Some movies
Jan. 25th, 2026 08:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lucymonsterThe Ring (2002) was a reckless stretching of my "no child-related horror" boundary that fortunately did not backfire, mostly because I spoiled myself very thoroughly for the entire plot of the movie before watching a single minute. But with ample forewarning for the bad bits, not only did it not backfire but I actually enjoyed it more than I can remember enjoying a movie in years. This is phenomenally sad and scary paranormal horror about a cursed VHS tape that kills you seven days after you watch it, and a journalist fighting to solve the mystery of the tape before she and her young son succumb to its murderous power. Aesthetically it was exquisite: everything is wretchedly grey and rainy and minimalist, but somehow never dull. The visual horror was like the distilled essence of what the word "horror" means inside my head. The suspense and fear were great, but really the heart of this story is about motherhood, and the beautiful, terrible power mothers have to save or destroy their children.
I loved Samara so, so much. There's no such thing as an evil child, obviously, just children whose parents are failing them, and Samara's parents failed her to a devastating degree. I thought the two main mother-child relationships - Samara & Anna vs Aiden & Rachel - made for a really effective and nuanced contrast. Anna couldn't handle Samara's heightened needs or her psychic lashings-out. Rachel's relationship with her son is so fraught that he calls her by her first name, but she's not afraid of his supernatural powers and she never once gives up on him. And in the end, both women are driven to murderous extremes: Anna kills her daughter and then herself, while Rachel unflinchingly murders some unknown other person to save her son's life. That final scene of her guiding his little hands on the VHS recorder, and the scene of her cradling Samara's body in the well, are going to stay etched in my brain quite possibly forever.
I haven't decided yet if I will watch the sequel, but I almost definitely will watch the original Japanese film that spawned this adaptation.
Hit Man (2023): Philosophy teacher Gary loves his cats, his pot plants, his job, and birdwatching. He is amicably divorced from his ex-wife, who left him because she found him too steady and yearned for a more passionate lover. Good with tech, he works part time for the New Orleans police in a surveillance van attached to undercover missions. One day, the undercover cop he works with gets pulled off duty right before a planned sting, and Gary reluctantly takes over his role as a fake "hit man" whom their would-be murderer target is attempting to hire. He surprises everyone (himself included) by putting on such a stellar performance that he's asked to become the team's permanent undercover guy. He falls into a highly successful routine: drawing on his longstanding interest in human psychology, he researches his targets and creates a tailored persona to cater to each individual's fantasy of what a mythical hit man should be. But when Gary catches feelings for one of his intended targets - Madison, a beautiful housewife who in desperation to escape is considering having her abusive husband killed - his professionalism starts to slip, and his immersion in the tough, suave persona he designed for her starts to escape the bounds of his mission in ways that change his life forever.
This was fun! I don't have a huge amount to say beyond that. It was fun, gleefully silly, and well acted on Gary/Glen Powell's side. (Madison was played by Adria Arjona from Andor, and I can't tell if she genuinely can't act or has just been typecast as a flat, misogyny-tinged "sexy vulnerable girlfriend" whose roles give her nothing to work with.) They took the John Wick approach of making the victims such repulsive humans that you don't feel bad when they bite it. (Note, that is this film's only overlap with John Wick. Despite the title, it is not a murderfest!) It didn't have much by way of substance but was a very enjoyable way to pass two hours.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was also fun and also has not inspired me with many deep thoughts. Chinese-American economics professor Rachel Chu accompanies her boyfriend Nick Young on a trip home to Singapore to meet his family, about whom he has thus far in their relationship told her nothing. It turns out that the Young family are Singapore's foremost developers and property owners, a family of obscenely wealthy celebrities; Nick is the presumed heir to the family business and fortune, and his relatives are not impressed by his choice to involve himself with an Americanised nobody. Romcom tropes and high-stakes familial (melo)drama ensue.
Parts of the film felt like a travel ad for Singapore. One very gratuitous hawker centre scene in particular made me ravenous for Singaporean street food; there is also much ooh-ing and aah-ing over the city's architecture, and lavish displays of traditional culture in the family matriarch's mansion. The portrayal of the Young family's wealth played hopscotch along the border between lifestyle porn and existential horror; it's honestly kind of ghastly how rich they are. Like, unthinkably rich. Like, suck-all-the-joy-out-of-life rich. There's a very sad subplot where Gemma Chan's marriage falls apart because her shitty, adulterous husband can't cope with the emasculation of having an uber-wealthy wife. After all the luxury, I also really enjoyed the final scene where Nick does his heartfelt romantic proposal aboard a crowded economy flight while tripping over fellow passengers every three seconds. Michelle Yeoh was also amazing as the disapproving mother - plot-wise she is firmly the antagonist striving to keep the happy couple apart, but she brought so much heart and nuance to the role that I was honestly half-cheering for her even as I hoped that Nick and Rachel would work things out.
