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Please share with us which films you saw last week. It would be great if you could include some comments on each film. It would be awesome if you could also take some time to comment on everyone else's viewings. Unfortunately, it has reached the point where it is no longer viable for me as host to comment on everyone else's viewings every week (especially since some people like to use the weekly thread to log their viewings and nothing else). I am always keen to promote movie discussion though, so if you comment on my own viewings, I will comment on yours at my earliest convenience.
Please also note that this is intended as a movie discussion thread, not a large image posting thread. Having too many large images makes this thread difficult to navigate through. If you wish to include more than five images in a reply, please use spoiler tags - [spoiler][/spoiler] - to hide extra images.
Hope you are all going well and are having a better week than me. We are back into Covid lockdown for the first time since April last year.
Not a particularly great movie watching week either as I set out to complete a couple of unfinished sci-fi franchises. Next week should be better. I have a lot of promising things lined up for the February Challenges. And plenty of Covid lockdown time to watch them in until they make us teach from home again.This is what I saw:
★★★★ = loved it /// ★★★ = liked it a lot; ~7/10 /// ★★ = has interesting elements; ~6/10 /// ★ = did very little for me; ~5/10 and lower
You and Me (1938). Opening with a musical number about cash registers and the importance of not shoplifting, this is a pretty bizarre noir entry from the get-go. Things only get stranger from there as the film turns into a look at one shopkeeper's altruism in employing ex-cons, then deflecting into a romance between two of his employees, a melodrama about a marriage they must keep secret and the list goes on. This unevenness does not make the film easy to digest and while some scenes certainly stick out (Sylvia Sidney lecturing other ex-cons on the mathematics of 'crime does not pay') the movie generally gets less interesting as it progresses. The whole notion of the two lovers keep their ex-con status secret from each other has potential, but as others have remarked, the material feels fitter for a screwball comedy, especially with the odd occasional songs here. (first viewing, online) ★
Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003). His sister stuck in a virtual reality game, the boy spy kid tries to rescue her and stop the game's evil creator in this third Spy Kids film. It is a concept with potential, but the movie lacks the charm of the first two films which heavily relied on imaginative sets and gadgetry, instead replaced here by "low res" computer graphics. The chemistry between the young leads was always pivotal too, and Daryl Sabara struggles to carry the film on his own for over half the duration. There is a pretty awesome new character played by Courtney Jines at least - and Sylvester Stallone has fun hamming it up as the villain with multiple split personalities - but the whole thing leaves far too many unanswered questions, such as how the kids survive for days plugged into the quasi-matrix and Stallone's motivations beyond simply being evil. (first viewing, DVD) ★
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011). After the dire third entry killed off the franchise nearly a decade earlier, this fourth film in the Spy Kids franchise feels like a breath of fresh air. It is not a great film by any means, relying too heavily on vomit/flatulence gags, pratfalls and silly sound effects for laughs, but the film returns to what made the original so great: outlandish sets, nifty gadgets and great chemistry between two young actors cast as brother and sister. While Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara return in supporting roles, this is Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook's film all the way. The less said about the whole bizarre time stopping plot (and lame time gags) the better - same goes for Ricky Gervais as a mechanical dog - but if not quite up to the standard of the first two films, this captures their sense of adventure and childhood wonderment. (first viewing, online) ★★
Deja Vu (2006). Obsessed with a young woman who died under mysterious circumstances in a terrorist attack, a New Orleans detective tries to use top secret time travel technology to prevent the disaster in this convoluted sci-fi thriller. The pseudoscience does not make much sense, but it leads to some fascinating scenes as the protagonist becomes able to follow the terrorist in the past while walking and driving in the present. In any case, the biggest problem is not the flimsy sci-fi angle but rather that the sporadic action is not frequent or explosive enough to compensate for the narrative weaknesses at hand. In particular, the whole reason why he becomes so obsessed with her out of everyone never adds up, but then there are also far more scenes of the characters discussing what to do than actually doing anything. The film is at least seldom boring. (first viewing, Blu-ray Disc) ★★
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Third in the X-Men franchise and weaker than the two entries before it, The Last Stand comes with some impressive special effects parts (most notably involving the Golden Gate Bridge) and the curious notion of medically 'curing' mutants, but too often it feels like a melodrama. The Scott/Jean/Logan love triangle gets an excess of screen time; same goes for Rogue's desire for human touch. The whole debate over whether to cure mutants or not is interesting, as well as the fighting that it leads to, but the stakes feel low with all emphasis on the love and desire subplots. None of the new characters are ever as interesting as the Nightcrawler in X2 either. This certainly is not a bad film; it is technically well accomplished and even thrilling at times. It does though stand in the shadows of its predecessors. (first viewing, Blu-ray Disc) ★★
