Bo Burnham: Inside Review

 Originally Posted to Letterboxd on July 29th, 2021

"Welcome to the Internet"

I have been a fan of Bo Burnham since I first watched his special, Make Happy on Netflix and I was transfixed by it so much that I became addicted to all of his body of works. From his music, to his other specials, to his feature debut Eighth Grade (which seeing it along with Mission Impossible: Fallout in theaters as a double feature is one of the greatest theater experiences ever), everything about him as a comedian, an entertainer, and as a person is something that I found myself falling in love with. But perhaps the most impressive thing about him is how he creates his works that are both comical to pleasure any average joe, while giving enough deep introspections that speaks both into his own introspection on how the world works and how it can relate to anyone at anytime of the world, and with Inside, he takes all of his tropes and best abilities into the fullest while somehow pushing the boundaries of what he can do as a comedian. 

As we know, the quarantine has left a lot of us into a state of mind that wasn’t normal and drove many of us into insanity. It wasn’t a great experience for a lot of us, trapped into our homes and nothing to really do it. Well, good old Bo takes the concept of being trapped and utilized that it’s full extent. Between the songs, the comedic/satiric look of today’s internet culture, and the overall presentation, we see Bo how he is dealing with the mental state of being trapped into one space for so long and what it can do to you mentally. All of it done in very hilarious and very unusual ways yet fit so line with Bo’s brand of comedy. 

The songs are simply entertaining and very catchy as hell, as usual of Bo’s previous works. But giving context of what this special is saying, it shows that his mind is all over the space. Affecting within his mind, being self aware of what he’s doing and what he wants to create, and even considering that he might give it up because he’s too obsessive with this work and doesn’t know where to go with it that he feel like to quit and let his life go on afterwards. Nearly all of his songs in this special are a symbol of defecting the mindset of how he wants to continue to provide great content for the audience in this new generation, but understand that he’s gone almost down the deep end and not being at ease with himself. Which is sad to see him like this, but it’s also understandable and even relatable. 

Because we know what’s like to be prisoners of our own mind. Our fuck ups, our inner thoughts, our mental state, it’s all closing into ourselves that it affects out ability to be better and improve ourselves in a mental state that’s healthy and pure. Bo understands that. He understands us, because he’s been in the same mental unstable boat before. And he’s demonstrated where he’s been now with his mental state through the playful visuals, unique lighting decisions, unique different styles of filmmaking and the progression of time despite the COVID area we’re in. As well as giving how he’s affected with his mind and how did he get here since the days of his YouTube videos. It’s quite amazing and really sad when you take things into that perspective. 

It’s hard to really dissect and give more thoughts about this special, because there’s a lot to talk about it, and continuing it might give me my own mind going to circles. Though I think drawing comparisons to Synecdoche New York would be an interesting thing to compare with someday. But to sum up in the best way I can, Inside isn’t a special, but rather a compelling and deep experience about a man trying to find ways to express his creative voice and mental state while being trapped into a prison cell both literately and metaphorically. All presented in the most human, hilarious, and compelling ways imaginable that no one like Bo Burnham can master.  Truly the most profound and most artistically profound work 2021 has gave us with. Thank you Bo for this masterpiece of an experience that make us laugh with tears and make us look into our own inner demons and face them head on rather run away from them. Thank you. We don’t deserve you.

Rating: 10/10

The Problem with Nostalgia Pandering and Fan Service

 

In case you may not be aware, there's a little film called "Spider-Man: No Way Home" that's coming out this weekend (or it's already out, depending on when you're reading this), and pretty much the whole world is excited to see it. The main reason? It's because of the come back of beloved takes of the Spider-Man villains from the other Spider-Man live action universe, As well as the possibility of the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider Men on the big screen, and have some form of a part in the MCU (which may or may not happen at the the time of writing this piece). Now part of me is pretty excited to see the Spider-Men I grew up and falling in love with back on the big screen in a big film like this. But the other part of me is scared, because of the possibly they will only be used for empty nostalgia and fan service that serves nothing to the story at large. This leads me to the topic of this essay. The problem with Nostalgia pandering and Fan service.

