Andrew POE! Posted July 13 Posted July 13 Movies today.... Wuthering Heights (1939) (Criterion Channel, leaving on 7/31) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler It's amazing how if you actually read the book and try to adapt the source material closer to it, that the movie is so much better! This version of Wuthering Heights is a lot better movie to watch (versus whatever the hell that was with Emerald Fennell's version); the performances from Merle Oberon as Cathy and Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff carry the movie completely. It's also amazing how the production design got an area in California to actually look like England too. Cinematography in this movie is ahead of its time, even for a movie in 1939. The thing with Heathcliff and Cathy as characters is they are both outsiders. Oberon as the adult Cathy and Sarita Wooton as the child Cathy capture the feeling of this; they want to be in love with their versions of Heathcliff at their ages, but they are told 'no' by Hindley Earnshaw (Hugh Williams / Douglas Scott). Heathcliff (Rex Downing) brought in as a child has an element of something really skeevy about it; he wants to escape Wuthering Heights as quickly as possible. Yet he settles into being mocked and abused and made to be a stable hand when Cathy and Hindley's father dies. Cathy and Heathcliff view themselves together as a way to escape the world. When they were children, they would play on a cliff, pretending the cliff is a castle. When they were adults, they would go to the Lintons' house during a party and peer into the window, wishing to be included in the party. Their escape and the dogs biting them pulls them into the Lintons' life. Cathy is readily accepted due to her beauty and sense of normality with Edgar Linton (David Niven) noticing her. Heathcliff is told to leave and vows to curse everyone there as revenge. William Wyler as a director tends to be attractive to material that's a bit darker than what Hollywood would typically do for their movies. The movie touches upon Hindley's alcoholism and Heathcliff's abuse of Isabelle (Geraldine Fitzgerald) after their marriage. Heathcliff's purchase of Wuthering Heights and paying of Hindley's gambling debts seems as a shock to Edgar and Cathy; how Heathcliff came to become rich isn't really explained other than Heathcliff saying 'he claimed his inheritance.' How true that is could be debated; the truth about Heathcliff is never known. Meaning that Heathcliff could have used criminal means to obtain the money and fortune for him or scammed his way into earning the inheritance from a different person. The ending scenes are a bit different than the book; the movie only adapts the first half of the book, leaving out the second half with the various heirs. Heathcliff goes to Cathy when she's dying and the shot of Oberon's face when Cathy is about to die is positively heartbreaking to watch. Oberon's expression changes as she becomes delusional and sick. Heathcliff takes Cathy to the window with a great shot of Cathy's arm dropping to signify her death. Heathcliff carries her back to the bed and puts her on the bed (I noticed that Oberon actually lifted her hand up slightly before Olivier grabbed her hand). Olivier's scene where Heathcliff tells Cathy to haunt him and drive him mad is both happy and sad all at once. It's crazy how those scenes captured the dynamics of the book a lot better. The ending is decidedly different from the book; it serves as a framing device for the story. Heathcliff had ran out into the snow, believing to be hearing Cathy calling for him. He's found dead, but yet is seen. The final shot has Cathy and Heathcliff walking together as ghosts, haunting the moors together. One scene I really liked is a great subtle tracking shot that was used during the party scene - the camera pans between two rooms showing two different groups of dancers, as people arrive in the background of the shot. I also really liked how they got an actual musician (Alice Ehlers) to play the harpsichord and not dubbed in sound for an unknown actor. There's a reason why Wuthering Heights is a classic of the "Golden Age of Hollywood." It's not completely perfect of an adapation, but it's close to perfect as a movie. Without Love (HBO Max, leaving on 7/31) - 2.5/5 stars Spoiler A lot of reviews talk about how Patrick Jamieson (Spencer Tracy) and Jamie Rowan (Katharine Hepburn) are in a 'lavender marriage,' but, to paraphrase Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby, everyone just went gay all of a sudden in this movie. Quentin Ladd (Keenan Wynn) has an obvious attraction to Patrick at the start of the movie, yet he doesn't pursue it and plays it up as being drunk. Yet he ends up with Kitty Trimble (Lucille Ball), who isn't too keen on boys either. Most of the movie is Patrick and Jamie accepting each other, with Patrick pulling a trick to appear as a caretaker for the house. In actuality, he's a scientist who doesn't wish to share what he is actually doing at first until the equipment arrives. Jamie was going to kick him out until she finds that he's working on a breathing apparatus for the War Department. The movie is mainly the conversation between the two characters - most of the time, Tracy and Hepburn's chemistry is apparent, but the material doesn't really make for a compelling watch. Although I did like the scene where Patrick sleepwalks into Jamie's bed and the montage clips as they do scientific work for oxygen capsule. What's notable is this is Harold S. Bucquet's final film before dying in 1946. I do normally like movies that are set more like plays, but this didn't interest me as much as I wanted. King Solomon's Mines (1950) (HBO Max, leaving on 7/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler If it weren't for the visuals and the cinematography, this movie would have likely gotten 1 star from me. The story, if it can be called that, is painfully simple: Allan Quatermain (Stewart Granger) is hired by Elizabeth Curtis (Deborah Kerr) and John Goode (Richard Carlson) to locate Elizabeth's husband while he was looking for....King Solomon's Mines. The movie is rote simple with its characterizations too: Elizabeth Curtis wants to go despite Quatermain saying she would give up because...she's a woman. (Gotta love casual 1950s sexism). Of course, he mentions how the life span of someone in his position is 8 years while he's been there for 15 years and he lost his wife 6 years due to any number of things - disease, animals, or being killed by a local person. Eventually, Allan Quatermain warms up to Elizabeth during the search although Elizabeth almost gets herself killed and gets one of Quatermain's best dudes killed. Why he didn't go 'screw this person, she's a liability' and let her die, I don't know. There's a lot of fucking walking throughout the movie, but it's absolutely gorgeous to look at. The movie essentially is covered in colonialism; Quatermain is able to be in the region due to learning the local dialects, but they shoot defenseless elephants at the start of the movie. The movie shows the people of the region without really giving them a defining character; Quatermain is mad at the deaths of the people working with him due to tenure, but that's just it. During the opening hunt, one of his men is killed and Quatermain asks to have the man's things sent to his family. There's never really a sense that the characters come away learing anything about the region, just more that they survived it. The movie has a civil war erupt with one of their guides Umbopa (Siriaque) winning in hand to hand combat, thus ending the war. Coming away from the movie, it's hard to have a sense of excitement after seeing it. A lot of the older movies like this usually have better character arcs to propel the movie. The Flame and The Arrow (which lost to this in Best Cinematography - Color at the Oscars) is more fun to watch, even with the characters being equally simplistic. I just found myself not liking anyone after the movie was done. King Solomon's Mines should have been left undiscovered. A Fish in the Bathtub (Criterion Channel, leaving on 7/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler A Fish in the Bathtub seems like a movie for the AARP set - but is surprisingly deeper than it normally would be. Jerry Stiller as Sam and Anne Meara as Molly are definitely like the New York/New Jersey couples that have appeared in movies of the 1970s/1980s, but the difference being it's 40 years into their marriage. There's something that feels real and relatable as they argue after Sam decided to get a fish and keep in the bathtub. The movie goes through the heartbreak that Sam experiences based on his choices and his pushing everyone away - Molly gets tired of it after a night with friends and moves in with her son Joel (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Sharon (Missy Yager). The two end up exploring their own paths and start testing the waters for dating; a movie about the 60+ age group dating would be an interesting premise on its own to be honest. Like