Beginning my month-long feast on the cinematic buffet that is the London Film Festival today. Press screenings and the screener library open up tomorrow, very excited.
The Lovers (2017) [LFF #1] - 7.1/10. Tracy Letts and Debra Winger are fantastic in this low-fi relationship drama, which skirts around cliches right up to an ending that's sure to please and infuriate in equal measure.
Brigsby Bear (2017): Basically a comedic mix of Room and Blast from the Past, which...works much better than I would have thought. At times the whole
kidnap angle
almost feels tacked onto the actual main emphasis, that being the tribute to passionate fandom and fan creativity. I think probably my favourite aspect of the movie is that when James ends up around his younger sister's friends, he makes real human connections without too much difficulty, which is not how you'd expect a comedy to approach this subject.
Key Largo: There's no better place to be trapped in a 100 minute hurricane for than with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I loved the sweltering, stormy atmosphere of this thing, and while it's not quite as effective as balancing the conflicting personalities trapped together as something like 12 Angry Men, it's a damn solid effort.
Bowelwulf: 5/10. This... wasn't a complete disaster. I mean it's a 2 hour Skyrim cut scene with way too much shit flying at the camera for no reason (it was originally 3D) but once you get over the animation it's fine. The story is definitely not Beowulf but it's not bad in its own right, kind of fun. Secret Sunshine: 5/10. Started off great, you know how when you start a movie after 1 minute you're like "Ok, I can relax, I'm in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing." Craft aside though, I didn't feel it earned its 2 hours of wallowing. And then another 30 minutes are taken up to let us know religion is bullshit. Yeah, I know. Hombre: 8/10. Great. All The Mornings Of The World: 8/10. Not sure how I discovered this, I think while I was looking something up about the Viol De Gamba, which is my favorite instrument. If you've never heard one before take a listen: https://youtu.be/YvpU3UYtVmI So it's a whole movie filled with that sound, how could you not fall in love. A great little family drama in the middle but also deals with artistic sacrifices, which is another favorite theme of mine. Highly recommended. It's a French movie I'd never heard of so I figured if anyone has seen it it would be Lundi, and I was right lol. Babby Driver: 6/10. I don't worship at the Wright altar like some of y'all, either way this was just ok. Obviously starts off super strong but devolves in such a way that by the end we're in a standard action B movie. The love story falls completely flat. If I'm honest I found the on the beat music syncing to the action kind of tedious and exhausting. Still, fun though.
^^^ Hell, that's almost exactly how i felt about Baby Driver.
Started off cool, got tired of it by the end.
The script felt kind of weak, too, aside from a couple of jokes.
I usually like his films, when they're more straight up comedies (like Hot Fuzz is his best one) but in general, i suppose these candy wrapper vibes, aren't for me.
This was quite brilliant actually. I think the lead performances are all pretty endearing, the visuals are whimsical and gorgeous, and the score is masterful. It's not a Scorsese classic or anything, but it's one of the better adaptations of a children's novel in recent years.
All The Mornings Of The World: 8/10. Not sure how I discovered this, I think while I was looking something up about the Viol De Gamba, which is my favorite instrument. If you've never heard one before take a listen: https://youtu.be/YvpU3UYtVmI So it's a whole movie filled with that sound, how could you not fall in love. A great little family drama in the middle but also deals with artistic sacrifices, which is another favorite theme of mine. Highly recommended. It's a French movie I'd never heard of so I figured if anyone has seen it it would be Lundi, and I was right lol.
And it's a great movie indeed. With the (late) awesome Guillaume Depardieu, Gérard's son. I have the OST cd from the time of release lying around... It's pretty great .
I would be surprised if Swoon hadn't watched it : )
Série Noire is another good Corneau in a very different genre.
You might have a different opinion (and that's fine ! People make mistakes all the time ) but Wright is one of the most brilliant directors out there right now.
This might sometimes deflect the attention away from somewhat weak plots.
Actually put this script in the hands of most Hollywood directors and you'd be left with a forgettable action flick (albeit one with a number of good lines from great actors).
But the filmmaking here is so remarkable it just works.
Admittedly, it probably works better for critics and filmmakers drooling over how every shot was set up and how every sequence was crafted than it does for the crowd who just wanted memorable stories and characters and don't see or aren't as vulnerable towards what went into writing and shooting a scene.
