The May 1st holiday is about to start. I have selected 10 works from home and abroad in recent years for you, and shared the movie viewing experience.
Among them, there are Hollywood blockbusters that are still in theaters, as well as excellent works nominated for this year’s Oscar, as well as multi-universe wonders, niche horror films and two high-scoring dramas (American dramas, Korean dramas).
The quality of the works may not be universally praised, but each one has its own style, which is enough for fans and friends to fully appreciate during the holidays, and brush up on two a day!
“Nightmare Alley”: The underrated masterpiece of awards season (US)
Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” was nominated for four Oscars this year, including best picture, and ended up with nothing.
It should be said that this film was greatly underestimated during awards season.
This remake of the 1947 film noir of the same name exemplifies what Guillermo del Toro’s work has always been good for: an eerie but textured art design that exudes unsettling temperament, yet allows the audience to appreciate the beauty of art.
The film tells the story of people being destroyed by desire. A destitute man (Bradley Cooper) comes to a traveling circus, where he learns the so-called “mind reading”.
After that, he brought his girlfriend to the city, hoping to become a superior person through this kind of performance.
Even though his mentor in the equestrian troupe warned that “greed and evil will turn people into demons”, he is still uneasy about his fate and inevitably leads to destruction.
In an age where slow-paced, classical narratives like “Nightmare Alley” are no longer popular, it’s no wonder Martin Scorsese, who has been criticizing Marvel movies for not being Cinema, would recommend it.
He wrote: “This film is a product of the depression and desperation of society: you can even feel it in the pictures and the body language of the actors. All the characters in the film feel the real pain, a Plant a sense of spiritual desolation rooted in everyday life.”
“Red Rocket”: Accurate interpretation of “dogs can’t change from eating shit” (US)
Sean Baker, who has directed “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project”, is good at describing the wisdom and limitations of people at the bottom. The new work “Red Rocket” in 2021 is another such exquisite work.
The story focuses on the life of a pornographic male actor. In fact, there are no large-scale pictures. The good things are all about the accurate interpretation of the hero Simon Rex, the tone of the dark humorous story, and the texture of the 16mm film.
Simon Rex plays porn actor Mikey, who can’t get along in Los Angeles, and returns to his hometown in Texas to live with his ex-wife and mother-in-law.
After finally improving the family relationship, Mikey met a beautiful young woman, Strawberry, at the local donut shop. He not only began to chase the girl under 20 years old, but also dreamed of returning to Los Angeles to resume his old business.
Dogs can’t change him who eat shit, how can it be so easy to get the favor of fate.
Most of the 128-minute film is dialogue, but there is a magic that keeps the audience watching. In addition to the performance in place, what is important is Sean Baker’s precise grasp of the lines.
“The Bad Guys”: Five Bad Guys Make a Difference (US)
“The Bad Guys” comic series of the same name has sold 16 million copies worldwide since its first book in 2016, and has been on the authoritative bestseller list for more than 120 weeks.
As a manga animation with a certain fan base, DreamWorks Pictures won the adaptation rights, and Awkwafina (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”), Zazie Beetz, Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, etc. dubbed this heist comedy animation .
The story revolves around five “bad guys” who do nothing wrong: Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Ms. Tarantula, Mr. Shark and Mr. Piranha).
Over the years, they have committed countless robbery cases, tired of the criminal life, and decided to change their minds and turn evil into “good”, thus starting a “transition” journey full of jokes.
The style of the film is lovely, the story is full of imagination, and the light-hearted and humorous plot is hilarious.
Veteran animator Pierre Perifel, known in the industry for the “Kung Fu Panda” series of films, serves as the director of this film, which is his first feature film directorial work, and is heavily produced by the ace producer of “The Boss Baby”.
“Ambulance”: Michael Bay is no longer pretending (US)
Seeing Optimus Prime and Megatron ramble on without knowing what to say, but still paying for the blasting scene in every “Transformers” movie?
Did you say no, but your body honestly followed the “Fast & Furious” family’s drag racing scenes one after another?
Today, I would like to recommend a low-budget film that combines the biggest features of these two series (the low cost is what the director himself said) – “Ambulance” directed by Michael Bay.
