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Mean Girls (2024)
Is there a PG-16
Back (waay back for some of us) in high school, did you ever replay a scene from during the day, and then figure out what would have been the optimum zinger responses? Well this movie is kind of like. Especially if, post-high school interaction, you found yourself figuring out dance moves after the fact as well.
Quick aside for fellow parents. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to have been a Dad with a daughter, and this movie was one of those times. I don't think I'm a prude, but I do think parents out there with daughters (and sons) around the age of 13, maybe hold off a few years on seeing this? Of course teenage mileage varies plenty based on the kid, and girls mature faster etc....
I just feel like this movie might rush to the faded and jaded side of things. Granted I recall how 13 year-olds can feel like 21 one minute and 8 a few minutes later.
I was happy my wife enjoyed this, we had seen the Lindsay Lohan version long ago. We don't go to our own high school reunions, so going to Tina Fey's big screen musical version I guess has to suffice?
Would I rather have seen something new and striking from the talented Tina? Sure... Will I watch the VR version in 2044, maaybe. Funny how high school era thoughts get etched pretty deeply.
That said, if you can hang with a musical, and you enjoyed the original (20 whopping years old) - then I think this can be a pleasant enough watch. I think a lot of work was put into the dances, both in choreography and camera work. Not my typical cup of tea, but definitely stood out, so kudos to those involved.
And of course, it is always nice to have the Golden Rule polished up as a simple (though essential) message.
Gaav (1969)
Celebrating Iranian Independence? At least cinematically??
Seems like a great film to watch in a college course, as my son just did. Coming off "The House is Black" into this, I can sense the seeding of incredible Iranian films to follow and flower.
The movie itself starts with almost psychedelic images (it was 1969, and the director studied at UCLA before returning to Iran). Those images portray Hassan and his cow as one curvy organism. From there we move to a village, where a simple-minded man is wearing cowbells and chased into the center well/pond.
A lot of foreshadowing at play here, and the film moves through the death of Hassan's beloved pregnant cow into more and more abstract territory. Felt more like Beckett than Kafka to me for what it's worth, but a lot hinges on an insistent portrayal by Hassan, whose eyes have the wide innocence of his cow.
There is a recurring message of us and them. Within the village - not just the chased town idiot, and the intriguing man shouting from his second story (I wonder if he's a clear to Iranian eyes as a man from a different religion or class??) - most notably the us and them is depicted by the scary raiders, the Bolouris. Looking into it today, perhaps they refer to the Iranian Bolhur region which in 2006 wikipedia reports having population 10.
The film, like Kiarostami's Koker trilogy is focused on smaller village life in Iran, at least on the surface.
Cattleman Hassan goes from proud village leader to an ostracized being, at the outset is his the only cow providing milk in town? But if you are what you sell, the cow's death could be the collapse of his identity. That's one reading, but the film may be more deep than that though.
The absurd abstraction makes it a little hard to pin down, but when Masht Islam in trying to help Hassan, he eventually falters and whips his old friend as a beast of burden. A vocational break, a psychotic break and finally a societal one?
Hassan's fate then parallel's his own cow's fate, and image/audio briefly shifts to his heartbeat point of view. Are we to align with the excluded man/beast? Is it a film about mental illness?
Or perhaps like a lot of Iranian film it is more than a little open-ended, with intentionally obscured commentary on current social conditions.
Then again maybe not so obscured. The film was banned, and then smuggled abroad to (foreign tampering - more others ;>) festival success.
At the risk of going far off the screen, apparently this movie was pitched as a documentary. And again I think it is formative film (apparently after the director made a "spy" movie) since the director steps far away from Hollywood with this film. He also may have stepped equally far away from Reza Pahlavi (and had struggles with the then ruling Shah - who wanted the village, if not the tale white-washed).
Anyways there is something to one story (this is a relatively simple take, man loves cow...man loses cow....man loses mind) and send a more complicated message.
I will have to read other reviews, and talk to my son this weekend to see what the class had to say. But after watching (and scanning Wikipedia - yikes on the director's ultimate demise by the way) - I wanted to capture some thoughts.
On top of it all the role of women in here was eye-catching, or maybe it is just me. The romance on the outskirts of town, and the film actually ends with a wedding. That beauty ritual of pressing strings to the face of the bride to be, interesting. As was the warding off evil spirits by the elder women at various points, and those poles with the Hands of Fatima. I could convince myself that the director wanted to capture/depict either an old folk tale or memories from his family's past....turning an eye from Tehran to the hinterlands. In contrast to the Shah wanted to pitch his cosmopolitan vision of Iran.
Then is the cow the larger populace of Iran, toiling as they have and providing the milk, meat and soul of the nation? The cow may not be sacred, but Iranian film often is. Built by directors who bend neither to politico-religious pressure nor Hollywood expectations.
Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Stations of the Crass
Feels like a musing on religion to me. With a 3-in-1 triptych, the Judeo-Christian angles get their wings clipped here for sure, woven with strands of Scientology too.
The $in$ of modern megachurches may be folded in, and much of the film worships the dollar. There is an expensive cult that gets reincarnated through the film's witless projection program. A theme of sacrifice recurs, not so much for a Mad God, but a demented and demanding spiritual leader who is all too human. Sexual manipulation swept under his unholy robes and silk sheets.
