tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32310570475750367592024-03-16T11:52:00.901-07:00Mulling MoviesBecause Sometimes You Have to Let a Movie StewRainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.comBlogger423125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-78134812407062281042024-02-09T09:35:00.000-08:002024-02-09T23:52:03.397-08:00Weekence Screen Scene: The Taste of Things, Perfect Days<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cKKCGtoIOVY?si=-xyjaEQipJ_09dCo" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div>
<p>I watched the French film <i><a href="https://www.tasteofthings.com/" target="_blank">The Taste of Things</a></i> on Thanksgiving morning. This was both a good and a bad thing. Good because it definitely made me hungry for the meal to come. Bad because nothing I was going to eat that day would ever taste as good as the food in this movie looks.</p><p>Juliette Binoche stars as Eugènie, a chef in 1885 rural France. She works with famed gourmand Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) and has for over 20 twenty years. The film opens with an extended and almost dialogue free sequence that watches them (and mainly her) preparing a feast, from picking the vegetables in the garden, to the chopping, stirring, cooking and baking required. By the end of this scene you'll be craving more than popcorn, as director Trần Anh Hùng photographs all of this food prep with a hungry and admiring eye.</p><p>Food in the film is many things. It's a tool for teaching. It's the center of gatherings and celebrations. And ultimately, it's an act of love. There's an romance at the center of <i>The Taste of Things,</i> and how it plays out is much like a good meal, and life. A lot of prep, rapturous enjoyment, and it's all over way too quickly.<br /></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QzZBbX5A1FA?si=aPqx5TqlG2xvvAUP" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p>The days lived out in <a href="https://www.perfectdays-movie.jp/en/" target="_blank"><i>Perfect Days</i></a> may not seem so perfect on the surface. Kōji Yakusho gives a calm and almost silent performance as Hirayama, a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. His daily life doesn't vary much. He wakes up, folds up his bed, tends to his plants, grabs a coffee from a vending machine, listens to his favorite music on cassettes on the drive to his job of cleaning a variety of public toilets in Tokyo. After work, he eats at the same food stall every night, and then reads before bed. Sometimes he'll grab a steam and a shower at a bath house. On weekends, he does laundry. But all through this he exhibits a genuine appreciation for his quiet life, and the simple pleasures and beauty around him.</p><p>And yes, on the surface this may sound exceedingly boring. But director Wim Wenders is no stranger to making the mundane and repetitive hypnotic and soothing. The calmness in Hirayama may remind you a bit of Harry Dean Stanton's Travis in Wenders's1984 film <i>Paris, Texas</i>. In both Travis and Hirayama, still waters run deep. There are hints of trauma and possible addiction in Hirayama's past, lending a possible explanation for his structured day-by-day life. The definition of a "perfect day" may be subjective. But when you realize that in an entire lifetime, the majority of your days are going to be filled with the mundane, it's a good idea to makes those days as perfect as possible.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-81322598001137021852024-02-02T08:00:00.000-08:002024-02-03T21:28:37.035-08:00Weekend Screen Scene: Argylle<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7mgu9mNZ8Hk?si=tD1Cpf5FUYyGzSRv" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div>
<p>The studios really want to keep the twists in the new spy thriller <i><a href="https://www.argyllemovie.com/" target="_blank">Argylle</a></i> heavily guarded secrets, but here's one thing I will spoil, for those who, like me, go into certain kinds of movies with apprehension: the cat lives. (Also, for the vast majority of the movie, that cat is pure CGI, so don't be too concerned by the fact that it gets tossed around an awful lot.)<br /></p><p>The marketing ploys surrounding the film--that the movie is adapted from a book by someone named Elly Conway, an author that doesn't really exist, and is actually the protagonist in the movie, unless, of course this whole thing really came from the <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2024/01/who-wrote-the-argylle-book-swifties-explain-elly-conway.html" target="_blank">mind of none other than TAYLOR SWIFT</a>!--are ultimately more intriguing than the actual movie, which is not clever enough to support the multiple twists and turns of its plot.</p><p>Bryce Dallas Howard stars as Elly Conway, author of a series of popular novels centered on a spy named Agent Argylle. There appears to be a movie within the movie, in which Henry Cavill plays Argylle, although as with most things in <i>Argylle</i>, the logic of that conceit does not make a lot of sense. Sometimes Argylle appears to be a figment of Conway's imagination. But does he look like Henry Cavill because of a movie? Or is this just how Elly imagines him to be? And if its that, then why does the ending include --</p><p>Whoops, nope. No spoilers!</p><p>Sam Rockwell also stars as a real life spy (maybe!) out to help Elly when she finds herself embroiled in some real life espionage (MAYBE!). If the film has anything going for it, it's the cast that includes supporting roles and cameos from the likes of Catherine O'Hara, Samuel L. Jackson, Dua Lipa, and Bryan Cranston, amongst many others. And Sam Rockwell and Bryce Dallas Howard both make the film at least tolerable when they're on screen together. (Also, Sam Rockwell gets to dance, which is always a bonus.)</p><p>Matthew Vaughn movies can usually be counted on to at least have enough outrageous action and violence to keep you engaged, but <i>Argylle</i> feels phoned in, and is too long by at least 30 minutes; some parts are downright boring. Movies like this are only rewarding when, in the end, all the seemingly crazy parts fall into satisfying place, and in this one they most certainly do not. But at least that cat always lands on his feet.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-48476374233996297662024-01-17T07:08:00.000-08:002024-01-17T09:26:57.098-08:00Best of 2023: Number One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWZhXn3J-rgx0knf5IrUAXgwyr6K4kB1WN0E0aSqDiyUh5tX6kObk9GU4zEVe0ZDmwbege7sh-24zsRzIlVCECqmGtMHkTij4j-tl4i2KHpYVuMUR1UlRFbIm2-r7RQfSiuBUuV7c8IrEAQD2GJjgxlveOXniD3-jvGL7V_LSYKJ7ZpYbgRxWEDtR/s2000/poorthing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWZhXn3J-rgx0knf5IrUAXgwyr6K4kB1WN0E0aSqDiyUh5tX6kObk9GU4zEVe0ZDmwbege7sh-24zsRzIlVCECqmGtMHkTij4j-tl4i2KHpYVuMUR1UlRFbIm2-r7RQfSiuBUuV7c8IrEAQD2GJjgxlveOXniD3-jvGL7V_LSYKJ7ZpYbgRxWEDtR/w640-h360/poorthing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>I came out of my first viewing of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Things_(film)" target="_blank">Poor Things</a></i> feeling much like its heroine, Bella. I wanted more of it and as soon as possible. I had to wait a few weeks for that second helping, and it confirmed what I had suspected, that this was my favorite movie of the year.</p><p>I mean, the movie is almost a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwm_N2PCUz8&t=324s" target="_blank">Stefon</a> worthy collections of things I love! Slapstick comedy; Emma Stone; huge sleeves on dresses; retro-futuristic cityscapes; Mark Ruffalo; a <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/poor-things-frankenstein-animals-vfx-1234934388/" target="_blank">BULLDOG GOOSE</a>.</p><p>There really is too much visual spender in the movie to catch in a single viewing, and I also found a second viewing really helped me appreciate Emma Stone's tour de force performance as Bella Baxter. Just <i>what</i> Bella is, is laid out slowly in the film, by watching it a second time, with that full knowledge, I was able to really understand just what she was playing, and it's simply brilliant.</p><p>My favorite take, which I read on Letterboxd, is <i>Poor Things </i>is <i>Barbie</i>, if Weird Barbie were the lead. And indeed the films do offer similar journeys of self-discovery for its two leading ladies, though <i>Poor Things</i> is in no way for kids; if I have any complaint about it, it's that there is maybe, just a little too much sex. Although, I think that ultimately works well to illustrate the journey Bella is on. Like all good things, too much can actually lead to displeasure.<br /></p><p>And because this post has been delayed way too long I'll end with three more things that made me love <i>Poor Things</i>.<br /></p><p>- That Bella, who for the first part of the movie is essentially a toddler, dresses how a toddler would dress herself, with no regard to what is "right," but only what she likes. And if that means a huge frilly top, tap pants, and boots, so be it.</p><p>- When Bella is annoyed by crying at a table next to her and says, "I must go punch that baby."<br /></p><p>- When Max (Ramy Youssef) does not get angry about Bella's stint at a Parisian brothel and instead says, "It is your body, Bella Baxter, yours to give freely." I know it's kind of an obvious line, but it absolutely made me tear up.</p><p>And with that said, let me end with some of the films that did not make my top five, but would definitely be in my top ten:</p><p><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zone_of_Interest_(film)" target="_blank">The Zone of Interest</a></i></p><p><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie_(film)" target="_blank">Barbie</a></i></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Taste_of_Things" target="_blank"><i>The Taste of Things </i></a></p><p><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottoms_(film)" target="_blank">Bottoms</a></i></p><p><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_Lives_(film)" target="_blank">Past Lives</a></i></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-30859892797450385172024-01-05T09:51:00.000-08:002024-01-07T14:18:04.419-08:00Best of 2023: Number Two<p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5hEjGpCEawF_nKjZ-WUe6Ny3k_ofxdItpNWR0Q5Ukt3p8xgyuVHWwP3DLNE4CWbDRJ90sSqZgk9Fmu4kHt09kW_7_BdyjXv-E6lQra82CCRBA2H5kLaElvDNehpz4DSvs5Fs5kErajMKlYGmJULH6FFk5PxaFCyTnsTHOHbdg1D1oLOeusOTAC0g/s1916/killers.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="1916" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5hEjGpCEawF_nKjZ-WUe6Ny3k_ofxdItpNWR0Q5Ukt3p8xgyuVHWwP3DLNE4CWbDRJ90sSqZgk9Fmu4kHt09kW_7_BdyjXv-E6lQra82CCRBA2H5kLaElvDNehpz4DSvs5Fs5kErajMKlYGmJULH6FFk5PxaFCyTnsTHOHbdg1D1oLOeusOTAC0g/w640-h426/killers.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>I braved the almost three and half hour running time of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killers_of_the_Flower_Moon_(film)" target="_blank"><i>Killers of the Flower</i></a> in a theater, and I will say, I was never bored; didn't even take a bathroom break. And that's coming from someone whose chief complaint about movies these days is they're too damn long. But <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> almost didn't feel long <i>enough</i>. I could have watched Scorsese align the crimes committed by these early twentieth century white men with crimes committed by his later twentieth century white men for two more hours. At least!