07-27-2019, 02:50 PM
^ Didn't 'Knocked Up' use your "A rancid flood of misogyny" quote on the poster? 
MidSommar (2019)
I have an aversion to modern Horror films but since 'MidSommar' stars Florence Pugh and she's one of the best actors around, I gave it a go. I'm glad I did because this was like Stanley Kubrick does 'The Wicker Man' and not a jump-scare to be found. Pugh plays an emotionally vulnerable woman who accompanies her unsupportive boyfriend and his obnoxious dude-bro friends on a trip to a Swedish pagan festival. Director Ari Aster distorts parts of the image, plays with focus, changes in contrast, uses Kubrickian symmetrical framing and subtle shifts in frame-rate (I think), all to keep you unsettled without always being able to explain why. I'm not sure the slow pace and reliance on disturbing, rather than spooky Horror will work for mainstream shock fans but it certainly worked for me.
Mild spoiler section:
Jaws (1975)
I got a chance to see a really nice looking 4K transfer on the big screen today. I've watched 'Jaws' so many times, it's so adsorbing and it's so ingrained into the culture that it's difficult to make any critical appraisal beyond "it's damned near perfect". The pacing is what really impressed me this time, I was surprised that the entire Amityville section was only half the film (the rest being the hunt for the shark) yet it never feels rushed. John Williams' main theme is of course famous but the hero theme has such a sense of adventure and freedom. Yes, that scene where the head pops out still has the power to make an audience shriek and jump out of their seats.
MidSommar (2019)
I have an aversion to modern Horror films but since 'MidSommar' stars Florence Pugh and she's one of the best actors around, I gave it a go. I'm glad I did because this was like Stanley Kubrick does 'The Wicker Man' and not a jump-scare to be found. Pugh plays an emotionally vulnerable woman who accompanies her unsupportive boyfriend and his obnoxious dude-bro friends on a trip to a Swedish pagan festival. Director Ari Aster distorts parts of the image, plays with focus, changes in contrast, uses Kubrickian symmetrical framing and subtle shifts in frame-rate (I think), all to keep you unsettled without always being able to explain why. I'm not sure the slow pace and reliance on disturbing, rather than spooky Horror will work for mainstream shock fans but it certainly worked for me.
Mild spoiler section:
Jaws (1975)
I got a chance to see a really nice looking 4K transfer on the big screen today. I've watched 'Jaws' so many times, it's so adsorbing and it's so ingrained into the culture that it's difficult to make any critical appraisal beyond "it's damned near perfect". The pacing is what really impressed me this time, I was surprised that the entire Amityville section was only half the film (the rest being the hunt for the shark) yet it never feels rushed. John Williams' main theme is of course famous but the hero theme has such a sense of adventure and freedom. Yes, that scene where the head pops out still has the power to make an audience shriek and jump out of their seats.
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