/slash 2016 – Day 4: The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi)

Posted on September 28, 2016 by cornholio1980

the-handmaidenThe Handmaiden
South Korea 2016
Written by Seo-Kyung Chung & Chan-wook Park
Directed by Chan-wook Park
Watched on 25.09.2016

“The Handmaiden” is the latest movie from Chan-wook Park. After his Revenge-trilogy, “Thirst” and “Stoker”, my expectations were incredibly high, and even though “The Handmaiden” might not have met them completely, it nevertheless is another great entry on his filmography.

I haven’t read the novel yet on which this movie is based on, so I can’t compare the two. However, I’m now very curious to read it (even though it might take me a while to get there), which is always a good sign. I really liked the story, and especially the way it was told here (however, I obviously can’t say if the structure is the same in the book, or if that was an invention of the script). We start off from Sook-Hee’s point of view, up until the first of many twist, which in my opinion also was by far its best one. That really left me completely stunned and with my mouth open. Then, the movie doubles back, and retells the story from Lady Hideko’s perspective, and what was really masterful about that is that we suddenly get to see the other side of things and/or scenes before and after what we’ve seen before which complete the picture, even though before I didn’t really have the impression that anything was missing. The closest example than I can come up with are lenticular images, which show one picture when you look at them from one side, and then, when you tilt them, you suddenly see a different view of the same motif (like night and day, for example). That’s “The Handmaiden” in a nutshell, and one of the things that made it so fascinating for me.

“The Handmaiden” is also extremely erotic. Whether it’s the arousing sex-scenes themselves, or the stories that are read in the book club (which are sometimes enacted in some sort of dream sequences, and sometimes left to our imagination), I found “The Handmaiden” to be a highly sensual experience. Chan-wook Park’s direction was gorgeous as always, telling the story in incredibly beautiful, haunting visuals. The score was also great, and fit the movie perfectly with its elegance. It’s also incredibly well acted, with the two leading ladies standing out in particular. Both were absolutely great in their particular roles, giving many facets to their characters, and also making them very likeable so that I ended up really rooting for them. My only major complaint is the scene where they destroyed all these poor books. While I understood why they did it, it was a little bit too close to the mindset of, for example, conservatives screaming for the banning or censorship of certain books which they deem to be too dirty, unworthy, trashy or whatever – which I simply couldn’t get behind. And like so many movies at this year’s /slash Filmfestival, it was just a tad too long for its own good. Nevertheless, “The Handmaiden” is an absolutely mesmerizing film that reaffirms Chan-wook Park as one of the modern masters of cinema.
8/10


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/slash 2016 – Day 4: The Mermaid (Mei ren yu)

Posted on September 28, 2016 by cornholio1980

the-mermaidThe Mermaid
China 2016
Written by Hing-Ka Chan, Stephen Chow, Chi Keung Fung, Miu-Kei Ho, Ivy Kong, Si-Cheun Lee, Zhengyu Lu & Kan-Cheung Tsang
Directed by Stephen Chow
Watched on 25.09.2016

“The Mermaid” was incredibly sweet, funny and entertaining. It may not be the deepest movie ever, but I definitely had a blast with it. And despite all the humor, there’s an important message about the protection and preservation of the environment that I also very much appreciated.

On the other hand, I’m afraid I haven’t got that much to say about it. It’s very slight entertainment, even though there’s a serious message at its core. Nothing about the way the story progresses will surprise you, but as long as the said story is as entertaining as here, I don’t mind. I really liked the love story of the mermaid falling in love with the man she’s supposed to kill. Yes, it was predictable, clichéd and corny, but both of them were likeable enough to still make me root for them. Also, the octopus-man was a really great idea; that really was something new, at least for me. Its biggest strength, however, is the humor. It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed so much and so hard in a movie theatre, and I don’t expect to see a funnier scene this year than the one at the police station. That one really had me in stitches; I laughed so hard that I could barely breathe. Granted, there’s the occasional head-scratching moment (Why doesn’t the old mermaid interfere sooner? Why is Liu Xuan walking along the entire jetty instead of dropping her into the water to his left or right?), but I don’t want to be a spoil-sport. If you’re looking for very funny, romantic, slight and entertaining cinematic fare, look no further than “The Mermaid”.
8/10


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/slash 2016 – Day 4: Fantastic Shorts Competition

Posted on September 27, 2016 by cornholio1980

In its seventh year, the /slash Filmfestival is going to give out an audience award for the first time, for the best short film. The winner wasn’t announced yet (I’ll update this post as soon as we know), but below you’ll find very short reviews for each and every one of them.