Then again that goes back to the impious and Pious Popes.
As a side note, I'm starting to concur with Kiarostami or whoever feels that celebrity actors can eclipse or alter a film. More so in this cases as the artifice here is exploded by having the same actors change wardrobe or facial hair and return to "life."
Anyways, as with "Poor Things" I hope people who first encounter the body (and blood and tears) of Lanthimos' work in the K of K, go back and visit his earlier movies. Out of artistic faith I cranked up my rating higher than my ranting would merit here as I can only encourage Yorgos to make more films.
That said maybe smaller films would be better. Big budget, big stars, big audiences - do these backfire for him?
Of course maybe I must first remove the crassness from my own critical eye first.
But does anyone else feel like he needs a smaller succinct story that he can wrap his peculiar consciousness and camera around.
Irreplaceable You (2018)
Savor the sweet....and the humor
Often I try to find a movie that my wife and I can enjoy. While we embrace a "Vive le difference" spirit, that cinematic Venn Diagram does NOT have a lot of overlap.
So I was looking for something with Steve Coogan in it, and up popped an image of him with Kate McKinnon from this film. I read precious little of the accompanying blurb and we gave this movie a shot.
She was gone within a few minutes. Or whenever the sonogram came back. And I understood why.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw was very good as the lead, not an easy character to portray. I have to say she was unknown to me, and I am starting to agree with Kiarostami and others about hiring non-famous actresses/actors for movies. More on that later, perhaps in the "Kinds of Kindness" review.
As for the central story here, well if you accept death as not only inevitable and certainly tragic, but the reason for creating art, music and comedy - then that could help in watching this. There was a moment when I flashed on Loving vs Virginia, but that's probably just me. Love has to conquer a lot of cancers, biological and societal.
There are some great comedic actors involved. Coogan is barely a ripple, I could have watched an entire film of him hosting support group/therapy sessions. Tim Simons as a nurse/clinic attendant delivers one of the best product placement line evers - "Like us on Yelp." Since the film is streaming, perhaps at least watch the opening scene in the aquarium with Merritt Wever. Fans of Paper Boi and SNL's The Continental will be happy to see other sides of those two fine actors here.
Ironically thanks to the Gugu's raw nervy performance, the film is a bit hard to savor the sweet side of its own bittersweet nature, if not of our own bittersweet lives and loves.
Mad God (2021)
Discretion is the better part of horror
If you've already heard of Phil Tippett, you've already seen the film. But if you are a fan of stop-motion animation and have not (or vaguely) heard of him, this is a must watch. Next, I guess if you have more than three items of clothing or jewelry with skulls on them, then you probably will appreciate this.
Everyone after that, you are on your own.
Others have decried the absence of plot already, and Tippett has said that much of the "story" here was taken from his dreams and painstakingly brought to the screen. One man's dream is Man's nightmare apparently.
Speaking of pain, this film certainly dances along the line between sadism and masochism. It is as subtle as a sledgehammer, and as delicate as coprophagia. Tippett has spoken of his unipolar depression, and I wish him and his family well on that front. The one scene with the guy who has a technicolor little world he maintains, quickly unravels into the most fervent depiction of sadism in "Mad Dog."
This film revels in misanthropy, technological twisted junk for vapid soul-sucking workers who are little more than capitalistic cannon fodder serving some Mad (and seemingly infantile) God.
Watched this with my 22 year old twins, and afterwards they chose to talk about the flesh-and-bone human art work over clay-and-cloth human misery. One of the two wondered if maybe this was the tale of a regretful parent (human with children, not the Almighty with his pathetic planet horsewhipped worshippers).
The *making* of the film to me is the real story for this film, and a bit of a conundrum. The fact that Tippett (and it sounds like some key rejuvenating workers on his team after decades of inaction/apathy) were able to create something stands in stark juxtaposition to the pitiless, hopelessness of the hundreds or thousands of "characters" who die through-out the collapsing chaos on screen.
Granted I do think anyone with half a brain (and more than a little bit of good luck) in this world must have at least some sense of depression as they think about others less fortunate. Whether misfortune befalls others in a stop-motion second via a flying monolith, or over the course of an agonizing life.
I don't have a good answer for that. Or the eternal question : why do bad things happen to good people? My answer does not involve a god, mad or not.... Capitalized or Not. But I think any creativity or kindness is at least a temporary antidote to the inhuman human condition, if not a joyous celebration against entropy.
Anyways, check out the film - or better yet make your own. This film had me look up Lesley Anne Rose, who among other things directed Richard Dawson's stop motion video for "Two Halves." That has a story that I find more compelling and telling, this movie besides the triumph of a small studio making incredible heaps of creepiness, commits a fatal mistake of much horror. Lack of discretion and/or a less-is-more mentality.
"Mad Dog" repeatedly overdoes it, but that I think is part of Tippett's love of his craft, if not his fellow man.
Excellent bonus DVD sections worth checking out. The trips to One Dollar Stores a nice answer to hyper-consumption and cheap manufacturing via corporate factories! His daughter Maya involved, and some guy in a KFJC t-shirt that my kids spotted - more elements to give even a tripolar depressed person a smudgy smidgeon of hope!
