Snowpiercer Film Review

Directed by Bong Joon Ho

Starring: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Ed Harris

Rated R for violence, language and drug content

Snowpiercer is a sci-fi film directed by Bong Joon Ho. In 2014, in an attempt to stop climate change, a chemical is released that backfires. Now in 2031, the entire world is frozen and humanity is living on an everlasting moving train. In this train, the rich people live in the front of the train while the poor ones live on the back of the train in horrible conditions. Curtis (played by Chris Evans) is now leading a revolution with the help of the other passengers in that section of the train and plan to overtake the train.

The story of Snowpiercer is quite a creative one. Based on the graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette, the screenplay was written by Bong Joon Ho and Kelly Masterson. This is a creative story of how humanity now has to survive on a fast speeding train that never stops. The story is certainly filled with thrills and surprises for the audience. This screenplay also explores the idea of class divisions and how the poor have little to no opportunity to move up the financial ladder. This not only applies to the train the film and humanity in real life. This is a theme Bong Joon Ho would brilliantly later explore in his film, Parasite.

Chris Evans is of course excellent as the role of Curtis. Curtis is a man who has lived in the poor section of the train for 18 years. He is exhausted of living in poor condition. He leads a revolution to get the people he cares about to the front of the train and control it. He is joined by Tanya (played by Octavia Spencer) and Edgar (played by Jamie Bell) in an attempt to control the train. These characters interact with Minister Mason (played by Tilda Swinton), one of the high ranking officials on the train. Swinton certainly has fun with the character as she goes all out with the role. The only downside is that she is only in the first half of the film and doesn’t appear too much. I would have loved to see more of this character.

While this is an intriguing film, there is one downside to the film and it is a minor one. The CGI is not up to par to what it should be. Now I understand that visual effects are not the most important aspect in a character driven story. But this is a story that takes place in a future where the world is literally frozen. Sometimes seeing the outside world can take me out of the film because how it looks. But I said, it is a minor gripe and certainly does not drag the film down. But if there were a downside to the film, this would be it.

Overall, Snowpiercer is a creative story that is exciting and interesting. This all star cast from Chris Evans to Tilda Swinton and from Octavia Spencer and Song Kang-ho are on their A game in this Bong Joon Ho directed film. It goes without saying that Bong Joon Ho is a ingenious director and Snowpiercer proves this.

3.5/4

Mother (2009) Film Review

Directed by Bong Joon Ho

Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Won Bin, Goo Jin

Rated R for language, some sexual content, violence and drug use

After re-watching Parasite, I decided to see what else acclaimed director Bong Joon Ho had to offer. I stumbled upon Mother, another film written and directed by Bong Joon Ho. Mother stars Hye-ja Kim as a single mother who cares for her adult son (played by Won Bin). When her son is accused of murdering a schoolgirl , the mother is convinced that her son did not do the crime and is willing to do anything to prove his innocence. This review will have some spoilers, so please view Mother, as it is an excellent film.

To start off, Hye-ja Kim as the mother, who doesn’t have an actual name, does an excellent job portraying a mother who is alone and truly cares for his son. The first scene proves how much she cares for him as he is playing across the street and keeps looking at his son every five seconds while at work. Once Yoon Do-joon is accused of the murder, we see how desperate she gets to prove her son’s innocence. She hires a useless lawyer, tries to badger the cop handling this case, and even breaks into her son’s friend’s house to gather evidence. Her character is almost on the verge on having a breakdown as it seems like she is on this mission alone, at least at first.

The mother is the main character, and whatever she learns, we learn as well. Writers Bong Joon Ho and Eun-kyo Park write a murder mystery of sorts but don’t give us a direct answer of who did the actual murder. We know some of the characters are unreliable as the film shows us. In the first act of the film, Jin Goo, one of Yoon Do-joon’s friend, breaks a car mirror and puts the blame on his friend for the act. So we know that he is unreliable character off the bat. The son is also unreliable as he was drunk during the night the murders were done, so he has little to no memory of that night. The police seem do not care about the case and don’t investigate the murders. Finally, the old man in the third act could be placing the blame on the son so he is not caught, but not too much is known of the old man’s character, so we cannot believe his story.

All of these characters mentioned are unreliable and its hard to tell who is lying and telling the truth. I applaud the writers who don’t tell us who did the murder and basically leave the answer of who committed the murder to the viewer. As mentioned before, what the mother learns, we learn. So in turn, this is a true mystery that is unsolved. In the end of the film, another kid is accused and the son is set free. But considering how little the police care about this case and are willing to accuse anyone, the audience is lead to believe that the wrong person was once again accused and the mother can’t do anything else about this. Earlier in the film, an old man “confirms” that Yoon Do-joon actually did the murders, as he saw the entire thing. But the mother killed the old man to let this secret from going out. So a part of the mother’s mind is convinced that the son actually did the mother and an innocent man is being blamed. The story takes the audience for a ride as you also try to guess what is happening, long after the film is done.

With much admiration I have for the film, there is one minor gripe I have with the film. In one scene, the mother is visiting her son in jail and he brings up the fact that she once tried to kill him and kill herself when he was five. Unfortunately, this scene is comes out of left field and is never even mentioned prior to this scene. Once the scene is over, this is never mentioned again in the film. The only thing I can think of to bring this fact up is that the mother may be a bit crazy. It is proven by the fact she brutally murders an old man and burns down his home. But besides that, this was a random scene that served no purpose at all.

But with that being said, Mother offers a good murder mystery that lets the audience decide who is the culprit. The brilliant screenplay serves as a foundation for the excellent story being told with phenomenal acting. Mother is worth a watch for all film lovers.

