Andrew POE! Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Movies today....yay more work preventing me from watching 5 or 6 movies in one day. Desert Fury (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Movie is brimming with gay coupling for Eddie (John Hodiak) and Johnny (Wendell Corey) and the main character Paula (Lisabeth Scott) could be considered a queer mold for Todd Haynes' Carol. Paula is wrestling with loyalty to her mother Fritzi (Mary Astor) and with what she thinks is love for Eddie. Beautifully shot melodrama in the mold of Douglas Sirk. People slap each other through most of the movie until towards the end - which is a bonkers last 15 minutes of a movie. I loved the voiceover during the car chase scene. I'm Your Man (Hulu, leaving on 1/14) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler "If you want a partner, take my hand, or If you want to strike me down in anger Here I stand I'm your man" - Leonard Cohen, "I'm Your Man" I'm Your Man as a movie goes into a similar terrain as Her except a German gender flip. Alma (Maren Eggert) is a lonely woman who is in the market to have a companion who turns out to be an ageless robot Tom (Dan Stevens). Everything that goes wrong for this 'date' does. The robot gets stuck on a phrase and has to be carried out. As I watched this movie, I wondered if Alma really wanted to find a companion and if she wanted to find an outlet. Much of her life isn't that great - her father has a degenerative memory disease, her professional life is faltering, and her ex is having a child with his girlfriend. Tom finds out a bit more about Alma but Alma is completely resistant to opening up to him. She regards him as a computer or a tool than as a person. One scene towards the middle of the movie had an employee (Sandra Huller) asking for Alma to talk to Tom and ask him directly about how he feels. Alma addresses the employee as if she were a robot and the employee freezes up. I'm Your Man does bring up a lot about the nature of artificial intelligence in society and how robots can become humans, but it seems to focus most of its attention on Alma. The wider implications is only seen briefly. While focusing on a character's personal life can make it appear universal, in this it's just an average melodrama at times. I did like the scene where Alma realized that what she spent years working on was already done; the angst felt in that scene stuck with me. I'm Your Man may not be some people's movie. The Last Showgirl (saw at the theaters) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler With The Last Showgirl, it is actually almost helpful to have seen Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls. The Last Showgirl is the inverted mirror of Showgirls; except no one performing is trying to cut the legs out from the other performers. It's also even a parallel story to Nina Mineke's Queen of Diamonds where the mudane is on display amidst the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas. The mundane and the glamorous are hand in hand in The Last Showgirl. Pamela Anderson plays Shelly, who begins the movie much in the same way Mia Goth began in Maxxxine at an audition. Throughout the movie, it made me reflect on how small towns (like the one I grew up in) were manufacturing towns. Growing up, there were at least 3 or 4 textile plants that supplied jobs. As the jobs went, so did a lot of people's livelihood. The Last Showgirl sees something similar as Shelly and the other performers are informed by Eddie (Dave Bautista) that Le Razzle Dazzle is ending their run after 38 years. With the jobs going and showgirls out of work, it's a sad reminder about the US economy being built on nothing. Pamela Anderson plays Shelly as a character with a lot of regret in her life. One pivotal scene to me is her re-connecting with her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd). Hannah had just seen Shelly perform and didn't like it at all. She brings up past grievances. "You left me in the parking lot with a Game Boy and that's supposed to be normal?" Shelly responds with "I did the best I could." The confrontation breaks Shelly's heart. Another scene that was gut wrenching is towards the end with the director (Jason Schwartzman). "You only got into the Razzle Dazzle because you were young and were beautiful. If you had work on Broadway, then yeah maybe you would have had something." Shelly leaves and is at loss with emotions. The thing about Shelly as a character is she pushes everyone that would care for her away. She pushes away Hannah. She pushes away Eddie. She pushes away one of the showgirls who came to her for a place to stay. Shelly is purposely oblivious to the notion that her life is not going the way she had imagined it. She regrets having been the pretty girl and not having sought more than that. In interviews on Letterboxd and the Criterion YouTube page, Pamela Anderson talks about her love for Jean Siberg and the movie Wanda. I wondered as I watched this if this role was a way for Anderson to channel the regrets of her career into it. I wondered how her life would have gone if Pamela Anderson weren't in Barb Wire, wasn't on Baywatch, and wasn't the focus of every male's fantasy. What would have been if she decided to aim for the arthouse cinema prestige and been in a movie that played at the Cannes Film Festival in the 1990s? A lot of Gia Coppola's directing choices is very different than her father Francis Ford Coppola did with One From The Heart. The vision of Las Vegas in that movie is a Technicolor wonder with two down to earth characters. With The Last Showgirl, there's a lot of handheld camerawork and the sun is practically blinding in some shots. It reminded me a bit of the earlier mentioned Queen of Diamonds (except no excessively long casino scene). I feel this review wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention a virtually recognizable Jamie Lee Curtis dancing to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with Anderson and Bautista being shown doing other actions in other places. The one complaint I have is some of the scripting is a bit flat and bit unrealistic. I do wonder if the ending with Eddie and Hannah appearing was imagined by Shelly. The movie isn't exactly clear but given what Shelly went through, it doesn't surprise me. Even when that is the case, The Last Showgirl will stick with me for a long time.
