Tag: movies

‘The Green Knight’: David Lowery’s Arthurian Masterpiece

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Reviews

The Green Knight is exemplary in every way possible under the incredible direction of David Lowery as he creates one of if not the best film of this year.

CREDIT: A24

It is safe to say that 2020 provided us some of our worst moments. It was a time that was met with a lot of sorrow, grief, and uncertainty about our lives. In the movie space, we saw many delays while some of our most anticipated films were moved to streaming services while theaters remained shut down. There was something else that we got in 2020 that really made us realize that 2021 was going to be worth the wait. I remember seeing that first trailer for David Lowery’s The Green Knight and I was amazed at what was shown. Immediately I was beyond excited to watch Dev Patel play Gawain and the visuals of the trailer propelled my excitement to the moon, but the summer came along and no news about the film came forward so we had to imagine that it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later on before the year ended, we received news that the film would release in July 2021. My anticipation for this film kept building and building for what I imagined would be a good Arthurian motion picture. Fast forward to the present, I went to my local movie theater (following COVID guidelines) to finally watch this movie and I was giddy with excitement to finally sit down and set my eyes on the film.

The film stars Dev Patel as Gawain the nephew of King Arthur as he sets on a quest to find and face The Green Knight that tests his courage to become a noble knight of the roundtable. The film is written, produced, edited, and directed by David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Pete’s Dragon, The Old Man & The Gun) based on the anonymous poem Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. The film also stars Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, and Ralph Ineson.

David Lowery’s The Green Knight meets all expectations and blows them out of the water. A concise and reflective film about the struggle between expectations and our quest to be who we want to be. David Lowery’s love and patience for the source material shows throughout the movie paired alongside its exquisite cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo. Along with its beautiful and moving cinematography, it is Daniel Hart’s groundbreaking score that helps create the atmosphere of our very contemplative and somber film. Dev Patel works wonders as Sir Gawain and truly captures every scene he is in. Him along with the supporting cast like Alicia Vikander’s two characters excel in the acting department.

The Green Knight is special and so far the best film to be released this year. The film takes its epic story to create a very patient film that speaks beyond its structure. Whether it is its daunting scenes of doubt in Gawain or its various moments that challenges the nobility of what it means to be someone as important as a Knight. We constantly are looking at the film hoping to see what Gawain will do to redeem himself and become the man he is set to be. The Arthurian world of David Lowery’s film is magical and never disappoints you throughout this quest of Gawain as we patiently watch a masterclass in filmmaking and storytelling.

Watch The Green Knight in theaters right now.

‘Old’: A New Concept Wrapped in Unstable Execution

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Reviews

The newest M. Night Shyamalan film crashes and burns with its interesting concept of the horrors of aging at a beach stuck in accelerated time.

CREDIT: Universal Pictures

M. Night is back with another film since his 2019 effort, Glass. This time he is back in theaters with his new thriller, Old. The film stars an ensemble cast of Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Kreips, Rufus Sewel, Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlen, Aaron Pierre, Embeth Davidtz, and Emun Elliott. There are quite some familiar faces in here and quite the range of actors within the film. One would think that this means that M. Night is about to lead us into a wild ride of a film especially after watching that trailer. You are not wrong if that is what you were hoping, but this wild ride is nothing to write home about.

The film looks at various families who leave on a tropical vacation, and while there are invited into a secluded beach where time seems to be accelerating throughout the day. This is a really interesting concept but its execution just lacks overall throughout the film. The presentation is interesting but the cinematography is so jarring that it makes it really hard to follow what is going on at times. While some performances are better than others overall it feels like direction is being met. Some performances feel very forced or just fall flat. The problems of this film really feel as if it falls on the script and direction. Of course, the film features another irresponsible portrayal of mental illness by M. Night that seems to be his norm by now that needs to stop already. It is really hard to pull something out of this that is not the thematic conversation being had by an interesting concept thought up by M. Night.

