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

[kihei]

Hold Me Tight (2022) Directed by Mathieu Amalric 8B

In North America, Mathieu Amalric is much better known as an actor (Quantum of Solace; The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), but he is also a director with a very distinctive style, one that owes a lot to Alain Resnais' fluid approach to time and memory. Hold Me Tight is about Clarisse (Vicky Krieps, along with Corsage, her second great performance of the year) who leaves her husband and two teenage children to start a new life. It is as though she has become fed up with her lot in life and decided to change it. The husband and kids seem quite likeable, but you can see how Clarisse might have perceived life as becoming a trap. The movie is about what happens to her, and them, in the months that follow. I don't want to give too much of the plot away except to underscore the fact that this is no melodrama. In fact, it is not like any other movie dealing with family trauma that I have seen.

Amalric's stylistic approach is what makes it different. Nothing is exactly straightforward. Scenes and sequences are like jigsaw puzzle pieces and when the viewer fits them together a different picture emerges than what might have been expected initially. The approach is non-linear with memories and thoughts and longings and internal dialogue influencing what we see taking place in the scenes in a way that carries an immense cumulative impact as Hold Me Tight progresses. Amalric has a wonderful grasp of the complex way that emotions work and how that complexity can be translated to shot composition, cinematography and editing. The end result seems remarkably personal and affecting, something poetic and distilled but immensely powerful and true to life.

subtitles

MUBI

Best of 22

1) The Banshees of Inisherin, McDonagh, Ireland
2) Aftersun, Wells, UK
3) Decision to Leave, Park, South Korea
4) The Quiet Girl, Bairead, Ireland
5) Pacifiction, Serra, Spain
6) Hold Me Tight, Amalric, France
7) No Bears, J. Panahi, Iran
8) Hit the Road, P. Panahi, Iran
9) Saint Omer, Diop, France
10) Everything Everywhere All at Once, Kwan and Scheinert, US

 

[Puck]

Petite Fleur or 15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbor, Directed by Santiago Mitre, they give it a 6.1 on IMDB, I am not sure.

A French and Argentina co-production. I had no subtitles. I can speak French and Spanish, I figured I will understand this, no problem. Hah! I can honestly say I don't get this one. I could try to explain it, but it would be full of spoilers. Not sure it would make any sense anyway.

From the title, you get that the frustrated protagonist kills his neighbor. He goes over to borrow a shovel from his neighbor, the guy is a pain, so he kills him. He buries the evidence, cleans up and waits for the cops to knock on the door. They don't. Next day his neighbor is alive and well and none the worse for wear.

This goes on and on.

IMDB says it's a comedy. I'd say it's more a Freudian psycho-drama. This one is definitely for Pranzo, I think he would love it. This is the strangest film I've seen this year, and by December I am sure it will still be.

There are 5 critic reviews listed on IMDB, all in Spanish. You can put it though Google Translate if you wish. Here is an excerpt from one

Little Flower is a playful film full of creative freedom about the urgent need that human beings have to build routines, to then break them in cathartic explosions and start the process of adapting to a new routine again in a dynamic of systole and diastole. between rupture and stability that is the basis of the fluidity of social relations. The plot of Oisi's novel and Miter's film oscillate around this theme of the eternal return of the same thing that happens during life and human history to present a story about the tension between resistance and acceptance in the face of routine, an issue that universally runs through life in all its forms.

So, did you get all that?

I do recommend the film if you get a chance. It is weird though.

Petite fleur (2022) ⭐ 6.0 | Comedy

1h 38m

www.imdb.com

Petite fleur (2022) - External reviews - IMDb

Petite fleur (2022) - Movies, TV, Celebs, and more...

www.imdb.com

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) - 7.5/10

This has a level of police procedural in it which I love but then it crumbles in the end in favour of a more surrealist/psychological thriller ending which I don't think Preminger pulls off. Directors from the 60s usually weren't great whenever they had to veer into the portraying mental health issues part. I'm not smart enough to have predicted the final act but I still feel like it was a letdown and the film was building to something better. There's a really interesting cast of side-characters here though almost adding to the slightly surreal mood. Anyways, pretty solid film that builds itself up into a mystery as it goes and felt maybe 10 years or so ahead of its time.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Layer Cake (2004) - 5/10

Tbh Matthew Vaughn hasn't done a good film outside of Kick-Ass. This one took me months to finish as I just found the style outdated and tedious. You never know who's going to get stuffed in a given scene which keeps you on edge but not in a fun way. I'd like to give even teenage me more credit and think that I'd have found some of this cringey even back then as it feels like a budget version of someone trying to make a smarter film styled after Snatch or something. It attempts to be quite stylized but even the colours have a budget look to them and the style here is equal to, well to someone who thought that horizontal curved style of sunglasses looked cool in the early-00s.

