XG and I review "Fat Girl" (À ma sœur!) written and directed by Catherine Breillat that was released in 2001. It's a coming-of-age film from France. The French do coming-of-age films very differently from the USA. This is a film that's meant to break the human spirit and eliminates hope. It's a film about two sisters who sort of compete and talk about "girl stuff" to keep it PG. Their family are in vacation and the older sister secretly wreaks havoc in which shatters the innocence of the little sister. It's a film that's aimed for a mature audience and it barely holds back. Just barely. XG Guerrero joins me again on this episode as we discuss what the film centers at consent, which is keeping your children on check regardless of who and cultural background. It is a slice of life of the human experience and it doesn't spoon-feed you at all. Breillat and the cast all together made a brave film about discovering yourself, the trials and tribulations that females at a young age go through. We discuss the tension that the film develops throughout the course of its story time and it's done differently than from a traditional American film. We also talk about if the film is even worth-watching to begin with and what the director was trying to say concerning the subject at hand which is something I feel is important to take notice. No rating on the review but three & a half out of four tokes.
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19:09
"Opening Night" - 148
"Opening Night" is a film about acting and a film about aging. Trying to make sense of a role is hard when you are drowning yourself in alcohol. It's hard to cope with loss when your career is on the line. Gena Rowlands, who plays the lead character, Myrtle, is pure tour de force acting. This film is a masterclass of not only acting but cinema overall. John Cassavetes directed this film and he broke the rules of cinema with this film. It shows that you can do whatever you want however you want as long as you make it sense to yourself. To make something of your own, you gotta make sure it even makes sense. I love that Cassavetes made a film where Rowland's characters went through hard trials and tribulations. In this podcast, I talk about the amazing acting played by Rowlands and the cast included. I talk about how Cassavetes uses the space of not only the stage but the venue itself to create a feel of the audience being there witnessing Rowlands act and as well Cassavetes himself. I also talk about how all this acting and meaning derives from what I feel is a strong screenplay written by Cassavetes. You witness the layers and personalities of the characters and how they work with one another. This is a film where there are sharp turns you gotta be ready for it.Four out of four tokes.
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22:46
"Flow" - 147
"Flow" is an Academy Award-winning animated film directed by Gints Zilbalodis. He earned it, plain and simple. Shout out to him and the country of Latvia. It's Latvia's first Academy Award, respectfully. This is a film created with the application called Blender. Imagine that? A film created by Blender, beat Disney AND DreamWorks at their own game. Millions upon millions of dollars, and "Flow" took the cake. Bravo. This is a film about a cat who joins other exotic animals as they journey to find a better place for their lives as it was disrupted by a crazy environmental event. There is no dialog, only sound. IMAGINE THAT? Only sound effects of the animals and the environments they go through and music definitely plays along with it, definitely adds to feel of the film. You care for these animals, you want to know what happens next. That's their dialog and how the journey flows from one place to another, and as we learn about these animals who are the characters themselves, dissecting different personalities and how they with one another. It's crazy how universal it is to be that self-aware about yourself when you look at the mirror. When you do that type of action, you gain a great level of consciousness and these animals did that. Not an easy thing to pull off but Zilbalodis did that. I talk about how animal actions drive the plot forward. I talk about the characters of the film, how they act on a very animal-like level but all that is so relatable as how we humans interact with each other. Its as if we are all one, but in bits and pieces. At some point, they become the humans and we wish we can be there to witness half of it. Finally, a film where all audiences that enjoy but it also challenges the viewers - to look ourselves and at each other and be aware of what we have and how we can make it slightly better.Four out of four tokes.
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14:26
"American Me" ft. @fabb_999 - 146
I'm joined here with fabb_999 on this episode reviewing "American Me" directed and produced by Edward James Olmos who shows us a life of a man who's spent half his life in the prison system, trying to reclaim himnself in society after he gets out. It's a very masculine but truly humbling film. Olmos did a great job showing us that he can not only act, but direct as well. I was impressed with the shots he used in the film, some that I pondered as to why he would use it and I understood why. He's a creative indivisual and gave us something DIFFERENT to look at. Faby and I talk about about film, it's explosive cast of characters, the iconic one-liners, it's controversies, the elements of theater displayed into the film, the way lighting is used to make things look realistic, how a film like this still resonates to this day spreading its message beyond East Los Angeles, beyond Folsom State, beyond California period. It's a powerful film by Olmos and a story of this kind needed to be told. It's important that even in filmmaking, we need to be a melting pot of sorts of sharing stories that created a culture that is still powerful to today's societal means.Four out of four tokes.#americanme #edwardjamesolmos
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35:12
"Cameraperson" - 145
"Cameraperson" is a documentary directed by Kirsten Johnson that treats the film as a memoir of her life. In this day and age with ties to social media, almost no moment is lost. We share everything and not all of it is worth sharing. Let's just be for real. This film shows us who Kirsten Johnson is through not only her work but her personal life. She shares us crime, loss, and murder. We also see new life, love, and the freedom of where she lives which is the USA. She goes to places where she she purposefully puts herself and company in danger but all of this, to understand life. To Understand people, to make a sense as to what we can provide for life. I like this documentary a lot. We see it through lengthy shots of all kinds situations and they all tie in together, good editing. I liked learning how to interview people. Johnson is very particular about how she films. She definitely puts thought into how she wants the shot to look like and it definitely doesn't want it to be plain and simple. I like the consideration of the shots she chose because I'm sure she has hard drives upon hard drives of footage. She shares us her own vulnerability with footage of different points of her aging mom and you can see how impactful it to her. What's crazy overall about this film, is the fact that there's no voice-over talking points. Just footage. RAW footage. When pieced together the way she did it, she wins in life. Forever.#cameraperson #kirstenjohnson
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