</p><p>By making changes to the structure of the story, versus how the story is relayed <a href="Killers of the Flower " target="_blank">in the book</a>, he turns it into a classic Scorsese set-up. It is no longer a whoddunit. It is a "these assholes did it" story, and that makes it all the more horrifying and heartbreaking, especially in the context of the central "love story" between Mollie (Lily Gladstone) and Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio). How could he do what he does to her? But then again, how could <i>we</i> do what we did to the natives of this continent?</p><p>Lily Gladsstone's Mollie is the heart of the film, and her performance is so luminous, the film would not be as good without her. And that comes back to my wanting even more of it, and especially her.<br /></p><p>I know there have been some complaints about how this story perhaps should not have been told by a white man, and how the story centers more on the whites, and not the Osage. I get that. But Scorsese is also our greatest living filmmaker, and his making this movie means that many, <i>many</i> more people will now learn about this horrible history.<br /></p><p>If I have any complaint about the film it's that the Ernest character is <i>so</i> evil, and <i>so</i> dumb. It was at times difficult to watch that for over three hours. And Scorsese is no stranger to centering his films on dumb, bad men! But in all of those other films, I've found something to identify with, or sympathize with, or even root for. But not here. Ernest's crimes, this<i> nation's</i> crimes, are just too horrible.</p><p><i>Killers of the Flower Moon will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on January 12th. </i><br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-92166648242399712982024-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:002024-01-09T10:45:14.629-08:00Best of 2023: Number Three<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtwzV7xdMuo9FGVH7RtfJntq19QvVj9YdLSPiR6DSub_POPJL_lVs6wNlrhnsjhGSETPx-qrSDxOcbvsS6xDEEHEQq3nle1SEL89dQBLDt2BkjZ2hRkPl50EecbDKdfuXlBrnPFbMEt7UrLdec_SPzKWwJasN5dXt8Ht9jIqvbWO4XlGDw6gtIeuB/s1000/strangers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtwzV7xdMuo9FGVH7RtfJntq19QvVj9YdLSPiR6DSub_POPJL_lVs6wNlrhnsjhGSETPx-qrSDxOcbvsS6xDEEHEQq3nle1SEL89dQBLDt2BkjZ2hRkPl50EecbDKdfuXlBrnPFbMEt7UrLdec_SPzKWwJasN5dXt8Ht9jIqvbWO4XlGDw6gtIeuB/w640-h360/strangers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>I'm someone who cries at the movies a lot, but I'm also someone who can be pretty cynical when it comes to films that are manipulative tearjerkers. But every now and then, a movie can be both manipulative and feel completely heartfelt, and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_of_Us_Strangers" target="_blank">All of Us Strangers </a></i>is one of those movies.</p><p>I mean, it centers on a lonely man who reconnects with his parents....who died when he was twelve. Like, "pause for audience tears" can basically be written into a script with a concept like that! Add to that a burgeoning romance with a slightly mysterious neighbor, and the fact they these two men are played by Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, two actors who just ooze charisma and soulfullnes, and you've got a movie that earns its tears. </p><p>I'll also have to admit one other factor that contributed to my absolutely dissolving into a teary mess at the film's end, and that's the use of a song I listened to obsessively when it came out in 1984; "The Power of Love" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. (Side note: I do NOT remember them--the band behind "Relax"!--releasing a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtdRv6GT9Zg" target="_blank">Birth of Jesus-themed video </a>for the song! That's a plot twist!) Hearing that song during the film's finale brought up a TON of feels, and I was an absolute sobbing mess. I didn't think I'd ever emotionally recover from it.</p><p>And then a week later I just had to watch the movie again. That says it all.</p><p><i>All of Us Strangers is currently playing in theaters.</i><br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-21529234942781588372023-12-31T11:49:00.000-08:002024-01-09T10:47:03.734-08:00Best of 2023: Number Four<p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJPaDc8VJARg2ugdidzyDJp59J07MC00gK-4JOblprD3oSMXHCUDtBXl5xvWh9FY9u7rS-SkmbykwhH_6UWIN4f371qLicqptKWyxkRAr3DWI9nlp5tFmP0B-mo__cyZGqBepLyI3HjiI5PLpkhqjpRp026XJqLCZm9_kXKYSrsdGNJpaVtvZRzh1/s1280/salty.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJPaDc8VJARg2ugdidzyDJp59J07MC00gK-4JOblprD3oSMXHCUDtBXl5xvWh9FY9u7rS-SkmbykwhH_6UWIN4f371qLicqptKWyxkRAr3DWI9nlp5tFmP0B-mo__cyZGqBepLyI3HjiI5PLpkhqjpRp026XJqLCZm9_kXKYSrsdGNJpaVtvZRzh1/w640-h360/salty.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></div><p></p><p><i>Promising Young Woman</i> was <a href="https://www.mullingmovies.com/2021/01/promising-young-woman-fullfills.html">my favorite movie of 2020</a>, so I've been looking forward to Emerald Fennell's follow-up since then. When I heard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltburn_(film)" target="_blank"><i>Saltburn</i></a> referred to as a kind of <i>Brideshead Revisited</i> and <i>Talented Mr. Ripley</i> mash-up, I knew, if nothing else, it would at least hit the aesthetically pleasing mark.</p><p>I was pleased to find it was more than that, although I feel like there's been some backlash against it of late, accusing it of being shallow or meaningless. I don't agree that its either of those things, but also think had it been made by anyone else, it wouldn't be getting that type of criticism. </p><p><i>Saltburn</i> has plenty to say about class, and yearning, both for a lifestyle and for people who will never have you. And man, does Fennell get the yearning part down; Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan have never looked more beautiful than they do in this film. I definitely had my moments of yearning watching them.</p><p>I'll say the movie also benefited a lot from seeing it in a crowded theater, as there are some moments in it, and if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about, that elicit such a comedic variety of reactions you don't usually hear unless you're watching a horror movie. </p><p><i>Saltburn</i> isn't perfect, and I can't really argue with those who may issue with it's ending, though to me it works beautifully. I think the ultimate aim of the film is just pleasure and fun, and there's nothing wrong with that. As long as you aren't killing to get it.</p><p><i>Saltburn is currently streaming on Prime Video.</i><br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-15937088012560531812023-12-30T13:49:00.000-08:002023-12-31T13:01:27.512-08:00Best of 2023: Number Five<p>I'm always a little trepidatious about creating top ten or even top five lists every year, because I'm always certain there's some movie out there I haven't gotten a chance to see that could very well turn out to be my favorite when I finally do get to see it, one, two, or three years from now. But I have to say, I've done a pretty good job of seeing as much as I could in the past two months (over 60 films, if we're counting) so I am fairly confident that I can narrow it down to at least five.<br /></p><p>5. <i>May December </i>and <i>Priscilla</i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiajDkkyIB9CpszRjHzuhJig3oMDIQbH7FjkzHw99evysSZlRQCS2rOsHQ9OiehLglkJ2rcnMLc9ckBqcOnH5ohqw7Z8pX8MSNxrQc9b6AAG26_LffgcxtPx7MOXGOVvg8Nju29eZvDQ_eyqi5sKkT3IYXIc5-ZF7cwCBNCRJS1bcRT01ZA3AJD6W5/s1000/pris.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiajDkkyIB9CpszRjHzuhJig3oMDIQbH7FjkzHw99evysSZlRQCS2rOsHQ9OiehLglkJ2rcnMLc9ckBqcOnH5ohqw7Z8pX8MSNxrQc9b6AAG26_LffgcxtPx7MOXGOVvg8Nju29eZvDQ_eyqi5sKkT3IYXIc5-ZF7cwCBNCRJS1bcRT01ZA3AJD6W5/w640-h426/pris.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p>OK, I lied, it's really a top six, because I just couldn't decide between these two as my number five. </p><p>I saw <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priscilla_(film)" target="_blank"><i>Priscilla</i></a> early in the "awards season," so while other movies definitely demoted it, it was still a movie that lingered with me for a long time. It's not a traditional biopic, and I can see how that might annoy some, especially when you compare it to last year's manic <i>Elvis</i>, which I did not like at all. In fact, I'd say <i>Priscilla</i> is the antidote to that headache inducing movie. It's a calm, introspective look at a period of time in one woman's life, from her point of view. And yes, Jacob Elordi, is too tall (I think this worked visually because it emphasized just how young Priscilla was when they met), and the period details are not entirely accurate (the heels are just all wrong), and you aren't going to learn a lot about either of them (if you're an Elvis fan, you already know everything, and if you aren't, Wikipedia is your friend).</p><p>But none of that ruined the movie for me. <i>Priscilla</i> is about memories, and teenage dreams, and adult realizations. It's another Sofia Coppola movie about sad girls in pretty rooms, and I am here for it.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pA4LrcORrjlBlv1a3H9XndXD85ydxEAQHepMFDKF7Qy-w8RPtRycxAqy2S5k4y5OsFyo1LK9E19eDxv-Fc87cst1QDXRB4mm30p7WECrG71neT8RFLmofLwEdVFz_t4c-gFsWOYh2TeQozTw1LDzVK3riCZcykuhetF1IFaVnmC4S4nUJ2_r_PtY/s1200/May-December-Movie%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pA4LrcORrjlBlv1a3H9XndXD85ydxEAQHepMFDKF7Qy-w8RPtRycxAqy2S5k4y5OsFyo1LK9E19eDxv-Fc87cst1QDXRB4mm30p7WECrG71neT8RFLmofLwEdVFz_t4c-gFsWOYh2TeQozTw1LDzVK3riCZcykuhetF1IFaVnmC4S4nUJ2_r_PtY/w640-h336/May-December-Movie%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>I've watched all of my top movies more than once, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_December" target="_blank"><i>May December</i></a> is one I watched again almost immediately, because once it ends, you kind of realize you've been watching a different kind of movie all along. I've dubbed it "the year's best camp melodrama horror comedy," because it's all those things, and maybe even more. (Let's not forget thinly disguised true crime drama!) </p><p>Julianne Moore and composer Marcelo Zarvos both deserve an Oscar for <a href="https://variety.com/2023/artisans/news/may-december-composer-marcelo-zarvos-hot-dog-scene-music-the-go-between-1235829378/">the combined genius</a> that is the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@netflix/video/7308120473013882154" target="_blank">"I don't think we have enough hot dogs"</a> moment at the beginning of the film. Charles Melton definitely deserves one for his heartbreaking performance as a man who's slowly realizing he may be married to a monster. And Natalie Portman deserves one for that ending, which lets the audience realize she's....not as great of an actress as she thinks she is. It's an ending that really caught me off guard the first viewing, but then I heard more than one person compare it to the ending of <i>Tár</i>, and it all made sense. </p><p>And while we're giving out Oscars, or at least nominations, give Todd Haynes one too (can you believe he hasn't been nominated for Best Director yet?), and definitely give one to screenwriter Samy Burch, for one of the best debut screenplays I've ever read.</p><p><i>Priscilla</i> is currently available to rent, and <i>May December</i> is streaming on Netflix.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-15189768745421177052023-07-24T14:13:00.001-07:002024-01-07T14:23:42.483-08:00Weekend Screen Scene: Barbie, Oppenheimer<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pBk4NYhWNMM" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div>