Khaneh siah ast (1963)
Beneath the surfaces
I hope my son's upcoming college class on Iranian film will be enlightening and enjoyable. In preparation for that, his instructor asked him to watch this short from Forugh Farrokhzad.
I had heard her name before but thought she was exclusively a writer (and one I have not yet read, alas).
Seeing this film....and reading a little more about her, was illuminating. And added to the spell that Iranian art has cast upon me.
It starts with an image, a reflection in a mirror. A scarred face, covered both by hijab and leprosy - with one eye searching. Who is watching who?
Actually, that is a lie. It starts with words. As befits a poet.
The film is available online, and I would almost recommend just reading the subtitles once through (or if they are excerpted somewhere, read them there before watching). Granted, I can only take in English, my tongue far from mastering Farsi. So hearing the words, Farrokhzad's long-gone but still-not-silent voice are part of the experience. Soft repetitions, almost mantras or prayers. Much questioning.
Is this the film that launched Kiarostami, Farhadi and others? There is an unflinching look at society. There is a tendency towards a more poetic than precise description. Thought above plot. Images too that may contrast the official story, of the film....or of the censors.
Images linger too - aspects of beauty, the combing of hair, and a camera pan to reveal. The applying of kohl with ravaged hands to a ravaged face. Still there is pride, there is beauty. The camera jumps into the middle of a volleyball game. We are there with them. We are them.
I do think that is the simple story here, Davids Bowie and Lynch gave us "Elephant Man." Farrokhzad moves through similar stark shadows. Honestly there is more light here. In a documentary. That dancing/singing/humming man. The laughter in the class room. Food, music, learning, work, love - these define us all as humans.
Anyways, I look forward to watching the movies in parallel with my son and his classmates. I've previously seen about half of them, which I will enjoy revisiting, like meeting up with a dear forgotten friend. But new introductions like these, I too will cherish.
Reading up on Farrokhzad, it is hard not to think of the film at least partially as a pariah dismissing those who dismiss her. There is a cure for leprosy, the film plainly repeats, though it is not a soft prayer, it is a hard fact. That said there is a biological cure, but perhaps not a societal one.
Like the great Iranian films that followed this one, there may be something that is not said and said at the same time.
There is so much beneath the surface. Of cinema, of society, of skin.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Specacle vs Anti-Spectacle - the saga continues
Saw it with one of my sons, actually split over two trips to the movie theater thanks to some dipstick pulling a fire alarm on the about 30 mins in (and after 20+ mins of previews etc...)
Anyways I was mostly there for the jokes, and well aware that I would miss some of the Marvel Master level 902 ones (my other son explained the whole Gambit - "I feel like I was born here" reference after we saw it).
I did catch the Deadpool Zombie Head from reading Marvel Zombies with the boys a long time ago. And some other stuff, and plenty of zingers that are plenty easy enough for even your friend who only reads DC. Or gasp, no comics at all?
Glad to see Deadpool got top billing, and honestly the Wolverine straight man while sort of necessary for the movie, just took away from the humor for me. Plus, ummmm, I've not seen any Wolverine or X-men movies, and I'm okay with that. Of course having the duo together added up for frenzied fight scenes, so for the fans of stuntmen ballet, please enjoy.
For me after while two characters who cannot die going at it, feels a little too much like Dungeons and Dragons where your pal Fauntelroy has a character with hit points up the wazoo, and on top of that saving spells just in case. At home on DVR, I might have sped up past those to get more of the jokes, but honestly the biggest laughs landed in the first Deadpool.
Like a sucker punch. A super-sucker punch!
The Spectacle (Marvel's amazing movie rise) vs Anti-Spectacle (Reynolds barbecuing sacred cows and that said rise) is still fun, but harder to capture that original smack-down and yak-down
Still an enjoyable night(s) out, and a reminder of how I need more laughter in my life. Perhaps you as well.
Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga (2022)
Headband vs Hedgefund - Documentary + Friends Edition
Finished the Paul Dano movie, and then saw this was available via streaming. I slightly preferred this, although that could have been because of the ending of "Dumb Money" kind of moved off the character studies and into the machine? That said, this was longer than the feature film and sure could have been a lot shorter.
For me it hit nicely on the over-shorting, as well as the inherit insulation for the big money manipulators.
Also there was less of a messiah aspect (headband as thorn of crowns??) here and more distributed focus, that early Hong Kong projector for example.
Perhaps more wrong then strictly right, I've always felt like all stock market investment is pretty much gambling. And the house is stacked against you.
The clear explanation of how hedge fund folks could wildly over hedge on stocks, like a pessimistic ourobourus, was striking. Indeed this is where the Kitty Roared the most effectively. Power to the people but....like the documentary, the market is more than a little lacking in balance.
The speed advances, the penny grifting by Robin Hood hiding transactions, Citadel playing both sides of the coin, ugh....it all makes me feel even more sick about buying in a stock that you actually think will perform well in the long term. Whether or not you like it, instead if it will truly deliver.
Where you don't need everyone to hold or is it hodl in alignment with you. Noble? Sure, a little. Reliable? Um, prisoner's dilemma??
Anyways the documentary here features an odd devotion to an iffy rap crew who must have been friends or neighbors with the director : T. Love (said director actually does have a rapper's name ironically). But he does find actual investors who are less comely than the celebrity crew for "Dumb Money" and maybe that was the point?
