2024 MOVIES DISCUSSION THREAD

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today....

Hold Your Man (Criterion Channel, leaving 11/30) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

Movie is a tad disjointed with it changing the story mid-movie. The first 45 minutes or so had Clark Gable as Eddie (in a pre-George Clooney mode) and Jean Harlow as Ruby (in a pre-Julia Roberts mode) trying to enact schemes to make money. Ruby lets on a guy named Al Simpson (even back then 'simp' was used) played by Stuart Erwin who got done dirty. The tone in those sections are light and comedic; there were quite a few great scenes like the opening scene where the camera pans to the feet walking on the sidewalk (something Hitchcock does later) and Eddie begins his scheme with a knockoff ring.

The last hour or so pre-dates Girl, Interrupted with showing a woman in a women's only penitentiary. I did like a few of the scenes in that section where Ruby is walking into the kitchen with a nice wide angle shot. The cinematography in the back half of the movie was great and atmospheric. I wasn't quite a fan of the movie introducing a socialist woman and a black woman and implying that they were in for things they believe or a man deciding for them to be in. Theresa Harris honestly is better looking than Jean Harlow, but that's Hollywood in the 1930s for you.

Still, Hold Your Man isn't a bad watch if you don't mind the tonal shifts.

Light Sleeper (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 4.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Tremendous character study of Willem DaFoe as John LeTour. The story of the movie is a character wondering if he can achieve redemption; John LeTour as he progresses through the movie is trying to make it up to people he cares about - his ex-wife Marianne Jost (Dana Delany) and his drug supplier Ann (Susan Sarandon).

Great cinematography throughout the movie - I especially love one shot that has DaFoe and Delany facing the camera with a giant column between them in the shot. It's as if the characters have a lot dividing them that's insurmontable.

Even though the movie was set during a sanitation strike, the garbage surrounding the cities symbolizes the garbage surrounding John's life. He can't help but move through the streets and stepping in the garbage. I loved the scenes later as he throws his ring then his diary out the window.

The drawback for me is the music - Michael Been is a good guy but the songs are borderline Skinemax fare. They add to the mood/tone of the movie, but some of the songs aren't that good.

In a lot of ways, the movie really doesn't have a lot story wise - it's simply the character moving through the world and there isn't an overwhelming arc. But the performances involved and especially with DaFoe and Sarandon make up for it.

I did dig the cameo from David Spade as a philosophical drug user.

Light Sleeper isn't one to sleep on.

Affliction (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 4.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is another character in the long-line of damaged American male protagonists that Paul Schrader has spent a career crafting. He's in the same place as Travis Bickle, John LeTour, Smokey James, Julian Kay, and Jake Van Dorn. The way the movie is constructed has you thinking this is a 'frozen noir' like Fargo. It's almost disappointing that Wade never actually 'investigates' anything regarding the hunting accident of a Massachusetts politician Evan Twombley (Sean McCann); in fact, the movie doesn't even reveal who killed him or if it were an accident or not. The fact is the movie is actually an examination of Wade Whitehouse as a character.

Within Wade's life is Glen Whitehouse (James Coburn)'s father. This is probably one of the best castings I've seen - Coburn and Nolte really do look (and act) like they are related. Some of Wade's mannerisms you can see in Glen and vice versa.

An interesting dichotomy is with Rolfe Whitehouse (Willem DaFoe) and Wade Whitehouse. Rolfe has all but rejected both his father and Wade's approach and behavior. Throughout the movie, Rolfe recounts how Wade calls him rather than he calling Wade. He does the voiceover in the final scenes as he tells about Wade murdering someone and leaving town and how Rolfe has rejected the notion that violence is useful in solving problems. DaFoe has less screen time compared to Nolte and Coburn, but his character is going through a similar process as Nolte's character. He encouraged Wade at first to pursue this 'alternative theory' regarding the accident, only for him to note at the end that he was wrong.

I love the usage of various film types through the movie - the 16mm film stock used for Wade's memories from his childhood (and at the ending scene) and the black and white film used for scenes where Wade is imaging scenarios such as Twombley's death and Gordon LaRiviere meeting over the murder.

There's a lot of scenes I liked in the present day as well - Schrader has a great mix of medium close up shots (the shot of Glen's body burning is a great shot) as well usage of shot reverse shot throughout the movie. I really love the early scenes where the camera is following behind Jack and Twombley as they are going hunting. I didn't like as much the chase scene where Wade was going after Jack (Jim True-Frost) in a truck; the camerawork in those scenes weren't as good as they should be.

Despite the rather slow pace, Affliction is an absorbing mediation on men and their fathers in America.

The Canyons (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 1/5 star

Spoiler

What do you get when you get Patrick Bateman from American Psycho except he had a brain injury and can't really fucking act? You get James Deen in The Canyons.

Lindsay Lohan really tried in this movie but can't save this. For every great scene with her (the opening scene at the dinner with the four main characters, her pouring her heart out to Nolan Funk's character Ryan about how 'she can't go back to $8 an hour'), there's countless scenes of Deen looking bored/disinterested and we're supposed to presume that's 'acting.' There's reason why we haven't seen James Deen in other movies besides "James Deen Loves Butts 8" because he doesn't know how to act.

