1st: The Invisible Man – Leigh Whannell (2020)
Watched at the Logan with Gioia, Wills, Beronica, Terry, Matthew, and Tommy. I was really scared. I was gripped the whole way through. It turns out having an invisible person following you is scary as fuck. I thought those scenes in the movie were by far the scariest part. Adrian in the kitchen, the bedroom, and the attic. We know he’s there and we can’t see him. There were a lot of scares that made me laugh they were so good. In particular, the fashion mannequin in the bedroom and the knife being raised right before he kills Cecilia’s sister. For the most part, I thought the story was pretty smart. I think the explanation for what’s happening is mostly satisfactory. I’m glad it was scientifically based as opposed to magic. There are a lot of practical questions. If it’s just James in a suit how is he moving around so quickly? How is he able to follow Cecilia all the time? How often is his brother in the suit? How many cops work at this mental institution? For the most part, I think this is a movie where these things don’t really matter. But they do stick out as the movie wraps up. The whole last act is a little bit silly.
Grade: B / B+
The Invisible Man – Leigh Whannell (2020)
2nd: Happy as Lazzaro – Alice Rohrwacher (2018)
Watched at home. Between Corpo Celeste and The Wonders something just hasn’t fully clicked for me with Rohrwacher. There’s so much that I really admire in what she does. Her stories are utterly unique. I think the way she juxtaposes the modern world with old religion and mysticism is really fascinating. I definitely liked Corpo Celeste more. I think the second half of that movie is pretty brilliant. To be fair, I actually liked the second half of The Wonders quite a bit. Maybe there’s something with Rohrwacher’s films that just take a while to warm up. In fact, that is certainly true of this film. I think in many ways, the filmmaking alone is a major improvement for her. I loved the look of this movie. I’d be fascinated to know what she used to shoot it. Again though I struggled a bit with the pacing. This movie takes a while to get going. It doesn’t help that the main character is practically silent. However, the twist that comes at the midpoint, and then is revealed fully in the third act is incredible. It’s one of the smartest pieces of movie writing I can really remember. It’s so perfectly revealed. I have no idea what to make of the ending. It’s so mystical and ambiguous. I’m sure some, maybe even most people, will really love it. For me, I was hoping for a little more grounding.
Grade: B- / B
Happy as Lazzaro – Alice Rohrwacher (2018)
3rd: Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo del Toro (2006)
Watched at home with Gioia. This was definitely one of my bigger blind spots as a movie watcher. Especially after del Toro won Best Picture with Shape of Water. It’s really interesting. It’s plot, at least for the first 90 minutes, is extremely conventional. Combined with the literal storybook elements, it feels like a children’s movie. The story elements are more or less obvious. The captain / step-father is unambiguously evil. You know right away that Mercedes and the doctor are working for the rebels. Its set-ups are really stark. There’s not a ton of nuance. There are multiple instances of adults telling Ofelia she reads too much. Even the “eyes for hands” monster is narratively pretty simple. There’s not a good reason why Ofelia eats the food. It only happens because this a fable. Yet, even with all these relatively simple storytelling elements, the action is pretty graphic. There’s torture, gruesome deaths, and obviously the monsters. It’d be pretty scary for kids! Through the first 90 minutes, I was a bit underwhelmed by the story. I still liked it. The production design is incredible. It’s really nicely made. I love the look of the monsters. You can tell it’s a low budget movie but extremely well-done. I think that aspect even lends some charm to it. Thankfully, the writing is really smart in the last act. All of these set-ups are so stark because del Toro has such a good ending in mind. Even though we already saw it, it’s pretty shocking when Ofelia dies. And then, he has another twist after that. Her act of courage was the final test to make it to her kingdom. Hooray! They’re happy, she’s happy, I’m happy.
Grade: B+
Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo del Toro (2006)
6th: Selma – Ava DuVernay (2014)
Watched at home with Gioia. It’s an incredibly powerful movie. The life that DuVernay is able to breathe into it is pretty remarkable. It’s obviously a worthy, and important historical event. But that doesn’t always translate to a good film. And even when it does, the chief emotion it elicits is rarely viscera. But that was DuVernay’s approach to this film and in my opinion what really sets it apart. I was so, so angry throughout the whole movie. It really puts into context how gross and recent these events were. It’s impossible not to think of the current president and political climate now. About what events today demand action. I was thinking about how I should have / should do more to protest ICE. That this film makes the viewer want to take action is probably the best compliment to it. There were some minor choices that I didn’t love in the movie. I thought the focus (even briefly) on Jeremy Strong’s character was distracting. I wasn’t a huge fan of the soundtrack and music queues. I do think it’s unfortunate that LBJ was probably misrepresented. It seems so unnecessary for how good the rest of the movie is. But these are minor pieces. I’ll certainly take them if it means getting a film as good as this.
