Cin Cin Cinema: Movies I Watched This Week

Cin Cin friends! I’ve decided since I make these weekly round-up videos on Tik Tok I should write about them for DGM. SO welcome to this new weekly segment titled Movies I Watched This Week! I’ll tell you everything I saw, and my thoughts. This week I had the privilege of going to the Buffalo International Film Festival to see four foreign short films so my list is a bit longer than usual, but let’s just jump right into this week’s catalog.

Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Starting off the week with a family-friendly horror flick, I sat down with my parents to watch Evil Dead Rise, directed by Lee Cronin on Max. To my surprise, the film was not as scare based as I was expecting, rather I noticed a healthy blend of interpersonal familial conflict and evil dead people covered in goop. This horror story follows two sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of demons. Alyssa Sutherland stole the show as Ellie, from her first moments on screen I knew her performance was gonna be killer. The attempted intense relationship between Ellie and her sister Beth (Lily Sullivan) was a bit lost on me, it felt forced at times and didn’t add much to the story. The title card is one of my favorites I’ve seen so far this year. I found the gore and scares to be digestible, nothing was so repulsive or terrifying that I had to shield my eyes which I prefer in my horror films. I was hoping LA being the place setting for the film would have created some more  theatrical scenes, but the film was limited to a soon-to-be demolished apartment building. Overall I think this is a light-hearted, devilishly filling horror movie that you can enjoy with your mom beside you on the couch!

3.5/5 Olives

Where to watch: Max

Climax (2018)

If you are looking for something foreign, terrifying, seductive, and full of surprises, this is the film for you! Climax has been on my watchlist for quite some time and I finally checked it off. Imagine a night out with your dance company; everyone’s having a great time; drinking sangria; hooking up. Then you all start to feel a little out of control and you realize the sangria was spiked. Your evening just went from fun to frightening. This chaotic and stress-inducing film is in French, and subtitles do not do justice to the beautiful cinematography of this film. It’s so kinetic, colorful, loud, and horrific in the best way possible. This film had one scene, involving kicking, that made me feel physically distraught; which you may think is dramatic but my stomach ached afterwards. I am a huge fan of ensemble casts and the way this story is put together like a choreographed number, I could not look away. I don’t have the right vocabulary to pitch you this film, I just really think you should give it a shot, especially if you're a fan of psychological thrillers and body horror. It is an eventful watch and a great film to add to your Letterboxd. 

⅘ Olives

Where to watch: Max

E for Eileen (2023)

This is the first short I got to see at BIFF this past Tuesday and what a pleasant viewing it was. This film is not only gorgeous in its composition of shots and use of primary colors, but it is so rich and full even in the moments when the air feels empty.This short follows  Eileen Gray as she spends her last day in the house she designed and built. Her solitude is then interrupted by the arrival of old friends, and passionate lovers. The production and costume design tells another story within itself, the dialogue is limited and yet so purposeful. Each line provides a lens into the complex relationships of the people in the home. I love when the chemistry between two actors is so strong I get giddy, and the two women in this film made me feel so desperate to know more about their past I was on the literal edge of my seat. Unfortunately this film is not as accessible as others so if you find it please let me know! 

5/5 Olives

Somewhere in Between (2023) 

Just fifteen minutes, and yet it feels like a lifetime of passion and devastation. This film tells the most beautiful story of Elias and Christine in their final moments together like I’ve never seen before. This film is a true testament of love and partnership, being in Lebanese I was relying on the subtitles for context in the first moments, and then they were unnecessary to me. This story is so rich with chemistry, the shots are so romantic and intimate, and the story encompasses a lifetime of love in its final moments. Grief is a complicated and very layered weight to be carried, and this film does such a beautiful job of depicting acceptance of death. Again, I had the privilege of seeing this film at the Buffalo International Film Festival so it may not be as accessible. If there’s one film you should indulge in on this list, I would highly recommend this one. I haven’t seen such a raw emotion in cinema like this in a while. 