all romantic movies, the two get back together once Sam realizes what he has with Molly and apologies. Mark Ruffalo has a bit of a nothing subplot with a woman named Tracy (Pamela Gray) trying to have an affair with him and his sister Ruthie (Jane Adams) has a woefully underdeveloped character. Ruthie seems a bit tertiary to the entire story. A Fish in the Bathtub isn't one of Joan Micklin Silver's best movie, but it fits within her filmography for focusing on the day to day concerns of Jewish people in New York. Land of Bad (Netflix, leaving on 7/17) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Land of Bad is almost too generic at the start, but it's wonderful cinematography carries the movie through. Although the enemies are nearly faceless, nameless enemies of Middle Eastern descent / Muslim religion that turns this into war propaganda, what makes the movie intriguing is the action. When JJ Kinney (Liam Hemsworth) is trying to relay his position to Eddie Grimm "Reaper" (Russell Crowe), it's death by a thousand cuts. Initially, he is having to go through territory much like Behind Enemy Lines but Kinney is a lot smarter than Owen Wilson's character was. What does him in and almost gets him killed, is "Reaper" and Ssgt. Nia Branson (Chika Ikogwe) are forced to relinquish the chair due to being seated for the mission for over 10 hours. The last 20 minutes of the movie is genuinely thrilling - director William Eubank has a lot at play - Kinney trying to escape before the mansion is bombed, "Reaper" is grocery shopping for vegan food and gets a voicemail from Kinney, and the people at base watching a NCAA basketball game and placing more importance on that. So "Reaper" literally speeds back to base and orders the stand-down of a strike within a second before it happens. Then he brandishes a golf club and admonishes them for being too distracted with a basketball game and almost caused three soldiers to die before destroying the TV. Given who is currently joining the US military, it's not surprising that it even happened. The people watching the basketball game being distracted and answering the phone to rout to a cell phone are the kind of brain trust we got now. It's probably even worse with Kegsbreath as the Secretary of Defense. They're probably drunk, answering the phone, and re-routing the call now. So Land of Bad isn't one of the best movies from 2024, but it's a great action movie. 2
J.H. Posted July 13 Posted July 13 Now Andrew has to watch the Richard Chamberlain version of King Solomon's Mines and compare. Whoever thought Chamberla8n would be a good Indiana Jones stand-un should be shot. Not even young Sharon Stone can save that or it's sequel! James 1
HarryArchieGus Posted July 13 Posted July 13 On 7/10/2026 at 7:12 AM, AxB said: Oh yeah, and Live Action Lion King is some bullshit. There are no human character in the movie, so what the fuck live action are you even filming? Did you get actual living animals to lip sync your dialogue? Maybe check out the movie? I'm not sure you're talking about the same films, but Barry Jenkins' underrated Mufasa: The Lion King was thoroughly excellent. A very sweet (earned) and thoughtful movie. I've heard Favreau's previous in this style didn't work out so well. On 7/11/2026 at 12:17 AM, Andrew POE! said: Movies today... Side Effects (Netflix, leaving on 7/14) - 4/5 stars Reveal hidden contents With Steven Soderbergh, he can tell more in an hour and 45 minute movie than some directors can tell in 2 hours. Initially with Side Effects, it presents Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) as being the protagonist; what's happening to her is adversely affecting her and is due to her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) being released from prison. She seems to be a sleepy daze and is depressed; she drives into a parking garage wall in a suicide attempt. Under Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law)'s care, she is prescribed medicine for depression. After Emily murders Martin, the larger point is revealed; Dr. Banks is the main character for this movie. It's interesting how a lot of the in-movie attention is on what medicine can do to a person, not so much what the person did. The police act as though Dr. Banks did something criminal with prescribing a medicine that leads to sleepwalking-like conditions. Emily’s mother appears on GMA and reads a statement throwing Dr. Banks under the bus. Emily is found not guilty by reason of insanity, but Dr. Banks in the court of public opinion is declared guilty. What happens through the story is Dr. Banks attempting to prove that there is more to what Emily did than could be blamed on medication. He learns that Emily has a connection with her previous doctor Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Dr. Siebert as a character is interesting; initially, she meets with Dr. Banks at a conference and acts as though she hasn't seen Emily since the last time she was under her care. But, slowly, Dr. Siebert becomes more involved and, as it turns out, is orchestrating what Emily is doing. The way the movie comes together is that it turns out that Emily and Dr. Siebert were working together; Emily planned to murder her husband and the two were in a romantic relationship. Why Emily couldn't just simply leave Martin after he was released from prison and start her relationship with Dr. Siebert without murdering him, who knows. What seems to be the crux is Emily tells Dr. Siebert about insider trading and profits off of Ablixa's stock going down in the wake of Emily murdering her husband. They just didn't plan on Dr. Banks figuring things out, even with Dr. Siebert blackmailing him and making his wife Deidre (Vinessa Shaw) leave him. In the end, Dr. Banks does figure things out, gets Emily to wear a wire in cooperation with detectives, and bust Dr. Siebert for conspiracy to commit murder and securities fraud. Emily is sent to a psychiatric hospital in Brooklyn. The movie ends much in the way it began with shots of the hospital from the exterior near the Brooklyn Bridge. Side Effects as a movie has a lot of great, simple cinematography; Soderbergh deploys an objective camera and doesn't really do a lot of fancy work within the movie. Soderbergh uses a lot of digital camera with Red cameras that give the movie a more 'clinical' look to it. It's interesting how Channing Tatum played a part he normally doesn't do as a white collar criminal; in the previous movie, Tatum had done Magic Mike. The drawback with Side Effects is the story can be a tad unbelievable, especially since Emily was able to maintain 'her story' for that long without it becoming more obvious something was up. The fact that Dr. Banks was the only one to pick up on it and the movie did a few unbelievable occurrences with his being in trouble for what Emily did and being able to testify. Even then, Side Effects isn't that bad. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Criterion Channel, leaving on 7/31) - 4/5 stars Reveal hidden contents Part This Is Spinal Tap, part American Movie, and part Metallica's Some Kind of Monster documentary, Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a heartfelt examination of trying to achieve commercial success and fame within music. Anvil as a band were talked about supposed to be the 'band that made it.' Musicians interviewed at the start (including Scott Ian from Anthrax and guitarist Slash) praise Anvil for being a quintessential metal band. Yet the reality and time prove to be different. What is heartbreaking to watch is the day to day life that the two permanent members, singer/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner, have. Kudlow works for a children's food company that services schools in Toronto. Reiner works in construction. The promise and optimism of playing shows in Europe from a fan named Tiziana Arrigoni for 1500 per show proves to be too alluring. Throughout it, Kudlow and Reiner have the idea that 'this is it' as they play a metal festival in Stockholm, but soon run into travel issues then a bar in Prague doesn't pay them because they were two hours late. It seems like everything is beginning to work against them. They are broke, Kudlow is on a second mortgage and their bassist is homeless. They got no money for this tour; their last show on the tour in Romania was to less than 500 people. Kudlow seizes upon the idea that they need to contact the producer for their earlier album Chris Tsangarides, who will record for them at 13,000 English pounds. Kudlow tries a series of odd jobs including telemarketing for a company run by one of the band's fans until he finally borrows the money from his sister. During the recordings in Dover, England, Reiner and Kudlow receive an impasse with Kudlow angry at Reiner and Reiner walking off, going to the beach to see the White Cliffs of Dover. Kudlow tearfully reconciles with Reiner. Throughout the documentary, the thought would be this is a 'mockumentary' but it's real life for this band. Steve Kudlow through his personality and how he's affected shows that a lot of what happened