Parasite (2019)

[GRD43L]

Originally Posted by ZombAid

The movie is not included, unfortunately!

You are absolutely right, and don't I feel like a fool! I thought the price was too good!

[Frank TJ Mackey]

Saw this. Amazing piece of work. One of the best films I have seen in a few years.

WARNING: do not read the reviews. Way too much is spoiled even after Bong told the media not to do so at Cannes.

[captainron_howdy]

It's definitely the best film I've seen this year.

[Leonidas King]

Phenomenal film. Still trying to process it but it brought out so many emotions. I laughed one moment then about a few minutes later I was terrified.

The second half got pretty dark and I loved every minute of it.

[Cremildo]

It's cracked the IMDb Top 250.

[Leonidas King]

There hasn’t been a single Bong Joon-ho film that I’ve disliked. That dude makes each project better than his last.

[Leonidas King]

Coming off from my second viewing. Still as gripping as the first time.

What a masterpiece.

[Frank TJ Mackey]

I’m scared. I loved Last Black Man in San Fran on first viewing. Was bored second viewing.

Parasite was just amazing. An hour in and I’m thinking this is why I love great movies.

I cannot wait to see it again. Roma was beautiful but this was the real deal

[Cremildo]

An entertaining comedy-thriller that gets better as it goes along, and a small step up from Okja. Given how stereotyped the characters are, I'm stunned this is being regarded as a treatise on class inequality worth taking seriously. Middle-tier Bong Joon-ho. Rated 3 stars in the poll.

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

An entertaining comedy-thriller that gets better as it goes along, and a small step up from Okja. Given how stereotyped the characters are, I'm stunned this is being regarded as a treatise on class inequality worth taking seriously. Middle-tier Bong Joon-ho. Rated 3 stars in the poll.

I feel like many idiosyncratic competently made films are getting ridiculous amounts of praise at times but Hollywood is churning out sterile products so it could just be audiences craving something unique. Still I do look forward to watching it, a lot of intriguing reviews on letterboxd. Movies are pretty awful all summer then fall hits and I can't make time for so many good ones.

[Leonidas King]

3 stars is an offensive score for this brilliance.

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

I feel like many idiosyncratic competently made films are getting ridiculous amounts of praise at times but Hollywood is churning out sterile products so it could just be audiences craving something unique. Still I do look forward to watching it, a lot of intriguing reviews on letterboxd. Movies are pretty awful all summer then fall hits and I can't make time for so many good ones.

For sure, do see it. I'd never attempt to dissuade anyone from seeking it out; if one's tired of typical Hollywood offerings, Parasite certainly works as counter-programming. It's just that I honestly believe the filmmaker has done better in the past, and the praised heaped upon it doesn't match what I saw onscreen. Anyway, nevermind my opinion - it's utterly in the minority.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

It's cracked the IMDb Top 250.

Originally Posted by Cremildo

Parasite certainly works as counter-programming. It's just that I honestly believe the filmmaker has done better in the past, and the praised heaped upon it doesn't match what I saw onscreen. Anyway, nevermind my opinion - it's utterly in the minority.

Not surprised. It took over Letterboxd by storm. Its average on there is nuts. It's currently the 7th highest rated feature film on the entire site (4.49/5 out of 28,311 votes). Reminds me of Roma last year before it went wide.

While I think it's fair to say the hyperbolic acclaim for Parasite "doesn't match what is onscreen", I think the reason for that is it's just a massively enjoyable film. One that is hard not to like. It's one of those movies you can't go wrong in recommending. Kind of like the idea behind Rotten Tomatoes—I can see why anybody would rate it any kind of passing (fresh) score. What is hard to see is someone flat out not enjoying this (rotten score).

In contrast, Roma last year was quite the opposite: to me it indisputably felt like a masterpiece while watching it (link to first impression). However Roma was not widely accessible to a large subsection of viewers. Parasite will likely be far more entertaining for a wide audience.

Originally Posted by Cremildo

An entertaining comedy-thriller that gets better as it goes along, and a small step up from Okja. Given how stereotyped the characters are, I'm stunned this is being regarded as a treatise on class inequality worth taking seriously. Middle-tier Bong Joon-ho. Rated 3 stars in the poll.