I loved Samara so, so much. There's no such thing as an evil child, obviously, just children whose parents are failing them, and Samara's parents failed her to a devastating degree. I thought the two main mother-child relationships - Samara & Anna vs Aiden & Rachel - made for a really effective and nuanced contrast. Anna couldn't handle Samara's heightened needs or her psychic lashings-out. Rachel's relationship with her son is so fraught that he calls her by her first name, but she's not afraid of his supernatural powers and she never once gives up on him. And in the end, both women are driven to murderous extremes: Anna kills her daughter and then herself, while Rachel unflinchingly murders some unknown other person to save her son's life. That final scene of her guiding his little hands on the VHS recorder, and the scene of her cradling Samara's body in the well, are going to stay etched in my brain quite possibly forever.
I haven't decided yet if I will watch the sequel, but I almost definitely will watch the original Japanese film that spawned this adaptation.
Hit Man (2023): Philosophy teacher Gary loves his cats, his pot plants, his job, and birdwatching. He is amicably divorced from his ex-wife, who left him because she found him too steady and yearned for a more passionate lover. Good with tech, he works part time for the New Orleans police in a surveillance van attached to undercover missions. One day, the undercover cop he works with gets pulled off duty right before a planned sting, and Gary reluctantly takes over his role as a fake "hit man" whom their would-be murderer target is attempting to hire. He surprises everyone (himself included) by putting on such a stellar performance that he's asked to become the team's permanent undercover guy. He falls into a highly successful routine: drawing on his longstanding interest in human psychology, he researches his targets and creates a tailored persona to cater to each individual's fantasy of what a mythical hit man should be. But when Gary catches feelings for one of his intended targets - Madison, a beautiful housewife who in desperation to escape is considering having her abusive husband killed - his professionalism starts to slip, and his immersion in the tough, suave persona he designed for her starts to escape the bounds of his mission in ways that change his life forever.
This was fun! I don't have a huge amount to say beyond that. It was fun, gleefully silly, and well acted on Gary/Glen Powell's side. (Madison was played by Adria Arjona from Andor, and I can't tell if she genuinely can't act or has just been typecast as a flat, misogyny-tinged "sexy vulnerable girlfriend" whose roles give her nothing to work with.) They took the John Wick approach of making the victims such repulsive humans that you don't feel bad when they bite it. (Note, that is this film's only overlap with John Wick. Despite the title, it is not a murderfest!) It didn't have much by way of substance but was a very enjoyable way to pass two hours.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was also fun and also has not inspired me with many deep thoughts. Chinese-American economics professor Rachel Chu accompanies her boyfriend Nick Young on a trip home to Singapore to meet his family, about whom he has thus far in their relationship told her nothing. It turns out that the Young family are Singapore's foremost developers and property owners, a family of obscenely wealthy celebrities; Nick is the presumed heir to the family business and fortune, and his relatives are not impressed by his choice to involve himself with an Americanised nobody. Romcom tropes and high-stakes familial (melo)drama ensue.
Parts of the film felt like a travel ad for Singapore. One very gratuitous hawker centre scene in particular made me ravenous for Singaporean street food; there is also much ooh-ing and aah-ing over the city's architecture, and lavish displays of traditional culture in the family matriarch's mansion. The portrayal of the Young family's wealth played hopscotch along the border between lifestyle porn and existential horror; it's honestly kind of ghastly how rich they are. Like, unthinkably rich. Like, suck-all-the-joy-out-of-life rich. There's a very sad subplot where Gemma Chan's marriage falls apart because her shitty, adulterous husband can't cope with the emasculation of having an uber-wealthy wife. After all the luxury, I also really enjoyed the final scene where Nick does his heartfelt romantic proposal aboard a crowded economy flight while tripping over fellow passengers every three seconds. Michelle Yeoh was also amazing as the disapproving mother - plot-wise she is firmly the antagonist striving to keep the happy couple apart, but she brought so much heart and nuance to the role that I was honestly half-cheering for her even as I hoped that Nick and Rachel would work things out.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-25 12:14 pm (UTC)Listen: I was obsessed with The Ring when it first came out. Was too scared to watch it at first, then went fully down the rabbit hole, exploring this terrifying promotional website that had all of Rachel's field notes and research and theories about Samara's powers, watched it on a big screen and got nightmares so bad I made my college roommate keep the light on for DAYS (she was awesome and not even mad about it), then wrote not one, but TWO AU fanfics about it. Then I read all the books, watched all the sequels, and the original Japanese films.
And somehow, I never considered the angle of motherhood specifically, because it's just not on my radar or in my brain, lol.
The sequels aren't that interesting. BUT the OG Japanese is definitely good, and I remember really loving the books, but it's been awhile since I've read them. I've been thinking about a re-read this year, at least of the main trilogy. (As opposed to Birthday and Ring Zero, which I also enjoyed, but can't remember much about them.)
no subject
Date: 2026-01-25 12:20 pm (UTC)I'm really glad you enjoyed this. I hope you enjoy the Japanese movie too. :P