with the band had to do with his response to things. Kudlow threatens the bar owner for not paying them and gets into an argument with his best friend. It's more sad due to the fact that he (and his band) are over the age of 50 and trying to 'make it' in the music business; the guy from EMI Canada listens to a few seconds of the songs and makes it clear that it's more about 'the changing landscape' of music rather than anything the band is doing as right or wrong. Eventually, Reiner and Kudlow reconcile after their argument in England and the band plays a festival in Tokyo with an early showing to a capacity crowd. Through the documentary in the aftermath, they do obtain more success than previously thought and continued to make music. What I loved throughout the documentary is a lot of the "B-roll" in the various places the band visits as part of their tours. Contrasting that with what Reiner and Kudlow see in Toronto, which is snow mainly. The takeaway seems to be that success in music, like any form of entertainment, requires a bit of a sobering reality and not every band or performer is guaranteed success. Pictures of Ghosts (Criterion Channel, leaving on 7/31) - 4.5/5 stars Reveal hidden contents "I'll lock up the cinema with a key of tears." Three thoughts float through my mind after watching Pictures of Ghosts. One, this movie is a personal story for its director Kleber Mendonca Filho as he talks about the apartment he lived in and filmed things in while growing up with a variety of film formats used in the movie. It reminded me a bit of what Jafar Panahi did with This Is Not A Film; the story of the movie is told in the location and in the auteur's imagination. Filho talks about the changes he's seen while living there and since his mother died. What seems to pop up frequently are ghosts - he recalls hearing a neighbor's dog barking, but he realizes that it was a neighbor watching his film Neighboring Sounds. The other ghost that appears is in an unknown photograph where a person appeared while developing the negative - the story behind that image is unknown. The thing is tying his home to his filmmaking career is a way to remember what he was as a child and as a young adult. The second thought has to do with what Filho describes in the rest of the movie about the cinemas in Recife. During his youth and at the time, there were several movie theaters everywhere. He talked to a projectionist that recalls the day the cinema he worked closed and how he would describe his final day at the start of the review. It got me thinking about the local Atlanta cinemas - Atlanta used to have more cinemas that weren't part of a theater chain. Now, it's down to The Tara, The Plaza Theatre, and The Landmark Art Cinema. Theaters that were in other places around the city are gone now - and with it the art and culture too. Filho describes how one cinema looked like a homage to Louis IX and how the owner had received dignitaries like the local governor of the region. Filho records theaters that had been closed and now they are storing blenders. They aren't in use. The history of cinema is now told in the still photographs that Filho narrates through the movie. What people were doing at the time and what they were seeing were told in the marquees. A movie like Milos Forman's Hair was restricted for viewing by the Brazilian government in an effort to control and to censor the populace; yet over 100,000 Brazilians in Recife went to go see it. The third thought has to do with how closed cinemas are becoming churches. To me, it's a sad statement that evangelicals take over the cinemas. The evangelical church, especially the Southern Baptists in America, are the most restrictive people in the world. They lull people into a sense of tedium and fanaticism through repetition. I always think that Jesus Himself would find going to an evangelical church to be the most mindless thing to do in the world. The segment about that had me thinking about how my hometown single screen theater would house a church on Sundays after the projectors were taken out; this goes back to what Filho would talk about and how 'going to a church' and 'going to a cinema' were the same thing. Then the theater became a bar, still with the theater marquee attached. I would go into it on a Friday night at around 10 pm and there were barely any people in it. The theater as a bar had no function; the floors were sticky and the tiles were coming up, the drinks were watered down, the taps needed to be cleaned and replaced (the worst glass of Guinness I've ever gotten was there), anything other than a local theater chain was gone. So in the end, Pictures of Ghosts is a reminder and a warning through a video essay from one film director. The future of cinema forces us to make our homes into the arthouse theater that is now on streaming. The public theater is diminished or closed. What the future of movies look like, who knows - all that is known is the director Kleber Mendonca Filho wants to remember Recife as it was, as Herb Alpert's "Rise" plays to close out the movie. At least that's something. Bait (Hulu, leaving on 7/25) - 4/5 stars Reveal hidden contents I've seen Mark Jenkin's most recent Rose of Nevada and I find I enjoyed his way of making movies - it feels like a movie made decades earlier that was discovered and then released. Bait is even more of that. The acting feels like a lot of late 1950s and early 1960s acting did that were independent movies - Night of the Living Dead calls to mind. The takes are deliberately 'cut off' because film is expensive and there's only so many days they can film it. Bait taps into that and the "British New Wave" although a bit more droll in comparison. Martin (Edward Rowe) is a local fisherman in Cornish village (probably the same village as was in Rose of Nevada) who has to contend with a couple that moved in Tim (Simon Shepherd) and Katie (Georgia Ellery) Leigh that have moved in and are renting the house out. A lot of the movie has Martin arguing with people including his brother (Giles King) and Steven's son Neil (Isaac Woodvine). All of that changes when Neil falls off a dock and onto a boat, killed. Martin decides to join his brother at the end for a fishing job and sees Neil's ghost on the dock. Movies like this being possible in the late 2010s gives a lot of hope for filmmaking. Just buy old Bolex cameras and go. The Invite (saw in the theaters) - 5/5 stars Reveal hidden contents Movies like The Invite are a rare occurrence in Hollywood nowadays. Oftentimes, the expectations of a major movie production house is that 'movies for adults' are dead. It becomes a movie that features Liam Neeson or Jason Statham or (lately) Mila Jovovich and involves them looking dour and firing guns and moody cellos and a lot of wide angle shots with digital cameras. An actual movie for adults where adult topics are discussed is to be savored. Another reviewer points to this to being like a Mike Nichols' comedy (which it is), but it's more like a 'greatest hits' of Mike Nichols. It's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Carnal Knowledge and Closer smashed together with Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. The story for the movie is as much about the uncomfortable aspects of Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (director Olivia Wilde)'s relationship as it is about they learning about the relationship of "Hawk" (Edward Norton) and Pina (Penelope Cruz). That a couple when examining themselves and their faults realize that another couple doesn't have it so easy either. Much of the introductory scenes is about the anger that Joe and Angela have for each other for Angela not telling Joe that she invited "Hawk" and Pina to their apartment for the night. Joe is taken aback, claiming to not have been told - "asking and telling aren't the same things," he says - with Angela stressing about not having wine and preparing cheese and meat for more people than the couple. Then Angela bought a rug without telling Joe either (and likely not at a consignment shop like she claimed to Hawk later). Their relationship at the start and throughout the movie is of perpetual distress even when things appear to be calm, Joe using humor to cover up insecurities and Angela changing the subject whenever it's uncomfortable for her. Hawk and Pina stood outside the door before knocking; they heard the argument between the two. Hawk and Pina present themselves as a 'perfect couple,' they speaking to each other in Spanish and seemingly open and honest about their relationship with each other. What's interesting is the discussion of livelihood is brought up - Joe is an associate music professor, Hawk is a fire captain, Pina is a 'sexologist' and Angela is a homemaker. Angela's anxiety and insecurity is brought up as it's wondered what she does all in the house. When the couple split to talk is where more is learned; Joe is awkwardly attractived to Pina while smoking weed in his office and Angela shows Hawk her and Joe's bedroom where she reveals that "Joe was conceived here." "We couldn't afford