To understand what I mean by this, let's go over those terms. Nostalgia Pandering is when a piece of media makes constant reference to a singular moment in the series, and Fan Service is often used to give the fans of the medium of art by giving them what they want. These two terms are the driving the forces of a lot of modern blockbusters, and you see this nearly everywhere, Whatever it might be comic book films, or live action remakes of a beloved animated films, or even sequels to beloved classics that came out 20+ years after the original came out, Hollywood is relying a LOT on that dose of nostalgia and fan service to cry out these films. As their mentality has been "the more we show what people love, the more people will buy." And sure, that definitely helps the films out money wise (because after all, film is a business first and form most), it also negativity affects them quality wise. 

See the thing with all of this is by having the film based on the pre-existing properties and using the iconic look and feel as the base line for your film, you're ultimately left with something that's basically "I'm walking down memory lane" and seeing things that you know from past films through constant references and items that makes you go "Hey. I remember that from my childhood.", but with the notion that you're leaving nothing new or interesting. Something that feels like genuine, feels fresh, and feels line with the spirit of what's come before not just through the images and objects we know and love, but through the story, the characters, and the themes. The problem is that Hollywood mainly focus on the former, not the later, and that is what scares me.

The problem with all of the nostalgia pandering and fan service boils downs two major factors. The first is that it shows exactly what we know through either the imagery, the look and feel, or any form of musical cue or catchphrase exchange. You see this in films like "Jurassic World" or the countless live action remakes Disney produced these days ("Petes Dragon", Cinderella" and "The Jungle Book" innocent tho) and they usually provide the same things we have seen before only through a new coat of paint. It's such an easy approach to go by, because it will crank a billion dollars and will get people to talk about because you basically a successful film solely on the nostalgia and love of the pre existing property but offer nothing of real merit in return. It comes off more of "Hey. Remember this thing you love?" "Hey, remember the animated film you love as a kid?" without having any real subtextual reason of why it exists other than to make money and capitalize on people's nostalgia. Pretty much a lot of the time, these film come off as mediocre at best films that offer no real merit of greatness on their own right.

The second factor comes to how it negatively affects the series as large. What I mean by this is that the fan service and nostalgia pandering becomes so apparent and glamorized that it actively damages the story at large.  One of the worst examples of this is "Rise of Skywalker", which is my least Star Wars film ever (yes, even worse than "Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones"). One of the main factors is because it's fan service dominated so much of the story that actively recons 95% of what "The Last Jedi" set ups in service of empty fan service. Like (spoilers for "Rise of Skywalker") bringing back Palpatine recons not only "Last Jedi", but the original trilogy as a whole, making his death feel meaningless. Or when Rey is a Palpatine somehow and then in the end she calls her self "Rey Skywalker". Or when the film draws back references to the pervious films whatever it's through its musical score or appearances from other characters. The fan service in ROS is so bad because it ruined not only the film itself, but also what came before because it doesn't care much about the core ideals of Star Wars is and what it can do for different generations alike, it only cares about please to the hard core fans, and it even couldn't that well. 

And that's where the danger of the nostalgia pandering and fan service comes into play. Hollywood thinks that's what people want to see in films. Just mindless IPs running around on screen, screaming remember us constantly throughout the run time, please them in the most safe and markable way possible. Unfortunately, that's where the future of modern blockbusters is heading towards and it's really fearful. We can get up so much on nostalgia (which, in some aspects, isn't all bad) and loving these multi dollar film franchises so much that Hollywood can make the most generic and blandest blockbuster imaginable, but as long as they thrown things that people know and like in it, people will go out and see it. And while that might not hurt the film financial wise, it will definitely hurt them artistically. Especially if the film is interfere by the studio to add more fan service and nostalgia pandering in the film, even when it's against the filmmakers intent (I mean just look what happened with "Spider-Man 3" and how the studio pushed Sam Raimi to put Venom in the film, even tho he didn't want him to be in "Spider-Man 3"). 