As the name suggests, the protagonist of this film is an ambulance, and the protagonists are racing all the way to the end of the world.
This time, director Michael Bay finally stopped trying to squeeze in the complicated settings of “6 Underground” (the one that Ryan Reynolds starred in the previous two years), and concentrated on the big scenes.
In other words, he stopped pretending and stopped letting the audience care about the plot.
Why rob a bank? How to grab? Why choose this way of changing cars? Why are some characters so tough?
The director told you in this 130-minute action porn (action porn) that none of these matters, and it’s over.
Watch the unmanned car carry the blue fire Gatling and shoot it all the way, and watch dozens of trucks, cars, police cars, ambulances collide in series! fry! turn!
Look at the 3600-degree (that is, the lens turns ten circles, do you think I am exaggerating) the lens rotation and the best “magic hour” in the sunset to shoot the brothers in the light, look up, look down, look down, and look at the wide-angle close-up view. Can you? All the camera angles that come to mind are piled up as if sucking the audience into the big screen…
Life under the epidemic is really hard, don’t look at those serious, don’t take your brains, see Michael Bay happy, you will really be delighted.
Oh yes, the heroine Eiza González of this film, many angles in the film are really huge, like, Megan Fox.
“Agatha Christie: Poirot”: A look at the real Poirot by Agatha (UK)
Fed up with Kenneth Branagh’s posturing, mystification, and nonsense in the new “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Death on the Nile” movies?
Wondering what the real Belgian detective Hercule Poirot looks like in Agatha Christie’s book?
The 1989 British version of “Agatha Christie: Poirot”, starring David Suchet as the hero Poirot, is the most faithful and most faithful to the character throughout Agatha’s entire writing career (first appearance in 1920, ending in 1975). The perfect and most popular presentation.
From its first season in 1989 to its 13th season in 2013, this 70-episode “Poirot” spanning more than two decades covers all of Agatha’s Poirot works – 33 novels, 2 stage plays, and Over 50 short stories.
Also famous, the stocky, black-bearded Belgian detective is not the same as Arthur Conan Doyle’s withdrawn, conceited Sherlock Holmes.
Poirot’s demeanor is solemn and solemn, his dress is neat and well-dressed, and he is friendly and kind. Relying on the “little gray cells” in his brain, he has solved a series of famous cases, large and small, and has become a world-famous detective.
Poirot represents the peculiar anti-hero tendency in Agatha’s detective novels. This person with a round bald head like an eggshell, a mustache on his lips is eye-catching and ridiculous, and his behavior is often described as “funny”. It seems hard to be taken seriously.
However, when you let down your guard and despise this small Belgian man who looks smug-he will clear logic, see through the truth through layers of fog, and present the irrefutable facts with careful thinking.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”: Preempting “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” to stage the multiverse (US)
The two directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert have co-directed the brain-opening movie “Swiss Army Man”, which has a good reputation. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is also a wild movie.
The skilled Michelle Yeoh showed her skills in the movie, playing all over the parallel universe, allowing the audience to feel the wonder of jumping between countless universes in advance before the arrival of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”.
Unexpectedly, even when Jackie Chan and Jet Li are not very successful, Michelle Yeoh can still stand alone and shine on the screen, showing the charm of Chinese Kung Fu.
In addition, in the context of Hollywood’s increasing attention to minority culture, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has also added a lot of elements of traditional Chinese family values. Chinese audiences should feel closer when watching this movie.
“X”: A low-budget thriller that is savory and bloody (US/Canada)
This is a very sensual thriller that shows the making of a low-budget adult film in a play-within-a-drama way.
Although several leading actors are not big stars, they all have unique temperaments and fit their roles very well. The actor who plays the producer is a bit like Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”.
In addition to being fragrant, this film is also generous in the use of plasma, which is fragrant enough and bloody enough.
In addition, this low-cost thriller has a unique juxtaposition and contrast of the flesh and the fresh and aging flesh, forming a strong visual stimulus, a thrilling effect, and a little philosophical thinking.