this place," Angela says, revealing that the apartment was inherited. "No one can afford anything in America today," Hawk says in response. It's when the two are separated that more is learned; Angela opens up more to Hawk and Joe opens up more to Pina. It is eventually learned that "The Invite" has a double meaning; Angela and Joe aren't inviting the couple to see their apartment, but Hawk and Pina are inviting Angela and Joe to join them in group sex. The dialogue in those scenes are practically hilarious as they talk about Hawk being 'pegged' with a strap-on while another couple joins Hawk and Pina. As an experiment, Hawk and Angela were to have sex while Joe and Pina were to have sex too. Joe and Pina listen to Sade's "By Your Side" until Joe hits the shelves and hurt his back. After that, more of the truth comes out - Hawk's real name is Howard and it's due to a very personal reason related to his wife's death from cancer (and here I thought it was because he really loved Rio Bravo and admired Howard Hawks). Hawk and Pina's relationship isn't as idyllic as first thought either - Hawk constantly interrupts Pina and doesn't let her finish a thought and Hawk's Spanish is terrible with Pina not correcting it. Angela and Joe exchange looks with each other as the couple they heard having 'orgasms upstairs' isn't as perfect as they first thought. In the end, Pina suggests to Angela and Joe that they should consider a separation. "Would you rather have a happy separation or a miserable life because you wanted to be together for your child?" she asks. Angela and Joe go to clean up when Pina and Hawk are gone, not having said goodbye. Angela resolves to sleep in the bedroom, while Joe takes the office. The movie ends in an almost Woody Allen-like manner as Joe plays the piano with Angela joining him. What I love throughout the movie is how Olivia Wilde and cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra frames shots. A lot of times, the door frames and mirrors are used to show two actors in the frame; an actor's reflection through a mirror or a window allows that person to be in the scene even when off screen. At some point, when the actors are speaking alone, the camera is focused on one person. The camera cuts between them in the conversation - like when it goes from Seth Rogen to Olivia Wilde to Penelope Cruz then back to Seth Rogen at the scenes leading to the end. There's also a lot of split diopter shots used - Wilde will be in the foreground of a scene with Rogen out of focus in the background. The Invite as a movie is very much an intellectual, "New Yorker" movie; a movie where the drama and comedy is carried entirely through with dialogue is hard to pull off today. I'm glad that Olivia Wilde and screenwriters Will McCormack and Rashida Jones stuck with their guns to do this. The Man Who Loved Women (1977) (Criterion Channel, leaving on 7/31) - 3/5 stars Hide contents For me, Francois Truffaut made movies that spoke to me on a lot of levels. But this movie The Man Who Loved Women is almost too 'conventional' with how the movie is. Bertrand Morane (Charles Denner) seems like another 'voice of the writer' character like Antoine Doinel is, but older and maybe a bit oversexed. The movie functions with a framing device; it starts at the funeral of Morane that is attended by all women, with a narrator Genevieve Bigey (Brigitte Fossey) telling what they have in common. It then switches to Morane being the narrator as it relays the various women he's met and relationships he had before he latches onto the idea to write a novel about his exploits. To be honest, the movie is a bit scattershot. There never appears a common plot progression; it all rests upon Morane reliving his memories of the women. Except for a few, like Delphine (Nelly Borgeaud), the women are all easily fooled and as noted, interchangeable. The movie with the novel aspect tries to give Morane an 'out' for how he is, but the truth is he's not a compelling character. He exists in a vacuum with the women around in him in the movie also in a vacuum. So what starts his being killed was not being hit by a car, chasing after a woman. It's his being in a hospital bed, reaching for a woman upon seeing her legs (which he calls 'the compass of a woman") and falling out of bed. Despite the story aspects, the cinematography from Nestor Almendros is remarkable to watch. The Man Who Loved Women is just merely okay to love. I find Morane a very unique and compelling character. That's maybe my favourite Truffaut. There's a lot of depth and humour tucked in there. It's a wonderfully written and performed movie. I'm really curious to see how Hollywood handled that material. Your lowly score of the remake is inline with all I've ever heard. I too saw and very much enjoyed The Invite. 'Adult' movies having box office impact feels like a major positive.
The Natural Posted July 13 Posted July 13 So there's a Christopher Nolan IMAX season at Widescreen Weekend. I was hoping for The Dark Knight Trilogy and Memento. No, it's fucking Interstellar and Tenet. Fuck me, @Technico Support. 4
HarryArchieGus Posted July 13 Posted July 13 (edited) I saw Interstellar in the cinema on Friday. My personal premiere. I found it to be a melodramatic nonsensical slog. Anne Hathaway’s one gear may have been eye rolly to me, but was totally suited for the unearned sentimentality on display. I don’t remember the last time my eyes rolled so much watching a movie. Further, Hans Zimmer’s score may be nice music on its own, but within the movie chewed up everything it touched. Interstellar seemed to confirm that I indeed don’t need to see every Chris Nolan film. Especially those based on the Nolans original ideas (Edit: other than Memento). Edited July 13 by HarryArchieGus 2
Technico Support Posted July 13 Posted July 13 6 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said: I saw Interstellar in the cinema on Friday. My personal premiere. I found it to be a melodramatic nonsensical slog. Anne Hathaway’s one gear may have been eye rolly to me, but was totally suited for the unearned sentimentality on display. I don’t remember the last time my eyes rolled so much watching a movie. Further, Hans Zimmer’s score may be nice music on its own, but within the movie chewed up everything it touched. Interstellar seemed to confirm that I indeed don’t need to see every Chris Nolan film. Especially those based on the Nolans original ideas (Edit: other than Memento). One of us! 1 4
Andrew POE! Posted July 14 Posted July 14 Movies today....earliest I've call it a day in awhile. Magic in the Moonlight (Hulu, leaving on 7/31) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler With Magic in the Moonlight, it's interesting how much it calls back to the earlier concerns of Woody Allen. The period setting, the misanthropic main character, and that character's concerns over love of a woman who fascinates him. It's not Annie Hall or even Love And Death, but the same threadline that Allen has followed appears here. In a lot of ways, Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) is as much of a stand-in for Allen as Alvy Singer was. Emma Stone has a lot of the same qualities that Allen's leading ladies would have, like Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow, except a bit more updated and with a modernist take. Stone's Sophie Baker is able to have Crawford believing that she is a medium capable of communicating with the dead. The movie's entire plot is Crawford spending time with Baker in an effort to disprove her abilities. At times, the movie is a bit threadbare compared to other Woody Allen movies regarding its plot; there isn't the usual spark of intelligence that the characters have. But the picturesque scenery, vehicles, costuming, and music carry the movie as does Firth and Stone's performances. What I found interesting is how Stanley Crawford changes in the last 20 minutes of the movie. Crawford is smitten with Baker at a party, reveals publicly that he believes in her, and then his Aunt Vanessa (Eileen Atkins) is in a car accident. During the time at the hospital, Crawford begins to pray until his rational approach takes over. He then believes that Baker is a fraud, despite declaring publicly that she isn't. He arrives back at the manor to see Sophie and her ukulele-playing fiancee Brice (Hamish Linklater) waiting along with Stanley's friend Howard (Simon McBurney). When everyone has left, Howard and Sophie reveal to be in on a plan together after Howard was skeptical too. Howard uses the plan with Sophie to get back at Stanley. Stanley does another of his magician's trick and reveals himself and is angry at the two. What then happens is Stanley Crawford changes further and becomes more reflective on what happened - he realizes that his normally rational approach to life and having a 'rational girlfriend' isn't the same as what he sees in Sophie - Sophie's smile. Crawford becomes like all the other Woody Allen's men that adhere to a notion, only for the beauty of a woman and her just smiling at him tears apart. Crawford declares his love