Theo Love tries to pitch the regular folk as motivated to squeeze as payback to the housing/derivative fiasco that took out their parents. Certainly one lady represented that well (yet I think she lost alas).
But I'm not sure I buy the idealistic strategy any more than those involved trying to diversify their influencer channels, or recoup losses from their years living off their "job" as a sports investor. Still hating legalized online betting personally, especially in how its got its fangs pretty deep into the NBA these days.
I dunno, I guess one could ask the super apes themselves - there sure are a lot of 1-time reviewers here - rather emphatic ones - although it is almost hard to tell if they were given a Melvin like Gabe Plotkin as opposed to team Gill?
Anyways, I don't want to hate on them. But I also don't want to spend too much time talking with (being talked at) by them - might just be me, but I get some serious Amway-vibes if you are old enough to recall that. Need to get my own ape anger on for the hedge fund villains - trying to imagine a world in where they look at an aging grandfather and agree to pay for his insurance but swap it out to buy back later long after he's passed and um its cost goes to zero.
I used to worry that America was moving from a manufacturing to a service economy, but the rise of investment/money management feels more like a move to a dis-service economy.
Dumb Money (2023)
Headband vs Hedgefund - Celebrity Edition
If you align with me on other reviews and especially on generic based-on-a-true-story pitfalls:
Skip this
Do not collect $200 (or invest $20,000).
Go directly to the 3-part documentary on the Game Stop Saga.
.
.
.
That said if you are a Paul Dano fan-o, like myself, you might enjoy this for his role as suburban superstar (young husband/parent and redditiculous influencer).
To a degree, the film suffered casting him and Pete Davidson and (immensely talented, but underused here) Shailene Woodley and America Ferrara and Nick Offer-man/Seth Rogen as the big pigs. Big faces I think that worked against the "little guy" gist of the story.
Granted these may be multi-millionaires with more than a little of the common man/woman still inside them, it just pushed the whole film towards farce in my opinion. Unknown actors might have been better, no?
Anyways, I stumbled through the first two thirds in a variety of short viewing sessions that got suspended by life and wage-slave action. The filmmakers bring to the fore the bevy of working class investors and their dedication to their de facto hero and Robbin' Pod Hoodcaster.
So it is a character driven piece where we are to meant to connect with the common woman versus the crazy hedge capitalists. And I'm guessing many of us were already there, but on top of that there is a pretty syrupy schmaltz applied to Dano's character - Roaring Kitty as a messiah. Hmmm.
The last third and the pressure on Robin Hood. Com, that was kind of fascinating and faster-moving. The inter-splicing of actual footage at the end is also very nice and what led me to search out the documentary series (which is not without its flaws to be sure, but worth watching).
One slightly related question : will actual celebrities be used to play the dumb money celebrities in the fictionalized depiction of the FTX fiasco?
Dreams That Money Can Buy (1947)
Priceless...
Vincent Price is NOT in this film. But visual inspirations from Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and a very playful Alexander Calder are.
Add to that music from Paul Bowles (!!), John Cage, Darius Milhaud, not to mention Libby Holman and Josh White singing "The Girl with the Pre-Fabricated Heart."
Want more? How about a Stanley Kubrick cameo? In a scene that made me wonder if Kiarostami was influenced by. David Lynch has said he was inspired by this film, the falling red drapes may have wound up in Twin Peaks altered mind alleys.
As for the film, the pieces may surpass the sum. There is a sort of Disney voice-over poem to introduce Joe, the failed-artist-cum-dream-detective who then brings in his clients for Jung and restless analysis.
As such you could almost drop the movie into a Brion Gysin dream-machine and cut-up a variety of movies. The circus of Calder really stood out to me.
In general fun use of color in liquid, shadows and a sort of bronzing/blue hue-ing of our irregular Joe added to the experimental fix.
Mostly it was Priceless for me as my son recommended we watch this, I had never heard about it. Honestly the Duchamp spinning circles almost put me to sleep, but other than that it's a nice way to just let your eyes look at other eyes and thinking about the art world of the 40's in the USA.
Chafed Elbows (1966)
Q:Don't be absurd A: I have to, it's my nature...
Able to watch this online after renting/reviewing "Putney Swope."
This predates "Putney" and apparently Downey Sr. Could not even afford enough film, so much of the movie is still after still photo collage. I think one has to go in to this film valuing not just the non-commercial world, but the anti-commercial one at that.
So it's over the top, with elements of vaudeville and a drive to play tag with various taboos. Or is it the video version of Fluxus, I do think something may connect "experimental" larks like this with horror and I don't know but maybe the realm of Roger Corman/Lloyd Kaufman. The idea that for some film is so clearly fake and not real life, that it necessarily must rollick in the ridiculous.
AnyWays, I did enjoy the AW painted on our anti-hero, and was guessing that was for Andy Warhol, but I could be wrong. Pop/rock music digs as well, I'm tempted to play the "Black Leather Negligee" on KFJC next chance I get. The movie is likely brimming with inside jokes, and maybe they are not all that funny. Or are/were hilarious. C'mon "Pictures of Bertram Russell in a steambath" - "Mumbling in flamenco" And was that directory called Neil Realism?
