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jaricn
Reviews
The Endless (2017)
A low-budget miracle
For some reason, when a movie has an interesting pitch, it usually falls short of it. The exceptions mostly end up becoming cult classics, but from my experience - this is the general tendency. But the whole concept of this movie sounded so interesting that I decided to give it a shot, despite the fact that I wasn't much of a fan of the people who made it (and played the lead roles in it).
Let me start with this - I understand why the rating is as low as it is. This movie is called a horror movie in most of the places I've checked, but the horror crowd will be disappointed by its lack of scares (none, in my opinion, though my wife was spooked on several occasions). Also, the low budget can be seen in several scenes and in the age of the superhero movies that come down to style with little to no substance, the small imperfections can drive some people away. Not me, though. Even though the cameras were obviously not the most expensive ones, the long shots of this movie were nothing short of amazing.
However, this is the kind of movie in which we have to count on a lot more than the visuals, and my God does it deliver. I will not tell the story in order to avoid spoiling it, but it's all there: the characters, the plot, the twisted fates, the script, the humor, the resolution, the meaning... It's a great story told in a spectacular manner.
When something as good as this has such a low rating, you kind of expect them to mess it up with the ending, but the ending was probably one of the stronger parts of the movie, without too much ambiguity, but enough for it to be debated. Unfortunately, there isn't too many people to debate with. Let's hope that will change.
The Cell (2000)
Criminally underrated
This is one of the most underrated movies that I have ever seen. In this gem, Tarsem proves his ability to create both the most vivid fairy tale worlds and the darkest and bleakest nightmares, Vincent D'Onofrio proves himself capable of playing multiple roles, and J. Lo proves her acting, which is not exactly original, masterful or creative, to be capable of filling a wide variety of roles... and all of that in a single movie.
The understanding of psychology and the visuals that illustrate it are simply top notch and most of this movie hangs on that aspect of it. We are not here to watch the detective solve some case, the solution for which is hidden inside the mind, but the mind itself, hoping to find the solution somewhere along the way.
The only flaw that actually prevented this movie from getting all 10 stars is the fact that Vince Vaughn has been miscast. He doesn't fit in this story at all, and his quips, which normally serve to lighten things up, only break the spell in this movie. The man was not cut out for a role as serious and surreal as this. The funniest part is, I could imagine Vincent D'Onofrio playing his role far better than he could, but surely there were better yet cheaper actors for this role. I think that this is where Tarsem made his biggest mistake.
However, even with that flaw, the movie deserves a 9, and with a better male lead, it would have been a solid 10.
Moon Garden (2022)
A very pleasant surprise
At the time I first viewed it, this movie had the rating of 6. I was taught by experience not to trust IMDB ratings too much, as some highly rated movies turned out out to be huge disappointments, and many low-rated ones turned out to be instant classics in my book. However, most of the time, the low-rated movies have some flaws that most people tend to overstate, hence the poor rating. Naturally, I expected this to be the case with this one as well.
I guess the thing the audience didn't like was the fact that there's very little actual storytelling and most of the movie comes to the captivating visuals and the actual feelings they evoke in the viewer. We, the audience, have some knowledge and expectations that the little girl who serves as the main character doesn't, but the movie still manages to surprise us both. Its quality, however, is more hypnotic than revelatory, reminding of Lynch, Tarkovsky and similar artists, or better yet, the more surreal aspects of the likes of Tarsem or Kubrick.
Underneath it all, there is some important message, all of these apparent fever dreams actually filled with symbolism and meaning, and even some things that we don't immediately recognize will soon be explained through the little girl's memories and make more or less sense. Haven Lee Harris is extremely talented for a girl of her age and if this movie gets the recognition it deserves, she will be a star someday, and the same obviously goes for her father, the director of this masterpiece.
All in all, this is as much as I can say without actually spoiling the whole thing. To everyone who likes to see the captivating visuals of a little girl's dream world, who doesn't mind a little touch of dread spread throughout the movie, and has at least a little bit of imagination and understanding, I strongly recommend this movie.