Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate it | {Insert Appropriate Seasonal Greeting Here}

[flyersnorth]

Django Unchained, 9.5/10

I noticed it was on the Netflix "Leaving Soon" list, so I decided to watch it again last night. Last time I watched it was sometime pre-pandemic.

Phenomenal movie. Waltz steals every scene he's in, and he's in almost all of them. Foxx is wonderful. Leo is great.

It's just great storytelling and cinema. I wish there were more filmmakers like Tarantino. Nothing is accidental. Nothing is extraneous. Everything is deliberate, and there is so much attention to detail.

I realized last night for the first time that the movie feels exactly like what Red Dead Redemption 2 would be like as a movie, and I got to appreciate it again through a different lens.


To Catch A Killer, 5/10

Mediocre action flick. I felt the story was uninteresting, and the two main protagonists were not convincing, neither was the antagonist.

It's an ok watch but probably could have been condensed into something more compelling.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. My journey with this two-movie series is this: I thought the first movie was fun and charming, but maybe a tad overrated. The second one ... might just be the best super-hero movie ever made. Artistically vibrant, funny, emotionally resonate. Reverent to comic art and storytelling, but in such an engaging and exciting way. It fully understands the past, but doesn't have a slavish fealty to it. It takes those characters and tropes (which are nothing new) but assembles it into something that feels new and alive. Absolutely maxes out the capabilities of animation in its character and world designs, in its action. Takes the idea of a multiverse and in two films completely dunks on the MCU's sloppy attempts in live action to establish and navigate the same. It's efficient and affecting in about 4.5 hours total versus the mess the MCU has created across hours and hours of movies and TV shows and counting (including a live-action multiversal Spider-Man of their own).

I'm beating a dead horse on this matter with my Star Wars and MCU takes but this is yet another example of what happens when you turn creative people loose and you're not micromanaging stories from the board room. Sony, of course, has legal limits to its Spider-Man contract, but those limits clearly don't hinder these movies, they help. (Their live action work, however ...).

Now if you want to stick up for the MCU, animation obviously gives you some artistic and creative freedom live action doesn't afford. But story is still story and character is still character regardless of production. And animation isn't ghettoized like it used to. This is playing in the same worlds and competes on the same playing field as the MCU in theaters and streaming and I choose to evaluate it as such.

 

[Unholy Diver]

The Marvels - 7/10

I thought it was pretty good, my daughter enjoyed it, especially the parts with the cats. There were parts that seemed like maybe the story would have been filled in a little more had I watched the countless Disney plus series, but I managed to push through without the prior knowledge

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Ratcatcher (1999) - 7.5/10

Almost like a less innocent Kes set in the slums of Glasgow. As well as you can shoot a film in a bleak environment without making it completely bleak like Lilya-4-Ever or something.

Went the Day Well? (1942) - 7.5/10

Fun premise where a group of Nazi's disguise themselves as British soldiers and take over a town to set up an outpost while the locals have to rebel. Shockingly violent for an early-40s film but also delivers some good suspense. I would say it's propaganda heavy but they're fighting friggin nazi's, if it was re-made later it would be pretty much the same. Surprisingly good acting too.

A Man for All Seasons (1966) - 7/10

A strong second half. I never fully bought in to the convictions of the lead character who was willing to give up his life for his belief that the King should not have been allowed a divorce to marry Anne Boleyn but I don't think you have to agree with his choices to respect him as the film shows him as a martyr. The dialogue heavy first-half doesn't have much of interest but it's when the conflict and court trial plays a bigger role in the second half where the film takes off.

Life Is Sweet (1990) - 7.5/10

Good slice of life Mike Leigh film. Ending is maybe not as emotionally hard-hitting as in Secrets and Lies but it's a more whimsical journey to get there. There are some silly over the top character portrayals (including Bubbles from Absolutely Fabulous in this lol) but it works quite well, almost like a satirical counter-point to the more serious stuff.

