Parasite
By Hannah Yi
Vulture movie review’s iconic quote, “You expect Parasite to be one thing but it mutates into something else” is the perfect description of the later, unexpected events that unfold in Parasite. Just like how this school year was so unexpected to all East students due to Covid-19, one of the best movies (one can binge watch and obsess over while social distancing) in 2020 has to be Parasite. After this particular movie won major awards including Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (2020), Academy Award for Best Picture (2020), and Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2020), those who have not seen Parasite may wonder what the hype is all about. While some viewers may remain fixated on Bong Joon Ho’s brilliant usage of distorting space as a symbol of wealth as well as his usage of including scenes related to how climate change mostly influences those of lower social class who have a smaller carbon footprint compared to the wealthy, the suspenseful twist of events near the end has to be the most iconic aspect of Parasite. Before the ending, the dialogue between all of the characters is very comedic, lightweight, and mostly, relatable. Even when the audience sees the events unfold in the beginning scenes where the Kim family pretends to be qualified workers for the Park family through occupations including drivers, tutotorers, and cooks, we as an audience certainly sympathize with the Kim family and the struggles they face due to South Korea’s apparent economic inequity, distancing ourselves from the rich Park family. Yes, the Kim family are “swindlers” or scammers, but we relate to the decisions they make for the sake of surviving while criticizing the Park family’s decisions they make without a second thought. It is blatantly obvious that the Kim family uses the Park family as a way to survive like Parasite, but the same can certainly be said about the Park family who cannot survive in society without the best of the best or seemingly best tutorers, cooks, and drivers which ultimately leads to their demise.
What makes Parasite a movie worth seeing while we wait for the virus to end is Director Bong Joon Ho’s countless usage of metaphors and symbols from beginning to end that can easily be disregarded from first glance. Even after watching the movie countless times, there are always various scenes that allude to current events, literature, and powerful symbols which make Parasite all the more reason to binge watch over and over again while you are at home bored.
Shutter Island
by Elise Yu
Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island is where Edward Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), find themselves investigating the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando. Solando is in Ashecliffe for drowning her three children, and the only hint the detectives have is a note in her room reading “The law of 4; who is 67?”
A massive rainstorm preventing Daniels and Aule’s return to the mainland signals the start of an uphill battle for the detectives. The staff members on the island do not cooperate with the investigation, the lead psychiatrist will not release Solando’s records, and Solando’s doctor fled the island shortly after her disappearance.
Daniels and Aule are prohibited from investigating parts of the island, including the foreboding lighthouse. While interviewing different patients on the island, Daniels receives a note that simply says “RUN.”
As the investigation continues, Daniels begins to have flashbacks and strange visions. After remembering his time as a U.S. soldier in Dachau and having nightmares of his wife–Dolores Chanal (Michelle Williams)–being set on fire by a man named Andrew Laeddis, Daniels reveals that Laeddis posed another reason for his taking the case.
The investigation continues.
Daniels encounters different patients who claim the lighthouse is where the Ashecliffe staff perform lobotomies on the patients and soon meets a woman who claims to be the real Rachel Solando. It is at this point where Daniels begins to believe Aule has been captured and taken to the lighthouse. Daniels bursts his way into the lighthouse, where he is met by both Aule and the hospital’s lead psychiatrist, John Cawley (Ben Kingsley). The plot of the movie is soon revealed, and viewers are able to start grasping the events of the movie.
The plot faces many twists and turns, until viewers are not sure of which characters to trust and which to find suspicious.
Towards the end of the movie, viewers are left in a state of shock. What seemed to be the reality of the plot proves to be the facade of a deeper subplot. Striking the balance of being a thriller, but not your typical jump-scare, gory horror movie, “Shutter Island” proves to be a good movie to watch while under self-quarantine. Why? The warps within the plot call for the need to watch the movie, analyze what you just watched, and maybe watch it again.
Memento
by Jacquie Keesee
Leonard’s wife was assaulted and murdered. He has made it his life’s purpose to discover who took her from him in such a brutal way. The only problem is, due to a head injury in the incident, Leonard can no longer form any memories. Every day he wakes up and forgets who he is. One moment he could have a lead and the next minute, he doesn’t know where he is or why he is there. So, Leonard tattoos every important thing he needs to remember on his body and every morning he wakes up to the words printed on his chest: “Remember Sammy Jankins.”
