Revenge (2017)

This movie deals with rape and rape culture. The name leaves the relation that the main character has with rape very clear. It is bloody, beautifully shot (oh my god is it beautifully shot), and very fun. It plays a lot with suspension of disbelief and sometimes it goes a little too far, but it never gets in the way of the enjoyment.

The antagonists are all a representation of different sides of rape culture and the absolute contempt patriarchal men have for consent.

Stan is the typical guy who tries to be “nice” and “quirky”, clearly only interested in sex that takes any and all playfulness, kindness or even attention as flirting and implicit consent that he is now entitled to. He follows the rules and shows consideration only when he absolutely has to.

Dimitri is the silent observer. He’s not actively pursuing, but his silence and inaction are still violent and harmful.

Richard represents the kind of guy who’s first and biggest priority is maintaining the status quo. He’s angry at his friend for raping Jen, not because that’s wrong but because they will be in trouble. His actions are entirely motivated by wanting that incident to go away, and in doing so, he proves to be much more sinister and calculating than the two other guys combined.

Overall, it's a fun watch!

The Substance (2024)

I enjoyed this one even more. For the most part, the voice of the movie is a lot more clear and present. It features a lot of needles, so it was a really hard watch for me, as I’m super squeamish around them, but I was fine.

The Substance is about an aging star who, on account of her no longer being and looking like a gorgeous young actress and model and now just looking like a gorgeous older woman, has to put up with being demeaned, sidelined and even fired. The network barely even tries to hide their contempt of her and how much they just want her replaced with a new younger body.

The solution she arrives at is The Substance, a means to create a younger, prettier, more “perfect” version of herself that she can be every other week. She immediately goes back to her job, now even sexier and bolder, and begins this cycle of:

Week 1: She’s young and pretty and successful. She lives the good life, the glory, the stardom.

Week 2: She’s old and depressed. Her entire week is spent inside waiting for the day she can be young again.

And to avoid spoiling too much, I’ll just say this is harrowing to watch her get consumed by this other life, growing more and more depressed and self-loathing (to both her old and young self) the more she experiences this duality.

I can say it touched me, I was having an experience right up until the end, where I think the catharsis of the ending just fell flat.

While this movie is just as unsubtle as the previous one, and that’s ok, there are moments where it just spells out things that could have been left for the viewer to notice on their own.

Still, an absolutely incredible movie.