This is just a quick housekeeping post. If you follow the blog, you might have noticed I have switched from giving stars to giving letter grades. The reason for this is that I have come to feel that letter grades better capture the subjective nature of rating movies. It doesn't make sense to compare Bringing Up Baby to Spotlight because they are doing completely unrelated things in every single sense. Instead, I am trying to rate them not just on how much I like them (which is still admittedly the biggest criteria) but take into consideration how well they do what they are trying to do. Spotlight is not trying to make you laugh until your sides hurt and it would be a complete failure if it did that. But it is not a failure but rather a triumph when Bringing Up Baby does this. Each of these would have gotten a 5 star rating from me but that would make it seem like they are on equal footing somehow. They would still both get top marks with an A+. But hopefully it will be more obvious that they are in completely different subjects.
Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 21, 2018
Bumblebee
I was supposed to go see Mortal Engines today with a friend but, at the last minute, we changed our minds and went and saw Bumblebee instead. I'm so glad that we did. I have to preface this with saying that I have never seen a Transformers movie before. I have seen clips from them though and those clips did not inspire confidence. But I was intrigued that Bumblebee was not directed by Michael Bay and the reviews have been positive. I certainly hope that future Transformers movies take notice.
The movie opens on a fight between two groups of giant robots which probably would be instantly recognizable to fans of the series. The good robots were losing pretty badly and Bumblebee is sent to Earth as a sort of scout or vanguard. Upon arrival, he is attacked by the military and a couple Decepticons. (Apparently they even call themselves this, which should be a red flag and even triggers a statement to that effect by one of the characters). In this fight (I promise this is not really a spoiler), his vocalizer part is ripped out and lost. This turns out to be a really good plot device because he has to spend the rest of the movie trying to communicate in creative ways that really lend charm to the story.
Anyway, to hide himself, he transforms into a VW Beetle and ends up in a junkyard. He is obtained by teenage Charlie, played by Hailee Steinfeld. Charlie is a typical rebellious teenager who is struggling with the death of her father and how her mother seems to have moved on with a new man. What makes Charlie stand out is her mechanical giftedness. When she brings the bug home, hoping to fix it up, she discovers that it is actually a Transformer. What follows is a great action movie that is much more focused on developing the characters and their relationships to each other.
Bumblebee is proof that less is often more. The Transformers franchise has often been ridiculed for the excess of explosions, unintelligible action sequences, and a penchant for ogling young actresses with the camera. Travis Knight has learned from all this and makes sure that none of this is present, except for the opening sequence on the robot planet. All of the fight scenes are shot so that you can clearly tell what is happening. Hailee Steinfeld is not overly sexualized as opposed to the infamous scenes with Megan Fox. And most importantly, Travis Knight has realized that Transformers is not meant to take itself so seriously.
As for the acting, Hailee Steinfeld was great as Charlie. I am definitely interested in what else she may be working on. John Cena was also well-cast as a cheesy, cliched soldier typical of 80s action movies. Bumblebee made good use of this cliche and Cena hammed it up and really made a good take on the stereotype. Speaking of the 80s, Bumblebee is jam-packed with 80s references, from the saturation of 80s music (I'm not going to give away one of the gimmicks that it effectively uses 80s music to accomplish.) But the music isn't all – there are plenty of references to 80s movies thrown in throughout. One of the most obvious is E.T., which provides a lot of the plot and also a noticeable scene spoofed by Bumblebee when everyone is out of the house.
One last thing – I really appreciated the cinematography. I get so tired of seeing action movies where it seems very intense, but you can't actually tell what is happening. For the most part, Bumblebee avoids this. This applies even to the little things. One that I noticed comes near the end, where two robots are fighting and Charlie is climbing a crane. At some point, her feet slip and she starts dangling. The camera zooms out, purportedly to better see her struggle but it actually shows the robots fight beneath her. It then cuts to the robot fight and then repeats the same technique of zooming out to show her hanging and cuts to her. The transition is so smooth and informs you of the spatial relationship of all the action. It would have been very easy to just cut from her to the robots and back to her. But instead, they took the time to think creatively about the transition and their hard work really pays off. I think one of the reasons for this is that Travis Knight has spent most of his career doing stop-motion animation where every single movement is a conscious decision. The resulting rigor of directing turns out to lend itself very well to live action.