 

[sdf]

Looks like shadow1 lost his mind

 

[shadow1]

Looks like shadow1 lost his mind

I did, but I've come to terms with it over the last few years.

 

[shadow1]

Rush Hour (1998) - 7/10

A loud mouth LA detective teams up with a prudent Hong Kong inspector to rescue a Chinese diplomat's kidnapped daughter.

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker star as Lee and Carter, two very different police officers located on different sides of the globe. Lee has just finished working with Consul Han (Tzi Ma) to stop an illegal smuggling ring in Hong Kong, right before Han immigrates to the United States. Once there, the smugglers seek revenge on Han, kidnapping his young daughter Soo Young (Julia Hsu) and demanding a large ransom. Han begins working with the FBI, but calls in Lee from Hong Kong to assist with the investigation. However, the FBI doesn't want Lee's help, and asks the LAPD to get someone to babysit Lee and keep him away from the investigation. Enter Carter, an unpopular detective on the verge of suspension, who is misled by his captain into believing he's working on the kidnapping case. When Lee and Carter unite, they quickly realize they're only being used to distract each other, and vow to work together to rescue Soo Young themselves.

Rush Hour was directed by Brett Ratner, and marked Jackie Chan's first Hollywood production since 1985's The Protector. Chan wanted to return to Hollywood, citing many of the films he worked on in Hong Kong didn't have a strong three act structure. After many other big stars were considered, Chris Tucker was cast to star as Carter, as Ratner had just worked with him in 1997's Money Talks and thought the two would make a great team.
The result was an instant classic, with the two men - despite being 17 years apart in age - forming an iconic duo.

The film follows a similar formula to other buddy-cop movies (particularly 1988's Red Heat), with two polar opposites being forced to work together and eventually discovering they're more alike than they realize. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker both have good charisma, and the majority of the humor comes from cultural barriers. Even off-set the two men initially struggled to understand each other, and Chris Tucker improvised a lot of his dialogue, which I'm sure didn't help matters and makes things even funnier.

Action wise, Rush Hour has good fighting and shootout sequences by late 1990's standards, though probably slightly below Chan's normal output from this era. My favorite fight sequence in the film involves Jackie fighting off criminals while simultaneously trying to ensure Chinese artifacts are not destroyed. This is a classic Jackie Chan-style of fight, but interestingly wasn't added until reshoots because test audiences felt there wasn't enough action in the film.

Rush Hour's plot is also pretty good by action film standards. Screenwriter Jim Kouf did a good job with the set up of how Carter and Lee - two of the most unlikely people on the planet to meet - end up working together. However, one are where the film fails is the mystery element. The mastermind behind Soo Young's kidnapping is unknown, but the film doesn't set up any red herrings, which leaves only one possible suspect (unless Soo Young kidnapped herself). Keep in mind this isn't a whodunit, and the mystery aspect is only secondary to everything else, but it definitely falls flat.

Overall, Rush Hour is a classic buddy-cop action film. The film turned out to be a massive success, earning $244M against a $33M budget. Rush Hour's popularity helped cement Chris Tucker as an A-list star, and after multiple failed attempts finally launched Jackie Chan's Hollywood career.

 

[Erikfromfin]

Watched Thankskilling 3. Took me about week to watch since I couldn't stand more than 10 minutes at a time. Easily the worst movie ever made it literally was torture watching it. First Thankskilling movie was actully good and fun indie comedy horror but this sequel l have no words for it.

Rating 0/10

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever - 7/10

A strong opening and close bookend what's a bit of a mess isn't it? I think you do have to be very lenient as the film had to completely change script, how many sequels would be successful if they lost their main protagonist? It also does a respectful job of honouring him and the script change is apparent in how messy and quick everything is. It feels like it's more dumbed down than the original and while the villain is good, that same sense of tension is not there with everything getting fixed seemingly easier. Still it's visually impressive, has some good action sequences, and does feel more like a regular movie than a Marvel one at times which nowadays is a bit of a good thing.