<p><i>Barbenheimer</i> is here, and there has been a lot of online chatter about which order you should see the movies, should you choose to see them both (and I say you should). It seems most agree you should start with the darkness of <a href="https://www.oppenheimermovie.com/" target="_blank"><i>Oppenheimer</i></a> and move on to the brightness of <a href="https://www.barbie-themovie.com/" target="_blank"><i>Barbie</i></a>, but I'm not sure I agree. </p><p>I saw <i>Barbie</i> on a Monday night and <i>Oppenheimer</i> on a Tuesday night (one thing I will say: try to see <i>Oppenheimer</i> during the day, as it's three hours long, and the film's closing message may keep you up at night), and I was happy with that ordering. Both films are, in one way or another, cautionary tales, and some of the warnings expressed in the <i>Barbie</i> movie are fully executed in <i>Oppenheimer</i>, and that becomes more apparent if you see <i>Oppenheimer</i> with <i>Barbie</i> on your mind.</p><p>And <i>Barbie</i> was definitely a movie I was still thinking about a day later. Greta Gerwig has created a garishly pink, girl-power fantasy packed to the gills with gags, music, fashion, dancing, and philosophical questions. There is so much happening in almost every scene of the movie it's impossible to catch everything on a single viewing. It's borderline chaotic, but if you've ever been a child who plays with Barbies, this tracks.</p><p>Margot Robbie's "stereotypical" (as she deems herself) Barbie lives in Barbieland, a land essentially fueled by children playing in the real world. She wakes up everyday in her Dreamhouse, takes a dry shower, eats a fake breakfast, and floats into her pink convertible to drive to the beach.<br /></p><p>Almost every Barbie in Barbieland is known as Barbie ("Hi Barbie!"). The President; the Supreme Court; doctors; construction workers. And almost all of the men are Kens (except for <a href="https://barbie.fandom.com/wiki/Allan" target="_blank">Allan</a>, who is hilariously played by Michael Cera), and they spend their day doing their job, which is..."Beach."<br /></p><p>Stereotypical Barbie's Ken is played by Ryan Gosling, and I cannot think of more perfect casting. (Of course Robbie is also perfectly cast, but there's also a funny breaking of the fourth wall moment that calls that into question). Gosling easily steals all of the scenes he's in and I would love it if he got another Oscar nomination for this.</p><p>When Barbie starts to develop a sort of consciousness, with thoughts of death, and visible signs of imperfection, Barbie and Ken enter the "real world," where Barbie discovers the horrors of objectification and Ken discovers the joys of the patriarchy. While Barbie's presence in the real world is seen by the president of Mattel (Will Ferrell) as a threat to the very existence of both worlds, Ken takes what he learns back to Barbieland, turning it into a Kendomland filled with bros drinking "brewski beers," playing guitar <i>at</i> the Barbies, or obsessing over horses and the <i>Godfather</i> movies.</p><p>The ultimate message is that neither type of monosociety is ideal, but I couldn't help but think of this Kendomland more than once when watching <i>Oppenheimer</i>. The Ken-filled land of Barbie does quickly devolve into war (albeit one that includes a terrific fantasy dance sequence), and <i>Oppenheimer</i> does, of course, center on the creation of the ultimate weapon of war. </p><p>I liked Christopher Nolan's <i>Memento</i> a lot, but after that, I've found all of his films to be very loud, very busy, and very cold. He's Kubrick on steroids. <i>Oppenheimer</i> is all of those things, but Cillian Murphy's performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer is so riveting I could <i>almost</i> feel some emotion while watching it. I felt a bit more watching Emily Blunt as his wife Kitty, a character who for the majority of the movie is the troubled wife annoyed by her husband's work, but she eventually gets one of the best scenes in the movie. (Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer's earlier girlfriend, Jean, is not given enough screen time, especially considering the film's length and the fact that she's really the only other major female character in it.)</p><p><i>Oppenheimer</i> like most of Nolan's other films, is loud, with a constant soundtrack that makes it feel like it is being constantly propelled forward, even though the movie is half flashback. Frankly, it's exhausting, but I have to admit, when the film finally does quiet, for the Trinity test, this sudden calm makes the scene all the more astonishing. It's perhaps the best sequence in any of his films to date.</p><p>I'm not one of those people who insists the only way to truly experience films is in a theater. But I do think <i>Oppenheimer</i> will lose a lot of its impact on a small screen. I saw it in IMAX, which was perhaps a little TOO big and loud, but there is no doubt Nolan knows how to use that format effectively. </p><p>The <i>Barbenheimer</i> phenomenon pleases me primarily because it's proof there is room for an unapologetically pink feminist manifesto next to a deadly serious anti-war story in our existing cineplexes, and that plenty of people will <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/box-office/box-office-barbie-oppenheimer-opening-weekend-shatter-records-1235677601/" target="_blank">indeed see both</a>. It's a Barbenheimer World, and that's fantastic.<br /></p>
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<p><a href="https://www.nohardfeelingsmovie.com/" target="_blank"><i>No Hard Feelings</i></a> is being marketed as a gross-out sex comedy, something akin to films like <i>American Pie</i> or <i>Superbad</i>, but it's really more of a romantic comedy than a sex one (even if star Jennifer Lawrence does appear completely naked in it; more on that later).<br /></p><p>Lawrence plays Maddie Barker, a Montauk, NY native who is fighting to keep the house she inherited from her mother. It's been paid off, but because of Montauk's rising property values, she can't afford her property taxes. When her car is repossessed, and she can no longer work as an Uber driver, she answers a Craigslist ad from some parents looking to hire a young woman to date their introverted 19-year-old son as a kind of pre-college crash course in sexual adulthood. Payment would come in the form of a used Buick.</p><p>Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) is of course very suspicious when this thirtysomething woman starts to come on to him, and it's a running joke that everyone who meets Maddie assumes she's anything but his romantic interest, because she's <i>so old</i>. Her attempts to seduce him fail multiple times because Percy has been so sheltered he hardly recognizes them as attempts at all. <br /></p><p>One of the biggest problems with the "classic" teenage sex comedies of yore is their inherent misogyny, so I will always appreciate any attempt to update the genre, especially if that update centers on a woman, gets rid of the objectification, but still retains the raunch the genre needs. <i> </i></p><p><i>No Hard Feelings</i> definitely tries, and the scene featuring a full-frontal Lawrence, in which she fights some teenagers who have stolen her clothes while she's skinny dipping, seems to be a direct comment on the genre's need for nudity. She's definitely nude, but the scene is played for laughs, not titillation. I wanted more risky moments like that, but too much of the movie takes the tame route, seemingly not understanding that a modern raunchy sex comedy can have the sex, and the raunch, <i>and</i> still be worthy of a star like Jennifer Lawrence.</p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-42304979208606671062023-06-16T10:13:00.001-07:002024-01-07T14:26:28.863-08:00Weekend Screen Scene: Elemental, The Blackening<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Pixar's <a href="https://movies.disney.com/elemental" target="_blank"><i>Elemental</i></a> may end up being one of the year's most touching movies about the immigrant experience and interracial romance, even if it's set in a metaphorical world full of walking and talking earthly elements, not people.</p><p>The story centers on the Lumen family. Bernie and Cinder immigrate to Element City to start a new life, opening a store in a neighborhood that becomes the center for the majority of the fire elements in the city. Their daughter Ember grows up assuming she will take over the family business, until she meets Wade Ripple, a water element who, in typical romantic comedy fashion, she hates at first, but then grows to love, as he also opens up another world of possibilities for her future.</p><p>Having fire and water fall in love may seem like a pretty clunky and obvious metaphor for interracial dating, but it mostly works, due in large part to the charming voice performances from Leah Lewis as Ember and Mamoudou Athie as Wade. So many animated movies depend on casting wholly recognizable stars as the voice actors, and it can often feel inauthentic and unnecessary (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6718170" target="_blank">ahem</a>). I really appreciated hearing these unfamiliar voices, and was also delighted when I learned Wade was voiced by Athie, as he's an actor who has enchanted me since I first saw him in <i>Patti Cake$</i> back in 2017. </p><p>There's a subplot involving a growing threat to the Fire neighborhood that, frankly, didn't make a whole lot of sense, and felt wedged in, as though they didn't trust the love story was conflict enough. The only benefit to that storyline is it allows us to see more of the world that was created for the movie.<i> Elemental</i> is one of the most beautiful films Pixar has ever released; it's absolutely gorgeous to look at, and will benefit greatly from its eventual move to Disney+, where you can pause and explore all the visual glory of the elements and their world.<br /></p>
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<p>Horror comedies are always a risky endeavor, at least those that aren't straight up parodies. Lean too heavily into the comedy and you fail as a horror movie, and lean too heavily into horror and the comedy can feel off-putting. <i><a href="https://www.theblackening.movie/" target="_blank">The Blackening</a></i> does a fair job at both, with a heavy dose of social and racial commentary thrown into the mix.</p><p>Eight Black friends convene in a cabin in the woods for a combined Juneteenth and college reunion celebration of games, drinking, and recreational drug use. (Recognizing the horror cliche right off the bat, one character remarks "To be fair, it's more of a house than a cabin.") The movie's tagline and central joke references another horror movie cliche: if the entire cast is Black, they can't all be killed off first. And this idea of "Blackness" plays a central role in the life and death game the party guests are faced with.</p><p><i>The Blackening</i> does a good job of distinguishing its multiple characters right off the bat, with identifiable personalities and foibles, but the stand-out is probably DeWayne Perkins, who also co-wrote the screenplay, as the group's lone gay friend, DeWayne. He's got the best lines (and the best costume changes). </p><p>If the film has a weakness it's with its ultimate conclusion, which does not come as much of a surprise, and with the performance at the center of it, which was not convincing for a moment. But I'm willing to overlook a weak ending when what comes before it so much fun.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-4691898295461363842023-05-05T07:46:00.003-07:002023-05-05T11:38:56.794-07:00Weekend Screen Scene: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JqcncLPi9zw" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div>
