🍿#5: Bliss
What to watch this weekend and a dastardly review...
“Are you gonna bark all day little doggie? Or are you gonna bite?”
~ Reservoir Dogs, 1993
Man, I feel like a villain
Why am I twisting my inner Shania Twain this week? Because I’ve written a bad review…
I must admit I was in a rush to finish the last issue of Salty Popcorn when I chose this week’s feature film and the closer I got to needing to watch Bliss, the less I wanted to. I had quite hoped the film would surprise me and rise above my expectations, but it didn’t.
On the one hand, I was disappointed. On the other, I was looking forward to slating a bad movie. I won’t strive to always satisfy my dark side, after all what right do I have to judge other people’s hard work?
However, criticism is an occupational hazard for Hollywood stars. It’s also worth remembering that Owen Wilson and Selma Hayek have a net worth of $70m and $200m respectively, which I think is fair compensation for a bruised ego.
If you disagree with anything I’ve said this week, I’d welcome your thoughts.
Thanks for reading! 🙏
Do you know someone who’d like a taste of Salty Popcorn? Feel free to send it on.
Upcoming Releases
The Father
UK: 11th June // USA: 26th February
As Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) refuses to accept any assistance from his daughter (Olivia Coleman), he begins doubting his loved ones, his mind and the very fabric of his reality.
*It’s a shame that a British film will be released in the US almost four months before reaching UK screens, but it’s possible that Lionsgate are waiting for the cinemas to reopen.
The Mauritanian
UK: 26th February // USA: 12th February
Rumours are circling that Tahar Rahim (The Serpent, Un Prophète) will get an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Mohamedou Ould Salahi - a man who was detained at Guantánamo Bay, without charge, from 2002 until 2016.
Fact(s) of the week
Written, directed and starring Tommy Wiseau, the infamous cult classic, The Room (2003), was submitted to Paramount in hopes that they’d take the film on as distributers. Usually, it takes two weeks to get a reply for such submissions but The Room was rejected after just 24 hours.
Furthermore, following low sales at the box office, the The Room was quickly pulled from cinemas. But, Wiseau paid to keep the film playing in one cinema for two weeks just so that it would be eligible for Oscar nominations.
Did it get any? No. But, ironically The Disaster Artist (2017), a film based on the production of The Room, starring James Franco and Dave Franco was nominated for ‘Best Adapated Screenplay’.
Review: Bliss
Star rating:
1.5 (out of 5)
Worth a watch?
No
Where to watch:
Amazon Prime Video
Blurb:
Dubbed a “mind-bending love story”—the latter it is not—Bliss follows Greg (Owen Wilson) and Isabel (Selma Hayek) as they exist between an “ugly” computer-simulated world that’s been built to help the inhabitants of the real “bliss” world appreciate how perfect it is… Or is it?
The review (NO spoilers):
Bliss is a never-ending spiral of confusion with a half-hearted and unconvincing Wilson and a frantic Hayek. However, their performances hardly matter as you’ll spend so much time trying to figure out what’s going on, you won’t have time to develop a connection with the characters.
Although I haven’t seen Mike Cahill’s Another Earth, I’ve heard good things and considering its IMDB rating of 7/10 (compared to Bliss’ 5.3) I can’t help but wonder what went wrong. There’s a part of me that thinks there was a watershed moment when the cast and crew simply stopped caring any more than they had to.
Bliss is like an amalgamation of The Matrix, Inception and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Minds mashed together but it isn’t a fraction as good as any of them. It’s far more confusing than any film needs to be, and in the audience’s struggle to understand what’s going on it’s much easier to give up and stop caring.
Scroll down for the Critic’s Cut and what’s coming in the next issue.
A better film than Bliss …
The Jacket
2005 | Amazon Prime Video (£3.49)
Starring Adrian Brody and Keira Knightly, a man is wrongly accused of murder before being committed to a psychiatric hospital where he is the subject of a strange experiment.
I watched this years ago and I don’t remember much but I think I enjoyed it, however the reviews are mixed. I almost recommended The Butterfly Effect, but the chances are you’ve seen it. If not, then it’s free on Amazon Prime Video - and it’s brilliant.
The critic’s cut 🚨SPOILER ALERT🚨:
Bliss generates an endless list of questions: What are the crystals? Are they a metaphor? Do they really grant telekinetic powers? If not, how did Greg crush a van with his thoughts? Just how much of the film is imaginary?
“But that’s the point,” the film’s fans and apologists have been saying on Twitter.
But it doesn’t work. The confusing plot detracts from anything else the film has to offer, which isn’t much.
I read a review that suggested the film was a (bad) portrayal of how mental instability and addiction can affect one’s mind. That might well have been Cahill’s intention but he is far from pulling it off. Moreover, the film made no effort to make a statement on either of these issues, which is something of an insult to anyone that’s been affected by them.
In the next issue:
Judas and the Black Messiah
UK: 26 February // USA: 12 February | Watch the Trailer