The Small Back Room (1949) - 7/10

A bomb disposal film which does eventually have that tense bomb disposal scene but is more of a character study of the lead character suffering from alcoholism, what a combo. Anyways it's a decent Powell film and he does do a good job of actually having some scenes set outdoors and taking advantage of the scenery unlike some of his contemporaries, in this case it was disposing of a bomb on a beach.

Tunes of Glory (1960) - 6.5/10

Alec Guiness transforms himself into an arrogant Scottish army colonel and he does it well. Some good drama here but it's a lot of military procedure and rank type drama which seems almost silly and insignificant to take as seriously now.

Victim (1961) - 7/10

Mature Losey film about a politician who's blackmailed along with others for being gay. The end is maybe insignificant to the drama to get there, it's tastefully done.

I, Daniel Blake (2016) - 7/10

Bit heavy-handed Ken Loach film about the absolute state of the British welfare state. On one hand, it shows how some of society's more vulnerable suffer the most but on the other, I think if this was a documentary, you'd need to hear about how the British government is deeply in debt with debt servicing costs making up 2x of the education budget and how a large cause of this, was the expansion of the welfare state in the first place and it's quite a nuanced issue without a simple solution. The characters are very human in this but it's presented as one-sided as well with the state bureaucrats doing their job shown basically as the villains.

Hidden Agenda (1990) - 7/10

Political thriller set in Northern Ireland, never leaning much into the suspense but conveying a sense of deep-state like corruption, also featuring a young Frances McDormand. Maybe a bit hasty in its resolution but does provide a solid internal/police investigation without any gung-ho Hollywood or Hong Kong or Japanese type shootouts.

 

[Winger98]

Now if you want to stick up for the MCU, animation obviously gives you some artistic and creative freedom live action doesn't afford. But story is still story and character is still character regardless of production. And animation isn't ghettoized like it used to. This is playing in the same worlds and competes on the same playing field as the MCU in theaters and streaming and I choose to evaluate it as such.

Just to slide sideways here a bit, but I still find so many movies far better suited to animation than live action. Regardless of the level of special effects, there is something about a live action superhero movie that I find naturally distancing in a way animation effortlessly bridges. I feel the same way about Disney and their attempts to make live action versions of all of their animated features. They just don't work the same way and I come away from them dissatisfied on some level.

God help me if I see someone doing a live action Totoro.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Just to slide sideways here a bit, but I still find so many movies far better suited to animation than live action. Regardless of the level of special effects, there is something about a live action superhero movie that I find naturally distancing in a way animation effortlessly bridges. I feel the same way about Disney and their attempts to make live action versions of all of their animated features. They just don't work the same way and I come away from them dissatisfied on some level.

God help me if I see someone doing a live action Totoro.

Paul Giamatti as Totoro.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Creepshow 2 (1987).

Typical anthology movie of its era. Reminded me a lot of the Tales from the Darkside movie that followed it a few years later.
My opinion, it was mostly forgettable. But one thing that distinguished it, an animated narrator and animated shorts in between the live action tales.
Free on Tubi.. could come in handy on a slow Halloween season.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Not a movie but Mrs. Tame Impala and I finished "The Shrink Next Door" last night on Apple TV. Had never heard of the show but we were given an Apple TV box and it was recommended to us.

Made in 2021, with Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell, based on a true story. Gotta say we both really enjoyed it. Rudd and Ferrell did a great job sprinkling in some light-hearted moments of comedy but otherwise did a great job making us forget we were watching two guys from Anchorman.

The story was intriguing, especially since we didn't watch any trailers beforehand so we had no idea what to expect. It really goes to show how far some people will go to manipulate and control your life, despite you giving them nothing but love and trust. I was expecting the stakes to get a little bit higher than they did in episode 7...

Spoiler: spoil

really thought the joint charity organization and combining their funds would come back to bite Ferrell more than it did. Also didn't think Rudd would've given up that house so easily

...but otherwise a really good show to watch. It was fun to see Ferrell branch out a little bit with his acting and I thought it was hilarious they chose Rudd to play a total scumbag. 8/10

Between this and Severance (9/10), Apple TV is really growing on me.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Between this and Severance (9/10), Apple TV is really growing on me.