Baby Driver certainly is style over substance and it certainly is a lot more of a crowd (Hollywood crowd especially) pleaser than his previous works.
But the style there is just groundbreaking.
Absolutely Anything
So, this somehow popped up on my Netflix feed.
2015.
Terry Jones directing and co-writing
Simon Pegg
Kate Beckinsale
Surviving members of the Monty Python and Robin Williams (albeit only their voices).
Quite a stellar cast, how have I not heard of this before??
Well, because it might be the worst movie I've seen all year.
In fact I was only compelled to bump this thread to say how spectacularly bad this British take on Bruce Almighty (it itself not particularly clever comedy) is.
But then, it's not even worth a review, it's just a terribly written, forced and boringly executed attempt at comedy.
No idea how the same person who wrote The meaning of life and Life of Brian among others could come up with this, and how he could get that cast onboard. I felt bad for everyone involved.
Avoid.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: The last time I saw this was on a well-worn VHS copy back in the 90s, so it came as little surprise that with nearly 20 years between, the familiarity hit right away and slipped on like a beloved pair of sneakers. I could rag on the film's narrative issues, particularly as you'll seldom see a government operation run as poorly as the one in this film, but a lot of it goes by the wayside with how strong Spielberg's direction is throughout, with some rather remarkable child performances from both Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore and a keen visual eye that helps keep the perspective locked onto the kids. And it cannot ever be overstated just how wonderful John Williams' score is here, operating at the peak of his abilities and moving from scene to another as if it was conceived even before the film existed. It was lovely to see some of the folks at my screening bring their kids along to enjoy the film with them, as it speaks to how well this film continues to play 35 years after its debut. It's never been my favorite film of Spielberg's, but it is a great example of how well he can shift genres around to create something uniquely his, and I'll be damned if I didn't get at least a little choked up again hearing ET's parting words to Elliot.
I watched a bunch of stuff this last week, one thing a day!
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou was kind of disappointing after how much I liked Moonrise Kingdom and especially The Grand Budapest Hotel. There were some good visual elements, especially the parts navigating the ship and the red hats, but I was kind of disappointed with how normal it looked compared to his more recent stuff that I've seen. There were some good scenes but overall I just had a hard time connecting with any of it. Next Anderson will probably be Rushmore or Fantastic Mr. Fox so hopefully I'll like those more, Grand Budapest Hotel was such magic that I need more of it.
Monday I gave Pulp Fiction another watch with some friends, not much to say other than that I enjoy it more every time I see it.
Tuesday and Wednesday I was inspired to see the other two big Nolan movies I hadn't watched yet by listening to Blank Check, so I got around to The Prestige and Memento. The Prestige was neat and i enjoyed it, but Memento really clicked with me, I think the structure is great and I can't think of any other movie that made me feel like I knew less the farther I got, I'd rank it as my second favorite Nolan after Interstellar. Nolan isn't my favorite director but I'm glad he exists and can keep doing what he does.
Thursday I went with a friend to catch Wind River before it left our town's theater and really enjoyed it. Great tension, great mood, but I'm glad we had the theater to ourselves because we laughed uncontrollably when
Renner shoots one of the oil workers with his massive gun and sends him flying from offscreen.
Friday I watched Heathers before going to bed, I'm not exactly sure what I expected but it definitely wasn't that. Very funny but also a super fucking weird movie. It was kind of surprising to look up the director afterwards and see that afterwards he just made a bunch of junk after this weird and clever film
Finally, last night I saw Arrival which was probably my favorite of the lot. Amy Adams really sells the movie hard and the moment I realized what was happening with the "flashbacks" was pretty mind blowing. I was curious how the entire movie would cover the concept but it was remarkably tense the entire time. I only wish I'd gone to watch this in theaters last year, easily would have been my favorite of the year.
Someone set up a viewing party for it and since it's my GOAT movie (and that I had the Blu ray) I decided to join in. A lot of people really liked it at least and probably wouldn't have seen it otherwise, so that's a plus.
And so it begins...that magical time of year that leads up to Halloween. Letterboxd has the Hooptober challenge up which includes 6 sequels, 6 countries, 6 decades, 6 before 1970, 6 from Carpenter, Raimi, Whale, Browning, Craven, or Tom Holland, 3 non zombie people eating people, a Hammer, a Romero, a terrible oversight and some Hooper. I'm really a glutton for punishment too because I've already got my GAF Halloween list for right after which I'm hoping to plow through most of this list by months end.
