What movies did you see last week? (12/17-12/23)

Withnail & I - To see such a grounded variation on the 'stoner comedy' subgenre was pretty fascinating although I didn't really get into this as much as I wanted to. The layer of misery does add something extra to it though. And I really liked Richard E. Grant and Richard Griffiths.

Bumblebee - A sweet little movie. A big heart, a lightness of touch and Hailee Steinfeld make this a really decent family blockbuster. Nothing original but a good time at the movies.

Aquaman - 150 minutes of overkill. Occasionally fun but mostly tiresome and laborious. But I guess there is a slight charm to it, mainly due to Jason Momoa who seems to be having the time of his life. And I like how a lot of it looks like it came from a kid's mind. But man, it just wore me out. James Wan goes all out for excitement and action but totally disregards crafting a good narrative. And the excitement isn't really there - tons of action, sure, but it's just not that engaging.

The House That Jack Built - I can't say that the latest phase of Trier's career is as interesting to me as the stuff he used to do, but I think a lot here is quite fascinating. It's abhorrent when it needs to be (we clearly aren't supposed to like Jack and when we start to, there's this immediate rush of feeling of complicity and guilt about it), it's very self-reflective and funny in that way. And it has an awesome Matt Dillon performance. It's nothing one wouldn't expect from a Lars von Trier serial killer movie but I don't mind that since it's still pretty good.

Zorba the Greek - Overlong and meandering but generally quite decent. Although it was pretty funny to see the Greek villagers depicted as murdering assholes - this probably would be destroyed by social media freaks who are offended by everything.

Roma - The wonderful 1972 Fellini one. >>> Cuaron's.

Lola - An incredible visual experience which isn't as gripping on a screenplay level. But it's clearly an exercise in style and as that it does succeed splendidly.

Crazy Rich Asians - I liked the performances and the exoticism made it stand out from the crowd of same-looking romantic comedies but the story was so damn predictable that it lessened the enjoyment of the film a fair bit. Plus it ain't really that funny for being a 'comedy'.

Detour - An okay noir ride. I'm not really sure what this film has over other examples of the genre to be regarded so highly by critics these days.

Next time a 20y/o funds, produces, writes, directs, edits, and stars in their own film and it's actually quite good lemme know, people! This is an admirable and impressive low-budget effort, a daring look at competitive high school social friction and sexuality. Nadia Alexander is the standout.

It dropped online very quietly on Jan 5 and seems completely forgotten by now.  Meanwhile others traversing a similar setting and themes get all the attention--  13 Reasons Why, Sierra Burgess, To All the Boys..., etc.  Well, this actually speaks to the great influence of Netflix.   

Anyway, glad you liked it Viced! 

Colette (2018) -- Knightley and the costumes shine, the rest is a bore. The script covers too many ideas and too much ground. It feels spread thin even with the 120-minute runtime. Absolutely nothing in the film was surprising. 6.5/10

Hail, Caesar! (2016) -- Wasn't interested at the time because I didn't care for the trailer and the reviews weren't stunning so I skipped it. For some reason recently I felt like checking it out and what a lovely surprise. As a self-reflective glimpse at the corrupt and mercenary film industry, it was surprisingly hilarious. It's everything I would have hoped a Coen Brothers film about George Clooney getting kidnapped by Communists would be. Alden Ehrenreich is amusing in a charismatic but slight role (dare I say a tad overrated in these parts), Ralph Fiennes steals his cameo and runs away with it, Deakins' cinematography is gorgeous--not his best work, but when you're talking about someone like Deakins who's so fucking brilliant that it's easy to take him for granted, that's hardly a criticism--the screenplay full of delightful zingers. Just an all-around good time. 8/10

25th Hour (2002) -- A bit messy but I can't deny its raw power. I can understand why this is beloved. It's quite easy to like this film. The acting is great (Norton and Hoffman are the standouts), the writing is nuanced and offers a fresh perspective, and the post-9/11 setting adds a layer of topical subtext to the characters as existing in an embittered and confused environment. Biggest complaint comes toward the end. The flash-forward sequence is effectively manipulative to a point but it goes on for way too long. I was tearing up for the first two minutes because it was such a heartbreaking glance into what Norton's life could have been like and it shows how we escape our realities through imagination and fantasy. But the spell wears off pretty fast as the screenplay follows every single thread of this potential future life down to minute details and it stifles the emotion power of the moment. Still, what a film. 8/10

