Reviews

Slacker is a film that follows various random characters around Austin, TX. They are mostly liberal bohemian 20-somethings, but also include young capitalist children, anarchist elderly, and Nietzche-quoting libertarian types. They all meander around, affecting and infecting each others lives. As quoted in the movie, it is at heart a tale of the butterfly effect - how each and every action, no matter how mundane, is effecting the world around you. The movie is beautiful, feeling like a lazy summer day on campus. The characters are human, and each offers a different facet on life. In true Linklater fashion, many of the most interesting ideas are presented as dialogues from one character to another: examining the system of consumerism, dream-work, government conspiracy, and individualism. The movie invites you to imagine a world where people opt out, instead of in. These characters, though somewhat on the fringes of society, are carefree in their dismissal of the corporate work week and responsibility. They offer a window into a sort of utopia, where people just hang out, eat, sleep, read books, watch movies, as shown in the anti-artist scene: we're always expected to be doing something, so maybe the most radical and transformative thing to do is nothing.

Amazing camerawork, awesome performances, fun, teenage celebration, overall a very solid movie. That said, loses a lot of points and potential for a few reasons:

1. Pacing: everything was pretty good until the end, when the suicides do happen. The final scenes feel very rushed and don't develop the girls sadness at all. Quite the contrary they offer a sort of reprieve in their communications with the boys. This might read to some people as a "twist" but knowing from the beginning that they're all going to kill themselves doesn't support that idea.

2. The resolution: Again, why did they kill themselves? And in such spectacular fashion? I don't think its crucial that Sofia answer these questions explicitly, but the obvious answer given (fundamental Christian mom smothers her kids) is so unsatisfying and boring that I can't believe that was all there was to it. Unfortunately the film doesn't expound on this, there's this sort of stupid mystique to why 5 girls would decide to kill themselves, when that decision would have been highly personal and important and could've been used to say so much more.

3. The pseudo-philosophical lamenting by the narrator: Kind of charming when they're looking through the sister's diary, watching them from a telescope, talking with the other neighborhood boys. But this idea is really not central to the plot until the ending scene where the narrator states he was in love with the sisters, and that he wishes that he could put back the pieces together of why they killed themselves, wishing he could solve the mystery, etc etc. With the lack of any substance (points 1 and 2) to actually take meaning from, its annoying how much meaning and nostalgia the narrator has. This is also exemplified by Trip's proclamation of true love to Lux, despite leaving her on the field in the middle of the night and never calling her. These things just don't add up. There's too much mystery for mystery's sake, without any reason or explanation outside of "its weird"

Sad the movie missed the mark in such crucial ways, could have been really great.

Presenting a sad and familiar tale, a father who gets his kids 2 weeks a year, the Safdie brothers semi-biographical story is supported by wonderful acting and very raw characters. Non moralizing, this film shows what it's like to be a parent: sometimes good sometimes bad, struggling to do the right thing often. Though steeped in mumblecore style, the film does a great job of showing a person living on the margins and dealing with it as best as possible given who he is. Fun anecdotes, hilarious scenarios, heartfelt moments, all come with an asterisk as you cringe at the parenting style and ineptitude to give his children everything they will need in life. Showing that childhood and our lives at large can be fun and sad at the same time, this movie was well worth the watch.

Greta Gerwig's portrayal of young semi-hip, unique white people is always just ok in substance, but a better in flavor. Following the loves and letdowns of a teenage Catholic school girl trying to get into college in NYC. It's packed with suburban teen angst, through a warm and fuzzy Andersonian lens. The characters feel real, and more nuanced than others, and it overall does a good job of capturing the feeling of being young and misunderstood, yet misunderstanding everything around you. The acting is great, the cinematography is great, it's a nice movie, albeit not something that makes you feel any depth of emotion.

Timeless story of a man stuck in his ways confronted with the reality of who he's become. During a cross country road trip with his daughter in law, the protagonist realizes how he is continuing a cycle of pain started by his mother and family and ending with his sad son. By seeing youth and love again on the trip, he learns to examine who he is and change to stop the cycle. Very insightful and a story we all can relate to in some ways

I hated watching this, but also felt something I haven't felt from a movie in a long time. Like Noe's other movies, it feels very real. Portraying death, abortion, jealousy, anguish, sex, mommy issues, in ugly but honest ways, the film challenges you to accept the horrific moments that are equally a part of the human experience. This movie gave me nightmares, namely the sequences of his dead parents, and the flashbacks to his childhood, but it felt important that I wrestle with those feelings despite the discomfort. This very unique ride is made even better by incredible editing, cinematography, art direction - the "Tokyo On Acid" idea makes for some beautiful scenes, and the portrayal of the feeling of being on various drugs is also realistic. The movie overall does a great job of emulating the gnawing sensation that being on psychedelics gives you.

Though initially feeling like poverty porn, South moves into a much more complex place when it is revealed that James Byrd Jr was murdered days into her filming in Jasper, TX. Through shots of his memorial, sheriff interviews, family member testimonial, wide angle shots, settings, and expert opinions Akerman weaves together the story of racial tension in Jasper, and the ways it's viewed by the residents there. She toes the line of poverty porn excellently, and comes out with a moving, sad, realistic (I think) depiction of life in the rural south.

Not a huge fan of zombie/disaster movie genre in general, but thought that due to the direction this could be an interesting take on it. Though the characters all had a little bit of depth, and the setting of a train was fun, the movie did just boil down to a zombie flick: 1 dimensional characters that do everything you expect (greedy COO, all-sacrificing masc-dad, hopelessly in love teenage boy, matronly and caring pregnant mom), tons of impossible to escape scenes, and death of nearly everyone except for a chosen city of people. The relationship between the father and his daughter was the most interesting, seeing his lack of empathy and the ideas he was teaching her about selfishness flipped on their head when disaster struck made for a nice (albeit cliche) arc, but other than that the film was just ok.

Lots of intimate sex scenes, beautiful cinematography, and an incredibly real perspective on how life takes you in directions you don't always have control over. Like many of his movies, nobody is good or bad, just humans that do human things. I enjoyed his perspective when stuck with his new 17 year old partner and child, and thought it was refreshing the way in which he messes everything up, leaving room to still sympathize with him. My main issue is I was unable to fully sympathize with any of the characters: the well to do American living in Paris and falling in love with another well to do french girl in art school (of course a threesome is in order) was just a bit too on the nose for me, and took away some of the depth of the characters. Further, Murphy's blatant masculinity and Americanisms also felt more like a caricature than a character, and ultimately made him less interesting.