Apple is actually my favorite currently. So many good shows. I really enjoyed Servant too, it's over now but I thought it wrapped up really well.

 

[Chili]

The Killing-1956

Heist film at a race track. Johnny (Sterling Hayden) recently released from prison puts together a group to attempt a daring robbery. His gang includes guys on the inside. The precision plan leaves little to chance, as long as everyone fulfills their role. One of the queens of film noir, Marie Windsor, as the femme fatale. Well made film all around, story, cinematography, solid cast & performances. Exciting, great climax.

Mystery Train-1989 (some Japanese and Italian with subtitles)

Young Japanese couple arrive by train into Memphis as tourists. They end up at a hotel in a seedy part of town, which becomes the setting for two other stories. A young Italian woman, just in town to arrange the return of her late husband's coffin to Rome and another young female wander into the inn and end up sharing a room. And three guys in a whole lot of trouble arrive. Well placed sounds throughout, the train (on board and in the distance) clock chimes, birds, the radio, music. Screamin' Jay Hawkins as the inn keeper and Cinqué Lee (brother of Spike) as his bellboy are a hoot. Elvis' Blue Moon gets a workout. It's a Jim Jarmusch film so some will like it (like me) and others...

The Mouse That Roared-1959

Peter Sellers and the bomb, well another big bomb anyway in this satirical romp. He plays three different roles here, as the Grand Duchess, Field Marshall and Prime Minister of Fenwick, a very small country in Europe. Their chief export is a popular wine until a knockoff California wine threatens their economy. The solution: declare war on the US? Some fun among the silliness, Sellers adeptly fills his three roles. Nice job with the animation in the opening credits.

A Man Called Otto-2022

Otto (Tom Hanks) is one grumpy dude. His wife passed away a few months back and now he sees no reason to go on living. A young Latin couple moves into an adjacent townhouse in his complex and Otto grudgingly helps them get settled. The wife, Marisol, tries to befriend Otto but meets a pretty cold shoulder each time. Mariana Treviño makes the film, she comes across as a genuinely kind soul. Hanks is very good too, the role suited him. And who better to play younger Otto in the flashbacks then his son Truman. His wife Rita Wilson sings a beautiful duet, what a great voice. Gets a little soapy later on but has a strong message about an elderly person dealing with loss and finding some purpose to life.

Two Lane Blacktop-1971

vrom vrom vroom rrrrrrrrrrr.... Two guys who love cars, on the road looking for a race wherever they can find one. Very interesting leads led by Warren Oates as GTO, in the other car. He doesn't seem to be headed anywhere in particular, just drifting in his bright coloured GTO. In the 1955 modified Chevy Belair are three non actors, two of whom though with familiar faces. James Taylor as the Driver, with his distinctive voice although usually pretty quiet, has a snarl on his face most of the time. Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson as the Mechanic plays a nice contrast to the driver. He was pretty handy with cars, helped him here. And seventeen year old Laurie Bird as the girl, a stowaway in the Chevy. The two cars end up in a long distance race.

The film captures the feel of the times, the innocence, beautifully shot. Monty Hellman saw James Taylor first on a billboard (for one of his albums), he had already interviewed people like Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino but Taylor got the role. Would have liked to hear him sing in the film but that was by design. A film without violence, politics, drugs or Vietnam. An interesting visit back to another era from the backseat of a '55 Chevy.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Jurassic Park(1993) - 9.5/10

Man what a classic. One of the most quintessential 90s movie Movies. The cast is excellent, the special effects are incredible, and there's a damn good reason Steven Speilberg is rich as hell. Great premise and the way tension is built through this film I wish more contemporary directors would implement into their projects. When you think of blockbuster you think a movie that has it all, everything you can pack in a movie and that's exactly what Jurassic Park delivers. Funny moments, dramatic bravado moments, heartfelt moments, shit getting f***ed up by Dinosaurs moments, Jeff Goldblum moments, this cast of characters gets the entire rainbow.

Well done studio movie making, a trilogy that gets kind of forgotten sometimes.