It reminds me of Fracture Fairytales or Firesign Theater a little now while listening and typing this up. Robert Downey Jr's Mom - Elsie as every woman in this, including Mae West.
Woops, it was was this movie that had the one-"liner" - "You got to draw the line somewhere." Need to fix my Putney review.
At times, I wonder if existence is as absurd as these films...
Putney Swope (1969)
The importance of NOT drawing the line ?
A film where irreverence triumphs over idealism, but both appear in healthy doses throughout this pleasantly strange tale of Madison Avenue Madness.
Long ago I stumbled across this film in progress on late night cable (maybe IFC?). Likely back in the early 80's, and definitely had a "wait, what?!?!?" reaction. Wasn't sure when/why/how it got made, but made a note of it.
Recently noticed a copy in the local library and my sons are almost the age I was when I saw it, so thought we would try it together. They dug it, as did I. That said, my wife bailed pretty early on.
Certainly not for every one, it is more stupid than smart, and while definitely dated certainly still speaks to issues today. It seriously embraces silliness. Even though another Downey film, "Chafed Elbows" proudly states at one point "you've got to draw a line somewhere" clearly this film does NOT believe that old adage.
Helped to have the DVD and extras handy which we definitely watched. Hearing how the movie was engendered made sense. I think I saw Alan Arkin in there among other cameos and this definitely sent me on Robert Downey Sr mini-spiral.
It sorta feels like if "Naked Gun" were made for an art house crowd. Re-defines the phrase "making bank" and solemnly stands against advertising for alcohol, tobacco or toy guns
Tip: If you like it, consider sharing it with friends (or children, siblings or parents) without telling them much about it.
Initially I was befuddled simply by what the movie was that I bumped into back in the 80's, now I am amazed the Downey Sr. Could pull this whole career and this movie off (and work at an "experimental ad agency" - what is that, and how can I apply for such a job).
I think somehow "Sr" just rode his goofy charm as far as it could take him, which at times was "far out" and other times "too damn far" but ultimately kind of an amazing ride it seems.
Dead Man (1995)
Dead Man Rocking
Third black and white film I (re-)watched with my college-age son home for the summer. His least favorite of the three, but he did at least appreciate the Neil Young soundtrack alright.
Reading a few other recent reviews, that soundtrack may be a deal-breaker for some. I loved it then and still do. Was glad my son enjoyed it as well. Something about Neil's towering electric reverb reveries heightens the alien feeling of being in the wilderness of the wild west. Alienation is also accented by the choice of black and white footage.
The soundtrack helps fuel the locomotive start. A great series of scenes, and the guitar does sort of fade out as our main character does.
Depp stumbles fine through the landscape dotted with maniacs and cameos, and he eventually becomes the outlaw he's ordained to be.
But Gary Farmer provides the life force here (and a huge key to "Reservation Dogs").
The story is straightforward. An odyssey of sorts, but from the beginning on - Depp's destination is well-known. Over time Jarmsuch seems to have stretched repeatedly from cinema to music, maybe folks who are unhappy here would be better off "Deadwood"
I am curious what the future will think of Jarmusch's body of work. That said, previously with both boys a few years back I did re-watch "Ghost Dog" - so fellow parents start with that excellent film. Then perhaps test drive a little of the "Dead Man" soundtrack on a road trip before considering this?
Pi (1998)
Still adds up...
Saw this in theaters when this first came out. I think I even had a headache when I did, the stark black and blinding white did NOT help with that, nor did it stop me from being impressed by the film.
A quarter century later, I watched it with one of my kids and I think it has held up just fine. That said the stroboscopic effect of the film definitely still leaves your occipital lobe writhing. Even the riveting jungle techno still (gives) fits.
The genius/madness duality...the quick flickers of humanity that get batted away by an overriding obsession. The desire for a cheat-code decryption method on the mysteries of life can exist at simple and complex levels. Unlike the film it's not just black and white.
Governmental and religious paranoia share headspace. Quants and quacks, haunts and hacks. Sacred texts and ticker tape.
RIP Mark Margolis in unreel real life, I kept wondering where else I had seen him while re-watching this, and then ah-hah thanks IMDB, Mark brought amazing life and death to his small large role on "Breaking Bad."
Anyways my son and I were on a low-key black-and-white film fest, this and "The Lighthouse" worked well for him.
I do feel like folks should keep one additional number in mind while watching this: 60,000. Reportedly Aronofsky made this back then for more than your neighbor's new car today!
Old Dads (2023)
Archie Bunker died for our sins?
So is the message, teenagers shouldn't have kids even if they are 50? Nah it's just a comedy and budding curmudgeons need to love and be loved.
The film wants to push buttons but without leaving fingerprints (and I've seen some of Bill Burr's bits so I know he can push buttons until they break off!) Actually in off-the-cuff interviews I've seen of him he's been laugh-out-loud funny, so maybe a script and "one-more-take-please" buffed the edges out.
A friend at work recommended this. I think he, like many people these days are struggling with finding the Goldilocks' spot on the "woke" spectrum.
Related to that, I wonder if Burr tried to get Jon Voight instead of Bruce Dern. Or the ghost of Sam Kinison.
My wife liked this okay, so maybe can watch one of his stand-up specials, or better yet go see him in person. And hope someone is stupid enough to heckle him (better not be me ;>).