Night of the Slasher
Easily my favorite one from the entire selection. A nice and funny homage to slasher-flicks in general and “Halloween” in particular (the killer’s mask alone was brilliant), it had a great and intriguing concept, and was really entertaining from start to finish. Probably its major strength for me, however, was its impression of having been shot in one single take. I guess they could have hidden cuts in those quick tracking shots, but as long as they aren’t noticeable, I don’t mind.
8/10

Eat my Shit
Actually, the idea itself wasn’t too bad, and it told a nice misfit-story. But ultimately, the basic idea was already to gross for me, and the final scene didn’t help with that one bit. Those you can stomach – or might even enjoy – potty humor may like it more.
3/10

The Procedure
The second-worst of the selection for me. I don’t find farts particularly funny, and the screaming as well as the alarm got on my nerves very quickly. At least it’s really very short, with just four minutes, but ultimately, it’s also completely pointless.
2/10

Tiny Creatures
Sweet desserts (cupcakes etc.) are fighting against fruit (I know which side I would pick!) in this very funny, charming and – dare I say it – sweet stop motion-animated short film.
7/10

Summer’s Puke is Winter’s Delight
While I liked the message that this very strange animated movie arguably tried to convey, it ultimately just was too weird for me, and was just the first animated short film that seemed to invite LSD-consumption. Nah.
3/10

Heaven
Another weak and totally worthless entry, “Heaven” features 13 minutes of varied shots of nature (mostly insects), accompanied by loud breathing sounds. What the actual fuck? Ok, granted, the shots in itself were nice to look at, but that’s about it. Ultimately, it just went on for far too long, and sooner rather than later, I just waited for it to finally be over.
2/10

Conibear
Definitely one of the better entries. Extremely well shot and thus offering a couple of beautiful images, and then telling a nice, gripping story in itself! Only the constant slow motion got a little tiresome after a while.
7/10

Voiceless
At first, I thought that this would be about the pigs that are slaughtered, who are the voiceless victims who, through this short film, are given a voice. Instead, it went into a totally different direction, and while said shift was pleasingly surprising, it was also a little weird. However, it also was beautifully shot, mostly black and white, but with speckles of color here and there (a particular style that so far, I haven’t grown tired yet).
7/10

Arcana
The make-up of the witch was great, and I loved how it worked with sounds to let certain images (for which they didn’t have the budget) come up in your mind. Nevertheless, it was quire thin on the plot-front.
4/10

Gwilliam
Together with “Tiny Creatures”, the funniest of these short films. A neat little story, told in just a couple of minutes, but ultimately, also rather inconsequential.
6/10

Don’t Tell Mom
Those crazy Japanese guys strike again, with yet another far out animated film that had me wish I would have brought some controlled substances. Again, far too weird for me, but at least it was short enough to not get too irritating.
3/10

Squame
The idea might have been interesting, and it was pretty to look at. But ultimately, I didn’t have much use for it.
3/10

Wild Skin
My third-favorite of the short films presented here, and I wouldn’t be surprise (let alone upset) if this should turn out to be the winner. The setup reminded me a little bit of Dominik Hartl’s brilliant “Spitzendeckchen” (if you haven’t seen it, check it out). It was a nice idea and story, told really well in just a couple of minutes, and carried by an enthralling lead performance by Marilyn Castonguay. Mesmerizing!
8/10

The Laughing Spider
Strike three for crazy Japanese animation. In this case, I found it quite reminiscent of the clips of Monty Python – but without their elegance. With a running time of seven minutes, it was also way too long for its own good, and thus turned out to be the worst of the three, at least in my book.
2/10

Voice of Apocalypse
A great short musical about the last night before the end of the world, and how the guests of a club have to decide who of them will get a second chance on life, thanks to the time machine of a brilliant scientist (however, unfortunately not brilliant enough to make it usable for more than two people). Great songs, a nice love story, and a sublime final twist. Brilliant!
8/10

Lost
As much as I’d like to support local filmmakers, I’m sorry to say that in my book, “Lost” was clearly the worst of the short films presented here. Mostly because it felt so lazy. I may not have like some of the rest, but at least they put some real effort in. This no-budget attempt, however, really seemed like a sorry excuse to be able to participate in this competition, and ultimately didn’t work for me at all.
2/10

