The Brothers Bloom

by Jonas Kyratzes

I’ll keep this review very short, because I don’t want to spoil the movie for you. I’ll just say that it is delightful, beautiful, and features one of the most exceptional musical scores I’ve ever heard.

It’s hard to understand why the critics accused it of being “too smug and pleased with itself” (Roger Ebert). It is anything but smug; it’s full of manic energy, joy, and enthusiasm. It is the polar opposite of mannered, self-consciously “quirky” bullshit like Rushmore. You won’t find a film more full of life, more in love with its story and characters. And, more remarkably, you won’t find a movie about con men that is more honest or more full of heart.

See this movie, and trust that the ride it will take you on leads to a place of truth.

Splice

by Jonas Kyratzes

I’ve been a fan of Vincenzo Natali for a long, long time. It began with Cube, his terrifying and yet moving film about a group of people stuck in a deadly trap; continued with the genre-hopping thriller/love story Cypher, and reached its apex with Nothing, an incredible comedy masterpiece about two people stuck in… well, nothing. Natali is a filmmaker who can do a lot with very little, and I’ve always wondered what he could do with a bigger budget.

The answer to that question? He could make one of the most disturbing and yet intelligent films I’ve ever seen.

I’m not sure I have the words to tell you just how much this film disturbed me. I am not easily disturbed by films, but Splice left me reeling. It was a genuine shock.

And yet Splice is not really a horror movie. It’s not gory torture porn or boo-based bullshit. It’s not misanthropic or needlessly cruel. It’s not relentlessly dark and nihilistic. It’s just realistic and intelligent. And it makes me feel weird just to think about it.

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