of Sophie to his aunt and tries (and fails) to propose to Baker. The ending has Crawford meeting with his aunt before Baker responds to his marriage proposal while his eyes are closed and the camera is focused on him. Baker and Crawford kiss. The drawback with Magic in the Moonlight is of course the age gap between the two characters. It doesn't really help shake the controversy around Woody Allen's own personal life, but, as always, this is a case to judge the movie separately from the person. It perhaps would have been wiser to have someone closer to Emma Stone's age as Stanley Crawford (Nicholas Hoult springs to mind for me, maybe Ryan Gosling (again)). It's not one of Woody Allen's best movies, but it's not the worst either. Raven Song (Netflix, leaving on 7/19) - 1.5/5 stars Spoiler I can appreciate someone making a first feature like what Mohamed al Salman is doing; even in a country not known for films like Saudi Arabia that is commendable. It's just that so much of the movie is so inert and even a bit amateurish, that it's hard to get past a few things. The premise feels Cohen Brothers-inspired; the main character Nasser (Asem Alawad) is like Barton Fink where he's in a hotel. It's that meeting Inside Llewyn Davis where Nasser is told he is a poet despite not actually writing anything. With the premise alone, it should lead to being a great dark comedy/satire. But it doesn't. A lot of the movie is shot in the most tedious way possible. There's almost an over-reliance on the camera fixed on one character saying something to Nasser, it cuts to Nasser, he responds (slowly) and cuts back to the other character. Everyone felt like they were on Valium while delivering their lines. So it made the movie have a very uneven flow to it and elongated the movie. It's a story that could be told in 90 minutes, but is nearly 2 hours long. The dramatic and satirical aspects center on Riyadh in 2002, where men at the time didn't really regard much with women. Nasser keeps seeing a beautiful woman (Kateryna Tkachenko) everywhere, who is later identified as Hadeele (or a Dove's Coo). Much of the movie has Nasser going around with Abu Sagr (Ibraheem Alkhairallah) who is a former singer but now tow truck driver due to being repentant. Abu Sagr giving up singing is due to the cultural norms around singing and music being forbidden in Saudi Arabia. At some point, there are murders of women committed by the "Raven Killer" that Nasser is told about. Incidentally, Nasser's persona as a poet is "Nasser The Raven" as he is said in a newspaper article to rage against the modernists in his poetry despite never written anything. Towards the end, Nasser is fired from the hotel and goes up to find Abu Yasser (Abdullah Aljafal) murdering the beautiful woman who Yasser reveals her name and the contents of the letter to Nasser. Yasser felt a sense of jealousy over Hadeele leaving him and murdered her. This aspect owes itself a bit to John Goodman's character in Barton Fink appearing friendly, but turning out to be a psychopath. Nasser meets with Dr. Ahmed (Wael Elnahal) from the start of the movie and undergoes brain surgery for a tumor. He sees Hadeele in his dream and pulls his brain out in the final image, implying that he died. There are moments that seem great like the introductory dream sequence making it seem like Nasser was having something physically done to him as a man hits tapes with a giant hammer and brains falling from the sky. I also liked the musical montages used as Nasser follows the girl in his dreams. I wanted to have liked Raven Song a bit more than I did and I'm fine with what it attempted. I just wished it were better. Rude Boy (Criterion Channel, leaving on 7/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler A Bigger Splash felt like a documentary that was really a fictional film. Rude Boy is a fictional film that feels like a documentary. It should be said - Ray Gange is a completely inept racist idiot. Ray is like a lot of people that are attractive to punk rock - he doesn't have a lot going for him, but he identifies with the punk ethos. The movie has him working at a sex store (rather poorly) and getting unemployment from the UK government of 74.72 British pounds in a check. Interspersed is footage of the National Front and Anti-fascists protesting; the documentary/movie is almost Godard-like with what is captured. Jack Hazan and David Mingay's cameras are pointed to them, not really making a statement, but with what is captured making a statement. Ray Gange decides to become a roadie for The Clash during their tour in the UK. One scene I liked was the footage of the police pushing back rioters, then it cuts to footage of the band performing "Police & Thieves," and finally the original version of the song played while Ray is walking down the street. It's as though the songs and the scenes are making a statement about the rioting. The Clash performing in concert is captured and it's raw, real, intense, and you can feel the sweat as Joe Strummer sings "White Riot" and "(White Man) In Hammersith Palais." Bouncers are shown kicking teenagers out of the show for various infractions. Ray does his job as a roadie rather poorly too; he's like something out of The Devil, Probably where he just floats listlessly through life except he doesn't really a direction. He's not as calculated. The problem is he and his friend are a bit racist. They go to a public house and tear down posters against the National Front as Ray's friend has a shaved head and identifies with the National Front. It should be noted that in the UK, just because people had shaved heads and were called "skinheads" didn't mean they were racist. It's just when they identify with groups like National Front or avowed racist positions, that they were. Ray has a conversation with Joe Strummer that I can see why The Clash didn't like this movie - Ray told Joe he shouldn't 'make political music' while Joe sings "Let The Good Times Roll." The conversation goes toward white performers borrowing from black music to become successful (with Ray dropping the 'n-word' during the conversation because he's a knob). Joe Strummer repeats the word, which....isn't a good look to be honest. Thankfully, the other people working in the crew get sick of Ray and throw him into the bathtub so he can sleep and take a bath too. He stinks and has stinky thoughts, so he needs to wash the stink off. The sad thing with the documentary as well is it implies an 'endorsement' of Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party. Thatcher makes a speech about how people don't want to feel threatened going out in public and how two elderly women were supposedly robbed with one supposedly dying. Much like in America, the figurehead leader of a conservative political party can cite things seemingly with no evidence to encourage fear and concern amongst their supporters. America has a leader just as bad as Margaret Thatcher right now. In the end, two guys, a young man and an attorney, are talking in a room where a statement was read that the young man signed. "If you were getting beaten up, wouldn't you sign too?" he says. Ray goes about still being a loser and singing to himself like a loser. Rude Boy as a movie comes together in some ways with its loose structure; it's not necessarily a documentary about The Clash, just uses footage of their music to fill in the blanks for the movie. Ray as a character is probably ill-equipped to even understand the music he likes; he's just looking for an outlet and a group to expel what he thinks. He's given a microphone in a public park concert and makes an idiot of himself. They pull him away because he doesn't need to be on stage. He needs to go back to the sex shop and sell stuff so other dudes like him can have a wank. 1
