New(ish) Releases from 2019: Booksmart and Parasite

Booksmart (2019)

Director: Olivia Wilde

A new teen comedy to add to the canon of 21st century-classics.

Booksmart follows in the spiritual footsteps of Superbad by following a crazy day in the life of a couple of close high school friends, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein). Amy and Molly are overachievers who are primed for upper-echelon universities, and they are in their final week of classes before graduating. But once they realize that all of their peers, to whom they had felt academically superior, are also getting into top-notch schools on the strength of skills unknown to the prideful young ladies, massive regret sets in. Namely, that they had wasted some of their high school years studying rather than occasionally cutting lose and having fun with their classmates. In an attempt to remedy this, they decide to go all-out and attend a massive graduation party where they will have all of the fun that they skipped during their previous years of study. Of course, the line to the party quickly becomes anything but straight, and the girls are sent on a rather wild, epic evening of craziness.

While the overall premise and structure of Booksmart aren't particularly novel, it breaks a few barriers by focusing on young ladies who are incredibly smart, funny, and can be every bit as raunchy as their male counterparts. While my 44-year-old self was probably not quite as entertained as a younger person might be, I still found plenty to laugh at and appreciate. The Odyssey-like journey goes through various episodes, some funnier and more creative than others, which keep the pace moving along nicely.

The strength is in the performances of Dever and Feldstein, who are great in their turns as Amy and Molly. I can't imagine that it's easy to pull off uproarious comedy in the same film where two actors need to build some genuine sympathy and heart with the audience, yet these two young stars pull it off.

I don't know that I'll go out of my way to watch this one again, but I could very easily see myself surfing across it, stopping, and staying on for the rest of the ride. At least, at any point in the purely-comedic first two acts. Things get a bit more dramatic in the third (as you would hope for a buddy comedy that aspired to be a bit more than comedy), but it's an entertaining trip worth jumping into at nearly any point.

Parasite (2019)

Director: Boon Jong-Ho

Brilliantly crafted and executed social thriller/dark comedy by a modern Korean master who seems to just keep getting better and better.

Parasite follows young South Korean man Ki-woo and his family, the Kims. The Kims are quite poor, though they all seem to be rather intelligent, if sometimes morally dubious, survivors. Ki-woo takes an opportunity to fill in for a friend as an English tutor to the 15-year old daughter of a very wealthy couple, the Parks. Ki-woo gets the job by lying about his credentials and keeping up a good front to the rather gullible Mrs. Park. The money is so good that Ki-woo finagles jobs for his family members, as well. But once the Kims get deep into the Park's lives, things take a strange turn which jeopardizes the entire scam.

A simple, spoiler-free summary of the premise hardly does this movie justice. As with director Boon's 2013 sci-fi dystopian film Snowpiercer, Parasite has a strong theme revolving around socio-economic class. The interactions both within and between the Kim and Park families say a ton about the relationships between the upper- and middle/lower-tiers on the economic spectrum, not just in South Korea but in any society. This is what elevates the story far above a mere thriller.

And suspense-thriller is what you get on the movie's surface, which it does extremely well. While it takes a bit of time for the mystery and suspense elements to kick in, they hit hard when they do; I guarantee that, if you don't know anything about the movie, then you will never be able to see where some of the twists are taking you.

The Kims, trying to make ends meet by folding pizza boxes.
What might have been completely depressing in another
movie is, in Parasite, comical and revealing.

But, unlike say, an M. Night Shyamalan movie, Parasite goes well beyond its twists for its real impact. As already stated, the plot turns and rising tension serve to do more than simply build drama. They offer sly and sometimes brutal commentary on relations between people of very different means.

One might be tempted to think that Parasite is some horrific, dark tale that will leave one endlessly disturbed, but such is not really the case. Yes, there are dark elements to it, and even some horror elements. But there is also plenty of humor of various types, some dark but some very light. And this range of tones and gags is brought off splendidly by the flawless cast, most notably all four of the Parks - Ki-woo (Choi Woo-sik), Ki-jung (Park So-dam), Chung-sook (Jang, Hye-jin), and Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho). The others are great, but these four charismatic hucksters really make you pull for them and really make you feel the pain when tragedy hits.