Anyways, the film was fine. Could kill a brisk 100 minutes on a flight going to see your relatives, save a better film for the trip back. Lastly this movie did make me think about old "All in the Family" episodes a lot, on National TV back when us old Dads where young brats.
Problemista (2023)
"Sir we're going to have to ask you to leave, if you don't laugh."
Tilda Swinton has been in some amazing films, but this is not one of them. For me, her performance took the air out of the film. In the vacuum wake, Julio Torres was left gasping for laughs...or perhaps hope.
That said if you stick around long enough, Torres' Ale gets his groove on (or more accurately finds his stride). A "Little Engine that Could Moment" that did not come with onscreen emojis or some sidekick cheering "Yay" but felt that way. Tacked on if not tacky, but maybe like there's a Rocky statue in Philly, there'll be an Alejandro statue in Madison Ave some day...or Hasbro headquarters, which turns out it is in Rhode Island.
Anyways I had optimism going into this film, and can appreciate warped weirdo visions (Torres' "My Favorite Shapes" is definitely worth a watch). I can only imagine the bureau-crazy swirling around immigration launches a thousand Kafkas with every piece of paperwork. Too bad Julio could not collaborate with the Orson Welles AI (is that released yet?).
The movie slips in chuckles, and certainly leans on earlier Torres' work. Freezing people instead of the Eggs is a flip. Maybe Torres' next big work will be more of a collaboration and one that steps further away from a triangle of The Met, off-Broadway and whatever club Bill Hader's "Stefon" just stepped out of?
One other comment on the immensely talented Swinton portrayal here, as a kid I watched cartoons, but just could not hang with a whole episode of Woody the Woodpecker. Swinton's Elizabeth felt (and kinda looked) that way to me here.
Your mileage may vary...I wonder if the next installment of "The Maybe" will feature Tilda under glass gazing at this movie on VHS?
Maybe watching this while a museum docent kept an eye on me would have helped, "Sir we're going to have to ask you to leave, if you don't laugh."
My Favorite Shapes by Julio Torres (2019)
Giant Drama in Tiny Things...
Comedy that is both queer and Queer. The focus is far more on the former here. That changes in some of Torres' more recent outings but this is my favorite of all of those. Fantasmas a close second.
Often the tales here that Torres conveys (literally, see the set design) deal with some very tiny item being exposed as having a huge amount of attitude to it.
Maybe for some that is also Queer, as in a stereotype along the lines of a Hairdresser on Fire. But I think there are just plenty of individuals of whatever gender/sexuality who qualify, whether they are trouble magnets, self-appointed style/culture/park police or just people living a lot larger than they appear.
See also Bibo, the robo-assistant in Torres' current HBO series.
That is a drama queen can be anyone from a R2D2 with ADHD to an incel to a Happy Meal prize. The smaller the package, the bigger the drama.
Perhaps this was comedy born out of necessity for Torres as a struggling artist/writer living in small NY apartment, maybe he collected more figurines than the mother in "Glass Menagerie." I do NOT think this show is just more middle-aged adolescence; there is more to his comedy than playing verbally with tiny toys.
Interesting to note the wild 1-to-10 swings here even under the Prolific Reviewer tab. Begs to jump to conclusions? Too big a leap, best to avoid.
Anyways this worked for me, the set design is a bit of a trip. He's meticulous in his delivery, and after awhile the format feels pretty familiar, but he does have a few clever turns. A step aside to imagined animals, and having to rewind the conveyor belt. Everything is seen on stage on screen to as an homage to the omnipresent cell phone camera.
So, I guess recommended if you've been to a museum in the past year (and certainly if you ever saw the Tilda Swinton live exhibit), while if half of your viewing time is horror movies and/or sitcoms, maybe start with Los Espookys instead??!?
Unfrosted (2024)
Do not overcook / overanalyze...
My immediate thought after this was that I had just watched a new Don Knotts movie.
And yeah, if you don't know who Don Knotts was, that's fine but may not enjoy this movie.
It's humor is dorky and gentle....and it feels more suited to the small screen than the silver one. I guess that's why it went straight to streaming, although decades earlier maybe it would have been a gem of an after school comedy movie. I swear I stumbled on "What's Up, Tiger Lilly" that way long long ago.
Elements of Mad Magazine crossed with I don't know, Get Smart? Other reviewers reference SNL, likely because of so many cameos from former cast members, but the movie is more like a Saturday morning cartoon than a not-ready-for-prime-time piece of work.
The movie is more than comfortable with nostalgia. So much so that the funky Tony the Tiger insurrection-inspired sequence feels really out of place.
The fact that Seinfeld and his long-time writing buddies are able to stitch a semi-coherent story though the gag-scape is worth a star or two. I'm pretty sure 90% of folks will have at least two comedians/comediennes in here they dig - and while this won't be your favorite thing by them, you will enjoy seeing them. It's almost a "We Are the World" kind of thing, but Seinfeld is not trying to save the planet nor being the dread edge-lord so many fear he is on the verge of becoming.
Now, that's funny...
As a kid, I ate way more Lucky Charms than I should have, and now even for old time's sake, I fear it would be way too sickly sweet. In general Seinfeld avoids that here. I'm telling you, those Don Knotts vibes won't go away.
