These are thoughts on films I’ve seen so far this year.
Movie #1/ New Movie #1: Ferrari (Movie-Theater)
Penelope Cruz is amazing as the estranged wife/ awkward business partner. Adam Driver is solid as an autocrat trying to hold it together. Patrick Dempsey is decent in the dream role for a middle-aged racing aficionado. The racing sequences are impressive, as is the depiction of the great tragedy.
8/10
Movie #2/ New Movie #2: Swiss Army Man (DVD)
It is very weird. I appreciate the opening six minutes as a measure of whether someone can be on board with the rest of it. It’s an interesting debut for the Daniels and for A24. The grossness actually fits the life-affirming message that the world is beautiful, even the gross stuff. I don’t quite buy the execution of the last act when it shifts gears from private regrets to public embarrassment.
8/10
Movie #3/ New Movie #3: Middle of Nowhere (DVD)
It’s a well-told film about the wife of a prisoner and a moment of crisis. It’s generous even when dealing honestly with flawed people, and depicts a very specific experience. It makes sense as an early work by a major director.
9/10
Movie #4/ New Movie #4: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Movie-Theater)
This was a mediocre sequel, mostly following characters introduced in Part 1 and adding a plot derivative of Lord of the Rings (the Black Trident is basically the ring of power.) It often just looks fake, and gets me to wonder if it’s just an example of how CGI- heavy films have been compromised with Covid protocols and the expectation that everything can be fixed in post.
4/10
Movie #5: Oppenheimer (IMAX)
I watched it again in Imax and it remains astounding. Something I appreciated in the fourth watch was the arcs for some of the background characters, even those played by former Oscar winners, like the set-up to Rami Malek’s testimony or reappearances by suspicious officers.
10/10
Movie #6/ New Movie #5: The Beekeeper (Movie-Theater)
It’s a decent action film that obviously sets up a new potential franchise. My 77 year old dad liked it. There’s a good sense of escalation as the film often sets up bad guys who seem like they could be the big bad of the film, but then get dispatched within five minutes so someone tougher has to take over.
7/10
Movie #7/ New Movie #6: Wonka (Movie-Theater)
It is basically a Roald Dahl pastiche, but a fun one. Chalamat plays the role well of an eccentric making a name for himself with hints of the excellent film we know the character for.
8/10
Movie #8/ New Movie #7: Zone of Interest (Movie-Theater)
It’s an excellent depiction of the banality of evil, focusing on the family of an Auschwitz commander where they care more about garden, getting covered in ash and unexpected transfers than the atrocities. Sandra Hüller is amazing, especially when the mask slips. What’s really effective is how they just come across like upper middle class bureaucrats, discussing the operation of death camps as if it were tunnel repairs. The direction calls attention to itself, but is interesting- with some unexpected and unusual transitions. With the discussion of whether Greta Gerwig was snubbed for Barbie, I am happier to see this nominated. The five films nominated for Best Director were my five favorite films of the last year, so kudos to the academy.
10/10
Movie #9/ New Movie #8: American Fiction (Movie-Theater)
It’s an intelligent take on race, dysfunctional families with Jeffrey Wright excellent as a black writer frustrated at being pigeon-holed. Writer/ Director Cord Jefferson explores these questions in clever ways.
8/10
Movie #10/ New Movie #9: Origin (Movie-Theater)
A docudrama focusing on the author’s experience coming up with a tome isn’t a bad way to deal with ideas. But man this film gets pretentious and self-important, especially if you see it with the Q&A after (which suggests a dialogue that doesn’t exist.) The ideas in Caste get short-shrift here, as I’m assuming the book is better than a handful of anecdotes (even if some are compelling) and someone’s realization that different societies treat the other badly.
7/10
Movie #11/ New Movie #10: The Devils (Criterion Channel)
This is up my alley since I like rural horror, and movies like the Witchfinder General. Oliver Reed is compelling as a deeply flawed priest who is self-destructive and seductive in his private life but acts with integrity on an important political question. As messed up as he is, others are worse- especially Vanessa Redgrave as a crippled obsessive, Michael Gothard as a witch-hunter and Graham Armitage as a royal who does terrible things, but exposes the rot in the faithful.
8/10
Movie #12/ New Movie #11: Argylle (Movie-Theater)
The film about a novelist of spy novels who stumbled onto big mysteries could have been good, and it’s worth looking at it why it fails. It’s okay with some scenes riffing on spy dramas, but that kind of meta exploration requires the underlying story to be good, and it is not. The twists are mostly predictable and sometimes lacking in execution. There’s a CGI unreality which could work for the fantasy sequences, but then the same stuff happens in the real world scenes. This is a film that could have been decent with better practical effects and another screenwriting pass.
4/10
Movie #13: Pierrot Le Fou (Criterion Blu-Ray)
There are movies Godard made that I like better (Vivre Sa Vie, Band of Outsiders), but this seems to be the ultimate example of his Brechtian vision. It’s very rich.
10/10
Movie #14: Dune Part One (IMAX Movie-Theater)
It was worth checking it out again in Imax. I did appreciate the efforts to set up the final confrontation to make this seem like more than just Part 1 of 2, even if it clearly is that. It’s also so well-produced.
9/10
Movie #15/ New Movie #12: City Unplugged/ Darkness in Tallinn (Movie-Theater)
This feels a lot like a Czech New Wave film, which makes sense given the historical context as a repressed country suddenly has the freedom to tell new stories (even if much of the crew is Finnish.) It was made shortly after Estonia became independent, as criminals cause a blackout as part of an effort to steal a gold shipment. It’s imperfect, but there are some great lines and one fantastic stylistic choice in the last quarter that is one of the most impressive movie scenes I’ve seen in some time. I am a bit bothered by the body count, and how we’re supposed to like the people responsible, but it is still a crowd-pleaser.