The Creator(2023) - 6.5/10

As a total sucker for Sci-Fi I saw this in theaters and I have to say it looked incredible. The art department hit a total homerun. Suffers from narrative issues, I think maybe they tried to squeeze too much in. The payoff for the characters felt a little unearned. My main problem is that it promised big things and didn't quite deliver. It bugs me when a movie could be better served by cutting a half hour but in this case I think The Creator could have benefited by taking its time and flushing things out better. Concept incredible though, and the actors I think did a great job. The little Robot child makes for a good sympathetic figure.

Maybe too much style over substance but I enjoyed the style. Bleak dystopia is in vogue right now and I'm here for it, especially if it has a good soundtrack.

 

[shadow1]

Death on the Nile (2022) - 6/10

On a trip in Egypt, a detective investigates a murder aboard a cruise ship.

Kenneth Branagh stars as Hercule Poirot, a famous detective sightseeing in Egypt. Newlyweds Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) and Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) are celebrating their honeymoon on this trip, but Simon's lovelorn ex-fiance Jaqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey) has crashed the tour, leaving everyone on edge. Poirot implores both the Doyles and Jaqueline to leave the trip, fearing things will turn deadly. Poirot's fears are proven to be correct when one of the tour-goers ends up dead during an overnight trip on a cruise ship. It's up to the world's most famous detective to figure out who amongst the passengers is responsible...

Death on the Nile was directed by star Kenneth Branagh, and written by Michael Green. The film is based on the 1937 Agatha Christie Novel of the same name, and marks the second film is Branagh's Poirot series. How does it fare?

Meh... it's okay. Death on the Nile has what I consider to be a slog of a first 20 minutes, with sensory overload in a busy scene at a Jazz club, followed by cinematography of Egypt that somehow never looks at beautiful as it should. If you can't keep up with all of the characters, don't worry - one character eventually spoon feeds the backgrounds and motivations of the others to Poirot, including even saying "no one trusts" one particular character. This is at least a half hour before anyone is killed, mind you.

Once the movie settles down from its clunky opening, it becomes decent popcorn entertainment. Death on the Nile is well photographed, and I once again like Branagh's performance as Poirot. Interestingly, the movie tries to give the normally asexual character more of a romantic background, which is coincidentally also the case for the 2004 TV movie, despite it not being a subplot in the book. I thought it worked here, personally.

As for the mystery itself, I've never been the biggest fan of Death on the Nile. It's one of Christie's more well known books, but it feels like a lower stakes version of Murder on the Orient Express. The police board the ship almost immediately after the murder, so the characters don't feel "trapped" with their unknown assailant in the middle of the water. The solution to the crime is one of Christie's most memorable, though I thought the film was a little too obvious with some of the clues.

But to hop on my soapbox and criticize a book that is almost a 100 years old: Poirot is so famous that the paparazzi know him, yet he just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time for another murder? This became a problem in a lot of later books, with Poirot transitioning from a hired detective to a death magnet, with someone dying in his vicinity every time he walks out the front door. The film does try to justify this and does the best it can within the confines of the story, but you still have to suspend your disbelief that the killer would go through with their plan with Poirot on the ship. Realistically, the killer would take out Poirot, which they have several chances to do in this film.

Overall, Death on the Nile is an okay movie. It's a light 6 for me, doing a decent job adapting the novel, but not standing out in any particular area. Even with my gripes about this entry, I am just happy Branagh is making these movies, and look forward to a likely fourth Poirot film in the near future. Death on the Nile earned $137M against its $90M budget.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Jurassic Park(1993) - 9.5/10

Man what a classic. One of the most quintessential 90s movie Movies. The cast is excellent, the special effects are incredible, and there's a damn good reason Steven Steilberg is rich as hell. Great premise and the way tension is built through this film I wish more contemporary directors would implement into their projects. When you think of blockbuster you think a movie that has it all, everything you can pack in a movie and that's exactly what Jurassic Park delivers. Funny moments, dramatic bravado moments, heartfelt moments, shit getting f***ed up by Dinosaurs moments, Jeff Goldblum moments, this cast of characters gets the entire rainbow.

