bro, it’s not gay if it’s karate

Grandmaster punched a hole in their heads with his index finger. An expert move. And an expert setup.

This movie is peak Jesse Eisenberg casting and I'm glad we're not pretending he's a charming lead anymore.

our unborn son punched (with his feet) throughout the entirety of this movie. i can think of no higher or more distressing endorsement. also, Poots.

NZIFF FILM #1
I was always going to love this movie because the look and premise are so reminiscent of Battles’ music video for “Ice Cream,” (one of my favorite music videos) but I went in knowing nothing about it and wasn’t expecting a Lanthimos-esque dark comedy with one of my favorite performances of the year (Alessandro Nivola.) Fucking great. Big ups to Riley Stearns.

Also, are Eisenberg and Poots the indie Gosling/Stone?? (I’m basing this on knowing they are in two movies together this year and pretty much forgetting any of the million other famous collaborative actor duos)

(Also also, I didn’t realize there would be an absolute banger of a film festival happening in Auckland while I was here (sponsored by Letterboxd even!) and I’m absolutely stoked to catch a bunch more stuff in the next few weeks. If anyone is here/has recs for shit I gotta see, [Mistah Fab “Ghost Ride It” voice] holla atcha booooooooy)

“We should do push ups.”

Just stellar. Wanted to rewatch this to show it to Cheyenne in advance of seeing Riley’s follow-up film tonight. She has a very goofy photo of me absolutely cheesing at the screen, simultaneously enjoying this and remembering the delight of watching this with a packed crowd in New Zealand a few years ago, everybody laughing uproariously through the last 30 minutes. Super excited to watch Dual tonight, but a little bummed I won’t be getting those same reactions from a big theater crowd. Wish I could destroy this dastardly virus. Perhaps through some karate…

I took martial arts for ten years and it really do be like that sometimes

It's literally Fight Club, but like, with karate.

AKA The Karate Man-Child.

As tepid, self-satisfied and annoyingly deadpan as you'd expect from a mumbly indie comedy that threatens to skewer violent masculine identities, lately one of the softest of available targets. But at least you get to see Jesse Eisenberg get the shit kicked out of him.

The homoeroticism REALLY jumped out with this one!!! Men really do be creating intricate rituals which allow them to touch the skin of other men. 

I surprise-laughed so many times during this movie. What a weird, weird film. Probably one of the best dark comedies I’ve seen and easily one of the funniest of the year. 

I love the themes explored in this about toxic masculinity and violence. And what a satisfying ending! Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots killed it; they were great.