Movie Review Thread

[El Jefe]

Two years ago, my (now deceased, but not because of this) doc explained my knee situation like this. "In theory, you have some cartilage left. Quantum theory mostly."

"So what are my options?"

"Spontaneous eruption of a mutant healing factor?"

"That good, huh?"

"Yeah, building you new knees is about the only option. There's pretty much nothing you can do to extend the life of what you've got, or improve them currently."

[Mike]

Man, our movie reviews are weird!

I love this discussion. I'm intrigued by a doctor who says "mutant healing factor" but then passes away within two years. Either the tragic story of a young doctor, or the tale of a VERY cool older doctor.

[Phoebe]

So very many things to say that seem wrong because, after all, a man has died in this true story. But there's just so much to say right now.

[El Jefe]

He was a crotchety middle-aged croaker with a sharp as fuck tongue, and basically no filter. I adored him. Then he walked off into the woods and killed himself. Nobody ever knew why.

I'm still unclear if he was actually a good doctor, but that's pretty much unimportant. I then went like forever without insurance, so his diagnosis (good or bad) really didn't matter much?

Before we take this to film, somebody needs to punch up the script a bit. It's kind of a downer.

Edit: To correct my utterly horrid sense of chronological systems while perhaps tipsy.

[Mike]

Wow. That really is a downer story, but the man sounds fascinating.

[Phoebe]

It does, however, give me hope for the knees! Much has happened since then. The knees are still operational and thus could be salvaged!

[El Jefe]

That would require me to give the tiniest bit of concern to my physical well-being. I do not. It would also likely require a pretty hefty amount of weight loss and an exercise regime. I won't be doing either. Yes, it's exceedingly stupid on my part. I am, after all, exceedingly stupid in many areas.

Also, even with the new job, I still don't have insurance yet, and won't for several months. And the deductibles would keep any kind of knee repair well outside my budget for years to come.

[poorpete]

[Phoebe]

[Phoebe]

I was really into this movie from India called Photograph, which is a very different, slow-paced, and gentle version of the old standby "let's pretend to be engaged to appease someone's family". The movie was rolling along just great, but it's long and slow and the end simply did not have the requisite resolution! I don't need much resolution but I at least need something more than whatever that was. I don't know if perhaps my lack of cultural understanding cause me to miss things that others might have considered telegraphed at that point? Eh, no idea, but it was a great time investment with little reward beyond the process itself, which is nice, but both is nicer.

[Phoebe]

Brittany Runs a Marathon

I can't remember whether it was Amazon or Netflix pushing this to me hard - I think Amazon prime? Anyway, it was fun and worth watching. I like that it's not a show about 'Brittany needs to lose weight' or 'Brittany discovers her life gets on track as soon as she viciously disciplines her body,', because I was a little worried it was going to be one of those. However, it was more of a "Brittany decides to value herself and invest her energies accordingly, and her life improves, but it's not a linear process and it continues to take effort." Good enough for me, especially given the depressing paucity of useful options on Prime these days. Any movie I actually want to see is $3.99, and damn it we should be getting more than a little bit of free shipping out of this annual fee deal. Where are all the damn free movies?

[Phoebe]

Happy as Lazzaro

Italian movie on Netflix. It's AWESOME. Loved it thoroughly. Can't give any spoilers, except to say there's a "magical realism" element and it's both hilarious and profound. Five stars.

[poorpete]

Cleo From 5 to 7
The movie reminds me a lot of the Before Sunset, a visit through Parisian locations, with a focus on "what does it all mean?" This my first Agnes Vargas film, and she is an immediate delight in her filmmaking style. At times experimental but firmly experimental within the story. Often comedically experimental, which I love. I do wonder how I'll view the main character when I watch it again, as I could see both sides, that she's a diva whose used to getting her way and treats a pending diagnosis the same way, or that everyone is treating her like a diva, when she's really dealing with a huge existential crisis. Seems the focus is on the later, as we join her brain as she defends her actions. She's going through A LOT and people are all acting like she's a problem to placate. "There there."

Anywho, I'd have loved to see this in my teenage years, where my love for the French New Wave was highest, and I assume the only reason it was not in my field of vision was a mixture of societies and my own toxic patriarchal view. Back then most foreign films I had to search for, and TCM, the best place back then for classic films, had one time for classic foreign films: Saturday at 2AM. I can blame their gatekeeping, but if Agnes had done this under the name Francois Truffaut, I'd have sought this out, maybe at the library, instead of being ignorant through then, through film school, and through my 20s and 30s.

[poorpete]

52 By Women 2020 #2 - Beaches of Agnes

Fast forwarding from her biggest early hit to the film she planned on retiring on, it's a huge leap in Agnes Varda's experimentation, but she's just as confident a filmmaker as he was in Cleo. I've seen very few autobiographical films, I think they are rarely done because they are indulgent and difficult (hold on, so are memoirs but we get a gazillion of those a year, what's the deal?), but if you are to do one, this is the template. A mixture of experiments, humor, and straight-forward talking heads, all done to tell the story of her life and her modus operandi. It's beautiful

[poorpete]

52 By Women 2020 #3 - The Decline of Western Civilization

Been waiting to watch this for a long time, as a fan of Penelope Spheeris' comedic masterpiece "Wayne's World." Again feel bad it's taken me this long. Very little comedy here as the focus is on the depressive angry punk of the turn-of-the-80s Los Angeles. I'll grade the bands in a minute but Spheeris' does a great job getting great-or-at-least-memorable performances and beyond great interviews, many of which I'm like "this person is so cool" and then a few seconds later "oh shit, he's a skinhead." Usually either you get a warts-and-all look at artists or a fawning love letter to them. Spheeris pulls off a miracle by doing both.