Well done studio movie making, a trilogy that gets kind of forgotten sometimes.

Couldn't agree more about Jurassic Park. The perfect storm of cinematography, acting, special effects, writing and everything else that makes a great film. It's an almost perfect film.

The one thing that I think is also really great is that the movie has a wonderful original sound-track which seems to lay the perfect track in each scene, without having to rely on popular licensed songs. Masterpiece is the only way to say it.

I actually really enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd installments too.

 

[johnjm22]

The Holdovers (2023)

A sweet sincere film with generally good performances all around. It's currently receiving near universal praise from critics and audiences, but I was lukewarm on it.

Sometimes when you have a director with final cut, it's difficult for them to objectively edit the film down. The Holdovers seems to suffers from this. It has too many scenes, and goes on for too long. Each scene seems to be given similar weighting in the film's story. It almost feels like a collection of vignettes.

Great care was put into portraying the 1970's. The locations, props and wardrobes are all wonderful.

This is a movie that's pulling hard on your heartstrings and wants to give you the warm and fuzzies for the holiday season. Sometimes it works.

7/10

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Exodus: Gods and Kings. With another big Ridley Scott historic epic hitting theaters I finally got around to watching one of his earlier such efforts. I was missing nothing. Big and boooorrrring. There's Scott's polish, but that's about it. And even that feels kinda rote. Poorly cast (John Tuturro and Sigorney Weaver as Egyptian royalty, Aaron Paul, even a game but clearly out of place Joel Edgerton). I can understand the hubris of believing that because our technology is better today we can deliver bigger, better Biblical epics than the old days ... but we can't. Give me a sprawling Charlton Heston ham-and-cheese sandwich with great matte paintings and grand sets over this brooding bullshit any day.

The Andromeda Strain. Another for the "they don't make 'em like this anymore" file. The underground lab setting is the big star here to me. I'm a sucker for the 60s/70s sci-fi aesthetic and this is a primo example. But it was also striking that the four main characters are wrinkly, balding character actor types (i.e. they actually look and feel like the scientist they're supposed to be). And it's dialog heavy. Not much action. Mostly thinking, talking, problem solving. A patient, professionally done piece of entertainment. I haven't seen the updated version a few years ago (it predictably has a much more comely cast led by Benjamin Bratt), but I feel fairly certain that it won't have quite the old school charm as the original.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Donnie Darko 2001 - 9.5/10
One of my all-time favorite films. Great cast, sensational acting, and an incredibly curated sound track with banger after banger.

The movie follows the story of high school student Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he battles severe mental troubles and his own involvement in rather peculiar emerging circumstances. He seems to coincidentally avoid a tragic accident as a jet plane engine crashes directly into his room where he should have been sleeping had he not been sleepwalking. However, it becomes obvious that there's much more at play as the film delves into ideas and theories of time travel, alternate dimensions, tangent timelines, and other related topics.

While the movie can be jarring, confusing, and downright bizarre at times, the more you look into the deeper theme of what's happening the more it begins to make sense piece by piece. If you take the time to read the book featured in the film "Philosophy of Time Travel" the events and imagery really fall into place. This also helps explain some of the bizarre and questionable things that the characters do and/or say.

I generally recommend that folks watch the movie, then read the book, and then watch the movie again. In the Director's Cut many of the contents of the book are displayed on screen at relevant times.

 

[kihei]

Joan Baez: I Am a Noise (2023) Directed by Miri Navasky, Karen O'Connor and Maeve O'Boyle 7A
(documentary)

I doubt many people are familiar with Joan Baez these days. She released her first album of traditional folk songs in 1960, sparsely accompanied by a single unadorned acoustic guitar. Her voice was just about the purest instrument anyone has ever heard--and her impact was enormous on the '60s folk scene. And then came Bob Dylan, who she loved and admits broke her heart, and everything changed, especially after Dylan went electric. Baez continued with her quieter career while at the same time becoming a serious civil rights and anti-war activist who marched with Martin Luther King and James Baldwin. This documentary takes a serious look at the complicated life that churned just beneath the surface of Baez's dignified and graceful demeanour.