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). As per the title, this X-Men spin-off attempts to fill in the blanks in Wolverine's past that X2 brought up but never dealt with. It is an intriguing concept but a full film dedicated to his background is a bit much and the supporting characters end up stealing the spotlight. Not all are great, but Ryan Reynolds is so impressive with his quick wit and even quicker bullet deflection moves that it is easy to see why a separate spin-off franchise was given the green light for his character. Mutants with light bulb and card deck powers are pretty cool too. Less impressive are the attempts at comic relief, with Kevin Durand's weight problems making for especially uneasy gags. At the end of the day, this is not much better or worse than The Last Stand, but again the film feels several steps below X-Men and X2. (first viewing, Blu-ray Disc) ★★
X: First Class (2011). Arguably better than all of the other X-Men films before it, this entry from Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn is a prequel that fascinatingly chronicles the Professor, Magneto and Mystique during their childhood and young adult years. Especially interesting is the gradual shifts that we begin to notice in the latter two towards the veritable dark side with Michael Fassbender doing an especially good job handling his character's building anger and resentment. Nicholas Hoult's Beast aside, the rest of the mutant characters are sadly far less interesting and Vaughn tends to dwell too long on the training scenes that are hyperactively editing with excessive split screens. At over two hours long, the film feels a little bloated too, but as always Vaughn crafts the project with style and panache and it is an encapsulating ride. (first viewing, Blu-ray Disc) ★★★
The Wolverine (2013). Taking place after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, this Wolverine spin-off attempts to do something different just like X-Men Origins: Wolverine did by following one particular mutant and his adventures outside the events of the original trilogy. What drove Origins though was all the mystery surrounding Wolverine's past, whereas there is no intriguing mystery here. Origins also introduced the fascinating Deadpool and Bolt characters, among other mutants, whereas here we are limited to pretty much just one mutant who can deliver venom through her tongue. The result is a film that does not really feel like an X-Men movie whilst being no more interesting for all its daringness to different. There is a cool bullet train action scene are some of the effects are not half-bad, but the story is pretty average. (first viewing, DVD) ★
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Sent back in time, Wolverine tries to prevent a dire future in this ambitious sequel that merges the younger selves from First Class with the older characters. It is an intriguing idea, but the film is not really about the older and younger selves interacting, nor is about temporal conundrums, alternate timelines and all related science fiction ideas. Disappointing as this is, the 1970s setting works well with bystanders capturing mutants on Super 8 video, a genuine recreation of the time period, a paranoid Nixon and an explanation for the JFK magic bullet. Evan Peters is also great as a new mutant character who can move at hyperspeed, though he is sadly underused. The film also ditches any attempt at continuity following the events of The Last Stand, but this is very decent if not as classy as First Class. (first viewing, Blu-ray Disc) ★★★
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016). Set around a decade after the events of Days of Future Past, this follow-up continues the adventures of the mutants as they find themselves up against an evil mutant whose origins date back to Ancient Egypt. It is not a bad premise, but other than the ability to bury those who offend him inside walls and floors, Oscar Isaac's Apocalypse is not a great villain and it is kind of ridiculous how his mind control battles are depicted through physical fights. The internal continuity of the series seems more disrupted than ever too, especially in terms of character ages. Once again, Evan Peters is the brightest spark here, and again his hyperspeed is underused. Some of the other effects aren't too shabby and giving Magneto a family is neat, but his whole being pulled towards the 'dark side' definitely feels like a case of 'been there, done that'. (first viewing, online) ★
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019). Further ignoring the continuity of the franchise, this X-Men sequel is set in the 1990s and involves Jean Grey turning into Dark Phoenix... as already occurred in The Last Stand. Even pushing continuity issues to the side, however, the film does not make a whole lot of sense, introducing an intriguing chief villain in Jessica Chastain but then not bothering to explain who she is. The film actually starts off very well though. There is an exciting outer space scene as the movie toys with the notion of the X-Men helping humanity, and called upon by government agencies to solve problems, before questioning if Xavier is more interested in fame and glory than anything else. Alas, this plot deflection is soon cast aside for explosion action. Sophie Turner is hardly the most compelling actress either, though the rest cast are in decent form. (first viewing, online) ★
Sunset Song (2015). Mistreated by her parents, a free-thinking young woman finds independence and love after their deaths, but World War I threatens to interrupt her marriage in this drama from Terence Davies. Shot on location in the picturesque fields of Scotland, this is a beautiful-looking film, and the interiors look equally gorgeous, illuminated largely by candlelight. As a narrative though, Sunset Song is extremely dull. Everything that occurs feels melodramatic rather than down-to-earth and Davies has a tendency to bask in the magnificent sunsets and outdoor scenery he has captured, which results in the film being paced without any sense of urgency. Things do get a bit more interesting towards the end as we see and hear about the effects of World War II, but hampered by on/off overly descriptive narration, the protagonist is never easy to care about. (first viewing, online) ★