HarryArchieGus Posted July 14 Posted July 14 (edited) 12 hours ago, Andrew POE! said: Movies today....earliest I've call it a day in awhile. Magic in the Moonlight (Hulu, leaving on 7/31) - 3.5/5 stars Hide contents With Magic in the Moonlight, it's interesting how much it calls back to the earlier concerns of Woody Allen. The period setting, the misanthropic main character, and that character's concerns over love of a woman who fascinates him. It's not Annie Hall or even Love And Death, but the same threadline that Allen has followed appears here. In a lot of ways, Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) is as much of a stand-in for Allen as Alvy Singer was. Emma Stone has a lot of the same qualities that Allen's leading ladies would have, like Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow, except a bit more updated and with a modernist take. Stone's Sophie Baker is able to have Crawford believing that she is a medium capable of communicating with the dead. The movie's entire plot is Crawford spending time with Baker in an effort to disprove her abilities. At times, the movie is a bit threadbare compared to other Woody Allen movies regarding its plot; there isn't the usual spark of intelligence that the characters have. But the picturesque scenery, vehicles, costuming, and music carry the movie as does Firth and Stone's performances. What I found interesting is how Stanley Crawford changes in the last 20 minutes of the movie. Crawford is smitten with Baker at a party, reveals publicly that he believes in her, and then his Aunt Vanessa (Eileen Atkins) is in a car accident. During the time at the hospital, Crawford begins to pray until his rational approach takes over. He then believes that Baker is a fraud, despite declaring publicly that she isn't. He arrives back at the manor to see Sophie and her ukulele-playing fiancee Brice (Hamish Linklater) waiting along with Stanley's friend Howard (Simon McBurney). When everyone has left, Howard and Sophie reveal to be in on a plan together after Howard was skeptical too. Howard uses the plan with Sophie to get back at Stanley. Stanley does another of his magician's trick and reveals himself and is angry at the two. What then happens is Stanley Crawford changes further and becomes more reflective on what happened - he realizes that his normally rational approach to life and having a 'rational girlfriend' isn't the same as what he sees in Sophie - Sophie's smile. Crawford becomes like all the other Woody Allen's men that adhere to a notion, only for the beauty of a woman and her just smiling at him tears apart. Crawford declares his love of Sophie to his aunt and tries (and fails) to propose to Baker. The ending has Crawford meeting with his aunt before Baker responds to his marriage proposal while his eyes are closed and the camera is focused on him. Baker and Crawford kiss. The drawback with Magic in the Moonlight is of course the age gap between the two characters. It doesn't really help shake the controversy around Woody Allen's own personal life, but, as always, this is a case to judge the movie separately from the person. It perhaps would have been wiser to have someone closer to Emma Stone's age as Stanley Crawford (Nicholas Hoult springs to mind for me, maybe Ryan Gosling (again)). It's not one of Woody Allen's best movies, but it's not the worst either. I thought Magic was another overlooked late period delight. I think I liked it a little more, but fair review. I liked reading in Apropos of Nothing about Allen's enduring friendship with Stone, and how she taught him how to use a smart phone. Her work here and especially in the excellent collab Irrational Man were jumping off points for what has become an incredible career for the talented Ms. Stone. Edited July 14 by HarryArchieGus 1
Andrew POE! Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Movies today...had to go into the office so fewer movies. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (Netflix, leaving on 7/20) - 1.5/5 stars Spoiler The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry feels like something from the old days of when network television would do a "Made For TV" movie or something that would appear randomly on Hallmark Channel or Lifetime Movie Network. There's nothing really distinctive about the movie visually, just an effort to appear to be 'emotional' with its story of A.J. Fikry (Kunal Nayyar), a 40+ year old bookstore owner who is miserable in life and honestly hates reading. He has a copy of Edgar Allan Poe's rare poetry collection that he keeps in a case that gets stolen. The movie is thought to be about his adjusting to it and looking for it, but nope. It sets up a mystery that gets easily solved. It's when the movie strays from this premise and turns into a 'slice of life' movie that it falters. Fikry has a relationship with Amy Loman (Lucy Hale) that turns romantic and then there's local author Daniel Parrish (Scott Foley) and his wife Ismay Evans (Christina Hendricks). Local sheriff Nick Lambiase (David Arquette) also is involved too. The characters feel like something that would be a weekly TV series too. The movie injects drama where a 2 year old is discovered at the bookstore and Fikry becomes a surrogate father to Maya. The movie progresses through as Maya visibly age, yet everyone else remains the same somehow. (I mean put old age makeup on people when a character ages!). It turns out that Maya is the daughter of Daniel Parrish who then dies in a car accident. Maya also supernaturally knows what her birth mother did despite no one even telling her and putting it into a short story submitted for a local high school competition. (The movie never explains this at all, but that's fine I guess). It turns out that Maya's mother stole the book from Fikry's house and Ismay attempted to return it and had it in her closet for years. Ismay also begins a relationship with Dewey...I mean, Nick although they really lack in chemistry. (Sorry but David Arquette and Courtney Cox had visible chemistry in comparison). Then A.J. dies from cancer and Nick and Ismay run the bookstore with some fresh faced young man going to the bookstore and giving a book to the new owners. The few shots that were impressive - like Christina Hendricks standing on the beach and a few black and white flashback sequences - are few and far between. I do like the fact that a British-Indian actor was a lead in this, which is different than what’s normally done. This movie is made by people that hate movies, much like A.J. Fikry hates books. It wasn't released, it escaped into theaters and onto streaming platforms. The Sea of Grass (HBO Max, leaving on 7/31) - 2.5/5 stars Spoiler Serving as a pre-cursor to what Elia Kazan would do later in his career, The Sea of Grass has the complicated relationship between men and women and how a non-communicative man expresses himself to a woman that he cannot reach. Col. Jim Brewton (Spencer Tracy) and Lutie Cameron (Katharine Hepburn) are very much like the characters that would be found in A Streetcar Named Desire, Splendor in the Grass, and On The Waterfront. The unfortunate thing is Kazan and those doing the screenplay didn't trust themselves enough to allow it. The movie strives to be a Fordian saga without location shooting; it makes it very difficult to garner much of interest within it outside of Tracy and Hepburn's scenes. There is a lot of rear projection used (it's hard to not stifle a laugh during the showdown where Tracy is shown riding a horse amidst a projection of people on horseback) and stock footage used (especially during the montage scenes where Lutie and Doc (Harry Carey) are narrating letters back and forth). What the movie does in the last 40 minutes is age up the two children - Brock Brewton (Robert Walker) and Sarah Beth Brewton (Phyllis Thaxter) - and try to have the story center around Jim Brewton's inability to control Brock and distances from Sarah Beth while Lutie is completely gone from the picture. The third act of the movie almost derails it and turns it into a different movie. (Also, I couldn't help but feel icky when Walker and Thaxter were on screen together and I thought they would full on go in for a kiss). The movie's ending has Lutie deciding to come back to Jim despite everything that happened and despite what he did to her. The thing is Lutie knew who Jim would be - he has the local judge Brice Chamberlin (Melvyn Douglas) in his pcoket and Lutie won't stay with Brice either and remarry. It's kind of a sad ending if you think about it. It's not all bad - I liked how the blizzard scenes were shot as Sam Hall (James Bell) and Selina Hall (Ruth Nelson) are dealing with Jim's men and Selina loses her child. I wished there had been a comeuppance for Jim and his men, but it never comes. It does drive a wedge between Jim and Lutie over it there. The Sea of Grass isn't among Kazan's best efforts and it's merely average. Pilgrimage (Hulu, leaving on 7/24) - 2.5/5 stars Spoiler If you judge Pilgrimage by the first 30 minutes of the movie, it is likely to be turned off. But once I dug into it, it was a bit average yet a beautifully filmed period movie in the vein of Braveheart and Valhalla Rising (the movie especially reminded me of that). Unlike Valhalla Rising, the story details are a bit more clear. Jon Bernthal plays a mute who has a lot of combat experience (and is likely a soldier) with Tom Holland as Brother Diarmuid. Once the movie settles into having to rescue a holy relic from Raymond de Merville (Richard Armitage), it's slightly better. It's a 90 minute movie that feels a bit longer, but sustained with photography of the Irish countryside and droning music. 1
colonial Posted July 15 Posted July 15 I PLAY ROCKY An underdog film about making an underdog film. 1 1
The Natural Posted July 15 Posted July 15 https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_odyssey_2026 The Odyssey is 98% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Wow. Sir Christopher Nolan's highest rotten tomatoes score. 2
Tabe Posted July 15 Posted July 15 4 hours ago, colonial said: I PLAY ROCKY An underdog film about making an underdog film. AW HELL YEAH. I AM SO THERE. 1
Control Posted July 15 Posted July 15 My local theatre is doing a double feature of EVANGELION:DEATH (TRUE)² & REBIRTH and The End of Evangelion. Ive never seen EVANGELION. Are these still worth going to?