Curt McGirt Posted January 9 Posted January 9 https://ia801003.us.archive.org/6/items/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique Vol 11 No 3 (Sept 1981).pdf This is CRAZY. It might be long, but it's intoxicating: one of the CFQ journalists gets to frequent the set of Conan the Barbarian and talk to everybody, watch the orgy battle, watch the raid on the camp at the beginning, eat and drink in a Spain that would have a failed right-wing military coup right after he leaves. Put yourself in his shoes reading it and you feel almost giddy.
Andrew POE! Posted January 9 Posted January 9 28 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: https://ia801003.us.archive.org/6/items/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique Vol 11 No 3 (Sept 1981).pdf This is CRAZY. It might be long, but it's intoxicating: one of the CFQ journalists gets to frequent the set of Conan the Barbarian and talk to everybody, watch the orgy battle, watch the raid on the camp at the beginning, eat and drink in a Spain that would have a failed right-wing military coup right after he leaves. Put yourself in his shoes reading it and you feel almost giddy. Let's not forget the inflammatory review of Escape From New York. "Sooner or later Carpenter will make the film that'll put him in the majors. This isn't it." I'd like to see Stephen Rebello try to make a movie.
Andrew POE! Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Movies today... Kusama: Infinity (Hulu, leaving on 1/10) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler Fascinating subject although a bit of a traditional documentary. It's somewhat sad and disheartening to hear about Andy Warhol (he was always an ass, ask Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground about him) ripping off and stealing her ideas for his own work. The thing about artists is they are either recognized in their own time and achieve success or languish in obscurity and recognized after their passing. Thankfully, Kusama was recognized in her lifetime. There is something to be said about a person spending the rest of their lives in a state mental hospital. At times, that seems like an inviting proposal.... The documentary made me want to visit the museums like David Zwirner Gallery. The one drawback is the usage of stock footage during the discussion of Kusama's early life, but that can be forgiven. D.O.A. - A Rite of Passage (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Documentary is more about the 'moment in time' for punk rock and documenting the fans at Sex Pistols shows. It was great seeing footage of X-Ray Spex, Sham 69, Terry & The Idiots, Generation X, and a record store owner go through the various bands of the scenes. There's a Venn diagram between religious conservatives in America and political conservatives in Britain. The British conservatives lay out their viewpoints while the religious conservatives hold up a Bible and shout about "Jay-sis!" and "The Devil!" and sound like blithering idiots. Baba Yaga (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Interesting slice of Italian horror that's about a photographer Valentina (Isabelle De Funes) who meets a witch Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker) while she's driving - it's very similar to the setup for Serge Gainsbourg's "Melody" except Valentina is trying to save a dog from getting hit. Throughout the movie, Valentina has great tragedy befall people upon using her camera that Baba Yaga has seemingly cursed. The tension and tone for the movie reminded me a bit of Longlegs and the creeping uneasiness imbued. One thing I liked - although it didn't really add anything to the movie - was the usage of black and white still photography to depict a scene in passion. It's hard to tell at times if what Valentina is seeing is a dream, a vision induced by Baba Yaga, or part of reality. I did like the usage of the gimmick during the German Expressionism film that Valentina watches with Arno (George Eastman). The movie doesn't really make it clear until the end. Some of the movie is really unexplainable to me. Apparently, the movie was edited because the producers felt 'it was too slow.' Their changes made the movie disjointed. The plus to me is the cinematography done throughout the movie - I loved the usage of darkness and photographer's lighting. It makes this movie very much a 'movie about creatives' working through their process. The Story of O (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler Movie is about as horny as Luca Guadagnino's movies except made in the 1970s. O (Corinne Clery) is involved in a relationship with Rene (Udo Kier) and undergoes 'training' before she engages in a relationship with Sir Stephen (Anthony Steel). The whole thing about the movie is it's wonderfully shot even with the soft lighting that tells you it's an erotic film. Compared to the earlier Emmanuelle, I found myself liking this a bit better and finding the story arc a bit more enjoyable. O is clearly partaking in her behavior out of her own volition and essentially is determined to go beyond what Rene and Sir Stephen would have for her. She takes Jacqueline (Li Sellgren) through the same process after forming a relationship with her as well. The introductory scenes were very interesting since the movie has two introductions - I found it interesting both would result in O doing what was asked from the two men (the driver and Rene). I loved how the introductory scene was shot with O and Rene walking down the road. There were a lot of shots that reminded me a bit of James Ivory's movies - Sir Stephen and O riding in a rowboat was almost shot and staged the same way as a similar scene in Howards End. I really liked the shot towards the end with O riding in a boat in the nude except for a headdress; the camera is a bit off-centered as all the figures are shown in the frame. I will say that the side story with Pierre (Jean Gaven) and Therese (Martine Kelly) having jealously of Annie-Marie (Christiane Minazzoli) was not needed. One thing that was really annoying is some of the scenes were in French while most were in dubbed English. Had there been a mishap in filming that caused this? The Story of O is a not bad erotic movie and is actually a decent movie.