Joan Baez: I Am a Noise relies heavily on personal documents--tape recordings, diaries, journals--to tell her story in non-linear fashion. The documentary capably addresses the conventional touchstones of biopics, her career, her influence, her political activism, her idealism. However what sets the film apart is the emotional turmoil Baez has lived with because of traumas that she experienced in her family. Interestingly, the movie never quite spells out the exact nature of the trauma, but it does provide hints and clues that are not hard to follow. The use of still photographs, especially dealing with her complex relationship with her parents as well as with her two sisters who were overwhelmed by her, is very effective in revealing a seemingly normal but secretly troubled girl trying to cope with too many different demons simultaneously. Interspersed with this material is footage of her final tour at 78 years of age, her voice tempered by time but still beautiful. I came out of this movie with renewed respect for Baez and a feeling that time has not been as kind to her art as she deserves.

 

[Epictetus]

Dune

2/10

Probably one of the worst films I've ever seen. I still don't really know what I was watching to be honest. Gave it a couple points because I never read the books so perhaps I was not the target audience.

 

[johnjm22]

Dune

2/10

Probably one of the worst films I've ever seen. I still don't really know what I was watching to be honest. Gave it a couple points because I never read the books so perhaps I was not the target audience.

Which one?

 

[kihei]

Napoleon (2023) Directed by Ridley Scott 3B

The cinematography is excellent. There are a few surprising moments of humour. Some of the battle scenes are impressive though the best one is a direct steal from Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky. Beyond these few caveats, Napoleon is a seriously bad movie. There is no coherent narrative, no context for the events that are focused on, no even rudimentary understanding of Napoleon's place in French and European history. Hours seem to be spent on Napoleon's reaction to Josephine not being able to present him with an heir. Meanwhile, great moments in Napoleonic history get short shrift.

Jumping around in the third act like a flee on a hot plate, suddenly we are watching Napoleon seemingly come to an alliance with the Russian Tsar. Within five minutes, he is invading Russia and no further mention is made of what went wrong with the planned alliance. Then maybe two minutes are spent on his retreat from Russia. Within another couple of minutes he is already off to exile in Elba. If you aren't familiar with Napoleon's history, you won't have a clue what is going on or, more importantly, why.

From the very first scenes this movie is off key, and it stays that way throughout its long, boring 165 minute running time. And Joaquin Phoenix doesn't help at all. He plays Napoleon as broody vulgarian, hardly an original take, and you are always looking at Phoenix employing his standard acting shtick--he never remotely transforms into a believable Napoleon. I wouldn't be surprised if the French didn't declare war on Ridley Scott. If they do, I know which side I am rooting for.

 

[NyQuil]

I wouldn't be surprised if the French didn't declare war on Ridley Scott. If they do, I know which side I am rooting for.

Luc Besson is going to do a biopic on Winston Churchill.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Dune

2/10

Probably one of the worst films I've ever seen. I still don't really know what I was watching to be honest. Gave it a couple points because I never read the books so perhaps I was not the target audience.

I still have to finish it, I was so bored I shut it off halfway through and I rarely do that. Figure I'll give it another chance before the 2nd one comes out.

 

[Ceremony]

Luc Besson is going to do a biopic on Winston Churchill.

I think the quintessential Churchill story has already been done: Churchill: The Hollywood Years - Wikipedia

 

[kihei]

Afire (2023) Directed by Christian Petzold 8B

How much you enjoy Afire depends greatly how well you can tolerate Leon (Thomas Schubert), the focal point of director Christian Petzold's character study. Leon and his friend Felix rent a house in the woods for an extended vacation, only to find that the place is already inhabited by Nadia (Paula Beer), who is sort of mysterious and sort of attractive but hard to pin down. She has made friends with a handsome lifeguard though there exact relationship is uncertain. Leon is basically miffed at everything. He has written one novel, but the second is not going well. As a result, he is often ill-tempered and self-centred, displaying no social skills whatsoever. Various characters, all quite interesting in their way, try to get him to join in on what they're doing but he always says no. His semi-saving grace is he knows he's a schmuck and just can't quite figure out to stop being a schmuck. Looking like the dumpy progeny of Rodney Dangerfield and Brendan Fraser, Schubert is great at showing the turmoil going on within this frustrated writer's insecure head.

