The Black Cat (1934)
Five years after![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thirdblindmouse vidded it for Festivids, disgruntled_owl and I watched this gem of a horror film in which a pleasingly eyelinered Boris Karloff runs a Satanic cult in the dungeons of an Art Deco castle in Hungary, Bela Lugosi plots his revenge after 15 years in prison, and a mystery writer and his fainting new bride try to find their way out alive. Also there are black cats that may or may not embody the spirits of a bunch of sacrificed ladies, and Lugosi's phobia of them remains mysterious. Need to read the Poe short story the movie was loosely inspired by; clues may lie within.
Great fashion, great cinematography, great one-liners (say it slowly: "Even the telephone is dead"), great—if much too short—scene of sinewy Karloff stripped to the waist and handcuffed to a St. Andrew's cross. We… may have watched that part twice. Here's a nice fan art version by SeizureDemon.
The whole thing runs a compact 65 minutes. Two thumbs up except for a yellowface character.
ETA for reference: moviediva
Ella Enchanted
A movie about the importance of consent! Who knew?
The gleefully anachronistic language, attitudes and music put this movie in the same category as A Knight's Tale. There was a lot about it that wasn't to my taste, and parts that were actively offensive, but I was pleased by its feminism, particularly its depiction of use and abuse of power over other people.
( More on that. No major spoilers. )
ETA: LOL, if you, like me, have ever confused Ella Enchanted for another movie, or have questions about Anne Hathaway roles in general, check outseekingferret's amazing disambiguation flow chart below.
Colossal
What an odd yet compelling little magical-realism movie. Reviewers were right that marketing it as a comedy about a white New Yorker (Anne Hathaway again) who finds out she can control a Godzilla-like monster 12 hours away in Seoul did poor justice to what the story was ultimately about: the terror of becoming the target of a Nice Guy who doesn't get his way. ( More on that. Spoiler for the ending. )
Manchester by the Sea
Okay, I know this isn't really a fair critique of any piece of art, but this is one of those cases where I wish the whole thing had been about someone else. ( Mini-rant. Includes discussion of death and grieving. )
Five years after
thirdblindmouse vidded it for Festivids, disgruntled_owl and I watched this gem of a horror film in which a pleasingly eyelinered Boris Karloff runs a Satanic cult in the dungeons of an Art Deco castle in Hungary, Bela Lugosi plots his revenge after 15 years in prison, and a mystery writer and his fainting new bride try to find their way out alive. Also there are black cats that may or may not embody the spirits of a bunch of sacrificed ladies, and Lugosi's phobia of them remains mysterious. Need to read the Poe short story the movie was loosely inspired by; clues may lie within. Great fashion, great cinematography, great one-liners (say it slowly: "Even the telephone is dead"), great—if much too short—scene of sinewy Karloff stripped to the waist and handcuffed to a St. Andrew's cross. We… may have watched that part twice. Here's a nice fan art version by SeizureDemon.
The whole thing runs a compact 65 minutes. Two thumbs up except for a yellowface character.
ETA for reference: moviediva
Ella Enchanted
A movie about the importance of consent! Who knew?
The gleefully anachronistic language, attitudes and music put this movie in the same category as A Knight's Tale. There was a lot about it that wasn't to my taste, and parts that were actively offensive, but I was pleased by its feminism, particularly its depiction of use and abuse of power over other people.
( More on that. No major spoilers. )
ETA: LOL, if you, like me, have ever confused Ella Enchanted for another movie, or have questions about Anne Hathaway roles in general, check out
seekingferret's amazing disambiguation flow chart below.Colossal
What an odd yet compelling little magical-realism movie. Reviewers were right that marketing it as a comedy about a white New Yorker (Anne Hathaway again) who finds out she can control a Godzilla-like monster 12 hours away in Seoul did poor justice to what the story was ultimately about: the terror of becoming the target of a Nice Guy who doesn't get his way. ( More on that. Spoiler for the ending. )
Manchester by the Sea
Okay, I know this isn't really a fair critique of any piece of art, but this is one of those cases where I wish the whole thing had been about someone else. ( Mini-rant. Includes discussion of death and grieving. )
