kurtisjvandermolen Reviews

Beau Is Afraid (2023)

A subjective life experience of abuse

[7/10 · 23 April 2023]

The concept is intriguing: a coming-of-age boy-to-man's life orbits around his single mother's perpetual abuse. In a time-warp representation of his life, he discovers what his life should have been (a cornucopia of biblical images and themes in cartoon-fashion) but is quickly returned to reality at his mother's funeral. A series of deceptions lead to his final judgement by which he is condemned for both his indecision and his apparent disloyalty to his abuser in his fate. A number of themes exist including the narrative script of expectations imposed in life, and the continual eyes of judgment which follow the lifelong journey of the abused. Trauma upon trauma inspire this reactionary plot. The viewer is left with a very subjective perspective of the abused living a hell-like life experience only to be eternally judged by these same terms and conditions. However this viewer wonders is taken aback by the persistent and malevolent evil of the entire cast versus Beau. What is the point of such a landslide of destruction? How is the universal viewer instructed by this one-sided experience? Where is the balance of the story? Where is the hope? If literally everyone, thereby the system, is fully opposed and actively working against you from birth-to-death (save perhaps the Ryan character), what can be reasonably gleaned from this 188-minute experiment? Yet, brilliantly done and brilliantly acted, and the existential evil is actually quite comical throughout.

Come Out in Jesus Name (2023)

A new set of men (and one woman) to worship

[1/10 · 12 April 2023]

This was a trial balloon 💭 on a new church business model. It was firstly self-glorifying with character development for a new set of church heroes. "Boldly" pushing back on religion, the film religiously exalts Old Testament myth and laser focuses on pseudepigrapha for proof texts of a 'brand new form of ministry'. Yet as long as the focus is inwardly dualistic, it occupies and distracts the mind from the fact that this is a whole new church business model replete with books, merch, and a new mantra. All hail Locke Media, er, and god bless the reinvention of religion bent on and towards hell.

Balloon Animal (2022)

The helium within the balloons 🎈

[1/10 · 12 April 2023]

The focus of the movie is a dad who is obsessed with his trade and is oblivious to its role in driving off the women in his life. The daughter wants to be free of the trade, only to enter a circus of a different sort. The dialogue is elementary and smacks of playground antics and infantile mentality. The so-called climax is a conflict between intellectuals and the protectionists who betray their cultic lifestyle within their arguments. The whole of the film is self-delusion and the only able others to speak against the phenomena are unidentified agents of sarcastic banter. Please help me find a solitary point to this spent ninety minutes.

Empire of Light (2022)

A Discourse in Variety

[1/10 · 7 April 2023]

This film is an orchestrated piece of music; yet, the crescendos come in odd places and then collapse into the percussion of other poignant parts, and the net result feels more like a warm-up in a discombobulated rehearsal. There is no coherence and much dissonance. There are numerous subplots but no main big idea; mental health, racism, come-of-age, romance, etc. The beauty are the many short films incorporated into this maestro effort. The magic is compelling in places but elusive as a comprehensive art form. The characters are enduring and well-placed but ultimately disconnected and wandering in a wilderness of experiences, leading to nothingness. But a very well executed meaninglessness.

Supercell (2023)

Things get worse over time

[1/10 · 26 March 2023]

This is a meal-in-a-box recipe: Twister 2.0. (There is even an early direct reference to Bill Paxton in the early part of the movie.) I was hoping for stunning special effects and they were good, but not great. All of the obligatory elements-loss, fear, overcoming, romance-as if a high school film club project. It's hard to believe how far we haven't come in drama. Even Alec plays the typical hot-shot, hot-head, egoist role, and again to his own demise. This is a movie that belongs in the "included with your subscription" movies, not your hard-earned money. Avoid the fare: you already saw this in the late-90s.

Mi Amigo Hugo (2014 TV Movie)

What have you heard?

