2018 Movie Log – April

 

 

1st: Lincoln – Steven Speilberg (2012)
Watched at home during the day. Really surprised by how much I liked it. I thought the dialogue was especially riveting. The performances were great. Especially Daniel Day-Lewis. If I have one complaint, it’s probably that it’s a bit overstuffed. Especially for the short time-frame, the movie takes place in. However, I did think keeping the movie in a tight time-frame was pretty effective.
Grade: B+
Lincoln – Structure

1st / 2nd: The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling – Judd Apatow (2018)
Watched over the course of two night at home. Probably the best documentary I’ve seen since OJ: Made in America. Like that movie, this one explores the entire life of a person. The journey of Garry Shandling. Thinking back on it, it’s amazing how at the end he’s a completely different person. There’s a letter at the beginning where he confesses that he doesn’t know if he’s funny. Then at an interview at the end, he says he knows he can be funny whenever he wants, he just doesn’t know when it’s appropriate. I do think there are chunks of the movie I would cut. While I was watching it, I felt that they kept coming back to his relationship with his mother without having much else to say. Yet, the documentary is five hours long and it’s only maybe 30 mins I would cut. And everything with his mom comes back at the end and emotional climax of the documentary. I thought that this was a remarkable watch. I really did not expect to be as moved or transformed as I was.

3rd: A Wrinkle in Time – Ava DuVernay (2018)
Watched at Regal Webster 11 with Alice. This movie makes no sense. I honestly don’t know what it’s about or what it’s saying. I honestly think it may have nothing to say. There are a few things that are shot in interesting ways. Besides that, nothing. The rules of the world are never established. The characters don’t grow or change. They accomplish tasks with no explanation. I don’t even know how they’re getting around. I honestly can’t believe something this bad gets made.
Grade: F
A Wrinkle in Time – Structure

4th: Annihilation – Alex Garland (2018)
Watched at Logan with Alice, Ben, and Frank. I really liked it. I thought it was particularly amazing visually. More than that, I think the movie really worked on tone. It doesn’t attempt to really answer questions. But it’s okay. Each twist in the new world is interesting and compelling. I kept comparing the movie to A Wrinkle in Time. A movie I had criticised (see right above) for not explaining how the world works. And yet, this one doesn’t do that either. I think this one works because it actually asks compelling questions, and leaves the viewers with enough pieces to put some things together.
Grade: B/B+
Annihilation – Structure

7th: Isle of Dogs – Wes Anderson (2018)
Rewatch! Watched at Logan with Alex. Still really fun. I was more impressed this time with the plot/story structure of the film. I think it’s a really tight script. Especially a lot of the smaller details like that Jupiter and Oracle are the narrators at the beginning.

7th: Everybody Wants Some!! – Richard Linklater (2016)
Rewatch! Watched at home with Bryce and Alex. Still ridiculously fun. I really took away how much of the movie is centered on Jake. It doesn’t follow a traditional plot structure but he’s pretty close to a traditional protagonist. A lot of the movie works because of tension centered on him: will he fit in, will he get the girl. I also noticed that the movie may (very) loosely conform to a three-act structure: Act 1 being the setup, Act 2 being the baseball stuff, Act 3 being the romance. The only part I don’t like is the phone call between Jake and Beverly.

8th: Slacker – Richard Linklater (1991)
Rewatch! Watched at home with Alex. Was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It’s a really compelling, easy movie to watch, even with no plot. I noticed that each scene works like a typical scene in a movie would work except 1, it’s not connected to a further plot and 2, there’s usually an eccentric twist. For instance, there’s the woman who gets run over. There’s the disappearance of the roommate. Both of those could be compelling scenes in full-length movies. But here, there more like crazy observations. I love the idea of messing with the camera’s gaze. I’d like to try doing some stuff like that.

8th: The Death of Stalin – Armano Iannucci (2017)
Watched at Logan with Alice. Thought it was really funny. It’s super reminiscent of Veep. I love the idea of exposing evil scary men as humans and imbeciles. It was hard for me to follow a lot of connections between the plot. My guess is that a lot of the intrigue and structure would work better a second time around.
Grade: B
The Death of Stalin – Structure

9th: The Little Hours – Jeff Baena (2017)
Watched at home at night. I thought it was hilarious. I was really impressed by a lot of the performances. It seemed really well cast to me. A lot of the actors played variations I’ve seen them do before, but it added a dimension in the context of the movie. Aubrey Plaza as a nun for example. I kind of can’t believe how much I liked it, but I think it does everything it’s trying to do super well.
Grade: B+
The Little Hours – Structure

12th / 13th: Andre the Giant – Jason Hehir (2018)
Watched at home over the course of two nights. Really compelling, even as someone who has never watched wrestling. I appreciated how short it was. I didn’t think the documentary ever slowed or lingered. Thought the approach was really humanizing. Had never considered the toll that being 7’4 would take.