The whole time I watched this, I thought "I don't care about any of these people and they seem to not be real people." Every other movie I've seen recently has had actors attempt to build a character. The characters in this....it's like they all have had brain injuries and aren't thinking clearly. Bret Easton Ellis pretty much has the market on toxic men being toxic men and 'dudebros' online finding that it 'resonates' with them. High school / early college me would have maybe liked this. "Oh wow, Lindsay Lohan got naked!" I mean, yeah it's great that Lindsay Lohan got naked, but there has to be more to a movie than that. Sure, she dressed hot and talked to people, but I find it hard to believe anyone would think she would be great in this.

I also find it incredibly hard to believe that Christian (James Deen) would have been able to get away with murdering the yoga instructor he slept with. Normal police detectives would have interviewed him, noticed his Zoolander model mouth pose and dead-end emotionless stare, and gone 'yup, this guy murdered her' faster than you can say "his new cellmate is a 500 lb guy named Tiny." The entire time I wondered, "how many other dead people are there that we don't know about?"

Paul Schrader really tried as a director. He did Touch, which was pretty bad, but it's a masterpiece compared to this. There were lots of scenes of people walking to places and the camera follows them. Probably because if they had to learn lines, they would melt down. The cinematography was okay I guess - you really can't screw up shots of LA. The various shots of empty, dead movie theaters is a sad indication of what Hollywood is becoming - brain idled movies like this.

Still, what saves this from being 1/2 a star is Lindsay Lohan's scenes where she actually acts and Nolan Funk going to Amoeba Music. Where you see cases for better movies that you aren't watching right now because you're watching this movie.

 

[The Natural]

4 hours ago, Travis Sheldon said:

Nightcrawler didn't go BAMF one time in that gawdam film.

I needed that this morning. Cheers!

[Technico Support]

The only thing I know about Light Sleeper is that I've seen it's trailer A LOT, as it was on before the feature presentation on my Reservoir Dogs VHS tape.

[J.H.]

Dinner Rush - I like it when I stumble across a small movie I've never heard of with a cast of solid actors. This one is led by the late, great Danny Aiello as Louis Cropa, a bookie/restauranteur who has to deal with his chef son Udo (Eduardo Ballerini) trying to make their restaurant more modern in terms of cuisine. Louis wants the restaurant to more traditional Italian fare for which he relies on the sous chef Duncan (Kirk Acevedo) to make for him.

The movie revolves around the pressure everyone deals with during a dinner service as everyone else's issues and personal drama gets interwoven to it. Louis is dealing with a local mobster who wants to buy into the restaurant, Duncan's spiraling gambling debts and the rest of the staff's problems.

This is a nice little movie. It's not really a drama but certainly not a comedy. It's just a real cozy kind of movie with the kind of story (or in this case stories) you expect in a movie about an Italian restaurant in Manhattan. You even get a nice appearance of Sandra Bernhard as a celebrity food critic.

There is nothing negative I want to say about this movie. It's on Prime for free and I think it's worth a watch for all here and especially if you have a soft spot for Danny Aiello.

James

Edited November 6, 2024 by J.H.

[driver]

Watched Cast a Deadly Spell yesterday. Interesting mix of magic and film noir in late 40's Los Angeles. I liked it quite a bit. Fred Ward was great.

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today.

Mother (2009) (Peacock, leaving on 11/11) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

Excellently shot and darkly comedic movie from Bong Joon-ho. Kim Hye-ja as Mother and Won Bin as Yoon Do-joon are absolutely excellent - there's elements of Hitchcock's The Wrong Man and Richard Brooks' In Cold Blood in the movie and in the performances.

It's quite easy to have a character like Do-joon be thought of as marginalizing or trivializing the mentally deficient, but Won Bin is able to portray the character as a person. He just had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Even when his character is exonerated later in the movie, you aren't sure that he didn't actually murder the girl Moon Ah-jung (Moon Hee-ra).

Kim Hye-ja as Mother delves into a full spectrum of emotion with her character, although it seemed oftentimes she is facing desperation. Roger Ebert in his review comparing a remake of this movie thought that Helen Mirren was a likely counterpoint to Kim Hye-ja for the role. In a lot of ways, Hye-ja does have elements of Mirren's acting in her performance, but is also uniquely authentic to her country.

One of the themes of the movie is memory. Do-joon is shown a few times massaging his temples to trigger memories and Mother mentions an acupuncture technique to forget memories (which she does in the ending scenes). A few scenes - including the junk collector re-telling what he saw the night of the murder and one of the classmates recounting the conversation with Ah-jung - play into memories in an almost Hitchcockian way. At the end, Mother chooses to forget rather than to remember what happened as she dances away on a bus for a trip.

There were a few issues such as how did Mother get the money to pay Jin-tae (Jin Goo) to beat up the two classmates of Ah-jung, but that's minor. Also, the movie somewhat presents the police and their investigation as the focal point of the movie, but drops it half-way through.

Mother with great performances and great cinematography is a great movie from Bong Joon-ho.

The Sea of Trees (Max, leaving on 11/30) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

Matthew McConaughey essentially taps back into his character from Interstellar as Arthur Brennan; his character meets Takumi Nakamura played by Ken Watanabe.

Spirits and ghosts and past memories of a person are frequently mentioned throughout this movie. It's possible that Takumi Nakamura was never there and is functioning as a spirit that Brennan talks to on the way through the forest. McConaughey's scenes with Watanabe commiserating over his wife Joan Brennan played by Naomi Watts calls to mind another Gus Van Sant movie: Good Will Hunting.

