READERS' CHOICE #26: PARASITE (2019)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

7

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, at some point after it came out in 2019, but before it won Best Picture in 2020

BEST SEQUENCE

The ram-don scene is definitely in the running, and I'll talk about it more a little later, but on this watch the climactic garden party scene really hit me hard

BEST LINE

"Jessica, only child. Illinois, Chicago. Classmate of Kim Jin-mo. He's your cousin."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

99%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"An urgent, brilliantly layered look at timely social themes, Parasite finds writer-director Bong Joon Ho in near-total command of his craft."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan."
DIRECTOR

Bong Joon Ho

MAIN CAST

Song Kang-ho, Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Cho Yeo-jeong, Lee Sun-kyun, Lee Jung-eun, Park Myung-hoon

THOUGHTS

• The first time I saw Parasite I liked it, but I expected to like it more. I was very happy to see it win Best Picture that year (and what a groundbreaking moment that was, the first non-English film to win the award), but there was still a part of me that wondered if I was missing something
• I'm happy to say, though, that I liked it more upon rewatch (and as always, this is your reminder that the Thrill Score doesn't necessarily indicate how good it is as a movie. This is definitely a better movie than 7/10). Spoilers follow. I was more prepared for the mid-movie reveal that really threw me for a loop the first time, and it was even more thrilling than I expected - there were more deaths than I remembered
• I liked the way the Kim family's schemes got steadily worse and worse and more and more destructive. Starting with a little bit of document forgery, they just keep getting more embroiled in their own web, graduating to framing the driver to get him fired, and then basically physical assault by purposefully causing the housekeeper to have a severe allergic reaction
• And then I do want to talk about the ram-don scene, a really tense sequence of events, when the Kims rush around to hide the evidence of their betrayal while the Kim mother makes ram-don, a combination of two cheap packs of instant noodles, topped with ridiculously expensive beef (incidentally, the word "ram-don" was coined for the English subtitles as a combination of ramen and udon, but the actual word used in the movie is "Chapaguri," combining Chapagetti and Neoguri. Also, I highly recommend this video from Binging with Babish of him making the dish). This also leads to the first death of the movie, even if it was (somewhat) unintentional, when the previous housekeeper gets kicked down the stairs
• I also liked the aftermath of the ram-don scene, the tension of the Kim family needing to stay hidden, to then finally escape and return home in a torrential downpour to their flooded apartment and all of their ruined belongings. From this point forward there's an escalating simmer that I found very effective, only to finally boil over at the birthday party in the garden
• Finally, we've talked about a number of Best Picture winners already, and we'll talk about quite a few more, but this is the most recent one by far (and I was about to say that Parasite was the most recent movie on the Readers' Choice list, period, but actually Midsommar has it beat by a couple of months). Parasite is also the only Best Picture winner on the Readers' Choice list. Back to the AFI list, we discussed Gladiator a while ago, the Best Picture of the year 2000, but that was a movie that I added in myself and it wasn't actually included by the AFI. In fact, the most recent Best Picture winner on the AFI list was Titanic, released in 1997, and which we'll be talking about eventually

Up next: One of my faves, Evil Dead II from 1987, with possibly some mention of the other movies in the franchise as well

READERS' CHOICE #27: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008) AND LET ME IN (2010)

 

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, for both, but I saw the American version (Let Me In) before I saw the Swedish original (Let the Right One In)

BEST SEQUENCE

The pool scene, with preference given to the Swedish version (I especially like how brightly it's lit)

BEST LINE

"I'm twelve. But I've been twelve for a long time"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

98% (Swedish) and 88% (American)

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Let the Right One In reinvigorates the seemingly tired vampire genre by effectively mixing scares with intelligent storytelling."

and

"Similar to the original in all the right ways -- but with enough changes to stand on its own -- Let Me In is the rare Hollywood remake that doesn't add insult to inspiration."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A bullied boy forms a unique friendship with his new neighbor, who is a vampire."

