

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I must have confused this with another movie (probably The Box) as I thought it was about a guy who gives a mysterious gift and the couple tries to debate whether to open it or not. It was quite a bit different. It’s a very well-made and tense thriller, in fact a bit of a slow burn in a good way, so I give it a lot of points for that. My problem is it wasn’t as full of twists and turns as I had expected from this kind of movie. The big twist at the end I predicted halfway through, and I’m not sure if that’s because I’m getting good at being one step ahead of movies, or if it was actually predictable. That is the one the that stopped me from really liking this. I did like the twist to the twist, though.

As it stands, it’s a very taut and well-directed flick, with great performances by Joel Edgerton and Jason Bateman, who is surprisingly in a role very against type.

Red White & Blue - -
(Simon Rumley, 2010)

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At first I wasn’t a fan of the frenetic camerawork and editing of this, but I got so invested in the characters and story that I stopped caring about that, and with the brutality and subversive nature it’s a winner for me. The three leads are great, especially Noah Taylor as Nate.

I said after I last watched The Devil’s Rejects that I didn’t like it partly due to how forced the badassery felt. With Zombie, the brutality always feels a little bit superficial - his characters try so hard to be hardcore that they end up feeling, ironically, wimpy. Nate in Red White & Blue is, in my opinion, what Zombie so desperately wants his characters to be: authentically brutal. He actually felt humble in his badassery, never trying too hard except when trying to intimidate his foe.

Overall, with an engaging story and interesting characters, I ended up liking this movie quite a bit. Though I do think I would have liked it more with better camerawork and editing.

XX - +
(Jovanka Vuckovic, Annie Clark, Roxanne Benjamin and Karyn Kusama, 2017)

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There was such a variety of quality on display here that I'm not sure how to rate it. I'll go through each one.

The Box was my favorite, and was in my opinion the only one I actually liked that much. Whoever this Jovanka Vuckovic director is, she understands horror better than any of the other three. It creeped me out a bit even, which is hard for horror movies to do. Less said about this though, the better.

The Birthday Party was the one I was most looking forward to, because it's directed by musician St. Vincent (who goes by her real name here, Annie Clark). Unfortunately, it was my least favorite. It failed for me on a filmmaking level as well as a story level.

Don't Fall was very mediocre. I have nothing to say really, very by the numbers but unsuccessful.

Her Only Living Son was pretty good, though it was the one that felt most derivative - perhaps because I could pinpoint it's influences. Still, the craft is well-done here, and that made me like it.

Special shout-out the the awesome Quay-esque stop motion segments that bookended each chapter.

Overall, this was pretty forgettable and I wish I didn't pay money to rent it on iTunes. I could have waited if I knew it wasn't that great. I think the first segment is the only one that will stick with me.