Also it's kinda....racist? I don't know if it's intentional but it's really playing up some stereotypes that people would associate in their subconscious but I don't wanna go too much into that.

 

[Jumptheshark]

The Godfather Saga: Godfather 1 and 2 in chronological order and with all the scenes that were edited out of both movies. First things last--as almost 8 hours long it was time consuming but worth it. If you like the OG movies I suggest if you can find the Saga watch it--you will appreciate the movies more. One of the early things the studio wanted was the movie to be in chronological order and not how it ended up being done. The movies would not have been as great in chronological order

 

[Osprey]

It's Feb 2nd and you know what that means.

That's right, woodchuck chuckers. It's...

Groundhog Day (1993) - 2/2

This is a movie that I could watch over and over and over and over.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Imo Groundhog Day is the best movie of the 90s at least in its genre. First time I saw it was in 2013 though lol.

 

[kihei]

To Leslie (2022) Directed by Michael Morris 4A

I had never heard of To Leslie until a week ago when the nomination for an Oscar by its lead actress Andrea Riseborough sparked yet another Academy Award-related controversy. Riseborough plays Leslie a down-and-out alcoholic who keeps making her life worse and worse. She once won $190,000 in a lottery and pissed it all away, abandoning her son in the process. We get to wallow in Leslie's despair for half the movie and then get to watch redemption occurring in capital letters in the last half of the film--the movie has the feel not of any kind of believable reality but of a soap opera. If you like acting by the pound, well, To Leslie tips the scales like a heavyweight. Around Leslie are a whole bunch of colourful characters, stereotypical rednecks and a change of luck that is utterly preposterous. With its predictable arc from beginning to end and a whole lot of major-league emoting along the way, To Leslie reminded me of too many Mickey Rourke flicks. Plus, it has not one but two heartwarming endings, neither especially believable. To be fair, it is the kind of movie that a lot of people will like more than me--an unchallenging, feel-good movie where things work out nice and tidy.

Does Riseborough deserve the nomination? The irony is that this is exactly the kind of performance that the Academy frequently rewards--a scene-stealing, scenery chewing performance in a good cause. Riseborough is indeed very good, but I don't think her performance is better than Danielle Deadwyler in Till. The sizeable fly in the ointment here is that this out-of-left-field nomination comes at the very likely expense of two black actors, Deadwyler and Viola Davis in The Woman King. That rather puts a bit of a damper on the excitement of having an underdog getting recognised unexpectedly. Hell of an unintended consequence, that.

 

[shadow1]

Rush Hour 2 (2001) - 7/10

While vacationing in Hong Kong, two detectives investigate a bombing at the US Embassy.

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker return as Lee and Carter, who're on a shared vacation in Hong Kong. However, Lee keeps getting assigned to cases from his superiors, and is asked to investigate local triad kingpin Ricky Tan (John Lone), who may have been involved in the bombing of the US Embassy. However, the conspiracy is much larger than they realize, as it turns out the two US Embassy workers killed in the bombing were undercover agents investigating a counterfeiting ring.

Rush Hour 2 was written by Jeff Nathanson and directed by Brett Ratner. After the success of the first movie, it was only a matter of time until a Rush Hour sequel was made. Rush Hour 2 goes bigger than the first movie, with more characters, locations, and special effects, culminating in a $90M budget - nearly triple the original. But does bigger equal better?

In this case, it does. Though Rush Hour is a classic action film, in my opinion Rush Hour 2 does things just a little better. I find the comedy to be slightly funnier and more consistent, but to be fair there are a number of callbacks to the original. One area where Rush Hour 2 is clearly better, though, is in its action. The first Rush Hour did have pretty good action sequences, but Rush Hour 2 still blows it out of the water, with multiple memorable fight sequences. My favorite is the massage parlor fight early in the movie, but there are a number of great scenes later too, particularly the entire sequence in the casino.

Rush Hour 2 is a more over the top than the original, but I find this to be a positive for an action-comedy. The plot is very exposition heavy though, and it seems like Carter and Lee are bouncing around and always end up exactly where they need to be; either through detective work that is a little too good, or through pure luck. That's more of a nitpick though, as this is a popcorn movie and the plot is never confusing. There are also memorable co-starring performances from Don Cheadle, Roselyn Sanchez, and Ziyi Zhang.

