Serenity (2019) Reviews

• For entertainment value alone

  ndschaaf132019-01-25

  Before you get mad about the score I'm giving this beautiful mess of a film, please keep in mind that I rate things on a scale of how entertained they kept me as opposed to how "good" they actually were. That being said, this movie is not anywhere close to good. In fact, it may even be outright bad. But I'll be damned if there was a single moment in the film where I was less than entertained. I laughed more during the course of Serenity's runtime than I did at a good majority of last year's intentional comedies. The performances were attempting to evoke a noir feel but came across more John Waters and the camp factor alone was a fascinating hybrid of cringy and hysterical. From Matthew McConaughey drinking during nearly every frame of the movie to Anne Hathaway saying "daddy" every other line, I won't forget their acting any time soon. The plot is a convoluted mess and some of the turns it took won't be well-received but who cares? By the time the "twists" twisted, I was already so engrossed by this deranged piece of filmmaking that I didn't mind one bit. Go with incredibly low expectations, try to lose yourself in the strange spell Serenity weaves, and you might just have as good a time as we did.

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• Good Lord, I Loved This Film

  cgrady-22019-01-30

  Why do people enjoy films with an abstracted hyper style, like 'Shutter Island,' or Zulawski's 'Possession' but dismiss it here? Perhaps people are just primed to like (or pretend to like) a film directed by someone they think is important. Another thought: Imagine something like this film made during the German Expressionist period of cinema. Silent cinema. Subtitles. Foreign. The techniques employed become acceptable. I loved the sheer ballsiness of everyone's commitment to this movie. Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke give it everything. And that only comes about by having confidence in the film. The plot twists aren't there to surprise the audience in the manner of something like 'The Usual Suspects', they exist to create the feeling of a troubled conscience. Perhaps, that's what everyone is snickering at? When one of the most popular pass times is shaming people on social media to whom we feel superior, the idea of self doubt and uncertain morality are things we need to ridicule? I dunno. I'll say this: I was never bored watching this film, which is more than I can for most films these days. Some day it'll find a proper following. It deserves it.

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• Not over your head- but maybe a bit too far to the side for most

  sillysillymarym2019-01-26

  SPOILERS!!!! Shocked at the bad reviews. This movie was genius. Not hard to comprehend, but I jumped into the head of a 13 yr old boy part way through... and all the previous weirdness made sense. It was all created by a kid- not a generic hollywood movie that people seem to be wanting (gag). I was fascinated with the creation of an escape-world. I was on the edge of my moral reasoning seat- is killing the man the right thing to do? By father or son? Yes, you knew it was the son who would do it- the rest of the movie doesn't even actually exist outside his head... but would he?! Should he? The changing of the rules... how something so clearly wrong is morphed by the entire pretend universe by the creator of all.... to be the right thing, the compulsion. This is a very sideways look at a child's processing of years of domestic violence. I loved the line, If I didn't catch fish I'd find a way to kill you. And- I loved that in the end- stepdad was a "construction worker"... not a gazillionaire. I am perplexed that all these gems, and so many many more, have fallen at the feet of movie watching zombies unable to appreciate these perspectives and escape into the escape.

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• If you didn't get it, here's what it is:

