Saltburn (2023)

An Oxford student is drawn to the fascinating world of modern aristocrats through the lens of his colleague's family.

'Saltburn' is a slightly satirized drama about the highly favored human desire for more: more money, more appeal, more popularity. It seems inspired by the story of Tom Ripley, but with more comedy/satire, less depth and more scandalous content. The film has many intelligent moments, generally enriched by the secondary characters, but the rule seems to be script laziness which tries to overcompensate with shock scenes.

Director:  Emerald Fennell   

With: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant

Rating: 7/10

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

A couple made of a model and an influencer wins a cruise on a luxury ship.

'Triangle of Sadness' is a difficult film to describe. Essentially a satire, it has comedic but also dramatic elements, with a strong message that doesn't try to be subtle. Well acted by the whole extended team of actors, well thought out and with a dialogue that's rich in subtleties.

Director:  Ruben Östlund      

With: Thobias Thorwid, Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Jiannis Moustos, Woody Harrelson

Rating: 10/10

Don't Look Up (2021)

Two obscure astronomers discover that a comet will hit Earth in 6 months and spend all their time trying to convince the world that it is something to take seriously.

'Don't Look Up' is a socio-political satire that is unfortunately a little too familiar to be entertaining. The humor of the absurd is still present, the team of actors is a dream, but the moments of frustration and doubt are too frequent and the attitudes of those with power of decision way too devastating.

Director:  Adam McKay     

With: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Rob Morgan

Rating: 7/10

Mayhem (2017)

Derek is mistreated at the law firm where he works, on the same day that a virus that cancels any inhibitions is released into the building.

'Mayhem' is a horror-comedy film that tries using a light satire to make fun of troubling human realities based on the hidden thoughts that all human beings have in common but don't act upon. The filmmakers made it easy to figure out who the "bad guys" are supposed to be and who can be forgiven after all their uncontrollable acts. The fast action takes no time-out and no character has an iota of forgiveness left in them.

Director:  Joe Lynch    

With: Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Steven Brand, Caroline Chikezie, Kerry Fox, Dallas Roberts, Mark Frost

Rating: 8/10

Wag The Dog (1997)

A spin doctor is assembling a team that includes a Hollywood producer in order to set up fake news meant to distract the public from a scandal involving the president shortly before the election.

'Wag The Dog' is a delight from start to finish. With first-hand actors working as a great team, the film is a political satire that still remains relevant more than 20 years after its release. The manipulation the characters put in place is well thought out and, the more obvious and ridiculous it is, the more subtle and efficient it actually is in highlighting the human weaknesses that are cleverly hidden under the necessary exaggerations.

Director:  Barry Levinson   

With: Robert de Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Anne heche, Woody Harrelson, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Kirsten Dunst

Rating: 9/10

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Centerville residents find themselves in the middle of an unexplained zombie epidemic.

"The Dead Don't Die" is an art film, by well known auteur Jim Jarmusch, a film which is disguised as a zombie horror comedy. The film is all of the above, but moreover, it's a satire that comments on the current era of digital consumerism. The message does not even try to be subtle, and the comedy has its main sources coming from the placidity of some of the characters when faced with the events and the rich dialogue that crosses the barrier of the film with small references to the real context of the production.

Bonus: the film has a whole collection of unexpected cameos (Iggy Pop, Selena Gomez, Tilda Swinton and so on).

Director:  Jim Jarmusch      

With: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tom Waits, Chloë Sevigny, Tom Waits, Caleb Landry Jones, RZA, Rosie Perez, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Steve Buscemi, Carol Kane, Iggy Pop

Rating: 7/10

Southland Tales (2006)

An actor with political ties who suffers from amnesia writes a film script that actually matches a real conspiracy.

A satirical film reminiscent of The Fifth Element, Brazil or Mars Attacks! The lack of popularity could be explained by the lack of appeal of the story told by the writers that's supposed to link all the incompatible elements or by the disappointment of the fans of some of the famous faces in seeing their idols in roles completely different from their usual typecast. In spite of these, the film somehow works and makes sense, especially if you become a little familiar with the director's initial intentions. He wanted to write and direct a satire that criticizes the political context of the time (with an emphasis on the specifics for USA) and the real issues that needed tackling: civil liberties, state security, obsession with celebrity, saving the ecosystem and so on. The story is complex, often incoherent and yet consistent, and attracts precisely due to its originality and complete lack of predictability as well as the many contrasts the audience is hit with thanks to the many atypical roles given to a multitude of very well-known actors.

It seems that it is also the first film in which The Rock is credited with his real name.

Directed/Written by:  Richard Kelly   

With:  Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Nora Dunn, Beth Grant, Bai Ling, Jon Lovitz, Mandy Moore, Lou Taylor Pucci, Justin Timberlake, Miranda Richardson, Amy Poehler, Christopher Lambert

Rating: 7/10

Weeds (2005-2012)

A housewife suddenly becomes a widow and starts a marijuana business in the suburbs.

Based on a common idea with Breaking Bad, it precedes it and evolves completely differently, Weeds' style being more satirical, sprinkled with comedy and absurdism, no matter how subtle it sometimes is. With a charismatic main character (who fits Mary-Louise Parker like a glove), Weeds manages to make the audience care about a motley dysfunctional family during 8 seasons of 10-15 short and effective episodes. The comical effect is genuine but sprinkled with drama and sometimes unbelievable elements, but the series keeps a homogeneous content that never disappoints up until the last scene.

Production: Showtime

With: Mary-Louise Parker, Justin Kirk, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins, Andy Milder, Demián Bichir, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Martin Donovan, Matthew Modine, Pablo Schreiber, Alanis Morissette, Mary-Kate Olsen, Julie Bowen

Rating: 9/10

A Simple Favor (2018)

A widowed homemaker mother reports the progress of her own investigation into the disappearance of her best friend on her vlog.

A clever film that highlights two very different female typologies, both strong but with their own shortcomings. Partially satirical-comic, it manages to build the interest / intrigue like  a rolling snowball, forcing the viewer to have lots of delectable fun and to look forward to the outcome of each new mini situation. Both actresses fulfil their part with great talent but Anna Kendrick is particularly wonderful in a role full of contradictions which will not instantly win any popularity contest. A perfect movie!

Directed by: Paul Feig
Cu: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding

Scream Queens (2015-2016)

A group of linked characters are being terrorized by an unknown serial killer.

Built as a satire, it is a combination of Gossip Girl and Scream, with each element very exaggerated (not very different from its two sources of inspiration actually). The fashion is very pink, the negative characters have almost no shred of goodness left, the stereotypes (American college ones especially) are what you'd expect them to be and then some.

With only a handful of likeable characters, each with their own limitations of course, the series has its occasional effective humorous effects, forgiving nothing, but the show would have worked better as a miniseries, as the many exaggerated exaggerations tend to make everything seem a bit dragged.

PS: Interesting to note a few cameos from Nick Jonas and Ariana Grande, who don't seem afraid to laugh at themselves.

Unsurprisingly, two of the show creators are Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy who also gave life to American Horror Story, Glee and Nip/Tuck.

With: Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michele, Keke Palmer, Oliver Hudson

Creators/writers: Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan