What movies did you see last week? (4/2-4/8)

Screensaver? Game-dom's greatest invention, dude. Playing Journey's copycats: Rime, Abzu.... just makes it clear how superior and awesome Journey really is, though I guess when it comes down to it....it's simplicity at its finest.


Happiness - It just rules. Makes Magnolia look like the entry level fakeish Altman copycat it is. Just makes it obvious people don't know what a great movie is. 8.5/10

The Talented Mr. Ripley - I enjoy the tone of it a lot, it's a sunny European look and has a sense of being very fun and carefree. And it's so 90s, which as I've said a million times, is simply the best era to live in, grow up in, and go to the movies in. Though like all Minghella, it isn't quite great enough, but I can see that it was a fun, entertaining ensemble at the time. It's so interesting the career trajectories all of those actors took, and where they all came from. I bet Paltrow was the biggest name in Hollywood at the time, and Blanchett was new to the scene, Law couldn't have been that big, and Damon was rising but obviously thought of as differently than he is now, a mega-star. 7/10, maybe 7.5

Wiener-Dog .... 5/10

Two Mules for Sister Sara - So underrated. One of the less talked about films in the Eastwood collection. It's not exactly The Wild Bunch, but this makes for a great buddy western which the two characters play off well against each other. Even though the buddy-saboteur storyline is lazy and sucks itself dry at the end, it could've been a great film if that aspect would've worked. This may be the first time I've ever loved Shirley MacLaine in anything, and found her actually.... sexy, in an odd way. I thought she was decent but dragged down by Wilder cliches in The Apartment, absolutely dull in Irma La Douce, and preferred Winger in Terms of Endearment. But this might be the one that actually deserved a nomination. 7.5/10

Donnie Brasco - Very enjoyable gangster film. Pacino's most underrated performance, very lived in and method, moreso than his overrated self in Dog Day Afternoon.... I don't see what stands out about him there. Johnny Depp is far more interesting than usual when he plays a gangster. Still, Pacino was definitely king and this tells a very affecting story about gangster life, and one man slowly evolving into one. It adds even more foundation to the dominant gangster genre, and.... as if you need more evidence that they just don't make them like they used to anymore. 7.5/10

The Magdalene Sisters - Intense drama, maybe it eventually becomes predictable and ends up taking the biopic route, but it's a solid biopic and has a solid background and context. 7/10

Paterno - Nothing interesting here. But Pacino did a Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour here. I'd say he got down JoePa sharply, comparable to the sharpness Oldman portrayed Churchill with. 5/10

busy week

Desert Hearts (Deitch, 1985) - Really liked this one. A sensuous journey of self-discovery set in the wild and free Nevada country. Charbonneau is wonderful in a largely restrained role, but Audra Lindley as a selfish, lonely, small-minded ranch owner was the surprise standout. 8/10

The Dead Zone (Cronenberg, 1983) - This was such a frustrating watch. The movie is basically two movies sandwiched into one--a bizarre serial killer whodunit with a much-too-quick resolution in the first half, and a political thriller in the second half. I wish the movie had made up its mind about what it wanted to be, instead of bisecting itself into totally disparate halves. In either case, the two films within this film don't really work on their own anyway because they're stretched thin and underdeveloped. The worst offender is Martin Sheen as a charismatic, self-serving, fascistic politician (wonder if Trump watched this movie and thought Sheen was the hero) who lays on the camp so goddamn thick that it overwhelms the second half of the film. What his character lacks in depth, motivation, backstory, and development, Sheen makes up for with shallow affectations and meaningless bombast. It's a pathetically superficial characterization. 5/10

The Ninth Configuration (Blatty, 1980) - What the hell was this movie? I appreciate Blatty's left-field approach but the movie is so irredeemably weird and messy and 95% of the humor doesn't stick. And the scene with the biker gang in the bar...ugh. And Stacy Keach's performance...UGH 5/10

Sophie's Choice (Pakula, 1982) - Another reason why people who take Streep for granted are either blind, deaf, or really dumb. (still prefer Lange that year though). Kevin Kline also gives his best work here. 7.5/10

Sherrybaby (Collyer, 2006) - Would be entirely forgettable without Gyllenhaal's performance. Reminded me a lot of Rachel Getting Married, which is superior on every level, so I'd just recommend that instead. 6/10

Re-Animator (Gordon, 1985) - Not quite my cup of tea, but I have huge respect for what Gordon and co. did here. Now that I think of it, the movie is quite Cronenbergian with its weird amalgamation of dark humor and grotesque body horror. This movie was REALLY gory, and also really amusing because much of the violence of horror is punctuated by a deadpan Jeffrey Combs reminding us that this is all just self-aware nasty fun. Gordon walks that tightrope without stumbling once, and that's commendable. 7.5/10

Stand and Deliver (Menéndez, 1988) - Pretty generic, inspirational stuff, but the commentary hits home. How predictable that a class full of students with Spanish names from a poor neighborhood would be accused of cheating after doing well on an AP test. There's a great scene where Olmos confronts the school board investigators about their prejudice and their total inability to provide any proof or evidence for the allegation. This section (the last thirty minutes) was the best in the film, and I had more appreciation for the story upon learning that it all really happened. Olmos received an Oscar nomination for his performance but Lou Diamond Phillips was the standout for me. 7/10

To Live and Die in L.A. (Friedkin, 1985) - Seemed pretty badass when I watched it at 1AM (I had a craving), but I cooled slightly on it the next morning. There are too many plot threads left unresolved and a weird character shift in the closing scene that feels shoehorned in to make some kind of thematic point irregardless of how that character might've behaved in real life. Still, I appreciate the cynically nihilistic and desperate tone of the film. Friedkin laudably doesn't shy away from giving the characters their just deserts, which results in some absolutely shocking moments late in runtime. The car chase is a technical marvel, brimming with dramatic tension and disturbing revelations. It's wonderful how Friedkin uses action pieces to develop his stories. 8/10

I, Tonya - 7 / 10

The Hobbit: Battle of The Five Armies - 5 / 10

Bottle Rocket - 7.5 /

Paterno - ~7.5 out of 10, terrific and precise Pacino yet again for HBO, underrated Levinson, and a fine Riley Keough as well.

Cabin Fever - ~5.5-6/10 - Has its scary-dread moments, but not nearly enough and weird tonal shifts, forced humor