If you’re in the mood for a quiet period piece about archeology in Suffolk in the 1930’s, you should give this move a look. I enjoyed it and all of the ways it subverted my expectations. Recommended.
Continue reading “The Dig (Netflix)”
An inexplicably and historically bad sequel to Wonder Woman, you will feel embarrassed watching it. At two-and-a-half hours, the experience move of a punishment than escapist entertainment. Avoid it at all costs.
Continue reading “Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)”
Horror movies, in particular slasher movies, are known for their efficiency. Introduce the soon-to-be-victims with some threadbare character traits, each having some a combination of obliviousness, stupidity, narcissism and hornyness, provide a remote setting where the victims can be seen with their negative character traits on display, then introduce a weapon-wielding maniac to mete out justice on the victims for being generally bad people. These movies put us in the position of rooting for the killer, because only he (sometimes she) can save us from spending one more minute with the victims, who are too annoying and oversexed for their own good.
Continue reading “The Rental”
Even though my reviews typically discuss practically everything about whatever I’m reviewing at the time, I try to avoid spoiler territory by not posting a review immediately after something comes out. If you follow movies, you probably already know the big [insert your adjective here] twist in the third act of Last Christmas. If you don’t know about it, and don’t want me to spoil the surprise, stop reading now.
Continue reading “Last Christmas (2019)”
Sticky post
I’m afraid we didn’t do a very good job of looking after the place while you were away.
Augustine The Older
This review discusses at length the surprise twist ending of the movie. Read no further if you don’t wish this to be spoiled for you!
Continue reading “The Midnight Sky (Netflix)”
A-one, a-two, a-you know what to do!
I admit that I know next to nothing about the blues. I’ve listened to the blues performed live several times, in Chicago and New Orleans, but as a musical genre, I’m completely ignorant of its history and context. Country music would be a close second. (My mother decided country music was her thing in the seventies and eighties, so I have an unconscious awareness of its tropes and stylings.)
With this in mind, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a movie I can really appreciate for giving me some much needed schooling on the blues. Not that the movie is a history lesson or documentary. Ma Rainey is based on an August Wilson play of the same name. Like the play, the movie is a work of fiction where the lead character is based on an actual person. Born Gertrude Pridgett in 1886, she started out as a performer in black minstrel shows, then vaudeville. In 1914, when she was roughly 28, she began performing as a blues singer, touring the south extensively.
Continue reading “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)”
As a longtime fan of New Order, I never really was into Joy Division. Like most fans of post-punk and new wave, I was familiar with “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, with its melancholy, romantic fatalism. I’ve always liked that song, but I never really appreciated Joy Division’s other material. Prior to seeing Control, the only other Joy Division song I knew was “Transmission”. (Both songs are always in heavy rotation on SiriusXM’s First Wave channel.) Most of my resistance was due to the underproduced sound of Joy Division’s songs. Compared to the music produced by New Order from 1985 onward, Joy Division’s songs for the most part sounded as if they were recorded in Dracula’s basement.
Continue reading “Control (2007)”
While I’m no film school nerd, I have watched Citizen Kane several times over the past twenty-five years, and have read several articles on the making of the movie over that time as well. I’ve also been watching David Fincher’s films since the early nineties. And while some (Se7en, Zodiac, The Social Network) are better than others (Alien 3, Panic Room, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), his movies always warrant at least one viewing. When I read about Mank, I thought the movie could be a great one. Fincher is one of the best directors of his generation, and he’s making a movie about the making of one of my favorite movies. The resulting movie is not among Fincher’s greatest, placing solidly at the top of the middle-tier films he’s made.
Continue reading “Mank (Netflix)”
Rebecca is a curious movie. It has all of the ingredients that should make it far more enjoyable than it ends up being. The leading roles are played by Armie Hammer (The Social Network) and Lily James (Cinderella), both young, attractive and capable actors. Supporting actors include Ann Dowd (The Leftovers, Hereditary) and Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient). The production design and camera work are aces. The movie is based on the same material that brought Hitchcock his only Best Picture Oscar (back in 1940). For varying reasons, the ingredients don’t come together, resulting in a middling viewing experience.
Continue reading “Rebecca (Netflix)”
Under normal circumstances, my wife and I would have seen Tenet the Tuesday after it was released. With the pandemic having regained momentum over the last several months, my wife Is not interested in sitting in a movie theater anytime soon, so I took a half day this past Friday to see the movie solo.
Continue reading “Tenet”
Detroit Cineaste 