movies n stuff

There is a little bit more than a week left until I go "study" film and video at the California Institute of the Arts and as I've said before, I've been really trying to turn into a cool film kid by watching as many interesting-looking films as possible, aside from the ones that have been coming out of theaters that are just for mere entertainment (no offense Seth McFarlane, Ted was pretty good.). Wow, that was a whole sentence. Anyways, here are a few mini reviews of the movies I have watched so far!!!!!! Yayayayayaya.

Dogtooth.

- First of all, let me just say, I'm kind of a big sucker for films that try to warp the ideas and structures presented in the archetypal "normal" life, so I liked Dogtooth instantly. It is a bit slow, and it is not an entertaining film to see over and over again... maybe just once or twice. Because it's haunting. I remember when I first watched The Virgin Suicides and I thought, "wow that was literally a really boring movie and Kristen Dunst gets way too much credit for being hot etc etc etc," but afterwards, I started to like it more and more because of the AFTER feeling it gave me. It was haunting, it gave me the chills, it left me with this air of mystery that I was actually content with. That is almost exactly how Dogtooth made me feel. The characters were each so equally bizarre because of their forced innocence and wandering curiosity. And the way it was filmed-- plain-looking, bland, toned down-- just helped contribute to the haunting mystery this film gave off.

Eyes Wide Shut.

- Maybe it was because I hadn't seen a Stanley Kubrick film before and I wasn't used to his style, or maybe it's just because this film is far too """adult""" for me, because I ended up not liking it as much as I had hoped. I actually don't know what to say about this film yet because I think I need to watch it once more to even understand how I feel about it. Is there something I'm not getting, or?

We Need To Talk About Kevin.

- Aesthetically, this film reminded me a lot of Dogtooth because of it's saturated visuals and haunting camera angles, I guess. Tilda Swinton was amazing. John C. Reily, I couldn't take seriously. Ezra Miller was a hotty. I was really looking forward to this film. I'd been wanting to see it since it came out in theaters and every time  I went to my local DVD store it was always OUT. Gah. Anyways, I really liked this film up to the end. Yes, it was one of those films with a sort of flawed ending that ultimately ruined the whole experience of events leading up to the ending. I guess I expected more, something that went deeper into the surface and really tore apart the two characters, Kevin and Eva. It was one of the movies that meticulously delved into a chilling background, detail after detail, struggling emotion after struggling emotion, and eventually led up to something sort of mundane and rushed. Eh. Nonetheless, I still really loved the acting and music.