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/slash 2016 – Day 2: Sadako v Kayako

Posted on September 27, 2016 by cornholio1980

sadako-vs-kayakoSadako v Kayako
Japan 2016
Written by Takashi Shimizu & Kôji Suzuki
Directed by Kôji Shiraishi
Watched on 24.09.2016

Sadako v Kavako merges the two main J-horror-franchises that became popular around the turn of the century. I’m familiar with both of them (even though I can’t claim to have seen all their prequels, sequels, sidequels, whatever) and hold their respective first parts, “Ringu” and “Ju-on”, in very high regard. Both of them scared the shit out of me when I watched them back in the day, offered fresh, unique and memorable ideas, and stayed with me for quite a while. This mashup of both franchises, however, which comes at least 10 years too late anyway, is a disappointingly lazy attempt to cash in on their popularity.

Actually, the idea itself was quite promising. And I like the way how they reintroduced the curse of the video tape, with it having become some sort of infamous urban legend, is talked about during a lecture, and then two female students stumble upon it by chance, finding it in an old VCR they bought to digitize a wedding video. Spelled out like that it may sound strained, but it actually worked quite well for me. I also liked the idea of what would happen if such a video would be found today, with the modern technology (like the internet) at our disposal. Too bad, however, that they hardly did anything with that idea, which could have been really interesting. Nevertheless, that was at least one of the very few new ideas they had to offer, so kudos for that. And even though it might have been hardly original, when they repeated the most iconic scares and moments, they still worked for me (surprisingly enough). Which is also the main reason why, despite all its shortcomings and frustrating elements, I can’t trash it completely.

Nevertheless, the bad unfortunately far outweighs the good. For example, I really could have done without all that possession-crap. I loved the idea that when you watch the video, 2 days later Sadako will come and kill you (or make you kill yourself), but that she’s some sort of demon that possesses you as soon as you’ve seen the video… nah. That whole excorcism-like scene was strange, like out of a completely different movie, and I also didn’t care for the possession expert (who should have been a little older in my book) and his young, blind female sidekick. And what was up with the weird way he moved his hand around all the time? That just looked incredibly silly. I also will never understand what got into them to decide to change the video so drastically. The old one was really creepy and very mysterious. The new one was just lame. I guess they mostly wanted to lose the well so that it would be a “new” image (at least as far as the movie itself is concerned) during the finale, but that alone is no reason to change the entire video. And especially not to substitute it with such a weak effort.

If you get the impression that I’m neglecting the “Ju-on”-part of this movie, it’s because that’s pretty much what the filmmakers did, too. “Sadako v Kayako” mostly revolves around Sadako’s cursed video tape, with everything about Kayako and the cursed house feeling like an afterthought (it wouldn’t surprise me if this project originally started off as a flat-out sequel to “Ringu”, and nothing else). Yes, there’s the bit with the school boys who enter the house, as well as the school girl who gets haunted by Kayako, but overall, the “Ju-on”-based story barely registered. It then all boils down to an incredibly disappointing showdown. One should think that if you plan on having two J-horror icons face off on-screen, you would also have some interesting and cool ways how they might fight each other up your sleeve. Nope. They’re struggling a little bit on the floor, Sadako uses her hair as a weapon, and that’s about it. And as if that wouldn’t already be bad enough, they then kinda merged into this crappily made CGI-monster. That was easily the worst part of the movie, and just an incredible letdown. Add to that a frustrating conclusion – the movie rather stops than ends – and you’ve got a totally disposable and unnecessary crossover that ultimately does wrong by both franchises which it tries to squeeze some easy bucks from.
3/10


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/slash 2016 – Day 3: Spring Break Zombie Massacre

Posted on September 26, 2016 by cornholio1980

spring-break-zombie-massacreSpring Break Zombie Massacre
USA 2016
Written by Sam Suchmann & Mattie Zufelt
Directed by Robert Carnevale
Watched on 25.09.2016

It is really difficult for me to write about this movie, since there’s such a strong disparity between what I think about the idea behind it, and the result. I absolutely love the fact that these two guys with Down’s syndrome wrote and starred in this movie, and thus got the opportunity to live their dream, both behind and in front of the camera. I very much hope they’ll be able to continue to do so, and that this experience helped them feel more like a part of a society that unfortunately so often marginalizes them. Unfortunately, the fact that I loved the story behind the movie doesn’t necessarily mean that I also enjoyed the movie in its own right.

