Kusama Infinity (2018) Review

Kusama Infinity's inner spirit is simply like the artist that it's depicting. Fun, anarchist, and beautifully realized. Kusama Infinity is easily the best documentary I have seen this year so far, and not only does it detail the life journey of famed Japanese Rogue Artist Yayoi Kusama, it also depicts her life in a serious yet well maintained light atmosphere. With it's short run time of 76 minutes, Kusama Infinity doesn't have a single minute wasted. Not a single scene/segment was boring and I was always hooked to the images presented on screen. It's simply an enthralling look at one of the most under rated contemporary artists from the 20th century.

With this said, Kusama Infinity is not flawless. While it's execution was well done, there wasn't anything innovatively done to improve on the documentary genre. David Lynch: The Art Life, a film that was released last year, did a much better job depicting a real life figure in a very horror-esque way. With this film however, it feels by the numbers, similar to how I felt watching national geographic documentaries when I was in elementary school. While much better than said National Geographic Docs, Kusama Infinity still lacks. It needed a little push with it's artistic license. As well, there were several interviews throughout the film, that looks out dated. I'm fine if you're going to use previously recorded documentary footage from years previously. What I do have a problem with, is if the previously used footage is not used/executed in a proper manner. The simple solution to this problem? Just condense the footage. While this isn't much of a big complaint, it certainly took me out of the film experience.

Kusama Infinity is an enthralling look at a famed artist that does not drag on nor feel like a slog. Films like these need to be made more often. It's equal parts inspirational and motivating. A must watch for any wannabe artist who is intrigued in international contemporary art.

Rating:
7.5/10

Best F(r)iends (2018) Review

Best F(r)iends Volume 1 is definitely one of the more weird films to come out of 2018 so far. This cinematic reunion between cult film maker/performer Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero is an interesting one to say the least. Unlike there previous collaboration "The Room", Best F(r)iends is more of a low-key psychological thriller than a romantic drama. While Best F(r)iends does have it's moments, there's a certain un-compromising feeling I had watching the film. I didn't really know if the film was self aware or not. With something like The Room, you can tell that it was 100% trying to be serious. In this film, there were plenty of mistakes that may seem intentional, but due to the way said mistake is presented specifically, it's hard to tell if it was supposed to be intentionally hilarious or not. As for the film itself however, Best F(r)iends is slightly below average but still massively enjoyable feature.

As said before about the self-awareness aspect of the film, Best F(r)iends contains some of the most odd performances I have seen in a feature film from the last 5 years. It's as if these characters and actors came out of a 60's B-Movie like Manos Hands of Fate. In no way were the performances in this film as bad as the mentioned atrocity. It's just that their "unconventional" way of delivering lines was quite peculiar. Along side with the off-putting acting, there's plenty of directing mistakes such as weak lighting, un-appealing production/costume design, narrative inconsistencies, and unintentionally hilarious scene transitions.

Overall, I don't know how to really feel about Best F(r)iends Volume 1. I certainly had a good time. It's just that it's kind of hard to pin down if the film was trying to be intentionally hilarious. It's a bad film withing an unknown circle of not-confirmed self awareness. I might need to see this film again to get a better grasp and make a final decision, but I highly recommend this film to anybody who enjoyed The Room.

5/10