I expect Parasite to rake in more than a few major awards (I think it already has, at the time that I write this), as it really is an outstanding movie. If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend it enough. While there are elements that may seem strange to those more accustomed to traditional narratives, if you can go in with an open mind and try to read in between the lines a bit, you won't be disappointed. 

Before I Die #553: 3-iron (2004)

This is the 553rd I've watched of the 1,162 films on the "Before You Die" list that I'm gradually working my way through...

Original Korean Title: Bin-jip

Director: Ki-duk Kim

A captivating and wonderfully unique film, even if it is one with a somewhat whimsical resolution.

3-iron follows Tae-suk, a young drifter who breaks into people's homes while they are away on vacation. The incredibly crafty Tae-suk never steals more than a little bit of food and a bed for the night, and he always repays by thoroughly cleaning the dwelling and fixing any malfunctioning machinery they may have. This odd little ghost one day breaks into the home of a wealthy, bullying businessman, whose wife, Sun-hwa, Tae-suk finds beaten and alone. Tae-suk becomes taken with Sun-hwa to the point that he confronts her husband and beats him by pelting him with golf balls. Tae-suk and Sun-hwa leave together and become partners of sorts, continuing the pattern of using others' homes with the least amount of invasiveness possible. Serious problems do arise, though, once the couple eventually are captured by police.

Sun-hwa looks on as Tae-suk whiles away some time with
his own strange form of golf practice. Their peculiar,
meditative relationship is hypnotic.

This movie is far more artistic than a mere plot synopsis can convey. The most immediately amazing thing is that the protagonist Tae-suk does not utter a single word during the entire movie. Given that he is in nearly every scene, this is quite a feat, and it meant that director Ki-duk Kim had to rely on a lot of visual storytelling. He does this in a fashion that would impress every major director, right back to the silent film era. Through nothing more than careful direction and camerawork, the odd behavior of the wordless Tae-suk is given meaning that becomes deeper and more profound as the film spins on. By film's end, Tae-suk becomes a sort of transcendent, soulful evolution of the classic "Little Tramp" character of Chaplin's. I'm no great fan of Chaplin, but I found Tae-suk to have all of the charm are far more depth than the Tramp ever did.

The movie is probably not for those who do not enjoy "foreign movies," to use the stereotypical pejorative form of that phrase. 3-iron is slow, subtle, heartfelt, and admittedly a tad sentimental. Some viewers may just see the actions of Tae-suk and Sun-hwa too peculiar to find enchanting. As one who enjoys visual storytelling, I thoroughly enjoyed this rather singular tale.

That's 533 down. Only 609 films to go before I can die. 

New(ish) Releases: Snowpiercer (2014) & Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Director: Bong, Joon-ho

Sometimes, we could all use a flashy, violent allegory for the world's social ills. Snowpiercer gives it to us.

With a narrative and technique that can border on acid-trippy at times, Snowpiercer provides a fast-moving and creative commentary on class divisions. Playing the part of "the world" is a massive train, known in fact as "The World Train," which is perpetually transporting the few hundred remaining humans around an Earth which has been plunged into an unlivable Ice Age by a botched attempt to cure global warming.

This, of course, is a pretty big jump to make, as far as suspension of disbelief is concerned. But the explanation is satisfying enough, if not exactly the best science you'll find in science fiction. Once you can accept that, then the film grows more interesting as the plot builds. The primary story follows Curtis, a man who is old enough to remember life before the train, and who is relegated to the back section of it - the section designated for the lowest rung of train society. In th"the foot," as it's called, the people are treated as little better than herd animals, where they are fed only gelatinous protein bars and forced to suffer regular abuse.