“Spring Break Zombie Massacre” goes on for just 45 minutes, and weirdly enough, it felt both too long and too short. Too long because after a while, the whole zombie, demons and devil-business got a little tiresome, and too short because we’re thrown into the proceedings without hardly getting to know any of the characters. There are also a couple of really weird choices, like having this zombie apocalypse take place over the course of many months, with life seemingly mostly uninterrupted. That was very strange. And of course, the way how Sam and Mattie portray woman is not ok – even though it’s very telling of the kind of society we live in. As much as I can understand their desire to be desired, I found that to be rather sad and tragic. Also, the movie is a little uneven, and also quite erratic at times. And the showdown was a little too weird for my taste. However, given the fact how much I appreciate that those two had a chance to make this movie – put in plain terms: They have just as much right to make bad movies with sexist undertones as the next guy – I have a hard time slamming it completely, even though I personally didn’t have much use for it. Thus, even though for me, it’s more of an oddity than a successful experiment in its own right, I very much recommend you watching it, even though it’s more to support the idea behind the movie, than the movie itself.
4/10


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/slash 2016 – Day 3: Hentai Kamen – The Abnormal Crisis

Posted on September 26, 2016 by cornholio1980

hentai-kamen-the-abnormal-crisisHentai Kamen: The Abnormal Crisis
Japan 2016
Written by Yûichi Fukuda
Directed by Yûichi Fukuda
Watched on 24.09.2016

In my review of the first one, I stated my hope that they will come up with some fresh ideas for the sequel, since I already felt the first one a little lacking in that department, with the same gags repeated over and over again, making it a little stale after a while. Fortunately, that is exactly what they did, which is why overall, I had even more fun with “The Abnormal Crisis” than with the first one.

Like with its predecessor, as a huge fan of superhero movies, my favorite parts where the ones where they straight-out parodied “Spider-Man 2”. Take the credits sequence, for example, that features drawings of the first one that, together with Kyosuke’s narration, recount the events of the first one. Sounds familiar? There are many more allusions to Sam Raimi’s second Spider-Man film, however, I really don’t want to give any of them away. Let’s just say, if you recall said movie really well, quite a few scenes should feel familiar. Those parodistic elements, for me, get even better by the fact how absurd and far out the “Hentai Kamen”-movies are. The Spider-Man films are as mainstream, inoffensive and family friendly as they can get, while this is… not (even though I guess that depends on the family). Which, to me, made it all the more hilarious. But even apart from that, there again is a lot to enjoy about “The Abnormal Crisis”. The basic idea works quite well even the second time around, which is mostly due to the fact that they really came up with a lot of new ideas, new movies for Hentai Kamen, new opponents, et cetera, which made this one a lot more rich in variety, and thus entertaining. Also, the plot twist this time around worked way better than in the first one. I also enjoyed that, unlike the first one, Aiko gets a little bit to do, instead of just being a simple damsel in distress. And once again, there were many truly hilarious scenes. My only complaint is the prolonged stay with the hermit. While, of course, an essential part of many superhero journeys (which is also the one part of the movie where this feels less like “Spider-Man 2” and more like “Batman Begins”, which was quite an interesting combination), and again with a couple of nice ideas and funny moments, it brought the movie to a complete stop, and went on a little bit too long for my taste. All in all, though, “The Abnormal Crisis” was even more funny and entertaining than the first one. Thus, I’ll gladly watch Hentai Kamen hand out justice for as long as they keep making them.
8/10


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/slash 2016 – Day 3: Headshot

Posted on September 26, 2016 by cornholio1980

headshotHeadshot
Indonesia 2016
Written by Timo Tjahjanto
Directed by Timo Tjahjanto & Kimo Stamboel
Watched on 24.09.2016

I’m sorry to say that I was a little disappointed by “Headshot”. Then again, it bears repeating that I’m one of those very few people on this planet who weren’t completely blown away by “The Raid”, and actually prefer the (story-wise way more epic and interesting) second one. So if it’s the other way around with you, you might enjoy this return to narrative simplicity.