3.5/4

2020 Oscars Winners

The 2020 Oscars just wrapped up and Parasite makes history as it becomes the first foreign language film to win Best Picture and rightfully so. Parasite won the most awards for the evening as it won four, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. Also, 1917 , which was the front runner to win Best Picture, won three awards. Finally, Ford v Ferrari, Joker, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood all won two awards each. Unfortunately, not everyone can win an award as The Irishman walked away with no awards out of ten nominations, tying a record of most nominations without any wins. But without further ado, here are the winners of the 92nd Academy Awards:

Best Picture
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite” WINNER

Best Director
Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”)
Todd Phillips (“Joker”)
Sam Mendes (“1917”)
Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) WINNER

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”)
Leonardo DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”)
Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”) WINNER
Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes”)

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”)
Scarlett Johansson (“Marriage Story”)
Saoirse Ronan (“Little Women”)
Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”)
Renee Zellweger (“Judy”) WINNER

Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”)
Anthony Hopkins (“The Two Popes”)
Al Pacino (“The Irishman”)
Joe Pesci (“The Irishman”)
Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) WINNER

Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”) WINNER
Scarlett Johansson (“Jojo Rabbit”)
Florence Pugh (“Little Women”)
Margot Robbie (“Bombshell”)

Adapted Screenplay
Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”) WINNER
Steve Zaillian (“The Irishman”)
Anthony McCarten (“The Two Popes”)
Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”)
Todd Phillips and Scott Silver (“Joker”)

Best Original Screenplay
Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”)
Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”)
Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns (“1917”)
Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won (“Parasite”) WINNER

Animated Feature
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
“I Lost My Body”
“Klaus”
“Missing Link”
“Toy Story 4” WINNER

International Feature Film
“Corpus Christi”
“Honeyland”
“Les Miserables”
“Pain and Glory”
“Parasite” WINNER

Best Documentary
“American Factory” WINNER
“The Cave”
“Edge of Democracy”
“For Sama”
“Honeyland”

Best Cinematography
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“The Lighthouse”
“1917” WINNER
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Best Costume Design
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women” WINNER
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Film Editing
“Ford vs. Ferrari” WINNER
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Parasite”

Makeup and Hairstyling
“Bombshell” WINNER
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”

Original Score
Hildur Guðnadóttir, “Joker” WINNER
Alexandre Desplat, “Little Women”
Randy Newman, “Marriage Story”
Thomas Newman, “1917”
John Williams, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Original Song
I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” WINNER
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Production Design
“The Irishman”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” WINNER

“Parasite”

Sound Editing
“Ford v Ferrari” WINNER
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Sound Mixing
“Ad Astra”
“Ford vs. Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917” WINNER
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Visual Effects
“Avengers: Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“The Lion King”
“1917” WINNER
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Documentary (Short Subject)
“In the Absence”
“Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone If You’re a Girl” WINNER
“Life Overtakes Me”
“St. Louis Superman”
“Walk Run Cha-Cha”

Short Film (Animated)
“Daughter”
“Hair Love”
“Kitbull”
“Memorable”
“Sister”

Short Film (Live Action)
“Brotherhood”
“Nefta Football Club”
“The Neighbor’s Window” WINNER
“Saria”
“A Sister”

Parasite Film Review

Directed by Bong Joon Ho

Starring: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo

Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content

Wow, I am in genuine shock how great of a film “Parasite” is. For starters, “Parasite” is a film that says so much without having to say anything. What do I mean? Well, take the plot of the film. “Parasite” is about a poor family that slowly infiltrates and gains the trust of a wealthy, upper middle class family in South Korea by misleading the wealthy family. But soon enough, things turn awry for the poor family and do their best to keep their secrets.

That description, at best, does not give out any plot detail because “Parasite” has so many twists and turns. In the first act of the film, I expected the film to go a certain way. Without giving any plot points, I thought the film would be a comedy heist, just because of the light mood the film started with. I can assure you that this film is certainly from light and is not a comedy heist. But halfway into the film, the film takes a dark turn and I thought the film would be a horror film, due to director Bong Joon Ho’s excellent camera work. There are so much in store for anyone who watches the film and will certainly enjoy those twists.

But as mentioned before, the halfway point of the film has a horror element to it. Never have I been so tensed in a scene. Director Bong Joon Ho does an excellent job for terrifying the audience, even though this is not a horror film. There were so many scenes where I was on the edge of my seat. And not all tense moments are scary, some are just everyday regular things. Adding to these scenes, the score truly does elevate other moments as well. There is one scene in particular where the rich father (played by Sun-kyun Lee) is just walking up the steps to talk to his wife, (played by Yeo-jeong Jo) after finding something out about a worker. That scene sounds just a normal scene, but the music in the scene somehow makes it more interesting than it is. I loved moments like this because the score compliments the film very well.

All the actors in the film also do a terrific job. But the characters the actors played made me very sympathetic. On one hand, we have a family struggling to make ends meet and have to rely on lies to do so. On the other, we have a wealthy family who want what is best for themselves and have servants to protect themselves. But a part of me also realizes that both families were guilty of being unsympathetic as well. The poor family has to lie and cheat to gain the trust of wealthy family, who are just so out of touch from the people who are struggling. The best scene that perfectly shows the class division is when one wealthy character, who is doing her makeup in a luxurious closet with beautiful clothes, is calling another character on the phone, who is in a gym with hundreds of other people and worn out clothes and trying to find some new clothes to wear in a pile of used clothes. As I alluded earlier, “Parasite” says so much about wealth and how class division is occurring all around the world, without having to say a word about it at all. Writers Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin-won perfectly use the phrase “show, don’t tell” into their screenplay.

I applaud “Parasite” for being a smart and tense film that takes the audience along for a ride. I did not expect “Parasite” to be as good as a film as it is. I highly recommend to view “Parasite”, it is certainly a treat for all audiences they will enjoy.

4/4