For example what I liked with The Sea of Trees: "I got a package of tea for [my wife]. As it would get low, I would replace it so she wouldn't think she would need to get a package of tea. And so she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of thanking me." "You didn't like the job." "I didn't hate it." "It was comfortable. Like that jacket." It felt like conversations had with actual people rather than saccharine dialogue. Seeing Matthew McConaughey crying hurts, just as much as it did in Interstellar.

The music and cinematography throughout the movie is really excellent and really builds up on the mood of grief, longing, despair, and sadness. I love the shots as the characters go through the forest and some of the more unusual camerawork like from inside a spool of thread.

I'm not quite sure I understand why the critics at Cannes booed this movie; it almost makes me wonder if critics attending Cannes have forgotten to meet a movie on its terms or its creator's terms. It was having to compete with the much superior Carol and the rather strange The Lobster.

Even then, The Sea of Trees is highly underrated.

Godzilla Minus One Minus Color (saw in the theater) - 5/5 stars

Spoiler

"For an entire generation, people have experience Godzilla the only way it's been possible: on the TV screen. But if you've only seen it this way, you haven't seen it at all."

Positively glorious in black and white. This movie is literally Jaws (even with a Richard Dreyfuss like Hidetaka Yoshioka as Dr. Noda). So much of this movie is so brilliantly shot and staging/blocking so expertly done - Takashi Yamazaki has a real eye for the "Spielberg face" in quite a few of his close-ups. I love the shot of Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki) as he watches Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) flying away. There's even the "meeting scene in a classroom" from Jaws as Dr. Noda explains the plan to sink Godzilla - another scene that's positively Spielbergian as the guys in the room agree to stick with the plan. I loved the technical deep dive that was shown prior to the movie starting where it broke down how scenes were filmed - like people running from Godzilla in Goichi were in a parking lot and the camera dolly lifted up and down to stimulate a ship rocking back and forth.

For the most part with the movie, the black and white film stock really makes the relationship between Koichi and Noriko (Minami Hamabe) stand out as they develop feelings for each other. The way Noriko cares for Akiko and for Koichi reminds me a bit of Shohei Iwamura's Black Rain, which is also about people finding each other after the atomic bomb was dropped over Japan. (Although thankfully no one suffered effects from radiation and had cancer/hair falling out like what happened in Black Rain). In a lot of ways, Godzilla Minus One, Oppenheimer, and Black Rain are telling three different perspectives on the United States' usage of atomic bomb on Japan.

Godzilla Minus One is an unabashed classic in the last several years. I'll be there day 1 for the next one.

 

Edited November 7, 2024 by Andrew POE!

[odessasteps]

Was that the version of Minus One with the extra footage? 

 

Quote

Although thankfully no one suffered effects from radiation and had cancer/hair falling out like what happened in Black Rain

Well, there are people who think the black mark on her neck when she is in the hospital at the end think it’s a clue for what may happen in the sequel, if it’s a radiation mark or mutation. 

Edited November 7, 2024 by odessasteps

[Andrew POE!]

7 hours ago, odessasteps said:

Was that the version of Minus One with the extra footage? 

 

Well, there are people who think the black mark on her neck when she is in the hospital at the end think it’s a clue for what may happen in the sequel, if it’s a radiation mark or mutation. 

It had extra footage at the start and at the end. I was ready to drop so I left during the credits.

It's possible with the black mark on the neck will lead to something in the sequel.

[Raziel]

MAX has both versions up and I only watched the Color one.  I've been meaning to watch the B&W so I'll get around to it.

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today....

Clara Sola (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 4/5 stars

Spoiler

Sadly beautiful film about what repression of a self can do to a person. Wendy Chinchilla Araya plays Clara, a woman who is built up as being mythical and separate from the rest of the world by her mother Fresia (Flor María Vargas Chavez).

A telling scene to the relationship is when given an opportunity to correct a spinal condition, Clara's mother refused even when it's covered by insurance. Religion and maintaining a ritual is more important for her mother than Clara's own happiness. People visit Clara with the idea that somehow her 'prayer' over them will improve their situation; what I loved about the scenes with that is the focus on Clara's eyes. It's almost as if she doesn't want to do it and wants to run away or is looking for an exit.

With the movie being set in Costa Rica, a lot of the scenes are of jungle and the quaint house that Clara lives in. I found it interesting that Clara would count cars and buildings in an effort to keep herself sane. A lot of time in the movie, Clara tries to push back against what her mother would decide she needs to be. She's treated like a child, even though she's a 40 year old woman. What makes it sad is her having over half a lifetime spent without her falling in love or getting married like other women. Instead, her mother views her condition as 'of God' rather even asking Clara what she wants out of her life. Oftentimes, Clara is shown trying to escape her mother as she's been lead from one place to another. The arrival of Santiago (Daniel Castañeda Rincón) propels the greatest change in Clara and the maturity of herself. This is even after Clara catches Santiago and her niece Maria (Ana Julia Porras Espinoza) together. Santiago represents a life that's long been denied Clara and she also has denied herself.

What I found interesting is Clara's focus on a bug that she caught on Santiago's shirt and her white mare Yuca. Animals have a greater freedom than humans can imagine. "I can heal the human animal in you" Clara tells Santiago in one scene as she touches his collarbone. Clara watches as the bug is thought to be dead only to be breathed back into life and flies away. Yuca is released and at a party Clara is told she is dead. Clara sees Yuca at the end of the movie - where both she and the mare are free.