[10/10 · 25 March 2023]

The reason for the low score overall, is that viewers were told what to think about Hugo. It is unfortunate that people allow their brains to be rented, or worse annexed by "people in the know". This appears to be a man beloved by his people for the reason that he had always placed people first. Is he frail? Did he make mistakes? I don't know. However that is not the measure of a person. Cancer took him down in 2013, and Maduro assumed the presidency. But how do you watch an hour of edited video by a respected interviewer, and come up with a 4/10 score? This reflects the viewer, not the subject being viewed.

Looking (2016 TV Movie)

Only lost time on the movie

[1/10 · 24 March 2023]

I don't know anything about a tv series, so my entry was simply this movie. The writing was a really hip version of a teenage/high school drama filled with indecision, speed dating (and break-ups), and ultimately a grand display of dis ingenuity. I suppose the protagonist can report back to the cab driver that is IS in fact good to be back to the drama. What the protagonist brings from Denver is insecurity, doubt, and longing that can only be cured with the first guy to say "yes" (out of three, four?). Maybe our main guy should have starting texting before departing Denver to find his next potential mate, like a storm finds its next victims.

Active Adults (2017)

Interesting Concept in a Vacuum

[1/10 · 23 March 2023]

Who doesn't like to fantasize? The protagonist as both character and narrator of the movie, happens to be an unemployed, directionless cartoonist. His designs meddle in an otherwise chaotic world to which he seeks to rewrite pictorially. His plot and storyline are based on the real people of his life and a few hapless others. In essence, those others are rebelling against their own destinies as if they hadn't chosen them in the first place, even his grandfather at age 80-something. The movie is essentially boils down to regret and rebellion against age (or aging), and while an interesting concept, it has at its base disingenuous people whom are selfish, don't take responsibility for a life of their own decisions, and are now yelling at the wind in desperation. Rewriting the narrative? That's called decision-making, not fantasizing.

Front Cover (2015)

Martyrs of Ambition and Success

[1/10 · 21 March 2023]

As a culture assimilation movie, this one trodded heavily and predictably. It was not sophisticated and nuanced like "Sublet". Instead we had a harsh hypocrisy throughout behind the mask of a commercial sense of success. Even Ryan was handled combatively being fired twice behind the cloak of cut-throat business. So, the undue external influences make for a very contrived movie of martyrs in their chosen roles as ambitious for success... and ambition wins for one, and not the other. This is a trope that we have seen exhaustively. The sexuality was just a prop and an unnecessary aside: two actors on the cross of ambition and success.

Comet (2014)

Perfectly Imperfect

[10/10 · 20 March 2023]

I understand the inclination to mark the movie down: it perfectly depicted a late arrival to the truth, or completely losing everything real. And no one wants to feel that feeling. I don't want to feel that feeling. But it happens. It happened to a friend who just died. It happens to me with depression. And this movie has artistically depicted it better than any other. (Even "Closer"). Yet the brilliant argumentation is there on both sides. It's annoying how accurate. And you don't have to feel everything to relate. In fact, I'm so sure that everyone relates in some way, that the ratings are low... and the reviewers stand condemned.

The Last Elvis (2012)

If You Really Believe Something, You Must Make Sure It's Real

[1/10 · 16 March 2023]

The martyr theme was overwrought. If genuine life belongs to someone else, someone before that must be emulated down to the details, what can be said of its imposter? Talented? Of course. But what if his daughter chose to be Marilyn and copied her into her own early demise? Would the father still undaunted support? Given the set up of the movie, it was hard to understand whether Elvis was distraction away from real life sensibilities or was an obsession that naturally crowded out such sensibilities. Either way, the overwhelming feeling is pity and not congratulations. Maybe dusting off the blue suede shoes and applying some dark hair dye could have prolonged the memory... let alone the life.

Icebox (2018)

Unabashed audacity

[1/10 · 15 March 2023]

This is a political movie replete with propaganda. The critic might say that there are truths presented in this fictional story, but the propaganda is overwrought, down to the constantly somber music. The viewer is to be manipulated into feelings of guilt or false bravado. This movie is part of a larger chess game strategy to garner a political way of thinking. This viewer is not taking the bait and regrets the insult to my intellect in the form of an unbalanced and subjective political diatribe. Lest the reader of this critique find itself convinced of malicious intent, walk down a few streets in your town and contemplate what you shall do for your local plight, in the event it has not yet reached you. But do not seek to sneak into my mind through masterful manipulation a problem that has been unresolved since the beginning.