Now this is not to say that ALL nostalgia pandering and fan service is all bad tho. When it's done right, it can be used to great affect on the film as a whole and one of the best examples I think when it's utilized well is "The Last Jedi". Yeah. I never would expect to talk about two Disney Star Wars films in the same essay. But I think 'The Last Jedi" and "Rise of Skywalker" are great examples of when fan service is done right and when it's done poorly, and the former mostly does it correctly.

What makes "The Last Jedi" works so well with its fan service and nostalgia pandering is that Rian Johnson took everything we know and loved about Star Wars and retexualize them in ways that are compelling, multilayered, and personally impactful. From the way it depicts Luke Skywalker not a old wise and badass jedi, but rather a broken flawed man who has the weight of his failures on his shoulder, to the teachings of how the force is source of energy that connects people across different spectrums and how the legacy of the Jedi was failure, hypocrisy, and lies, to even showing that the roles and ideals we are expected to be or searching for that thing that will gives the answers we want won't be the ones we need, the film takes the whole concept of traditional and empty nostalgia pandering and spat on its face. Instead, it takes the fan service and incorporate them to the advantages of the films story, character, and thematic depth in how we shouldn't rely on our trouble pasts to defend us who we are and instead we should use it to grow us into better and wiser people than who we were before hand. As well being a spark of hope for the generation that follows us. That's the main idea "Last Jedi" wants to drive home on, and while there are Star Wars fans who didn't really like the approach it went with, I think it's handled brilliantly. Rian Johnson understands that the series can't rely on fan service 100% of the time and needs to grow beyond of what we know and embrace something new out of it and I love it.

To point some other examples of how nostalgia pandering and fan service is handled very well include "Toy Story 4", which takes the core theme of the previous films (that being of being there for someone when they need you, no matter if you're a toy or a person) and destruct it into a way that adds to Woody's character arc of making the decision is that's best for him, while sticking to the core ideas of the series in a way that still feels fresh, unique and impactful. Even (spoilers for "Toy Story 4" in case if you haven't seen it) when the film ends with the iconic line "To Infinity and Beyond" at the end where Woody and Buzz are parting their ways, but the connection will always be with them through that lie is such a perfect note to end the film on. "Trainspotting 2" is another great example of how you incorporate nostalgia into a film, as the nostalgic callbacks are essential to the story as a whole, and it's utilized to the dive deeper into the character's lives and relationships they have with one another and how it changed since the first film. Even using the famous "Choose Life" monologue from the first film and update to reflect both the modern culture of today and the disappointment of one could have when looking back on the choices they make and how it affects them. I could provide more examples of when fan service and nostalgia pandering has their place in art, but you get the picture. 

To sum this essay up, I think the constant fan service and nostalgia pandering in mainstream films is a very big concern in Hollywood and is actively damaging to the state we create them. Whatever it be constantly using iconic IPs and the memories we have associated with it, or using it in a negative light that actively damages the story at large, it's a trend in Hollywood that hurting in the artistic approach in making films. Films that can tell unique stories, make something personal, something impactful. Instead keep the same run of the mill blockbusters to popular IPs with little to no thought in putting effort in making the fan and nostalgia service mean something. I mean to quote Mr. Incredible,"It's psychotic! They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity, but if someone is genuinely exceptional...", I mean that speaks for itself.

Fan Service and Nostalgia Pandering can easy to throw in and expect the audience to love it no matter what. But if someone is willing to make something they know and love and use it as the basis to tell a compelling story with characters that we care about, themes that are relevant to us as a viewer, and filmmaking on the top of its game, then it can leave a great impact more than being another film you watch and forget about it in two weeks. At the time of writing this, I haven't seen "No Way Home" and I don't know how it will handled its fan service. But I hope that's utilized in not just a trip down memory lane type of fan service, but the type that explores the story, characters, and themes in a very impactful and meaningful way. 

