5. I Love You But I’m Not *In* Love With You
Every year there are movies where I recognize that there’s a great deal of artistic and cinematic merit, but the movies didn’t stick with me for whatever reason -- either I didn’t emotionally connect with it, or I was too bummed out for it to take hold, or something. This is different than my number 9s, because if you came up to me and asked me about any of these, even though I probably won't gush about them, I’d still say “oh yeah, that’s a great movie.” Put another way, these were movies that engaged my head but not my heart.
Ad Astra
The phrase “daddy issues” gets thrown around a lot, but this movie is full of them. That’s not exactly a knock, but I do think we’ve seen a surfeit of movies where a man’s biggest problem is that his father wasn’t around to play catch with him or whatever, and while “Cat’s in the Cradle” is a great song, it can get a bit tiresome after hundreds of plays. I’m just sayin’. That said, this is still a lovely film, with a wonderful, understated performance from Brad Pitt. There are lots of slow, contemplative moments, peppered with “whoa, that escalated quickly!” (in reading the summary to refresh my memory on the plot, I’d completely forgotten about Space Shakma!). There’s a lot to like here, and I can see where this would be very much some people’s jam. It just left me a little cold, which might to some extent be the point, but I just wish I had felt a little more for it. (Available on streaming services.)
American Factory
Fascinating, and more compelling than the subject matter might suggest. But ultimately infuriating — once the factory bosses started badmouthing Senator Sherrod Brown for promoting unions (and even saying that he should not be allowed on the premises again), I was like yeah, screw these guys. And every time the management talked about the American workers it sounded so condescending, like the Americans were a bunch of babies that had to be coddled. (Hey, I know that’s accurate in a lot of ways, but it just speaks to how differently these two cultures view workers.) It’s frustrating to see the two cultures struggle against each other because their work ethics are so different, and yet everyone is trying really hard to make it work because so much is at stake. But it’s worth telling these stories because people need to understand the complications of huge undertakings like this. It’s easy to talk big ideas in a political speech; it’s something else to actually make it happen. (Available on Netflix.)
Ash Is Purest White
I liked a lot about this, but this is one of those movies where the circumstances and/or the choices of the characters bum me out so much that I can’t enjoy it. Which is a testament to the filmmaking, I think, because you’re feeling for the characters — which you should be! — and it’s hard to watch them struggle. I do think, though, that the first half of this movie works much better and is more compelling than the second half. But again, that could be just my own personal enjoyment and I'm sure other people feel differently. (Available on streaming services.)
The Beach Bum
I didn’t like this nearly as much as Korine's previous film, Spring Breakers, perhaps because I found it more easy to identify with the characters in that film. It’s not that there isn’t plenty to like here, but I found McConaughey’s character kind of exhausting to watch after a while. I think we all know people kind of like this guy, who can be fun in small doses but if you had to be around him all the time you’d want to kill him. (Available on Hulu or for rent on other streaming services.)
Dragged Across Concrete
The presence of Mel Gibson in this is an understandable dealbreaker for some. That said, I still find him a compelling actor and I’ve been fascinated by the kind of roles he’s been given in the last 10 years or so (I doubt he’ll ever play a heroic lead again, and that’s more than fair). He and Vince Vaughn in this movie are not meant to be exactly likable (bullying white cops never are), but they’re still interesting to watch and made me invested in what happened to them, which is all I ask. This is a great “breaking bad” plot, with characters in law enforcement turning to a one-big-score crime, thinking they’re smart enough or have chosen just the right mark so that they don’t have to feel too guilty about it and won’t get caught. It all culminates in a pretty extraordinary shootout set piece and a satisfying conclusion. I still like Zahler’s previous two films more, but this was quite good. (Available on streaming services.)
Fast Color
This is a superhero movie without the costumes and gadgets and Batsignals and stuff. A true examination of what it would be like if human beings had the power to transcend what we’ve always accepted as the laws of the universe. Chronicle did this a few years ago, and it was one of my favorite movies of 2012, but I think this does it even better, even if as a movie I enjoyed it less. I love everything that’s going on here. But I feel like the movie holds its cards too close for too long. It waits too long to show its magic to us, which I’m sure was an effort to make the climax more powerful, but it felt like I needed to already know what was happening to understand what was happening (not unlike The Souvenir, though I liked this a lot more). GREAT performances in this, especially Gugu Mbathta-Raw, who I will pretty much see in anything at this point. I'll also be on the lookout for the series based on this, which is supposedly being developed. (Available on Hulu and for rent from other streaming services.)