DIRECTOR

Tomas Alfredson

and

Matt Reeves

MAIN CAST

Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar

and

Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins 

THOUGHTS

• Doing things a little differently with this one and reviewing two movies at the same time, the Swedish original and the American remake. They are indeed very similar and equally thrilling, but I do give the edge to the filmmaking in the Swedish one, while I think the acting is slightly better in the American version. The Swedish movie has main characters named Oskar and Eli, and the American counterparts are Owen and Abby, so I'll refer to them as Oskar/Owen and Eli/Abby from now on
• I really like these movies, so much so that I was tempted to give them a higher score than 8.5, but the Thrill Scale must be respected. I will say, however, that these are my favourite vampire movies (and incidentally, it's not meant to be a surprise. It's made clear pretty early on that Eli/Abby is a vampire)
• I love the tenderness and the vulnerability we see while the relationship starts to form between Oskar/Owen and Eli/Abby, and this goes both ways, like when Eli/Abby eats candy, even though she knows it will make her violently sick, just to spare Oskar/Owen's feelings. There's a more cynical way to read this, that this is all just a manipulative ploy by Eli/Abby to gain a new servant, but that's honestly not how I see it. Despite the fact that Eli/Abby has been alive for centuries, I believe that she still has the thoughts and feelings of a 12-year-old girl, and she feels just as nervous and excited as Oskar/Owen
• I wasn't quite sure when to mention this, but I feel like now's a good time to say that while Abby, from Let Me In, is female, Eli, from Let the Right One In, was castrated centuries before. I'm going to keep using she/her pronouns for Abby/Eli, as other pronouns aren't established in the movie, and if anyone has any thoughts about the significance of this reveal, I'd love to hear them
• I also think it's incredibly poignant to realize that Eli/Abby's servant at the beginning of the movie, who at this point is an old man, likely started a relationship with Eli/Abby decades ago, in much the same way that we see happening with Oskar/Owen. This could also be seen as evidence that Eli/Abby is more cunning than she comes across, though, if this is a repeated pattern for her
• I realize that I haven't said much about these movies being thrilling, but they definitely are. There are sudden and shocking moments of violence, made even more effective by how clumsy and blunt they are. Eli/Abby's vampire attacks aren't graceful, they're brutal and animalistic. Perhaps even more terrifying, however, are the un-supernatural parts, the moments of human-on-human violence like the servant's botched attempts at gathering blood for Eli/Abby, or when we realize the extremes to which Oskar/Owen's bullies are wiling to go
• Although, the less said about the cat scene in Let the Right One In, the better
• Finally, I said something similar four years ago when I reviewed John Carpenter's The Thing - if you're anything like me, you've been suffering through the summer heat for the last few weeks. As a remedy, I recommend the snowy settings of these films, especially Let the Right One In. A stark, white background for these tales of young love and horrific violence, guaranteed to lower your temperature by at least a few degrees

Up next: The most recent movie on the Readers' Choice list, and a Best Picture winner to boot, it's Parasite from 2019

BONUS REVIEW: FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1984)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

7.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, in April of 2018

BEST SEQUENCE

Tommy and Trish's takedown of Jason

BEST LINE

"It says...it says you're a dead fuck"

"What? A dead fuck?"

"A lousy lay. You know? A dead pecker"

- largely picking this because of the ridiculous number of times Crispin Glover is called a "dead fuck" in this movie, which is also just a ridiculous expression especially considering it's not used to refer to someone who has died

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

22%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"As lumberingly single-minded as its homicidal star, Friday the 13th - The Final Chapter adds another rote entry to an increasingly labored franchise."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"After being announced dead and taken to a morgue, Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives, escapes from the hospital, and stalks a group of friends renting a house in the countryside near Crystal Lake."

DIRECTOR

Joseph Zito

MAIN CAST

Kimberly Beck, Peter Barton, Corey Feldman, E. Erich Anderson, Crispin Glover, Ted White (as Jason)