Bound (1996) -- Two lesbians rip off the mob and hijinks ensue. This early Wachowski film is a delightful piece of genre filmmaking. Simultaneously gruesome and sensual and hilarious. Makes effective use of a small setting, features Joe Pantoliano's best and most unhinged work and Jennifer Tilly's best sultry voice, and continually surprises at every time. Had a blast 8/10

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) -- *sigh*...this was very long. Daniel Day-Lewis is pure sex appeal here (those "Take off your clothes" bits...oof), and the film has its fair share of sensual and erotic and liberating moments to be sure. The romance angle is pretty great but it's drowned out in the runtime and the meandering quality of the characters' existences and the fact that Kaufman crams in too much material from the book. Lena Olin's character is one of the film's best points but the focus on her in the second act especially takes away from the central relationship between DDL and Binoche. It just didn't need to be there. There's a lot of stuff like that in the film, and DDL's charm, the looming threat of Communist oppression, the sexy bits, and Sven Nykvist's gorgeous cinematography (making frequent use of mirrors and reflections) could only sustain my interest for so long. There's a lot to like but I'll admit I was very relieved when it ended. As far as Sex & Politics films go, I prefer The Year of Living Dangerously. 6.5/10

Point Blank (1967) -- a perfect genre thriller. John Boorman's sleek Nouvelle Vague-inspired directing combined with Lee Marvin's understated and uncompromising lead performance and Lathrop's crisp cinematography make for a thrilling and elegantly simple viewing experience. The premise is simple (Marvin is double-crossed and now he'll stop at nothing to get what he's owed) but leaves plenty of room for shocking twists. Johnny Mandel's score is stark and foreboding (this is the most interesting Mandel score I've heard) but more notable is how Boorman utilizes sound and editing to create scenes with precise rhythm. His use of sound is breathtaking; forceful footsteps down a long hallway steadily intensifying cut montage-style against Marvin's dogged investigation, the yowls in a jazz club cut to Marvin beating up henchmen in the backstage -- this is explosive cinema. 8/10

3:10 to Yuma (1957) -- don't know what to say except there's A LOT more happening in Mangold's take on the story. The two adaptations are similar--almost identical--in many respects but Russell Crowe is so much more interesting than Glenn Ford as the antihero outlaw Ben Wade. Glenn Ford just looks like someone's suburban dad from1957, like he just came off the set of Leave it to Beaver. Not much charisma or menace there. He doesn't have that macho swagger the character needs. Heflin is OK as Dan but the real MVPs are Leora Dana as Dan's wife and Felicia Farr as a barmaid in a small but captivating role. 7/10

The Favourite (2018) -- need to see this again. I'm still swooning 9/10

Bad Times at El Royale (2018) -- I've already bitched enough about this film so I won't go on anymore about it, save to say it definitely wasn't for me. 5/10

Apollo 13 rewatch (1995) -- A classic. Ed Harris is the man. 8/10

Star Trek rewatch (2009) -- This was my 3rd viewing and let's just say I enjoyed it more on my 2nd. I will say the CGI still looks marvelous. Abrams has a terrific eye for that kind of thing. The CGI is only there to fulfill its basic function of creating atmosphere, so while there are plenty of amazing-looking visuals, Abrams doesn't make them indispensable to the action scenes in a way that looks fake and artificial. In other words, he knows what he can do and never oversteps, and as a result the CGI incorporates into the story almost entirely seamlessly. 7.5/10

Prime Cut (1972) -- A baffling film. Part exploitation piece, part generic crime actioner. Gene Hackman plays a campy Texas villain named Mary Sue who turns men in hotdogs, there's naked young women in cattle pens waiting to be auctioned to fat Texan ranchers, there's a combine harvester eating up a car, and then there's Gene Hackman's host of young and comically blonde-haired studs all wearing overalls and carrying shotguns. It wouldn't be difficult to delve into the problematic implications regarding the film's female characters but why even bother when the film is this goofy? The action was pretty boring, the sex and violence more icky than salacious, the story doesn't really go anywhere, and it wastes a huge opportunity with the Lee Marvin character (well most of the characters I guess). None of them are really developed or interesting, which is a shame because these kinds of 70s exploitation thrillers can be a lot of fun when they have strong characters (see: Rolling Thunder). I wouldn't begrudge anyone enjoying it but I found it pretty weird and boring, and it seems to really hate Texans. 5/10