<p>I'm one of those people who does their best to avoid spoilers before seeing a movie, especially when it comes to genre films. That means I don't watch trailers (unless I'm forced to at a theater), avoid reviews, and stay away from internet chatter as much as I can before watching something that's bound to be filled with surprises.</p><p>But man alive, I wish someone had spoiled <a href="https://www.marvel.com/movies/guardians-of-the-galaxy-volume-3" target="_blank"><i>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</i> </a>for me, because if I had had any prior knowledge of what happens in this movie, I probably would have skipped it entirely. Consider this review the kind of warning I wish I'd had, while being as spoiler free as possible.</p><p><i>Vol. 3</i> takes places after the events of the <i>The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special</i>, and the gang's attempt to cheer up the depressed Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) apparently didn't stick, as the movie opens with Quill drinking away his sorrows on Knowhere, still mourning the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), who, while no longer dead, is not the Gamora Peter once loved. Like the first two films, this opening involves a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjrS6oJu1c4" target="_blank">tracking shot set to a pop song</a>, though in this case, it's not a peppy classic. Instead, it's an acoustic version of Radiohead's "Creep", and it's being listened to by an equally depressed looking Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper, a fact that never ceases to amaze me). The tone for this sequel is set early.</p><p>Shortly after, Rocket's life is put in danger, and the remainder of the film is centered on a quest to save him, paired with flashbacks to Rocket's origin story, and as has always been suspected, there's a reason why he's never wanted to talk about that. It's because it's. Fucking. AWFUL.<br /></p><p>I'm one of those people who has to check <a href="https://www.doesthedogdie.com/" target="_blank">Does the Dog Die</a> whenever I see there's an animal in a film, so I can make sure they make it out OK, or if they don't, so I can at least be prepared for it. Call me a pussy, but I just can not deal with seeing animals tortured or killed on screen. And I'm here to tell ya, that happens in <i>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. </i>A lot. And it is absolutely brutal to watch.</p><p>I'm not even sure if the rest of the movie that does <i>not</i> feature cruel experiments on cute animals, some of their deaths, and outright genocide is any good, because every time the film would jump from the horrible to our beloved gang of Galaxy Guards bantering and acting heroic, I was too distracted by the tears I had to wipe dry and the sobs I was muffling to really notice. </p><p>Yes, I did laugh several times, and took particular pleasure in Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff). I'd watch a spinoff focused on them in a heartbeat. But the drastic whiplash changes in tone made it hard to really appreciate the more lighthearted aspects of the movie. This is director James Gunn's final entry in the series, and perhaps his leaving explains some of the story choices he makes. The <i>Guardians</i> films are the Marvel movies I have probably enjoyed the most up until now, watching the first two more than once. But I don't think I can ever watch <i>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 </i>again<i>, </i>and would only recommend it to those who really, <i>really</i>, <b><i>really</i></b> feel the need to complete the series. </p><p>But don't say I didn't warn you.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-78855945156391787192023-04-28T08:00:00.335-07:002023-04-28T08:00:00.139-07:00Weekend Screen Seen: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Polite Society<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Like many a Gen X gal, I was a huge Judy Blume fan growing up, reading many of her books more than once (and some, like <i>Forever</i>, and <i>Wifey</i>, at an age I probably shouldn't have). And, like many of her fans, I was worried when I heard an adaptation of <a href="https://www.itsmemargaret.movie/" target="_blank"><i>Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret</i> </a>was set for the big screen. Would it be modernized? How could that even be done? And would it be watered down for an era where even being able to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-ban-girls-period-talk-elementary-schools-7e2e5843d296dc9d8fbf82d55fe8cc70" target="_blank"><i>talk</i> about periods</a> is under attack?</p><p>Those fears were unfounded. <i>Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret </i>is a charming period piece (sorry) set firmly in the early 1970's, complete with training bras, maxi pads, and games of spin the bottle. And while I am not sure how well it may play with today's pre-teens, it will definitely please adults who grew up loving the book. <br /></p><p>The way I remembered it, the book was centered on the anxiety Margaret feels about puberty and her changing body. But in actuality, religion plays just as big of a role in the story (which, given the "God" in the title, should not have come as much of a surprise). Margaret's interfaith parents (her mother is Christian and her father is Jewish), chose not to raise her without any religion, allowing her to decide for herself what she wants to believe in. We see Margaret attend Synagogue with her beloved grandmother Sylvia (a perfectly eccentric Kathy Bates), confusedly confess at a Catholic church, and confront the Christian grandparents who disapproved of her mother's marriage. The story presents such a measured approach to religion that I'm pretty sure it, and not the period stuff, is the real reason the book has been consistently banned over the years.<br /></p><p>The cast, for the most part, is perfect. The aforementioned Kathy Bates steals every scene she's in, but Abby Ryder Fortson's Margaret is complicated and lovable. As Margaret's mother, Barbara, Rachel McAdams is able to convey the rebellion brewing within a housewife who is beginning to question her decisions. It's only Benny Safdie, as Margaret's father, Herb, who feels like odd casting. He spends so much of the film with a strange half-smile on his face that I wondered if he was playing him as a secret stoner. (Definitely not something I remember from the book.)<br /></p><p>Director and writer Kelly Fremon Craig has crafted a movie that I have to call "pleasant," but not in any derogatory way. There's nothing wrong with pleasant, and sometimes it comes as a damn relief. I spent the whole movie relishing the nostalgic sets, soundtrack, and costumes, laughing, occasionally tearing up, and just appreciating that these beloved characters were finally brought to the screen in a way that would make Judy Blume proud.<br /></p>
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<p>I wouldn't have thought periods would be a thing to tie <i>Margaret</i> and the action comedy <a href="https://www.focusfeatures.com/polite-society/" target="_blank"><i>Polite Society</i> </a>together, but mentions of a woman's "time" and "heavy flow" are used more than once in the film to get uncomfortable men to do what the women want. (Want to freak a guy out? Tell him to look for something in your purse and then say "ignore all the tampons." He'll jerk his hand out of that purse like you told him there was a cobra in it. Do they think we carry used ones around???)</p><p>Aside from that connection, <i>Polite Society</i> also centers on a teenage girl and her relationship with her family, with the underlying theme that girls should be able to carve out their own futures. Ria (Priya Kansara) dreams of becoming a stunt woman, and spends her spare time filming her practices, with the help of her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya). When Lena decides to give up art school after falling in love with a doctor, her Pakistani parents are pleased, but Ria is sure something just isn't right with her sister's fiance and over-bearing mother, and vows to save her from that horrible fate: marriage. <br /></p><p>It takes a little while to adjust to <i>Polite Society</i>'s meshing of genres, which include romantic comedy, Bollywood musical, martial arts actioner, and even horror, but writer and director Nida Manzoor knows how to balance them all, resulting in a film that is just pure fun, from start to finish. <br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-60967349879137827082023-04-14T08:00:00.007-07:002023-04-14T08:11:42.851-07:00Weekend Screen Scene: Renfield, Mafia Mamma<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ICydLkeXq3w" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div>
<p>"What if Renfield were a superhero?" is the underlying premise of <a href="https://www.universalpictures.com/movies/renfield" target="_blank"><i>Renfield</i></a>, the new horror comedy starring Nicholas Cage as the famous count, living in contemporary New Orleans, and Nicholas Hoult as his long-suffering familiar, Renfield, who has grown tired of a lifetime of servitude, even if the perks involve immortality and the ability to always win a bar fight.</p><p>It's surprising to realize Nicholas Cage has only played a vampire once before, in the dark 1989 comedy <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/6/13/18663380/nicolas-cage-vampires-kiss-breakout-performance-30-years" target="_blank"><i>Vampire's Kiss</i></a> (and whether or not he really <i>is</i> a vampire in that movie is open to debate); a vampy, over the top, blood sucking, narcissistic character seems so right up his alley it almost feels like type-casting. And even though Dracula is really a supporting player in this tale, Cage makes the most of his limited screen time. Even when he's reduced to a blackened, smoldering char, he can deliver a line like no one else.</p><p>Nicholas Hoult's Renfield is a sympathetic killer; a pale, sad-sack loner in a threadbare wardrobe who uses his toxic relationship support group as both therapy and hunting ground. This Renfield doesn't just eat bugs for fun, instead, bug-eating is the source of his superpowers, which include strength, immortality, and acrobatic fighting abilities.</p><p>The violence in <i>Renfield</i> is absolutely ridiculous, and for the most part, hilarious (I mean, at one point Renfield impales one bad guy with an arm he's just ripped off of another), even if by the time the climactic finale arrived, I was a tad tired of the fighting. The movie packs a lot into its scant running time, and I found it most amusing when it focused on its characters, including Awkwafina as a sardonic, second generation NOLA cop, and less on the plot involving a crime family and an attempt to take over the world. I thought I was over superhero movies. Turns out I just needed mine to be a little more goth...and gory.<br /></p><p><i>Renfield</i> is now playing in theaters. <br /></p>