I still can't believe that I am doing this for a Transformers movie, but I strongly recommend that you check out Bumblebee. I'm hopeful this can be a shot in the arm for the franchise and that there will be more good things to come.
Grade: A
Caveat Spectator
There really is not much here. There is no sex or nudity whatsoever and very little swearing that I could notice. Most of the violence is between robots. There are a couple scenes where people are killed by instantly turning them to water.
The movie opens on a fight between two groups of giant robots which probably would be instantly recognizable to fans of the series. The good robots were losing pretty badly and Bumblebee is sent to Earth as a sort of scout or vanguard. Upon arrival, he is attacked by the military and a couple Decepticons. (Apparently they even call themselves this, which should be a red flag and even triggers a statement to that effect by one of the characters). In this fight (I promise this is not really a spoiler), his vocalizer part is ripped out and lost. This turns out to be a really good plot device because he has to spend the rest of the movie trying to communicate in creative ways that really lend charm to the story.Anyway, to hide himself, he transforms into a VW Beetle and ends up in a junkyard. He is obtained by teenage Charlie, played by Hailee Steinfeld. Charlie is a typical rebellious teenager who is struggling with the death of her father and how her mother seems to have moved on with a new man. What makes Charlie stand out is her mechanical giftedness. When she brings the bug home, hoping to fix it up, she discovers that it is actually a Transformer. What follows is a great action movie that is much more focused on developing the characters and their relationships to each other.
Bumblebee is proof that less is often more. The Transformers franchise has often been ridiculed for the excess of explosions, unintelligible action sequences, and a penchant for ogling young actresses with the camera. Travis Knight has learned from all this and makes sure that none of this is present, except for the opening sequence on the robot planet. All of the fight scenes are shot so that you can clearly tell what is happening. Hailee Steinfeld is not overly sexualized as opposed to the infamous scenes with Megan Fox. And most importantly, Travis Knight has realized that Transformers is not meant to take itself so seriously.
As for the acting, Hailee Steinfeld was great as Charlie. I am definitely interested in what else she may be working on. John Cena was also well-cast as a cheesy, cliched soldier typical of 80s action movies. Bumblebee made good use of this cliche and Cena hammed it up and really made a good take on the stereotype. Speaking of the 80s, Bumblebee is jam-packed with 80s references, from the saturation of 80s music (I'm not going to give away one of the gimmicks that it effectively uses 80s music to accomplish.) But the music isn't all – there are plenty of references to 80s movies thrown in throughout. One of the most obvious is E.T., which provides a lot of the plot and also a noticeable scene spoofed by Bumblebee when everyone is out of the house.
One last thing – I really appreciated the cinematography. I get so tired of seeing action movies where it seems very intense, but you can't actually tell what is happening. For the most part, Bumblebee avoids this. This applies even to the little things. One that I noticed comes near the end, where two robots are fighting and Charlie is climbing a crane. At some point, her feet slip and she starts dangling. The camera zooms out, purportedly to better see her struggle but it actually shows the robots fight beneath her. It then cuts to the robot fight and then repeats the same technique of zooming out to show her hanging and cuts to her. The transition is so smooth and informs you of the spatial relationship of all the action. It would have been very easy to just cut from her to the robots and back to her. But instead, they took the time to think creatively about the transition and their hard work really pays off. I think one of the reasons for this is that Travis Knight has spent most of his career doing stop-motion animation where every single movement is a conscious decision. The resulting rigor of directing turns out to lend itself very well to live action.
I still can't believe that I am doing this for a Transformers movie, but I strongly recommend that you check out Bumblebee. I'm hopeful this can be a shot in the arm for the franchise and that there will be more good things to come.
Grade: A
Caveat Spectator
There really is not much here. There is no sex or nudity whatsoever and very little swearing that I could notice. Most of the violence is between robots. There are a couple scenes where people are killed by instantly turning them to water.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Hanna
While experiencing a bout of boredom, I started randomly looking through my DVD collection tonight to see if something jumped out at me. What did was Hanna. I only watched Hanna once and it has been years ago, probably while I was in law school. I really couldn't remember it much except that it had Saoirse Ronan in it and that I had liked it well enough to pick up a used copy at a bookstore.I am happy to report that Hanna is just as good as I remember it being. Hanna is in the same genre as the Bourne movies, but the twist here is that the Jason Bourne character is a teenage girl. Raised by her ex-spy father in the arctic to be a super-soldier, Hanna has to take on the evil CIA, led by Cate Blanchett as the evil CIA lady. The CIA's motivations aren't really clear throughout the movie, although it appears to be something about DNA modification and, like all movies featuring the CIA, a desire to cover up past mistakes. And what better way to cover up mistakes than by murder? It turns out that Hanna's mother was murdered by the CIA and her father has spent her entire life preparing her to be his weapon of revenge.
