My mom loved movies. As a result, I love movies. I have always loved movies.
In light of the horrible situation in which we find ourselves in the world at the moment, you might be stuck at home and looking for something to occupy your time. There are many streaming services available, and I subscribe or take advantage of a number of them. (Did I mention I love movies?) At this time of national emergency, Netflix and Amazon Prime might just be your best friends, as they both have a wealth of selections you can view right now. I’m kind of a freak, though, so I buy a lot of movies, usually on Vudu; that library is augmented by a plethora of movies (“Would you say I have a plethora of presents?”–anyone know what that’s from?) you can watch for free, and that list rotates periodically; a lot of them are absolute crap, but there are quite often some unknown or uncut gems included, one of which I will tell you about in a few minutes. We use the Tubi application at times, though they don’t seem to offer near the selection that the others boast of; there are some good ones to take advantage of in there if you look, however. HBO is great for a lot of content, including binge-worthy series (cringe-worthy?) if that’s your thing, or if you have exhausted everything else that the others offer, but it’s not free. (Note, you may already be paying for it with your cable/satellite provider, which is what I realized I was doing a year after the fact. Such a doofus. At some point, I can be finished with “Game of Thrones.” But I digress.)
Remember, art is based on opinion, so my appreciation may not align with your own; that’s good, it gives us something to talk about over coffee or a beer. As far as recent movies I have viewed with my happy and good partner, here are the selections I’ll comment on, in no specific order. (Opinions are clearly my own.)
First up is “Burn Country,” a total sleeper, and deserving of higher scores on both the Tomato Meter and the IMDb site, as far as we were concerned. This is the story of an Afghan journalist of sorts, and his experience in moving to northern California with the promise of a job with the local newspaper. (Spoiler: there is no job.) What Osman runs into is some kind of drug-fueled subculture that seems to envelope the entire populace of the small town, threatening to explode in violence at any moment. Perhaps people expected it to be something else, and the movie either had too much of a serious tone for what some might anticipate being a comical look at life in America for a newcomer, or not enough stuff getting blown up to satisfy the testosterone patrol. All I know is that this was a quirky, well-shot, nearly-edge-of-your-seat character study of some unusual people, and a great example of what happens when you come to a place that is the polar opposite of where you were: total culture shock, and a mad attempt to find the way in which you fit in. I tried to figure out where it was going, and I gave up and just went along for the ride. We gave this one four stars.
Then we have “1917,” which got absolutely robbed for the Best Picture Oscar, the latest reason I will never watch the Academy Awards again. Look, I haven’t seen a couple of them yet, so I may be wrong; “Parasite” was an excellent movie, as was “The Irishman.” I enjoyed “Marriage Story” and “Jojo Rabbit” very, very much. But none of those movies would even be number two on my list! (My second choice would be “Joker,” though I still intend to see “Little Women” at some point. More on this later.) But Sam Mendes…my goodness. Not only did his movie blow my doors off with the story, but I am still trying to get over how that thing looked like it was one long, continuous take from beginning to end. How did he do that? It is astounding, and no one even belongs in the same room with him for Best Director. I’m all for inclusivity in the film industry, but there is no excuse for the sheer larceny in denying him all the marbles for this baby. Wow. I’m still stunned, and we watched it a week ago! Five beans for this bad boy.
We also recently watched “Joker” together, and I was not prepared for this one. (Maureen wasn’t, either.) I am so super-heroed out these days, and as interesting as the character is, I figured I’d be disappointed. Wrong! It was absolute dynamite. Submerging us completely into his world, I had no idea whether I was in a flashback, a flash-forward, a completely imaginary scene in Joker’s mind, or an alternate universe in which clowns are actually funny. Amazing performance by Mr. Phoenix aside, the movie was shot with such a great eye for crafting film, and edited by a master. The music was remarkable as well, and the whole thing just flowed from start to finish; I found myself agonizing from moment to moment as to where it would take us next. What a statement on the way we treat each other in general in our society today, let alone how we deal with outliers or those who suffer from anxieties of the mind. Another five-star killer. (Pun intended.)