“Fresh”: Don’t watch before meals unless you’re a Hannibal too (US)
Daisy Edgar-Jones, who became popular with the British drama “Normal People”, and Sebastian Stan, who became popular with the Marvel character “Winter Soldier”, are handsome and beautiful.
The story is not very innovative, it can roughly be seen as a battle of wits between ordinary girls and the younger version of Hannibal.
However, the tireless display of all kinds of raw meat in the film has indeed achieved a very good horror effect. It is not recommended to watch this film before meals.
“Turning Red”: Adolescent girls become “monsters” with excitement (US)
The troubles of youth are like beasts. Growing up is to learn to embrace the imperfect or even bad self and reconcile with the inner “red panda”.
“Turning Red”, which revolves around multiple themes such as self-growth, intergenerational relationships, and Eastern and Western cultures, presents the audience with a fantasy of a little girl in a Chinese family who faces physical changes, emotional constraints, and value conflicts during adolescence. “Metamorphosis”.
Produced by Pixar, directed by Domee Shi, director of the Oscar-best animated short “Bao”, and produced by the team of “Inside Out” “The Incredibles”, a series of titles ensure that the film is well-made before its release.
This film is the first time that Pixar uses a female director (born in Chongqing in the 1980s and raised in Toronto) to direct an animated feature film alone, and it is also a work with a good reputation after “Soul” by Pixar.
The film creatively presents some changes of adolescent girls through the Chinese element of “red panda”, and gives multiple meanings.
Meimei, a girl who is sensitive and anxious in adolescence, “turns red” when she is excited, transforming into a huge “red panda”.
The sudden change in the image and posture alludes to the physiological changes in adolescence, the awakening of self-consciousness and the questioning of identity, and also the insinuation of Chinese culture and clan concepts.
In the name of love, the conflict between the perfect “Amy Lynn Chua” who has strong desire for control and a rebellious adolescent girl has resonated with some audiences who grew up in Eastern culture. and imagination.
Follow the ancestral precepts and pursue perfection “filial piety first”, or deviating from the classics and pursuing personal values ”seeking the truth”, in the face of the collision between traditional conservative and modern openness, and the old-fashioned topic, “Turning Red” positioned by Family Fun is the final choice. A compromise solution.
“D.P Dog Day”: The negative teaching materials for enlisting in the army, how dark the Korean military camp is! (South Korea)
How tragic is the bullying phenomenon in the South Korean military?
This timeless Korean film and television drama focuses on the cultural and human rights issues of the country’s military, exposing the scandalous compulsory military service system in South Korea, and even extends further and further, alluding to the chronic diseases at the entire social and institutional level.
In 2014, two military abuse scandals that shocked the world broke out in the South Korean military camp: “The Abuse of Soldiers in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province” and “The Shooting Case of the Korean Army in Gaocheng County”.
In the title of the episode, the TV news reported the “Soldier Abuse Case in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province” in which a soldier was tortured to death by five veterans for 30 consecutive days.
At the end of the episode, the scene where a battered soldier shoots at his abusive compatriot is a rendition of the “Korean Army Shooting Case in Goseong County”.
No wonder South Korean viewers who have served in the military said, “It’s like a barracks documentary, it’s so real!”
In just 6 episodes, 2 arresters and 5 deserters, the tasks are gradually progressive, and the emotions are upgraded layer by layer.
In the style of a criminal investigation drama, “D.P Dog Day” presents the violent darkness and oppression of a strict hierarchy in South Korean military camps through several thrilling “cat and mouse” stories.
It is hard to imagine that there are all kinds of torture-like inhuman humiliation in a well-disciplined military camp.
Was burnt by a superior with a cigarette butt, put on a gas mask because of snoring in sleep, burned the lower body by a lighter by a superior…
The physical and mental abuses suffered by the inferior soldiers reflect South Korea’s distorted culture of superiority and inferiority and the hierarchical concept of “the first-level official crushes people to death”, which is not unique to the military camp.
Bullying in the cultural system is actually a common problem in Korean politics, workplaces, campuses and other circles.
It is precisely because of this that different audiences can glimpse the shadow of the bullying hands of their respective circles.