The scene at Maria's quinceañera is almost Carrie-like. I love the shots of Clara in those scenes - when the scene starts, we see Clara sitting at the center of a table, eating corn, with stars in the background over her head. Even there, she's made to feel separate and alone. She goes to put on lipstick which her mother wipes off. Clara awkwardly tries to dance with Santiago only for Maria to steal him away of course. She talks to a guy who tells her about Yuca's possible death. Clara reacts violently to the news and the tension builds up as Clara pushes away her mother and Santiago. Then an earthquake occurs, almost at the direction of Clara.

The movie at times is a bit slow and I will admit I had watched this over two separate days (plus with sleep deprivation), so maybe it's 'slowness' isn't really an issue.

Marx Can Wait (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

Rather sad but a bit long documentary that's mainly interviews with the director's extended family about his brother Camilo. I found myself not really able to maintain interest at times with the documentary even with the subject matter. Really beautiful cinematography though. I'll have to check out the director's other movies that were shown as clips in this.

Delta Space Mission (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

Has elements of Phillips CD-i Mario/Zelda animation, Hanna Barbara cartoons plus Space Adventure Cobra and Heavy Metal thrown in. Rather low budget but really effective use of animation for its scenes; movie at times had repeated animations, but I can't fault it for that.

The story is a nice sci-fi fare although the characters at the start of the movie play no part in the rest of the movie.

It did get a bit repetitive towards the middle of the movie as Tin jumped around on the planet to avoid monsters and destroy robots.

I see where the people who created No Man's Sky got the name of their game.

Anora (saw in the theaters) - 5/5 stars

Spoiler

America as a country just had a wedding that it wishes it could annul. After a day long bender, we elected a man with dubious ties to Russia, dubious wealth, and dubious promises once again. We will be joined to the hip to this man, until death does us part.

At the time this movie was made, Sean Baker created a movie as we were coming out of the most recent marriage. Yeah, the marriage partner was prone to spouting gibberish and depicting himself as a tottering grandfather, but it wasn't going to last. It was coming to an end and someone new was needed as a marriage partner. Anora as a movie depicts a character living in a world that looks no different than ours. The broken promises of the dubious man as she gets told that she will be rich, live in a nice house, and have an expensive car is different than the reality she experiences. She lives in a house that's next to a NYC subway train passing overhead.

She has a day-to-day life as a stripper because she has to - but she sees it as no big deal. She talks with her co-workers about gross habits of men she has to entertain. "If he comes out of the bathroom with his pants still unzipped, how am I to trust him?" Mikey Madison plays Anora as having spunk and being almost like Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny - she's a New Yawk girl, has secret knowledge (she knows Russian!) and is smarter than she looks.

She meets Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) who is looking for a stripper that speaks Russian. Ivan is almost as off the wall with his command of English as Borat was. The first hour or so as Ivan and Anora party, have sex, drink, do drugs, Anora dancing on him, going to Vegas to get married is pure euphoria filmmaking. It goes fast because their lives are fast. As a viewer, you want to be drawn to this world and wish this was your life. It's almost the equivalent of an hour of the intro to Far Cry 3 on film.

I loved the callback to Baker's earlier movie The Florida Project with Anora's conversation about wanting to spend her honeymoon in Disney World.

Where the shit hits the fan is when Anora meets Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnick (a very funny Vache Tovmasyan) who are supposed to get Ivan and Anora to annul their marriage. They call Tolos (Karren Karagulian) who leaves a christening to go to Ivan's house to arrange for the annulment. In darkly comic fashion, Anora is tied up, has a scarf put into her mouth, and Garnick slips on ice trying to catch Ivan. The film spends the bulk of its runtime in a Luis Bunuel-esque chase to find Ivan at various businesses and locations in New York City. The Escalade almost gets towed, they have to walk near the beach for what's longer than five miles, they ask people if they've seen Ivan, they smash up a candy store (with a hilarious "What the hell happened?" before the scene change), and they end up (almost predictably) at the strip club Anora works. They go to a courthouse and it turns out....they can't get an annulment in New York.

Anora meets Ivan's parents, who don't even regard her as a person, much less a willing participant in the marriage to their son. Igor at that point begins to develop an understanding of Anora. Anora does as well. It's in the small moments. Igor puts a blanket over Anora on the flight back to NYC. He shares a cigarette with her after lighting two. Anora doesn't like Igor at all; but they have a connection on a human level. Anora and Ivan to be honest never develop a deep connection on that level; Ivan is pretty much a 15 minute chump with Anora and plays video games with her on his lap. Anora has to teach him how to have sex essentially. As we find out in the movie, Ivan's room has rockets and childish things because mentally he is still a kid. Igor is different and laments his 30th birthday.

The final scenes is similar to Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger's sex scenes in 9 1/2 Weeks. The ending was a lot more sad than I thought it would be. Anora and Igor have sex in Igor's car (that's his grandmother's). "It fits you," Anora says. Anora breaks down and cries, with her head in Igor's arms. It finally hits her that the marriage is over. The annulment has happened. Anora has to go back to the house with a subway train running over it.

The New York City we see is the same NYC in Midnight Cowboy and Taxi Driver; it doesn't feel like today, it feels like the city from those classics due to the wonderful cinematography. I loved quite a few of the shots in the movie; the usage of lens flare as people get into vehicles and out of vehicles is great. The opening scene as the camera scans over the strippers servicing clients is a nice dolly shot as well with the '70s filmmaking titles appearing once the camera lands on Anora. I loved how the camera was mounted to cars quite a few times in the movie - one notable time as Garnick and Igor are driving to Ivan's house. The quick cuts in the NYC courthouse and in the marriage office in Las Vegas were noteworthy. I especially love one of the penultimate shots as Anora stands at the windows watching snow falling.