The rest of the movie is spent in true action movie fashion with a chase across North Africa and Europe, a trail of bodies left behind each step of the way. By the end of the movie, she is questioning all the violence, especially how people are being hurt that she cares about, and has to decide what she wants to become.
Grade: A
It seems to me that Hanna has kind of been forgotten or maybe wasn't that big when it came out. I wasn't really aware of it at the time, which isn't saying much at all. But nobody seems to talk about it anymore, which is a real shame. It is very entertaining, which is the most important thing for an action movie to be. But it is also beautifully shot and the fighting is well choreographed. Saoirse Ronan brings an animalistic ferocity to her character's action scenes and really does a great job throughout. I haven't seen her in a lot of movies, but it seems like she has kind of steered away from action movies, which is unfortunate. But Hanna is definitely an underrated gem and worth checking out.
Caveat Spectator
This is an action movie and some of the violence can be graphic, although not too graphic because it stays within the PG-13 range. There is a scene at the beginning of the movie where Hanna kills and butchers a reindeer and the entrails and intestines of the deer are seen laying in the snow while she butchers it. There is also a scene where Hanna, after a humorously disastrous attempt to kiss a guy she had met, ends up kissing a girl instead. The movie doesn't make a big deal about it and there isn't any more besides that that happens.
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Christopher Robin
“When
I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them
openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the
fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”1
In
this film, Christopher Robin is very much a man afraid of
childishness. Of course, a lot of things have happened since he
played with Pooh and company in the Hundred Acre Wood. He was sent
off to boarding school, his father passed away, and he went off to
fight the Nazis and was wounded. He had a spark of return
to the old way of childishness when he fell in love with Evelyn, but
he has since suppressed any memory of this and is now committed to
plugging away at a job that
pays well but demands all of his time.
And you can hardly blame him; he has a wife, a child, and
Britain is only starting to come out of post-war economic malaise.
However, he has turned work into an idol and the effect is predictable. His wife is becoming increasingly estranged from him and his daughter, longing for his approval, has become a workaholic herself in an effort to please him. But, like any idol, work is turning against him. He is on the brink of being fired unless he can cut costs somewhere.
It’s in the middle of this that Winnie the Pooh reappears to him. He is as shocked as you would expect. Christopher Robin had long ceased to believe in Pooh and believes that he is losing his mind. The rest of the movie is fairy predictable; he has to give in to childishness to recover Pooh, the other inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood, and ultimately his family. When he finally has a right perspective on the proper value of things, work itself falls into place and he is able to save his job and those of his coworkers.
The overriding theme of valuing childhood is pretty common in Disney films and is the same point that Lewis is making in the quote I started out with. But I also wanted to briefly point out something else that I don’t know if the filmmakers intended but instinctively included. This is the idea of Sabbath, the importance of rest. At the end of the film, Christopher and company finally go on a picnic and Christopher and Pooh just sit, looking at the sunset and reflecting on life. The whole scene is one of rest and cessation of work. In our modern world, we value productivity extremely highly. And productivity is important; we were created to work. But we were also created to rest. “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” I love that there are little moments in the movie where the plot is comfortable just resting, not needing to press forward, but just relish the moment.
Rating: 4 stars
This is a solid movie that doesn’t try to do anything big or grand, but is just delightful for what it is. I love the look of Pooh and the rest of characters. It’s a blend between the visual look of the original illustrations in A.A. Milne’s books and the auditory sounds of the classic Disney characters. Also, my absolute favorite part is the first five minutes or so. There is very little dialogue, but the visual story-telling is able give all the exposition that the viewer needs to understand where and why Christopher Robin ended up. It’s a great example of showing instead of telling.