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<p>Over-the-top violence also plays a part in <i><a href="https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/mafia-mamma" target="_blank">Mafia Mamma</a>,</i> a new gangster comedy starring Toni Collette as a suburban mom who finds herself the head of an Italian mafia family, a plotline that can only happen in the movies. Which is fine! I just enjoyed a movie about a man who gets superpowers from eating bugs! I'd just prefer my stupid movie plots to come with some good jokes. At least.</p><p>Listen, I don't blame Toni Collette for signing on to a movie that required her to travel to Italy, eat a lot of pasta, and make out with hot Italian men, no matter how terrible the script may have been. Sometimes the good time she's so obviously having results in a few minutes of entertainment, maybe even a smile. She's always a charismatic performer. But it's not enough. Instead of genuine laughs we get a running gag about her never having seen <i>The Godfather</i>, gangsters who spit every time a rival family is mentioned, and a woman with a metal leg everyone seems to forget she has. (That woman is played by Monica Bellucci, who deserves so much more.)</p><p>That the violence is often played for laughs would have worked a whole lot better if the rest of the movie veered more often into the realm of outright parody, or even fantasy. But director Catherine Hardwicke just can't seem to stick to a tone, and the result is DOA.</p><p><i>Mafia Mamma</i> is now playing in theaters.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-46642859315630093212023-01-06T08:20:00.003-08:002023-01-06T09:35:19.382-08:00Weekend Screen Scene: A Man Called Otto, Women Talking, The Pale Blue Eye <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eFYUX9l-m5I" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe> <br /></div><p>At first glance, <a href="https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/amancalledotto" target="_blank"><i>A Man Called Otto</i></a> feels like a predictably lovable story about a cantankerous old man who Learns to Live Again with the Help of an Unlikely Friend™, especially when you see that ultimate nice guy Tom Hanks is playing that cantankerous old man. But the story actually gets pretty dark pretty quickly, giving what appears to be a predictable story an uneasy edge.</p><p>Casting Hanks as a grumpy old man may seem like an odd choice, but it works. Otto is a grieving widower who's decided he's had enough of the idiots that seem to be taking over the world, and isn't quiet about it. Quite bluntly, he's an asshole, and watching an asshole for two hours would likely be intolerable. Tom Hanks knows how to balance the sweet and the sour. Mariana Treviño is also an absolute delight as that Unlikely Friend™ who gets under Otto's skin. <br /></p><p><i> A Man Called Otto</i> is now playing in theaters.<br /></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dH7Sl2h_aHs" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Sarah Polley's <a href="https://www.mgmstudios.com/women-talking/" target="_blank"><i>Women Talking</i></a>, based on the novel by Miriam Toews, feels very much like a stage play; instead of <i>Twelve Angry Men</i>, we have <i>Eight Angry Mennonites. </i>These eight angry women live in a religious colony and are coming to grips with the knowledge that for years, men in the colony have been drugging them and raping them in their sleep. They gather together to discuss their options: Leave. Stay and fight. Or stay and do nothing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Women Talking </i>is indeed a talky movie, but what talking! And what women! The key thing Polley does to remove the film from the confines of its inherent staginess is to focus closely and intently on the faces of the women doing all of that talking. It feels as if all of the actresses, devoid of obvious makeup, hair under scarves, are able to convey the truth of their characters instantly. All of the cast is excellent, but Claire Foy as the angry Salome and Rooney Mara as the beatific Ona stand out. If I have one complaint it's with the distracting choice to completely wash out the film of any real color, without going full on black and white. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Women Talking </i> is now playing in theaters.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ddbL9jvg77w" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p>At this point I'm not sure it's possible for Christian Bale to make a movie where he doesn't look like complete hell and <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/ch-en/title/81444818" target="_blank">The Pale Blue Eye</a> </i>is no exception. Set in 1830, Bale plays a detective who is hired to investigate a murder at the West Point Military academy. His grizzled and grieving sleuth pairs up with an academy student named Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling), and at this point you can probably guess that things get weird. The film's eerie and atmospheric setting and cinematography does a lot of the heavy lifting until the ultimate twists that you will either go with, or roll your eyes at. Gillian Anderson and Toby Jones also star.</p><p><i>The Pale Blue </i>is now streaming on Netflix.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-20909558871668748322022-09-23T08:00:00.293-07:002022-09-23T11:07:19.936-07:00Weekend Screen Scene - Blonde, Don't Worry Darling, Catherine Called Birdy<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>I was extremely skeptical Ana de Armas could pull off playing Marilyn Monroe after hearing her speak in the above trailer. She just couldn't mask that accent. But I'll admit my reservations were unfounded; for the most part, the voice works.</p><p>But her performance, which is excellent, deserves to be in a better movie than <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80174263" target="_blank"><i>Blonde</i></a>, a relentlessly bleak film that, while based on a "fictionalized" account of Monroe's life, may still have you coming away believing that her life was nothing but an endless series of traumas. It's no mystery at this point that Monroe had a tragic life, so concentrating on nothing <i>but</i> that is not bringing anything new to her story. </p><p>Director Andrew Dominik does an amazing job recreating some of her most iconic screen moments, and it had me wishing there were more of them, because at least those scenes are kind of fun. Monroe's career is filled with way more comedies than dramas, and while she was a fine dramatic actress, she was a genius at comedy. But I can imagine someone who's never heard of Marilyn Monroe coming away from this film having no idea why she's supposed to be so famous, aside from her being pretty.</p><p>Which, again, is why it's a shame de Armas's performance, which really does, at times, capture some of Monroe's preternatural charisma, is wasted here. Trying to convey the magic of a cinematic icon with an actress that doesn't have anything near to that kind of magic is why so many Marilyn biopics have failed. Finally, we have an actress that is able to get closer to that than anyone before her, and she's forced to spend the majority of the movie crying.<br /></p><p>That said, I was never bored watching <i>Blonde</i>, even at 165 minutes long. But I was frequently annoyed; by its nonsensical switches between black and white and color; by it's intrusive score (by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis); and by a story that turns the life of a multi-faceted legend into just another cautionary tale about the pitfalls of fame.</p><p>Blonde<i> is in select theaters now and will stream on Netflix starting September 28th.</i><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>I'm not sure <a href="https://www.dontworrydarling.movie/" target="_blank"><i>Don't Worry Darling</i></a> could ever live up to the drama that is its publicity tour, but if that somehow gets people curious enough to go to the theater to see it, I'm fine with that, because it's also not as bad as the surrounding buzz would have you believe.</p><p>If mid-century Palm Springs aesthetics are your jam, then you'll probably be sucked into it as instantly as I was. If you're a Harry Styles fan, I'm a little less sure how you're going to react to it, as I saw it in a theater full of Harry Styles fans, and they were laughing. A lot. It was very confusing! But if you're a Florence Pugh fan, I promise you'll still be one by the time the movie ends.<br /></p><p>And yes, I'm avoiding talking much about plot here, because I don't want to give anything away, even if anyone who has ever seen any film set in a utopia can probably guess pretty early on that <i>something</i> is going on. Director Olivia Wilde definitely wants this film to speak to ideas of modern gender roles, toxic masculinity, and female autonomy, but she lingers in that perfect world just a little too long. Not that I can blame her. <br /></p><p>Don't Worry Darling<i> is currently playing in theaters</i></p><div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Speaking of female autonomy, let me present you with <i><a href="https://press.amazonstudios.com/us/en/original-movies/catherine-called-birdy" target="_blank">Catherine Called Birdy</a>,</i> the story of a teenage girl in medieval England who is doing all she can to avoid being married off by her desperate, near destitute father.</p><p>Lena Dunham, who has adapted the book by Karen Cushman, and also directs, may not seem like a natural fit to tell the story of a medieval teen, since her output until now has been firmly set in the now. And some may take umbrage with the use of modern pop songs peppered throughout, as well as the more modern sensibilities espoused by Bella Ramsey's Birdy. But, much like <i>Don't Worry Darling</i>, and, in a way, even <i>Blonde</i>, the film is using the past to comment on the present, and how much women have had to, and still have to, fight for the basic right to exist as they want to.<br /></p><p>Catherine Called Birdy<i> is currently playing in select theaters and will stream on Prime Video starting October 7th.</i><br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-90104078558823719282022-02-11T08:00:00.250-08:002022-02-11T08:00:00.268-08:00Weekend Screen Scene - I Want You Back, Blacklight <div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Romantic comedies are such a well-trod genre that, for the majority of them, it is less about the destination --we all know the destination; it's <i>love</i>--and more about the journey. <i>I Want You Back</i> owes a lot to the rom coms that have come before it (particularity <i>When Harry Met Sally,</i> which itself owed a lot to Woody Allen's oeuvre), but the cast and refreshingly uncynical screenplay by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger make this comedy the kind you won't regret spending the evening with.</p><p>Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) are dumped by their respective partners, Anne (Gina Rodriguez) a dissatisfied with life school teacher, and Noah (Scott Eastwood), an anxious for adulthood personal trainer. When Peter and Emma meet-cute, both crying over their breakups in the stairwell of their office building, they decide to team up and try to break up their ex's new relationships in the hopes it will force them back into their respective arms. A series of awkward and amusing attempts at seduction and bromance follow.</p><p>Charlie Day can be an acquired taste. Sometimes his manic energy is so strong it creates a black hole that sucks in all the comedy around him. But he's blessedly restrained in <i>I Want You Back</i>, allowing his fellow castmates to share in the comedic spotlight. I find Jenny Slate immensely charming, and have loved her in everything she's done; someone please give her a series that lasts for several seasons, stat! That likeability is a tremendous asset because even when her character does some morally questionable things, you root for her, and have faith no one is <i>really</i> going to get hurt.</p><p>Laughs, tears, and the occasional inexplicable cameo make <i>I Want You Back</i> perfect Valentine's Day viewing, though perhaps a little more so for the brokenhearted than the happily entwined.</p><p><i> I Want You Back is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.</i> <br /></p>