The Little Shop of Horrors This is the old B&W version which I have on some DVD collection. Pretty cool film actually. No singing here but there is a man eating plant. Worth it to see Jack Nicholson play this oddball who loves pain. Very short part but pretty funny.
The Gorgon I've watched very little of the Hammer library. Overall the acting here was wooden as all hell but the overall story and the painted backgrounds really made this. In fact I really dug how the turning to stone was really slow rather than instant. Kind of a different take on things. Wouldn't mind seeing a modern take on Medusa with a slow turn to stone.
I Drink Your Blood This is one weird ass movie. It starts of with hippies for Satan then becomes something like Cabin Fever. This was from 1970 so it still has that 60's drug culture infused in but really started to take on the 70's vibe too.
Night of the Creeps My favorite of what I've watched so far. Alien experiment gets lost on Earth and causes zombie like...uh creeps. You can see where Slither took some ideas from.
And it's a great movie indeed. With the (late) awesome Guillaume Depardieu, Gérard's son. I have the OST cd from the time of release lying around... It's pretty great .
I would be surprised if Swoon hadn't watched it : )
Série Noire is another good Corneau in a very different genre.
i've sadly only seen love crimes by him. serie noire has been on my list to watch forever.
i recently watched 8 million ways to die, hal shby's last film, and while it's clear that he didn't have final cut, bridges' performance is incredible. it's filled with great ashby background action moments and is pretty much a lebowski film with coke instead of white russians.
The One - 2001 - Very interesting action flick and memorable. Jet Li at his peak? Because he's literally fighting his greatest opponent in himself. 7/10
Total Recall - 1990 - Enjoyed it through and through, classic Arnold. 8/10
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 1989 B+ film that I'd gladly watch again. Weird seeing Keanu in that comedic, stoner light.
The Enforcer (1976) 6/10 forgettable bad guys
A+ movie obvious goat
Kidnap 2017 Solid thriller
Unleashed (2005) B+ Film good chemistry between the cast members.
BATMAN AND HARLEY QUINN (2017) - 6/10 inconsistent from act to act, with a very forgettable ending.
Death Note (2017) - 5/10 Pacing issues, and just not as good as the anime.
Minority Report (2002) - I really need to watch this one again just to comprehend what happened.
It 2017 - Only movie I've seen twice in theaters since The Dark Knight. I know, both movies staring a clown. 8/10
Caught IT tonight and it was a pretty solid movie, albeit very formulaic. Really enjoyed the cast of kids and thought they all did a fantastic job. The story was coherent (which is sometimes not a feature of horror movies) and I felt like most things were paid off by the end. However, one thing I noticed about this movie was that I was laughing much more than I was scared, with some of the 'scary' scenes contributing to its comedy aspects. I don't know if that it technically fails as a horror movie in that sense, but regardless it was entertaining and fun, which is fine in my book.
The One - 2001 - Very interesting action flick and memorable. Jet Li at his peak? Because he's literally fighting his greatest opponent in himself. 7/10
I used to have the DVD for this, and I still remember a behind the scenes video of when The Rock was attached to the project. Think it worked out better with Jet Li.
I really liked that, but it definitely has its flaws. While I understand they're trying to establish this whole dark universe thing, I think there was a bit too much of that setup in this film. There wasn't enough Mummy in The Mummy. This movie needed more focus. Still, I do like what they're going for.
I'd already been spoiled on Crowe's characters, but it was still cool to see him in this. Ahmanet was legitimately creepy, just wish there was more of her. The one thing that doesn't make sense to me, though, is Nick.
Wasn't the god Set supposed to inhabit his body? He shouldn't even still be in control. Meh.
I know this didn't do too well in theaters, but I hope they can salvage this dark universe as I think it could produce some quality films with the right talent behind it.
Baby Driver certainly is style over substance and it certainly is a lot more of a crowd (Hollywood crowd especially) pleaser than his previous works.
But the style there is just groundbreaking.
It is certainly sleek, and hyper controlled, but all of his films are.
So many of his best jokes in Hot Fuzz etc, come from energetic and tightly orchestrated, flamboyant editing.
However i specifically remember a moment in Baby Driver, near the end, when
Jon Hamm is shooting the police
along with the beat of the song, and thinking "this is physically disturbing".