Contentious C Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Saw Nosferatu yesterday. I think I might be done with going to the theater. I shouldn't have to pay $15 and then sit through 20 minutes of product placement (not previews, fucking Pepsi and shit). All I can say is, poor Lily Rose Depp, out there trying to invent acting in this. Didn't she know Isabelle Adjani already invented acting in 1981?? 2
RazorbladeKiss87 Posted January 10 Posted January 10 23 hours ago, Curt McGirt said: https://ia801003.us.archive.org/6/items/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique Vol 11 No 3 (Sept 1981).pdf This is CRAZY. It might be long, but it's intoxicating: one of the CFQ journalists gets to frequent the set of Conan the Barbarian and talk to everybody, watch the orgy battle, watch the raid on the camp at the beginning, eat and drink in a Spain that would have a failed right-wing military coup right after he leaves. Put yourself in his shoes reading it and you feel almost giddy. CFQ is one film magazine that I ALWAYS search used book and comic stores for. 1
Andrew POE! Posted January 11 Posted January 11 Movies today... A Ghost Story (Max, leaving on 1/31) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler A Ghost Story is a bit absurd. Casey Affleck plays a husband with Rooney Mara as his wife. Affleck's character literally dies about 30 minutes into the movie. The rest of the movie is spent with him under a sheet as a 'ghost.' The image of a ghost has always been a figure clouded under a sheet with two 'holes' where the person's eyes are. As the movie progresses, it makes me think about the myths and stories we tell ourselves for the unexplainable and the unexplorable, like death. The ghost goes the history of the house as his wife finally packs up and moves away. The ghost talks to another ghost who is waiting on someone but can't remember. Various families move in and out. The scenes with Will Oldham talking about Beethoven writing his music for God then "if there's no God, who is he writing it for?" is the central point and construct for the movie. What we do in our lives does not really matter. What we do in our lives is proof of our existence and our brief moment of existence. Eventually, everything that came to be will have been gone. The ghost seems to go through a journey after seeing this speech. The house he was in is abandoned and is demolished. The ghost friend just gives up and vanishes. A large commercial office is built, presumably in the far future. We see pioneer times - was this long before any of us were here or is it exemplifying what Will Oldham's speech talked about 'where there's a civilization that hears a melody' and those people are after us? Eventually the ghost relives his actual past again. He sees himself and his wife. He clangs on the piano (which was at the start of the movie). He finally reads the hidden note then disappears. What did the note say? Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? It was a brief moment of existence that matter to Casey Affleck's character and had significance for him. For the most part, I loved how A Ghost Story was shot and staged - there are elements that are similar to Kubrick in a lot of ways and even David Gordon Green too. There's a lot of more 'realistic' imagery next to the supernatural, although the supernatural element feels a bit 'grounded.' I loved the scene where the ghost starts throwing dishes and how that was shot - you can see the terror in the family's eyes and the lights being affected too. A Ghost Story is quite an interesting story. Menashe (Max, leaving on 1/31) - 4/5 stars Spoiler "Why do I keep fuckin' up?" -Neil Young, "Fuckin' Up" Menashe as a movie is almost an Orthodox Jewish retread of Kramer Vs. Kramer - except it's with only one person Menashe (Menashe Lustig) trying to keep custody of his son Rieven (Ruben Niborski) with Rieven's uncle Eizik (Yoel Weisshaus) on the other side. No matter what Menashe does, he fails. His son and Eizik regard him throughout the movie as a failure. Yet he feels he must continue to do right by his son despite his failures in his tradition. Menashe as a movie has a lot of great handheld shots that give it elements of being a 'docu-drama.' I loved the opening shot as the camera focuses on people walking down the street in Brooklyn until it finds and follows the main character. One scene I liked was towards the end with Menashe drank alcohol with the suppliers and they talked to him about his wife. "Your wife has forgiven you." In a lot of ways, the assurance that Menashe is doing right despite his nature is enough. The Bling Ring (Max, leaving on 1/31) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler The Bling Ring hits completely differently in 2025. Especially with many of the locations in the movie reduced to ashes because of the ongoing fires in Los Angeles. You are seeing characters rob celebrities in a past that wasn't long ago that will no longer exist. The ephemeral nature of celebrity drives the story of the movie. The young women (and one man) involved in the story steal from celebrities to satiate a desire to have their items: watches, purses, glasses, clothes. The items attract desire because of a company name on a label worn by a person these people will never meet (well, at least one of them meets who they robbed). As the character accumulate items, their lives spiral out of control. They use cocaine. They go to clubs. They buy items with the money they stole. They rob celebrities. They become as much of celebrities as those they robbed. Life is one big party without the characters knowing it's time to clean up. What struck me is the usage of actual news footage and security footage. While this is a dramatization of what happened, it makes what they did seem 'real' in the context of the movie. Emma Watson's character Nicole at the end touts her website - which feeds in the cyclical nature of celebrity. This movie fits within Sofia Coppola's filmography. Lost In Translation is about a woman losing herself in Tokyo and making a friend however briefly; the women in this are brief friends as well. The Beguiled and The Virgin Suicides are about women who made a pact together; much like what the women did in this movie (until they were caught). What struck me were the scenes where they were finally caught. The police seems to not regard them as people. The police just act as an extension of those in power. There isn't really any 'justice' except for the rich, where those that were robbed don't really lose anything other than objects. The drawback with The Bling Ring is it's almost too much on style and not enough on characterization or character arcs. Katie Chang's character Rebecca as the ring leader had the best character arc though; her character is completely a sociopath. The Bling Ring really sings as a movie. La Prisonnaire/Woman In Chains (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 4/5 stars Spoiler La Prisonniere is pretty much my first exposure to Henri-Georges Clouzot. As a movie, it can be a bit uneven at times