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<p>Speaking of genres, Liam Neeson movies seem to have emerged as a genre unto themselves. They always, of course, star Liam Neeson. In them, Neeson has some kind of mission, issues with family, and he always possesses a very <i>particular set of skills</i>. Like a rom-com, you pretty much know what you're going to get with a Liam Neeson movie. And for some people, no matter how bad the movie actually is, it will be enough.</p><p>I'm not one of those people. <a href="https://www.blacklightmov.com/" target="_blank"><i>Blacklight</i></a> is cliched, silly, and, the biggest sin of all, boring. Opening with the murder of a politician who is very clearly and uncomfortably modeled after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, before moving on to the rescue of an undercover agent trapped amongst a group of backwoods white supremacists, <i>Blacklight</i>'s political viewpoint just gets murkier as its conspiracy plot advances. </p><p>Neeson's OCD FBI agent is there to help reveal the corruption in the bureau, while also, of course, resolving his family issues (strained relationship with his daughter), and using his particular set of skills (a more sadistic, or at least more deadly series of <i>Home Alone</i>-esque booby traps) to off the bad guys. But even a few good car chases and 'splosions aren't enough to make the movie even half-way enjoyable. I don't want Liam Neeson to retire, but perhaps the Liam Neeson genre should.<br /></p><p><i>Blacklight is currently playing in theaters.</i></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-67712495286873933992021-11-24T17:13:00.002-08:002021-11-24T17:14:07.290-08:00Weekend Screen Scene: The Humans, Bruised<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>If you're looking for the perfect Thanksgiving movie to help you realize your dysfunctional family gathering could be worse, look no further than <a href="https://a24films.com/films/the-humans" target="_blank"><i>The Humans</i>, </a>Stephen Karam's screen adaptation of his Tony Award winning play. </p><p>Karam makes his feature film directorial debut with this adaptation, and he does a masterful job of turning the dilapidated New York city apartment setting into a character all its own, with its increasingly dark hallways, dingy windows that never give a clear view of the outside, and seeping walls and ceilings. (Anyone who has lived outside of a big city may wonder "Why would anyone choose to live there??" I, instead, marveled at the apartment's space - two stories!--and wondered about the amount of closets.)</p><p>Beanie Feldstein and Steven Yeun play Brigid and Richard, the young couple who have just moved into the apartment, who are hosting Brigid's family for a bare bones Thanksgiving dinner. Richard Jenkins and Jayne Houdyshell are the parents, June Squibb is the grandmother, and Amy Schumer is the sister. As tends to be the case at many a Thanksgiving gathering, family tensions rise, secrets are revealed, and the home they are sitting in may very well be haunted. (OK, that last bit is perhaps a tad less common.)</p><p>The cast is universally excellent, and by creating such a vividly realized set, director Karam manages to keep the film from feeling too stagey. It's part family drama, part horror movie, aka...Thanksgiving.</p><p><i>The Humans</i> is currently playing in select theaters and is also streaming on Showtime.<br /></p>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EMu8K0l8ggA" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81043365" target="_blank"><i>Bruised</i></a> is another directorial debut, this time from Halle Berry, who also stars, as Jackie Justice a former MMA fighter who left the sport after a humiliating defeat, and is attempting to make a comeback.</p><p>If that sounds pretty cliched, how about a few more, just to add to the fun? She's also struggling with alcoholism, an abusive partner, and hello! What's this? It's the sudden reappearance of the child she abandoned as an infant! And believe it or not, that isn't the end of the cliches that pepper this predictable tale.</p><p>Berry gives a good performance, and the fight sequences are at least well staged. But there is nothing in <i>Bruised</i> that hasn't been done, and done better, in countless sports films that have preceded it.<br /></p><p><i>Bruised</i> is currently streaming on Netflix.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-35324584940073067222021-11-19T08:00:00.176-08:002021-11-19T08:00:00.222-08:00Weekend Screen Scene: The First Wave, Zeros And Ones, Freeland<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Watching a documentary about a recent traumatic event - and one that hasn't really ended yet - may not be everyone's entertainment of choice, but in some ways, the events in <a href="https://films.nationalgeographic.com/the-first-wave" target="_blank"><i>The First Wave</i></a> almost feel like ancient history; a glimpse into the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, back when the political divide centered on the disease wasn't quite so endemic.</p><p>Director Matthew Heinema was given some pretty intimate access to some of the patients, doctors, and nurses in one of the hardest hit hospitals in New York, and the images and testaments are often difficult to watch. Doctors at the breaking point because everything they know about treating and saving lives too often just doesn't seem to work; patients struggling to recover and gain the most basic functions back, like breathing. It's heartbreaking, but also filled with life affirming moments that make the documentary bearable.<br /></p><p>Seeing such images and stories now just makes me wonder if seeing them a year ago could have made a difference. If this country really saw just how horrible things were, over and over on their nightly news, could things have ended up different?<br /></p><p><i>The First Wave</i> is currently playing in select theaters.</p>
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<p>Abel Ferrara's new film <a href="https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/zeros-and-ones" target="_blank"><i>Zeros and Ones</i></a> opens and closes with video messages from its star, Ethan Hawke. In the opening message (which was filmed before the movie was made, and was actually used as a promo to gather investors for the film), Hawke talks about being a lifelong fan of Ferrara's, how impressed he was by the script for <i>Zeros and Ones</i>, and how the movie is perfect for these times.</p><p>What follows is a confusing and murky mess that will probably only satisfy Ferrara's most devoted fans. Hawke plays twin brothers, a soldier and a revolutionary, both in a locked down Italy under terrorist threat. Filmed during the pandemic, Ferrara takes advantage of the abandoned streets and the real masked and armed military. Add in a relentlessly droning score, and he effectively manifests a genuine feeling of unease, I'll give him that. But the film as a whole is a bit of a headscratcher, and if Hawke's closing video massage after the credits roll is any indication, he feels the same way.<br /></p><p><i>Zeros and Ones</i> is currently available to rent online.<br /></p>
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<p>The legalization of marijuana across much of the country has certainly been a happy development for cannabis fans, but what about the small pot growers who relied on their own growing and distribution chains? It's not exactly easy, or cheap, to go legit. The indie drama <a href="https://www.freelandfilm.com/" target="_blank"><i>Freeland</i></a> is a portrait of one such grower in Humbolt County, Califorian. </p><p>Krisha Fairchild, who was instantly memorable in the 2015 film <i>Krisha</i>, gives an equally impressive performance as Devi, an independent pot grower who is forced to make tough decisions about a future that she's just not prepared for. Directors Mario Furloni and Kate McLean definitely capture the beauty of Northern California, and how idyllic it can be to essentially make a living off your land. But I also appreciated that they didn't shy from depicting the paranoia (that is certainly not <i>helped</i> by getting high on your own supply) just such a lifestyle can result in.</p><p><i>Freeland</i> is currently available to rent online.</p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-26023445127714588462021-11-05T08:00:00.212-07:002021-11-05T08:00:00.223-07:00Weekend Screen Scene: Finch, 7 Prisoners<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p><a href="https://amblin.com/movie/finch/" target="_blank"><i>Finch</i></a> had a troubled journey to the small screen. It was filmed back in 2019, and had a few release dates, the last being late 2020, but like many 2020 films, it was pulled. Eventually, it was bought by Apple TV+, where it can be viewed starting today.<br /></p><p>It's somewhat surprising, since the film stars the beloved Tom Hanks. Of course who can say whether he's still a box office draw since his last two films were released during a global pandemic. I will say that <i>Finch</i>, while filled with some stunning vistas and good special effects, is perhaps better suited for the small screen, at least right now. I'm not sure venturing out to the theater to watch a movie about the end of the world, where the star coughs up blood and is visibly emaciated is all that appealing?<br /></p><p>Instead you can feel uncomfortable, laugh, and cry in the comfort of your own home. And yes, <i>Finch</i> will probably make you cry. Hanks stars as the titular Finch, an engineer, and one of the few survivors of a global climate catastrophe. He designs a humanoid robot for the primary purposes of caring for his dog, Goodyear, after he dies. And Finch is definitely dying. (I will gladly spoil that the dog does NOT die, something I wish I knew before going into the film; it was a needless and distracting concern.)<br /></p><p>There's a lot wrong with <i>Finch, </i>things like tremendous plot holes, a lack of world building, and an overall maudlin sensibility. But two things save it. One is Hanks, who remains an engaging screen presence you can't help but root for. And the other is the robot "Jeff," who is voiced (and was performed on set) by Caleb Landry Jones. This came as a complete surprise to me because I best remember Jones as the loathsome and villainous brother in <i>Get Out</i>. But his Jeff starts as a robot that sounds like your typical Stephen Hawkins-voiced stiff, but eventually grows into the equivalent of a precocious child, eager to learn and please his father, making plenty of mistakes along the way. Ultimately, I couldn't help but find this flawed robot, and this flawed film, endearing.