Overall, Rush Hour 2 is an extremely fun and entertaining movie, and in my opinion is an example of when a sequel bests its predecessor. IMDB has Rush Hour 2 slightly lower than the original, so your mileage may vary. Regardless of which film you prefer, Rush Hour 2 was a huge success and was Jackie Chan's most profitable movie ever, earning $347M at the box office.

 

[OzzyFan]

The Gunfighter (1950)
3.25 out of 4stars

“Notorious aging gunfighter Jimmy Ringo, haunted by his reputation as the fastest gunslinger in the West, rides into town to find his true love, who doesn't want to see him. He hasn't come looking for trouble, but trouble finds him around every corner.”
A great western that is a humanizing psychological character study of the man behind the gun in many western movies, with a great Gregory Peck and cast across the board (especially Millard Mitchell as the marshall). We are shown the life tied to being a gunslinger celebrity, a constantly sought after murderer. Lonely, nomadic, chaotic, and constantly vigilant with times of reactionary murder for solely survival. This glorified life is not at all what it’s cracked up to be; it’s wearing, tiresome, and best fit for young cocky ignorant types. And divisive, it’s a very divisive lifestyle. Loved and loathed, feared and hunted, having as many friends as you do enemies and of which you can’t always tell who is who. Prototypical romantic and/or family relationships and settlements are entirely implausible, as were a normal stable job and friendships. Melancholic wisdom is spewed from this man who has been living this cursed life of regret. It’s a good mix of grit, broad-spectrum heart(s), contrasting, and even some sneaky bits of humor too.

He Who Gets Slapped (1924) (silent)
3.15 out of 4stars

“After Baron Regnard steals both his greatest invention and his wife, scientist Paul Beaumont loses all self-regard and joins a circus sideshow to become the most famous clown in France, known as "He Who Gets Slapped". Fate once again brings Regnard back into his life under nefarious circumstances.”
A great dark psychological drama based off of the same name Russian play, headed by a great Lon Chaney performance (yet another one). Chaney immaculately encapsulates this beaten masochistic mad soul that relives his life’s greatest humiliating tragedy night in and night out to the extreme, and the stupor-broken man underneath with newly found emotion and purpose in life afterward. The portrayal of the circus crowd’s overzealous enjoyment of cruel physical and vocal abuse is also powerful, showing the vile side of people’s sadism infatuation in society/media and even a late sequence on the subject that may make you question your personal feelings on the matter. Morality and love seem to be other notable themes, including the act of bride-buying or selling. The score, collaborated by a 60 piece band, brings unique jazz-esque sounds throughout. Applauded for all its technical merits as well.

The Whale (2022)
2.80 out of 4stars

“A reclusive college professor, who teaches online classes only with his webcam turned off, suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.”
A great psychological drama that is a mostly sorrowful letter to humanity, headed by an Oscar-worthy Brendan Fraser turn. Fraser took a physically (wore a 300 pound fat suit throughout filming) and emotionally demanding role and hit it out of the park convincingly, while generating sympathy and frustration for the person he is and what he has become. On the sorrow, this film seems to be about how people isolate and push away the ones they love through selfish mistakes/decisions or on the opposite side the feeling of hurt from these selfish mistakes/decisions made by others ‘against’ them. The harmed party themselves prolong their suffering by letting this impact their lives thoroughly and incessantly. This hostility can last a lifetime and cause, or add to, depression and self-destructive habits. Within the film, there seems to be even a criticizing of Christianity or Christian religious sects/fundamentalists in this similar regard from scriptural evidence of a vengeful punishing God, preaching love and salvation while rejecting some sinners (homosexuality is the main example chosen here), and causing suffering/separation on small personal scales in the film. Life’s too short and humanity is too easily resentful, while only noticing this when it’s either too late or never. Forgiveness and acceptance is the answer, especially or specifically for our loved ones, and simple to do yet so difficult to practice.

Murder Party (2007)
2.15 out of 4stars

“A random invitation to a Halloween party leads a man into the hands of a rogue collective intent on murdering him for the sake of their art, sparking a bloodbath of mishap, mayhem and hilarity.”
A mediocre mostly comedy and horror film. Aside from a couple of blips, the first 50minutes are rather boring, filled with a lot of misses on awkward humor attempts alongside mostly ineffective spoofing and context. The next 20minutes do kick it up a notch, in an entertaining but unspectacular way with a good mix of gore, humor, and suspense. Mildly diverting early look at the filmmaker behind Green Room and Blue Ruin.