It's a cool gimmick, but got on my nerves after 2 hours.
Given the thin plot, maybe i'd be singing another tune, if this had been a short.
Secured my tickets for The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Death of Stalin at TIFF two weeks from now.
Normally I book time off and go nuts during the festival (caught like 30 movies in 10 days last year) but I'm only doing the single day this go around.
Heh... that's actually just 3 films. The comma is in the actual title of the second film... although I've done 5 or 6 festival films in a single day before. It's feasible if you kick things of with a 9:30am or 10:00am screening and run through films all the way until the midnight madness screening that night. You'll burn out easily going at that pace, however.
Today was actually quite light compared to what I've cleared through in the past. Anyhow, as promised. here are my thoughts...
The Death of Stalin - I haven't watched Veep or any of Armando Iannucci's earlier films but this really made want to scope them out. Highly entertaining dark comic farce with some memorable performances and rather amusing dry political commentary. Was especially keen on seeing Jeffrey Tambor - most reknowned on GAF for his "may have committed some light treason" meme - in a substantial role. Just don't expect any of these "Russians" to sound Russian and you'll be fine.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Winner of the Grolsch People's Choice Award at TIFF and the Best Screenplay award (which is clearly deserved) at Venice, Martin McDonagh's saga of a distraught mother played by Frances McDormand trying to prod action from the local police force (headed by Woody Harrelson) to track down her daughter's rapist/killer is absolutely hilarious while still being emotionally wrenching. Sam Rockwell, Lucas Hedges, Peter Dinklage, John Hawkes, Caleb Landry Jones and others flesh out an ensemble cast full of memorable characters. Can't wait to watch this again.
The Shape of Water - Okay... before I delve into my impressions of the film, I have to call attention to the uncanny valley effect that I experienced tonight.
I'm sure you've all had that feeling before where you've watched a film and you recognize that it was filmed in a city or place you've been to first-hand, right? I can recall a time growing up where my parents and I got separated from our luggage, got redirected between a host of airports on our trip to Orlando, finally arriving at our destination one day late and we spent the evening watching Planes, Trains and Automobiles and laughing our assess off at Steve Martin lamenting his inability to get to his destination outside of the St. Louis Lambert International airport - which was where we were earlier that same day. Laughs were had by all.
Now, let's take this phenomenon one step further. Have you ever watched a film where one of the significant sets and points of interest in the movie is the VERY movie theater that you are watching the movie in? That's what happened tonight as I was struck by the revelation as to why The Shape of Water was screened in the Elgin Theater an unprecedented 4 times during the festival. The blasted movie theater was a fixture in the movie. Sally Hawkins' Elisa has her apartment right above it.
So yeah... needless to say, that was a constant distraction.
That said, the movie was a delight. Visually captivating with solid performances from Hawkins, Michael Shannon and Richard Jenkins, in particular. I would have liked it to have been a little less straightforward and for the characters to be a little less one-dimensional. Plus, the whole Russian subplot didn't really do much for me. The film is at its best focusing on the interaction between Hawkins' Elisa and her courtship of the monster. I'll be shocked if it doesn't rack up a whole host of technical category Oscar noms this winter.
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
Resident Evil I'd skip because it never goes anywhere as a series. They just set up something at the end of each film but never use those premises. The movies are no-brain b-movies from a b-director, so expect that. My friend loves them though so there is a slight chance you might enjoy the campiness.
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
+1 for Phantasm, recently watched those and loved them. B as hell but fun.
It's Alive was cool, looking forward to the sequels this month.
[REC] wasn't bad. 1-3 are on Shudder and 4 is on Netflix.
There's also Psycho, and Puppetmaster. Psycho is on my GAF list this year and I have the whole Puppetmaster series on DVD ready to get put in one of these years. I've watched some way back in college but that was too many moons ago to remember them.
Found this franchise list on Letterboxd and holy shit are there a lot I'd forgotten. Not sure how complete it is, still ongoing but might be worth a flip through for ratings in selection .
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
Not that there aren't plenty of reasons to not recommend them otherwise, but the Underworld series are more action films that feature vampires, werewolves and the color blue.
Babby Driver: 6/10. I don't worship at the Wright altar like some of y'all, either way this was just ok. Obviously starts off super strong but devolves in such a way that by the end we're in a standard action B movie. The love story falls completely flat. If I'm honest I found the on the beat music syncing to the action kind of tedious and exhausting. Still, fun though.