Grade: A
Selma – Ava DuVernay (2014)
7th: Toni Erdmann – Maren Ade (2016)
Holy shit. I can’t believe how good this movie is. I liked Ade’s first film. I was lukewarm on her second. Even with the accolades and praise for this movie, I just didn’t see this coming. On paper, it really doesn’t make much sense. Ade’s films are so brutally awkward. I’ve suggested before that she’s like a humanist filmmaker that’s taken a magnifying glass only to the worst qualities in people. I found that approach pretty affecting in Forest for the Trees. It was way too much for me in Other People. In either case, I was about ready to be done after 90 minutes. This is a 160-minute comedy from that same director and it more than works. I would have kept watching for another hour. There are certain scenes and moments here that elicited the same feelings I had in Ade’s previous films. I don’t know exactly why they work in this context. To some extent, I think it’s because we really want this relationship to work out. It’s a father-daughter story. As painful as it is when the father keeps showing up where he’s not welcomed, we’re still rooting for him. It’s painful in a different way than in Ade’s other films. In Other People, for example, I was just rooting for the girl to dump her asshole boyfriend. Here, we want the relationship (against all odds) to survive. I suspect too, that this film works because of how absurdly far Ade pushes these situations. So much of the movie is delightful because I just haven’t seen any of this before. There are so many situations that I could not believe I was watching. So much of movies are homages and re-treads of familiar themes. I don’t know? I guess I found it refreshing to see the main character instruct the guy she’s sleeping with to jerk off on a pastry before she eats it. Call me crazy. This absurdity obviously includes the big birthday party scene which, I can say definitively, is the funniest scene of all time. It is flat out incredible. Perhaps more than anything, Ade’s writing is just tremendous in this film. The relationship is so complicated, nuanced, and understated. As painful as this trip is to watch sometimes, Ines’ father gets to see her life unencumbered. In a strange way, their relationship becomes much closer than a typical father-daughter bond. Winfried has now seen his daughter doing cocaine outside a club, working at business meetings, having a nude birthday party, talking to her girlfriends, talking to the person she’s sleeping with. These are not the types of things fathers are usually privy to. They are certainly not the types of things usually found in super acclaimed films.
Grade: A
Toni Erdmann – Maren Ade (2016)
14th: Frances Ha – Noah Baumbach (2012)
Watched at home with Gioia. For as much as I talk, think about, and love this movie, I’m pretty sure I had only seen it once. Baumbach, at least my first time around (more on that later), is not a director who totally clicks for me. I feel like he dips into intellectualism and the logic of trauma more than arriving at a sense of pathos. Take Squid and the Whale, for instance. It is brilliantly written and performed. But to a certain extent, I feel like it’s more or less just an exhibition of pain. I am sure many divorces are incredibly traumatic and inflict lasting wounds on its children. But to watch an entire movie of only that and the occasional biting humor is tough. Or at the very least, it’s not for me. When watching Frances Ha, I was surprised at how uncomfortable it is to watch for most of the movie. In fact, the majority of the movie is pretty close in style and tone to Baumbach’s other movies. But Frances Ha ends with this glimpse of hope and it makes all the difference. The feeling is so transcendent. It’s the best aspect of the film and arguably Baumbach’s career. When I recalled this movie, I thought that Frances and her old roommate got together in the end. In fact, it’s just a hint that he likes her. But the optimism at the end of the film is so overwhelming I guess I just assumed they did. I can’t talk about this film only in terms of feeling, so here are a few more things I like. I think it’s Baumbach’s best shot movie. The black and white is a wonderful choice. The “Modern Love” tracking shot is euphoric. Greta Gerwig is an incredible performer. She inhabits this person so fully. I just root so hard for her. And the writing is terrific. Especially a lot of the non-dialogue parts. There are so many visual call-backs. I love the trick with the name at the end. It’s all wonderful.