Caveat Spectator
Really nothing. There’s a short scene of combat that may be difficult for very, very small children, but I can’t remember there being any language to watch out for.
However, he has turned work into an idol and the effect is predictable. His wife is becoming increasingly estranged from him and his daughter, longing for his approval, has become a workaholic herself in an effort to please him. But, like any idol, work is turning against him. He is on the brink of being fired unless he can cut costs somewhere.
It’s in the middle of this that Winnie the Pooh reappears to him. He is as shocked as you would expect. Christopher Robin had long ceased to believe in Pooh and believes that he is losing his mind. The rest of the movie is fairy predictable; he has to give in to childishness to recover Pooh, the other inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood, and ultimately his family. When he finally has a right perspective on the proper value of things, work itself falls into place and he is able to save his job and those of his coworkers.
The overriding theme of valuing childhood is pretty common in Disney films and is the same point that Lewis is making in the quote I started out with. But I also wanted to briefly point out something else that I don’t know if the filmmakers intended but instinctively included. This is the idea of Sabbath, the importance of rest. At the end of the film, Christopher and company finally go on a picnic and Christopher and Pooh just sit, looking at the sunset and reflecting on life. The whole scene is one of rest and cessation of work. In our modern world, we value productivity extremely highly. And productivity is important; we were created to work. But we were also created to rest. “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” I love that there are little moments in the movie where the plot is comfortable just resting, not needing to press forward, but just relish the moment.
Rating: 4 stars
This is a solid movie that doesn’t try to do anything big or grand, but is just delightful for what it is. I love the look of Pooh and the rest of characters. It’s a blend between the visual look of the original illustrations in A.A. Milne’s books and the auditory sounds of the classic Disney characters. Also, my absolute favorite part is the first five minutes or so. There is very little dialogue, but the visual story-telling is able give all the exposition that the viewer needs to understand where and why Christopher Robin ended up. It’s a great example of showing instead of telling.
Caveat Spectator
Really nothing. There’s a short scene of combat that may be difficult for very, very small children, but I can’t remember there being any language to watch out for.
_______________________________________
1C.S.
Lewis, “On Three Ways of Writing
for Children”
1C.S.
Lewis, “On Three Ways of Writing
for Children”
Saturday, March 3, 2018
The Best Films of 2017
I can't believe that it's already March. I meant to make this list in January, but I held off partially to catch up on some movies I had missed and partially (ok, mostly) out of busyness and procrastination. These are probably not technically the best films of the year, but they are my favorites. Overall, I think the movies were better in 2016, but there were some good ones this year too.
10. Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell got a bad rap from from pretty much everyone. People complained about white-washing and unfaithfulness to the original anime. However, I've seen it twice and really liked it both times. It is a visually stunning movie and pretty entertaining throughout. Does it think that it's smarter than it actually is? Probably so, but as it's so rare to have a solid cyberpunk movie come out, I'll take it.
9. Only the Brave
If you like patriotic war movies, Only the Brave has the same feel. It is jam-packed with American ideals and the Western Man. It's a true story of sacrifice and heroism. All of which sounds like something I would hate, but Only the Brave completely drew me in. It's got some pretty great acting and I especially connected with the story of Brendan McDonough, a drug addict and convicted felon. McDonough, through the camaraderie and support of his colleagues, is able to slowly put aside his ways and become an upstanding person and father to his daughter. I strongly recommend it, but be prepared for an emotional experience.
8. Colossal
Colossal is a weird movie, which is probably why it's so under-appreciated. It starts off as a hybrid of an indie story of a woman's struggle with alcoholism with a kaiju movie. However, as the film goes on, it starts to develop elements of psychological horror as the main character is manipulated and threatened into staying in an abusive relationship. Anne Hathaway is phenomenal in Colossal. If you can get past the weirdness of the whole thing, Colossal is worth the watch.
7. Hidden Figures
I know what you're thinking. Isn't Hidden Figures a 2016 movie? Well, it was nominated for the Oscars as a 2016 movie, but under my admittedly arbitrary rules, it is a 2017 movie because it wasn't given a wide release until January 2017. But regardless of when it came out, Hidden Figures is just a solid movie on so many counts. It's a great civil rights movie, a great historical movie, a great science movie, and a great feminist movie.
6. Dunkirk
When I first saw Dunkirk, I was certain that it would be on the very top of this list. Not only was it directed by Christopher Nolan, the director who can do no wrong, the sheer spectacle of it just completely blew me. I didn't care that I couldn't tell the difference between the two young soldiers on the beach or that the timeline was needlessly complicated. I just sat there in awe. But then I re-watched it on DVD at home and I was surprisingly disappointed. I was bored and feeling nitpicky. By the end of the movie, I realized how much Dunkirk depends on being shown in a theater. That doesn't make it any less of a cinematic accomplishment, but a good movie should be able to transcend the screen size it is on, at least to some extent. So I still really liked Dunkirk, but I had to dock it for those reasons.
5. War for the Planet of the Apes
I'll admit, it was earlier in the year that I saw War for the Planet of the Apes and I only so it once, so my memory is a little fuzzy on it. I'm looking forward to watching it again. But I have really enjoyed the entire new Planet of the Apes trilogy and War was no different. I remember Andy Serkis being great and especially liking the way it functions as a sort of retelling of the Exodus story. This one was somewhat slower than the first two, but I think it was more thoughtful and philosophic. I own this film on DVD, so I might need to do a stand-alone review at some point in the future when I've seen it again.
4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Talk about a controversial movie. While critics loved Last Jedi, fans were much more disappointed. Personally, I have mixed feelings about it. The parts I liked, I absolutely loved, but I hated the parts I didn't like. I didn't care for the entire casino planet sequence and I rolled my eyes at Princess Leia's force pull back from space. However, any scene with Rey and Kylo Ren well made up for the bad stuff. I was very interested in Kylo Ren from The Force Awakens because he seemed like he wasn't really committed to evil. Last Jedi reveals that he is a very tortured soul who struggles through the entire film until he finally commits to evil. And the battle on Crait? That was one of my favorite movie moments of the entire year. The way the red surface of the planet becomes exposed as the fight goes is almost gruesome and still hauntingly beautiful. That scene alone makes Last Jedi worth watching.
3. Logan
I wasn't going to watch Logan. It sounded more violent than anything I wanted to watch. But a close friend convinced me to give it a shot and I am so glad that I did. Logan does not spare the viewers any of the bleakness and bitterness that has consumed Wolverine's life. At one point, he tells his 11 year old companion that he carries around an adamantium bullet so that he can shoot himself some day. I feel like that one interaction sums up the feel of the entire movie. But Logan is so much more than an exercise in despair. It's actually more like a Western where the hero has to find himself in a world that has left him behind. For such a violent action movie, Logan takes plenty of time to slow down. It's thought-provoking and probably one of the best superhero movies since The Dark Knight.
2. Your Name
Here's another weird one. Your Name is a gorgeously drawn anime that is reminiscent of the films of Hayao Miyazaki. The main plot idea is that a teenage boy and a teenage girl who have never met keep waking up in each other's bodies. While it starts off with the typical awkward situations you might expect, as the film progresses, they learn to respect each other and come to have a truly deep connection. About half-way through the movie, the boy comes to the realization that they are separated by time as well as by distance. Your Name was probably overlooked by a lot of American viewers, but hopefully will come to get the following it deserves.
1. Darkest Hour
Honest Trailers described Darkest Hour as "a movie about all the talking that was going on at the same time" as Dunkirk. This is true, but doesn't mean that Darkest Hour is not worth your time. Gary Oldman is probably going to win the Best Actor Oscar on this one and for good reason. His phenomenal performance is comes together with the script, score, and cinematography to make a pretty good movie. I especially love the scene at the end where the light falls on Churchill in the House of Commons as he makes his "We Will Fight on the Beaches" speech. It's a solid drama and well worth watching.
Honorable Mentions
Here is where I try to redeem myself from the invariable outcry from the mob about their favorite film that didn't get listed. Of course, the mob isn't always right, but I'll toss them a bone.
First, I wanted to take a moment to highlight a film that almost made the list and I feel really bad about leaving off, especially as it's very unknown. Shorter than most feature films, Call of the Void is an indie neo-noir that is pitch black and nihilistic in its tone. It's a fascinating look at sanity and the use of camera as an unreliable narrator. Call of the Void has great performances from Mojean Aria and the ever charming Ashley Clements also has a leading role. You can stream Call of the Void on Amazon Prime.