I love Wright but this was his weakest film. If it wasn't for a soundtrack timed to the movie, it would've been a failure in the publics eyes. The only thing I hear people say is how they like the soundtrack, never about the story/action/plot/etc of the movie. I honestly didn't even see the music interact with the scenes except for a few parts.
It is pretty generic and can be down right bad if you don't hear the music.
The first adaptation of Shusaku Endo's Silence is structurally a bit different from the Scorsee version. Leaner, it lacks the initial context of their trip (although it's immediately set the war on Christianity by the Japanese) mostly because the film is less centered around Ferreira and more about the phenomenon itself, the arrival of the Portuguese, their impacts and the struggles of everyone and everything that is affected by such terrorizing acts inflicted over the believers. A powerful display of resolute faith.
It is certainly sleek, and hyper controlled, but all of his films are.
So many of his best jokes in Hot Fuzz etc, come from energetic and tightly orchestrated, flamboyant editing.
Yeah, well, not just editing though.
Timing, framing, editing, shooting, use of sound.
Wright uses the entire range of things possible with cinema.
Sometimes respecting the grammar, other times going against it, always with a purpose.
It's masterclass filmmaking applied to thin plots and casual themes but he's just great at what he does.
(Yeah, i guess guns firing with the music beats gets old the second time. Tequila scene is great, the next time it happens you're like here we go again, plus it's much weaker so there's that.)
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
I have four on my Halloween list, parts I through IV. Then there is the remake and there's a made for tv movie called Bates Motel. So yea...6 believe it or not.
Any must-see franchises? Any that I should definitely skip? Did I miss any good ones? The bottom ones marked with the - are franchises that either don't appeal to me or that I've already seen so will probably won't watch.
I would skip Resident Evil, barely horror really. And I don't know if you need to see all those Wrong Turn sequels. I had no idea there were that many, and I really like the first one. If you're going to watch a lot of something, go for Puppet Master or Phantasm.
One that sticks out that's not on that list is the Omen franchise. There's three plus a decent remake. I would skip the TV Movie fourth one, but the main three are really solid and the third with Sam Neil who makes anything better.
There are three Poltergeist movies I think aren't too bad, the third is by far the worst but the second goes interesting places. Maybe look into the three Candyman movies and three Purge movies (a series that gets better as they make more).
TIFF Report #4: The Final Transmission (work was brutal this week so I only had time for 7 movies in the end, oh well)
If you burn down this Burger King, we will never build another restaurant in your neighborhood ever again.
Kings (dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven) - 3.5/10
Welp.
Has a filmmaker ever accomplished such an impressive task? Making one of the year's best films with her debut, and then following it up with one of the year's most disastrous? Does Deniz Gamze Ergüven get a prize for this? Why does this movie even exist? Kings is the most wrongheaded and misguided sort of film, the kind of well-intentioned humanist drama with its head in the clouds that boards a shuttle bound for anywhere but this fucking planet, where people are dying every day, but hold on while I dream about a ghostly, fully naked Daniel Craig descending out of the void of nothingness like The Experiment after the nuke sequence in Part 8 of Twin Peaks: The Return, but instead of barfing up Bob, he floats over to Halle Berry and makes love to her and barfs all over the reality of race relations in the United States.
Yes, that really happens. Halle Berry's Daniel Craig dream is the most outrageously funny thing I've seen all year, and just one of many preposterous scenes that add up to nothing in this naïve mess of a poorly contrived, "prestigious" drama. Like Mustang, the best scenes involve the kids that Halle Berry's character looks after, and the sense of family they have together, and the day to day struggles and joys of their life. Unlike Mustang, this film is about racism in the United States, and in that context, lol no.
Go home, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, you're drunk.
This music goes well with this wine.
Samui Song (dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang) - 7/10
I'm glad I was able to make time for this, so I didn't have to end on such a disastrous downer of a note with Kings. But, in keeping with this year's theme (that is, new films from exciting filmmakers more or less disappointing me across the board, both here at TIFF and throughout the year), Samui Song is not one of Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's better films. His work is usually beguiling and inexplicable in all of my favorite ways, but this one can be a little frustrating, a little too cute with its meta jokes, and eventually threatens to disappear up its own self-reflexive ass (though I can at least see one charitable interpretation of the ending as both a gender and social critique, the ending is still a little unsatisfying).
