Welcome to another edition of the “The Valero Verdict” movie review. In this I will give you a quick movie review with a couple of bullet points of which I either liked or disliked. I will end the review with rating of the movie and a short overall thoughts.

On the docket today: Ari Aster second film for A24 (critically acclaimed Hereditary was his first), Midsommar.

• Plot: A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown’s fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
  
  This plot was INSANE. I will say, the idea behind the plot is rather cool. Because you are peeling off layers of an unknown land/culture that made the mystery of the film very intriguing.

• Director/Writing: Ari Aster
  
  I was in the minority last year and wasn’t a fan of Hereditary, it felt like it was missing something the entire film. I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the trailer for this movie either.
  
  This was a complete change from what I saw in his direction and writing from Hereditary. He is fantastic at letting his main star, be the star.
  
  He has an expansive mind, and the willingness to try things not in the norm. The writing is very articulate and I love he has his own way of putting it on the big screen. It’s like his own personal touch that is his.

• Acting: Florence Pugh
  
  She was very raw, she played this lost character which was perfect as she wasn’t sure who, what, when or how in any of this. She was emotionally charged. Her ability to act in some of the widest range of emotions I’ve ever seen in a film. 
  
  The Best Actress competition is between Pugh and Emma Thompson.
  
  The rest of the cast in this film was very forgettable, it felt like some of them were meant to be this way but man there was some bad acting in this film.

• Score: The Haxan Cloak a.k.a Bobby Krlic
  
  This has been the year of great scores and Krlic has thrown his name in the hat for one of the years best.
  
  I truly enjoyed how he enhanced some of the creepiness/weirdness of this film. It was kind of haunting in a way.

• Favorite Scene:
  
  The entire Cliff scene.

The Verdict:

*** out of ***** gavels

This movie started FAST out the gate and the pace of the movie went truly down hill. It felt so long getting from the first act to the third, it really put a damper on my thoughts of the film as a collective whole. I have no clue why everyone feels the need to have these LONG movies anymore. It’s a massive issue in Hollywood right now.

This movie is really strange and you aren’t always sure what in the hell you are actually watching. Aster has a creative but WILD mind.

Between Pugh performance, the beautiful cinematography and the breathtaking score makes it worthwhile to watch.

Should You Watch It?: For the craziest sex scene in the history of movies, that alone make this worth a watch when it drops digitally.

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