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

Everyone raved about snowpiercer in 2013, I rushed to the theater and that was not a good film. Hopefully Parasite is the real deal.

Stereotyped maybe, but far from wooden or one-dimensional,

[Show spoiler]except for maybe the basement dweller. It's also primarily a plot-driven film, as opposed to something like Shoplifters, which had a similar presentation but more character-driven in structure.

Re: "a treatise on class inequality worth taking seriously" — I'm just glad Bong didn't go all out on theme like he did in Snowpiercer, which fell flat for me because it is too mechanical: theme first, everything else second. This with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Parasite, in contrast, unfolds in a far more interesting way.

One of the most haunting and thought-provoking moments in the film for me was when it abruptly switches antagonists almost within a split second. That moment Mr. Park is smelling the housekeeper's husband and makes that remark, and we watch as the father absorbs it... just wow. What a profound and enthralling moment. I cannot stop thinking about it and everything it echoes.

[Cremildo]

I've been perusing the negative-to-mixed-to-merely-positive comments on Letterboxd, and to my surprise, I disagree with them as much as with the 5-star ones, if not more.

Some criticize the second half (which is my favorite), the genre elements (which are the reason why I'm attracted to Joon-ho's cinema in the first place), the so-called plot twist (which made my jaw drop), and even the way the poor are not portrayed in an entirely positive light and the rich not portrayed in an entirely negative light (for real? They wanted the characterization to be completely black-and-white?).

I'm at a loss regarding this film. As it's supremely well-crafted and entertaining, even though I'm still skeptical of its thematic reach, it won't be hard for me to revisit it in a few years, but jeez, my dissonance even with those who gave it a similar rating is rather surprising.

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

I've been perusing the negative-to-mixed-to-merely-positive comments on Letterboxd, and to my surprise, I disagree with them as much as with the 5-star ones, if not more.

Some criticize the second half (which is my favorite), the genre elements (which are the reason why I'm attracted to Joon-ho's cinema in the first place), the so-called plot twist (which made my jaw drop), and even the way the poor are not portrayed in an entirely positive light and the rich not portrayed in an entirely negative light (for real? They wanted the characterization to be completely black-and-white?).

I'm at a loss regarding this film. As it's supremely well-crafted and entertaining, even though I'm still skeptical of its thematic reach, it won't be hard for me to revisit it in a few years, but jeez, my dissonance even with those who gave it a similar rating is rather surprising.

Kind of felt similar about US. I was thinking this is what everyone is losing their minds over? Yikes. Maybe Us would be more interesting if I hadn't seen so many great horror films in my lifetime and I wasn't familiar with slipknot's jumpers and masks ha.

[cheez avenger]

Tickets are on sale for this at the Hollywood ArcLight for October. I'm assuming it will open in more theaters.

[MassiveG]

Sorry if this has already been asked, but I'm being very careful about spoilers.

Is this movie releasing on Blu-Ray? I didn't see it in the autofill search bar.

[JEDGAR1000]

Originally Posted by MassiveG

Sorry if this has already been asked, but I'm being very careful about spoilers.

Is this movie releasing on Blu-Ray? I didn't see it in the autofill search bar.

There's some French pre-orders up, but nothing outside of that yet. The movie doesn't come out (in the US at least) until October, so if it does maybe after it's had its theatrical release we'll hear something.

[Cremildo]

Bong Joon-ho's already at work on a new script.

It’s exciting but at the same time, as I’m a very hard worker, so I just keep doing the same thing. I’m actually writing a script in my hotel room and on the airplane.

[mogwai_macabre]

Just got out of the theater and I loved it. But I get a kick out of dark humor and twisted stories and/or revenge, so I was gonna dig it either way.

Class divide as a theme..so hot right now. I'd say it's handled a bit better here than in Snowpiercer personally, but I can understand being frustrated by it. First and foremost though, this movie is going for entertainment, and it has that in spades.

[Show spoiler]I think I would have gone with a different ending for a stronger message on class divide. Let the basement dude and the family hurt/kill each other off, without the murder on the head of household. Still keep the bit about retreating to the basement.

I'll definitely be grabbing it on Blu-ray, whether I need to import it or not.