However, for much of the running time, Samui Song is a bold and entertaining film. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang doesn't shy away from uncomfortable material (my audience's audibly upsetting reaction to one character's spiritual impotence being rendered via an explicit, single take masturbation session was certainly memorable), and also displays some wickedly dark humor (aforementioned character is
eventually bludgeoned to death with a giant penis
). The first segment is probably the best, but the second act is easily the most laugh out loud funny (and my audience, after sounding like it might turn on the film after that first segment, was eventually laughing along and having a good time with the film) and the third act is not without its charm and thematic interest (despite also being the point where it threatens to completely unravel). The film repeatedly jumps through time, and at one point I found myself muttering "this is brilliant" as characters continually find themselves becoming different people, and often never the person they want, but rather the person they are forced to become (the main character is a popular soap actress who wants to change her public persona, so this is where the meta jokes and eventually the social critique come into play) but in the end it all goes kinda meh, like Pen-Ek Ratanaruang was impressively juggling all of these ideas, and to finish his performance, just walked away and let everything unceremoniously hit the floor.
A fitting note to end this festival on, I suppose.
The Village: Not a bad move considering M. Night Shyamalan's reputation. I do appreciate having the main character be blind. Nothing really unexpected here, until I got to the plot twist, which I partly knew about.
I was expecting "Characters come to road, car passes by, pan left to city, fade to black, roll credits", and the village was a group of "Super Amish" for lack of a better term. I wasn't expecting this to be a grief counseling project.
Mother! is certainly a movie I want to see at least one more time, as its a lot to take in on one sitting, but my initial reaction is that I found it a wonderfully made film that is superbly acted but ultimately not one I found myself caring much about its characters or even ideas really and eventually didnt find myself caring for as a whole. I like a good allegory as much as the next guy, but I dont like the films entire purpose being an allegory if it comes at the cost of character and story. Or, at least, a plot, because the storytelling, in its own, way, is actually fantastic here, its just more hinged on making connections to grander ideas than putting something together that I would become invested in on an emotional level or have something new brought out from its own allegorical premise.
It never achieves either of those. Its saying something in a different way, hence me finding it a well made film on a technical level, but its not shining a new light on anything new necessarily or giving a commentary on how to perceive it in that new way. - a movie thats more concerned about presentation than anything. I suppose its like this: it had a list of beats it wanted to hit with ideas and metaphor but not really say anything about them more than reconstruct them to service hitting those beats. I appreciate that in its own way, and Aronofsky wants to say a lot about the Mother theme with this vision of beautiful imagery and wonderfully directed and acted, tense moments, but I cant say I came out of the film seeing something new in a new light or understand and appreciate the concept of a mother on some new level. Allegorical films usually let an audience get something from it - something that is reflective of that person and you say you get what you take with you but Mother! doesnt have that nuance at all.
I was more busy drawing the lines that Aronofsky was making and how things connected to our own world than trying to dig deeper or simply get invested in Jennifer Lawrences plight. When the filmmaker is more concerned about how things are set up and how it connects to a theme or, in this case, mostly Biblical imagery and ideas, hes missing that additional layer of finding a human connection to it all.
That connection isnt necessarily emotional, but its one where you can see the people on screen as actual people. Instead I saw it as really well-acted stand-ins and not as human beings. When I came out of The Fountain, and that's a movie I grew to love even more over the years, Aronofsky really walked that hard-to-get line of having a very human story amongst a very large thematic element of existential exploration that he allowed the audience to create around the story of a man losing his wife. For Mother! hes telling you straight on what he wants to say but also not giving us enough to care about on that human level. The husband and wife story, the rebuilding of a house, the giving everything theme isnt exploring the ideas but its checking a list of talking points that already have a conclusion because we already are aware of the allegory. Then we just start caring about the allegory and nothing else, and that wears thin on me after about 30 minutes.
I loved the movie on the technical level, gorgeously shot with some astounding cinematography and sound mixing going on especially in the final act, and Lawrence is equally as astounding in a raw performance that will no-doubt get Awards buzz. Obviously Mother! did something right to garner a long-winded reaction, but it didnt connect with me despite it, seemingly, desperate to try and evoke an emotional connection to it all and I felt I was watching a rambling diatribe of someone on a soapbox than it allowing me into its world to show me something I can care about.