The film excels at bringing up these feelings of anxiety and panic because of situations that our characters are put in that are out of their control. We see many characters react certain ways towards each other or themselves. Our characters are stuck and just cannot move back because they are being forced to move forward without some solutions or comfort about their current situation. Of course, it feels all too reminiscent of our lives since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For that, I commend M. Night on having that conversation throughout the film that gave it its emotional backbone.

Old is playing theaters at the moment and has no VOD release date at the moment.

‘Zola’: A Mesmerizing Film From Janicza Bravo

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Reviews

Zola is brought to life from a twitter thread and works on all grounds being translated to the big screen.

CREDIT: A24

Zola is the newest A24 distributed film directed by Janicza Bravo. The film stars Taylour Paige as Zola a stripper who befriends Stefani played by Riley Keough and travels to Tampa, Florida to make some money at a strip club. What seems like your normal work roadtrip turns into an absolute nightmare for Zola. The film also stars Colman Domingo, Nicholas Braun, and Ari’el Stachel along with some familiar faces like Jason Mitchell. The film is adapted from an article based on the first thread of tweets by Aziah “Zola” King who is credited as Executive Producer on the film as well.

Zola is a chaotic ride but a pleasant one nonetheless filled with great performances from our main four actors, an impressive script, and magnificent direction from Janicza Bravo. Of course, Taylour Paige excels in her role as our titular character and owns every scene she is in with her composed and poised devotion to the portrayal of the character. I found myself even more mesmerized by Colman Domingo’s performance as X the roommate/pimp. Domingo from the get go brings the looming fear and carries his character so that you feel his presence even when he is not on screen.

Now because I am not one to spend a lot of time on the internet or really pay much attention to the toxic world of Twitter, I miss out on crazy stuff like this thread of tweets that King tweeted. I went into this completely blind about what this was about. Everyone kept talking about how this was about a thread but I had no idea what that was. What I watched was truly special and one of the most mature pieces of art I have seen. The approach to the sex work experience but especially as Taylour Paige said specifically the experience of black women sex workers brought a very appreciated level of authenticity. The style brought out by incredible lighting, script choices, and an aesthetic brought out by beautiful 16mm film stock makes for a unique film from Janicza Bravo. Zola is a film that still has not left my mind and is for sure one of my favorites of this year. I hope to see Aziah King aka Zola work with filmmakers more and present some of the thousands of stories she has for film ideas. I am also eagerly anticipating the next Janicza Bravo film. Overall, I can say that this is a film worth watching and I cannot wait to rewatch it!

Zola is in theaters and can be rented/streamed via Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and other platforms.

‘Anthem’: Black, Sacred, and Free

Posted on by MediaMartyr17 in Reviews

Marlon T. Riggs perverts homophobic rhetoric in his 1991 short film.

Hi! I’m Gio (he/him) also known as MediaMartyr17. I am a Black Queer student, writer, and podcaster. You may recognize me from my appearances on The Nerd Corps or from Share Club Pod, a weekly podcast that I co-host with Michelle aka QueeenWeeeb. Though it has only been a year, The Nerd Corps has enriched my life and I will never be able to thank Raúl and Brad for the level of community they have brought into my life. With that being said, let’s get into my first written review as Writer/Ho Host at The Nerd Corps.

Anthem (1991) continues Riggs’ celebration of the revolutionary act: Black men loving Black men. In less than 9 minutes, Riggs combines poetry performance, house music, and intercut imagery to dispel the belief that homosexuality is not Black, a sin, and un-American.  

First, Anthem connects gay pride with Black pride to dispel the belief that homosexuality is a sin. The framework of the film is built on the principles of Black liberation through lines like “I must remake my history”, “Rearranging syllables is revolution”, and “A chain of tongues unchained”. Because of chattel slavery, Black people in America have lost a lot of what connects their heritage back to Africa. A large part of Black liberation is focused on taking ownership of the language and land that was forced on us while reclaiming our history and our connection to African tradition. This is further cemented in Anthem by an image of the African continent in the of the Pan-African flag with a pink gay pride triangle behind it. Riggs perverts the language of Black homophobes by describing the revolutionary act as inherently Black.

