Post by Martin Stett on Dec 3, 2018 18:42:13 GMT
Breaking Bad (Season 2) -- This hits higher highs than the first season (Down is the first legitimately great episode of the show imo), but stalls dramatically whenever the plot needs to move forwards. BB is best at the little moments, but too many times it has to manufacture big ones to create the smaller bits that make the show good. All in all, it was a fun season. P.S. Jane is a terrible plot device character and her presence drags down the second half of this big time. 7/10
The Grifters (1990) -- I have a similar issue with this that I have with Scorsese's Goodfellas: I find the characters so reprehensible that I can't get emotionally involved enough to care about how intelligent the script is. This is trying so hard to make a sun-bleached, rotting vision of a noir world that it can't allow any character with redeeming qualities within a twenty mile radius. It's kind of successful in that it made me want to wash myself after it was over, but I can't say that I enjoyed it. 5/10
Brothers (2005) -- Such a cookie-cutter, Oscar-bait look at PTSD. Lacking in nuance, but almost made up for by good acting. 5/10
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (2015) -- I want more of these "in their own words" style of documentaries (only other one I've seen is Soderbegh's Spalding Gray doc And Everything Is Going Fine). This plays more like a tone poem than a traditional doc, and I appreciated that it attempted to capture Bergman's emotions more than a simple biography of what happened in her life. Unfortunately, it takes a hit towards the end as her children and biographers are brought in, and it becomes more traditional. But for the majority of the running time, I was entranced. 7/10
I Remember Mama (1948) -- This sugary Americana isn't my cup of tea, but it's pleasant and funny enough, bolstered by some strong supporting performances (especially Oscar Homolka's silly Uncle Chris and Ellen Corby's timid aunt Trina) that make the sugary bits go down easier. 6/10
The Grifters (1990) -- I have a similar issue with this that I have with Scorsese's Goodfellas: I find the characters so reprehensible that I can't get emotionally involved enough to care about how intelligent the script is. This is trying so hard to make a sun-bleached, rotting vision of a noir world that it can't allow any character with redeeming qualities within a twenty mile radius. It's kind of successful in that it made me want to wash myself after it was over, but I can't say that I enjoyed it. 5/10
Brothers (2005) -- Such a cookie-cutter, Oscar-bait look at PTSD. Lacking in nuance, but almost made up for by good acting. 5/10
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (2015) -- I want more of these "in their own words" style of documentaries (only other one I've seen is Soderbegh's Spalding Gray doc And Everything Is Going Fine). This plays more like a tone poem than a traditional doc, and I appreciated that it attempted to capture Bergman's emotions more than a simple biography of what happened in her life. Unfortunately, it takes a hit towards the end as her children and biographers are brought in, and it becomes more traditional. But for the majority of the running time, I was entranced. 7/10
I Remember Mama (1948) -- This sugary Americana isn't my cup of tea, but it's pleasant and funny enough, bolstered by some strong supporting performances (especially Oscar Homolka's silly Uncle Chris and Ellen Corby's timid aunt Trina) that make the sugary bits go down easier. 6/10