  tomsuthblack2019-02-23

  The reason why many people didn't get that movie, and thus assumed it wasn't an interesting one (despite the great acting and cinematography) was that it added an extra factor that has never been used before in storytelling. We usually have the story, but this time we have the story + its author , both laid out before us to ponder the relation between them, and reflect on the relation between ourselves(as characters), our lives(as a story), and our maker (as our author). Think about it! From frame one, we have the face (or rather the eyes) of a dreamy kid, thinking of a reverie world, were he contemplates his own life and his own problems in the form of a story (the way all authors do). There is a tool that helps him in reflecting on his condition. This tool is a computer game he created. It is a simple game of catching fish and spotting birds, nothing fancy, no A.I, no detailed simulation of life, nothing of that sort. It is just a game programed by a kid that helps him delve into his imagination and imagine a series of interesting what-ifs; what if the fisherman in the game is his deceased father (a decorated war hero)? What if the people this fisherman meets all have their own lives and their own stories? Using this tool for reflection, the kid's psyche becomes mapped in the following manner: The Kid's volition: The fisherman character(The hero, the savior, the protagonist of the story), depicted in his imagination as his father, playing out his deepest desire: to live in serenity by getting justice done. The Kid's Conscious: Isaiah, the kind helper with a biblical name who is always wearing a cross and urging him to do the "good" thing, always going the extra mile to achieve that goal. The power of habit: The little salesman who represents the rules, with his schedule and his spectacles and his rigid honesty and lack of interest in anything but the rules. The meaning of the world and its purpose are out of his scope. The world is a game, and every game has rules. The Object of Desire: Justice (in the form of a tuna fish, the object of the game) Comfort: The lady who pays the fisherman for sex, and takes care of him. Hidden Sexual Fantasy: The mother , ex-wife of the fisherman, the eternal female symbol to be found in every-story , the relation with which always determines how the story will end. With this map, the movie shows us exactly what happens inside the mind of an author, any author (in this particular instance; a kid dreaming about getting rid of his stepfather and uniting with his father). We get a glimpse on how stories are born inside each of us, for each of us is the author of his own dreams and fantasies based on his own unfulfilled desire. We even get a glimpse on the meaning of right and wrong. What could be right other than fulfilling our central desire? Even if we do something bad to achieve this self-balancing object of desire, it is always worth it, regardless of the risks, and it is always right, for how else can we ever be happy? And it is always just to us and to others, for whatever causes injustice in our lives can never be good to anyone except to the most unjust of people. And above all, we get a glimpse of the meaning of our existence and its purpose, that enigmatic purpose of every story which can never be understood from the perspective of its characters alone, for in order to glimpse the full picture of the truth in any story, you need to look at the mind of its maker. And that is what this great movie offers. Nothing less! No small achievement , IMO. Summary: If you didn't get it, here's what it is: After Text: The reason why many people didn't get that movie, and thus assumed it wasn't an interesting one (despite the great acting and cinematography) was that it added an extra factor that has never been used before in storytelling. We usually have the story, but this time we have the story + its author , both laid out before us to ponder the relation between them, and reflect on the relation between ourselves(as characters), our lives(as a story), and our maker (as our author). Think about it! From frame one, we have the face (or rather the eyes) of a dreamy kid, thinking of a reverie world, were he contemplates his own life and his own problems in the form of a story (the way all authors do). There is a tool that helps him in reflecting on his condition. This tool is a computer game he created. It is a simple game of catching fish and spotting birds, nothing fancy, no A.I, no detailed simulation of life, nothing of that sort. It is just a game programed by a kid that helps him delve into his imagination and imagine a series of interesting what-ifs; what if the fisherman in the game is his deceased father (a decorated war hero)? What if the people this fisherman meets all have their own lives and their own stories? Using this tool for reflection, the kid's psyche becomes mapped in the following manner: The Kid's volition: The fisherman character(The hero, the savior, the protagonist of the story), depicted in his imagination as his father, playing out his deepest desire: to live in serenity by getting justice done. The Kid's Conscious: Isaiah, the kind helper with a biblical name who is always wearing a cross and urging him to do the "good" thing, always going the extra mile to achieve that goal. The power of habit: The little salesman who represents the rules, with his schedule and his spectacles and his rigid honesty and lack of interest in anything but the rules. The meaning of the world and its purpose are out of his scope. The world is a game, and every game has rules. The Object of Desire: Justice (in the form of a tuna fish, the object of the game) Comfort: The lady who pays the fisherman for sex, and takes care of him. Hidden Sexual Fantasy: The mother , ex-wife of the fisherman, the eternal female symbol to be found in every-story , the relation with which always determines how the story will end. With this map, the movie shows us exactly what happens inside the mind of an author, any author (in this particular instance; a kid dreaming about getting rid of his stepfather and uniting with his father). We get a glimpse on how stories are born inside each of us, for each of us is the author of his own dreams and fantasies based on his own unfulfilled desire. We even get a glimpse on the meaning of right and wrong. What could be right other than fulfilling our central desire? Even if we do something bad to achieve this self-balancing object of desire, it is always worth it, regardless of the risks, and it is always right, for how else can we ever be happy? And it is always just to us and to others, for whatever causes injustice in our lives can never be good to anyone except to the most unjust of people. And above all, we get a glimpse of the meaning of our existence and its purpose, that enigmatic purpose of every story which can never be understood from the perspective of its characters alone, for in order to see the full picture of the truth in any story, you need to look at the mind of its maker. And that is what this great movie offers. Nothing less! No small achievement , IMO.

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• Original and Bonkers Cinema Needs More Movies like Serenity.

  Joetampa902019-01-25

  When I first saw the trailer for Serenity back in summer 2018 I was certainly intrigued. Then it was pushed back many months from its original release date but I still looked forward to finally seeing the movie. Well I can say now that after some thought, I enjoyed the film. It was spoiled for me mildly in the sense that I knew an off the wall twist was in the cards. Boy was that twist a wild one. Serenity starts out a little wonky with the first 20 minutes or so having some unintentional laugh out loud moments. However once it gets going it becomes very intriguing and had me fully engaged. When the left field insane twist is revealed, I was impressed by the sheer nerve of it all. Sure it's beyond over the top, but having the audacity to do it is a thing to admire. The acting is both good and bad at times. The whole movie always just feels a little off and bizarre, which I somewhat appreciate. Make no mistake about it though this work is not a masterpiece. Serenity has its share of faults and the ending could very well be one of them in some ways. Besides that it's also a messy script with some big head scratchers and horrible lines. With that being said we need more wide release movies with quality actors taking chances and giving us something original. In a way the film is throwback to the 70's and 80's when we saw wide released movies taking experimental chances. Go give it a watch, love it or hate I think this work is something any true film fan will tip their cap to.

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