 

[OzzyFan]

Rush Hour (1998) - 7/10

A loud mouth LA detective teams up with a prudent Hong Kong inspector to rescue a Chinese diplomat's kidnapped daughter.


Overall, Rush Hour is a classic buddy-cop action film. The film turned out to be a massive success, earning $244M against a $33M budget. Rush Hour's popularity helped cement Chris Tucker as an A-list star, and after multiple failed attempts finally launched Jackie Chan's Hollywood career.

Rush Hour 2 (2001) - 7/10


Overall, Rush Hour 2 is an extremely fun and entertaining movie, and in my opinion is an example of when a sequel bests its predecessor. IMDB has Rush Hour 2 slightly lower than the original, so your mileage may vary. Regardless of which film you prefer, Rush Hour 2 was a huge success and was Jackie Chan's most profitable movie ever, earning $347M at the box office.

Rush Hour 1 and 2 are excellent fun popcorn entertainment classics imo, some would call guilty pleasure stuff. Reading deeper into your review on the first Rush Hour, I can't believe Martin Lawrence was attached to the project and Eddie Murphy turned down the role. Both actors whose shtick I really like and are very successful in their own right, but if either of them played opposite Jackie Chan here it would haven't been nearly as successful or effective. Chan and Tucker were such a perfect pairing on playing off each other.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

F Is For Fake (197something) - 7/10

I find this overrated like most of what Orson Welles did but the style still feels innovative and it must have been for the time. He goes with a fun chaotic direction here and the subject matter is interesting but the subjects themselves are not all that interesting and even with a short runtime, it feels like he's really filling in filler. His camera style drove me nuts though it's like the entire film felt like i was zoomed in 50+% more than it needs to be, a bit hard to explain. I guess the films strength is that it really blurs the line between film and documentary but I still come away with it thinking the same....Welles liked to hear himself talk.

 

[Chili]

Seance on a Wet Afternoon-1964

Well written psychological thriller. Hard to say much without adding spoilers, I watched it without much knowledge of the plot which helped to appreciate the turns in the story. Kim Stanley as the medium is very good as is Richard Attenborough. Effective tension created without alot of creepy music or violence. Interesting that when the director randomly approached the owner of the main house used in the film, she said that Kim Stanley had been her neighbour for many years and they had been close friends. Good location shots in London, very well done.

Stage Fright-1950

Starts with an unseen murder, as Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd) tells the story to a girl friend (Jane Wyman). A married stage actress (Marlene Dietrich) had killed her husband and he had gotten involved. Now the police are after him and he is on the run. Alot of Hitchcock touches but feels more like a melodrama at times, not the usual amount of suspense at least for me. Although there is an interesting plot twist later on. Strong cast, especially enjoyed Alastair Sim as Jane Wyman's father. Interesting line he has, one year before he made A Christmas Carol: "Do I hear the muted clanging of chains?". Wasn't a favorite of Hitch of his own films, still good.

The Wrong Box-1966

A different type of lottery, a tontine or group life insurance. 20 members, all that is needed to collect is to be the last one alive. After many years the list has come down to two brothers, who haven't spoken to each other in ~40 years. Who will be the first to go? Dark humour from a great cast (John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Dudley Moore, Michael Caine...) as the end nears or does it? Peter Sellers is a riot as 'The Doctor' who has alot of cats. Wilfrid Lawson as the butler too. From an 1889 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Lots of fun.

 

[Osprey]

Thanks a lot, Chili. My watchlist already has several hundred films on it, more than I possibly have time for, and you just added three more to it.

 

[Chili]

Thanks a lot, Chili. My watchlist already has several hundred films on it, more than I possibly have time for, and you just added three more to it.

Maybe we should compare lists? Mine is unwritten but shesa long.

 

[shadow1]

The Menu (2022) - 6/10

A group of social elites are invited to an island to dine at a famous chef's restaurant, but soon find they're trapped.

Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Margot, who along with Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) travel by boat to a remote island housing a restaurant operated by famous chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). Margot and Tyler - along with a group of snobs, including businessmen, a food critic, and a movie star - are treated to a luxurious multi-course dinner, but become concerned as each course becomes progressively more unusual. Violence breaks out, and the patrons quickly realize they're in danger - with no means of escape.