Curtis and a handful of others from the rear mount a revolt towards the front of the train, in an attempt to find better treatment, as well as some children who have been taken from the rear. As the revolutionaries grit out their struggle forwards, the successive trains become both more luxurious and more horrifying and bizarre.

This is one of the earliest obstacles that Curtis and his rebels
encounter on their revolution towards the front of the train.
Things only get wilder and more insane as they go.

These basic concepts make for a solid framework, but it's a framework that could easily have been mishandled and resulted in a far weaker film. Not so, thanks to director Joon-ho Bong and the other writers. While there are certainly some elements that are strange merely for strangeness' sake, most of the oddities or seeming non-sequiters do represent grander ideas. These make for some curious food for thought, and many of the outlandish questions that we viewers may ask ourselves are, in fact, answered by movie's end.

The cast is excellent, featuring U.S. and British A-listers such as John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris and even Chris Evans (far better known as Captain America). The non-English speaking actors are just as good, with an especially great turn by Kang-ho Song. There's a great balance between manic caricature and appropriate gravity, which seems tough for so stylish a picture.

Snowpiercer is nothing if not gutsy. It might not surprise astute viewers as much as it thinks it should, but any lack of surprise from attempted plot twists are made up for by the execution of the tale. It tries a lot of things, and though some of them fall a bit short of the mark, most of them fly true and are sure to entertain.

You won't see most movie vampires doing this.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Director: Jim Jarmusch

From the modern purveyor of cinematic cool, we get a very "Jarmusch" vampire movie. I even hesitate to use the director's name as an adjective, given that his style is not easy to pin down, except that his films are all very confident, more than a little off-beat, and always take an interesting approach to well-worn cinematic story conventions. Only Lovers Left Alive keeps this tradition well alive. With the undead.

You will most likely not enjoy this film if you are a fan of the following: Anne Rice vampire tales, The Twilight Saga, or any vampire stories that rely on the gothic romantic, bloodier, more carnal aspects of the mythical creatures of the night. Only Lovers assumes that you are aware of the basic mythology of vampires, and it narrows its focus to two of their kind - Eve and Adam, who may, as their names imply, be literally thousands of years old. The two are married, and yet they live thousands of miles apart, Eve in Morocco and Adam in Detroit. When Eve receives a call from her husband, she senses that he is going through one of his periodic and deep bout of melancholy over the human race, and she heads over the Atlantic (on red-eye flights, of course) to see him.

The interactions between Adam and Eve are hypnotic in many ways. Their supernatural powers are rarely displayed directly, and we are often left to marvel over their implied abilities. There are more than a few of the cliched references to famous historical people who the two have known over their millenia, but they are still amusing. What is most powerful is what they have seen and the perspectives that they have. Having observed human behavior for countless generations, the pair have alternating respect, anger, despair, and love for people. And one gets the sense that Jarmusch actually captured the attitudes of such creatures with incredible accuracy, and makes them endearing to boot. Adam is eminently musical, constantly composing and performing dark and alluring rock music to sooth himself. Eve consumes books at lightning speed, gaining an almost sexual satisfaction from drinking in the endless perspectives of humans. Undead they may be, but in most ways they do more living than people. And Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton (yes, her again) play every subtlety perfectly.

The title pair can make you envious of their wisdom and love
for each other, but just as sad for the sorrow at the human
condition which they have witnessed for so long.

While much of the movie is far slower than your typical vampire movie, with Eve and Adam lounging around Adam's dilapidated and remote Detroit home, there are moments of horror and action. Much of the dynamic energy is provided when Eve's "sister" arrives from California, bringing her hedonistic impishness along to spoil Adam and Eve's serene contemplation. Blood is let, arguments are had, and there is some vampire-on-vampire verbal abuse. These moments keep things lively enough, but I found myself just as relieved as Adam when the nuisance of his sister-in-law was banished.

Most definitely not your typical vampire movie, but certainly a great addition to the historical canon of such films. I'm sure plenty of horror film aficionados will despise the measured pace and meditative tone of the movie, but those who are willing to meet the characters halfway are bound to be rewarded.