but is visually arresting with the Nicole Kidman-like Elisabeth Wiener as Jose. As Jose moves through the world of this movie, she meets Stanislas (Laurent Terzieff) who owns an art gallery her husband Gilbert (Bernard Fresson) works. At first, the movie gives a false impression; it makes you think the focus of the movie will be on Gilbert and on Stan as Gilbert tries to become accepted in the art world and Stan tries to figure out a way to use his work. But it's a chance picture from a slide show that changes the focus. Jose wants to learn more about what was happening in the picture Stan has, yet doesn't want to know either. Jose's expressions as she wrestles with this push/pull of emotions carries most of the story. Eventually, the movie becomes a bit melodramatic; Jose and Stan standing on the rocks as the waves crash is out of From Here To Eternity but it's a gorgeous scene to watch. Even with the melodrama, there are a lot of scenes that are just incredible to watch. The train track scene has inventive camerawork. The last 5 minutes is absolutely bonkers to watch as we see various quick cuts and flashing lights that create a nightmarish vision for Jose. The introductory scenes are absolutely creepy as we watch Stan manipulate figures then it cuts to the house where Gilbert and Jose reside. 1
Curt McGirt Posted January 11 Posted January 11 6 hours ago, RazorbladeKiss87 said: CFQ is one film magazine that I ALWAYS search used book and comic stores for. That's where I got all mine as a kid. They were always maybe $3 tops. I have ones dating back to the '70s. 1
assfax Posted January 12 Posted January 12 (edited) EXTREME PREJUDICE (1987) Dir. Walter Hill Nestled somewhere between Peckinpah and Tony Scott. Doesn't quite live up to the murderers' row credentials but damn fine watchin'. You will go "oh, I know that guy, I love that guy" multiple times throughout. Edited January 12 by assfax 3
Andrew POE! Posted January 12 Posted January 12 Movies today... Paris, 13th District (Hulu, leaving on 1/15) - 4/5 stars Spoiler Movie is at times Jacques Audiard's (500) Days of Summer with a heavy dose of Godard & Rohmer's French New Wave. The stunning black and white cinematography carried the movie for me despite some bland performances. Makita Samba (Camille), the incredible Noemie Merlant as Nora and Jehnny Beth as Amber Sweet/Louise really heighten the writing (which includes Celine Sciamma) while Lucie Zhang as Emilie is sometimes decent in scenes and sometimes lackluster. Nora's storyline really drew me into the movie - she tries to go out, have fun, and wear a wig while she is confused for a pornstar/cam girl Amber Sweet. This begins to affect her life as a law student and eventually she quits her studies due to harassment. Her character is a complicated character; she meets Camille and is attracted yet entirely cautious. A lot of the comparisons to Rohmer and how he films relationships appear in Camille and Nora's interactions - sex is a goal, but so is talking their way out of sex too. Eventually, Nora and Camille finally have sex and Nora leaves him. While this is going on, she meets Amber Sweet online and eventually open up to her. I loved the scenes where they finally meet in person and how they were shot - Nora faints and there's a nice closeup as they kiss. All the light is brighten behind them as the camera focuses in on the kiss. Camille and Emilie's relationship is vastly different. Emilie works a dead-end job and sees Camille as a convenience. Emilie as a character is also complicated and at times unlikable. Throughout the movie, Emilie is advised to see her grandmother which she finally does but by then it's too late. Her grandmother doesn't even recognize her. The lack of interest in visiting relatives and working a job just to keep the lights on had me reflecting the nature of this in society - for me, I had worked call center jobs in the past and those jobs rob people of their humanity. Even then, Emilie as a character seems to not demonstrate much of a progression compared to Camille and Nora. Camille is a bit of a blank slate for most of the movie in a lot of ways. He was a teacher when he showed up to move in with Emilie, they have a relationship, but switch to a 'platonic' relationship that allows him to bring Stephanie (Oceane Cairaty) to his place. Emilie acts like a jerk toward Stephanie and eventually they break up. Camille leaves the apartment and starts work as a real estate agent and works with Nora. What's a bit troubling about Camille is he essentially has a degree of luck with him (so we get to see the women he's in a relationship with naked as a result), but there isn't that much progression either with him as a character. We don't see the end result of his career goals - in a lot of ways, he's drifting like Emilie is except it's with higher wage jobs (from a teacher to a real estate agent). The progression he makes is right back where he starts from, unlike Nora. A lot of the themes in the movie is about love in a digital space and what love means for millennials who grew up with social media. Nora as a character is a bit older (33) and bit of an outsider to this - in one scene where she chats with Amber Sweet/Louise, Amber brings up the fact that Nora is unknowingly using her real name as a chat handle. And like I mentioned Nora's embarrassment at the nightclub and having a guy proposition her only to see Amber's videos on her phone on the subway ride home. Paris, 13th District is my first time seeing Jacques Audiard's work and this movie had came out before the infamous Emilia Perez. I'm planning on watching his other work before I see his most recent movie. Bergman Island (Hulu, on 1/14) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler Tourism in places is built on a lie and on commercialism. An island where a director went to make some films about anguish, pain, and unspoken issues now hosts a tour with a bus and T-shirts and a gift shop. For Bergman Island, a filmmaking couple Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth) go to the namesake location for inspiration for projects they are working on and partake in the commercialism. Despite having watched a lot of movies, I strangely have a gap with Ingmar Bergman's work. His movies are just "oh I'll get around to those at some point" type of movies. I did see Smiles of a Summer Night and thought it was great and was struck by the beautiful women appearing in the movie. At the time I saw it, I didn't expect pay attention to the details I look at now (although I wonder if I still am not paying attention). In a lot of ways with this movie, it is less about Bergman or the location than it is about a creative rut. It's like an European cinema version of Charles Kaufman's Adaptation where a director is working through the problem of writing a screenplay. The "movie within a movie" format has the most beautiful man alive (next to Glenn Powell) Anders Danielsen Lie with a gorgeous Mia Wasikowska as two people who reconnect at a wedding. Anders' character Joseph and Wasikowska's character Amy seem to have