Anora is purely essential filmmaking.

 

[zendragon]

Finally got around to watching The Killer as well tonight, Directed by David Fincher and staring Micheal Fassbender score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch. Enjoyable slow burn that reminded me of The American and The Conversation 

[HarryArchieGus]

9 hours ago, Andrew POE! said:

Anora (saw in the theaters) - 5/5 stars

  Reveal hidden contents

America as a country just had a wedding that it wishes it could annul. After a day long bender, we elected a man with dubious ties to Russia, dubious wealth, and dubious promises once again. We will be joined to the hip to this man, until death does us part.

At the time this movie was made, Sean Baker created a movie as we were coming out of the most recent marriage. Yeah, the marriage partner was prone to spouting gibberish and depicting himself as a tottering grandfather, but it wasn't going to last. It was coming to an end and someone new was needed as a marriage partner. Anora as a movie depicts a character living in a world that looks no different than ours. The broken promises of the dubious man as she gets told that she will be rich, live in a nice house, and have an expensive car is different than the reality she experiences. She lives in a house that's next to a NYC subway train passing overhead.

She has a day-to-day life as a stripper because she has to - but she sees it as no big deal. She talks with her co-workers about gross habits of men she has to entertain. "If he comes out of the bathroom with his pants still unzipped, how am I to trust him?" Mikey Madison plays Anora as having spunk and being almost like Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny - she's a New Yawk girl, has secret knowledge (she knows Russian!) and is smarter than she looks.

She meets Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) who is looking for a stripper that speaks Russian. Ivan is almost as off the wall with his command of English as Borat was. The first hour or so as Ivan and Anora party, have sex, drink, do drugs, Anora dancing on him, going to Vegas to get married is pure euphoria filmmaking. It goes fast because their lives are fast. As a viewer, you want to be drawn to this world and wish this was your life. It's almost the equivalent of an hour of the intro to Far Cry 3 on film.

I loved the callback to Baker's earlier movie The Florida Project with Anora's conversation about wanting to spend her honeymoon in Disney World.

Where the shit hits the fan is when Anora meets Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnick (a very funny Vache Tovmasyan) who are supposed to get Ivan and Anora to annul their marriage. They call Tolos (Karren Karagulian) who leaves a christening to go to Ivan's house to arrange for the annulment. In darkly comic fashion, Anora is tied up, has a scarf put into her mouth, and Garnick slips on ice trying to catch Ivan. The film spends the bulk of its runtime in a Luis Bunuel-esque chase to find Ivan at various businesses and locations in New York City. The Escalade almost gets towed, they have to walk near the beach for what's longer than five miles, they ask people if they've seen Ivan, they smash up a candy store (with a hilarious "What the hell happened?" before the scene change), and they end up (almost predictably) at the strip club Anora works. They go to a courthouse and it turns out....they can't get an annulment in New York.

Anora meets Ivan's parents, who don't even regard her as a person, much less a willing participant in the marriage to their son. Igor at that point begins to develop an understanding of Anora. Anora does as well. It's in the small moments. Igor puts a blanket over Anora on the flight back to NYC. He shares a cigarette with her after lighting two. Anora doesn't like Igor at all; but they have a connection on a human level. Anora and Ivan to be honest never develop a deep connection on that level; Ivan is pretty much a 15 minute chump with Anora and plays video games with her on his lap. Anora has to teach him how to have sex essentially. As we find out in the movie, Ivan's room has rockets and childish things because mentally he is still a kid. Igor is different and laments his 30th birthday.

The final scenes is similar to Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger's sex scenes in 9 1/2 Weeks. The ending was a lot more sad than I thought it would be. Anora and Igor have sex in Igor's car (that's his grandmother's). "It fits you," Anora says. Anora breaks down and cries, with her head in Igor's arms. It finally hits her that the marriage is over. The annulment has happened. Anora has to go back to the house with a subway train running over it.

The New York City we see is the same NYC in Midnight Cowboy and Taxi Driver; it doesn't feel like today, it feels like the city from those classics due to the wonderful cinematography. I loved quite a few of the shots in the movie; the usage of lens flare as people get into vehicles and out of vehicles is great. The opening scene as the camera scans over the strippers servicing clients is a nice dolly shot as well with the '70s filmmaking titles appearing once the camera lands on Anora. I loved how the camera was mounted to cars quite a few times in the movie - one notable time as Garnick and Igor are driving to Ivan's house. The quick cuts in the NYC courthouse and in the marriage office in Las Vegas were noteworthy. I especially love one of the penultimate shots as Anora stands at the windows watching snow falling.

Anora is purely essential filmmaking.

 

7 stars. Yeah, Baker exceeded my lofty expectations. I was not expecting the hilarity. Mickey Madison was sensational. I expect her career to sky rocket. I hope everybody sees this film and all of Sean Baker's thoughtful, kind, funny, conscientious films.

I also saw Conclave. Edward Berger delivered a tight well made film. Great performances as expected. I'm wrestling with whether or not I was fully with the story and some of the more idealistic choices, but the middle age and senior audience I saw it with ate it up entirely, no questions asked. Maybe film is exactly where these choices should live. I don't at all mind wrestling with my feelings about a film. Curious about Berger's first two - Jack and All My Loving. I was a big fan of his All Quiet on the Western Front. 

