Infinity Pool (2023)

Infinity Pool is a hedonistic acid trip with allegories to the current media-political landscape.

Written and Directed by Brandon Cronenberg, son of the King of Venereal Horror, David Cronenberg. Most people know David from the 1986 film The Fly. Brandon on the other hand is still best known as living in his father's long shadow. Brandon has a lot to say in the film and sometimes I can't tell if the directorial choices are intentionally backward to sell a message or just because he's a relatively new director. I think on the positive side, that his father gave him the tools to speak.

The film stars Alexander Skarsgard who you might recognize as The Northman, True Blood, or The Legend of Tarzan. I always thought it was interesting that Skarsgard played The Northman and in True Blood, he was also named Northman. Here he plays James Foster, an aspiring writer who would go to many lengths to gain fame and a fanbase.

Mia Goth has been in a lot lately and I loved Pearl last year. If you missed Pearl and X last year then perhaps you saw the remake of Suspiria and the 2016 film A Cure for Wellness. Mia can really show her range but the academy will ignore her until she puts out something during Oscar season which ended in December. She plays many roles in the film all within one character as she is the manifestation of fame. Her character at first is someone Foster lusts after.

Foster lusts after her at first, then slowly starts to understand that fame comes at a cost, then at the end of the film she's removed all the temptation of fame and if I'm not mistaken she is without make-up at all. None of this is really a spoiler as I imagine the subtext of the film will mostly go unnoticed. I'm not sure who Cronenberg was making this film for. It appears he made it for himself and those who expected him to follow in his father's famous footsteps. I get that it's a play on how the world is right now. People kill their former selves to become someone famous. Examples are Howard Stern and Steven Colbert. They were very different people in the 1990s and 2000s than they are today. I believe that was Brandon's message, maybe not those people exactly but the message was the same.

I wouldn't go as far as to say I would recommend the film and some of the directorial choices prevent me from calling it a good film, but it's above average. B-

Comments

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

Joker: Folie à Deux is a comic book musical and sequel to the stand-out hit Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix . I truly believe that Todd Phillips is trolling the comic book community with this film. It's weird, unwatchable at times, and nowhere near the first film. Even standing on its own without having the film be even considered a sequel it fails. It almost feels like WB was just paying him to make a sequel. Joaquin Phoneix doesn't phone it in. He just does what he's supposed to do and delivers a performance. He and Lady Gaga are really the only saving grace. While her rendition of Harly Quinn is nowhere near what was expected for a Joker film she still had a memorable but trying performance. Characters you forgot about come back and a few new ones that don't leave any impact other than to just be there and in the film. You see Harvey Dent but there's nothing to his character, partly at fault for hiring a no-name actor in Harry Lawtey who should stay on TV an

The Wild Robot (2024)

The Wild Robot is a DreamWorks science function adventure film based on the book series by the same name. Written and directed by Chris Sanders, the film feels like what Disney used to put out. The writing hits on similar beats like his other work Lilo & Stitch , The Croods, and How to Train Your Dragon. There is a definite switch from climax one to climax two and I felt more invested in the later third of the film but not so much at the beginning. There was a tad bit of FurnGully's environmental message in the film but the main message of how to be a mother was front and center. Lipita Nyong'o had to carry the film with help from Pedro Pascal and the best cameo of Bill Nighy . She voiced the robot while Pascal was the main supporting character of the fox Fink. I've grown tired of Pedro Pascal but his deliveries were enough for me to ignore my bias'. The worst voice actor was Brightbill's Kit Conner who must have some connection in Hollywood to land the

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Avatar: The Way of Water is the followup to James Cameron's original box office winner Avatar. Continuing Jake Sully's story, now protecting his family from Colonel Miles Quaritch again. Written and directed by James Cameron . The worst parts of the writing probably came from the writers of Mulan, both Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. In terms of direction, there was the expectation that Cameron would recreate some sort of magic of Avatar, Terminator 2, or even Aliens. I think Cameron gave the skeleton of the story and Jaffa and Silver added their own dialogue and beats. Cameron doesn't really write boring movies and I was bored through parts of the film. 3 hours and 12 minutes is a long time to have amazing dialogue and writing. Sam Worthington is back but you don't recognize him since he was barely in the first film except in his avatar form. Most people don't know Worthington. Maybe if you played the Call of Duty Black Ops games as he played Alex Mason. I most

Movies, Film, and Chili

Search This Blog