<br /></p><p><i>Finch</i> is currently streaming on Apple TV+.</p><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vupNkHJGBQ8" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p>Alexandre Moratto's <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81173970" target="_blank">7 Prisoners</a> </i>is a brutal drama examining modern day slavery and human trafficking in São Paulo, Brazil. Christian Malheiros stars as Mateus, a rural teenager who, along with a several other young men, accept a job offer in the city. Once there, they are overworked, denied pay, and locked into their sleeping quarters, essentially prisoners. Any attempts to escape are thwarted by their tyrannical boss, Luca (Rodrigo Santoro) who controls them via violence, and the threat of violence against their families back home. </p><p>Malheiros is excellent as Mateus, the defaco leader of the group who quickly learns that survival depends on a certain level of duplicity, and that a shitty boss probably has someone even shittier above him. <i>7 Prisoners</i> is a depressing but effective dramatization of the evils of human trafficking and the capitalist system that allows these, and often more subtle crimes against workers, to continue. <br /></p><p><i>7 Prisoners </i>is currently playing in select theaters and will begin streaming on Netflix on November 11th.</p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-57637907204518911822021-10-29T08:00:00.153-07:002021-10-29T09:05:47.095-07:00Weekend Screen Scene: A Mouthful Of Air, Women Is Losers<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XSiHVciLRrw" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p>Amanda Seyfried stars as a children's book author dealing with post-partum depression in the difficult drama <a href="https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/amouthfulofair" target="_blank"><i>A Mouthful of Air. </i></a></p><p>It's a difficult in a number of ways. For one, it's a topic, like many topics centered on women, that too often gets relegated to the realm of Lifetime, seldom making it into studio pictures. And it's a difficult topic to depict, as many stories of mental illness can be. How do you properly convey an inner turmoil that can often be so deep and hidden via a medium that depends on the visual?</p><p>First time director Amy Koppleman, who also wrote the screenplay, which is based on her 2003 novel of the same name, chooses to keep most of that turmoil hidden. From the start, we don't really know how new mom Julie (Amanda Seyfried) is feeling, we only see how she is <i>reacting</i> to her feelings, when she attempts suicide in the early moments of the film. We then see how those around her react to that attempt, and some of those reactions are shocking, like when her sister-in-law (Jennifer Carpenter) yells at Julie for being thoughtless; do you know her brother is <i>still</i> scrubbing blood out of the carpet!?</p><p>Thankfully, Julie's husband (Finn Wittrock) is more understanding, and when she gets pregnant again, he's the one who insists she stays on her medication, while she is more fearful about what the medication may do to her child, and her own ability to breastfeed. Seyfried gives a great performance, and when the film does depict her moments of mental and parental exhaustion, she is wholly convincing. She shines in a film that is too often frustratingly opaque.<br /><i></i></p><p><i>A Mouthful of Air</i> is now playing in select theaters.<br /></p>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hT-pyloBiE4" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p><i>Women Is Losers </i>is another movie about the hardships of motherhood, and if these two movies have taught me anything, it's that I should never regret not having children.</p><p><i>Women Is Losers</i> instantly won me over, at least partially, with its early 1970's San Francisco setting, even if the film makes no real attempt to depict that era of the city accurately. This is actually something the film apologies for, right off the bat, as characters break the fourth wall, explaining that their small budget didn't allow for much in the way of street dressing, or glamorous lighting. (There's no excusing the era-inappropriate hairstyling though. But I digress.)</p><p>Breaking the fourth wall happens a lot, with the film's single mother heroine Celina (Lorenza Izzo) often speaking directly to the viewer about the inequities that women, especially women of color, had to face in that era, and pointedly calling out where things have not really changed. It's a little gimmicky, and gives the film the feeling of a stage play, but for the most part it didn't bother me. The strong cast, which includes Simu Liu, Liza Weil, Stephen Bauer, but particularly Lorenza Izzo, helps carry the film over its bumpier and cliched moments.</p><p><i>Women Is Losers</i> is currently streaming on HBO Max.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-54437526607983104472021-10-22T08:00:00.004-07:002021-10-22T08:00:00.265-07:00Weekend Screen Scene: The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, No Future<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xzDr_tbL-es" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Life-Louis-Wain/dp/B09DRP216Z" target="_blank"><i>The Electrical Life of Louis Wain</i></a> is an odd movie, which is appropriate, because Louis Wain was an odd man. I don't think I had ever heard of him prior to this movie, but there's no doubt I was aware of his artistic work, as it involved cats. </p><p>It's hard to imagine a time when cats were not considered the meme-worthy creatures they are now, but back in Victorian England, cats were mainly animals you kept around outside to kill mice, their history as creatures who were, in other cultures and earlier times, worshiped as gods, blinding people to their inherent silliness. Louis Wain did just that in whimsical and colorful work that appeared in books, postcards, newspapers, and other commercially available ephemera.</p><p>Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent as Wain, in a biopic that both sticks to the conventions of the genre, for better and for worse, and tosses in moments of surrealism and unconventional imagery that helps bring Wain's unique worldview into focus (although I have a hard time understanding director Will Sharpe's choice of aspect ratio). Claire Foy, also great, co-stars as his wife, Emily, the ultimate catalyst of his cat fancy. The middle parts of the film, depicting the happiest moments in their life, are, maybe needless to say, the most enjoyable. As Wain gets older, and must deal with tragedy and his own declining mental state, the film becomes a bit of a drag.</p><p>As tends to be the case with many biopics, you may come away from it with more questions than you even had going in, reaching for that phone so you can google his Wikipedia entry once the end credits start. Don't come to <i>The Electrical Life of Louis Wain</i> for the facts. Come for the performances, some moments of original beauty, and of course, the cats.</p><p><i>The Electrical Life of Louis Wain </i>is currently playing in select theaters and will begin streaming on Amazon Prime on November 5th.<br /></p>
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<p>I'll watch almost anything Catherine Keener is in because even in a bad movie, I know she'll be, at the very least, interesting. In <i>No Future</i>, Keener is as interesting as ever, with the added benefit of being surrounded by an equally strong cast, including Charlie Heaton, Jackie Earle Haley, and her <i>Brand New Cherry Flavor</i> co-star, Rosa Salazar. And it's the film's performances alone that lift it, occasionally, above a pretty standard story of addiction and the difficulties surrounding recovery.</p><p>The unexpected relationship that develops between Keener's grieving mother, and Heaton, as her deceased son's former best friend, instills the film with moments of genuine frisson, and Keener, as always, kept me fully engaged. But aside from those moments, the film is predictable, and doesn't really have anything new to say about the toll drug addiction can take on friends and family. The ending left me thinking "Is that all there is?" until I quickly realized that's a rather fitting response. For lives torn apart by addiction, too often that really <i>is</i> all there is.</p><p><i>No Future</i> is currently playing in select theaters.<br /></p>
Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-4363028816112936942021-10-01T08:00:00.003-07:002021-10-01T08:00:00.220-07:00Weekend Screen Scene: Black As Night, Bingo Hell<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iuXnGbxTxDE" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div>
<p>Last October, Amazon Prime premiered four horror films under the banner <i>Welcome to the Blumhouse,</i> and they're back this year with four more, with two premiering today, and two more next Friday.</p><p>While last year's films didn't exactly rise above that of "straight-to-streaming" fare, what I appreciated most about those I saw was how they told multicultural stories with diverse casts. This year seems to be following suit.</p><p><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-As-Night-Asjha-Cooper/dp/B09FWX2S9N" target="_blank">Black As Night</a></i> follows Shawna (Asjha Cooper), a New Orleans teenager who can't quite shake an inferiority complex fueled by her troubled, drug addicted mother, and a brother who can't resist pointing out that the boy she has a crush on prefers lighter-skinned "Creole girls." When she's attacked and bitten one night returning from a party, she discovers the city's homeless are being turned into a vampire army, and she enlists the help of her friends to find and kill the leader.</p><p>It doesn't go without comment even within the film that this set-up is similar to another story centered on a teenage vampire slayer, and <i>Black As Night</i> is at times equally humorous and irreverent; I especially enjoyed the kids' ingenious use of garlic powder as chemical weapon. But it also manages to address some serious topics, like the lingering effects Hurricane Katrina continues to have on the city, and deep rooted colorism within the Black community. All that and the presence of horror movie veteran Keith David can almost make me forget the film's completely unnecessary coda.</p><p><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bingo-Hell-Adriana-Barraza/dp/B09FRY8KMZ" target="_blank">Bingo Hell</a></i> takes place in a town that bears a striking resemblance to New Orleans, but is called Oak Springs. And like post-Katrina NOLA, Oak Springs is losing its soul to hipster-fueled gentrification and vampiric developers. Lupita (Adriana Barraza), the neighborhood abuela, refuses to give up without a fight, facing each day with anger despite her aching feet and creaking back.</p><p>When the local bingo hall (bingo hall, bingo hell, get it?), is taken over by a creepy outsider and transformed into a neon filled nightmare straight from the Vegas strip, the neighborhood is initially wary--until they start to learn about the cash prizes they could win. And we all know what those kinds of winnings lead to, right?</p><p><i>Bingo Hell</i> covers some of the same ground as <i>Black As Night</i>, though I think the latter is ultimately the better of the two. Neither is telling entirely original tales, but <i>Black As Night</i> holds a few more surprises <br /></p>
