2019 Movie Log: April

7th: The Beach Bum – Harmony Korine (2019)
Watched at the Music Box with Gioia, Chris, and Paige. The film is so enjoyable. It’s almost entirely comprised of fun-loving people having a good time. For some of the film, I was worried that this was all that it would be. However, there is a turn that creates a plot and places an underlying message in all of the hedonism. I don’t entirely know if it works, but I had a great time watching it.
Grade: B- / B

12th: Sightseers – Ben Wheatley (2012)
Watched at home with Gioia. It’s so dark and surprising. It’s amazing to me how Wheatley is able to have a compelling narrative when every character in the film is so despicable. I can’t think of many movies like it, especially in terms of genre. Both funny and gruesome.
Grade: B+
Sightseers – Ben Wheatley (2012)

13th: Guava Island – Hiro Murai (2019)
Watched at home with Gioia. It’s really delightful. A pretty perfect short film that’s extended with cool musical interludes.
Grade: B / B+
Guava Island – Hiro Murai (2019)

13th: Dune – David Lynch (1984)
Watched at home with Gioia. It’s so bad. What was surprising to me is that it’s incredibly faithful to the source material. The only major differences are things excluded in the plot, which is where the film falls apart. The movie uses about five minutes to cover the middle 200 pages of the book, which are to me are the heart of the story. It’s hard to have any sort of emotional payoff when the movie fast-forwards through its characters’ development. Instead, the movie is mostly a long set up, and then the conclusion. I’ll be interested to see how Denis Villeneuve’s version is structured.
Grade: D
Dune – David Lynch (1984)

13th: High Life – Claire Denis (2019)
Watched at the Music Box with Gioia. Probably the most disturbing film I’ve seen besides Antichrist or Pink Flamingos. Several people even left the theater during a highly disturbing part. I don’t have the background to say whether the instances of sexual violence were gratuitous, appropriate or not. What I can say is that I thought it was supported by the story, and meant to show the exploitation of these characters as prisoners. That all being said, I don’t think I’ll ever watch the film again. The narrative is pulled together for me by the prolepsis to Monte’s now adult daughter. Still, most of the ride is horrifying.
Grade: B-
High Life – Claire Denis (2019)

15th: Rashomon – Akira Kurosawa (1950)
Watched at home. A lot of times older movies, despite all of their value and richness, can still be kind of boring to watch. By the time you’ve watched it, you’ve seen countless other movies attempt to update or just imitate the film in a modern light. Rashomon doesn’t have this problem. Its theme and core idea, that truth is subjective and that men are all self-motivating, has preserved its legacy as a classic. Yet, it’s really a masterpiece in every sense. It’s beautifully shot. Each story, even as a flashback, is compelling. I was thrilled even just watching the medium relate the Samurai’s story. It was so creepy and visceral. What I loved most about the film was the final fight scene. Without any dialogue or exposition, Kurosawa is able to show that the men lied largely in part because the fight was shameful, cowardly, and so thoroughly unheroic.
Grade: A

19th: Bicycle Thieves – Vittoria De Sica (1948)
Watched at home. One of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen. Some of the shots are just truly stunning. I was amazed by the film’s ability to manipulate emotion with some of the same frames. For instance when Antonio first rides out to work among the other workers it is absolutely thrilling. The speed and the purpose of the shot captures so much energy and spirit. Most films strive for a shot like that at the emotional peak of their story. Here it happens within the first act to set up an emotional fall. Later, after the bike has been stolen, each of these city frames feel overwhelming. The scope of the city feels crushing and limiting. It conveys a sense of loss and doom. So, what begins as a thrilling and communal exuberance in the first act, becomes suffocating in the second and third acts. It’s masterful filmmaking. On a more personal note, I had no idea the movie closes as such a tragedy. It is gut-wrenching.
Grade: A

20th: Everybody Wants Some!! – Richard Linklater (2016)
Watched at home with Gioia. What can I say, it’s a movie completely aligned with everything I want. If I had to say I picked up on anything new, it’s just how well-defined each of the characters are, even if they’re only briefly in the film. Each character has a specific role in the ensemble, and they don’t break from it.
Grade: A

Author: Samuel

Big fan of TV, movies, and books. Even bigger fan of maniacally recording my thoughts on them in the desperate and inevitably futile attempt to keep them in my memory forever. View all posts by Samuel