Edited November 8, 2024 by HarryArchieGus

[Andrew POE!]

9 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said:

7 stars. Yeah, Baker exceeded my lofty expectations. I was not expecting the hilarity. Mickey Madison was sensational. I expect her career to sky rocket. I hope everybody sees this film and all of Sean Baker's thoughtful, kind, funny, conscientious films.

I also saw Conclave. Edward Berger delivered a tight well made film. Great performances as expected. I'm wrestling with whether or not I was fully with the story and some of the more idealistic choices, but the middle age and senior audience I saw it with ate it up entirely, no questions asked. Maybe film is exactly where these choices should live. I don't at all mind wrestling with my feelings about a film. Curious about Berger's first two - Jack and All My Loving. I was a big fan of his All Quiet on the Western Front. 

Yeah, I have Anora and Conclave as my #1 and #2 films of this year with The Wild Robot at #3 and The Substance at #4. I'll be seeing Memoir of a Snail tonight and Small Things Like These over the weekend so it may change.

I was actually stone faced during Anora and didn't laugh as much as some of the people at the showing I went to. Some people were laughing during the scenes where the guys invaded Ivan's/parents' house; it was probably a bit too uncomfortable for me to do so. The girl I sat next to during the showing and I agreed that the movie wasn't really funny, but more darkly comic due to the situations. (Oh and I got her excited to see Queer, Babygirl and The Brutalist so yay!)

[Curt McGirt]

EDIT: Nevermind, got a plot point completely wrong

Okay, here's something. Go read the on-set reporting on The Canyons from I believe The Guardian. The story is just insane. Schrader threatens to get nude himself at one point. (And if you wanna see Lohan naked, and with her mom!, there was always the pool scene in the OG Grindhouse Machete trailer. They might've cut it out though. I think they even kissed which is pretty... gross, really.)

Also worth looking up are the details behind The Lighthouse. There was a Facebook post that got into some of it the other day and it is equally nuts.

 

Edited November 8, 2024 by Curt McGirt

[HarryArchieGus]

6 hours ago, Andrew POE! said:

Yeah, I have Anora and Conclave as my #1 and #2 films of this year with The Wild Robot at #3 and The Substance at #4. I'll be seeing Memoir of a Snail tonight and Small Things Like These over the weekend so it may change.

I was actually stone faced during Anora and didn't laugh as much as some of the people at the showing I went to. Some people were laughing during the scenes where the guys invaded Ivan's/parents' house; it was probably a bit too uncomfortable for me to do so. The girl I sat next to during the showing and I agreed that the movie wasn't really funny, but more darkly comic due to the situations. (Oh and I got her excited to see Queer, Babygirl and The Brutalist so yay!)

I know I reported back on the film mentioning the humour, but it's not a movie I'd recommend to somebody wanting a laugh by any means. I just really liked how he weaved slapstick humour into this very real situation. 

My favorites of the year, that I can recall, are: Anora, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, About Dry Grasses, Perfect Days, Substance, The Apprentice, Challengers, Rumours, Kinds of Kindness, and I'm probably forgetting at least two movies. Poe, did you see the British comedy Kneecap or Victor Erice's longstanding return Close Your Eyes? There's still a few movies I'm hoping to see of the bunch that are already out there with new offerings on the way from Leigh, Almodovar, and Robert Eggers. It's a great time to be a film fan.

3 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

EDIT: Nevermind, got a plot point completely wrong

Okay, here's something. Go read the on-set reporting on The Canyons from I believe The Guardian. The story is just insane. Schrader threatens to get nude himself at one point. (And if you wanna see Lohan naked, and with her mom!, there was always the pool scene in the OG Grindhouse Machete trailer. They might've cut it out though. I think they even kissed which is pretty... gross, really.)

Also worth looking up are the details behind The Lighthouse. There was a Facebook post that got into some of it the other day and it is equally nuts.

I'm pretty certain Schrader is documented as having directed a portion of that film nude. I believe it was an NYT article. Might even be a two parter. Yeah, it's one of the best 'on set' articles I've ever read. It's reminding me of another totally different take - David Foster Wallce on the set of David Lynch's Lost Highway. I'm gonna try and take on the Canyons this month. I love Schrader, but he's totally hit and miss. I know what I'm in for. I've seen some pretty rotten scenes from the movie, but in fairness, completely out of context. I wanna know more about the Lighthouse article. How do I access that info Curt?

[Zimbra]

4 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

EDIT: Nevermind, got a plot point completely wrong

Okay, here's something. Go read the on-set reporting on The Canyons from I believe The Guardian. The story is just insane. Schrader threatens to get nude himself at one point. (And if you wanna see Lohan naked, and with her mom!, there was always the pool scene in the OG Grindhouse Machete trailer. They might've cut it out though. I think they even kissed which is pretty... gross, really.)

Also worth looking up are the details behind The Lighthouse. There was a Facebook post that got into some of it the other day and it is equally nuts.

 

Canyons article was in the NYT, which I still remember 11 years later because of how bats it is: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/magazine/here-is-what-happens-when-you-cast-lindsay-lohan-in-your-movie.html

[Andrew POE!]

2 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said:

I know I reported back on the film mentioning the humour, but it's not a movie I'd recommend to somebody wanting a laugh by any means. I just really liked how he weaved slapstick humour into this very real situation. 