The Menu was written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, and was directed by Mark Mylod. The concept came about when Tracy was dining at an island restaurant, and realized that if something bad happened he'd be trapped. I personally also find similarities between the Agatha Christie novel "And Then There Were None", as well as 2022's Glass Onion. Unfortunately, The Menu was not able to match the quality of those two works.

As a fan of mysteries, thrillers, dark comedies, and "bottle" movies that take place primarily in one location, I had high expectations for The Menu. Sadly I found it to be inconsistent and a little underwhelming, failing to satiate my appetite (it's going to be a long review if I fill it with food puns).

I thought The Menu had somewhat of a rocky opening (I was tempted to write "undercooked"), with really clunky dialogue and characterizations. The dialogue was trying to be witty, but it just fell flat for me. Once the characters get to the island, the film bounced around from table to table, eavesdropping on their conversations enough that we got a sense of who everyone was, but not enough that we cared about their wellbeing.

Additionally, I found the comedy to be inconsistent. I know this is subjective, but I didn't find the film funny at all until an hour or so in, at which point there were a few moments that I thought were very funny. There were also two or three "shocking" moments, but the shock value really wasn't there because anyone could see them coming from a mile away - except the characters in this film, apparently.

Anya Taylor-Joy's Margot character is the fish out of water, a last minute invite of Tyler who doesn't blend in with the crowd, and we see the events through her perspective. I'm not sure about this creative decision; I thought it made things more predictable and I was eventually proved right. There were one or two surprises about Margot (including once huge coincidence which I had trouble believing), but I'm not sure how much these revelations added to the film.

Ralph Finnes is great as Chef Slowik, but I seriously question the character's motivations, and I really question the rest of his kitchen workers who go along with those motivations. It also doesn't make sense that the patrons didn't revolt and overthrow the Chef and his team. The movie even calls attention to this specifically, but pointing it out doesn't remove this logic flaw from the plot. I'm sure the filmmakers were going for some kind of commentary that the patrons were too spineless to fight back against their captors (who have no firearms or special weapons); but if so, this subtext didn't land for me.

Overall, The Menu is just okay. It's has some good ideas and a few comical moments, but questionable characters motivations and not enough first half comedy hurt this one for me; I wish they would've left the script in the oven a little longer (I'll stop). IMDB has this one at a 7.2, so take this review with a grain of salt (that's not a food joke, I swear). However, going back and reading the other reviews about The Menu in this thread, it seems like this is a polarizing film; temper your expectations if you decide to check it out.

 

[kihei]

Close (2023) Directed by Lukas Dhont 7A

Leo (Eden Dembrine) and Remi (Gustav De Waele), both 12-years-olds entering middle school, have been best friends forever. They have a very close, affectionate relationship that seems perfect to them, but their new friends at school gently tease them that they are like "a pair of girls." The comment doesn't bother Remi much, but Leo takes it to heart, distancing himself more and more from his friend and taking up hockey, which he is not very good at, in an attempt to fit in. As both boys are still in a sort of pre-pubescent stage, sex is not the issue here at all, but feelings are. And Remi becomes more and more depressed. When tragedy strikes, Leo is left to try to sort through a lot of very complex feelings. In many ways Close is a beautiful movie. One can see it as an examination of gender expectations, peer pressure, self-perception, and words and actions that can't be taken back. But basically it is just about one kid trying to figure out his way through a complex social and emotional mine field with no experience to draw upon. Dembrine is a great young actor and he carries the movie effortlessly--Leo is a good kid, but he will move forward with scars that may never heal

I just wish the movie had been directed by Catherine Sciamma (Tomboy; Girlhood; Petite Maman) rather than this guy. Young teens are one of her strongest suits and her movies about them are noteworthy for their effortless naturalism and for her refusal to tug at our heart strings unnecessarily. Lukas Dhont can't resist that temptation. so we end up with too many repetitive scenes of the boys coping with their pain mixed in with some really good ones. Dhont also can go overboard making a point--there's like six hockey practice sessions in this movie all making the same point about Leo trying to appear suitably masculine. The maudlin soundtrack telling us what to feel doesn't help either. Still these flaws are annoyances, not deal breakers. It's just that Close, ultimately a cautionary tale about the potential damage of conforming to socially imposed norms of masculinity, would have been even more heart-wrenching without the unnecessary overkill.

Sidenote: Close got better over night. I boosted it to a 7. The movie is flawed, but I think I gave the flaws too much emphasis. Ultimately what Close does accomplish is pretty impressive.

subtitles

 

[shadow1]

Barbarian (2022) - 7/10

Two strangers accidentally double booked in an AirBnB make an unsettling discovery.