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Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-3297834895919161002021-09-24T07:30:00.007-07:002021-09-24T11:28:08.749-07:00Weekend Screen Scene: The Guilty, I'm Your Man <div style="text-align: center;">
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<p><i><a href="www.netflix.com/TheGuilty " target="_blank">The Guilty</a></i> is a one man show with a star-studded cast. That one man is Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays Joes, an angry 911 operator working what he hopes is his final shift before a court hearing that will determine whether he can return to the LAPD. The star-studded cast is in all the voices that call him that night. And the "guilty" are...well, you'll know by the end of the film.</p><p>If this set-up sounds like something that is perfectly suited for filming during a global pandemic, you'd be correct. In the majority of the film Gyllenhaal is alone on screen, conversing with characters played by Paul Dano, Bill Burr, Ethan Hawke, Peter Sarsgaard, and Riley Keough. Those last two fill the film with its central mystery: A young woman has been abducted, but by whom? And what has happened to the children she keeps referring to?<br /></p><p>Joe is a tough hero to root for. He's rude and gruff with both the people who call him and his co-workers, and he's clearly got bigger things on his mind than those who are in search of help. But Gyllenhaal has a face made for the movies; he can be mesmerizing. Maybe it's those huge eyes. In any case, it takes an actor with his intensity to hold an audience's attention for that much screen time. <i>The Guilty</i> isn't action packed, but it's never a boring watch.<br /></p><p><i>The Guilty</i> is currently playing in select theaters and will start streaming on Netflix on October 1st.<br /></p>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="340" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ioFMvGu05_k?autoplay=0&rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p>Dan Stevens stars as Tom, the synthetic lover in <i><a href="https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/im-your-man" target="_blank">I'm Your Man</a>, </i>a sci-fi romantic comedy from German director Maria Schrader. But this isn't an adult version of<i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.I._Artificial_Intelligence" target="_blank">A.I. Artificial Intelligence </a></i>where the robot is the center of the story. Instead, the robot centers the story on Alma (Maren Eggert), a lonely scientist who's at first in denial of her loneliness, but then begins to see what she's missing, while also pondering the cost of accepting manufactured happiness into her life.</p><p>Dan Stevens as an android is practically type-casting. He's always looked like he could have emerged from a factory that created movie stars on an assembly line. Pair those looks with the stilted behavior of a robot learning the ropes of love, and it's almost too perfect. But what's most surprising about Steven's performance is that he gives it in perfect German, which made me wonder, has he been German all along too?? (No, turns out he just studied the language in school.) </p><p><i>I'm Your Man</i> is a sci-fi rom-com that's a bit low on the sci-fi, the laughs, and the romance. But that's because it's more interested in the philosophical questions the combination of all those things can raise. <br /></p><p><i>I'm You Man</i> is currently playing in select theaters and will be available digitally on October 12th.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-86684489089624772602021-09-17T08:00:00.002-07:002024-02-19T20:46:22.586-08:00Weekend Screen Scene: Best Sellers, Apartment 413 <div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>There's nothing very surprising in the comedic drama <i><a href="https://bestsellersmovie.com/" target="_blank">Best Sellers</a></i> to anyone who has seen...any movie ever, but it manages to rise slightly above its predictability through the strength of its performances.</p><p>Aubrey Plaza stars as Lucy, a book editor struggling to keep the publishing house her father has left her from failing, with a buyout seemingly the only solution. When she discovers an aging Pulitzer Prize winning author owes the house another book, she see's this as a possible path to profitability.</p><p>Enter Michael Caine as Harris Shaw, an aging, alcoholic recluse who never published anything past his first award winning tome. You can probably guess what happens from here. Fights; reluctance; unexpected viral success; a record number of utterances of the word "bullshite." (OK, that last one is probably a little less predictable a plot point.)<br /></p><p>Michael Caine is 88 years old, and I'm not going to sugar coat it: you can tell. But he's still got a lot of fire in him, and even if he needs to do a lot of his screaming from the comfort of a bed or a chair, he manages to command almost every moment of his screen time. Plaza holds her own aside him, shedding her trademarked deadpan delivery for much of the film, particularly in the one scene that features a genuinely unexpected plot point. If nothing else, <i>Best Sellers </i>allows Caine to prove he's got at least one more Award-winning performance in him, should a slightly better script come along.<br /></p><p><i> Best Sellers</i> is currently playing in select theaters and is available to rent online.<br /></p>
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<p>There's something not quite right in apartment 413, judging from the inexplicable murder that takes place inside its walls at the film's beginning. Several months later, Marco (Nicholas Saenz) and Dana (Brea Grant) are the latest residents of the claustrophobic one bedroom apartment in Austin, Texas. Marco is struggling to find a job before Dana has their first child, although most of the potential jobs that return his calls end up being...weirdly hostile.</p><p>When mysterious notes and an ancient cell phone show up in the apartment, Marco is convinced someone is out to get him, though he has a hard time convincing Dana, who is more concerned with his lack of employment. Director Matt Patterson takes full advantage of the tight filming quarters, arranging the furniture at weird angles, so that nothing ever really looks or feels normal in Marco and Dana's home.</p><p>Saenz's performance is suitably intense, with a few moments of levity (although we never really see what a completely sane Marco ever really looked like for comparison). <i>Apartment 413</i> is another film that, while not about Covid, or even filmed during the past two years of the pandemic, still manages to benefit from our collective experience, depicting a kind of cabin fever and fear of the future that is, while not universal, is surely recognizable.</p><p><i>Apartment 413</i> is now available to purchase via digital download and is streaming on Amazon Prime.<br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231057047575036759.post-2082105432221464662021-09-10T08:00:00.294-07:002021-09-10T08:00:00.239-07:00Weekend Screen Scene: Fauci, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Language Lessons<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>One may initially assume a documentary focused on Dr. Anthony Fauci, coming out right now, is a case of filmmakers exploiting a terrible moment in history. But work on the National Geographic-produced documentary <a href="https://films.nationalgeographic.com/fauci" target="_blank"><i>Fauci</i></a> started before the pandemic even began. And frankly, I can't imagine the film would be quite as compelling as it is without the addition of our more recent history.</p><p>It's a good introduction to the man and his long career with the National Institutes of Health, with Fauci telling most of his own story, and family and co-workers filling in some color. The film jumps around in time, with the primary focus given to his work during the AIDS crisis and the current Covid-19 pandemic, reminding us that Fauci has always had people screaming for his firing. The difference between then and now is when AIDS activists were
demanding that Fauci be fired, they still believed in science, and were demanding expediency in research and drug development. A far cry from the reasons some Americans think he should be fired now.<br /></p><p>I don't think <i>Fauci</i> is going to convert any of his detractors, but for anyone who really didn't know much about him before this past year, it's both an entertaining and illuminating documentary. (And I hope it gets an Academy Award, just to piss of his haters.)</p><p><i>Fauci</i> is now playing in select theaters and will begin streaming on Disney+ on October 6th.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Everybodys-Talking-About-Jamie-Harwood/dp/B09C16134L" target="_blank"><i>Everybody's Talking About Jamie</i></a>, the new film based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the short documentary <i>Jamie: Drag Queen at 16</i>, is, and I hate to say it. a drag. And not in the way I'd expected.</p><p>And I really hate to say that about a movie that is so earnest, and has such an uplifting message! Max Harwood gives an engaging performances as Jamie, a gay teenager in Sheffield, England, who wants to become a drag queen, and debut his new persona at his school's prom. But there is nothing surprising about how the school, his classmates, and some of his family initially react to this goal, or how it all turns out. A musical about an outcast who's eventually accepted and celebrated? I've never seen that before!</p><p>And, again, I feel terrible having such a negative reaction to a story that was actually true, but if any of the numbers were engaging, or the songs particularly memorable, I'd be singing a different tune. It's a strangely inert musical. Plus, Jamie's one moment of actual drag performance, while good, is woefully brief. What<i> Jamie</i> needs is more Mimi Me and less woe-is-me.<br /></p><p><i>Everybody's Talking About Jamie </i>is currently playing in select theaters and will begin streaming on Amazon Prime on September 17th.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cwdJZK4IrFU" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p></p><p>I first noticed Nathalie Morales in the (woefully underappreciated) TV series <i>The Middleman</i>, and I've enjoyed her in everything I've seen her in since. She makes her directorial debut with <i>Language Lessons,</i> a comedy co-written with co-star Mark Duplass, making the best of pandemic production constraints by setting up a storyline that requires the two stars to perform for the camera, but not together. She plays Cariño, a Spanish teacher offering lessons over video chat, and he's her initially reluctant student.<br /></p><p>Despite the gimmick requiring them to remain separated in their own little square boxes, the two have good chemistry, and the film provides genuine laughs while also hitting some unexpected emotional notes. Hopefully this little film gives Morales the chance to do something even bigger.</p><p><i>Language Lessons</i> is currently playing in select theaters. <br /></p>Rainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03641204367490846543noreply@blogger.com0