My favorites of the year, that I can recall, are: Anora, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, About Dry Grasses, Perfect Days, Substance, The Apprentice, Challengers, Rumours, Kinds of Kindness, and I'm probably forgetting at least two movies. Poe, did you see the British comedy Kneecap or Victor Erice's longstanding return Close Your Eyes? There's still a few movies I'm hoping to see of the bunch that are already out there with new offerings on the way from Leigh, Almodovar, and Robert Eggers. It's a great time to be a film fan.

 

Do Not Expect Too Much....I keep meaning to watch but never find the time. Same with About Dry Grasses (both are on Criterion Channel and Mubi respectively). I saw Kneecap and wasn't too enthused about it sadly. I can't seem to find Close Your Eyes playing anywhere - same with Eureka and I'm Still Here.

I'm excited to see the new stuff from Leigh/Almodovar/Robert Eggers. La Cocina is playing in South Atlanta this weekend so I'll be seeing that too.

[Curt McGirt]

Here's the Lighthouse dealio

Quote

Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson stated that they barely spoke a word to each other on set of "The Lighthouse" (2019), and were too exhausted to hang out together after a day of shooting because filming was so physically demanding due to the miserable weather conditions. While Pattinson stayed at a normal hotel with the rest of the film crew during the shoot, Dafoe lived in a little fisherman's cottage in solitude. On set, on the other hand, Pattinson would tend to eat and stay by himself during filming breaks, while Dafoe stayed with the crew. Both stated that they liked each other very much as soon as they had their first real conversation a few months later.

Pattinson's accent is based on a very specific area of Maine farming dialect, while Dafoe's is the jargon of Atlantic fishermen and sailors of the time. Director/writer Robert Eggers was very precise about the actor's accents and line delivery. He would, for example, give instructions to "say the second sentence of your third line 75% faster."

The cast and crew filmed under extreme weather conditions: freezing temperatures, cold Atlantic water, intense winds, snow, rain and no protective flora on the Forchu terrain kept them exposed to the elements throughout the shoot. Three Nor'easters blew across Cape Forchu during various stages of the production. Much of the film was shot in real weather elements, so rain and wind machines weren't needed most of the time, with director Robert Eggers stating that "the most crazy and dramatic stuff was shot for real." The crew had to film the scene where Pattinson's character goes into the sea at night when the weather settled down, because they were afraid they might lose him to a riptide.

Pattinson had an unusual approach to psych himself up before emotionally extreme scenes. Eggers states, "Sometimes he'd beat himself in the face so bad. Or when it was raining through the cottage roof, Rob was drinking the rainwater in-between takes. He also spun around in circles a lot, that was helpful for him. Or he'd stick his fingers down his throat to make himself gag, stuff like that." Particular the scene where both characters are drunk and Dafoe lies on Pattinson's chest, he "was sticking his fingers down his throat (before the take). Willem gave me a look as if to say, 'If Rob f*****g pukes on me...'"

Pattinson's and Dafoe's facial hair was all real. However, Pattinson had to dye his mustache dark because he's naturally dark blonde. (IMDb)

Happy Birthday, Robert Pattinson!

 

[Andrew POE!]

Movies today....

End of the Century (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 3.5/5 stars

Spoiler

Beautiful cinematography in Barcelona and a surprisingly efficient low-budget movie. Juan Barberini as Ocho is essentially a man stuck in time as he recalls meeting Javi played by Ramon Pujol.

The movie at times is almost unclear as to when time changes occur but the fact that Ocho and Javi don't really change outwardly means it's of the moment rather than showing a past, a present, or a future.

Ocho runs into Javi as if it's the first time then recalls meeting him with Javi's girlfriend Sonia (Mia Maestro). We go back to the time when he was sick and thought he was dying then forward to the time where Ocho and Javi are together with an impossibly cute child.

Some of the scenes on a balcony where Ocho and Javi share a drink reminded me of Goran Stolveski's Of An Age. I loved a lot of the long shots at the start of the movie where Ocho is walking through Barcelona and later when he goes to a park; it calls to mind the quote that appears on screen in the movie "If I could figure out a way to remain forever in transition, in the disconnected and unfamiliar, I could remain in a state of perpetual freedom." (another review had cited this quote as well, so apologies)

I especially love the way the dance scene was shot as a handheld camera captured both Ocho and Javi dancing around each other and finally kissing each other. It was a release of pure emotion and happiness for them.

You And Me (Criterion Channel, leaving on 11/30) - 3/5 stars

Spoiler

A standard Hollywood narrative that has an inventive,experimental edge to it - quite a few of the scene setups showed up in later modern movies. I especially like the intro scene where cash registers, jewelry, etc are shown as a person sings about needing money to buy those things. A backroom scene where it flashes back to prison and a lone shadow at prison bars; the person escapes and you see the empty window bars then hear the gutshots when the person is killed. One of the scenes toward the end as characters silently ask where someone is at various locations. Directors learn those tricks from this movie.

As for the story, eh. If the movie wasn't so inventive, I would have rated it lowered. The premise is rather interesting as two ex-convicts Helen (Sylvia Sidney) and Joe (George Raft) keep secrets from each other until they both find out the truth about their status as convicts. I was hoping for a more biting satire and commentary about capitalism but it seems to extol the virtues of capitalism (some Frank Capra crap there).

I can see The Coen Brothers doing a remake of this and really saying something.

Memoir of a Snail (saw at theaters) - 5/5 stars

Spoiler

"My body is a cage
That keeps me from dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key" - Arcade Fire, "My Body Is A Cage"

An absolute wonder of a movie. The movie is completely pitch dark as an animated movie (with charcoal black coloring everywhere), but it is also ultimately uplifting and hopeful.