Georgina Campbell stars as Tess, who's traveled to Detroit for a job interview. However, when she arrives to her AirBnB, the key is missing and a man named Keith (Bill Skarsgard) is already staying there. The two verify each other's reservations are correct, and Keith suggests he and Tess both stay, citing that it's pouring rain, they're in a bad neighborhood, and all of the major hotels seem to be fully booked for a convention. This arrangement seems to work out at first, but Georgina makes a shocking discovery.

Barbarian was written and directed by Zach Cregger. Following the trend of many modern horror movies, the film was made on a dollar store budget of only $4.5M, helped in large part due to being mostly filmed in Bulgaria. Despite this, the film looks great, and received almost unanimously positive reviews. So, what makes Barbarian so good?

I don't want to say. Great review, huh? What I mean is I don't want to give specifics, at least not as far as any plot points go (even my synopsis is watered down). Barbarian has lots of twists and turns, and was constantly subverting my expectations, so it's a movie I recommend going into as blind as possible. What I will say is the film had a great deal of tension, and I found myself feeling very anxious during certain scenes. However, the film also has a fair amount of comedy, and I thought it blended nicely with the horror.

As far as negatives go, they're hard to discuss while being as vague as I'm being. But what I'll say is I had one or two unanswered questions, though they're somewhat inconsequential to the overall story. There was maybe the odd logic flaw or two as well, but for the most part I only have nitpicks for this movie.

Overall, Barbarian is a very solid horror film. I continue to be impressed with the recent trend of ultra-low budget horror movies that aren't dependent on excessive gore or nudity to be entertaining, and Barbarian being another great example. I definitely think the film has potential to be a modern day horror classic that fans are returning to for years to come, and I strongly recommend it for fans of the genre.

 

[flyersnorth]

The Whale

Saw it in theatres. By the time the credits rolled, I was speechless, and just sat there for about five minutes. I personally thought it was a phenomenal film - and it doesn't hide its roots as a stage play.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Only made it about halfway through. Poor story, poor execution, and completely unengaging all at once. Felt like a MCU-type movie.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Decent examination of the absurdity of life and war. Nowhere near the best of the genre, IMO.

Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within

Phenomenal Brazilian flick showing the multi-faceted conflict between state law enforcement, paramilitary, and organized crime in the slums of Rio. I'm a big fan of Wagner Moura, and he's great as the lead. I've seen both the original Elite Squad and this sequel - I think the sequel is better, but decide for yourself. You don't need to watch them in order, IMO.

 

[kihei]

One Fine Morning (2022) Directed by Mia Hansen-Love 5B

If film directors could be divided into novelists and short story writers, Mia Hansen-Love would definitely be in the latter category. She specialises in small-scale, naturalistic studies of urban middle-class lives. One Fine Morning is typical of her work. The focus is on Sandra (Lea Seydoux), a single mother in her mid-thirties, who is coping with an ageing father suffering from a degenerative disease that requires placing him in a nursing facility. She is also beginning an affair with a married man who has a son. One Fine Morning simply looks perceptively at how Sandra copes in each domain, as daughter and as lover. It almost goes without saying that the work is finely detailed and well observed--goes without saying because historically Hansen-Love practically makes a fetish of these attributes.

This time I was a little underwhelmed. Sandra didn't seem that interesting. In earlier years Sandra might have been played by either Juliette Binoche or Isabelle Huppert, both of whom have appeared in Hansen-Love movies. Seydoux is good in One Fine Morning, but it got me thinking. Take any ten Binoche roles at random and any ten Huppert roles at random. Note how even when they are playing similar characters, both Hupert and Binoche have the skill to make each character that they portray seem like separate, individual personalities. No two of their portrayals are exactly alike. Take ten Lea Seydoux movies, though, and that's not really happening in her case, Depending on script and direction, Seydoux can be good, even very good, or bad, but she has a much more limited ability to differentiate between similar characters. Whatever the role, she brings the same expressions, the same reactions, the same emotional tone--it always seems to me like she is playing the same character, adding only the odd pout here and there for variety sake. Sandra needs an actress who can make her seem interesting and Seydoux just ain't it. So while One Fine Morning clicks all the right slice-of-life boxes, this time around the Hansen-Love touch just seemed dull and ineffectual to me.

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