Of the performances, Alice Bag and particularly X have it all together, musically and attitudally, and compared to the others here, mentally too. Could watch them forever. Black Flag's loud noisy hardcore and chaotic performances I've seen mimicked by many bands in their wake. Circle Jerks I didn't want to like because of their name but they were good too. Germs, and the interviews with the lead singer, was troubling as I knew where his instability would lead (he'll be dead after the film finished but before it was released), and I couldn't enjoy it musically, but sadly fascinating nonetheless. Alice Bag were just good, and Catholic Discipline reminded me of the few bands I knew made up of music critics, fine musically but could tell the point of the music was more ironic or intellectual than to dance to.

Fear made me pissed off. What assholes. What bigots. Figured Spheeris was showing us this awful band without comment so we can make our minds up on their homophobic remarks and skinhead fans. But that Spheeris aided the lead singer to score a music contract and acting roles in her films, is disappointing.

But at least that lives up to the title of the film. And to add to that decline, I admit dammit they're kind of good as a band, but also fuck off.

[poorpete]

52 By Women 2020 #4 - The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years

More proof that Spheeris is a great interviewer and music video director. I've seen parts of the Ozzy and Chris Holmes segments before and they are rightly both hailed (for their brutal honesty and comedy) and criticized (for inserting fictional elements). The movie I feel is wrongly blamed for the death of hair metal but it does tow the line between loving the acts and treating them like Spinal Tap. Since metal is not my favorite music, I'm going to rate the major participants by how well they come off.

Lemmy - he thought Spheeris tried to make him seem an idiot but I disagree. He comes off as cool and collected, smart and funny. I don't want to be a chain smoking speed head but otherwise I'd want to be him over anyone else here.

Alice Cooper - a prequel to his appearance in Wayne's World he is truly a smart man who is aware of his importance and influence. Like Lemmy his ego and realism is firmly in check.

Ozzy - is very funny and smart and wise and of course kind of spacey too. I want to have breakfast with him.

Dave Mustaine - lead singer of Megadeth gets the last scenes, is engaging and smart, and like Alice and Lemmy, knows himself and his purpose both idealist and realist.

Then there's the other guys... so many guys. Aerosmith does well, Paul Stanley is hilarious and dumb but also living his ideal life. The American dream, baby! Speaking of, most everyone else are engaging and smart about most things except stardom. This is Hoop Dreams but for rock n roll. These guys are all sure they are gonna make it but we know that all (or at least almost all) won't. When they are asked what will happen if they don't make it, it's heartbreaking as they either can't comprehend it or they figure they'd be homeless and/or dead. 30 years later and most of them are doing ok. Bittersweet that they were totally wrong about making it and what failure would look like.

[poorpete]

52 By Women 2020 #5 - 13th

Dude.

So I picked this because Selma was unavailable to stream for MLK day and I still had yet to see a film by Ava, a person I root for even though I know little of her non-twitter output. I figured I'd get to it someday but was also figured it was going to preach to the choir about the horrors of mass incarceration. And in some cases it did, but it really solidified America's crazy need from slavery to now to keep black people in chains and working for free but otherwise apart from polite society. To be subjugated. And how black men became synonymous with criminal, surprising not surprising around the time the n-word became verbotten. It's a disgusting history. Also I felt a little optimistic that the days of "tough on crime" and "lock them up forever" are nearing its end, but even in that this film shows the justified worries that black people have, as every success, from the 13th amendment on, has led to a loop-hole to continue to keep them down. In this case the worry is that as the prison population decreases there will be an increase in GPS monintoring. Always being watched. Always being chained somehow.

And the last 10 minutes. Holey moley, I had to look away, full of tears and anger and shame, as they first showed Emmitt Till, which was more-than-enough for the feels, and then realized what was to come, as they paraded the dozen modern examples of him, in all video detail. Some of these videos I've never seen, as why would i ever want to see Eric Garner strangled. I'm mad and sad enough without seeing it, but there it was. God. Philando Castile's death too. Tamir Rice too. It all still hurts. The tears still flow now.

Also not mentioned here, but it was hard not to think of Colin Kaepernick when they talked about the criminalization of black dissent. The through-line continues...

[akiva]

This isn't my review--I haven't seen the movie--but this might be the best quote from a movie review I've ever seen: "If the words 'Nicolas Cage, alpaca farmer' intrigue you, you'll find this adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story delightful."

From today's Washington Post

[Phoebe]

Hello? Did someone call my name?

[poorpete]

52 By Women 2020 #6 - Can You Ever Forgive Me

Lives up to its reputation, an excellent blend of comedy and drama. A hall-of-fame level screen duo. Two relatively contemptible people you can't help but root for, even if you'd hate them if they were in your life. A perfect ending. Looking forward to seeing Marielle Heller's other works and huh -- married to Jorma from Lonely Island and her sister is the hilarious Emily Heller! What a comedic powerhouse of a family.