8/10
Movie #16: Tenet (IMAX Movie-Theater)
I saw this in Imax 70 MM and it was stunningly beautiful.
It takes a while to understand the mechanics of the narrative and I think I have a good understanding of it at this point. It takes a sci-fi concept in a new direction from what we’ve seen before, and Nolan is a genius for making people moving in reverse seem consistently impressive. For all the talk of how this is Nolan’s Bond, the set pieces and action sequences are better than what I see in Bond. In that category, it’s on the level of Indiana Jones.
9/10
Movie #17: Young Frankenstein (Blu-Ray)
It’s weird to consider what makes this work so well when so many parodies fail. Part of it is just how well they capture the atmosphere of the Boris Karloff originals. The cast is excellent and the gags are world-class. And there is actual heart- Frankenstein’s grandson wants to help the monster.
10/10
Movie #18/ New Movie #13: Madame Web (Movie-Theater)
The story shoehorns various Spider-Man IP characters into a story that might’ve been able to work (You could have a decent comic book story about a woman who sees the future protecting future heroines from a villain who sees them as a threat) but the execution’s just so off and the messages are twisted.
3/10
Movie #19/ New Movie #14: Dune Part 2 (Movie-Theater)
Man, this was a stunning film. It was a bit less finished than I expected, explicitly feeling like the middle of a trilogy rather than the second half of a book adaptation. Chalamat is effective at showing the transition from boy to messiah, while Zendaya, Ferguson and Bardem are standouts as the main people in his life. Austin Butler and Léa Seydoux are effective as new villains; ferocity for one, and manipulativeness for the other.
9/10
Movie #20: Leptirica (Blu-Ray)
On a second watch, there is a good sense of peasants trying to figure out a solution to a werewolf murdering millers, and a young man whose girlfriend’s father hates him seeing it as an opportunity first to get money to leave, and then to wed her. The twist is predictable, but the execution is decent. I do think it plays fair.
8/10
Movie #21/ New Movie #15: The Murder of Fred Hampton (DVD)
This documentary doesn’t provide much context, and I’m not sure if that’s because the material would be understood by a 1970s audience for these types of films, or if this was just a Cinéma vérité approach. The first half deals with Fred Hampton as an activist. The second half is the response to his suspicious death, contrasting spokesmen for the Black Panthers with the official police explanations. It’s provocative in the best way; even if his habit of calling authorities pigs is annoying, they did so much worse to him.
8/10
Movie #22: Akira (DVD)
It starts out pretty decent, the story of two friends in a motorcycle gang in a fully realized futuristic Japan. But then the scope gets bigger, and the stakes get greater for the two former friends. Just astounding. The visuals and action sequences are stunning, but there is also substance.
10/10
Movie #23/ New Movie #16: Love Lies Bleeding (Movie-Theater)
This lesbian bodybuilding crime-drama has some interesting twists, but also says some things about the effort to live your best life. The highlight is Ed Harris as the flawed father figure, especially when we get into just why he’s estranged from his daughter.
7/10
Movie #24: Poor Things (Movie-Theater)
It’s still a weird film. It remains an excellent showcase for Emma Stone in one of the most interesting performances of the 21st Century. I have a slightly better appreciation for Mark Ruffalo’s dandy lawyer; his Oscar nomination is no longer weird.
9/10
Movie #25/ New Movie #17: Sexy Beast (Criterion Channel)
It’s a story we’ve seen before of a criminal who thinks he’s out and is dragged back in, but it just feels different. It showed a new side of Ben Kingsley the actor, but it doesn’t feel like a movie as much as a career criminal who doesn’t get why everyone else is hesitating.
8/10
Movie #26/ New Movie #18: The Maiden’s Tune (Blu-Ray)
This was an extra in the All The Haunts Be Ours folk horror box set. It’s not very original, but there is a good Eastern European sense of atmosphere.
7/10
Movie #27: Antman and the Wasp (DVD)
I watched this again with my dad, who liked the first one and who I’ve trying to get ready for Avengers: Endgame. It’s fun and shows how wrong Marvel was to try to go in a different direction for Quantumania. One thing that works is just how insufferable Hank Pym is, but I generally enjoy the dynamic of the group and challenges that aren’t about the end of the universe, but about saving one person.
8/10
Movie #28/ New Movie #19: One Life (Movie-Theater)
This was a well-made movie about a decent man who convinces other people to do something meaningful to save lives during the Holocaust. It’s not very surprising, especially if you’re familiar with the story. It is no shock that Hopkins is excellent as the understated lead. It’s a decent film to watch with other people- especially normies who don’t watch a lot of movies- as a reminder that one person can make a big difference.
8/10
Movie #29/ New Movie #20: Ocean‘s 8 (HBO Max)
This works really well as a hangout movie. I just like seeing Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and company figure out how to make a jewel heist work, and all the tricks. Anne Hathaway has fun as a seemingly ditzy celebrity paying more attention than she lets on. The plot is lightweight, and there’s barely any conflict, but it’s enjoyable and I can see myself watching it again. It’s a good movie to have on in the background, which is useful at times.
8/10
Movie #30: Pygmalion (HBO Max)
This may have one of the smartest scripts ever written, which isn’t a shocker if this is the film that got Shaw an Oscar (making him and Bob Dylan the two Nobel Prize winning Academy Award winners.) I like that the conflict isn’t whether Higgins will succeed, but what happens to Eliza afterwards. There’s a great use of dramatic irony as Eliza has expectations about propriety and Higgins is careless about how to treat anyone, rich or poor. I do still prefer My Fair Lady, but this version is excellent.
9/10
What Would Spidey Do? 