Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Okja (2017)

Very good coming of age and coming out film. Obviously it wasn't very relateable for me being a straight white guy, it was very clearly personal with Dee Rees herself being a black lesbian though and that came through. Plus it was relateable in the sense that all coming of age films are once you've went through your childhood/teenage years. At first Lee and Binna's relationship didn't feel natural as it went on it got to me though. Think it started off pretty typically with the moody one not being willing to give it a try then when she lets her guard down she realizes that she enjoys her company; once we bypassed that and it was focusing on them getting closer it worked a bunch though and while the conclusion to their relationship was easy to see it was still heartbreaking. Adepero Oduye was great, more than anything she sold the little moments, the sort of things that are in loads of films dilluting their effectiveness but she did such a good job that they ended up more powerful than they should have been. Laura shunning her for instance and her rejecting Binna's first advance. That was my favourite thing the portrayal of her difficulty to embrace her sexuality. Thing is this isn't set in the 1960's, it's the 21st Century absolutely not trying to minimize the difficulties LGBT people face because it's still there just saying that she has more opportunity than she would have even 20 years ago. Of course her mother doesn't approve of it but she does have other opportunities to explore it like the aforementioned Binna encounter and the visits to clubs, that's what i love most while homophobia is depicted that isn't the only obstacle here it's a personal struggle she faces to accept it herself which i think is often overlooked; she has to deal with her own battles with it on top of the way she is treated and judged. Liked the performances of the actors that played the mother and father too, the mother was dislikeable but understandable, she had to face it alot more directly than the dad since he wasn't around that much and he usually spent his time having fun with Lee rather than enforcing discipline which mostly fell on the mother. Thought them dealing with her sexuality was very well done too, although i'm not really sure their personal problems and the fathers obvious affair was that well done it felt underdeveloped. Wasn't sure about the rating until the ending which was excellent i thought got me to give it another +. Those last twenty minutes packed in so many different emotions.

Loved the visuals; could see people being annoyed by them with the closeups and weaving about, i think it worked very well in inserting you into everything plus the greens, purples, pinks, etc. Plus New York at night is one of the most filmable locations. Great soundtrack too, i like that Lee and Binna bonded over music it went well with the songs used to depict Lee's mood before they met. Very good film. Think i liked it a little more than Moonlight which it's obviously going to be compared to, although they are both their own thing.

+

KRULL (1983)
director: Peter Yates
Rated: PG

Hey, what else do you need for a 1983 science fiction fable?

Only my second Leigh film i liked it. I did have trouble accepting both Aubrey and Nicola as they were ridiculously over the top, i could get over Aubrey but Nicola had the biggest emotional story in the film so it did hurt my enjoyment a bit. They were all over the top, i came to love and accept the others much more than those two though. I understand why she acted that way but it was still annoying, it was like an exaggerated version of the very worst of Eastenders. It was still enjoyable, funny and i really liked the script.