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mynameiswood
Reviews
Honey Boy (2019)
HONEY 🍯 BOY 👦 IS THE BEST FILM OF 2019!
Honey Boy is a patient and honest film. From the realness and authenticity in the way Shia LaBeouf plays and writes his father, to the true-to-life complexity of alcoholism. The subject matter never feels poorly handled and the character of James (Ottis's Dad) is anything but two dimensional, especially when tackling the effects of his 'nefarious' actions towards his son. Along with some equally raw performances from Noah Jupe, who I may add is the most convincing 12 year old captured on film ever, as he balances the innocence and edginess that comes with being that age perfectly, making for some really powerful scenes of conflict between father and son. Lucas Hedges, who plays Ottis in his twenties also does a great job, making for some of his best work to date.
I couldn't go through reviewing Honey Boy without bigging up Alma Har'el's directing, that compliments Shia LaBeouf's script almost always, with perfectly timed punch ins, dutch angles, and blocking. Natasha Braier's cinematography is mesmerising, through the soft lights and colours,that really capture moments of dreamlike recollections, or childlike wonder, and melancholy.
Honey Boy's biggest strength is capturing the complexity of our relationships with our parents, and reminding us that they do indeed love us even if we never see the warmness that we long for so dearly. This is captured from the outside in, rather than the inside out. Through Ottis learning to understand his father's struggles, he can finally come to terms with the trauma he had felt for so long, and alleviate the pain of a false belief that he was never loved.
The film works through how deep Shia LaBeouf is willing to go with his truth, allowing for the audience to have an emotional experience unlike any other, even as someone who doesn't share the same experiences as Shia LaBeouf, I was still able to draw similarities, and meaning from Honey Boy.
Side Note: Must watch of the year; do yourself a favour and catch this ASAP.
The First Purge (2018)
Cheap Fun
For the record I'm not going to begin this review by defending my score with something like: it's not intended to be clever, well written, e.t.c. I don't believe it's ok to give horror films, like this, a free pass, because they're geared towards a mainstream audience who don't want to indulge in to much social commentary, and would rather mindlessly watch a multitude of characters die gruesome deaths.
With that out of the way...
I was pleasantly surprised by The First Purge, to me it felt as if they'd learnt their lesson from their last two installments and decided to go back to basics, a concentrated event that isn't over bloated by showing the audience multiple different Purge scenarios. Therefore, I found it much more entertaining, because it felt like this one had direction, a real message, rather than being a sizzle-reel of murders with plot tied in just to explain how the characters got from one place to another. As always the action was entertaining and creative, so for the most part there isn't really anything to complain about there and where former complaints lied, from the other movies, like choice of music, or stylistic choices were also surprisingly great.
I do have a few complaints:
The pacing of this installment is slower than the others, largely because there's the set up of how the Purge began, but it's noticeable enough to be enjoying. I also found the dialogue very unrealistic and it made me cringe many times throughout the film; it's very noticeable that the 'hood' (black) dialogue was written by someone who has no experience with the way black people in tower block communities, and unsurprisingly it was written by someone who isn't black them self. Occasionally, a few characters felt generic, with their goals and background/personality, but it was something that didn't take me out of the experience, so it weren't detrimental, but it was still noticeable.
Overall, my complaints this time round felt quite minor and in know severely impacted my experience of the film.
It was a riot of a time from start to end, and that's why I've given The First Purge a 7/10.
Side Note: My opinions of the movie may be exasperated, due to my expectations going in, and my taste in general. However, one things for sure if you like senseless violence, and well choreographed action, I can guarantee you'll at least be satisfied by the price of admission.