J.T. Posted July 15 Posted July 15 20 minutes ago, Control said: My local theatre is doing a double feature of EVANGELION:DEATH (TRUE)² & REBIRTH and The End of Evangelion. Ive never seen EVANGELION. Are these still worth going to? Both are very good but I would not recommend watching either with little to no context. Especially End of Evangelion which refuses to hold your hand. 2
Andrew POE! Posted July 16 Posted July 16 Movies today.... The Reconstruction (Mubi, leaving on 7/19) - 3/5 stars Spoiler It seems very much like a television program, which is what it was meant to be for Israeli TV. As someone in America, I find it sad and maddening that the police would interview suspects, have them go through the excruciating process of relaying how they committed the murder and where they put the body, but it doesn't match what actually happened or what other services like the Secret Service said happened. The various accounts that the men involved give are contradictory and seemed like they were done under extreme duress. It then becomes the police doing a rush for justice and the Supreme Court agreeing with their conclusions anyway, denying any appeals or re-examination of the evidence. Yet none of the judges, attorneys, or police investigators would be interviewed for this. Who actually committed the murder? Why didn't the police look closer at the family or people who knew the boy? Why was it five guys that worked at a local convenience store? The documentary answers those questions when it points to the national origin of the men. It's crazy how much of this mirrors the US justice system. The Here After (Mubi, leaving on 7/24) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler The Here After felt a bit like something from The Dardenne Brothers and Michael Haneke combined; the movie doesn't exactly tell you what is going to happen, it will just show you. John (Ulrik Munther) had served two years in prison for a crime he did - at the start of the movie, it's not readily known what he did. His father Martin (Mats Blomgren) picks him up and the way it seems to be is John was a drug addict or selling drugs. It turns out to be a different crime as the movie progresses; John tries to enroll back in the school he attended and the reactions of those at the school tell a different story as to his crime. John had apparently murdered a young woman, prompting guys bullying him to tell him that "he shouldn't be with women alone." John throughout the movie is nearly stoic, not offering a reaction, but the toll of the response is wearing on him. John's behavior after returning is very isolated and odd at times; he breaks into the home of Bea (Ellen Jelinek) after she attacks him in a grocery store. He does nothing but drive around on a motorcycle. He occasionally deals with his grandfather (Wieslaw Komasa), who resembles John in silent, stoic behavior but also with apparent maliciousness too. Magnus von Horn has the camera be very objective towards what John and other characters are doing; cinematographer Lukasz Zal captures the countryside setting in Sweden as John and his father work on farmland in the pouring rain. The most of the movie is John trying to reassemble his life, but finding he can't. His ostracism from school mirrors what Emma Stone had in Easy A. As mentioned, this breaks him down. Although Malin (Loa Ek) becoming his girlfriend does become a relief for him. Martin catches John's younger brother Filip (Alexander Nordgren) late at night and takes him home; most of the boys that he were near were the same ones harassing John when he returned to school. The boys go to Martin and John's house and breaks windows before John goes after them and fights Kim (Olier Heilmann) before being beaten up himself. John's face after being attacked resembles that of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, another figure of ostracism. John is made to meet with Kim and Kim's father to hear Kim apologize to him. In one scene at the cafeteria, John confronts Malin as Malin's friends leave the table; the camera focused on the two at a distance until it does a closeup. After the attack and breaking up with Malin, John goes to Bea's house with a shotgun, begging her to kill him. That doesn't happen and John breaks down completely, destroying the kitchen. The camera focuses on John as he is driving away with a garbage bag and a shotgun. The Here After as a movie is a bit slower of a drama, but the aspects of it related to someone returning to a school after being accused and serving time for a crime is very relatable. The movie makes it a point to not have the audience be sympathetic to John; he as a character is abrupt and standoffish. He even yells at Malin towards the end and it's easy to see the behavior that he was accused of doing happening. His father Martin is almost a mirror image of John, but he seems to react more and is more strict. One scene I found interesting is the fact that Martin didn't want Malin to see them arguing, almost as if Martin didn't understand or could explain his own reactions either. For the most part, The Here After is a great debut feature. Mary And Max (Hulu, leaving on 7/24) - 4.5/5 stars Spoiler Having watched Memoir of a Snail first and been utterly crushed by it, Mary and Max feels like an earlier attempt with it and its aspects of autobiographical story characteristics. What's interesting is how much of the early parts of the movie was narrator dictated with Barry Humphries as the narrator. Over time, the story shifts from the narrator dictating it to Mary (Toni Collette) and Max (Philip Seymour Hoffman) are narrating their own letters to each other. Mary and Max share their own neuroses alone - Max has a generalized anxiety and misunderstanding of the world and how the world operates. It's later indicated to be Asperger's Syndrome; Max makes it a point in one of his earlier letters not to identify it as a 'disease.' For what Max does, he jumps from job to job, seemingly alone beyond Mary's letters. Mary picked out Max's address randomly from a New York City phone book; her parents impress upon her their own issues which she then carries forward. Mary thinks that how she looks prevented her from obtaining true love; she marries the neighbor Damien Popodopoulos (Erica Bana), after doing cosmetic surgery. Damien turns out to be gay and leaves her for a man living in New Zealand. Mary also tries to 'solve' Max's issues with a book that precisely calls Asperger's Syndrome a 'disease,' which provokes Max's anger. Much like the later Memoir of a Snail, the movie depicts a darker world that the characters live in. Scenes in Max's New York are in black and white while Mary's Australia has some color to them and sepia coloring. It can be said that the movie drags a bit and may be a bit thin story wise at times. But there are a lot of memorable moments - Mary attempting suicide set to "Que Sera Sera" is a memorable moment as is Max describing a point where he and Mary will meet on 'crooked cracked sidewalks" and sharing condensed milk together. The ending is devastating, as Max is found dead when Mary arrives with her baby to New York City. Even then, Adam Elliot is a great director, even outside of animated movies. Wuthering Heights (2011) (Criterion Channel, leaving on 7/31) - 4/5 stars Spoiler It should be said that there will never really be a perfect adaptation of Wuthering Heights. The book in itself is almost unfilmable - it would have to be Part I and Part II together and would be better suited as a mini-series or extraordinary long movie. Andrea Arnold's version of Wuthering Heights (2011) will not be a perfect version of the book. But it seems to capture a gritty realistic presentation of the characters - these are rural farmers that have acres of land and less people for miles. It's not all fancy dress parties and Laurence Olivier acting for the first time on screen. It's men and women speaking fewer words, but showing more action and more violence. Heathcliff (James Howson / Solomon Glave) being of Afro descent is more accurate; the books describe him as descending from the Romani people. So he being stolen from Africa, sold into slavery, and ending up at the Earnshaws' home makes sense. Catherine Earnshaw's change from a rough and tumble young girl (Shannon Beer) to a sophisticated lady of the house (Kaya Scodelario) makes sense as well. Given the society they are in and where they are, the church and the Bible is the focus and extent of their education. With this version, Heathcliff is made to endure the cruelest behavior; he's whipped for literally being around Catherine. The Earnshaws aren't the heroic people that they would thought to be; they are positively monstruous. Hindley (Lee Shaw) is practically a brute with his fighting and beating up Heathcliff. Heathcliff and Catherine stumble upon the Lintons' house where Catherine is injured and Heathcliff is tossed out for cussing out Mr. Linton (Oliver Milburn). He has to watch as Catherine talks to Edgar (Jonny Powell) and Isabella (Eve Coverley). Eventually, Heathcliff leaves and makes his fortune; this version is less fortcoming as to how, but Hindley tells him that "it has to be due to murder and robbery," which Heathcliff doesn't respond to or deny. Catherine has married Edgar (James Northcote) while Isabella (Nichola Burley) finds Heathcliff attractive. Heathcliff wants to be part of Catherine's life, yet really shouldn't. When Catherine dies, Isabella blames him - "Catherine would be alive if it weren't for you," she says - as Heathcliff throws her against the wall and beats up Hindley. In a way, I think this version succeed with what the 2026 remake was trying to do. It captures more of the passion of the characters. Heathcliff’s reaction to Catherine’s death is more extreme - he does necrophilia and tries to open the casket after digging into the dirt. There were moments throughout the movie that called back to their adolescence as they climbed the rocks or Catherine had a feather that she released. The ending calls back to that as well as a feather floats in the air and lands on the ground. The camerawork tends to be against a bit; the handheld cameras are great part of the time, but the night time scenes make it hard to follow. This isn't a movie to watch with the lights on and directly in front of it. The other complaint I have is the ending song is from Mumford & Sons who managed to make some pseudo-spiritual tripe about not being the enemy. The song thankfully is short because the band's songs all sound the same. I personally feel that Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" (or hell, Pat Benatar's version or Hayley Westenra's version if Kate Bush didn't want to do it) would have been a better choice. Mumford & Sons' song completely was ill-fitting despite the banjo plucking. So as a result, this version of Wuthering Heights isn't like the William Wyler version, but it's certainly better than Emerald Fennell's version. 1
Curt McGirt Posted July 16 Posted July 16 I saw a photo somewhere (maybe here) of a stack of film reels for it and it covers NINE of them. Also, John Leguizamo was on Daily Show last night pimping it, so... John Leguizamo is in The frickin' Odyssey? 1
Andrew POE! Posted July 16 Posted July 16 48 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: I saw a photo somewhere (maybe here) of a stack of film reels for it and it covers NINE of them. Also, John Leguizamo was on Daily Show last night pimping it, so... John Leguizamo is in The frickin' Odyssey? Better question is who isn't in The Odyssey? Travis Scott is in it so I think most of the runtime will be him walking down a ramp slowly.