One can only hope.    

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Movie Review

 

Originally Posted to Letterboxd on July 22nd, 2021

"It's a Leap of Faith"

When it comes to the realm of comic book characters, I think there is no other character (besides Batman) that is more iconic and more beloved than the good friendly neighbor Spider Man. This character has gone through many interpretations. From movies, to tv shows, to video games, to comic books, etc, Spider Man has been a household name for almost 60 years and has a character that has inspired millions of people across different generations (including me). However, there is rarely something out there that reminds why we loved the character and what he stood for, and how can anyone be a hero in our own kind. This is where Into the Spider-verse comes to picture and shows to the world how that love letter is handled perfectly. As well being the best Spider Man film we gotten since Rami’s Spider Man 2. 

The thing that’s most notable about Spider-verse is that feels like a comic book come to life. And I don’t mean like “oh wow, there’s comic book characters in this film”, I mean it’s like a living breathing comic book come to life. Every detail from the comic panels, to the tiny details of the text bubbles, to the the designs of the characters, to the movement of the animation in general. It all feels like a comic book brought to life for the big screen and it’s demonstrated so flawlessly through the animation styles, excellent color choices, and graceful movements that gives each action sequence, web swinging, and internal thoughts of the characters so much life and excitement as much as reading like a comic book and seeing the visuals pop out as beautifully and as organically as they are. Not to mention that every detail is moving on a constant speed that not a single moment felt wasted or such. It’s reading a page from a comic and see that translated beautifully with slick perfection. Films like this are reasons why animation is such an amazing art form and stories like this wouldn’t nearly work as well if it’s in live action.

But as we all know, the visual presentation can only get you so far if the substance is equally as spectacular, and thankfully the substance is just as equally as amazing as the visual presentation. What Directors Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman, and Peter Ramsey (along with producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller) did with this story is something remarkable. Rather than making this a Peter Parker story, they decided to shift the focus on Miles Morales and while his story lines close to what Peter started off (with him being bitten by a radioactive spider), his journey of discovering who he is and finding that potential he has as a Spider Man deeply personal and relatable. On top his arc being extremely incredible, his connection with the other spider verse people like Peter B. Parker, Spider Gwen, Spider Man Nior, Peni Parker, and Spider Pig also connects with Miles’s connection and struggle with him dealing with Spider Man on an emotional level and it’s not only interesting to see the different types of Spider Man appear on screen, but it strives home on the theme that anyone can wear the mask and take the leap of faith in doing right in the world with the powers you have without coming off as annoyingly preachy.  

It’s also a film that isn’t ashamed of being a comic book film. Like I mention before, it’s rooted into the comic book lore based on not only with the details, but on the overall vibes and how it embraces the story and nature that’s inline with how Stan Lee and Steve Ditko always had in mind with writing the character in the first place while also bring more of its own style and flavor to make it work for the modern area. As we are changing and evolving over time both in art and in real life, we grow into different people and we want to feel like we’re seen in the world. Spiderverse shows that no matter who we are or where we come, we can put on the mask and show the world we can be Spider Man in our set in minds. 

I could go on and on about how this film is incredible in every sight, but you probably heard enough about amazing this film is, so I won’t dabble on it too long. Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse is a perfect lover to Spider Man and comic books as a whole, and truly an amazing film that everyone can enjoy and find something amazing in it. Whatever it’s the amazing visual flare that feels like a comic coming to life, or the personal rooted characters and themes it wants to explore, this film has it all and I don’t think we’ll ever get a film like this for a very long time, especially in the state of comic book films today are. It’s a one of a kind film that I’m truly happy it exists.

Rating: 10/10

The Iron Giant Movie Review

 

Originally Posted to Letterboxd on July 21st, 2021 

"I am not a Gun."