So let me then briefly list some other movies that weren't good enough for the list, but are still worth watching. I really liked Valerian. It was visually stunning and filled with gorgeous colors and interesting aliens. Unfortunately, it was also a mess. And so it missed the cut. Gifted was also a good movie that sort of competes with Hidden Figures, but just wasn't as good. Still, McKenna Grace is pretty good for a child actress. As for superhero movies, all the Marvel movies were great, probably even slightly better than most. Wonder Woman almost made the cut, but the ending is just too hard to swallow. Jumanji was surprisingly good; it's the hardest I've laughed in a movie all year. Also, I was able to see some good documentaries that didn't quite fit what I was looking for for this list, but are definitely timely and worth watching (City of Ghosts, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail). The Florida Project is a movie that really connected with me, but is also one that I hesitate to recommend to everyone. You can read my full review here. Also, Stranger Things 2 would have made number one on my list if it weren't for the one problem of not being a movie.
10. Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell got a bad rap from from pretty much everyone. People complained about white-washing and unfaithfulness to the original anime. However, I've seen it twice and really liked it both times. It is a visually stunning movie and pretty entertaining throughout. Does it think that it's smarter than it actually is? Probably so, but as it's so rare to have a solid cyberpunk movie come out, I'll take it.
9. Only the Brave
If you like patriotic war movies, Only the Brave has the same feel. It is jam-packed with American ideals and the Western Man. It's a true story of sacrifice and heroism. All of which sounds like something I would hate, but Only the Brave completely drew me in. It's got some pretty great acting and I especially connected with the story of Brendan McDonough, a drug addict and convicted felon. McDonough, through the camaraderie and support of his colleagues, is able to slowly put aside his ways and become an upstanding person and father to his daughter. I strongly recommend it, but be prepared for an emotional experience.
8. Colossal
Colossal is a weird movie, which is probably why it's so under-appreciated. It starts off as a hybrid of an indie story of a woman's struggle with alcoholism with a kaiju movie. However, as the film goes on, it starts to develop elements of psychological horror as the main character is manipulated and threatened into staying in an abusive relationship. Anne Hathaway is phenomenal in Colossal. If you can get past the weirdness of the whole thing, Colossal is worth the watch.
7. Hidden Figures
I know what you're thinking. Isn't Hidden Figures a 2016 movie? Well, it was nominated for the Oscars as a 2016 movie, but under my admittedly arbitrary rules, it is a 2017 movie because it wasn't given a wide release until January 2017. But regardless of when it came out, Hidden Figures is just a solid movie on so many counts. It's a great civil rights movie, a great historical movie, a great science movie, and a great feminist movie.
6. Dunkirk
When I first saw Dunkirk, I was certain that it would be on the very top of this list. Not only was it directed by Christopher Nolan, the director who can do no wrong, the sheer spectacle of it just completely blew me. I didn't care that I couldn't tell the difference between the two young soldiers on the beach or that the timeline was needlessly complicated. I just sat there in awe. But then I re-watched it on DVD at home and I was surprisingly disappointed. I was bored and feeling nitpicky. By the end of the movie, I realized how much Dunkirk depends on being shown in a theater. That doesn't make it any less of a cinematic accomplishment, but a good movie should be able to transcend the screen size it is on, at least to some extent. So I still really liked Dunkirk, but I had to dock it for those reasons.
5. War for the Planet of the Apes
I'll admit, it was earlier in the year that I saw War for the Planet of the Apes and I only so it once, so my memory is a little fuzzy on it. I'm looking forward to watching it again. But I have really enjoyed the entire new Planet of the Apes trilogy and War was no different. I remember Andy Serkis being great and especially liking the way it functions as a sort of retelling of the Exodus story. This one was somewhat slower than the first two, but I think it was more thoughtful and philosophic. I own this film on DVD, so I might need to do a stand-alone review at some point in the future when I've seen it again.