It’s not that the action isn’t spectacular; it is. The action choreography is awesome, and there are a couple of truly stunning camera moves (like the fall out of the bus of the window). The directors, Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto, also make a good job capturing the action on camera and letting the choreography play out in front of our eyes, instead of zooming and cutting too much. That was very much appreciated. However, in time, the action started to become a little stale. While the change of locations helps to mix things up a little bit, as does the fact that Ishmael increasingly fights people with whom he has a personal connection with (which gives those scenes some welcome emotional weight), ultimately, it’s mostly the same over and over again, which made it rather tiresome after a while. I also missed some sort of escalation. There’s no typical structure like the action getting bigger and more spectacular with each passing fight. Rather, it’s almost always the same, and especially the showdown was nothing special. If I’d have to choose my two favorite fights, it would be the one in the bus as well as the one at the police station. Everything that came afterwards, for me, paled in comparison. Which I think is a problem with a movie like this. The action could also have been a little more varied (take, for example, the car chase that’s thrown in for good measure in “The Raid 2”. As it is, it got a little stale, and even tiresome. Which might also explain my feeling that “Headshot” went on for too long. Overall, I think it would have benefited from dropping one of the fights (the one against Besi felt rather redundant to me), and also shortening the action scenes themselves. I also wouldn’t have minded a slightly more elaborate story (even though with action movies, that’s arguably not a must), and would have preferred it if the emotional showdown with Ailin, where Ishmael is redeemed, would have followed the fight with the main bad guy, instead of preceding it.

Overall, though, it was ok. The action was quite spectacular, and occasionally breathtaking, and Iko Uwais was as impressive as ever. Fans of “The Raid”-films should definitely get their money’s worth. But I for one would have preferred the action scenes to be a little shorter, more varied, and with a clearer sense of escalation.
5/10


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/slash 2016 – Day 3: Raiders! – The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made

Posted on September 25, 2016 by cornholio1980

raidersRaiders!
USA 2015
Written by Tim Skousen & Jeremy Coon
Directed by Tim Skousen & Jeremy Coon
Watched on 24.09.2016

It was really interesting to see this documentary right after I’ve watched “The Adaptation” (which in turn I saw right after the original, which really turned out to be a great triple feature), since it gave me an even greater appreciation of the work done by the kids back then in the 80s. However, as much as “Raiders!” celebrates their achievement, and rightly so, it also doesn’t shy away of showing the down sides, and paints a surprisingly candid and ambivalent picture of the main trio.

My favorite part of this documentary was everything that dealt with the filming that took place back then in the 80s. How the project came to be, some behind the scenes-material from the shoot, as well as the insights into the solutions they came up with, and how they dealt with the problems and challenges that arose. I also loved everything about the late recognition that they got. How Eli Roth found the tape and showed it to Harry Knowles (of “Ain’t It Cool News”-fame), who then let it play during a break at his annual “Butt-Numb-A-Thon”-24-hour-movie-marathon. Some of those scenes, especially from the special screening that arose from that, really gave me goosebumps. “Raiders!” also serves as a celebration of fandoms and fan films in general, something that I also very much appreciated. It’s a testament of art in all forms, and how sometimes we can be deeply touched and influenced by something, as well as the lengths that some fans are ready to go to celebrate that which is important to them. However, another big part of the documentary was the filming of that one scene that they couldn’t get back then, and which they only finished almost 30 years later: The airplane sequence. Said scenes were quite interesting too, and they featured one of the truly standout moments of the film that really gave me pause (the explosion). But overall, I would have preferred it they would have trimmed down that part, and concentrated more on the making of the Adaptation back in the 80s. How the project got to be, how they found their team, et cetera. Also, the constant shift of focus between then and now was a little jarring. Nevertheless, “Raiders!” is a great examination of fans, fandoms and fan films that proved to be a great double bill with their actual adaptation, giving a lot of background information, and through that, even further enhancing my appreciation of their work.
7/10


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/slash 2016 – Day 3: Raiders of the Lost Ark – The Adaptation

Posted on September 25, 2016 by cornholio1980

raiders-of-the-lost-ark-the-adaptationRaiders of the Lost Ark – The Adaptation
USA 1988
Written by George Lucas, Philip Kaufman & Lawrence Kasdan
Directed by Eric Zala
Watched on 24.09.2016

“Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adapation” is an incredibly charming tribute to one of the greatest films of all time, made with a lot of ingenuity, love, as well as blood, sweat and tears. That a couple of kids did this over the course of seven years during their vacations, is just stunning.