13th: The Florida Project – Sean Baker (2017)
Watched at home at night. I absolutely loved it. I found so much of it compelling and really enjoyable to watch. The cast was so good, especially the girl that played Moonee. I also thought it was incredibly well shot. I loved the bright, artificial colors. There were a lot of cool shots taken from far away. I also really liked how much of it was shot low. It made the world look so big, like from a child’s POV. The best part of the movie is the story. It’s incredibly moving and never exploitative. You really just want to spend time in this world. It’s so visceral and real.
Grade: A
The Florida Project – Sean Baker (2017)

13th: Sideways – Alexander Payne (2004)
Watched at home at night. The friendship between Miles and Cole is so fun to watch. It feels so real. I think the movie works in large part from the situations Miles is put in. Especially after the midpoint when he and Cole go on the double date. You’re rooting so hard for him to get his shit together and not blow his chance with Maya. I think the movie navigates a really tough line with the wine thing. Here it works, but I just feel like that being the theme could go so wrong. Really, my only complaint is that it could have been 20 minutes shorter.
Grade: B+
Sideways – Alexander Payne (2004)

14th: Midnight Cowboy – John Schlesinger (1969)
Watched at home at night. Super weird movie. Especially to have come out during the sixties. The flashbacks (which aren’t entirely resolved) are terrifying. The New York setting is so grimy and real. I think more than anything the characters, especially Rizzo stand out. He has so many memorable moments maneuvering through the city. It’s a really heartfelt look at two characters in a bad situation.
Grade: A-
Midnight Cowboy – John Schlesinger (1969)

15th: Meantime – Mike Leigh (1984)
Watched at home at night. It took me a while to sink in. The setting and opening were hard to comprehend as a lame-o American. But once I settled into the world, and especially into the characters it was magnificent. There are so many cool shots of this town. It’s slow and grey but still has so much life. The dynamic in the family is what makes the movie especially great. I wish I could hang out in the bedroom with the two brothers at the end forever. Definitely will rewatch.
Grade: A-
Meantime – Mike Leigh (1984)

16th: The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum (2014)
Watched at home at night. Kind of a slow burn. There are so many moving parts and timelines. Alan Turing doesn’t start out super likable. I was all in by the time it hits the second act. It’s a really tightly written script. I loved how everything kept tying back to each other. The sequence where they crack enigma is thrilling. I thought some of the directing decisions were shaky. I didn’t love how the war / historical footage was handled. I also was confused by the infrequent use of voiceovers. I think the movie probably would have been more effective without those tricks.
Grade: B+
The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum (2014)

18th: Atonement – Joe Wright (2007)
Watched at home at night. Started off thinking I would hate it. I really did not like the set up of the story. I ended up hanging on because the visual filmmaking was so good. It was really compelling to watch. Eventually, the story did start to win me over. I think it’s kind of remarkable that I came around on Birony when she’s so terrible in the first act. The long tracking shot is pretty cool. So yeah, I think that as a story it’s probably a c+. I wasn’t particularly won over by the twist at the end. But the visuals and the performances are all exceptional.
Grade: B
Atonement – Joe Wright (2007)

21st: Casablanca – Michael Curtiz (1942)
Finally got around to watching this one. Really wonderful. There are so many cool things the film pulls off. I was most impressed by how many layers it fits into a relatively simple A-B story. Almost the entire movie occurs in two places. Yet the audience keeps receiving information in clever ways, and those pieces of information complicate and unfold the story. I don’t have much else to say. It’s intimidating and inspiring as hell from just the level of storytelling. Pretty obvious why it’s a classic.
Casablanca – Michael Curtiz (1942)

21st: Life is Sweet – Mike Leigh (1990)
Watched at home during the day. I loved it. Mike Leigh has such a unique an interesting tone in this movie. It’s a sentiment that I really love. The performances are all really cool. It’s a world of characters I’m not used to seeing on TV. And even though they’re all eccentric and pretty out there, they feel so real. I think where the movie really transcends is in what isn’t said. There’s a lot of information that is just loosely implied. Yet, it colors the whole movie. Especially the ending and the reconciliation between the mother and Nikola.
Grade: A
Life is Sweet – Mike Leigh (1990)

21st: Drinking Buddies – Joe Swanberg (2013)
Watched at home at night. I thought it was pretty cool. In a lot of ways, I think it’s a pretty smart movie. It takes the concept of the will they / won’t they rom-com dynamic and stretches it over the whole movie, without any explicit mention of it. I really liked that. I also thought that the characters and relationships felt pretty real. I did not love all the Chicago shoutouts in the movie. That felt pretty forced to me. I think the danger of making hyper-realistic films is when you do something like that, it easily takes you out of the movie.
Grade: B
Drinking Buddies – Joe Swanberg (2013)

23rd: Waitress – Adrienne Shelly (2007)
Watched at home at night. Thought it was a funny, well-made movie. At times, I didn’t find it to be the most compelling story. But, I really liked the hyper-stylized southern culture in it. The cast, especially Keri Russell, is great. It was absolutely terrible to learn what happened to Adrienne Shelly after watching the movie
Waitress – Adrienne Shelly (2007)

25th: Election – Alexander Payne (1999)
Watched at home at night. I think the movie works in terms of story and plot. The plant and payoff with the janitor is really good. The performances and especially Reese Witherspoon are great. The tone of the movie is just too nihilistic to me. Everyone is a terrible person except for Paul Metzler who is just an idiot. It felt like a 90s movie in the sense of doing the suburban community has a dark underbelly.
Grade: C+
Election – Alexander Payne (1999)