Pop Tarts themselves are tasty and yet not a meal. They come wrapped in that silvery reflective material, but you don't gaze at that crinkly mirror and ponder your existence, you cast it aside....and spend more time heating up the pop tarts than you do eating them.
Pane e tulipani (2000)
The Bloom Returns to Rosealba
Amelie for the divorcee wannabe set? Sort of, but not really.
The film is carried charmingly by Licia Maglietta, her character goes upon a somewhat inadvertent physical journey that comes a more emotional quest. If you are looking for a film that reinforces that long-lost notion of the kindness of strangers, this awaits you.
Even in translation, there is enough humor to keep the movie from feeling at all like a self-help guide. Blend in lovable oddballs, especially the philosophical florist; and stir in dream sequences that help to address any qualms of conscience by way of the subconscious and you are in for a pleasant ride.
That same subconscious seems to work through the hands when waking, there are many items Rosealba will drop and/or break. Fortunately, the metaphor strains and buckles but does not completely shatter.
My guess is in Italian this is even better (the title in its original language has a poetry/music to it). Perhaps enjoyment is multiplied if you have read "Orlando Furioso" (which I have not yet and had not even heard of sadly until my son took a class on that this quarter, he was the one who recommended the film).
I believe he enjoyed it, perhaps not as much as me, but I think this film can work for anyone as long as they have a hint of romanticism left in their veins. It might be built for an underappreciated woman, but men can find their way too.
Thanks to Bruno Ganz who is in this, RIP - and there is an understory with a comic plumber-detective but it is really all about the magnetic Maglietta. The camera and costume department help but have no problem letting her beauty emerge. Her sparkling eyes and wry smile create a world where we all should live.
Nocturama (2016)
AgitPop?
The movie is clearly split and its audience will likely be as well. The movie may desperately want to be provocative, thought it tries to down play both desperation and provocation and replace them with style.
I went in not knowing much and the tense action style of the first half of the film pulls one to the seat's edge.
I know the director has said the film is more about insurrection than terrorism, but I'm not sure I agree. That said I think it succeeds in portraying the emotional nature of terrorism, both for us aghast as "viewers" (on film and sadly in life) but more importanty for the terrorists themselves.
The director stridently avoids any sort of manifesto, and gathers a United Colors of Benetton cast. Youth is their uniting aspect, there are vague threads of rebellion for sexuality, for economic repression, for immigrant intolerance - but I think their motivations are intentionally vague. Again an accent on the emotion.
And an accent on style - the youngest member of the gang wearing his golden mask feels eerie and mythic. The whole second half of the film, staged in an empty mall as the nocturama for us to watch creatures more than children/people. It almost felt like a Brazen Bull scenario....polished, sleek and artful. But it may be more than just a pretty and warm place to hide out.
Surrounded by screens, as youth these days are, they try to resist watching themselves, but that is difficult. They play house, they play music, they play at rebellion. But maybe that is where rebellion, insurrection and terrorism come from - half baked ideas that catch fire. It's a game first that somehow becomes real.
Seems like the cast was comprised of non-actors or actors that the director worked hard to make into ciphers. Weirdly wooden while brimming with emotion. They stand in stark contrast to Adele Haenel, her face says more in silence than the other actors say with lines through-out. She is supposed to be the audience's touch point, a reluctant sense of this had to happen...even if we don't track the Jiri coefficient...in fact we're not sure why some anti-capitalistic or sense of human unkindness it had to happen, didn't it?
Again I think intentionally stepping far away from a rationale. The film wants to think less and act boldly. The setting of the second half of the film is arguably the biggest star, certainly shot in loving detail.
For what it's worth that image of the statue engulfed in flames, felt like an homage to something old - was it from "I, Claudius" - the movie features a lengthy lip-synching scene. More play-acting, play driving a tiny care. Again that young couple playing house, he in particular is perfectly frustrating as a leader who falls behind, who makes mistake after mistake.
Anyways, the movie has its moments and for me I found worked better than "Triangle of Sadness" but neither film is really rewarding.
How could this be? A big budget film that wants to blow up the big budget businesses?
Of course maybe I am too addicted to the status quo at this point, a real concern, but burn it all, blow it all up - even in my younger daze felt too childish. Thinking too much, just give this a 7, it's got a good beat and younger people can dance to its lack of coherent lyrics.
All of the music and more than a couple of dance scenes.... I'm left with a sense of AgitPop.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)
Best if you're Jonesing for the Smith franchise...
Forgot I watched this a while back. Feel like it is more for fans of the Smith series than fellow Donald Glover fans.
Don't get me wrong, he's solid in this....and there are guest drop-ins a plenty. I guess it's nice to see him operating with a huge budget. I don't think he booked this to get a series of location vacations, instead I think he did it for a chance to work with Maya Erskine. He even cops a move from her *outstanding* Pen15 series, and Donald has his real mom in a sweet role.
As "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" features go, it has its moments. Ron Perlman as an aged proto-child for the Smiths was fun. Hard not to love Parker Posey, but wasn't crazy about her cross between GI Jane and a Stepford Wife.
I assume Glover is creative even at a fast-food drive thru. So there are enough morsels here to satisfy a craving. Not sure I felt the onscreen chemistry between his and Maya's characters (compare the laughter in their promo interviews vs the laughter between them in the shows).