We viewed “Ethan Frome” the other night as well, and the story was just as bleak as I remember from reading the book decades ago. Edith Wharton’s novel about a doomed love story is harsh and heartbreaking (and brilliant–you should read it), and the movie captured that tone very well indeed. The novel was a quick read, if I remember; the movie, however, seemed to last forever, getting bogged down in a number of sections. Liam Neeson and Joan Allen were both excellent as usual, though Mr. Neeson’s American accent was not as even then as it is now; the third member of the triangle was sadly a distant third, struggling with both the dialogue and her dialect, rarely building the kind of forbidden desire with her cousin that would prompt him to endanger his entire life to hold her. They tried, but ultimately this one was a disappointment. No more than three stars for this selection, perhaps less for the potential it had.
“Shock and Awe,” directed by Rob Reiner, did not awe me; it did shock me, as I normally find him to be a much better director. This one was a less effective piece of work, and I wonder if his political beliefs got in the way of his storytelling. It deals with the 2nd Gulf War; you might remember that “Shock and Awe” was the name that the George W. Bush administration gave to their initial attack on Iraq, and the search for weapons of mass destruction that we were assured were being stockpiled by Saddam Hussein. Now, if you know me, you know that this would seem to be right up my political alley, but the storytelling was just so clumsy and heavy-handed that they made it difficult to watch. I agreed with a lot of the politics, granted; the dialogue was somewhat sophomoric and simplistic for my tastes, and the pace of the film was more deadly than a bottle of anthrax. It was cheap, but I wouldn’t watch it again. Two stars–maybe two and a half. Maybe.
The last film I’m going to talk about is going to involve me eating considerable amounts of crow, as I have been a loud and avowed Adam Sandler detractor for as long as he has made movies; outside of “Happy Gilmore,” I can’t stand the guy, and find him tiresome in everything after five minutes at the most. But “Uncut Gems” was the most intense thing I’d seen in a long, long time, and I have to wonder if it would have been my second choice for Best Picture. I don’t know, but I do know that Sandler was awesome. (Yes, I just said that Adam Sandler was awesome. Since this is now published online, everyone will know, so feel free to give me the needle.) Seriously, he was brilliant. The movie was a train-wreck, and you knew it was going to end badly…and boy did it. Yikes. Sandler (he doesn’t get a “Mr.” until I like at least one more of his films) plays a jewelry dealer in New York, a guy who is so addicted to gambling that he would probably bet that I would love this Adam Sandler movie inside the first five minutes. And he would freakin’ win. (God, I hate the taste of crow.) Sandler’s character, Howard Ratner, would clean up on a parlay involving my appreciation of this movie. You’ll cringe as he goes further and further down the rabbit hole, and will probably figure out what’s going to happen…about four seconds before it actually does. Gripping, and I agree with the masses for once: should have been nominated for an Oscar, as much as it pains me to say it. Brilliant. Five out of five, and the filmmakers have one or two others that are riveting as well.
So there you have it: a mixed bag. Several perfect films and a couple of stinkers, or at least near-stinkers. As for the rest of the recents, I would steer clear of “Burning Palms” and “Inherent Vice,” but you’d be doing yourself a favor if you sat down to watch “Jojo Rabbit,” “A Face in the Crowd” (still such a great film), or the unbelievable and totally unique “Loving Vincent,” which literally took my breath away. (I’d tell you more about it, but I don’t think I could do it justice; just trust me and watch it if you can. Gorgeous five-star artfest.) And don’t even get me started on “I Am Not Your Negro”; what an incredible recreation of the realities of the Civil Rights movement through the eyes of James Baldwin, and a violent reminder of our typical inability to find common ground on the simplest of subjects.
There are literally a ton more I could recommend (or recommend that you don’t see), so expect these types of posts to show up occasionally, like some kind of White Walker or something.
Postscript: people are nuts. Final episode of GOT was flat-out perfect.