The Road to Galena (2022)

Hallmarky Sparks Opera

[1/10 · 13 March 2023]

This film carried many sophisticated themes on its back for the full duration. Unfortunately they imploded under the weight of a Hallmark-style/Nicolas Sparks-style delivery. The widow of so-many-months suddenly is open to her first love, is convenient. The managing partner who committed to the firm a few months previous is now sticking a flag in his tiny hometown to fight big business. There are too many superheroes and too many villains for this to be real. The real takeaway is that innumerable martyrs have complicated the field for the living by doing disingenuous things, rather than listening to ones whom they claimed to love. This was a fabricated and convoluted conflict story based upon the sum ignorance of mortals.

When You Finish Saving the World (2022)

Self-Indulgent Train 🚂 wreck

[2/10 · 13 March 2023]

There are interesting elemental themes here: the noise of everyone talking at once, the disingenuous caretakers bored at their own limitations, the narcissism of parallel conversations, and the "safety" behind money and education. The true portrait here is disaster, yet somehow-the first miracle of the film- is that mom and son are suddenly struck with conscience at the end of this QUAINT story. The acting is excellent but the potential of this project was frittered away by the mandate to have a happy ending. I'm sure that teens will be "lifted" and adults will be rejoined in 60s-style community at the esoteric "hope" that was generated by this parochial education bit.

Wind Traces (2017)

Self-referential sentimentality

[5/10 · 13 March 2023]

A sentimental piece that was written for a few people that knew him. The writing does not allow the viewer to develop any feeling for the deceased. There is some empathy for the widow and her two children who formulate their own strategies for overcoming their young fears. There is a good story here, but not an impactful or instructive one for the viewer experience. At best, the director hopes that the viewer is pulled in by the children's experience with grief alone. Yet jut because fathers, or family in general die, does not necessarily mean they were worthy of our tears. This movie feels self-referential without drawing in the viewer.

Dive (2022)

Half way there

[5/10 · 12 March 2023]

This is a great story, that only goes half way. I am aware that this is a true story and that one cannot embellish a true story. However we can pick our true stories carefully: one in which the patriarchy is halted in the process of his corruption, rather than after the fact. The patriarchy still wins in this hand-picked account and for that this viewer is gravely disappointed. That being said, the acting was impeccable and the cinematography exceptional. The story was riveting and compelling all the way to the end, notwithstanding an end that fails to do Justice by any of its stakeholders therein.

50 or Two Whales Meet on the Beach (2020)

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss of You

[1/10 · 12 March 2023]

The Evil of this movie is not that it romanticizes death-many gratuitous films do that. The Evil of this movie is that it romanticizes after death. There are many professions that deal with the topic of after death and none of them suggest that you just get out of this world and meet up in the next. This film, it's actors, it's director, and everyone involved in its production has blood on its own hands for this reckless and suggestive film about making other evils right through death, including one's own. How bold and audacious the storytellers have become and how condemned they already are for their role in this lie.

This Is Not Berlin (2019)

Lots of voices; no message

[1/10 · 12 March 2023]

A hardcore, high intensity coming-of-age among AIDS deaths and a vociferous rebellion against death. Different sects have different approaches but the main group is determined to get the public's attention amidst drinking, drugs, and recreational everything at will. A relatives death gives pause, but a major police crackdown after a near overdose sends thrashes the rebels back to a serious reconsideration, or at minimum a major interruption to the havoc. The learning curve is predictable for the viewer and the artistic form is lost in the melee. Despite all the smart dialogues and music lyrics, there is no meaningful message to be found, that we did not already know from our youth.