I don't think the movie is a comment on online dating, but I kind of wish it were. And I definitely hope it is not a comment on the budget that the "Deep State" has.
I *do* think it is an homage to the Smith Franchise, just not one I was jonesing for.
J'ai perdu mon corps (2019)
don't bite the hand that feeds the hand that draws the hand...
Besides the severed hand that does its own amazing animated stunts, there are frequent focuses on hands through-out the film. Thus it is a truly touching film but one that also will speak to anyone who feels a loss in their life, like a phantom limb.
I almost wonder if the film came about as a collaboration between an artist who wanted to practice drawing hands and a writer who wanted to challenge them. My son came across this at school, although I'm not sure if it was through some peculiar curriculum or his own wandering interest. He mentioned it to me, but I had also seen it mentioned in Mark Cousin's fine "The Story of Cinema - A New Generation" which was somewhat worth watching, but definitely as fine primer for films you and I might watch together some day.
The inspired artwork and pacing from the film's outset feels a little bit like a strange pairing with the more melancholic tale that emerges, but still well worth it.
Some of that early animation has the sizzle of blockbuster action movie, if Thing from Addams Family were a world-class gymnast.
And far more gripping than gruesome, i.e. The beauty of a "cartoon."
November (2017)
kratt-o-schism
Bizarre at its best. Highly recommended.
The opening scene offers a litmus test of sorts. I imagine it will elicit a what-the-hell from 99.9% of people. Some smaller percentage of that, like myself, will feel we have to know and see more. Nice to meet you.
At its heart, the story is of two scar-crossed lovers. A simple tale, and it is set in peasant times, but there is an edge that keeps it modern and/or timeless. Filmed in stark black and white, at times flipping the negative (eerie eyes pooled in black). I could see a mini-festival featuring this along with "Dead Man" and "Pi." Black and white films that burn an image on your retina through to your subconscious.
I have not read the Estonian book or scary fairytales that it is built upon. I have never heard of a kratt, but every culture seeks its own magic. Somehow the film feels familiar even at its most alien moments. Plagues and people come and go, fortunes fade...but odd memories that bewitched us, even in our most confined days, those memories come to us when we dream and when we cannot.
Music was also enchanting. Are the kratts the equivalent of folk AI? Is this film a rejection of modern religion (the villagers spitting out their wafers) for deeper, darker myths? Do we just keep trading one devil for another? Is theft the inherent human act? And is love theft?
I may be wrong, but I feel like a part of me will always live in this film.
The Book of Clarence (2023)
Despite The Lack of Clarity, the Book of Clarence still provides some rapture..
Came in expecting a sort of hip and hilarious alt-history. Could have sworn the previews I saw emphasized that, but cannot find them now on youtube to be honest. There are elements of humor to be sure, but the scope of the film quickly becomes much larger than a "this is my body, this is my blunt" comedy.
So what is the film? Well like Christianity it can be a lot of different things to different people.
Is the film about a holy hustle? Or is it "you may not believe in Jesus, but Jesus still believes in you"? There is no small side story in how can you be a man of faith, when another man is a slave. That is sort of the golden ticket for con-man nobody Clarence elevating to a meta-messiah.
Oh there is also a romance, with a kind of gangster lean. Must not leave out Sweet Barabbas Baadasssss Song. The director talked about making a film for his Mom and I think she could proudly enjoy this Sat night watching "Ben Hur" on the midnight show and then again on Sunday morning at church. The film is a lot less heretical than those who won't see it will surely decry.
Personally I definitely enjoy edit for LaKeith Stanfield, as a "Last Temptation of Darius" kind of.
Stanfield retains a lot of his cool swagger from Atlanta but also proves all-too-adept at capturing anguish. I. E. If you came in for popcorn comedy, then good luck during the crucifixion.
LaKeith does a more than admirable job, making a blessing out of a typical cinematic curse in playing "twins" on the big screen. He is both Clarence and Thomas (perhaps like me you might have to work to not think about the Supreme Court justice).
As a side note, I assume brother Thomas is the same one I mistook as the hero of the Bible during my old CCD daze, aka Doubting Thomas.
Overall all a strange film, lavish in style and sound. Ambitious for the director and his energy likely drew in lots of actors offering heart and soul for the cause. At times, it was even as cool as Earl Monroe. It may lack clarity, but plenty of Clarence and charm.
Neal Brennan: Crazy Good (2024)
Great stand-up and second-hand ayahuasca
Moving on from saving himself and/or others in the Blocks special and podcast, Brennan addresses that off the bat saying that he's feeling pretty good. And it shows clearly!
He's so sharp and the focus here is really just on the jokes, well-crafted and really well delivered. He might go a little overboard on the rape/killing joke, but I think that's a comedian classic. The intentional overdoing it is the meta-joke. Don't believe me, ask The Aristocrats.
Anyways, the pacing is just about perfect, and zingers at the end of each of the religious attack ends right on the money. Watched this immediately after the Golden State Warriors squandered their season, I'd recommend it to Klay Thompson and to you.
I suppose in a few years or decades we may see Neal as the spokesperson for legalized ayahuasca. I prefer to just imbibe it second-hand via this excellent stand-up. Reader's Digest was right, laughter really is the best medicine.