That was fantastic. Reminded me a lot of Captain America: The First Avenger, but I liked this more. The tone is so different from the other DC movies, for the better, and I actually really like MoS and BvS. Here's hoping the rest of the DCEU movies are this great.
The Ritual (2017) - 5.7/10. A bit of a disappointment coming from David Bruckner, this low-fi horror begins strong quickly gives way to its lesser instincts with genre cliches flooding in from all corners.
Rafe Spall is great, though, and the cinematography is really nice. Not bad, just not very good either.
I feel like Ive seen this movie before, its a man with a mid-life crisis, but I really loved it. Its how it tells its story and its ability to go inside Brads head that I think sets it apart, similar to Ben Stillers own movie The Life of Walter Mitty. Good thoughts, bad thoughts, day dreams, what-if scenarios all while trying to keep it together over the course of a few days is so well done, even though those arent the main points of a movie. The main point is Brad looking at his life compared to others, and I dont know a single person that doesnt do that. Its about assuming too much but not really knowing anything about those you know: people put their best pictures on Instagram, you dont really see 99% of the other things going on in their life, especially bad. Nobody puts up Im struggling to make my loan payments back or pictures of their sick child for likes.
Its not a bold theme, but its one the movie uses well to show us Brads Status in life. Being obsessed with others status can consume you, just as Brads Voice Over throughout as he goes through is thought process can consume the moments and scenes themselves because Brad himself isnt always present as his mind wanders from loving a conversation to self-doubt to self-loathing regularly.
Brad himself is a guy that you love one minute but hate the next as a result of that - the use of music makes sure this is emphasized even more as it will be jolly when things are going great, but then Brad starts second guessing himself and it turns harsh on the ears. The use of music, especially towards the end, is beautifully rendered by director Mike White who seemed to have structured the movie around its use, culminating in an emotional moment that Ben Stiller utterly nails - Stiller himself underrated as a dramatic actor and this movie lets him shine. Its a movie that walks familiar territory but also goes in new and interesting ways with it.
Rating: 3/5
The Band Wagon
Im trying to fix this hole in my movie watching history: musicals. My girlfriend loves them so Im slowly getting into them. The only one I used to say I loved was Singin in the Rain but thats not exactly a hot take. So Ive gone down the list and finally hit The Band Wagon, which I heard mixed things about but Im thinking Its Vincente Minnelli Im sure its fine. Well, it kind of is but kind of isnt. I found The Band Wagon 2/3 a brilliant musical and 1/3 Lets fill up some time and just do a bunch of numbers at the end. The story halts, the character arcs halt, everything just stopped in service of a montage of music acts that really dont connect to anything else going on. The final act in a lot of musicals of this era is usually a big sequence or series of sequences but they relate to the story and characters in some way. The Band Wagons final bits were like the B-Sides they threw in.
Up to that point, I utterly enjoyed the movie. The Shoe Shine number and sequence is my favorite, and damn is Astaire at the top of his game in that, and Thats Entertainment a legacy number with Dancing in the Dark an absolutely beautiful two-hander of dance. Astaire plays as pretty much Fred Astaire at that point in his career - washed up and looking for new life, and damn Charisse is so damn beautiful and amazing as usual.
But when the last third starts, Im out. One moment that really bothered me was the number where Astaire is playing a hard nosed detective in a mystery noir and Im thinking Ummm no thats friggin Fred Astaire, try again. As great as Astaire, or Charisse for that matter, can be in certain roles and as song/dance actors, its not like theyre these great actors with range that can pull that type of stuff off. Drama in that frame just isnt their strength, even when its played up for it being a stage production within a musical film. It wasnt Gene Kellys or Bing Crosbys strengths either, they have certain things they can do and that you can buy them as and thats just not one of them and took me out of the movie instantaneously. If mean, if youre going to have Astaire playing Astaire, youd never cast Astaire in something like that if its a stage musical and waste 15 minutes of my time.
(The Dances with Gun Shots moments were cool but unintentionally funny - FLIP KICK! GUN SHOT! SWING TIME! BANG BANG!)
So we have 2/3 a fantastic and outright brilliant musical and 1/3 something that I wish had gone through a few more rewrites to bring home the story rather than end it early and do a best of sequence.
) but Wright is one of the most brilliant directors out there right now. 