THOUGHTS

• "The Final Chapter". That's rich
• To be fair, this was intended to be the last Friday the 13th movie because the producer, Frank Mancuso Jr., felt like his work wasn't being respected and Paramount Pictures was fine with ending the franchise due to the declining popularity of slashers. The Final Chapter ended up being a hit, though, so it only took less than a year for the next movie to be released, followed by 6 more sequels and the reboot, so the final chapter wasn't so final anymore
• And in fact, many consider The Final Chapter to be one of the best of the franchise, and this includes my wife, who says it's her favourite of all of them
• For me it's good, but not as good as the first one. I think the strength of The Final Chapter largely comes down to memorable characters. I've seen all of the Friday the 13th movies and I can count on one hand the number of characters who stick out in my memory (and this includes Jason Voorhees, Pamela Voorhees and Kevin Bacon's package). Corey Feldman's Tommy Jarvis and Crispin Glover's Jimmy Mortimer are very memorable characters and worthy additions to the franchise
• Feldman and Glover are also two of the more famous Friday the 13th cast members, to the point that I was surprised by how early this movie was in their respective careers. It was only the third movie for each of them, and the only prior movie I had even heard of was The Fox and the Hound in which Corey Feldman voiced Young Copper (and I also include this fact because I had no idea that Corey Feldman was in that movie)
• And just to emphasize, I really liked Crispin Glover in this movie. So delightfully weird and awkward, but in a very endearing way. Just watch him dance (and supposedly this was all Crispin, based on the way he actually danced in clubs)
• Best kill: Weird to say, but probably when Jason dies (even though we know it doesn't entirely stick). Machete to the head, he falls to the floor and the head slides down the blade. Probably also a good time to mention that Tom Savini, special effects and make-up effects master, came back for this one after having worked on the first Friday the 13th
• Second-best kill: Doug in the shower
• I actually found it hard to pick a best line for this one, as the script is full of gems. Here are a few more:
• "Some pack of patootsies, huh?"
• "Axel, you are the Super Bowl of self-abuse!"
• And, of course, "Jesus Christmas! Holy Jesus! Goddamn! Holy Jesus jumping Christmas shit!" (courtesy of Axel himself)
• As has happened before I had the privilege of watching this movie with friends, and here are their one-line reviews:
• Marlo: "More boobs than plot"
• Andy: "Fully believable"
• Ashley (my wife): "Rob Dier. Knife mechanic."
• And finally, this is an extra special day because not only is it Friday the 13th, but June 13th specifically is Jason's birthday! Blow out the candles, ya big lug, and we'll see you again in February! Or will we...

READERS' CHOICE #28: EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

7.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, and I think it must have been shortly after it was released, so it was about 10 years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

I'll describe it in more detail later because I want to avoid spoilers up top, but it happens at minute 24

BEST LINE

Not a whole lot to choose from, so I'll just go with "On your feet, maggot!"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

91%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Gripping, well-acted, funny, and clever, Edge of Tomorrow offers entertaining proof that Tom Cruise is still more than capable of shouldering the weight of a blockbuster action thriller."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

Redacted for spoiler reasons

DIRECTOR

Doug Liman

MAIN CAST

Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor

THOUGHTS

• I really like this movie and if you haven't watched it I think you should. Even though I only saw it once a long time ago, I've always thought fondly of it and I was excited to watch it again. I was so excited to watch it again, in fact, that I even convinced my wife to watch it with me despite the fact that action and sci-fi aren't usually her preferred genres of movie. She also liked it a lot, and maybe even found it more thrilling than I did on this viewing
• And this I partially chalk up to the movie being unspoiled for her. For me, I realized that the real fun of the movie came from the central premise and watching it be realized and explored. The action itself I found a little generic, which is honestly fine in the interest of not overstuffing the movie with ideas and distracting from the real draw, but it does thrill the most on first viewing. And at this point I will again wonder if there's any real concern about avoiding spoilers for a movie that's over a decade old, but hey, if my wife was able to go into it unspoiled, perhaps it could happen for you too
• Spoilers from this point on, however
• So, here's the IMDB synopsis: "A man fighting in a war against aliens must relive the same day every time he dies until he can find a way to stop their power source with the help of an elite soldier." And yep, you guessed it, this is basically a sci-fi/action riff on Groundhog Day. That description is a little reductive, though, because Edge of Tomorrow really does run with the idea, having a lot of fun in the process. Like I said, the action's a little generic especially in the first big battle sequence, but I think this actually enhances the lead-up to my favourite moment, when we watch the ostensible hero of the movie, Tom Cruise's William Cage, die. It's such a fantastic rug pull, seeing ol' Tom's face outright melting after being covered in alien blood. Wait a minute, we might be thinking, what's going on here? Only to then see him wake up again earlier that morning, at which point we realize the game that the movie is playing
• And then the fun really begins, especially getting to watch Tom Cruise die again and again and again - sometimes out of clumsiness, sometimes out of ineptitude, and sometimes out of sheer necessity in order to reset the loop. The film and the Japanese light novel it's based on both took inspiration from the death/respawn loop found in video games, which is a fun additional layer especially for a gamer like me
• Speaking of the light novel that inspired the movie, All You Need Is Kill, that was the movie's original name but they changed it mostly to remove the word "kill" from the title. Live Die Repeat was also considered, although that in itself is kind of a spoiler too
• And I think we'll leave it there. It really is a fun movie and if you haven't seen it I hope that you do (although also if you haven't seen it, I hope that you stopped reading 4 bullet points ago)

