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BlondieLocks's Replies
Martyrs was such a vastly overrated film... very unfortunate.
Yeah, I think my eyes actually started to glaze over during that one scene with Hunnam and the junkies. Forced is the best word to describe the majority of the film, though. Even the swearing was overly spoon-fed to the audience to the point where it just started to lose its shine. I feel like Ritchie is an aging director who just doesn't have the same perspective he had when he was a fresh face in the game, so he's relying on old gimmicks and resting on his laurels without any of the actual heart he used to have. He's just been missing that certain magic that's present in his earlier body of work. I think he's stagnating a bit and needs something to shake him up again. I hope he still has a few more hurrahs up his sleeve. The Gentlemen definitely scratched at something greater, but ultimately it just missed the mark.
This is a really spot on review that almost perfectly encapsulates exactly how I felt about the movie. The only thing I disagree with is if you like all Guy Ritchie movies, you'll like this. I like almost all of GR's films (let's pretend Aladdin never happened), but this really left so much to be desired I can't even say I really liked it all. If Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell weren't in this, there'd be next to nothing there for me. And yeah, Hunnam was like watching paint dry, only less exciting, which was unexpected since I typically enjoy his roles. I was solidly disappointed with this one.
It's funny because, as an avid and regular consumer of Asian produced media (dramas, movies, music, etc.) for several years, I actually found myself wondering the same exact thing after I finished watching Parasite. I'm not here to detract from the film's success, and in general I *do* think it's great that Asian movies are getting recognition in the states, but it's always interesting to see what in specific western audiences will choose to highlight and award. Oldboy specifically came to my mind as well when I was reflecting (imo) on superior, and therefore more deserving, Asian movies, but really the list could go on. Infernal Affairs, for example, could have been a great US breakout, but I guess the early 2000's were more about co-opting great Asian movies ala Scorcese's weak remake The Departed as opposed to awarding them. Running Wild, A Bittersweet Life, Fulltime Killer, etc. I mean any one of those (again, IMHO) was just inherently better than what we got with Parasite, and it feels more like a desperate bid for diversity on the academy's part more than anything else. The only thing I will say about Parasite getting so many noms and wins is A. the cast 100% deserves every second of this because they were truly amazing and hands down the best thing about the movie, and B. I genuinely hope this breaks down some walls and hesitation towards Asian films. Sometimes it doesn't have to be the best or most deserving film to change the status quo, and I'd really like for the status quo to be changed when it comes to all foreign films, because there are so, so many good movies that aren't American. Also, America seems to be trending really hard on Korea right now, so hopefully that good will can open more doors for all Asian films.
Tl;dr: Agreed Oldboy is far superior than Parasite, still glad it's being recognized for its stellar cast and potential to warm western audiences to more Asian films.