Esmeralda's Twilight (2018)

The vicarious pig

[1/10 · 12 March 2023]

Death is intimated vicariously through a pig. The protagonist swears off her friends, the vet, and all humans interested in helping her cope with the loss of her husband. Yet she stubbornly waits for her own death and the remote chance of a reunion with her son who is too busy and/or legally unable to visit. In a reflection of her life, she is not sure why she has lived in one place for so long, but somehow it seems right to her. This is the most banal and passive artful attempt at depicting life, loss, and the inevitable death among two stubborn characters: a pig, and a woman who seemingly has nothing.

A Separate Wind (2014)

An Annoying Family Trip

[1/10 · 11 March 2023]

The two main actors have annoying personalities and little to offer this coming-of-age/road trip hybrid flop. It is some parts political, others "wisdom" of life from a murderer and a sex fiend, and final part two silly bickering teenagers. You would be more inclined to babysit your neighbor's kids than to endure this slow motion train wreck of a film. In order to add suspense, several shady figures ominously portend a possible assault, but alas, despite all the death going on around them, are lucky duo is safe and sound to grandmother's house. Is she home? I cannot say as if this movie could be any more spoilt.

Memories of My Father (2020)

Death as hubris

[1/10 · 11 March 2023]

Surprisingly sterile. The good guy fights his battles day-by-day like a saint but holds no regard for religion. He has his drawbacks such as working too much, distancing after the death of his daughter, and generally disregarding the realities of his life and that of his family. The climax is certainly meant to be the last twenty minutes which is so telegraphed as to be pedantic. Further, any man who fights a political battle in an unsafe political area draws his own death. Why not move to one of the other countries he visited in his life? Death is the theme of this movie from the beginning as zeal and ideals make way for the hubris of the good guy gone critically missing from anything meaningful, that lasts.

After Class (2019)

Thanks for the LaughZ

[10/10 · 7 March 2023]

This movie is brilliantly written and continuously funny-which is nearly impossible to do. Irreverent to everything, but circling around to an uneasy acceptance of how things are actually, this movie is both a snapshot and a moving picture of society as we are now. What blows my mind is the Google review of 50% and the popular review of same on this forum. Did we not frame your social phenomenon correctly? Do we care? (In real life, "no". But thanks for giving us something to entertain us and laugh a little. And, good luck carrying the weight of your inordinate feelings for a full life cycle. As another apt movie title once said: this is "As Good As It Gets".)

The Deer Hunter (1978)

American Pie served overdone

[8/10 · 2 March 2023]

This is a very complex movie from a thematic standpoint. Out of five friends, three are selected for the Vietnam War; of those three, one dies by suicide, one is physically and emotionally maimed, and one is steadfast, though deeply impacted. Might this represent the Baby Boom generation by percentage? This was beautifully and artistically portrayed. Further the ending commentary by way of the news reporter, laments this horrible history. Yet, have we learned, and necessarily do we learn, nothing from this tragedy? The cast of characters sing "America the Beautiful" on the fade out. Is war ultimately beautiful but for the losses? Recommend, but I'll never watch it again: like throwing black paint on an otherwise beautiful canvass.

Keane (2004)

Beautiful Up Close of Loss

[10/10 · 26 February 2023]

Nothing escapes the camera lens. You can feel what he feels. The life he relives day after day finally has its own cast and a true life character. The unwitting girl nevertheless intuitively loves and cares for the hurting protagonist. Everything is real again and what will the protagonist do amidst this flood of emotions and a predilection that constantly grates against his mind and his heart, one and the same? This is a beautiful portrait of loss (daughter, marriage, memory, mind, dignity, bearings, purpose, and self, et al.) up close and very personal. The director forces a hard look at hard times.

Sublet (2020)

A Beachside Beautiful and Accidental Collision

[10/10 · 7 February 2023]

The two protagonists sublet each other's head space, and emotional landscape, and generation, and intellect, and vulnerabilities, and bodies. This really was a beautiful movie and both characters, as well as I, the viewer, departed this experience feeling as though my life was better, or could be better, as a result. This genre of evocative, albeit vicarious, exchange is deeply moving and transformative. It doesn't take the beaches of Tel Aviv to accomplish (though it surely was appealing), but it does take an openness and a willingness to genuinely share. I loved it! This was a beachside, beautiful, and accidental collision of two worlds.