What movies did you see last week? (7/8-7/14)

Booksmart

The Cable Guy - 7 / 10

Private Parts - 7.5 / 10

The Chosen - 8.5 / 10

First Man (rewatch) - 10 / 10

Star Wars (1977) - Big Theater Experience - 9.5 / 10

Return of The Living Dead - 8 / 10

Midsommar (2019) 9/10

Annabelle Comes Home (2019) 5.5/10

The Dead Don't Die (2019) 8.5/10

If I feel that the story would be improved by subtlety, yeah, it's a criticism. Some stories are blunt as anvils and work exceptionally as such, but if you're just straight up preaching, it can get in the way of the emotional connection to the story. That's my issue here.

Ms. 45 - 8/10

Really great, bleak film. Definitely one of the most harrowing and intelligent cinematic depictions of a person struggling to process trauma that I've seen.

Also laughed hard as fuck when that kid in the ape suit randomly showed up and scared the protagonist's neighbor.

The Rider - 6/10

Should've ended five minutes earlier, and yeah, not sure the directorial style totally worked for me, but pretty solid stuff.

Le garçu (1995) 7+
I Want To Go Home (1989) 3
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) 5
With A Friend Like Harry… (2000) 7
Start the Revolution Without Me (1970) 6.5
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) 4
Ball of Fire (1941) 7
Disclosure (1994) 5
Red Eye (2005) 7
Bone (1972) 6.5

because something being blunt need not be bad due to that. eisenstein's theory of montage and most propaganda filmmakers were intent on maximizing film's emotional impact by hitting you over the head with what it was going for over and over. there are so many films out there that are immediately, fully, entirely one-sided in whatever they are portraying, but like, what are you gonna do? Harlan County USA is one that comes to mind in how straightforward it is, but is there really any legitimate defense against mining unions?

Little Women - The 1949 one. Its Technicolor fairytale-like vibe is quite pleasant but my emotional response to the movie was a bit muted. A lot of that is because of June Allyson who I thought just did not work as Jo.

Rosewood - I appreciate John Singleton's attempt to make a big-scale historical picture that was clearly important to him but the result is a tad uneven. Scenes involving completely cold and ruthless murder of black people are harrowing but the addition of the Ving Rhames avenging warrior character just seems wrong. There's horrifying and factually rooted violence going on in one scene and then in the next you've got movie heroics akin to some western. I get that a more reality-based movie probably would've been too traumatizing but I'd rather see this awful historical episode in all its horror rather than have these unfitting additions. Still, the film is quite well made and there's enough powerful stuff here to make it decent. It just could've been more. Oh and it's also one of the very VERY rare times when a John Williams score felt a bit unfitting to me.

Alita: Battle Angel - For a long time I wonder how Robert Rodriguez would deal with a huge budget. Turns out he'd make a thoroughly mediocre and anonymous-feeling blockbuster! James Cameron often gets mocked for his screenwriting abilities but this time it's actually deserving - it's truly pedestrian writing in every way. Even the action isn't that creative or interesting. Thankfully the Alita character herself is pretty wonderful and the risky effects on her work really well. A lot of the other stuff looks very cartoonish though.

Purple Noon - A good interpretation of Mr. Ripley...but sue me, I like Minghella's take much more.

Winchester '73 - Excellent western with a great concept about a gun's journey through the American West. Can't think of a better symbol of America itself tbh - a beautifully crafted tool which is surrounded by violence.

Auntie Mame - Rosalind Russell is a hoot in this! The movie's overlong but charming and funny too. And with some pretty fabulous art direction and costumes.

Bend of the River - Could've benefitted from a more epic feeling but still an entertaining Anthony Mann film about settlers trying to make the American dream come true and facing consequences such as bastards trying to screw them over. America in a nutshell. Mann definitely had some things on his mind.

Cheyenne Autumn - The last John Ford western was a bit atypical for him. Widescreen (70mm!), 160 minutes long and very apologetic towards the Indians who have previously often been portrayed as utter villains in his movies. All this sounds pretty great and I'm even slightly surprised that the movie hasn't enjoyed the kind of critical/cinephile reassessment that movies like that often do nowadays. I wouldn't call it great though - the emotional component feels a bit absent here making it more of an observational experience rather than a fully involving one. But there's a lot to observe as the cinematography is quite awesome.

Julieta - Quite good Almodovar but something's just missing here. It's not even that the ending feels very abrupt - the whole movie feels like it has gaps that need to be filled. And they aren't. But what is on display here is certainly very good. The addictive nature of parent-child relationships, mysteries of the past, emotional turmoils...And all done in those amazingly designed interiors.

The Reivers - Mark Rydell sure knew how a make a delightful old-timey fable. This may seem slight but its transportive qualities are to be praised. I felt like I dived back in time into a very specific place. And what a fantastic early John Williams score!

Fly Away Home - I wish all family movies could be like this. It's intelligent, it's beautiful to look at, it's inspirational but not corny...Really enjoyed it.

High Noon - REWATCH. A classic for a reason.

Moulin Rouge - Once again a John Huston movie just feels slightly suffocating. And I'm not talking about its power or the heaviness of the subject material or anything like that - it just feels...it feels like slowly reading a dusty book the pages of which have turned a little yellow because of time. It's not boring but you can't help but think that it could've used a tad more life! Not all Huston movies are like this of course but I have often felt this with him. This was not an exception. It's still pretty good though.