Grade: A
Frances Ha – Noah Baumbach (2012)
14th: Mistress America – Noah Baumbach (2015)
A Baumbach double feature. I guess wanted something funny. I think I wanted to focus on high society’s social dilemmas. For whatever reason Baumbach’s movies have been a bit of a balm lately. I think Mistress America is his most underrated film. I find it incredibly funny. Perhaps it’s his funniest movie. There are certainly problems with the film, but I don’t really mind. The final act, in which all of these characters coalesce at this house, is hilarious. The fact that they all turn on Tracy seems a bit over the top to me, but it does wrap up the plot. I think there’s a version of this movie where the ending, in which Tracy and Brooke attempt to reconcile, could be really emotional. It’s perhaps what Baumbach achieves in The Meyerowitz Stories. Still, I can’t think of many movies I like as much, even if they don’t fully work.
Grade: B+
Mistress America – Noah Baumbach (2015)
16th: The Meyerowitz Stories: New and Selected – Noah Baumbach (2017)
It’s a Baumbach marathon. This movie is criminally underrated. It is so smart, well-written, and clever. I keep thinking about how Harold has all of these quirks. He keeps telling the same stories over and over. It’s awkward but not incredibly out of character. And we catch glimpses that his children do the same thing. When he and Matthew go out for lunch they’re both talking over each other. But we quickly learn that Harold is having a stroke. It’s (partly) been a result of his brain. The way this movie is about inheritance is really remarkable. I can’t think of another movie that captures the generations of a family better. I do have one gripe with the movie. I really don’t think the ending works. I hate the transitions between scenes. Each one feels like a bad ending to this movie. And I think it goes on too long. Otherwise, great stuff.
Grade: B+ / A+
Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), The – Noah Baumbach (2017)
18th: Enemy – Denis Villeneuve (2013)
Watched at home with Gioia. Both Wills and Max texted me on the same day asking if I had seen this movie. I get why. This movie is so fucking weird. It’s really- I’m impressed it was able to get made. I’m impressed with how abstract and surreal the plot is. Nothing is really explained. To be honest, I don’t get it at all. And while it’s purposeful, the grayness of the movie was hard to take. I didn’t realize that Villeneuve directed this movie until after I saw it. It’s making me reconsider my feelings toward it. It certainly makes me think I missed something important watching it.
Grade: C+
20th: Tremors – Ron Underwood (1990)
Had a Netflix party with Gioia, Beronica, and Wills! it was fun. I think this movie is hella silly.
Grade: C+
20th: A Mighty Wind – Christopher Guest (2003)
Watched at home with Gioia. I can’t really critique it. It’s not as funny as Waiting for Guffman or Best in Show. But it is so comforting and ingrained in me. One thing that kind of sucked was that one of the jokes is about one of the musicians being a trans person. That made me sad.
Grade: B
27th: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – David Yates (2007)
Okay. I think this is the third time I’ve seen all these movies since I started keeping these logs. I’m going to write some brief impressions below and then compare grades. Order of the Phoenix is alright. We were watching it on the USA streaming app and either it is edited really bizarrely or this was a made for tv version. In any case, I think this is the one where they could have added more. This is the shortest film in the series (in maybe the longest novel). They take out the two-way mirror and Kreacher’s role. I think it’s a lot of set-ups that actually pays off in the other chapters. The duel at the end is fucking sick though.
2/2018: B | 3/2020: Grade: B-
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – David Yates (2007)
28th: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – David Yates (2009)
I know this is the movie most hardcore fans malign. I just think the story is so fucking good. So even if it’s a shaky adaptation, it’s still pretty incredible. I love Slughorn. I love the momentum the movie finishes with.
2/2018: A- | 3/2020: Grade: A-
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – David Yates (2009)
29th: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One – David Yates (2010)
This was better than I remembered it. It is still too long and too slow. The “Three Brothers” animation is really sick though.
2/2018: B / B+ | 3/2020: Grade: B
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One – David Yates (2010)
29th: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two – David Yates (2011)
It’s kind of amazing how many things this movie gets right. “The Prince’s Tale” and “Into the Woods” are perfect. I feel lucky that a movie franchise pulled it off. Everything after that is pretty shaky.
2/2018: B+ | 3/2020: Grade: B / B+
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two – David Yates (2011)
30th: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Chris Columbus (2002)
This one’s not even that bad but it’s so fucking long. Oh my god.
2/2018: B- | 3/2020: Grade C+
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets – Chris Columbus (2002)
31st: Only God Forgives – Nicolas Winding Refn (2013)
Watched on Netflix Party with Wills. This movie is so far removed from the types of movies I like. It feels silly to even try to critique it. It’s intentionally soulless, violent, and confounding. Is it worthwhile? I don’t know. But it was pretty fun.
Grade: D
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