Dope
More Movies Please!
English - June 15, 2020 12:00 - 56 minutes - 38.8 MB - ★★★★★ - 9 ratingsFilm Reviews TV & Film Arts Visual Arts conversation theater film filmmaking movies Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
On the podcast this week, Steven and Sean are rackin’ up those sweet Bitcoins in the L.A. adventure Rick Famuyiwa film, Dope.
Sean is thrilled to have made Steven watch this underappreciated and phenomenal gem of a movie and even more thrilled to find out what he ended up feeling about this movie by the time the credits began rolling. It was tough going at the beginning for Steven, though. Rightly so, he wasn’t too keen on yet another young high school kids to get up to some hijinks sort of a movie.
But then the movie takes some twists and turns that could surprise even the most jaded movie watcher. This one’s doing some very clever things with its story.
Talk about onion layers!
We loved all the acting on display in Dope. These actors really feel like they belong in this high school and in this particular L.A. world. This is all despite their love for the music and culture of the ‘90s, or maybe it’s because of that love? Why did the high top fade ever go out of style anyway? Regardless, the story in this film may be a little absurd, but it still feels completely authentic and sincere.
Dope has got some pretty stellar sound design, especially noticeable in the nightclub scene toward the start of the movie, and one of the cooler soundtracks we’ve heard in a long time.
The cinematography by Rachel Morrison captures the energy of these kids while also making you appreciate the heat and hustle they’re constantly dealing with throughout the film. She’s the first woman to ever be nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar (for a different film) and she totally deserved it.
(Recorded on April 29, 2020)
Links to Stuff We Mentioned:
Hey, it’s the theatre that Steven and Sean did one of their very first film productions at. It’s a cool place that deserves your support if you’re in the area.
Fight Scenes: Overlap Your Edits for Impact - YouTube
A neat little YouTube video by This Guy Edits to show how repetition in action scenes can improve the feeling of a fight scene.
It’s cool to spool again as the cassette returns on a wave of nostalgia - The Guardian
X-Men: The Animated Series - IMDb