4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Talk about a controversial movie. While critics loved Last Jedi, fans were much more disappointed. Personally, I have mixed feelings about it. The parts I liked, I absolutely loved, but I hated the parts I didn't like. I didn't care for the entire casino planet sequence and I rolled my eyes at Princess Leia's force pull back from space. However, any scene with Rey and Kylo Ren well made up for the bad stuff. I was very interested in Kylo Ren from The Force Awakens because he seemed like he wasn't really committed to evil. Last Jedi reveals that he is a very tortured soul who struggles through the entire film until he finally commits to evil. And the battle on Crait? That was one of my favorite movie moments of the entire year. The way the red surface of the planet becomes exposed as the fight goes is almost gruesome and still hauntingly beautiful. That scene alone makes Last Jedi worth watching.
3. Logan
I wasn't going to watch Logan. It sounded more violent than anything I wanted to watch. But a close friend convinced me to give it a shot and I am so glad that I did. Logan does not spare the viewers any of the bleakness and bitterness that has consumed Wolverine's life. At one point, he tells his 11 year old companion that he carries around an adamantium bullet so that he can shoot himself some day. I feel like that one interaction sums up the feel of the entire movie. But Logan is so much more than an exercise in despair. It's actually more like a Western where the hero has to find himself in a world that has left him behind. For such a violent action movie, Logan takes plenty of time to slow down. It's thought-provoking and probably one of the best superhero movies since The Dark Knight.
2. Your Name
Here's another weird one. Your Name is a gorgeously drawn anime that is reminiscent of the films of Hayao Miyazaki. The main plot idea is that a teenage boy and a teenage girl who have never met keep waking up in each other's bodies. While it starts off with the typical awkward situations you might expect, as the film progresses, they learn to respect each other and come to have a truly deep connection. About half-way through the movie, the boy comes to the realization that they are separated by time as well as by distance. Your Name was probably overlooked by a lot of American viewers, but hopefully will come to get the following it deserves.
1. Darkest Hour
Honest Trailers described Darkest Hour as "a movie about all the talking that was going on at the same time" as Dunkirk. This is true, but doesn't mean that Darkest Hour is not worth your time. Gary Oldman is probably going to win the Best Actor Oscar on this one and for good reason. His phenomenal performance is comes together with the script, score, and cinematography to make a pretty good movie. I especially love the scene at the end where the light falls on Churchill in the House of Commons as he makes his "We Will Fight on the Beaches" speech. It's a solid drama and well worth watching.
Honorable Mentions
Here is where I try to redeem myself from the invariable outcry from the mob about their favorite film that didn't get listed. Of course, the mob isn't always right, but I'll toss them a bone.
First, I wanted to take a moment to highlight a film that almost made the list and I feel really bad about leaving off, especially as it's very unknown. Shorter than most feature films, Call of the Void is an indie neo-noir that is pitch black and nihilistic in its tone. It's a fascinating look at sanity and the use of camera as an unreliable narrator. Call of the Void has great performances from Mojean Aria and the ever charming Ashley Clements also has a leading role. You can stream Call of the Void on Amazon Prime.
So let me then briefly list some other movies that weren't good enough for the list, but are still worth watching. I really liked Valerian. It was visually stunning and filled with gorgeous colors and interesting aliens. Unfortunately, it was also a mess. And so it missed the cut. Gifted was also a good movie that sort of competes with Hidden Figures, but just wasn't as good. Still, McKenna Grace is pretty good for a child actress. As for superhero movies, all the Marvel movies were great, probably even slightly better than most. Wonder Woman almost made the cut, but the ending is just too hard to swallow. Jumanji was surprisingly good; it's the hardest I've laughed in a movie all year. Also, I was able to see some good documentaries that didn't quite fit what I was looking for for this list, but are definitely timely and worth watching (City of Ghosts, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail). The Florida Project is a movie that really connected with me, but is also one that I hesitate to recommend to everyone. You can read my full review here. Also, Stranger Things 2 would have made number one on my list if it weren't for the one problem of not being a movie.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
The Florida Project
The movie centers around Moonee and her single mother Halley. Although Moonee is six years old, her mother can't be much older than 20. Together, they are struggling just to make ends meet while living in Magic Castle, a slum-like motel near Disney World. Moonee and her friends long to go to Disney World but are instead forced by circumstance to linger outside. Meanwhile, Halley panhandles or stays in her room smoking marijuana. As the movie goes on, Halley struggles more and more, eventually ending up offering her services online as a prostitute. Her friend Ashley finds out and no longer wants her young son to hang around Moonee and Halley for fear that he will be influenced the prostitution going on in the motel room (as well as the arson committed by the children). Halley confronts Ashley and ends up fighting her, beating her up badly in front of her young son. Ashley retaliates by reporting Halley to child services, which culminates in child services and law enforcement coming to take Moonee. Moonee and a friend run away and manage to get into Disney World. The movie ends with them finally standing in front of Cinderalla's Castle.
