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Femme (2023)
Visually stunning queer psychological drama
Amazing performances by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay combine with vibrant cinematography in a great British queer film. Give it a watch unless you hate queer hate people.
Stewart-Jarrett especially is captivating as Jules, bringing an authenticity to his drag performing, 'Femme' character. MacKay is nearly as good as the closeted Preston, who, like Jules, covers himself in gender-affirming clothes and accessories. But instead of makeup and drag wear, it's tattoos and urban clothes.
The sex-scenes are pretty unrealistic, at least by my queer experiences, but hey, they're very steamy.
In short, this is well shot, really well acted, and well-worth watching. God save the queens.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Amazing visuals and world-building, honking script
Dune: Part Two is not subtle. And nor should it be. See it on the biggest screen possible, and ignore a few laughable lines of dialogue.
The opening sequence is a stunner. Javier Bardem's performance injects some much-needed levity into an otherwise rock solid stoney-faced piece. Chalomet is okay. Zendaya is better. Christopher Walken is really distracting.
There are several jaw-dropping moments of cinematic mastery, especially if enjoyed in IMAX. However, the script honks and bonks its way around the narrative, with quite a few laugh-out-loud lines and moments.
But this isn't meant to be an Oscar Wilde-esque romp. It's popcorn space opera cheese. And it's awesome.
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Original horror for fans of wikipedia conspiracy wormholes
Late Night with the Devil is an original and engaging horror flick for fans of wikipedia wormholes and conspiracy theories about hollywood and the media elite. It's well worth watching for some spooky moments, even if the ending climax is a bit camp.
Jack Delroy,played by the excellent David Dastmalchian, is a beleaguered late night chat show host hoping to turn public fascination with the occult into one more shot at the late night crown.
As we see a never-aired taping of his show, we wonder if Jack is innocently playing with unknown forces, or does he know more than he's letting on?
Dastmalchian is great as the not-quite-right Delroy and Ingrid Torelli is on hyper scary form as the weird kid Lilly. The little filmic quirks when she stares down the camera and voice tricks are really effective. Top marks to the hair, makeup, and costume departments: you never doubt the whole 1977-era found footage vibe.
In short, this is a really original take on the found footage horror film that leans into the camp and quirky side of horror and the occult. But it does feel a bit like a play.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Won't work for everyone, but well worth trying
When evil occurs, what do the perpetrators do when they clock off? Do they pray for forgiveness? Do they have sex? Or do they just garden, worry about work, and wash and clean the clothes, choosing to believe the horrors happening close by are somehow normal, lawful, and for the best. If you became a perpetrator, what would you do?
The Zone of Interest is a deeply affecting example of non-narrative cinema that will grip, terrify, and stay with audiences who are prepared to resonate with it. If you're not in the appropriate frame of mind or don't have good speakers, you will find it deathly dull.
The film relies heavily on chilling and inventive sound design and music to unsettle the audience as we get to know the family and household of the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig.
As imagined warbling and belching echos of industrial pain ring in our ears, we see the deeply undramatic strivings of Rudolf and Hedwig to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp. Nothing happens that would make it onto a holiday postcard. None of the horrors of Auschwitz are shown. If you don't know about Auschwitz then this film will feel like an experimentalist audio-sensory stamina test.
The camera is nearly always static and wide. The cuts are slow. The dialogue is highly naturalistic. Scenes play out with the barest hint of action, but when you know what is happening just over the wall of the garden, it creates a truly dreadful atmosphere. Horrific in the truest sense as we are presented with the fact that committing evil can be a 9-5 job, and people who are decent, like you and me, like your parents, like your children, can do truly evil and despicable things.
Knowing that, how can we improve our world?
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Kilmer kills and a firecracker script
I expected a very middle of the road film, maybe with a bit of Downey kookiness or glitz. What I got was a thoughtful, funny, farce-cum-hypereal-action flick.
Downey is Downey. So if you like him you'll love his performance. Val Kilmer as Gay Perry is really funny, a perfect foil for Downey, and a bit emotionally charged. One of his best performances.
Michelle Monaghan is utterly consistent and convincing as Harmony. Some of her scenes really allow the film to breathe as a realistic action flick and she's brilliant.
The script is funny, a bit too clever for itself at times, but always lands on its feat after sight gags, violence shocks, and Downey mumblelarking.
A movie well written and well worth watching. Underrated and rarely spoken about.
Foxcatcher (2014)
Too slow and too surly
This was a huge disappointment. Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo are good actors, and Ruffalo especially is good in this. But alas, the dialogue and editing is so slooooooooow and it makes this a boring struggle.
Neither Steve Carrell's massively distracting fake nose nor Tatum's overcooked hulking sadboy performance mean the audience needs minutes of silence to soak up their characterizations. The dialogue isn't weighty enough to warrant minutes of reflection interspersed with admittedly nice shots of trees against a moody musical backdrop.
Why didn't it work for me besides the pacing? As a Brit, maybe I am more familiar with very rich people being very sad, lonely, and broken? Maybe Americans find this aspect of the story groundbreaking? Maybe I just don't really like huge fake noses? Who knows!
First 30 mins are interesting, but this really drags to an almost laughable level. AVOID!
Idi i smotri (1985)
Captures the terrible realism of war in a surreal way
One of the most challenging and intense viewing experiences ever, but immediately becomes one of my most important movies.
The film combines a brutal naturalistic representation of Nazi war crimes in Belarus with nightmarish surrealism to form a truly unforgettable and nearly unbearable account of war's impact on humans.
The acting, especially the lead, is incredible. The 'effects'--all done in camera--are powerful. And the audio soundtrack is amazing, really reinforcing the hellish disorientation of conflict and barbarism.
Watch it. Let it sit with you. Choose how you respond to its horror.
Some say this is just a propaganda film, but the movie accurately reflects historical atrocities carried out by Nazis and collaborators like the Koriukivka massacre, the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre, the Khatyn massacre, and the Dzyatlava massacre. Burning innocent civilians to death was a common tactic employed by the SS, Wehrmacht, and collaborators.
Slow Horses (2022)
A good spy thriller with solid acting
"Smiley was always coming back from redundancy" - so says Gary Oldman, who played George Smiley in the excellent 2011 film adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. But there are few redundant elements to be found in Slow Horses: the narrative and character development, based on Mick Herron's novels, are well-crafted and well-paced, action scenes are appropriately tense and not too flashy, and the acting is, for the most part (barring Christopher Chung), cracking. A good mix of comedy, drama, and tense capering makes for an enjoyable series - more please!
The star of the show is Gary Oldman, making his tv series debut, as grizzled and flatulent Lamb. He's funny and troubled in equal measure, playing the anti-hero very well. Kristin Scott Thomas is perfectly cast as the cold and calculated as leader of MI5's Regent's Park headquarters--her scenes with Lamb are electric.
Special mention to the amusing musical moments here and there, which add some necessary light to the dark and dingy machinations of the secret service operatives.
Brian Vernel is absolutely terrifying as one of the villains, embodying an angry young man with nothing to lose whose mind has been melted by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric. His eyes!
Here's to an equally well-delivered season 2.
True Things (2021)
Passable British romantic drama
Ever been in a relationship that felt more like an intoxicating addiction? That's the situation for Katie, a down on her luck benefits worker in a UK seaside town.
Ruth Wilson is fantastic as Katie. Every movement and smile conveys the desperate neediness of someone lacking self love and connection. Tom Burke is a solid love rat, and their chemistry bubbles throughout the film.
There are some nice handheld shots, but nothing too ambitious. Worth watching, nothing to write home about.