Young Frankenstein - 8/10 Surprised I had not seen this before considering the people behind it but a solid comedy that has plenty of gags peppered throughout that are held together by solid performances.
Elle was an interesting experience, a continuation of a lot of his themes from the past, but now outside of his traditional drama subversion. Having the main character work on video games is a sly critique of our idea that we can sit so close to violence while simultaneously claiming it has no affect on our belief system or morality. Verhoeven films have always muddled the definition of protagonist and antagonist, trusting viewers to decide for themselves, and here is no different; it takes the concept of revenge in the typical sense and adds a much more sinister and plotting element to her decision. At times, it can feel like a generic European arthouse film, but where you can most clearly see Verhoeven is its winking humor (a boss making an employee pull his pants off for punishment comes straight out of porn films). It is refreshing to see a film treat its audience like adults for a change.
Certain Women is a welcome return for Reichardt after Night Moves. Reichardt is one of the very few American directors willing to commit to slow cinema, and she is one of the few willing to set and settle the climax of the film in the audience recognition of what was not said rather than anything explosive or decisive. Much like Wendy and Lucy, the film is about the quiet reserve and inner strength of women, who are not given the cultural ability to lash out like a man, whether violent or verbal, without being labeled and judged. Their stories are decidedly low stakes, even a situation that would be the centerpiece for a heist film; this is because they have dealt with so much nonsense in their varying length of life that it has become just another in a long line of setbacks.
Just finished Frozen on TV again. God damn I love love love that movie! One of my favorite Disney movies ever which is saying something.
Wasn't aware of the lengths the NFL went to try to cover up the dangers of the game until I watched Concussion last night. I don't think I can watch football anymore.
The Martian - 6.5/10 This movie is way more lighthearted than I was expecting. It lacks genuine tension which is a shame because it has a solid premise. It was enjoyable but I have no interest in ever rewatching it.
Allied - 4.5/10 Just painfully boring almost throughout the entire runtime. Very predictable ending as well. There was one pretty good sequence towards the end involving a trip to occupied France but other than that I was unimpressed. Zemeckis has been so hit-or-miss over the last few years (I actually did enjoy The Walk last year, though, unnecessary as it was).
Fearless 10/10 I watch this movie at least 3 times a year. I'm a huge sucker when it comes to redemption stories that change the course of history....and Jet Li is BADASS throughout.
Watched Edward Scissorhands for the first time in years tonight. Jesus, what an unsettling movie. Everything about it is so intentionally off putting and it's great but there's nowhere to hide, you know? I'm not sure I'm as much of a Tim Burton fan as I thought I was in the grand scheme of things. Beetlejuice is sweet though
The Lobster - 8/10 Wasn't anticipating that I would like this all that much but despite a few gripes I have it was solid viewing.
Cheap Thrills - 7/10. Had a really good pace and managed to stay grounded. A lot of movies with a similar premise tend to get a little too caught up in themselves. That being said, I do wish the story took a bit few more turns. It felt like the whole thing was very much getting from point A to point B, and while it did that well, I think I would have liked to see point C, or at least a few detours. The Santa Clause - 6/10. I grew up with the second one, but this was my first time watching this one. I feel like the North Pole scenes that should have inspired wonder fell kind of short, but the concept was neat and there were a lot of nice 90s comedy family moments. I can imagine a lot of fans of this movie would have been pretty upset with what the sequel did, but I found that this was lacking the sense of fun that I would have liked it to have.
Uncle Nick was definitely interesting. Not as funny as I was expecting but I liked the way the story played out and appreciated the non drug references which tend to get thrown in just about every movie
Seeing Tarzan for the first time in ten years, I couldn't help but watch it through the lens of imperialism and race relations. I'm not really sure what conclusions I drew from watching it this way, though, because I was only half paying attention (I put it on while hanging out with friends). Now that I know who Minnie Driver is, I like Jane that much more. Also saw The Emperor's New Groove for the first time in ten years. The comedy is funny, like, really funny, but everything else is kind of just there, bare bones plot and character development with minimal poignancy needed to get the jokes across. Rogue One is better than The Force Awakens, but I like The Force Awakens more.
Sounder is a pretty wonderful movie. Inspirational and family-friendly movies that aren't cloying are a rarity.
Finishes off best picture, best actress and best adapted screenplay in '72, too, which is fun for my OCD