Indignation (2016). Surprised to receive a blow job on a first date, a stuffy college student immediately questions the character of his prospective girlfriend and how promiscuous she is in this 1950s-set drama that is pretty much as dreary as it sounds. There is certainly something to the premise since he is an arrogant and outspoken atheist who looks down upon others for believing in religion and yet who cannot see how judgmental he is - but it is not a lot to fuel a two-hour movie. The best bits are the verbal debates that the protagonist has with his college dean, played with gusto by Tracy Letts, but these parts are infrequent and the central relationship lacks sparks. Mostly though, it is just difficult to warm to the protagonist who actively tries not to fit in, evaluates women based on their legs, and then is anxious about dating a woman with loose morals! (first viewing, online) ★
Patti Cake$ (2017). In between taking care of her ailing grandmother and working in an unrewarding job, a heavyset young woman tries to break into the music scene as a rapper in this indie drama that has gained understandable comparisons to 8 Mile. The basic story is actually even more generic than that - it is your classic underdog tale - but it is pretty well done all things considered. Danielle Macdonald is solid in the lead role and the fact that she is not conventionally pretty and slightly uncouth brings much edge to the story; she is not instantly likeable, but the more we see about how much she cares and how deep her passion is, the more we become invested in her fate. Her mother likewise gradually shows extra dimension after initially coming across as selfish and disinterested in her daughter. The rap theme song "PBNJ" is awesome too. (first viewing, online) ★★★
Ex Libras (2017). Frederick Wiseman observes the goings-on of the New York Public Library in this observational documentary. Much like his other recent epic length projects National Gallery and At Berkeley, part of the focus is how the institute is funded and what those in charge are prepared to do to attract more funding. This is, however, sadly a much smaller part of Ex Libras than the other two films; this also feels far more unfocused, often lost in guest speaker scenes that tend to overtake the more intriguing shots of patrons simply using the library in diverse and varied ways. The documentary does capture a pretty intriguing digital technology slant with several staff members talking up the benefits of going digital and increasing information access, as well as the resistance to this, but again this takes a backseat to countless guest speakers. (first viewing, online) ★★
Decembers (2018). His photographer father killed during the US invasion of Panama in 1989, a boy is haunted by his memories as his father's ghost watches on here. Or something like that. The narrative at hand is hardly straightforward and the film assumes much prior knowledge of the incident, but even as someone not deeply familiar with the events, there is still much to like here. Particularly potent is the incorporation of actual footage of the invasion into the narrative with Panama's skies illuminated yellow and orange by the blasts and explosions. The young lead is pretty decent too. The father's monologues are less impressive, heavily weighted towards sentiment, but he also offers some interesting ruminations on capturing images, and there are some really striking images here of the Panamanian people washing the blood off their streets afterwards. (first viewing, online) ★★
Her Smell (2018). Constantly rude and dismissive of her closest friends, colleagues and daughter, a punk rocker changes her attitude when she finally sobers up in this indie drama from Alex Ross Perry. Sober in the second half of the film, Elisabeth Moss has several strong moments in this stretch - mostly notably playing piano with her daughter and agreeing to play with her outside. The first half of the movie though is borderline intolerable. There is no real plot but just mounting chaos as Moss dials it up to eleven in a scenery-chewing performance that makes her seem more like a caricature than character. And yet, even with an improved second half this leaves a bit to be desired. The point of the film never seems to be much more than a look at how different human beings can be when sober, which is not a lot of content to support a near epic length film. (first viewing, online) ★
And one revision:
Upgrade (2018). Even more compelling and tragic upon revision knowing everything to come, this sci-fi thriller plays out like Frank Henenlotter's Brain Damage crossed with a Cronenberg body horror film in the best possible way. The film involves a quadriplegic with an experimental chip installed in his neck which allows him to move his limbs, but the symbiotic relationship that he develops with the sentient chip goes awry. Some of the film's best ideas are under-developed (super-soldiers with Cronenberg body enhancements), but this is enticing from start to finish with all its artificial intelligence issues. The film also jumps between several genres and tones, including laugh-out-loud comedy, while always remaining cohesive, and the saturated colours, neon lighting and newfangled sets really enrich the experience. Same goes for the unusual music score. (second viewing, DVD) ★★★★
This movie starts well as being about woman whose grips on reality is nicely ambiguous. I had some severe doubts when the twist comes halfway the movie. But settles into an okay tense thriller after that. Soderbergh's use of an iPhone to film this really heightens the unsettling paranoiac claustrophobic mood. Foy does a fine job in carrying the movie. 
