kevinwhelan-61003

This film isn't as good as it could've been but it still has a lot of merit and is worth seeing. There is some extremely memorable and disturbing imagery that got under my skin. A lot of these scenes and images were very effective and a lot of them are still stuck in my mind long after watching the film.

The films presentation as a whole is very solid. With some great sound design, beautiful technicolor cinematography and usage of its Tunisian setting. My main issue with this film is that it didn't really have a point overall and the story itself wasn't compelling enough to make up for that. For example with the film Last Year at Marienbad (also scripted by Alain Robbe Grillet) it has a lot of thematic depth and tonnes going on underneath the surface. Which is helped significantly by the hypnotic atmosphere. Eden and After doesn't really have that.

There's not a lot to take away from it and the atmosphere/story isn't particularly compelling. Which does make the film a bit of a slog at points despite the relatively short runtime. The films disturbing sexual imagery, sound design and surreal scenes do help the film a lot. Though I wished those elements were used for a much more compelling, thought provoking and disturbing film overall.

Eden and After is still a really interesting movie with a lot of great things going for it. Though unfortunately it's rather underwhelming which prevents me from calling it one of the great psychedelic/surreal films of the period. If all of the positive elements of this movie were used for a better film. I think this movie could've easily have been on par with Salo, Climax and The Devils which do a lot of what this movie is going for more successfully.

I didn't go into this film with the highest of expectations. I went in thinking this would be a decent if relatively average indie coming of age dramedy. While the film does have tropes that you would find in these movies. Thankfully it manages to be a very good film that I'd even go as far as to say I loved it. I adored the visual presentation of the film. In particular the incorporation of stop motion animation to reflect the characters mindstates. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl does a great job of subverting tropes that you see in films such as A Walk to Remember and The Fault in Our Stars. To create something more mature, funnier and ultimately more powerful.

The final 20 minutes of the film are phenomenal. This portion is without a doubt the highlight of the film. It's amazing how many emotions are conveyed with little to no dialogue. I really enjoyed the homages to films such as A Clockwork Orange, Harold and Maude, The 400 Blows, Aguirre The Wrath of God and many others. They were all really funny and charming even if you haven't seen the films in question. Though it's an added bonus if you have.

I had some problems with this. The film does try a bit too hard to be quirky at points. The last act before the final 20 minutes does drag a bit. I also would've liked if the character of Earl got more development. Though otherwise Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is an excellent coming of age film that I'd highly recommend.

I found Your Name to be highly underwhelming. While the animation and overall presentation are fantastic. I couldn't get into the story and characters at all. I found the characters were either extremely cliched or bland. I couldn't care less about their journey. So when scenes that were meant to be emotionally impactful happened I was left rather unaffected. It doesn't help that a lot of the music choices were really out of place and cheesy.

The films plot gets very messy and convoluted in its second act and only goes downhill from there. It doesn't help that the plot is derivative of films such as Donnie Darko and Freaky Friday. While I wouldn't say I hated this film. I was very disappointed by it. Nothing about Your Name apart from the gorgeous animation impressed me at all. I was thoroughly bored by this film. I know Your Name is highly acclaimed. If people like this film that's great though it's not for me.