Sarah Snook voices Gracie Pudel as she recalls her life to a snail that she set free. Obviously, if she set free a dog or a cat, it would be a short movie. (And possibly a dog would mark its territory, wag its tail, and goes back to Gracie for lovies). Throughout the story of the movie is memories of her brother Gilbert (Kodi Smith-McPhee). Gracie's life isn't easy and faced with terrible hardships. It's almost Dickensian in the sense of what she encountered albeit rather twisted.

With this kind of story, I wondered if the movie was autobiographical or even semi-autobiographical for its creator Adam Elliot. The story details were too specific (which isn't a complaint) to be generic or to be a trope; in there I wonder if Elliot is revealing something about himself.

What I loved about this movie is it taps into Tim Burton's skewed suburbia that is often found in his movies and is reminiscent of animated movies Burton has been involved with (like The Corpse Bride and Nightmare Before Christmas). Albeit rather much more adult in nature (there are a lot of fucking nipples everywhere in this movie and they talk about swingers and nudist colony and the reveal about Ken keeping pictures of Gracie as well as other women is holy shit bonkers).

A prevalent theme in the movie is fire and ashes. Every character that Gracie has loved is reduced to ashes. Her father, Pinky and her brother (at least until the end). Her brother has a fascination with fire as well. The message from that is in order to rebuild, you have to burn down.

The other thing that I noticed is the hypocrisy of religion (which in today's times is pointed out but seemingly causes zero changes). Gilbert's adopted family has him participating in almost comical yet grotesque form of religion (where they sound like auctioneers as opposed to people speaking in tongues). Gilbert gets outed as homosexual after he and one of their sons kiss. (BTW, fuck conversion therapy and the people that want to 'pray away the gay.' Let people find their happiness and do what works for them. God really honestly doesn't care if someone is gay or not. If you like women and you're a man, great. If you like men and you're a man, great too. It's what makes you happy, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. End of rant.)

One major thing that struck me about this movie is the nature of collecting and hoarding items. "All the money that spent on buying those things could have been spent on buying a plane ticket to see Gilbert." For me personally, it caused me to reflect on my video game and movie collection. It seems that having a collection can function as a mask and as a safety net to protect someone. Gracie in this movie used her collection of snail memorabilia to protect her. "The only real friends I had were with you Sylvia." Going back to the earlier theme of fire and ashes, through the act of burning this collection does it allow Gracie to become free. "Your body is a cage that was open the whole time."

Throughout the movie, it is setup and structured as a traditionally filmed movie. I loved a lot of the usage of match cuts (especially towards the end). The movie was smart and efficient with its voice acting since it was using the voiceover narrator format - when it did have characters speak on screen, it worked really well and seemed realistic.

One of the complaints I do have is the dark subject matter does tend to be a bit weary at times. It's not quite as dark and depressing as traditional acting movies I've seen (Exhibiting Forgiveness had me crying even after the movie was finished for example). But the amount of levity was a bit few and far between.

Even then, Memoir of a Snail is a tremendous leap forward and I hope it gets nominated for Best Picture, not to mention Best Animated Feature.

Low Tide (Max, leaving on 11/30) - 2.5/5 stars

Spoiler

The movie felt like Kevin Williamson writing a version of The Treasure of Sierra Madre. The drawback is the characters involved weren't really individualistic and seemed to be culled from early 2000s WB TV shows and teenager movies of that time (got A Walk To Remember vibe from some of them). Red (Alex Neustaedter) is about the only one that really stands out and the others were just bland.

I can't complain for how the movie was shot and the usage of far wide angle shots on the pier and the actors standing at the stern of boats like idiots (it's goofy and funny to me when they do that). I really liked one scene that had a far wide angle shot, usage of ADR as two characters were standing on a beach, then cuts to Mary (Kristine Froseth) talking to the black haired guy (have no clue what his name was, see what I mean about bland and generic characters?).

A24 sometimes just has bland movies.

 

[zendragon]

Watched Conclave last night as a recovering Catholic (TM Stephanie Miller) these sorts of films fascinate me, I disagree that its a soap opera or overly self important or any of that. What it is , is a nice companion piece to Calvary a film that explores the ancient entity trying to find its place in the modern world.

as Tobias Forge said "The catholic church is both beautiful and terrifying like The Alien" best not get too close

[Curt McGirt]

You're really not gonna like watching the upcoming Small Things Like These then (about the Magdalene Laundries). Conclave is gonna come off like high comedy in comparison.

Edited November 9, 2024 by Curt McGirt

[zendragon]

Oh I'm very familiar with the Irish scandals as well as the American ones

[HarryArchieGus]

I've wrestled with whether or not the story of Conclave ends up being a bit too idealistic. Was it earned? Regardless, I really liked the performances and every production detail. Maybe Berger was attempting his very own Capra? I like that idea, and in comparison to the legendary auteur, I think the film was successful. 

 

[J.H.]

Lord, a Capra-esque movie about the modern Catholic church... It's A Wonderful Pope?

James

[Andrew POE!]

3 hours ago, J.H. said:

Lord, a Capra-esque movie about the modern Catholic church... It's A Wonderful Pope?

James

 Mr. Ratzinger Goes To Rome. You Can't Take It With You (wait, that's kinda/sorta about the modern Catholic Church). Why We Pray. I don't know, you got me.