Up next: Let the Right One In. And I plan on reviewing the original Swedish movie from 2008, although I have also seen the American remake Let Me In from 2010 (and maybe I'll give that a rewatch too just for a quick compare and contrast)

READERS' CHOICE #29: CITY OF GOD (2002)

TW: Child death

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

The farewell party for Benny. The strobe lighting was extremely effective and immediately made me feel on edge and disoriented while watching

BEST LINE

"Why return to the City of God, where God forgets about you?"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

91%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"City of God offers a shocking and disturbing -- but always compelling -- look at life in the slums of Rio de Janiero."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin."

DIRECTOR(S)

Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund

MAIN CAST

Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Matheus Nachtergaele, Seu Jorge

THOUGHTS

• Usually when I say a film reminded me of other films I don't mean that as a bad thing, especially if it reminded me of films I like. This is definitely the case with City of God - a lot of similarities with Scorsese's work, especially Goodfellas (one of my favourite movies), and at times it also reminded me of Tarantino. However, a big difference between City of God and the films of those two directors would be the ages of the main characters. I would estimate that most of the characters in City of God don't make it past their early 20s, and a lot of the action happens when they're even younger, in their teens. In this sense especially I was also reminded of films like Menace II Society and Boyz n the Hood
• City of God takes it even further, however, with some pretty shocking scenes of violence committed by and inflicted upon characters who appear to be 12 and under (and, again, trigger warning and also spoiler warning). There's a harrowing scene in which the teenaged drug lord Li'l Zé wants to make an example of some much younger kids, so he threatens two of them with a gun. I was sure that Li'l Zé was going to let them go after scaring them out of their wits, but no, he actually shoots each of them in the foot before telling another preteen to execute one of them. Again I was sure that Li'l Zé would relent, but the movie sees this scene through to its grim conclusion. It's heartrending but it doesn't feel manipulative
• Just like in Goodfellas this movie moves at a fair clip, rarely settling down for long, and always keeping us captivated. City of God got four nominations at the Academy Awards in 2004 (Director, Cinematography, Film Editing and Adapted Screenplay). Pretty impressive, especially for a foreign film, but that was the same year that The Return of the King won pretty much everything so City of God was definitely at a disadvantage. Oddly enough it wasn't nominated for Best Foreign Film the previous year when it was released in Brazil, and therefore when it was submitted by Brazil to the Academy for consideration
• Speaking of Brazilian cinema, City of God was executive produced by Walter Salles, the director of I'm Still Here, the most recent Best Foreign Film winner
• Finally, the vast majority of the cast was recruited from the real slums of Rio de Janeiro, and some of them had actually lived in the real City of God favela. This contributes to a real sense of authenticity, but in cases like this you also have to hope that it wasn't mere exploitation going on here. Assistance groups were set up to aid the actors after filming finished, but the authenticity vs. exploitation debate is an interesting (and potentially troubling) one to consider

Up next: Some more sci-fi coming at you. Edge of Tomorrow from 2014

READERS' CHOICE #30: BLACK SWAN (2010)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but only once in the theatre shortly after it came out

BEST SEQUENCE

It's impossible to forget the moment in Nina's bedroom when her eyes turn red, she plucks a black feather from her back and her legs suddenly bend backwards

BEST LINE

"I felt it. Perfect. It was perfect."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

85%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Bracingly intense, passionate, and wildly melodramatic, Black Swan glides on Darren Aronofsky's bold direction -- and a bravura performance from Natalie Portman."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare."

DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky

MAIN CAST

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder

THOUGHTS

• I was trying to figure out if we would classify Black Swan as a body horror movie, and while it seems that opinions may vary on that point, this movie gets such a high thrill score largely because I was squirming and cringing at many of the changes that we see happen to Nina's body throughout the film. From the extreme end of the spectrum like in what I considered the best sequence described above, to the slightly milder example of Nina peeling a hangnail all the way down her finger, this even goes for the moments that are very real and not imagined by Nina, like the cracked toenail that is just part of being a ballet dancer
• Speaking of which, I've never really been one for the ballet, and this movie certainly doesn't make it seem like a glamourous life, at least not for the most part, or at least not for Nina. When the movie was released there were real-life ballet dancers who took issue with Black Swan's depiction of their profession, and this article is a great read for that point of view, but the gloominess of Nina's day-to-day life certainly adds to the moodiness of the film, and adds to the feeling that Nina is being backed into a corner by this ballet and this role
• It's a fantastic performance by Portman, probably has to be my favourite of hers, and so far it's her only Oscar win
• Finally, I do like forming my own opinions and theories about films, but this is one of those movies that makes me want to immediately go and read other people's analyses - what really happened, and what was all in Nina's mind? For this reason it's also a movie that benefits from multiple viewings, so if you haven't seen it in a while, give it another watch!

Up next: A movie I haven't seen, and one that I know very little about, in fact. City of God from 2002

#41: DIRTY HARRY (1971)

TW: Police brutality, child endangerment

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, about ten years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

When Scorpio hijacks a school bus full of kids and Harry jumps onto the roof of the bus from a bridge (a stunt that Clint Eastwood performed himself)

BEST LINE

"I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

89%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"As tough and taciturn as its no-nonsense hero, Dirty Harry delivers a deceptively layered message without sacrificing an ounce of its solid action impact."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"When a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath."

DIRECTOR

Don Siegel

MAIN CAST

Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Reni Santoni, Harry Guardino, John Vernon

THOUGHTS

• "Dirty" Harry Callahan is the first character of his type that I can think of, a rogue cop vigilante who breaks the rules and takes the law into his own hands in order to ensure the bad guys don't get away with their nefarious plans. Now, for some it may be difficult to find the entertainment value in a story like this - in this day and age, when police violence is a serious concern for many, it may be hard to cheer on the cop who flouts authority and due process and decides to shoot whomever he believes needs shooting. However, it may also be interesting to learn that people have been saying this ever since the movie came out. When it was released, critics like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert were calling this movie fascist, and they were clearly grappling with the movie's entertainment value vs. the views that it seemed to be espousing
• Perhaps also worth pointing out, though, that while Clint Eastwood is and always has been a Hollywood right-winger, the director, Don Siegel, was not. While talking about Dirty Harry he acknowledged his liberal leanings and explained that in his view Harry was just as evil, in his own way, as the killer (and this is also the second movie by Don Siegel that I've reviewed, after the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers)
• And speaking of the movie's villain, the Scorpio killer is so completely, unrepentantly evil that we also want to see him taken down by any means necessary. Based on the real-life Zodiac Killer, I really liked Andy Robinson's portrayal of this maniac
• And that's about all I have to say about Dirty Harry! Influential as hell but it also holds up even as one of the earliest examples of the subgenre that it in part created. If you can get past the movie's ideology that you may or may not agree with, it definitely comes through with the action and the thrills

Up next: And with that, we reach the end of another block of movies from the AFI list, and it's back into the Readers' Choice films! As a reminder, these were movies that were voted for in the Mark Watches Movies Facebook group, and here are the next ten movies, in order:

Black Swan
City of God

Edge of Tomorrow

Let the Right One In

Parasite

Evil Dead II

Minority Report

The Dark Knight

Point Break

Shaun of the Dead

And so, coming up next, Black Swan from 2010