Moonee's world is full of drugs, poverty, petty theft, and violence. Besides the fight Halley had with her friend Ashley, there is a fight in the parking lot between several men. Halley is filming the whole thing on her cell phone and encouraging Moonee to cheer for the fighters just as one gets hit by a car. Halley also encourages the sexualization of her six year old daughter by teaching her how to twerk and take "swimsuit selfies." Halley seems to care about Moonee and does try to protect her from finding out about the prostitution that is going on in their room. Likewise, Bobby, the slumlord/motel manager, seems like an aggressive person, constantly going around getting in shouting matches with tenants and threatening them about paying rent. But when it comes down to it, he seems to genuinely care about the kids in his motel.
The Florida Project doesn't give any of its characters a pass. But it does try to humanize them and we feel empathy for these people, even if they are kind of terrible people. They are trapped in their own shortcomings and don't know any other life than the one they are living. I couldn't help but think throughout the movie that I know these characters, particularly Halley. As a public defender, I have met her many times. The names and faces are different, but the person is the same. This movie was a good reminder of why get up and go to work everyday for my clients. The Florida Project demonstrates that these people are still made in God's image and worthy of our compassion, even if they distort that same image on a daily basis.
At the end of the day, The Florida Project is not a happy story. As viewers, we are left with the uncomfortable knowledge that Moonee is very likely going to turn out just like Halley. But their tragedy is the tragedy of humanity as a whole; the rest of us is just better at putting on a better face on our sins.
Rating: 4 stars
The Florida Project has some truly good performances, particularly from Brooklyn Prince, the child actress playing Moonee, and Willem Dafoe as Bobby. The film is very beautiful. The bright colors contrast strongly with the message and content of the film in a way that is very striking. The Florida Project is not an easy watch and I wouldn't recommend it to just everyone. But it is an honest and accurate portrayal of what life is like for many people. A discerning and mature adult viewer should be able to get a lot from it.
Caveat Spectator
Plenty. A ridiculous amount of profanity, much of it from young children, is throughout the film, as well as drug use. An older woman is sunbathing topless by the pool, but has her hands basically covering herself. There is a lot of discussion about prostitution and child molesters, but nothing is really shown happening. The prostitution encounters occur off-screen while Moonee is in the bathtub listening to loud rap music. The Florida Project definitely earns its R rating.
The Florida Project doesn't give any of its characters a pass. But it does try to humanize them and we feel empathy for these people, even if they are kind of terrible people. They are trapped in their own shortcomings and don't know any other life than the one they are living. I couldn't help but think throughout the movie that I know these characters, particularly Halley. As a public defender, I have met her many times. The names and faces are different, but the person is the same. This movie was a good reminder of why get up and go to work everyday for my clients. The Florida Project demonstrates that these people are still made in God's image and worthy of our compassion, even if they distort that same image on a daily basis.
At the end of the day, The Florida Project is not a happy story. As viewers, we are left with the uncomfortable knowledge that Moonee is very likely going to turn out just like Halley. But their tragedy is the tragedy of humanity as a whole; the rest of us is just better at putting on a better face on our sins.
Rating: 4 stars
The Florida Project has some truly good performances, particularly from Brooklyn Prince, the child actress playing Moonee, and Willem Dafoe as Bobby. The film is very beautiful. The bright colors contrast strongly with the message and content of the film in a way that is very striking. The Florida Project is not an easy watch and I wouldn't recommend it to just everyone. But it is an honest and accurate portrayal of what life is like for many people. A discerning and mature adult viewer should be able to get a lot from it.
Caveat Spectator
Plenty. A ridiculous amount of profanity, much of it from young children, is throughout the film, as well as drug use. An older woman is sunbathing topless by the pool, but has her hands basically covering herself. There is a lot of discussion about prostitution and child molesters, but nothing is really shown happening. The prostitution encounters occur off-screen while Moonee is in the bathtub listening to loud rap music. The Florida Project definitely earns its R rating.
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