No Other Choice

OH YEAH Just a fucking rad time at the theater. Absolutely hilarious and quietly devastating with a wide ensemble of well-developed, intriguing characters (including a young autistic girl who is not shamed by her parents, but loved and supported??? More of this pls!!!) The decisions to spotlight some of the victims and reflect them back in Man-soo was just brilliant. Lee Byung-hun absolutely bodies his “going insane but still just a sweet gardening dad at heart” role as he stumbles through murdering people Three Stooges style. His comedic timing is PERFECT and Park Chan-wook tees him up consistently, with some of the best situational comedy I’ve seen this year. I NEED Park Chan-wook to write and direct more comedies because his sensibilities transferred to comedy so damn well. I know he’s ventured this direction before, but it was much earlier in his career, and he truly shines as a fully-realized comedic writer and director. ALSO, I’m here to say it again — when it comes to editing, NO ONE IS DOING IT LIKE CHAN-WOOK!!!! From the most creative crossfades I’ve seen to GNARLY practical hard cuts to cutting back and forth between stories in a way no one else would consider, I firmly believe he and his editor are the best in the game, and are what truly set his work apart from everyone else. The post production quality was further elevated by the BEST sound design of the year, bar NONE. If it doesn’t win the Oscar for sound design, the academy is a lie (which we knew already but let me hold out one last shred of hope for the eargasm that is this film) Also saw this at an early access screening at the IMAX theater and was geeking the whole time :D HELL YEAH HELL YEAHHHHH And you can’t forget that this film features the most insane couples costume to ever grace the screen 😭😭😭 Community quote: Jeff and Annie chase the professor through a greenhouse.