a complicated history (as Chris puts it "we catch them at the last chapter of their story"). They can't seem to get on the same page or "they loved each other too early, then loved each other too late." Joseph leaves the island after the wedding is done without saying goodbye to Amy. The music choices during the 'movie within the movie' are evocative of romantic comedy/dramas (although ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All" is absolutely perfect in the scene where Amy begins to sing with her friends and leaves Joseph at the bar, only for him to disappear). Where their story ends, we don't know what happens after that. Chris doesn't either. Chris relays the storyline to Tony and he patiently listens amidst phone calls. Chris lays down in Bergman's house and wakes up with it being a film set and Anders and Mia are now actors in her production. What I found interesting is we never really learn what Tony's story actually is besides a vague description. We also don't learn what the movie he is screening in the cinema on the island but do see where he talks about his movie and feeling like "I'm on a tightrope and about to fall off." Much of the movie is really told from Chris' perspective; her struggle and splitting away from the tourist group is a conscious choice that she has to work through. The end of the movie has Tony visiting Faro Island and going to the spot where Chris is working. Tony brings their daughter and there's a lot of unanswered questions from those scenes. Earlier in the movie it was mentioned about Bergman's life: "If you had 9 children and created your body of work, would you have been able to change diapers for them?" Also, "this is where Bergman filmed 'Scenes From A Marriage,' which resulted in millions of divorces for those who've seen it." Is Tony and Chris part of those statistics now for divorced people seeing Scenes From A Marriage? Were they able to balance their professional careers or are they separate? Chris' smile and hug at the end is born out of several things. First, it doesn't appear that she is wearing a wedding band. Her smile to Tony (who is off screen) seems to be of someone who haven't seen either person for a long time. We don't know what happens after that, much like how Chris doesn't know how her story will end either (that we never see). One Of Them Days (saw in the theaters) - 1.5/5 stars Spoiler Somewhere between Sean Baker's Starlet and F. Gary Gray's Friday is One Of Them Days. At times, the movie doesn't quite stick the landing. The hokey premise, borderline unlikable characters, underwhelming actors for leads and late story attempts at drama just makes this movie a mess to watch. Most of the comedy for the movie centers around Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) coming up with the money to pay their landlord for the month. The story is in Los Angeles but much of the setting doesn't really play a factor into the movie. Alyssa's boyfriend has turned their rent money into seed money for a knockoff fashion line and is cheating on Alyssa with Berniece (Aziza Scott), who is basically the Deebo of the movie (but female and twerking). The scene depicting Berniece and the boyfriend cheating is actually pretty funny. Dreux and Alyssa try to go to a payday loan store, who rejects them for whatever reason (even though Dreux has stable income). Katt Williams has a hilarious cameo as Lucky who urges them not to go. Various almost Coen Brothers-esque hijinks ensue as Dreux tries to give blood and ends up having it splatter everywhere, going to Church's Chicken for the honey biscuits only for the 'honey biscuit thief' to steal them, Dreux making her job interview and essentially getting rejected due to the boyfriend/Berniece catching up with Alyssa. Some of the story aspects just don't land for the movie and it runs out of steam before the end. The movie loses its way with an attempt to become serious with having the gang member going after Dreux and Alyssa for selling the shoes he hung up on the power line. The significance of which wasn't explained properly in the movie - oftentimes, gangs would throw shoes like Jordans over stop light wiring and power lines to mark their territory. Unless you're aware of the significance, it really seems out of nowhere. The other aspect I didn't like that much was the movie having a white woman Bethany (Maude Apatow) moving into the apartment complex that is mostly black (based on who is shown) and making a big deal of it or using it for comic effect. It's somewhat mean spirited (especially in 2025) and I would think character writing would evolve a bit more beyond that. Especially since Bethany seemingly has 'magical powers' as an online marketer and helps Dreux and Alyssa set up the party where Alyssa sells her art. The movie does attempt to say something about our culture with it's pointed social commentary about payday loans and black women feeling like they have to prove themselves just to get more but it falls flat. I am glad that the humor was character based although Keke Palmer and SZA were merely adequate. One Of Them Days just ends up being One Of Them Movies in January. Happening (Hulu, leaving on 1/22) - 5/5 stars Spoiler A French version of Never Rarely Sometimes Always but with Godard's "children of Marx and Coca-Cola." Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) is a literature student who is determined to get into university and is having to deal with the fact that she's pregnant. What I love about this movie is even though it is set in the 1960s, none of the hallmarks of the 1960s are apparent. There's not a lot of tres style that would be in France based on the movies from Truffaut, Godard, and others of the time period; the students and Anne could very well be students today. I also love the over the shoulder camera used for the majority of the movie; on rare occasions, we see Anne's face in reaction to situations and other characters. For the most part, the camera follows Anne, like an unsuspecting bystander to the situation in her life. Vartolomei plays the character as a real person; there is nothing romanticized or melodramatic about the anxiety, fear, and anguish she is going through; yet she is determined to maintain her cool even when going through the abortion procedure. The last couple of scenes were difficult to watch as I heard the sounds and laboured breathing while Anne is on the toilet. Seeing what happened was overwhelming. Honestly, every politician in the United States that is seeking to limit women's choice is wishing for this to happen in the future to women. Abortion is a choice that women make when they feel they don't have any other options or cannot handle the outcomes that await them. Taking away their choice makes them even more powerless in an already powerless situation. Not every woman wants to have as a future to be a wife or a mother. "I had a problem that happens to women. That leads to them becoming housewives," Anne says to her teacher near the end of the month. We never see how Anne does on her exams, but her future is hers now.
