amber

ugh i had a good time lowkey

I’m gonna be so honest I fully thought this was a mockumentary at first until they showed footage of them when they were younger and it fully hit me that this is just their actual lives, which made everything even funnier. it honestly felt like something i’d stumble upon on youtube in the best way possible.  i really like how the film never feels like it is trying to be funny, which is why it works so so well for me. everything just comes from the people themselves, the way they talk, the pacing of conversations, and how completely serious they are about everything and i just love watching people who are a little strange but fully committed to what they care about, and this feels like the perfect version of that. it is ridiculous but also kind of admirable at the same time. Like they’re all crazy but I’m like ‘awwww I love them’. uncle bill is easily one of the best parts. every scene with him is so good. the humor throughout the film feels so natural and specific that it would be impossible to script. I love when mark almost ‘breaks’ around him because he is just so effortlessly blunt and hilarious. and mike was a close second. I actually can’t believe he isn’t a scripted character. as someone who absolutely loves editing documentaries, i could not stop thinking about how insane it must’ve been to edit this. there is so much material here and it is shaped in a way that makes everything land perfectly. i am honestly jealous of whoever got to work on this. it is chaotic, really funny, and weirdly endearing. i really loved it and definitely very different from anything I’ve ever seen before. it gives me the same vibe as when the random old person starts talking to me at like a gas station. like I’m kinda scared but like intrigued and want to be their friend.

the movie begins with a live-action performance of a series called powertron. two boys run out calling it cheap. in the first minute the film has already established its major themes: this is a story about the gap between reality and the image. i just absolutely love this film and watching it for the third time, i can say it doesn’t get old. the animation isn’t perfect but i love it! it captures everything and adds to the unsettling vibes. the character designs are so interesting, and mr me-mania is genuinely so damn creepy every time he’s on screen. the way shots from double bind are used for fake outs is just genius and just add to the instability that this film revolves around. the themes are fascinating, and while the director has said this isn’t a critique of the idol industry, i really think it should be. to be a woman is to perform, and this film perfectly shows the parasocial relationship problem with a lot of celebrities, especially in j-pop where idols are seen as pure and accessible. it’s all just an image or persona, and we really see the toll it takes on mima and how she gets taken advantage of throughout it. watching this film (and watching video essays about it) has helped me understand it more, which makes me appreciate it even more on rewatch. the sound design for suspense is incredible, and watching rumi knowing her revealed identity makes me notice little signs i completely missed the first time. the scene where rumi (as mima) is about to get hit by the truck and reaches out as if she’s on stage is just absolutely beautiful. this film really scratches my brain in all the right ways. i was never planning on watching it again anytime soon, but i’m so glad i did.

i enjoyed this! i found myself confused most of the time but genuinely wanting to keep watching to find the answers which always makes a movie stand out to me! what worked for me most was how weird it was. it really leans into being strange and doesn’t try to make itself more palatable, which i appreciated. a lot of movies right now feel too safe, and this didn’t. the acting was insane. i feel like a lot of modern movies have pretty bad acting lately, so this stood out. Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons were both amazing. i always like him in weird roles, and this one was no different. i also loved how grimy they made his character look. it added a lot. don’s character also really stayed with me. i looked it up after and saw that the actor is autistic in real life, which i think is great representation and really adds to the character and the moment where he shoots himself actually made my jaw drop. i love when a movie can genuinely surprise me like that. at the same time, i feel like i kind of knew the twist the whole time. i don’t know if i got spoiled on tiktok at some point and just forgot, but i had a feeling it was going to turn out that she was actually an alien. when it happened, i wasn’t too shocked, and i don’t know if i like it or not. i keep going back and forth on it. i feel like her actually being an alien makes me think of the film more as a comedy. not in a conventional, Superbad type of way, but in a weird, outlandish sense. i don’t know if that works for me or not, but it definitely changes how i see the movie. i also feel like if she wasn’t actually an alien, it would land more as a social commentary about conspiracy thinking and that whole mindset, but the fact that she is kind of muddles that message for me. overall, i had a really good time with it, even if i am still unsure about parts of it. it’s the kind of movie that sticks with you after. would be a cool movie to rewatch after knowing everything bc a lot of Emma Stone's acting choices could convey different emotions upon second watch. also the final shots were stunning, absolutely loved that!