What I loved most about it are the often ingenious solutions that they came up with for those scenes that they weren’t able to copy par for par. I am not going to give anything away (and would really advise you to not watch the documentary beforehand, in order to not spoil the surprise), but I’d like to point out that I thought their solutions for the map-scenes, the seaplane at the beginning as well as the monkey especially brilliant. Those, as well as many other ideas that they came up with, really had me laugh, clap and cheer frequently. The entire movie in general is almost as gripping as the real one. Not so much because of the story – which, of course, is well known – but because you’re constantly wondering how they are going to pull of the next scene, which really makes this quite exciting. And even though it did throw off a couple of people (whereas I was prepared, since I knew about it; I actually contributed to said Kickstarter-campaign), I loved the plane sequence, which, as you may know, was that one scene that they never could figure out back then, and which was shot 30 years later. And instead of trying to retain visual continuity with what they shot back then, they – like they did in the 80s – used the best technology available to them. Thus, you suddenly have this scene that might very well be right out of a modern blockbuster thrown into the mix – and I loved it, because a) it shook things up, and b) it’s a testament to the technological advances of the last 30 years, and how much easier it is nowadays to shoot high-quality fan films. Now, of course, what they did back then was, in parts, highly irresponsible, and there will be certain moments (like the fire-scenes, or the truck-chase) that gave me pause. You really can’t let yourself think about what could have happened to them. And as funny and entertaining the rest of the movie is, the dialogue scenes are somewhat of a chore to sit through, since they are the least interesting moments from a “how did they pull this off?”-point of view. And, obviously, those kids aren’t exactly the best actors (even though I have to say that I was quite surprised at the level of acting talent Eric Zala showed in his scenes as Belloq; and Rodriguez was quite good as Marian too). But the next moment of ingenuity and dedication is never too far away, and overall, I can only raise my Fedora to everyone involved.
8/10


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/slash 2016 – Day 3: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Posted on September 25, 2016 by cornholio1980

raiders-of-the-lost-arkRaiders of the Lost Ark
USA 1981
Written by George Lucas, Philip Kaufman & Lawrence Kasdan
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Watched on 24.09.2016

For me, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” ranks right up there with the best movies of all time. It’s the perfect blockbuster: Highly entertaining from start to finish, with great, varied action, many memorable moments, lots and lots of ingenuity, one of the best scores of all time, a great sense of fun and adventure, as well as one of the most iconic heroes in cinematic history.

Even though George Lucas was initially reluctant to cast him, because of his role as Han Solo in the “Star Wars”-movies, Harrison Ford proves to be the perfect choice for the lead. His laconic manner, dry sense of humor and exceptional charm fit the character well, and make him very likeable. Plus, despite the fact that he’s fiendishly good looking, he’s believable enough as average man-type of hero– which is one of the things that sets him apart from supermen like Schwarzenegger and Stallone, who reigned through much of the 80s. Indy, however, is just a normal guy, who bleeds, struggles, and gets outwitted. However, he’s also dedicated, persistent, resourceful, and quick on his feet. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” sometimes gets criticized for the fact that in the end, Indiana Jones had no influence on the proceedings. You take him out, and everything ends in exactly the same way. I don’t see that as a flaw, though, not least because of the reason why he ultimately doesn’t succeed: It’s not because he’s incompetent, but because he’s human. He had the chance to destroy the Ark, but ultimately, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Failing, ultimately, is his choice, and not something that just happened to him because he wasn’t equal to the challenge.

I could go on and on about the things that I love about this movie. The great way we’re introduced to Indiana Jones. The Bond-like opening sequence. John Williams’ unforgettable music. The nice setup of an archaeologist fighting against Nazis. The great costume and iconic choice of weapon/tool, the whip. The great characters, especially Marion (who definitely isn’t your typical damsel-in-distress), as well as the wonderful performances from all the actresses and actors involved. The varied and imaginative action scenes. So many great ideas (like the slow dissolve of the Paramount logo to an actual mountain, to name just one tiny example) that show how much deliberation and diligence went into the movie. The sheer amount of memorable moments, like the bowl, or Indy simply shooting the swashbuckler. Steven Spielberg’s great direction, as well as the exceptional camera work by Douglas Slocombe, who give us some beautiful images (like Indy’s shadow on the wall at Marion’s bar, or the sunset-shot at the dig). The big, lavish sets and art direction. The great location work and the impressive amount of extras. And, most of all, the sense of fun and adventure that the entire movie exudes from start to finish. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is a cinematic treasure that, even 35 years on, has lost nothing of its sparkle.
10/10


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