Brian Fowler Posted January 12 Posted January 12 I've kept not watching Bergman Island specifically because he is my all-time favorite filmmaker and I'm just not sure I can stomach that movie. 1
Andrew POE! Posted January 12 Posted January 12 4 hours ago, Brian Fowler said: I've kept not watching Bergman Island specifically because he is my all-time favorite filmmaker and I'm just not sure I can stomach that movie. The movie mentions Bergman but it doesn't really make him integral to the plot. I probably need to watch him more.
Andrew POE! Posted January 13 Posted January 13 Movies today.... The Inspection (Netflix, leaving on 1/17) - 4/5 stars Spoiler Jarhead meets Moonlight. Jeremy Pope plays Ellis French, who is a black gay recruit into the Marines. The story being based on the director Elegance Bratton's own life has a lot of personal touches to it. It also shines a light on the homophobia and racism that is seemingly prevalent in the US armed forces despite there being a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy regarding a person's sexual preference. French as a character is trying to prove himself not only to the commanding officers he reports to but to his mother Ines (Gabrielle Union), who rejects his love based on his personal feelings. Even when French makes it through the program and becomes a Marine, that rejection never leaves him. Compared to a lot of movies about the military, there isn't a sense of unity through the service building someone by breaking them down until towards the end. French's platoon and his drill sergeant support him in an indirect way when French's mother tries to smoke and indicate in front of everyone that he is gay. Bratton has an almost Terrence Malick like approach with some of the still shots and a lot of the scenes have a definite Barry Jenkins influence to them. The soundtrack from Animal Collective surprised me quite a bit and had the movie go more towards a reflective art film than a typical biopic. The one drawback is some of the story aspects weren't quite as strong, but the movie served its purpose and didn't tell me what to think about the main character's journey. I can't wait to see what Elegance Bratton does next. Hard Truths (saw in the theaters) - 5/5 stars Spoiler Hard Truths for me felt like a therapy session. I could see components of real life intersecting with the fictional as I watched Marianne Jean-Baptiste play Pansy Deacon, a woman who is vehemently opposed to the outside world that for reasons she cannot even understand. She gets up and vows she’s not even sure she would be able to visit her sister. “I may lie in bed all day.” Families are hard. While I watched the movie, I couldn’t help but to reflect on my mother. Going places is difficult for her. Once she goes somewhere, it’s a barrage of complaints to her family about herself. “My feet hurt.” “I’m tired.” “You’re walking too fast, I can’t keep up.” “Slow down!” “You don’t know how it feels to be my age.” She lashes out in anger much the same as Pansy does except she’s nicer to strangers and will carry on conversations with them. Pansy on the other hand isn’t capable of this level of empathy. Her family has to bear the brunt of her abuse. Strangers in queue at a supermarket have to bear it in a practically Robert Altman-esque scene. Pansy’s extended family feel like they have to walk on eggshells around her - I especially loved the scene after Pansy and her sister Chantelle (Michelle Austin) visit their mother’s graveside. Complete silence dominate the scene as the characters watch Pansy silently sit there, obviously bothered about something. The graveyard scene was incredible too. “I don’t understand you, but I love you.” A calavade of motorcycles arrive for someone as the camera pans around them. Mike Leigh crafted some incredibly realistic characters that seem like actual people. They feel and act like family members that have been in contact with each other and do so repeatedly. He achieved a level of alchemy as a director with how he did his shots and had his actors perform their roles; I never felt like I watching actors playing a character, but I felt like I was watching human beings in this space of existence for a brief time. Pansy’s husband Curtley (David Webber) silently endures the abuse as he goes to work for a plumbing company; he says nothing as he tosses the Mother’s Day flowers outside. He later hurts his back trying to carry a bathtub. Moses Deacon (Tuwaine Barrett) is a quiet man and possibly is on the autistic spectrum. He gets scolded for leaving food around and not cleaning up then flipping off Pansy with the door closed. He buys flowers for Mother’s Day and stares outside, almost beside himself. I found it interesting that Pansy and Moses were engaging in “mirroring behavior” as they both seem to be caught up with their emotions at the same time. Chantelle’s daughters are almost polar opposites to Pansy and her family. (Although one of her daughters had a very embarrassing presentation at work that her boss ignores and sarcastically tells her “you did great.” Sadly, we never see what happened to Chantelle’s daughters after the movie). The ending is a brilliant ending. Curtley can’t physically move to go upstairs to be with