Secondly, Anthem connects sex and religion to dispel the belief that homosexuality is a sin. Acts like using Vaseline or spit as lube or putting a condom on your lover’s penis are described as intimate parts of a sacred rite. The lovers make vows to each other similar to the sacrament of marriage (i.e. “I place my ring on your cock where it belongs”; “I give you my heart, a safe house”). Riggs perverts the language of Christian homophobes by describing the revolutionary act as holy worship.

Finally, Anthem connects love and American ideals to dispel the belief that homosexuality is un-American. The intimacy shared between two black men is described as an acknowledgement of the other’s freedom. They pledge to each other: “Long may we live to free this dream” as a rendition “America the Beautiful” is sung in the background. Black men loving Black men is conveyed as an extension of the American dream, especially when access to that dream has been denied to Black men since the inception of the United States. But when the lovers “kiss, we confirm the new world coming.” Riggs perverts the language of American homophobes by describing the revolutionary act as patriotic.

Marlon T. Riggs masterfully flaunts Black men loving Black men as inherently Black, holy, and patriotic worship. I look forward to watching more Marlon T. Riggs in the near future

5/5

‘I’m No Longer Here’: A Masterpiece of Identity From Mexico

Posted on by Raúl Alejandro Mendoza in Reviews

Fernando Frías directs an incredible film full of emotional depth and nuance that exceeds all expectations.

CREDIT: Netflix

The last time I wrote to you all I was stuck inside a home because the world outside was falling apart, and not much has changed since. I am still very active on the podcast and starting season two of The Cinema Condition soon. This year in film has been filled with a lot of movies but a lot of them were not available to the public, so my year in film has been slow for the most part. Throughout the year I have watched some great films like Bacurau (2020), I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020), Sound of Metal (2020), and of course Tenet (2020). I was convinced for the most part that nothing would top my then favorite film of the year, Bacurau (2020). I was incredibly wrong.

I’m No Longer Here (2020) or Ya no estoy aquí (2020) looks at the life of Ulises a 17 year old boy who is part of a gang named “Los Terkos” (“The Stubborn”) as he is exiled from his community after a misunderstanding. Ulises then goes to New York City as he lives in Queens and begins to navigate his new life as a foreigner in a new world. This journey is met with discrimination, self doubt, and an identity crisis. It all blends to create my favorite film of the year.

It is so hard to not approach these films as a Latino but especially a Latino who is a son of immigrants. It is also so hard to not approach this film as someone who very much understands the eternal struggle of a Latino who at times does not really understand their identity. At one point I thought I understood the concept of Latinidad but since then I have lost much grasp of it. Ulises is like a lot of the people I grew up around, we were into different music, from some of the worst neighborhoods you did not want to step in, wore different clothes, did our hair differently from what was expected from us, and because of that we were easy targets to be bullied. When we were not bullied we were used as symbols and for others to use for their own gain. We did not fit a mold and we were never supposed to fit that mold.

I did not have the life that Ulises had completely but I knew a lot of people in México who were living there especially in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon in 2010-2013. They were too exiled from their land but instead of street gangs it was their government who pleaded them to come over to the United States because of the government’s incompetency to handle the situation at hand. Life became harder and the land of opportunity they thought they would be introduced to was just not there for them. Once again they were discriminated in this other part of the world for being them.

What Fernando Frías does with all these aspects is create a beautiful but heartbreaking story that is often too real for others. The cinematography is fluid and beautiful especially with its naturalistic lighting. The Kolombiano music included works so well to create the atmosphere and ambiance of what makes Ulises unique and a free spirit. The sense of community is felt throughout the whole film. The dread of being seen as weird and “the other” is heartbreaking. The pain of coming back to your land but seeing that the landscape of its people has been changed forever and it is not the land you were exiled from. Juan Daniel Garcia Treviño gives us a truly nuanced and beautiful performance as Ulises. The non linear aspect of the film works well with the structure especially if you think about it as Ulises remembering his life back then while in Queens. Everything works and it all creates such a beauty that speaks on so many levels.

Ya no estoy aquí (2020) is the official selection from México for the Best International Film category at next year’s Oscars. Watch Ya no estoy aquí (2020) on Netflix.