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I just saw Ryan Coogler's Sinners. I have not felt so exalted by a movie since Baahubali. It's glorious and transcendent and made me glad I was alive to see it. I want to see it again, immediately.
It's got serious themes but it's also incredibly fun. Also very hot. The themes are complex, layered, and interesting, touching on racism and exploitation, finding joy and community even under horrendous oppression, and the power of music. Brilliant acting all round. Fantastic writing and direction.
I went in knowing nothing but that it's set in the 1930s, stars Michael B. Jordan as identical twins, and there's vampires. This is the best way to see it. I have since watched the trailer, and highly recommend not doing that before you see the movie; it gives away several major plot points that occur late in the movie, and is also... not misleading exactly... but focuses on the horror/action elements, which are important but also only half of the movie. It's kind of Big Night meets Near Dark meets Devil in a Blue Dress meets Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, but also totally its own thing.
As that suggests, it's a musical, sort of, with a pair of INCREDIBLE diegetic dance scenes. If you have any interest in music, the movie is worth seeing for those alone; the one inside the juke joint is one of the best movie scenes I have ever seen, and the one outside it comes pretty close.
If you're not a horror fan but the other elements appeal: it's got a lot of gory vampire violence, but it's mostly confined to the gory vampire violence scenes, ie, not pervasive throughout the whole movie. You could look away for those parts.
Stay for the whole credits. There's a mid-credits scene which is not an Easter Egg, but the actual ending and it's wonderful. There's also a post-credits scene.
Spoilers! ( Read more... )
It's got serious themes but it's also incredibly fun. Also very hot. The themes are complex, layered, and interesting, touching on racism and exploitation, finding joy and community even under horrendous oppression, and the power of music. Brilliant acting all round. Fantastic writing and direction.
I went in knowing nothing but that it's set in the 1930s, stars Michael B. Jordan as identical twins, and there's vampires. This is the best way to see it. I have since watched the trailer, and highly recommend not doing that before you see the movie; it gives away several major plot points that occur late in the movie, and is also... not misleading exactly... but focuses on the horror/action elements, which are important but also only half of the movie. It's kind of Big Night meets Near Dark meets Devil in a Blue Dress meets Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, but also totally its own thing.
As that suggests, it's a musical, sort of, with a pair of INCREDIBLE diegetic dance scenes. If you have any interest in music, the movie is worth seeing for those alone; the one inside the juke joint is one of the best movie scenes I have ever seen, and the one outside it comes pretty close.
If you're not a horror fan but the other elements appeal: it's got a lot of gory vampire violence, but it's mostly confined to the gory vampire violence scenes, ie, not pervasive throughout the whole movie. You could look away for those parts.
Stay for the whole credits. There's a mid-credits scene which is not an Easter Egg, but the actual ending and it's wonderful. There's also a post-credits scene.
Spoilers! ( Read more... )
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