5/5 Olives

La Chimera (2023)

Did I watch this movie solely for Josh O’Conner? Absolutely. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how theatrical and fun the film was in its entirety. I knew this movie was gonna be good because I’ve heard so much about it, but I was not expecting to laugh so much at the movement and composition of certain shots. The film follows Arthur, Josh O’Connor, after his release from jail. He’s an English archaeologist who reconnects with a group of friends to dig up graves in search of ancient treasure. This film is primarily in Italian which just adds to the romantic scenery and production design, there is a prominent sense of community and support for Arthur as he attempts to get back into his routine prior to his sentence. My favorite scene happens in the beginning of the film, when Arthur gets up to look out the window on the train, all of the other passengers lean into the aisle to observe him. It’s so fast and precise, it was really funny and reminded me of Wes Anderson’s style of filmmaking. I absolutely loved this film, it’s available on DIsney+ for your viewing pleasure. Please experience Josh’s incredible performance, it will make you fall deeper in love with Patrick Zweig. 

5/5 Olives

Where to watch: Disney+

I Spit On Your Grave (1978)

If you are looking for a good female-led revenge film about taking back your autonomy and power from the men who took advantage of it, this is not the film for you. This movie was an extensive display of men preying on a woman in the woods, involving graphic scenes depicting gang rape. I’ve spoken before about my distaste for sexual assault scenes in film, especially graphic and prolonged scenes, but I’ll breifly reiterate how I don’t find them necessary.  The last half hour of the film finally gave the revenge sequence we we’re looking for, but it wasn’t done well in my opinion. Overall I think there are far better films of this genre, even remakes of this film would be better suited. On a positive note, there was a great scene involving a knife and a bathtub, so I’ll leave you with that. 

0.5/5 Olives

Where to watch: Tubi

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

This horror story has the perfect recipe for success, and yet it still falls a little flat. A family goes on a road trip and they get stranded in a vast desert of nothingness, their trip just went from bad to worse when they are separated and come face-to-face with mutant cannibals. These blood-thirsty people are products of living in an atomic waste-land. The film has a great set-up for classic slasher horror, but something about it was missing. The cast does a great job of maintaining their familial drama with near-death experiences in the dark…in the desert. I think it was hard to be scared or fall entirely into the story because the mutant people weren’t as scary as they were made out to be. I think this film is still great in terms of its subject matter and set-up, but it wasn’t my favorite execution. I still would recommend this film for fun and to expose others to the mutant people, and I do think the poster is just so sick it’s worth the watch.

2.5/5 Olives

Where to watch: Tubi

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

A brilliant and corny display of mindless murder, it’s fantastic. I watched this movie the other night at a sleepover with my friends and it was the perfect choice. This film totally embodies the lure of early horror, its cheesy and gory, wildly predictable, and yet it still kept my full attention. I think the choice of a portable power drill is hilarious. In one of my college film classes we discussed the tradition of slasher-horror films and why they typically have a male killer who uses a phallic weapon; like a knife or a chainsaw, or portable power drill. The weapon has to be inserted forcefully into the victims to perform the killings, it’s often very sexual and aggressive, like in Friday the 13th or Halloween, even Nightmare on Elm Street with the finger knives. This was a great slumber party movie, not only due to circumstance but just because it's amusing. Though the plot was lack-luster, the chase scenes in the house were fantastic, as were the ones in the school. I highly recommend this for your friends scared of horror, you get the gore and everything without the fear if that makes sense. 

4.5/5

Where to watch: Tubi

This week was full of foreign delights and attempted terror, unfortunately nothing scared my socks off but I did have laughs and tears. Even when a film isn’t my favorite, I can still appreciate the time it took to make it and the purpose behind it. But, it’s also okay to not live every movie, art is subjective as we always say around here. I highly recommend going outside your comfort zone and exploring the libraries of cinema all across streaming; if you can make it to the theater that's always a bonus. Till next time, I’m gonna watch more movies and I hope you do the same. I think I’m gonna start tackling that Criterion Closet now… Cin Cin!

See you soon,

Paige B