Back in the 90’s, Disney was having their massive run with their animated musicals/ renaissance era based on how they were pushing the boundaries they can do as a company and the quality of their films with hits such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. These films were huge hits both criticality and financially (Lion King especially), that as typical in Hollywood where something is huge and successful, everyone wants to bite the apple by releasing their own animated musicals/films to see if they can get form of that same success Disney had, and the results haven’t been all that great. Some of them worked (like The Prince of Egypt for example), but most of them turned out to not that great and simply forgets what made the Disney renaissance so successful. However in the year of 1999, Warner Bros animation released an animated film that was more of their own unique voice and not animated musical like everyone else was doing at the time (WB included). But even with its poor box office performance, it was a film that somehow out did Disney in their own game. That film is none other than Brad Bird’s masterpiece, The Iron Giant. 

What makes The Iron Giant so special is that it takes many familiar tropes and cliches within stories of its nature and not only plays into the simplest of vibes, but it also gives it extra layer of complexity to it that makes every story beat, character interaction, and thematic depth that the film has to offer that much more impactful. Which is owe to Brad Bird’s tremendous writing and directing that shows both the amount talent the man is in both departments (especially for a debut feature), and how he makes sure that every moment, scene, plot thread, etc has it’s placement and purpose to the film has a whole. On top with that, the animation presented in Iron Giant is nothing short of spectacular. Every inch of landscape, character design, backdrops, choices of colors and settings are filled with rich depth, personality, and unique likeness that not only fits within the 50’s setting the film has, but even makes what type of humor and dramatic punches that more unique and alive. As well as giving it particular reasons for each choices made throughout the film and makes the whole experience that more affective. Not to mention the 3D on the Giant is blended so seemingly with the 2D animation that’s incredible and shocking how well it works. 

Like I mention before, the simple plot allows more complexity and depth within the story and characters. The heart of the film lies into the relationship Hogarth and the 50 ft Giant and how it keeps in line with the meaningful and cheerful tone while not being afraid to explore on deep and heavy themes like paranoia, fear, death, and the inner morality within you and the choices you make that affects and dictates the life you want to have for yourself. All heavy themes, yet explored in such an affective way that both kids and adults can latch onto. Making a worthwhile experience that’s heavy with its emotional core, but also a lot of fun to watch. Again, not only is due to Bird’s style of writing and directing, but also through the great characters that are so simple, compelling, and fun and straight to the point to be invested in (on top it’s great voice acting from its cast), and how it plays to both the 50’s B movie like world while also connecting to the real world experiences that’s not only in line with the Cold War analysis of its time, but even connecting to the similar paranoia and fear we’re have today. It’s crazy that an 86 min animated film can provide more depth and layers than most live action films out there. 

It’s a shame that this film performed poorly upon release, but it’s amazing that everyone (even WB to an extent) has giving it the recognition it deserves. The Iron Giant is the type of animated film we don’t see any more. One that takes on such simple concepts and ideas gives it an extra layer of depth into everything both its presentation and substance. Giving this film both a compelling and entertaining watch that anyone of age can enjoy and appreciate thanks to it’s beautiful animation, masculine style, and exploring deep themes within the confines of its story, characters, and themes that makes this film I would gladly revisit every year or so. It’s an absolute watch not just for animated fans and fans of good high quality cinema, but for anyone really. It’s one of the few times the term masterpiece is rightfully deserved. We don’t deserve some one as brilliant like Brad Bird. 

Also forgot to mention that this film better gets the concept of Superman than most films that feature Superman. Just saying.

Rating: 10/10

Welcome

Hello y'll. One Less Helper from Letterboxd here. Welcome to my new blog page where my Lengthy reviews will be covering from now. This page will include reviews not just from those I already done from my letterboxd page, but also new reviews, lists, and essays about anything that's on my mind. So fell free to explore this page and see my extensive thoughts on the things I'm passionate about here.