Gloria Bell
An experience worth having, if only for Julianne Moore’s characteristically wonderful performance and Sebastián Lelio’s vibrant, hypnotic direction. John Turturro is also quite good, and I love seeing people over 40 being allowed to be romantic and sexual and full of life. This is another one, though, that makes me too sad to really love it. I can understand the pull that Turturro’s character feels to his demanding daughters, but sheesh, cut the cord, dude. They’re grown-ups and they’re being selfish. I do appreciate that the point is for us to see Gloria bounce back from a humiliating situation and keep dancing, keep living, but ugh, I wish life didn’t suck so much for her so much of the time and it’s hard for me to love movies like this. I just want to pluck her out of this movie and put her in one of the Mamma Mias where she belongs. (Available on Amazon Prime and for rent from other streaming services.)
High Life
Beautiful, but very weird. Juliette Binoche is always the queen of whatever she is in, and this movie is no exception, even though she’s a first-class creep (and I *LOVE* when a movie lets a woman, especially the kind of beautiful woman that we’ve been conditioned as moviegoers to instantly trust, be a straight-up monster). This movie reminded me a bit of Moon, actually, where we experience the solitude of space and the sense of the futility of characters in an impossible situation. Robert Pattinson continues to pick projects that put his Twilight days well in the rearview mirror and I’m here for it. I love a lot of what’s going on here; it’s just not a strong flavor on my own cinematic palette. (Available on Amazon Prime and for rent from other streaming services.)
The Long Walk
This is a fascinating low-key sci-fi story about a man who travels back in time and visits his younger self, trying to change the past. It raises all kinds of interesting questions about whether trying to change what happened can actually make things worse. It’s beautiful, but slow, and I know the part of me that likes to think I have good taste would wonder whether what I really mean is “deliberate,” but I’m stuck on “slow” with this one. The director, Mattie Do, is Laos’s first and currently only female filmmaker, as well as its only horror filmmaker of any gender. (The Long Walk isn’t a horror film, but her previous film, Dearest Sister, is.) This is lovely, but you might want to enjoy it with a cup of coffee. (Not yet released; no date set yet.)
The Nightingale
Maybe this whole category just should have been “I was too bummed to enjoy this, but I recognize that it’s very good” because this is ANOTHER one. I can see why people found it off-putting, but I think the brutality of the film is absolutely necessary to understand the choices the lead character makes. Kent’s previous film was The Babadook, which is much easier to have fun with, but both of these films deal with prickly topics in profound ways. (Available on Hulu and for rent from other streaming services.)
5A. That Was Great, Babe, But Can We Never See Each Other Again?
This is a spin-off subcategory of movies that are beyond just too much of a bummer to really enjoy and are actively anxiety-inducing and I’m not eager to see them again.
Climax
Gaspar Noe’s films are frequently exercises in sadism (he’s said as much himself), and while this movie was less sadistic than most, that’s a very low bar. It’s about a group of dancers who are having a post-rehearsal party and people start going crazy from some spiked sangria and start killing each other. I liked the slow reveal of what’s happening to these characters and the increasing feeling of dread, and how this is essentially a really messed up version of a “hangout” movie. But this movie, like the next one, is a one-time experience. (Available on Amazon Prime and for rent from other streaming services.)
Uncut Gems
Great movie, great camera work, great performances (every 10 years or so, Adam Sandler reminds us that he’s an actual actor). But this was incredibly tense, in ways I had not anticipated. Look, I live in this city, and there are moments when you just happen to be in the middle of someone else’s screaming match or some other extremely tense situation and you just have to tune out and hope you don’t draw their attention, but that usually only lasts a minute or so. This was TWO HOURS of that. As much as I wanted to see what happened next, I also REALLY wanted it to be done so that I could breathe. It was great. You should see it. But I’m done. Wow. (In theaters.)
No comments:
Post a Comment