Pansy. Pansy can move but won’t emotionally get out of bed to be with Curtley downstairs. We’re left with the characters at an impasse. Hard Truths is a hard but rewarding movie to watch. Nickel Boys (saw in the theaters) - 5/5 stars Spoiler Nickel Boys as a movie is honestly inspiring to watch. As I watch through the eyes of the characters - Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson) - it recalled to me the brilliant and inventive filmmaking from Gasper Noe's Enter The Void and Vortex as well as Jonathan Glazer's willingness to invert norms in narrative fiction from Under The Skin and The Zone of Interest. Their eyes become my eyes, in however the briefest of moments. At first with the movie it's almost a bit tough to follow as the past springs forward to Elwood's present in the 1960s then brief scenes of his future. His eyes focus on the skies and focus on a fruit hanging from a branch. As the movie progresses, a little girl waves at him under his seat on a bus. Later still, he takes pictures in a photo booth with his girlfriend. We see the pictures that he sees. What I loved throughout the movie are the smallest touches that Ramell Ross does in scenes. For example, Elwood's eyes focus on a flyer for a college that's under a refrigerator magnet. The flyer slowly slides down, basically symbolizing that his future is slipping away. Elwood talks to his grandmother Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) as she smiles at him. Let's then talk about Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor's performance. Every time she appears on the screen and smiles into the camera, I couldn't help but smile too. Her smile gave me life. The smile shows happiness but her eyes display a sadness. We see several times in the movie - she visits the Nickel Academy and asks Turner where her grandson is. She smiles at Turner and asks for a hug (twice). "What have they been feeding you?" she asks astonished. "Why can't you hug better than that?" As we learn from the movie, Nickel Academy is the worst place imaginable. The boys are taught as soon as they arrive that they are 'grub.' We come to find out later that if the boys get to be too out of line - they become 'grub' all right - they are buried in the ground. Turner and Elwood experience no respite or freedom from this entrenchment at Nickel Academy. "We did our time," exclaimed one of the 'graduates' from Nickel Academy that Elwood meets in the future. What I loved a lot was the usage of mixed media and mixed formats in the movie. In one scene, we see the introduction to Stanley Kramer's The Defiant Ones. It goes back to experiencing the world through Elwood's eyes as a viewer. We see what he sees when he watches the movie; Elwood's girlfriend jokingly says he's Sidney Poitier. Another aspect I loved was the juxtaposition between the Apollo 8 missions and freedom. Apollo 8 is going into this new unknown world of space and of exploration while Elwood and Turner are going into this new unknown world of freedom and what it means to be an American during the civil rights movement. To borrow a phrase from a fellow Letterboxd viewer boxd.it/1Gosn (Overly Confident Sicilian) that I saw this with, Nickel Boys is a very grounded movie yet we see our characters reaching for the stars; a lot of the shots of trees and of skylines illustrate this. I shouldn't go without mentioning the absolutely brilliant final 15 minutes of the movie. We see a myriad of images flashing by that tell the story of Elwood. We see his driver's licenses and newspaper articles and video of newspieces about the Nickel Academy. Rather than the movie telling us "this is important," we're allowed an opportunity to see for ourselves that it is important. I loved the scene depicting the passage of time on a train car; when it first happened in the movie, I didn't understand the significance or the reasoning of the placement. I also loved the camera switching from a first person point of view to a head mounted point of view when Elwood finally escapes. This is almost a conscious choice later in the 'future' scenes; Elwood regardless of being away from the Nickel Academy never truly feels free and feels like he is continuously on the run. Nickel Boys is the most incredible, bracing, modern American piece of cinema with European arthouse sensibilities. Ramell Ross will have my money the next time he does a movie. Haywire (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Very much a standard no frills action spy thriller but a nice movie to watch after serious dramas all day. I loved the color choices used throughout the movie (past scenes had a lot of green/yellow color filtering while present scenes used a lot of dark blue and reflective surfaces). Some inventive camerawork but nothing too major. Gina Carano is Sandra Bullock with a head cold and MMA training. Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas and Bill Paxton show up to earn a paycheck and all the actors are just spectacularly bland.
odessasteps Posted January 13 Posted January 13 Scrolling around TCM app and watched the 5000 Fingers of Dr. T. So weird even knowing Dr Seuss wrote it/ Hans Conreid is so good. According to Ben M, Geisel’s original script was over 1000 pages.
