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K-12 (Dir: Melanie Martinez, 2019).
The movie debut of singer Melanie Martinez, released to coincide with her album of the same name.
The plot of K-12 follows on from and elaborates on the themes of Martinez’s previous album Cry Baby. However, prior knowledge of Cry Baby is not essential, as the movie is best enjoyed for its music and stunning visuals in what is, essentially, a long form music video. Albeit one with an ambitious cinematic grandeur.
With a distinctive colour palette utilising mostly pink and pastel shades, it has an arresting otherworldly quality, at times recalling the work of Terry Gilliam and the high kitsch of John Waters.
There is a certain brutal beauty to Martinez’s music which she has matched perfectly to the visuals. The dystopian fantasy addresses issues such as bullying and acceptance, but always in tuneful fashion!
As you might expect from Martinez the movie is sweary and creepy and not recommended for those of a sensitive nature. With its language, drug taking and no nips nudity, it is definitely not one to show the kids!
In truth, K-12 is a bit of an acquired taste and is probably limited largely to Melanie Martinez’s fan base. But it is artfully produced. Recommended especially to fans of Martinez but also to open minded movie lovers in the mood for an off kilter fantasy musical.
K-12 is available to steam on Melanie Martinez’s official YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/2HtaIvb61Uk
Check out my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for more movie reviews! Link below.
Most aesthetically pleasing movies I watched recently
1. Macbeth (2015)
The red/ orange colour theme in this is phenomenal for visualizing his inner demons. The blood he shed and will shed is literally visible everywhere.
2. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Sleeping beauty has to be the most beautiful Disney movie ever made. Check out "Awaking Beauty" by Eyvind Earl if you are interested in the artwork
3. Portrait of a lady on fire (2019)
A must watch for everyone who adores art and period dramas. The soundtrack is phenomenal too!
Movies that will make you fall in love with classical music
1. Amadeus
"This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God.”
I can't put into words how amazing this movie is. If you haven't watched it already go and see it. It will teach you more about the transcendental power of music in than almost everything.
2. All the mornings of the world
“So, you’ve discovered that music is not for kings,” Sainte-Colombe says. “Yes,” Marais responds, “I discovered that it’s for God.”
This french film tells us about the healing power of music and it's ability to speak where words fail : "When I first saw Tous les matins du monde in a theater, I remember looking around me when the movie ended, and seeing the entire audience in tears. I have no idea if any of what happened in Tous les matins du monde is true, but on the subject of music, its truth is unshakable."
3. The Pianist
A heartbreaking and highly regarded Film about the jewish Pianists Władysław Szpilman's real life and suffering during the 2nd World war.
4. A late quartet
"Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present, all time is unredeemable."
A movie about the difficulties a musical ensemble faces as their Violinist is diagnosed with Parkinson: a sickness that slowly takes away his motion control.
5. Impromptu
A young Hugh Grant plays great composer and Pianist Chopin: the Film focuses on the love story between young Frederic and George Sand.
6. Immortal Beloved
"It is the power of music to carry one directly into the mental state of the composer. The listener has no choice. It is like hypnotism"
This movie is too beautiful to put into words. Please watch it and i promise you will be moved to tears: it tells the tragic life story of the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven and his failed attempts to find true love and meaning
7. The Soloist
This movie is based on the true story of a Journalist helping a sick musician to find his place in the music world again: The plot is based on the story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who developed schizophrenia and became homeless.
Most underrated movies of the last decade
1. Filth (2013)
One of the greatest movies of the last decade, maybe McAvoy's best performance ever: A tragic, funny, absolutely unapologetic movie about the downfall of a scottish police officer.
2. Swiss Army Man (2016)
I promise that you have never seen a movie like this before. It is absolutely strange, macabre and loaded with dark humor: a man stranded on a deserted island tries to keep his sanity by talking to a corpse (Daniel Radcliffe).
3. Rush (2013)
Rush is a 2013 biographical sports film centred on rivalry between two Formula One drivers, the British James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula 1 motor-racing season. One of the best Sport Dramas out there.
4. Mother! (2017)
I know some people dislike this movie but I think it is one of Aronosfky's masterpieces. A political, philosphical and brutal allegory of the destruction of our planet brilliantly acted by Jennifer Lawrence.
5. The Flowers of War (2011)
Watching this movie was one of the most eye-opening experiences for me: An American (Christian Bale) tries to protect a group of Chinese students and prostitutes from Japanese soldiers in 1937 Nanjing.
6. Sheperds and Butchers (2016)
A different kind of "true crime story": A lawyer takes on the murder case of a prison guard traumatized by the executions he took part in.
7. Slow West (2015)
The cinematography in this is beautiful: A bounty hunter keeps his true motive a secret from the naive Scottish teenager he's offered to serve as bodyguard and guide while the youth searches for his beloved in 1800s Colorado.
8. Enemy (2013)
This movie will mess with your head: A college Professor (Jake Gyllenhaal) discovers a man who looks and talks exactly like him. A strange tale of what is true and what is fictional begins to unravel.
9. La grande bellezza (2013)
This arthouse movie is for the ones who look for deep conversations, philosopical questions and the horrors and beauties of everyday life. A slow paced and hugely moving tale about modern italy.
10. The Lighthouse (2019)
Everything about this movie is top notch: the acting, the story, the visuals. A modern masterpiece that has the chance of becoming a classic: Two lighthouse keepers are stranded on an island as they slowly dive into insanity.