Mister TV Posted July 16 Posted July 16 31 minutes ago, Andrew POE! said: Better question is who isn't in The Odyssey? Travis Scott is in it so I think most of the runtime will be him walking down a ramp slowly. Anyone who's actually Greek or of Greek decent? 1 3
Tabe Posted July 17 Posted July 17 4 hours ago, Mister TV said: Anyone who's actually Greek or of Greek decent? Adele James wasn't available.
Andrew POE! Posted July 17 Posted July 17 Movies today... Brighton Rock (2010) (Netflix, leaving on 7/20) - 2/5 stars Spoiler For a noir tinged crime drama, Brighton Rock sadly isn't that great at times. The cinematography and production design are spot on, reminding me at times of 2021's Last Night in Soho and 2009's An Education. The bright spots are Andrea Riseborough as Rose, who gets thrown into the mix when Fred Hale (Sean Harris) is on the run from gangsters and later found dead. Sam Riley plays Pinkie Brown, who gives the character a sense of innocence and cold bloodedness in equal measures; Pinkie courts and marries Rose. The thing is the audience knows that Rose shouldn't marry Pinkie based on what he does, but Rose seems to made to feel like she has no choice. Ida (Helen Mirren) is trying to rescue Rose from being killed by Pinkie and eventually it leads to a climatic scene on the White Cliffs of Dover where Pinkie falls to his death. For the actors involved, they do decent work despite the uninspiring material. The movie tells its story with occasional flourishes of style like a lowered camera angle when Pinkie is standing near someone, but it's mostly a 'meats and potatoes' noir movie. The Origin of Evil (Hulu, leaving on 7/24) - 3.5/5 stars Spoiler The Origin of Evil's premise at times feels like Rene Clement's Purple Noon with a bit of Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley and Clouzot's Les Diabloques. Nathalie Cordier (Laure Calamy) presumes the identity of her girlfriend Stephane Marson (Suzanne Clement), who is serving time in prison. The movie's introductory sequence has a lot presumed that's built into it, such as how Nathalie was able to get Serge Dumontet (Jacques Weber)'s phone number. The way the movie progresses as Nathalie essentially being the Tom Ripley of the story, although she's not quite as calculating as Ripley is. Nathalie does portray herself as an 'innocent' as she learns more about the family members like Serge's daughter George (Doria Tillier), his current shopoholic wife Louise (Dominique Blanc), his granddaughter, and housekeeper Agnes (Veronique Ruggia Saura). George and the family really require Nathalie/Stephane with suspicion as she ingratiates herself with them. What director Sebastien Marnier and cinematographer Romain Carcanade do is portray the island mansion that the family is on as stylistically as possible. At times, the opulence and clutter is like out of Ruben Ostlund's work with how the movie is filmed. I especially loved the aspect ratio changes (during the court proceedings) and Brian De Palma-like split screens a few times in the movie. It does come together as the real Stephane escapes from a prison work detail and attends funeral of Serge. I found it interesting that George watched Nathalie/Stephane kill her father, yet she did nothing to stop it or say anything. Serge actually told Nathalie that he had figured out that she was lying about who she was; the murder seemed to be out of panic rather than calculation. My thought was that George would be using that against Nathalie towards the end. Stephane and Nathalie fight in the basement and Nathalie kills her with a shovel before stealing her phone and dumping the body over a cliff. The last 20 minutes or so does tend to drag as it's wondered what the ending would actually be - would Nathalie get away with murdering Serge and now in 'bon la vie' or would things catch up with her? The police's arrival and calling Stephane's phone in Nathalie's pocket does mean that everything unravels for her, but we won't see it. It's not a bad French drama, but it could have been better at points. The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (HBO Max, leaving on 7/31) - 3/5 stars Spoiler Surprisingly great low budget B-movie; it's like the gangster movies from the 1930s like Little Caesar and Scarface. Ray Danton has Jack "Legs" Diamond somewhat makes the character feel like one that would have been on television shows in the 1950s and 1960s; it kind of took me out of it to be honest. His voice just makes me think he's going to advertise for a toothpaste commercial or a laundry detergent commercial, not tell guys they gonna die. The movie functions in the same way plot wise as most other gangster movies, but it has very little blood shown. Director Budd Boetticher has a way of filming the movie to cover up for the low budget (seemingly only two streets shown, newsreel footage used), but does decent for what's there. I did like the scene where Legs Diamond climbs through a window, pushes a guy out, then shoots two people with the camera focused on him. It then shows the aftermath with the men on the ground and then a newspaper picture of them on the ground. In some ways, this is kind of 'the last of gangster films' for awhile. The Cursed (Netflix, leaving on 7/18) - 2.5/5 stars Spoiler Compared to Sean Ellis' other movies, The Cursed is probably his most visually striking, although it does take awhile to get going. Having a werewolf movie essentially be a Cronenbergian body horror movie in the late 1880s is an interesting take on the genre. The movie starts in WWI times where a soldier gets shot and a silver bullet is dug out of them in the medical tent. Having it link to an earlier time and having this character be a young boy is a different take on it; John McBride (Boyd Holbrook) becomes a 'werewolf hunter' due to local children being infected and killed by one. What's interesting is how the werewolf is linked to the massacre of the Romani people, essentially having them create a curse on those claiming the lands for themselves. The movie doesn't really address the effects of colonization and elimination of the Romani; it's chief concern is how those colonizing are trying to stop the deaths from the werewolf. Isabelle Laurent (Kelly Reilly) seems to have a link somehow with her son Edward (Max Mackintosh), who has become a werewolf and was the soldier at the start of the movie. I did love a lot of the lighting choices and camerawork used throughout the movie; the 'werewolf vision' has a 'warped' look from POV shots as the werewolf chases people. A lot of what's there visually has great coloring and the 35mm film used makes the movie appear a bit 'older' than most movies done in the early 2020s. There's an added treat of Kelly Reilly topless in a wash basin (it seems to be a characteristic of Sean Elli's movies to have at least one topless scene). The Cursed isn't bad as a movie, but somewhat unmemorable.
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