If you've been following my reviews lately you know the big budget blockbusters have been letting me down. So maybe the smaller films will be more my jam? As a Sundance veteran I know indies can be as hit and miss as anything else but they often at the very least have more heart in them than the massive calculated to please everyone entertainment the big studios release. So here we go:
Make sure to check out Mars Express if you get the chance. I previously reviewed it last year as part of Animation is Film Festival but did a deep dive analysis along with Ghost in the Shell with my friend Stanford this week. It's a bold piece of sci-fi crime noir animation that deserves to be seen!
I SAW THE TV GLOW
First up we have I Saw the TV Glow. This is a film I heard buzz about at Sundance but I shied away from it fearing it was too scary (I watch some scary movies but at Sundance it can be a risk when the film is brand new and sometimes I feel like taking that risk and other times I prefer to wait.) Anyway, it wasn't scary at all and proved to be one of my favorite films of 2024.
Its story revolves around a kid named Owen who becomes attached to a television show called The Pink Opaque and he shares that experience with a slightly older girl at school named Maddy. That's what I think director and writer Jane Schoenbrun nails in this film. Not only the power a piece of media can provide to our lives but the ritual of watching it and talking about it with others can be quite life-changing.
Owen's Mother doesn't allow him to watch the show which was something I connected with quite deeply as I had my fair share of sneak shows. Maddy leaves Owen a tape of the week's episode each week and it gives him something to live for as a struggling teen. This profound connection to media really spoke to me. It is especially powerful when Owen watches the show as an adult and is so disappointed to see it doesn't hold up well. It makes him question his entire childhood. Can't we all relate to that?
Schoenbrun goes to some surreal places with it but it all worked for me and it becomes the kind of movie I immediately wanted to see again and talk about it with friends to see their takes. Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine are also excellent as Owen and Maddy respectively. The movie is perhaps a bit over-ambitious and confusing for its own good but I still loved it and highly recommend giving it a watch.
Smile Worthy
EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
Something cinephiles don't want to admit is sometimes we aren't on the same wavelength as a particular director and that's okay. This has been my experience with Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. I didn't get the high praise for his Oscar winning Drive My Car and his Asako I& II I found to be nothing special. I don't mind a slow burn (I enjoyed last year's toilet cleaner movie Perfect Days for example) but Hamaguchi fails to engage me with his characters and Evil Does Not Exist is no exception. As with all of his movies I'm in the vast minority on this but I can't pretend to like something that I don't.
Let's start with the fact the title of the movie is a complete mystery to me. The only "evil" portrayed is a big bad corporation who wants to build a resort in the beautiful wildlife preserve. I was joking for a while that adda romance and this could be a Hallmark movie with its bad men of business plot. So if this is the evil then fine but it does exist so I don't get the title.
The plot supposedly focuses on a widower Takumi and his daughter Hana and their love of the wilderness where they live. Unfortunately the film moves away from them for long stretches focusing on the 2 representatives from the company. So much of the film is council and board meetings about this land and that was not the least bit compelling or interesting.
Then in a last ditch effort to make something of the movie Hamaguchi gives a bizarre ending that makes no sense for the characters or the story. It was like he knew the previous hour and more had nothing so had to throw that in to leave people feeling like they'd seen something stimulating when they hadn't. It certainly didn't work for me and I left feeling like I'd wasted my time. I do not recommend Evil Does Not Exist.
Frown Worthy
GUY FRIENDS
In the world of cinema there are indie films like both the others in this post and then there are micro-indies made on a true shoestring budget- like under 50k. These mostly are terrible but every once in a while something creative comes along that's worth watching. Such is the case with the new film Guy Friends from director Jonathan Smith. I actually enjoyed it enough I recorded an interview with him for Hallmarkies Podcast that will air next week.
The story follows Jaime (Kavita Jariwala) who after a bad breakup discovers all the guys that she's friendzoned are suddenly in love with her. Even the taxi driver who she kids with each day professes his love. It's a funny setup for a rom-com as she no longer can trust who may or may not actually be in love with her and what her male platonic friendships actually mean. Then she meets a woman named Sandy (Katie Muldowney) who may be her first actual platonic girlfriend. (I also really liked Justin Clark as Ted. He could be good in Hallmark movies!)
As someone who has almost exclusively had girl not guy friends I liked the premise of the movie and what it had to say about friendship. It clearly has Woody Allen as an inspiration and New York especially Central Park becomes a character in the story.
It obviously has huge constraints as far as practically no budget (around $5k!) but the cast is likable and I'm a sucker for a friendship story. I am sure Guy Friends will only be playing in a few theaters but I enjoyed it and would recommend it if you can find it.
Smile Worthy
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