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heatherborden1996
Reviews
Blonde (2022)
Performances are great, Movie wasn't
The only reason I'm even giving this movie this high of a rating is because of Ana De Armas' performance as Marilyn.
The first ten to fifteen minutes of the movie were really well done, and extremely compelling, but then things really started to derail after that.
There was no real sense of time progression, one scene Marilyn is with Cass and Eddy, and then the next she's on a date with Joe DiMaggio, with no explanation as to what happened to Cass and Eddy and why that relationship dissolved. Another example is in one scene she's married to Arthur Miller, and then the next she's having the affair with John F. Kennedy, with again no explanation as to what caused her marriage with Arthur Miller to end.
It was also needlessly voyeuristic. The amount of time Marilyn is topless in the second act is completely unnecessary. And the POV of the ab*rtion was just plain disgusting, and quite frankly could be very triggering for a lot of people.
The style was all over the place, I still don't understand why the movie kept switching between Colour and Black and White. I thought maybe it was the emphasize some of the darker moments in her life, with colour being the happier moments, but that doesn't make sense given most of the last half of the movie.
The editing choices were also very jarring and odd. Why did Marilyn's father come out of the clouds? Why were there sparks behind him? Why was there that one very close up shot of a rose? Why the multiple shots of the fetus? Why did Marilyn's hand transition into Niagara Falls? Why was there one scene shot in a Night Vision camera style? There were moments and transitions that made the movie feel like a 12th grade final project.
This next part might be triggering for some people, so please only read on if you feel comfortable.
There was what seemed to be a very Anti-Ab*rtion undertone to the movie. There's one scene where Marilyn is talking to her mentally I'll mother, and she said how brave her mother was for, quote "Not getting rid of me". There's another scene where Marilyn is LITERALLY having a conversation with her unborn child, and the fetus is saying (in voiceover) "Please don't get rid of me." There are two ab*rtion scenes that are very graphic, and they both seem to happen against Marilyn's will. The first instance she went in, but then changed her mind, but the procedure was still performed without her consent, the second one being her kidnapped by the secret service and doped up so she doesn't struggle. I just think that all of this could be very triggering for a lot of people, and quite frankly was just not needed. I understand that you want to show the darker moments of her "life" (I put life in quotations because this is a fictionalized version of events) but there is a way to do that tastefully, and this is not it.
I think Ana De Armas did an amazing job at embodying Marilyn, and a lot of the cast were fantastic, Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller comes to mind especially. Had this movie been in the hands of another director I think it could have been something amazing, but I think this man was really just trying to capitalize on Marilyn's "Sex Symbol" status, and everything else was just an afterthought.
Killer Under the Bed (2018)
Better as a Comedy
Look, I may not have been expecting much when I turned this on on Netflix a few days ago, but I definitely wasn't expecting THAT!
This movie is so stupid, and in the best way possible. The doll is easily the best part of the movie, the way it moves and growls and screams. Even better is the way the camera moves trying to make it look like the doll is actually "attacking" people. The best moment of the movie is easily when that stupid looking thing punches it's hand through the ground after being buried, like he's the god damn Mummy.
I laughed my ass off, just everything about it is hilarious, especially the attack scene in the car, and the final climax.
Definitely watch this as a comedy, and not a serious horror movie. You'll enjoy yourself a lot more.
Work It (2020)
Feel Good Fun
It's been done a thousand times before, but that's what makes it fun! It knows what it is, it doesn't try to be anything else. It's a feel good dance movie, and in times like these, that's what we need.
You can really tell that the actors had a blast making this movie, and that there is a genuine love for each other, and what they're doing. That's what makes it a little more special.
I definitely recommend if you're looking for a film that's going to make you smile.
Although I could've done without the shameless self plugs Netflix. WE GET IT! You've got awesome content, but 3 plugs in one movie? Little ridiculous.
(I would maybe understand if this had been produced by a different company and Netflix picked it up, but NAH! They produced this! THEY PUT THOSE SELF PLUGS AND NAME DROPS IN THERE!)
Okay, rant about stupid self plugs over.
All in all, a really enjoyable movie, but I did like Feel The Beat better (no offence)