Movies seldom focus on ill-mannered people. Petzold, who is one of this century's most gifted directors, has the skill and compassion to make Leon's struggles with his emotional insecurities compelling and even gently comic. Leon's reticence and general annoyance is contrasted nicely with the easy-going free spirit Nadja. Beer doesn't overplay her hand as Nadja who is blessedly free from quirks and cliche kookiness. In a way she is the person that Leon measures himself against, and he knows he will never be as at ease with himself as she is with herself.

Though there is a nearby forest fire that adds tension, this synopsis quite likely seems underwhelming. But the movie has a lovely feel, a peculiar charm and just seems so very human. Tucked away around the edges are some interesting insights about schmucks, frustrated writers, the creative process, and the way the world has of surprising you, sometimes pleasantly, sometimes with a bludgeon. I wouldn't want to be friends with Leon, but I am glad that I got to spend a couple of hours with him.

subtitles

Best of '23 so far

1) Riceboy Sleeps, Shim, Canada
2) Anatomy of a Fall, Triet, France
3) Oppenheimer, Nolan, US
4) El Conde, Larrain, Chile
5) Afire, Petzold, Germany
6) Barbie, Gerwig, US
7) Close Your Eyes, Erice, Spain
8) Dream Scenario, Borgli, US
9) Talk to Me, Philippou brothers, Australia
10) The Crime Is Mine, Ozon, France

 

[Pink Mist]

Afire (2023) Directed by Christian Petzold 8B

How much you enjoy Afire depends greatly how well you can tolerate Leon (Thomas Schubert), the focal point of director Christian Petzold's character study. Leon and his friend Felix rent a house in the woods for an extended vacation, only to find that the place is already inhabited by Nadia (Paula Beer), who is sort of mysterious and sort of attractive but hard to pin down. She has made friends with a handsome lifeguard though there exact relationship is uncertain. Leon is basically miffed at everything. He has written one novel, but the second is not going well. As a result, he is often ill-tempered and self-centred, displaying no social skills whatsoever. Various characters, all quite interesting in their way, try to get him to join in on what they're doing but he always says no. His semi-saving grace is he knows he's a schmuck and just can't quite figure out to stop being a schmuck. Looking like the dumpy progeny of Rodney Dangerfield and Brendan Fraser, Schubert is great at showing the turmoil going on within this frustrated writer's insecure head.

Movies seldom focus on ill-mannered people. Petzold, who is one of this century's most gifted directors, has the skill and compassion to make Leon's struggles with his emotional insecurities compelling and even gently comic. Leon's reticence and general annoyance is contrasted nicely with the easy-going free spirit Nadja. Beer doesn't overplay her hand as Nadja who is blessedly free from quirks and cliche kookiness. In a way she is the person that Leon measures himself against, and he knows he will never be as at ease with himself as she is with herself.

This synopsis quite likely seems underwhelming. But the movie has a lovely feel, a peculiar charm and just seems so very human. Tucked away around the edges are some interesting insights about schmucks, frustrated writers, the creative process, and the way the world has of surprising you, sometimes pleasantly, sometimes with a bludgeon. I wouldn't want to be friends with Leon, but I am glad that I got to spend a couple of hours with him.

Best of '23 so far

1) Riceboy Sleeps, Shim, Canada
2) Anatomy of a Fall, Triet, France
3) Oppenheimer, Nolan, US
4) El Conde, Larrain, Chile
5) Afire, Petzold, Germany
6) Barbie, Gerwig, US
7) Close Your Eyes, Erice, Spain
8) Dream Scenario, Borgli, US
9) Talk to Me, Philippou brothers, Australia
10) The Crime Is Mine, Ozon, France

Did you catch any of the screenings at TIFF Lightbox this month for the Christian Petzold retrospective they're doing? They've been screening basically all his films he's made, including most of his early films