You Hurt My Feelings (2023) - Movie Review

This might sound odd coming from someone who literally criticises people’s work for a living, but actually hearing criticism about your own work… kinda sucks. I may have a little too much fun when writing about stuff I don’t like (just look at my total lack of etiquette when looking at EXMas for FilmInk), but I try and approach each film I review with the understanding that people worked on this. That each production is the culmination of a lot of time and effort being focused to a single point, with many people putting in their hours to make it happen. But as part of that same understanding, I also see the need to be honest about what I think of a given film. The best advice I’ve ever been given about this field (cheers Travis) is deceptively simple: Don’t say you liked it if you didn't, and don't say you didn't like it if you did.

I say that that’s ‘deceptively’ simple because, while we all seem to be all too willing to read random strangers to utter filth over the most minor shit, that can become a bit more difficult when the person you want to criticise is someone you know personally. An aspect of the ‘separate the art from the artist’ notion that doesn’t regularly get brought up is how that applies to those in relationships, be it romantic or professional. Like, you want to help them and give constructive feedback, so that they can become better at their craft, but when you care deeply about them as a person, the idea of telling them anything less than what will make them happy can feel... cruel?

The Last Duel (2021) - Movie Review

I haven’t really gotten into this in past reviews of his work, but I have a serious admiration for the work of Ridley Scott. When he’s on point, he is capable of some of the greatest works that the medium has to offer, whether it’s Alien, Blade Runner, or (personal pick here) Hannibal. But even in his lesser films, there is always something in his productions that I just have to point to as being objectively brilliant.

Exodus: Gods and Kings? Yeah, that wasn’t great, but the casting for God was ingenious. Prometheus and Alien: Covenant? Michael Fassbender’s David is one of the most fascinating cinematic characters of the entire 2010s, even if those films didn’t make full use of him. Even All In The Money In The World, which I seem to be in the minority on as I found it quite inconsistent, has Christopher Plummer giving the performance of a lifetime that held everything together. The man’s talent shines through no matter what he’s working on, so regardless of how this turns out, I’ve been looking forward to it all the same.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) - Movie Review

 

After spending pretty much an entire day talking about Orson Welles and F For Fake not long ago, I feel like I’m beating a dead horse here… but let’s talk about ‘fake art’. Forgery on its own is already a pretty dicey prospect, but applying that to the creative arts like painting, filmmaking or writing opens up whole new dilemmas to the equation. And indeed, much like Elmyr de Hory, sometimes deliberate artistic imitation can be called out and still considered to be as worthy as the genuine article. Rather than just rehash the F For Fake argument, let’s instead see how that mindset of 'fake art' applies to this film, a based-on-actual-events of a writer who forged letters from famous writers and actors.

The Land Of Steady Habits (2018) - Movie Review

Well, this certainly makes for a change of pace. Ben Mendelsohn, an actor I’ve covered numerous times before on here depicting some of the worst kinds of people imaginable, has taken a step into mid-life crisis dramedy. Not gonna lie, after seeing him in Una, I don’t think it’s even possible to see Mendelsohn on-screen without a rolling chill down the spine.

But it’s because of these very situations that typecasting is understood as such a negative practice, and it’s not like anyone really wants to be most associated with the power-hungry, callous and fucking despicable characters Mendelsohn is mainly known for these days. So, really, seeing him in a different setting should turn out to be a good thing, especially since it seems to be a really damn good fit for him.