J.H. Posted January 13 Posted January 13 (edited) Gina Carano IS Sandra Bullick in The Cynthia Rothrock Story Haywire is the perfect Spy movie I can leave running while I take a shower and come back after 15 minutes and really dont bother to rewind. James Edited January 13 by J.H. 2
Zimbra Posted January 13 Posted January 13 Shout has bought the rights to the Golden Princess library, which includes a good chunk of the John Woo and Tsui Hark movies that have been officially unavailable for years. 3
J.H. Posted January 13 Posted January 13 Man the last time I remember Hard Boiled getting a big release was when Dragon Dynasty was a thing. I'd always hoped Critetion would do another release of it and maybe few other Woo films. SHOUT! is a good company for this type of thing James 1
Andrew POE! Posted January 14 Posted January 14 Movies today.... Snowden (Max, leaving on 1/14) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Oliver Stone has made a career out of kicking hornets' nests with his movies; Snowden is another example of this. Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is a conflicted man with a loyalty to the United States and is really motivated by trying to protect his wife Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley). Levitt almost acts like the same character that he was in (500) Days of Summer except he's the biggest nerd in the world and really shy and awkward. A lot of the tension and drama of the movie is not with Snowden knowing about national intelligence secrets but rather his relationship with Mills. I never felt the sense that Snowden was in any significant danger throughout the movie other than what was implied in his meeting with reporters at a hotel room. I did like the scenes where Snowden was watching the secured bunker in Hawaii after Syria was shut down completely and copying over files to a flash drive. Nicholas Cage had a great turn as a CIA official that started Snowden on his path due to Snowden's own curiosity. For the most part, I loved how Oliver Stone shot this despite some clunkiness to the story. Hive (Criterion Channel, leaving on 1/31) - 4/5 stars Spoiler From watching this movie, it made me reflect on a lot of things taken for granted in Western societies. The simple act of having a driver's license. The act of starting a business, running a business, and employing people in the business. Decisions like selling tools to keep the lights on. In Hive, Fahrije (Yllka Gashi) steadfastly and almost without emotion, runs a business selling honey then ajvar to give herself a greater purpose. In a lot of ways, this movie serves as a counterpoint to the tremendous Quo Vadis, Aida? as it covers a later period of history the Kosovo War and the individual impact that war had on a family. Fahrije undergoes resistance at every turn - from her family, her grandfather Haxhi (Cun Laici), and from her community. The way Blerta Basholli shot the movie is very simple; the camera always shows Gashi in frame and in side profile for a lot of the shots. The camera follows Gashi from behind the back as she learns about the found clothing of her husband's and then settles on a medium distance shot as she learns of his fate and her reaction. It then cuts to a different angle as she leaves the room, crying. What's amazing throughout the movie is despite the setbacks and some in her village destroying her supplies, Fahrjie is never shown crying directly until towards the end. We also hear her crying in the shower as the shower curtain covers her. The disheartening thing from watching the movie is the fact that the men in the movie seem to set themselves up as adversaries; many men were lost during the Kosovo War and those remain seem uninterested or unable to help others rebuild or gain back their country. They are resigned to their fate that they have lost everything, so why continue to lose? I wonder how much of it is the story and how much of it is the reality; besides the supermarket owner, I wonder how many people helped the main character with her business. Den of Thieves (Max, not leaving anytime soon but probably should) - 1.5/5 stars Spoiler I decided to watch this before going to see Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (what will Den of Thieves 3 be called? Den of Thieves 3: Primus? Den of Thieves 3: Lamb of God?). I wasn't really expecting that much - but for those involved, it was surprisingly decent. It was like someone took Heat, Ocean's Eleven, Dead Presidents (the last 20 minutes or so was practically a copy of that movie), and The Departed and shoved them all into a blender. For the 2+ hour run time, there was a lot that could have been trimmed. Gerald Butler's character Nick had me hoping he would die based on the toxic garbage tier characterization and borderline spousal abuse of his ex (I was halfway expecting him to punch out his ex during the scene where he signs the divorce papers). The movie doesn't make the 'good guys' likable at all - I wanted to not see the cops catch up with the bankrobbers and for them to ride off. Of course, based on the ending with O'Shea Jackson Jr (Donnie) and where he is shown, he kinda does. Curtis Jackson is surprisingly decent and I loved the scene where his character scares the crap out of his daughter's prom date. Pablo Schreiber as Merrimen has a likable world weariness to him. Too bad neither character survives. Still, the last 45 minutes is technically excellent filmmaking with a lot of padding in the first hour or so.
J.H. Posted January 14 Posted January 14 The Beekeeper - Might this be David Ayer's best movie? Let me clarify, in the gamut of David Ayer's film catalog this is the Queen Bee (see what I did there). It isnt bad but it isn't necessarily good. It's right there in the middle of action movies and you know what? Movies in the middle of all cinema need to exist. They help separate the good movies from the utter crap. This movie is basically Jason Starham doing things you want Jason Statham to do. You don't expect Jason Statham in a Merchant-Ivory period film. You want Jason Statham to have a vague background, who is living a quiet life until something sets him off. As the violence escalates more details about Statham gets revealed by an actor in a supporting role who has presence (in this case, Jeremy Irons). This is "Movie Starring Jason Statham 101" as taught at Julliard. You know what you're getting and you know what? You could do worse. MUCH WORSE!! James 6
RazorbladeKiss87 Posted January 14 Posted January 14 The Crank films (because they are clearly the pinnacle of cinema) made me a Jason Statham true believer. I will give anything he's in a shot. 3
J.H. Posted January 14 Posted January 14 (edited) Am I wrong for wanting Statham to stretch himself cinematically? Like, does he have an Every Which Way But Loose on him? I'm not saying a movie where he kisses an ape specifically but I'd like to see him in a comedy or romcom. James Edited January 14 by J.H. 1 1
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