The film, Memento, depicts Leonards journey to find his wife’s killer and to avenge her. An interesting artistic aspect to this movie that is so important is that the story is told in reverse. The viewer feels just as clueless as Leonard until the truth is revealed at the end, or for us, the beginning.
Leonard is a lot more familiar with Sammy Jankins than he thinks. He has already solved the mystery. His best friend is not who he seems to be. And Leonard can’t remember what tattoos are true and which ones were put there to lessen his pain.
Other than the amazing plot of this film, there are many other aspects to it which makes it so astounding. The editors for the film Memento used the techniques of match-cuts, nonlinear storytelling, montage, pacing, and tone to develop the theme that we as the viewers are supposed to follow: Sometimes, we as humans put our emotions and what we want to be real before what we know are facts.
I highly recommend watching the film Memento by Christopher Nolan if you enjoy films by M. Night Shyamalan, Martin Scorsese, and David Fincher.
Split
by Samantha Higgins
Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) is a man with dissociative identity disorder, he has 23 or more personalities that he switches through. Their range is vast from women to men, young and old, all inside of Kevin. It quickly becomes a fight for Kevin to survive among them. When he switches they fully take over his being. With help from his trusted psychiatrist Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley) Kevin manages to have control over most of his personalities. There is one that stands out and can control all the rest, but when it comes out he loses control.
This uncontrollable personality comes out when Kevin is at a shopping mall. An urge from this personality compels him to kidnap three girls from the parking lot. For an unknown reason he keeps the girls in his basement. One of the girls, Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), begins to put together pieces of the puzzle as Kevin visits them. He comes to see them as different personalities everytime the situation they were in started to become more clear. But we also get a greater understanding of Kevin’s mental state through the daily sessions he schedules with his psychologist, Dr. Fletcher. Casey becomes close with one of them as she searches for hints to save her friends and herself. They must escape before things get worse and they come in contact with the most powerful and dangerous personality. As time goes on this darker side of Kevin gains strength.
Throughout the movie Casey stands out from the other girls, Claire Benoit (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula). From the beginning she was seen as an outsider as she was with the girls at the mall from a pity invite. While they’re trapped in their nightmare of Kevin’s games Casey takes control in hopes of escaping. The other girls don’t handle it nearly as well as Casey. Being the odd one out works to Casey’s advantage in the end when they come in contact with Kevin’s worst personality, The Beast. In the end they try to escape but the Beast comes barreling after them.The Beast is ‘tamed’ because he captured and ate the other two girls. They were ‘impure’ due to the fact that they never suffered in life in the Beast’s eyes. Their untroubled childhoods and happiness were why he stalked and ultimately killed them. Casey was different seeing as she had struggled in different aspects all her life, this time Casey was glad to stand out and she survived.
The movie has you on the edge of your seat the whole time especially with the shocking and somewhat confusing ending. I recommend this movie because it has your attention the whole time and makes you think to figure out what is happening.
The Sixth Sense
by Irene Wang
The Sixth Sense starts off with Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist from Philadelphia, being shot by one of his patients for supposedly failing him.
After this event, Malcolm takes on Cole Sear, a young boy who claims he can see ghosts. Cole’s mother is extremely worried and concerned for her son. Malcolm originally took this case in order to correct his failure, redeem himself, and reconcile with his wife; however, he is skeptical of Cole and believes him to be delusional. He spends more time with Cole (much to his wife’s dismay), and finally believes him after hearing an audio recording of a man crying for help in Spanish. Malcolm tells Cole that he can use his ability to communicate with the dead for good by helping them finish their business. He was uncertain at first, but eventually agreed.
Cole wakes up one night to a girl vomiting. Upon discovering her identity, Cole and Malcolm attend her funeral. At her funeral, Cole gives the girl’s father a video that shows the girl’s mother poisoning her food. This action saves the girl’s younger sister and puts her spirit to rest.
Cole begins to live with his unusual ability, fitting in at school and even being casted for the lead of the school play. He suggests to Malcolm to talk to his wife, Anna. One day, in traffic, Cole tells his mother about his secret ability. She doesn’t believe him, but after he reveals certain details that he couldn’t possibly know (ex. his mother’s past, the fact that an accident just took place down the road), she finally believes him.
Malcolm finally has a talk with his wife. It’s at this point that the movie twist occurs and Malcolm’s truth is revealed.
This movie is a great pick to watch because it keeps the viewer in suspense throughout the movie. The final movie twist and revealed details catches the audience by surprise. The plot, filming, and story progression were executed very well. Overall, it was a great movie and perfect for over quarantine.
