‘Watched’- February-March

Hello Again! Welcome back to ‘The Confessions of a Random Blogger.’

Every couple of months, I like to come on here and talk about the movies and television shows I’ve watched recently. Not because it actually serves any actual purpose, or has any definitive meaning, but because I really enjoy writing these kinds of posts.

Let’s get started!

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‘I Care A Lot’ (Available on Netflix)

According to Wikipedia, ‘I Care a Lot’ is supposed to be a black comedy film. However, I would much rather call it a horror-thriller movie.

First of all, let me start by saying that I absolutely loved this movie. The reason why I call it a horror movie is simply because of how much the plot scared me.

The film is about a court-appointed guardian that seizes the assets of unsuspecting, exploitable elderly people for her own accord. She convinces doctors to legally declare that the elderly person in question is incapable of taking care of themselves and requires legal guardianship. She then convinces a judge (who believes that she is a saint for her ‘selflessness’) that she must have control of both their person and their tangible financial assets for their own ‘protection.’

She also has connections within assisted living facility homes where she can decide how much food the person is allowed to consume, how much medication they are required to take and perhaps most daunting, how much communication they’re allowed to have with the outside world (she uses this to ensure that the elder isn’t allowed to contact friends or family- that is if they have any).

Now, I’m not entirely familiar with the guardianship and conservatorship laws in a real life context, but for some reason this film really really scared me. Obviously it’s a movie, so it’s dressed up in a coat of drama and fiction, but still, the very thought of it is chill inducing. I mean, it’s not completely out of the question that a caretaker, completely motivated by money, could have connections within the legal and medical system and use it to their advantage.

The fact that it’s the same actress that played the crazy chick from Gone Girl makes it even scarier.

I know it’s not exactly the same situation, but doesn’t the plot of this movie sort of remind you of the ‘Free Britney’ movement? You know, how Britney Spears was put under a conservatorship where she has been deemed mentally incapable of taking care of her personal decisions and financial assets? Yet somehow she’s put on stage and somehow remembers the lyrics to countless numbers of songs?

In fact, Eiza Gonzáles, who plays one of the main characters, said in an interview, “conservatorships are a subject we don’t hear much about, and the intention of this film is to shed light on how a systemically complex built business sometimes preys on innocent and or disabled people, meanwhile addressing other very crucial social commentary in a cheeky way.”

What makes this film even better is its cast and the way the characters are written. We are accustomed to the concept that where there’s a villain, there must be a hero. However, in this particular story, everyone is a villain, and it’s only a matter of who wins at the end.

It becomes a comedy film more towards the end when the mafia somehow become involved. Anyways, great movie- it really gets you thinking.

‘Rosemary’s Baby’ (Available on Netflix)

Rosemary’s Baby is a psychological horror film from 1968 that follows a young pregnant woman, Rosemary Woodhouse, and her struggling actor husband, Guy Woodhouse.

They move into a new house in Manhattan, where Rosemary slowly begins to suspect that the elderly couple next door are part of a satanic cult. Even worse, her husband doesn’t believe her.

Quite literally, the neighbours from hell.

As her pregnancy progresses, her health begins to deteriorate, so much so that she loses a significant amount of weight and suffers from regular abdominal pains.

Fun Fact: her baby is. due in June of 1966; in other words 6-6-6. I just thought it was a really clever detail that they used.

Now, I’m not going to you guys any more details, because after all, it is a horror movie. No spoilers. I guess you’re just going to have to take my word for it. It’s one of the best horror movies of all time.

The only thing I will tell you?

The name is an anagram. (Watch the movie, come back to this post, and comment below if you understood that reference haha).

‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ (Available on NETFLIX)

‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ is a 1979 legal drama that tells the story of a couple’s divorce and the impact it has on their young son, Billy.

Joanna Kramer leaves her husband and son wanting to “find herself”- whatever that means. Ted Kramer is then forced to juggle his job as an advertising executive as well as his job as a parent.

However, when Joanna returns 18 months later (having ‘found herself‘ I suppose), seeking sole custody of Billy, they engage in a brutal custody battle to see who is a better parent. The parent that makes more money? The parent that abandoned their child for one and a half years? Both of those titles belonging to Joanna.

The film also tackles subjects such as gender roles, divorce, abandonment, and the so called ‘duty’ associated with parenthood.

This film was one of the first to discuss the perceived role of fathers in parenting, especially in the legal system. Why does the mother almost always awarded sole custody over the father? Why are mothers perceived to be better, more loving parents?

In fact, studies have shown that only 17.5% of single dads are ever awarded primary custody. Are you really trying to tell me that the other 82.5% of fathers were just these incapable deadbeat dads? I mean…I’m sure some of them were. However, I think it’s more likely that there’s a glitch in the legal system.

I would definitely recommend giving it a watch, because sadly over 40 years after the film’s release, the themes are still relevant.

‘Malcolm & Marie’ (Available on Netflix)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen this style of film ever before.

It sort of feels like a bird’s eye view into something we weren’t supposed to see. The turbulent conflict between 2 people that are supposed to be happy.

For starters, the entire movie is filmed in black and white. I don’t know what exactly that’s supposed to signify, but I sort of feel like it’s supposed to personify the fundamental differences between Malcolm and Marie. The difference between black and white.

Very different. Fundamentally the same.

The entire movie is a journey through an argument between a glamorous couple. A filmmaker and a failed actress. Malcolm has just delivered a speech at the premiere of his film, where he forgets to thank Marie, who inspired the film’s main character.

However, what starts off as a minuscule “you forgot to thank me in your speech” argument quickly escalates into a fight which details their underlying issues both as a couple and as individuals.

Addiction. Ego. Narcissism.

While the movie did get a little slow at times and I felt like the dialogue was just spinning around in circles- that is exactly what happens in real life arguments. You continue to dress up the same sentences in different packages, hoping it will make a more significant impact.

‘The Office’ (Available on Amazon Prime)

Okay before you bring up that blog post where I insulted The Office for being overexposed and too mainstream, I just have to say- it was peer pressure.

I mean I really did want to stick to my guns when I said I would never watch The Office just because everyone else watches it, but..there was just this one day where literally everyone was watching it- I felt left out!

That was a couple of days ago. I’m on Season 3 now.

I think I have a problem.

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Thank you for reading! Comment below and let me know if you’ve seen any of these movies. If not, let me know what else you’ve been watching! I could always use more recommendations.

You can check out my last few posts here:

• The Scariest Things That Actually Exist
• borrowed poems from an anonymous- ‘Expressions of Love’ and ‘Experience’
• The Horror of Surveillance
• Pet Peeves
• Happy Panda- Random Blogger Interviews

Until Next Time.